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what should I bring home from Italy?
What would be a nice gift for my wife and myself to bring home from Italy? I'm budgeting $250 but go a tad higher.
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What about a nice scarf (for your wife), a tie (for you), leather wallets or belts?
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Wait till you get there and see what strikes your fancy.
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I regret not bringing back more wine and dried porcini mushrooms.
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I love the hand-painted pottery from Deruta and Gubbio. You should be able to buy it for half of what it would cost in the U.S.
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I second the silk scarf. I love the ones that I have and can't wait to go back for more! Also, a cameo would be nice or some Italian gold jewelry. Leather gloves,a wonderful Italian wool sweater for male or female.
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If you are going to Florence, there is a great outdoor market just a few blocks from the Doumo. Florence is known for a quality of their leather goods and you can get a nice wallet, jacket, etc. <BR><BR>
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Ryan:<BR><BR>Most of the stuff sold by that market is just the regur stuff that is produced in sweatshops by chinese underpaid workers in Prato and that is sold in any market in Italy. This does not mean that the article is a picece of crap, it only mens that you can usually bu the sme stuff for a lower price somewhere else.
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Wine, Wine and more wine-'97 vintage was one of the best ever in Tuscany-look for Brunello di Montalcino which is produced around Siena.
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It depends where in Italy you will be visiting. Ceramics are great, but have them shipped home. It is expensive, but worth not having to carry them around. Limoncello from Sorrento. Wine of course. Venetian glass, masks or art. Whatever you are into!!
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shoes, shoes and more shoes..........!
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I also vote for the hand-painted pottery. It's lovely and great value. If you wife enjoys cooking, you can also find some unique kitchen accessories and utensils. These are inexpensive little gifts but they remind me of Italy everytime I use them in the kitchen.
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Kitchen accessories. Someone will remember the brand of gear that is stainless steel, beautifully designed, and very very functional. Not inexpensive, but much better than in the US.<BR>Especially recommend their lemon and orange squeezers, graters, or tableware for freshly grated cheese. Anyone who cooks would appreciate...<BR>
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Dependent on where you are going in Italy. If in Venezia, go to the island of Murano and pick up a small hand-blown glass dolphin or fish for around 12-15euro. If in Tuscany or Liguria regions, bring home a small bottle or 2 of their famous pesto; if in Roma or Napoli, pick up a souvenir bottle or 2 of limoncello - made famous by its creation in Capri. And of course, the good old stand-by olive oil in a beautifully decorated bottle is always nice. Buon viaggio!
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Some people like to buy wine even if it is heavy. Other people like to buy Scotch because it is cheaper (as they don't mind the weight).<BR><BR>Gucci things are cheaper than in US cities.<BR><BR>You might also buy a news magazine for school. Just play innocent when the cover has a nude woman that has nothing to do with the news stories inside!
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My favorites :<BR>from Rome: a rosary from the Vatican, bring it home take it to your custom framer who builds a shadow box, sews the rosary laid out w/your favorite pix of Rome or of you and your husband on your trip.<BR>from Florence: marble inlaid jewelrybox<BR>from Venice: handblown glass wine decanter set<BR>Anywhere: tourist "teatowels"-pretty, light, cheap. You bring them back, stretch them, frame them w/a fabric liner and frame. I've got mine on my kitchen wall along with matching local pottery (oil and vinegar, canister set etc.)
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The ceramic wine stoppers are great to bring home and you can easily stick them in your luggage. Also, the lovely<BR>leather boxes in Florence. Ties and scarfs and some of the beautiful stationary that is made in Italy.<BR>Don't forget to buy olive oil in the duty free shops at the airport when you are leaving.<BR>Have a great trip.<BR>Kay
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Alan,<BR><BR>$250?<BR><BR>If you're in Venice -- and you love champagne -- have them box up a case of Brut Prosecco and send it home (the local one with the orange label.) Should be about $50 for twelve.<BR><BR>Spend the other two hundred on the missus at some overpriced Gondola-gazing trattoria...
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Depends where you're going, but in Rome there are excellent leather goods shops near the Spanish Steps, or you could take a trip to the Castelli Romani, the hilltowns outside Rome which are famous for their wineries. If you're visiting the Amalfi Coast, I'd buy: hand painted bottles of limoncello; ceramics from a little town called Vietri Sur Mare; packages of handmade pastas which were plentiful in the little grocery stores we visited in Positano; olive oil and flavored vinegars. In Venice, you could take a half-day trip to the showrooms of Murano, but just be forewarned that you'll be met on arrival by a salesman. Italy is also known for its heirloom lace tablecloths which can be found in Florence. Have a wonderful time!
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Limoncello from southern Italy, especially Sorrento; ceramics from Vietri Sul Mare; pasta from any region (the best), leather goods, and wine, wine, wine.
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Sarah: pasta is not the best in every region of Italy. As a matter of faacts dried pasta (the usual kind of durum wheat semola pasta) was almost completely unknown in Northren Italy but one century ago, and in the 1950s dried pasta was still something of a novelty to my grandparents who lived in the countryside. If youre going to buy any pasta, you should relly check out for the Martelli pasta in Lunigiana (the area between Piedmont, Emilia Romagna, Tuscany and Liguria) or for the pasta produced by small factories in the area of gragnano, near Naples. Sure enough you can enter any supoermarket and get yourself a pack of Barilla pasta, but doing so you will only have gotten yourself some of the worst pasta you could possibly find on the Italian market. If you are really going to buy your pasta at a supermarket, make sure it is AT LEAST Del Verde or Molisana. And, please, do not buy those horrible packs of colored and strange-shaped pasta you can find in touristc shops!!!
