We'll be traveling thru and staying in the cities of Rome,Florence,Sulmona,Matera,Tropea,Sorento,
and back to Rome. I'm looking for some small gift ideas for friends and 13 co-workers. Something nice that's not going to break the bank would be nice! Any ideas out there? Thanks much!!

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack this post. But I'm really curious where this idea of bringing back travel gifts for coworkers came from? I've traveled with a few people who spent more of their travel budget buying gifts for coworkers and relatives than they did on their own activities.
I've never understood it. Is it to make you feel less guilty about going somewhere while they had to stay home and work? Or are these gifts because they actually had to do some of your work when you were gone?

One coworker gave me a fancy small bath soap from Paris. My boss recently brought me back a pretty fabric fan from China. I came home with 2 family size bags of little Swiss chocolates from my trip this summer to share around.

Usually one buys a small token present, and yes, it is partly to thank them. Right now I have magnets from Myrtle Beach, NYC, and the Phillipines from coworkers,. Or small key chains or tee-shirts are nice. Obviously it depends on your workplace.

I've never heard of it either, nor ever observed it. It must be a local custom or a particular company.

The point of a gift is that it is something from you, that you have chosen to give to someone to show your affection and thoughts of them, and that you have spent some time and thought on. It is not just a shopping list where other people tell you what to get someone they don't even know and you go out and get that thing.

You should pick out your own gifts by looking at things where you are traveling and selecting something you like and want to give someone. If this is just a chore where you can't even think of what to buy yourself, I think you should forget the practice, as it is meaningless.

I usually buy several different chocolate bars, chop them up, and put them out like a buffet. My co-workers always look forward to this when I return. Of course, you could buy other types of candy too. If you want to buy something for a closer friend, a scenic calendar is always good.

For Patrick and Christina, no one's making you go shopping. I think it's a fun thing to do and nice tradition.

For gwenjo, I'm not familiar with that part of Italy but keep your eyes open for tiny pottery pieces (a girlfriend got me a beautiful small clay lemon plaque from Capri), little bottles of olive oil or liquers, scenic calendars as mentioned above, hankies or pieces of fabric or lace, trinkets with city names (the minature cowbells from Suisse were a hit).

I purchase gifts for co-workers or friends who help me out in my absence, typically a small food item. Surely Italy will yield something special along this line.

>If this is just a chore where you can't even think of what to buy yourself, I think you should forget the practice, as it is meaningless.<

The OP said nothing about it being a chore. She merely asked for suggestions. Ditch the judgements, would you?

I think a package of Italian candies would be super for them to share and you won't have to wrap individual presents. Someone gave me a bag of hard candies that had liquers in the centr, yummy!

I think you will waste a lot of energy trying to figure this out before you visit these places. Wait until you are there, and I'm sure the ideas will come to you automatically.

Not sure where it originated - but have come across this in several offices I have worked in over the years - both England and Scotland, although only to the extent that the returning holidaymaker simply brought some boiled or chewy sweets or some nice cookies from wherever they visited. Never individual gifts except for close friends. On our honeymoon in Turkey another couple we got to know spent most of the holiday shopping for gifts to take home to everyone from the family pet to the man who lived at the end of their street!

I think winestoppers are nice. or coasters - in Italy you should be able to find some pretty ones. Or handpainted tiles. or maybe small religious items, as long as you know you won't offend the person. how about a Hard Rock T shirt from Rome? (I am pretty sure they have one).

I USED to buy something for just about everyone. Now, I limit it to family and maybe one or two friends.

P-M does have a good idea though - something foody, and big enough to share, is always nice.

one trip to Paris, I picked up a fresh croissant for my director who LOVED Paris and missed it so... I wrapped it up, carried it home for her, and left it on her desk the next morning! granted it was a day old by that point but who gets croissants delivered right from Paris?

I worked in a company once where anyone who went away had to bring back the tackiest keyring that they could find - we had a great big board with them all pinned to it and it was great as it kind of reminded us that there is a world outside the office!

I'd say just bring something back that can be shared around the office - biscuits, sweets, chocolate etc. Friends is different and IMO depends how close they are and how likely they are to bring you something back!

When visiting Florence, we found street stalls with wonderful note papers and lovely leather bookmarks which made great, inexpensive souvenirs. Florence is also the home of Pinocchio and replicas of the puppet are everywhere in every size.

I believe I saw a post a few months ago about items to shop for in Italy, and one small (I assume inexpensive) item that was mentioned was a leather lipstick case from a market(?) in Florence.
I know I will be looking for a few of those for stocking stuffers when there next month (but what to get the male family members?!). Is this sort of what you were talking about, gwenjo?

Does anyone else have any other tips of small authentic Italian items besides food? Can anyone provide details on this leather market (if that was correct) in Florence?
Thanks!

If there's leather, you'll usually find small coin purses or wallets.

Thanks to all who had some really great ideas, I like the ideas of sharing candies, etc.! But to those of you who "don't get it", don't respond! I like to buy gifts for coworkers as a way to share my experience, never for any guilt.

I've never bought a leather lipstick case in Florence, but my guess would be that you could find them in the market stalls set up around San Lorenzo.

Nothing sends a better message then a card with a note: "wish you were here?"

gwenjo, you sound like a warm, generous person and I admire you for wanting to share with friends and co-workers.

However, I've seen female travel companions become consumed by finding the "perfect" gift. They often ended up wasting far too much time and energy on what started out to be a simple action.