What's the best thing you bought in Florence or Tuscany?
 

I'm going in June with my fiance, we have talked about leather goods, suits, wine, pottery. What do you suggest?

Are we talking Grand purchases or the little stuff? For small stuff (because it's easy to pack) Siena (one nice shop on the Campo and several others as you walk up the hill toward the cathedral)has some beautiful and unique designs, especially if you aren't going to hit the big pottery places in Deruta or Montelupo. While there, pick up a panforte nero, this rich, decadent medieval fruit/nut/chocolate divinity that will keep in it's beautiful wrapper for months, so that when you get misty-eyed remembering your trip, you can unwrap it and savor the memory and the taste. Scarves and leather goods in Florence, cheap stuff in the market or beautiful coats at Romano Noi. Pretty marbled papers and stationery.

Anything from Officina Profumo Famaceutica Santa Maria Novella, especially the sandalwood soap and pot-pourri. If there is a sale on men's suits at Brioni, grab one. Some of these suits (pret-a-porter) cost up to $5,000 in the US. I bought this hand-sewn witch on a wooden broomstick at a little shop along the Arno, near the Ponte Vecchio. She hangs now from my dining room chandelier and everyone loves her. 18K gold is also a good souvenir from Florence. There are many nice shops lining the square in front of Santa Croce. Don't buy on the Ponte Vecchio--the prices are inflated for the tourists. But, Katie, my absolute favorite store in all the world in Passamaneria Valmar at 53r Via Porta Rossa. Go here for all kinds of tassles, crests, throw pillows, picture frames, etc. It is a treasure chest. You have never seen anything like it.<BR>

Passamaneria Valmar sounds wonderful. I'll be on the lookout for this and similar stores to decorate my home!

John: Are you married? (just kidding!) But I would like to go shopping with you! I have never heard anyone else but me mention the Santa Maria Novella Farmaceutica. I still have the Patchouli scented potpourri that I bought many years ago and it is just as fresh. Also, the perfumes, such as Jasmine, are exquisite and placed in elegant little bottles. And of course, the church itself with it's amazing frescoes. Your post has me planning another trip to Florence. thank you.

R, Im gay, can't you tell? We have a "shopping gene" you know? I have that same little phial of Jasmine perfume!! I don't wear it, but use it as a "decoration" for my coffee table. (I have all kind of little Murano glass bottles on my tables.) Do you know they are selling stuff from OPF SMN at Saks in NY?? I was just there on Monday after flying home from London. I couldn't believe it. Now everyone will have it and it will lose its exclusivity. So much for cult status now. Im pissed. <BR><BR>Love you, R. You have good taste.

John G; Remember that last scene from "Some Like It Hot", where Jack Lemmon says to Joe E Brown (was that his name?) "Osgood, I am not a woman". The response was: "So no one's perfect"!. Point is: I'm not that picky! Anyway, I suspected because my macho partner has the gene for not shopping and this is very sad for me! Actually, I had seen OPF SMN in L.A. somewhere last year. But don't worry it won't catch on. Most people want the stuff they have heard of with the designer names attached to them. And if they don't then they are probably, O.K. Maybe you can take some of us on a shopping tour of Italy?! Catch you later, rj

In the square outside of Santa Croce is a little shop that has all hand-carved wood items. I bought the lovliest little angle for my Christmas tree. But they also had the most beautiful picture and mirror frames.<BR><BR>Sorry I don't remember the name, but coming out of the church, the shop is on the left. <BR><BR>And, of course, a nice piece of gold from one of the cute shops on the Ponte Vecchio is a nice remembrance.<BR><BR>Have fun.

Vino!

I purchased two exquisite smooth mosaic "pictures" made of semi-precious stone and marble of many colors. One is a skyline of Florence. The other is a portrait of a woman. The technique is called "pietra dura" which I think means "hard stone", and I'm told it dates back to the Medici era. I bought these two on different trips fifteen years apart. The only shops I found of this kind on my last trip in 2001 were along the road from the Ponte Vecchio toward the Pitti Palace. I remember the store name was something like Mosaici Pitti. For a much heftier price, one can even purchase tables made of this stuff, even custom designed. The best "souvenier" I've ever purchased.