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If I were you I'd bring home one of those handsome Italian men. Mmmm!
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Limoncello...it's the nectar of the gods! Try it and you'll be hooked...
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If you love Limoncello,here's a hint: also pick up a serving set: very small yellow toned glasses,in sets of 6-8 are sold very inexpensively in many Rome giftshops. Mine camne with an ugly tray that was discarded but the glasses grace every dinner party we have. I keep the Limoncello in the freezer to serve as it is served in Puglia.
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Just talking about it makes me want to go back to Rome and The Amalfi Coast! I second the chilling of the Limoncello...awesome!<BR><BR>The amalfi Coast had the best I tasted, as the land is packed with lemon groves. They are experts. Have fun.
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Do you guys really like limoncello? Or do you just like that it's from Sorrento? I can't drink it?<BR><BR>You can, by the way, buy it at BevMo.
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I also wanted to comment that Limoncello is available in most liquor stores. also, you might want to test it before buying it. My parents brought a relatively expensive bottle back for me from sorrento. I appreciate the thought but it was dreadful. tasted like cough syrup.
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An oil painting or some kind of print from one of the places you really enjoyed. We have framed many things, and everyday when we look at them, we are reminded of Italy!
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Alice, I never claimed to be a connoiseur of pasta, however, I've been to every city between Sicily & Rome & every dried pasta I brought back was wonderful (from Divella to Le Orecchiette Baresi). And never once did I see Barilla in any of the supermercados that i shopped in.
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Sarah:<BR><BR>Narilla, I assure you, is the most commonly available pasta brand in Italy. You can find it almost everywhere, most supermarkets have whole shelves of it (often one shelf of Barilla and the opposite shelf of other brands!), and in bakeries you always get Brailla unless you ask for something else. Tne blue boxes are nearly everywhere. Ad for Divella, a freind of mine says it is one of the decent brands you can buy at the supermarket, yet I encourage everyone to try out Martelli, Garofalo, Latini, fella di Gragnano, Rustichella d'Abruzzo, Setaro or Coop pastai gragnanesi. These can't be found at supermarkets (except for a few exceptions), but they are absolutely great!
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Cheese!<BR>Whenever we go up north, near Parma, we visit a parmiggiano reggiano cheese factory right off the autostrada, and buy several big wedges in vacuum-sealed packages for about $6 each. The factory conducts tours also. Keep in a cool place or (fridge if your hotel or B&B has one) and it travels fine. It is sooo much better than what we get here. Don't know why. Great to eat straight with fruit or grated over pasta, and to reminisce about the trip.<BR><BR>And olive oil - not from the supermarket, but from a local producer that sells it's own direct to the public. <BR>
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Carol:<BR><BR>the cheese idea is a good one, but 6 euro for a whole wedge of cheese (even from the faactory) is far too cheap. Average price for good quality (not top quality) 18 months (the very best in the plain area is 24 months old, while the very very best can only be found on the mountains and is age for at least 30 months, sometimes even 36 months) Parmigiano Reggiano is around 8-10 euro per kg, and a wedge usually weights 1,2-1,5 kg. Make sure that the cheese they are selling you is not too young (below 12 months) or has not turned "boli" (bubby): the texture should show no bubbles and no cracks and the colour should be light yellow (or rather blond!). Also, on theourside of the cheese there should be the "Parmigiano reggiano" seal and a date: make sure this date is not too close, that's the date of production that has been placed as the cheese has been first sampled. Check out http://www2.parmigiano-reggiano.it/database/parmigianoreggiano/parmigianoreggiano1.nsf/home/$First?OpenDocument
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Alice, I've never heard of Narilla or Brailla (perhaps I should try them!) However, my reply was to Alan who was asking for opinions and my opinion is....all of the pasta that i brought back was excellent (excluding Barilla which i never saw once in Italy).
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Some things we have brought back over the years include good balsamic vinegar (old stuff) , 1997 Brunellos and super Tuscans (You need to know costs at home however as costs can vary widely in Italy. Allegrini 97 Amarone seen in Venice last week for E98 while costing $45 in USA), Murano glass, ties and scarfs (found some silk ties near Ponte Vechio last week for E4!), and ceramics, plus spices, ie saffron, shoes, interesting pasta. Would not recommend limoncello as you can find it in the usa for not much more than in Sorrento. I would worry about being able to bring cheese into the usa for agricultural issues.
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About 6 years ago after having dinner at a friends home we were offered "lemon jello" and I said no thank you (thinking it was lemon jello). When she brought out this beautiful bottle I changed my mind and we fell in love with limoncello.
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Alan, We always buy ceramics in Italy. We were in Positano this summer and bought a ceramic light fixture for our kitchen. We had it shipped, and even with shipping, it was not anywhere near $250. I had a Christmas party last night, and everyone commented on it. It is the best thing I have ever brought back from a trip; lovely and functional.
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Hi Alan,<BR><BR>Have not seen it on this thread yet . . . if you are going to Sorrento you may want to consider an inlaid music box from one of the small factories.
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John, I was just about to say the same thing. The music boxes or other inlaid wood items are beautiful. I have a music box which my mother purchased for me as a gift and a lovely large wall plaque of Sorrento scenes - they both bring back many fond memories of our trip. Other treasured items are small pottery creamers, plates, bowls, etc. which I purchased in Massa Lubrense.
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Wine of course.<BR> If your are in Venice something special to bring back is a mask. There are many to choose from take your time and you will find one that you will love.
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Mike. The pictures I have seen make the masks look pretty delicate. How to you get them home unbroken? No, I won't wear one on the plane.
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