Didn't see a reference the the incredible alabaster in Volterra. Best store: Alab Arte. Great prices, shipped items were incredibly packed. My two cents...

bookmarking.

ttt

Concerning the glass jewelry, when in Florence do check out The Beaded Lily (www.beadedlily.com) near the Piti Palace. They offer handmade genuine Italian glass components and finished jewelry, all at very reasonable prices and of lovely quality. It's a tiny gem of a place but not difficult to find and the owners speak English.

Everything I bring back, both finished work and loose beads, receives rave reviews and constant compliments and I know I am helping to support local artisans.

Annabell, it's funny that you make your own killer limoncello, too! We could never go back to store-bought, either.

I'm in favor of skipping most of the generic "must buys" - you can find them in thrift shops all over America, donated by folks who brought them home in planeloads! But even if you do go for some of those, consider some other ideas along the way:

What I recommend is looking for local examples of things you already enjoy or use: for card players, every location has cards often ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous; for cooks, stop into a local housewares shop or home store where you may just find the unique thing we don't have here; for sports fans, regional socce jerseys, etc.

Otherwise, almost every museum has a shop now, and you can often find things related to your visit that aren't mere "souvenirs", that actually have interest and value on their own. Also, when going by retail stores, especially boutiques and small clothing or design or jewelry shops, see if they're showing something you like. You may find locally produced and designed items of much more interest than you'll see in any place catering strictly to tourists.

In many Italian towns today there are artists' quarters where you'll find studios inhabited by the artists themselves, and a chance to pick up original art at a good price. Small galleries, too. And check in many small towns to see if they have their own ceramic collective - not as famed as Deruta, perhaps, but ofttimes special.

Basically, the last place to get a great souvenir is probably a souvenir shop! But for sure, if you want some fun, kitschy ephemera like the hunk calendars (or maybe the postcard books you find in Rome of various artistic representations of male anatomy), stick your head in to see what they have!

Finally

I travel in Italy frequently--and because of the lousy dollar/Euro exchange rate, everything you purchase will cost 35% more when the bills come in. That said, there ARE some things worth purchasing, i.e. fashion that you can't find in U.S. stores.

If you live in a cold-weather climate, ask your friends/family for their GLOVE SIZES before you depart. Then go to Madova Gloves in Florence (near Piazza Trinita) and find fabulous colors and styles that you won't see in American stores. They're great gifts, they weigh little and take no space in your luggage. For a male friend with larger than XL hands, I brought over a tracing of his hands and they made custom-size gloves and sent them a few weeks later.

ANGELA CAPUTI has several stores in Florence with fabulous costume jewelry for gifting self or friends.

If you like SALVATORE FERRAGAMO shoes/scarves, price them in the U.S. before you go--you may not save any money by buying them in Italy. On the other hand, you would have the experience of acquiring them in Italy--could be worth paying a little more!

L'ISOLA is a contemporary glassware store in Venice that has beautiful non-gloppy glassware. I purchased an oval glass salad bowl there and had it FedEx'd home--the bowl arrived before I did, in perfect condition. It was worth the cost--about $70 at the time--not to have to haul it through airports and home on a plane.

Finally, at your last stop, go to a local market and buy plastic-sealed chunks of Parmigiano Reggiano. They're great gifts--about 7-10 Euros each--and you can also buy them at the airport for a little more if you don't want to be haul them through Security. Bags of fancy pasta can also be fun little gifts and don't weigh much.

From my experience, I'd rather buy European liquors here and pay a little more--they're very heavy when you're already loaded down from your travels. Have fun!

Back in 2001 we were in Florence and purchased cameo pill boxes and their little flea market in town. They were maybe $1.00. Just this Saturday, my sister was showing off the one I bought her and how nice it stayed and it looked like a paid a lot for it. I am sorry I did not get myself one. Maybe next year.

We bought the most wonderful hand painted colorful reading glasses. Purchased them at the bookstore next to the Majestic Hotel in Rome. Mine are pink and purple and green with dots etc. His are orange and purple and red with stripes. Definately fun to wear and useful and a conversation piece!

Someone asked about Milan ---

A lovely silk tie made in Milan.

I bought cameos in Naples. I bought lemon marmalade in Sorrento and unfortunately packed it in my carry on thinking that it was NOT liquid and it would be OK. They confiscated it in Newark, BUT they did not take my pesto! Go figure. Sorrento is also known for it's inlaid wood so we found some beautiful music boxes. I found a place in Orvietto that shipped ceramics for free if you purchased over $200euros worth, which was easy to do, because the ceramics were not inexpensive.

This is a great thread...any suggestions for Sicily? We'll be in Palermo, Catania, and most of the tourist areas on the eastern side of the island.

speaking of Orvieto ceramics

There's a shop with the work of "Maestro Paolo" - made in the Orvieto tradition, but in modern shapes and decoration (emphasis on stripes when I bought there) that will appeal to contemporary tastes (and probably traditionalists, as well.) Worth looking for. Interesting pieces to keep or to give, such as carafes, pitchers, etc.

Wish I could help there. We were only in Sicily for a short excursion by bus. They like granita there. Had one at the Bar Vitelli (featured in the Godfather). Might have put limoncella in it. All I know was it was fantastic and so refreshing, as it was a very hot day.

I should have written "mastro paolo" (not maestro). The shop selling his work is nearly across from the Duomo in Orvieto.

He's mentioned at some length in this 1998 article from the NYTimes:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...54C0A96E958260