texgirl

I have a list of things I want to buy while we are there. But was wondering what some of your favorites are that you either bought for yourself or brought back as a gift for someone else?

Aurora

We usually like something very typical of the place we visit. So, in Venice we bought a beautiful mask, a couple of great glass items, a few lace items, and of course a model of the Gondola!

LoveItaly

Hello texgirl, one thing I have purchased has been tableclothes. Italy has some beautiful tableclothes and of course they are so easy to pack in your luggage. You will need to know the size of the table of course.
Scarves are another beautiful item to buy and again they are so easy to pack.

I have found I stopped buying anything that is breakable as it just seems like to much trouble but if you do know you won't mind either carefully wrapping them Italian of course has beautiful ceramics. I might buy olive oil and vinegar containers the next time I am in Italy as the ones I had gotten broken. They are lovely on the table if you enjoy olive oil and vinegar.

The problem is that Italy has to many beautiful products, lol.

A small but lovely item are the leather bookmarks. I have several and so enjoy them and people I have bought them for do also.

nutjobz

I keep hoping you'll get some good answers, I'm going to Rome next spring. I asked about shopping in Rome a week or so ago and did not get much of a response. It seems all the shoppers go to Paris or Florence.

Barb

For something a little different, you might try the dried spice/herb vendor at the Campo de Fiori market in Rome. I bought some absolutely wonderful herbs there last fall, one in particular is called Campo de Fiori, surprise, ha. I think it has a combination of maybe oregeno, basil, thyme and ? and pepper flakes. It is sold in bulk, so you can buy as little or as much as you want. Wish I had bought more - guess I'll just have to go back. And yes, you can bring this back through customs - I declared it with no problems. These are very fresh dried herbs compared to the packaged ones you get in the specialty shops. Everytime I crush a little between my fingers and drop into a simmering pot, or onto a sauting piece of chicken, or lamb, I think of Roma.

missypie

In Venice, I bought terrific glass jewelry. I bought 4 necklaces and 3 pair of earrings and wish I'd have bought more! We also ended up with 5 masks, which wasn't planned...but they were so cool, everyone got caught up in it. DH is a professional singer and sometimes does Christmas carolling gigs...he found a nice top hat at a reasonable price in one of the mask shops.

We bought little in Rome...mostly books about the distinations we had visited. I admit we had a bit of irreverant fun looking at the gift shops near the Vatican for the ultimate tacky pope souvenir, but we didn't really buy anything. Also, if there is someone back home whom you really want to creep out, they sell glow in the dark crucifixes in all sizes.

britomart

On my last day in Rome, I bought a beautiful (and heavy) marble chessboard for my boyfriend. Now he's my hubby and this chess set is one of our prized possessions. It was well-worth the hassle of bringing home.

For souvenirs, I bought some small watercolor paintings in Venice for some friends/relatives. They all loved them. We've also bought small bottles of Limoncello as souvenirs and those have also been much enjoyed.

bella33

Texgirl: Just like Missypie, I bought several Murano jewelry items in Venice and wish I had bought many more. I get a lot of compliments on them and thoroughly enjoy them.

tomassocroccante

My favorite items from Rome:

a winter scarf purchased on a sunny October day. Hand knit, saw it in a window. Doesn't say anything about Rome or Italy until somebody asks "Where'd you get the great scarf?"

a bunch of paper pads from the museum shop up on the Campidoglio. They are blank except for capitals in the corners (corinthian on the large pad, doric on the medium, ionic on the small.)

I actually have gotten to where I don't want to buy anything I can't/won't actually use. The exception is art. Always love to find an antique print or, even better, something by a living artist. Once you've tuned into that, you start seeing artist studios all over the place, galleries (and not million-dollar priced ones) etc. For me, much preferred over "traditional" souvenirs. Used to bring thos and they end up in a drawer. And nowadays, they are typically not the best examples of their kind.

That said, I am a big fan of glass from anywhere, and love contemporary Venetian glass in new designs by the current designers.

Girlspytravel

Texgirl-you may want to look at this recent thread-What's the Best Thing You Bought in Venice?

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34981088

thelist

I gave up on the typical souveniers years ago and now just purchase Christmas ornaments. As I travel throughout the year and bring them home I put them in 1 drawer of my dresser. Then at Christmas I go up and get the bags out and enjoy (and remembering) what I bought that year. Then, as I get my other ornaments out from years past, it is fun to remember where I was when I bought them as I put them on the tree. Many have dates on them or a place where I can use a Sharpie and date them. I have over 130 at last count this past Christmas. Odd thing, we were in Greece in 2005 - they don't sell Christmas ornaments - So I had to improvise and bought some kitchen magnets and hot glued a ribbon on them to hang them.

missypie

I look for unusual costume jewelry whereever I travel...as mentioned by someone else, it actually gets used, and it's fun to be able to say, when complimented, "Oh, I bought this in [Paris] [Costa Rica] [Venice], etc."

nini

Venice has great glass jewelry for reasonable prices as others have mentioned. I found lots of glass jewelry and small items in a tabac shop. There are several paper goods shops in Venice with beautiful stationary,pencils, note pads, cards,etc. Rome, IMO, is expensive for much shopping. However, be sure to check gifts shops at museums and sights. I found Mouth of Truth replicas at Santa Maria Cosmedin gift shop which look heavy but light in weight--look great on a porch wall. I will be buying more on my next trip to rome in November. Have fun!