Unique things to buy in Italy?
 

What are your favorite inexpensive but unique items to buy in Italy?
Splurge items?

Anything leather, shoes, jackets, keychains, purses.

Are everyday (not collector) fountain pens widely available?

Murano glass (usually a small necklace or earrings), pottery, leather sandals, lace tablecloths from Burano. Too many things to name!

have bought pens out of murano glass they are special

also venetian mardi gras plague masks are fun

Limoncello of course...

Don't know if you wear specs but I always look for great frames and come home and have my prescription put in them. The more cutting edge and unusual the better. Its something I use everyday and they are a good conversation starter when people comment on them.

I agree about the frames - selection is great and they have a far more interesting selection than any shop I have seen here in the US.

I am a fan of Prima Classe handbags and pick up one on each trip as a rule. Very hard to find in the USA and the selection in Italy is very extensive.

I like kitchen accessories. I have pasta server and lasagne server from two different Italy trips.

Pashminas, scarfs,and funny enough, knives--the kitchen steak variety with the rounded edges are good for cutting vegetables, etc.

Unique - that's difficult, as so many items are available all over. I'm more likely to purchase items that I would actually use, and have value because I think of where I bought the item every time I use it.

I'm not much of a shopper, but I've purchased several items made of Murano glass in Venice, and never seen anything like them here in the U.S. One of them, funny enough, was a cheap pendent that I bought at the Milan airport as we were leaving, for about 3 Euros.

A fun, cheap item, especially enjoyed by my kids, are placemats with photos of the destination. Again, they recall pleasant memories.

I don't have splurge items - the other necklace I bought in Venice was about $60, which probably isn't a splurge for most people.

I love to buy scarves, but I don't consider them to be unique (though very special to me). Funny enough, several people have commented on the 5-Euro scarf I bought from a stand in Paris one year because it was unseasonably cold when we were there!

I always buy scarves in Europe, the selection is so much better than any store I have been to in the states. I think it's because almost everyone, everywhere, in Europe wears scarves, not so much here in the US.

For my friends with dogs, I bought Pompeii-style "beware of dog" clay plaques, with the warning given in either Italian or Latin. Very cute. Got mine in San Gimignano.

The handmade pottery in Tuscany is wonderful. Also perfumes/lotions, good chocolates, handmade paper note cards, dried seasoning mixes for crostini, bruschetta, etc., dried porcini mushrooms, jewelry, a kitchen towel, calendar, Xmas ornament if you can find them, and I'm one of those who likes a souvenir refrigerator magnet. A splurge item was an $80 murano glass boat purchased on the island of Murano and a leather purse from Florence. Leonora, you should find fountain pens in a stationary shop and also letter openers. Don't take the opener back in your carry-on, however, as I speak from experience....this was an embarrassment just days after 9-11. I guess my only excuse is being kind of numb after the whole tragedy.

Re: the glasses frames. I've just finished a year long quest for frames that resulted in frames my husband has deemed ho hum. You can bet that I'll be picking up some cool frame in Italy.

Hi Leonora, if you are going to be looking for small "thinking of you" gifts for people back home I have found that the beautiful leather bookmarks that are sold in Italy make wonderful gifts, if of course the people you are buying for read be it books or magazines. I have a lot of the Italian leather bookmarks that are around 25 years old and they are as lovely as they day I bought them.

A lot of Italian tea/dish towels are lovely. My daughter has a beautiful collection that were her Roman mother-in-laws. For yourself or someone special you can find beautiful tableclothes also. Write down the measurement you need before leaving home and convert that into the metric system so you know the size to buy. I have bought beautiful ones at the various outdoor markets and they are still so lovely.

If you have the time and if you sew or know someone that does, check out the fabric stores. Italy has such beautiful fabrics. You can buy fabrics for covering sofa and chair and/or bed throw pillows when you get home. Or to use for table runners.

All above mentioned items are sure easy to pack in your luggage when flying home and will be enjoyed for decades.

We purchased leather purses and belts, a Murano ornament, a gorgeous brilliant red porcelain rose, lemon honey, lemon/orange marmalade and fruit jelly candies.

Where are you going in Italy?

A splurge item for me would be something in 18K Italian gold.

I just returned from a 5 1/2 week trip in Italy....some of the things I bought were: a lovely umbrella with Michelangelo's artwork on it (I wish I bought more as they are great souvenirs)and easy to store in the suitcase and they are a conversation-starter. So you can always talk about your trip!!! I purchased it in the Piazza Navone at one of the kiosks. I also love to purchase those white cottony aprons and distowels (5 euros each) with Italy drawn on the front with the different little towns. I always pick these up and they don't take much room in the suitcase....also key chains and also those little kitchy knick-knacks of the Colliseum or gladiators as my grandchildren get a kick out of them.

Kitchen witch in Florence.

Pot-pourri and almond paste hand cream from Farmacia Santa Maria Novella in Florence.

A lace tablecloth from Burano in Venice.

Sermonetta gloves from the Piazza di Spagna in Rome.

Thin

Our splurge was a beautiful Murano glass vase that we bought from one of the factories that give demonstations on glass blowing. It was personalized with our last name and the date on the bottom. My husband also bought a very nice leather briefcase that he used for work.

An inexpensive treat was a bracelet that had glass round balls all the way around it. I really liked it but it tarnished quickly. As on all of our vacations, we bought a Christmas ornament. I looked all over Venice and eventually found an ornament of Santa on a gongola.

