staceyyuds

We will be in Rome, Florence and Venice in October. What sort of souvenirs should we be purchasing that are unique to Italy? We are looking for really unique, fantastic stuff that will not break our budget.

Thanks in advance for the tips and advice!

nytraveler

IMHO most souvenirs that don;t break the budget aren't worth having - unless you like collecting kitsch.

(We used to get some very pretty naif pottery serving dishes in Italy - but the prices now are more than for the same thing in Bloomies - so why tote tham all around?)

staceyyuds

I don't mind paying more for something that is of good quality and will be something to remember Italy by besides all the great pictures we'll be taking.

zeppole

Don't know what your budget it, but if you normally live in a part of the world where warm gloves are a necessity in winter, then purchasing gloves in Firenze -- especially from Madova -- means having something of lasting value.

http://www.madova.com/

A visit to the legendary pharmacy in Firenze is not only interesting architectually (and photographically!) but you can pick up small balms, soaps and scents of the highest quality.

http://www.smnovella.it/english.html

Most guidebooks include a section for where to buy the best quality items for the places you are going (male friends of mine swear to me that dress socks sold in Roma are the best in the world).

When I am back in Venezia, I will probably buy a small sample board of mosaic "smalti" -- the tiny glass tiles used to make mosaics -- and frame the boards as wall art.

http://www.mosaicsmalti.com/store/Category.asp?cat=7

Jake1

I bring back beer and wine coasters from wherever I travel. I also have an old wooden hiking cane that I received as a gift in Germany in 1959. I buy badges for the cane if I really like a place I visit.

staceyyuds

zeppole - Thanks for the great idea. Winters here in Wisconsin can be brutal! Are the Madova gloves sold in stores or street vendors?

Jake1 - The coasters sound like great gift ideas as well!!

Thanks for the great suggestions!

carolsc

Not really souvenirs as such but I bought a lovely leather wallet in Florence. Also, a serving dish from rampini ceramics. Beautiful pottery made in Radda, Chanti though they have a store in Florence.(They have a web site too.)

carolsc

zeppole

If you click on the link, you'll find the exact address of the Madova glove store. You cross the famous Ponte Vecchio -- go over to the other side of the Arno river -- and walk a bit more on that street. You'll find it. But it's a small store.

You can't buy these kinds of fine gloves in the open air market or from street vendors.

Most shops in Firenze close for the lunch hour, so go in the morning or after 4pm.

staceyyuds

I'm realizing that souvenirs may not have been the best word to use here. I'm looking for things that are hard to find anyplace else or items where the workmanship can't be duplicated anywhere but Italy.

Underhill

The street market in Florence has nice handbags and totes, as well as good glove. Be prepared to bargain.

A friend of mine brought back to me some very nice olive-oil bath gel and soap. I love both.

kelliebellie

I would budget time to shop in Venice. The stores there are so much better than cheesy tourist shops. They have beautiful glass and so many other things. If you have time, you can go to Murano and shop at a glass factory (ignore the shops lining the water and go directly to a factory show room).

I bought a very cute little watercolor picture. My mother-in-law bought Murano glass letter openers for everyone at home. We also bought a very cute blue Murano outdoor type light with glass and metal that we had wired with electricity when we brought it home. That hangs in our hallway. And my mother-in-law bought us a chandelier that hangs over our stairs.

They also have very nice stationary and tiny glass animals.

Bring some duct tape with you for packaging your finds. Add some bubble wrap if you can fit it in your suitcase. We brought the lamp back in one piece by completely stuffing the INSIDE with newspaper. Like, really, really stuffing it. That helps tons with creating pressure from the inside and sort of turns a hollow glass piece into a solid glass piece.

tuscanlifeedit

I find it impossible not to find things to buy in Florence. On the street, in stores, everywhere.

Rome isn't quite the shopping mecca that Florence is. But there is a famous glove shop on the Piazza di Spagna... oh, the name eludes me... anyone? And there is a store that features items made only in monasteries. This is just north of Piazza Navona. I believe I learned about both these stores in guidebooks.

In Venice, on Murano actually, our favorite purchases this year were two glass knobs for doors. Gorgeous. Last trip, it was beautiful, tiny, millefiore glass dishes that we found in a shop not far from the Peggy Guggenheim Museum. Although there are exceptions, of course, it seems that the nicest items (not expensive; just nice) in Venice are often in stores outside of the busiest areas.

zeppole

Regarding buying off the street:

Some items really do come from China rather than Italy, and some items really are controlled by organized crime.

Glovemakers like Madova offer a lifetime guarantee on their gloves. If you accidentally tear them, you can send them back to Firenze, and they will be repaired and returned to you.

Or you can take them back and wait.

knickerbocker

There are certainly a number of places in Venice to get lovely reminders. For me the selection and prices seemed better the further away we got from Ponte Rialto. Murano glass can be had in abundance.

We did more buying in Florence, in particular at Pitti Ceramiche and
Leather Giotto, both located across the way from Pitti Palace

http://tinyurl.com/6xo87y

HTH
K

BarbaraJ

Bookmarking

suze

(Venice)

i bought some beautiful earrings made of glass ~100usd

i wanted but couldn't afford or know how to transport amazing hanging silk light sconces.

knickerbocker

suze,

Did they not offer to ship them back home? In our case with the platter and tea cups that Mrs. K fell in love with from Pitti Ceramiche, the particular pattern wasn't in-stock at that moment but they made arrangements to make and ship them to Canada once ready. As I recall, the shipping wasn't outrageous and we have a constant reminder of one of our favourite moments in that particular trip.

annw

In Venice, I like Capriccio glass shop--one on the alley between San Marco and Rialto (on the Mercerie, I think) and another affiliated shop in Dosodoro. I have two table top lamps with glass shades and a pendant lamp over the kitchen table. Expensive, and they will ship, but shipping even more expensive! I like above recommendation to pack yourself if you can or to get them to pack it up (even better) and you take it with you.

In Venice as well, I like paper -- Ebru is a paper shop on one of the campos on the way to Accademia bridge. There's another wonderful paper shop on the walk to Peggy Guggenheim as well (museum shop is fun too).

I always get a few glass candies and glass cherries there for my ongoing collection (years' worth). And also with glass, I shop around for a glass-topped bottle stopper as well.

I love these lamps and enjoy them every day. I also got some etchings at a shop on the way to La Zucca.

There's a tile shop -- Theresa Valentina, I think, with colorful and unusual hand done tiles.

I second the gloves from Manova. The colors and styles are amazing!

In Rome, frankly my best finds have been at an airport shop, near Delta etc., with interesting and unique design in desk accessories, notebooks, and the like--I just picked up some notebooks (with mod design) and pens in the current colors. I haven't seen these designs back home, even in specialty shops in San Francisco (near where I live).

Since I'm taking a mosaic class in Venice next year, I will also be taking home the smalti/mosaic supplies.

basingstoke2

We bought packets of seeds for Italian varieties of vegetables that are hard to get in the US. We declared them at customs on arrival. They were brought to a back room and after some time, cleared. The next summer we had an Italian style veggie garden.

grandmere

I ran across a store in Florence that sells beautiful passmenterie, and I brought back some tasseled pulls to hang on doors,etc. Relatively inexpensive, easy to pack, lightweight, etc.