If you are in Assisi, be sure to buy a nativity creche - St. Frances invented them. And if you are touring the hilltowns, we found the best ceramics to be in Deruta -- it seems like every house is a pottery studio.

Tuscanlifeedit-As of now we are going to Rome and Florence. Hope to also go to Venice, Orvieto, and Siena.

Just returned from a trip to Rome and brought back soap from Farmacia Santa Maria Novella (their main store is in Florence). They have wonderful products and I purchased small bars of Almond Soap (Sapone alla Mandorla) for gifts (and for myself).

You will find ceramic shops in Orvieto. I like the spoon trays to put by my stove (the ones where you place your spoon or whatever utensil you use during cooking). I also like the wine bottle "plate" and cork bottle top to match. I'd love to buy a big ceramic salad bowl, but I'm concerned about how to get it home in one piece! Plus, they are heavy!

Balsamic vinegar!! You'll find that, and olive oil, in all price ranges.

And leather handbags, of course!

We travel to Italy often. Here is what I bring home: from Venice -long silk crinkly scarves that are beautiful colors, some only one color, other combinations of colors. In Venice you need to be cautious as much of the glass (says Murano) comes from china! There's a shop in Castello, Alice in Wonderland, where we've bought some lovely Murano glass pieces. I always bring back small (easy to pack!) packages of different kinds of herbs and dried porcini mushrooms as well as other Italian packaged dried herb mixtures...a risotto that is freeze dried that I discovered in a gas station shop..I bought about 6 of these, they are fantastic and I wish I had more. These are best found in little markets, not touristy food shops and they are not costly. I'm obviously thinking food when we're in Italy as I also buy jars of different kinds of pestos and little bottles of truffles. These are great gifts but also it's nice to open your kitchen cupboard and find something to add to your pasta that is reminiscent of your trip.

I definitely agree with the people who've noted the variety of unique glasses frames :) Aside from that, my suggestion would actually be Plumcakes. Yes, those little boxes of 6 light cakey snacks, usually made with yogurt that you find in the cookie aisle in any Italian supermarket. They're cheap, delicious, and make a great treat for anyone on the gift list, no matter what their age. I've seldom ever seen them outside of Italy, and you certainly can't find them in the States, so whenever I go back I have to bring a suitcase full for my friends!

Dobermina's post reminded me of paneforte (Tuscan cake with dried fruits), also biscotti, torrone, amaretti, and so on. Each region has its specialties. I always like to stop in a grocery store and buy things like tomato paste in tubes, jams, spices, Sicilian sea salt. On my last trip I bought some bags of farro and "cereali minestra," a mixed grain used in making soup. Of course cheeses like parmigiano or grano padano in vaccum packages are great to bring as well.

Oops, forgot about the splurge question! Leather jacket in Florence, handbags. And don't forget designer shoes. My husband and I have had large ceramic pieces shipped home from Ravello, Cefalu and Siena. You asked about pens, and Italy has some of the finest but they are truly collector items and expensive. I bought my son a gorgeous Montegrappa in Milan.

Just wanted to comment on what a great thread this is! So many mentions of things I love to buy and ideas for many more :)

We buy wine that cannot be found here from small family vineyards and have it shipped back. I've also brought back venetian style writing paper, glass earrrings, keychains, fountain pens, etc and we did splurge on a unique venetian mask - we always buy a print or two and have them framed for memories.

Fiats!

Oh wait, they're coming to America soon enough.

I bought a dozen packets of the hot chocolate mix, to have that unique, thick treat when I got home. (Of course, I make it with skim milk!)

My favorite item was my splurge item... a beautiful inlaid wood music box from Cuomo's Lucky Store in Sorrento.

I also love the small glass pendant I bought in Venice at a small shop giving a glass blowing demonstration just off St. Mark's Square. I wear it all the time!

In Orvieto, don't miss the woodworking shop of Michalangeli, right on the main street.

And I always bring back a bag of porcini since you can't get them here.

So many things mentioned here. One that was not was an assortment of seed packages for Italian vegetables that are difficult to find here. At customs in the US, I declared them of course and they were taken, inspected, and approved but I did take the chance they would not be. We were the last to leave the customs area but our reward was a fantastic Italian vegetable garden for the next 2 years.

For a splurge, we like hand painted ceramics. There is a shop in Venice that does beautiful work and ships. Also, we had shipped from Murano a chandelier of traditional design that now adorns our dining room. We bought it at the factory and met the workers who made it.

Forgot to mention a splurge on some very nice marquetry we found in Sorento and shipped home.

My sister told me that they make beautiful leather gloves in Italy and the salesperson will ensure they fit you perfectly. I intend to pick up some gloves in Italy.

Got to have an apron that makes you look like David!

This thread is awesome! Some of the posts reference shipping things back to the US, it that affordable?

Kristen, for example I had the studio pack and ship to the US 6 ceramic pieces valued at about $500 in 2010. The cost was 50 Euro including insurance. There was room in the box for more if I wanted. As I recall, the cost of packing and shipping a medium sized chandelier from Murano a couple of years earlier was about the same. If you want to ship, have the shop pack and ship it for you. In my experience it doesn't cost more and they know what they are doing and it saves a lot of hassle. Remember though, that depending on what it is and the cost, there could be customs duty on the US end.