Katie, if you want to buy also food, I suggest you saffron ( we name it zafferano ). My advice is to buy saffron at Greve in Chianti, near Florence; the farm is Corte di Valle.<BR>I use it for cooking: delicious.<BR>Have a nice trip, ciao.

Olive oil, Shoes, Olive oil, Wine, Olive oil, Paper, Olive oil

Santa Maria Novella is a must! I bought patchouli essence for my best friend and gardenia essence for myself. After that, I went back and bought soaps and a soap dish. I bought my kids leather travel journals, though the prices really aren't much better than the US for these leather goods. I also bought a fun 3-D post card of David and a Bottega Venta purse for my mom.

ALong this line ... Has anyone purchased material for a suit in Firenze or elsewhere in Italia?

An Il Bisonte Bag. I love it. I also love the papers--stationary, etc that you can find in various shops around town.

Florence is my favorite shopping city and my two favorite things to buy are shoes and pillow covers. I am still wearing the first pair of shoes I purchased there 5 years ago. They were comfortable from the minute I put them on and still look good. The leather is like butter, and the good new is that they cost no more than an average pair of shoes at Nordstroms. "Quercioli" on the Via dei Calzaioli (near the Pza. Signoria)is my favorite store. For fantastic fabric items (tapestry, pillow covers, tassles, braid, etc) I love "Passamaneria TOscana" on Canto de' Nelli (where the San Lorenzo street market takes place) - on the opposite of the street from the San Lorenzo church. Every time I look at my couch with the pillow covers I have brought home, with their vibrant colors and rich fabrics, I am right back in Florence.

Without a doubt - Prada!

Santa Maria Novella was my favorite store in Florence. I was there over the holidays, and now I wish I'd bought more. <BR>Saks has recently started carrying some of their line. <BR>Of course it costs more here.

R.,<BR><BR>I'd like to go shopping with John G. , too. Maybe we can make it a threesome.<BR><BR>John G., Ever get further south? Naples? any suggestions?<BR><BR>Katie,<BR>Good suggestions all around. The stationery is gorgeous. My husband had some business cards made-up in Florence years ago. It took about two weeks for the shop to make them and as our Italian is limited to restaurants and insults we thought we'd never see them. But, on our return home, there they were. They are lovely.

olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Tuscany; provencale tablecloth with matching napkins from Provence for outdoor table - I cut a hole in the middle of it and my umbrella fits through it. I can't wait to bring it out every summer. Also I have an olive dish which is has two sections - one for the olives and the smaller section to put the pits in - always get compliments on it.

Michele: I asked John G. again on the Asia forum and he' not interested! Boo Hoo on us. Oh well, we'll have to manage on our own. Maybe we can encourage him to write up a little worldwide shopping journal. Best, R

Florence: Check out the Leather School while in Florence. High quality leather items at reasonable prices that held up well to comparison pricing during our trip through Italy. <BR><BR>Go to Santa Croce Church, burial place of Michaelango, and enter the church. The Leather School is located in the far right corner of this church and there will be signs directing you where to go. <BR><BR>They will also put your initials in gold on anything you purchase at no charge if asked. They also have some small gift items.

-<BR>For those of us who haven't made it to Famaceutica Santa Maria Novella, what area of Florence is it located in? Anyone have address?

Deruta for pottery. It's just heavenly. Skip the larger shops at the bottom of the hill, and go into the heart of the town to the smaller shops. Sienna also has a lovely pottery pattern based on the duomo's black and white marble patter. <BR><BR>These types of pieces cost a FORTUNE in Boston, and where much more reasonable there - I wish I had brought more home.

Officina Profumo Farmaceutica Santa Maria Novella is near the train depot. It is at 16r Via Della Scala, just down the street from the Santa Maria Novella church. You have to be careful to find it because it is unmarked. You have to look down at the stoops (right hand side of street) and you will see the crest (SMN) engraved on the doors and stoop of the shop. If you get lost, just ask someone. Everyone knows it.

Italian shearling coats!!!!<BR>The name of the leather company that I bought 2 of the most beautiful shearling coats is called NOI. I don't have the address but it should be easy to find in a directory. You need to ask to see the 'second floor' selection if you want to see the line that they bring to NYC each year. Just across the street from NOI is a goldsmith that is on the 4th or 5th floor of a building. You would never know it existed. Someone from NOI can point you in the right direction. In both cases the prices were about 50% of what we saw elsewhere in Florence. I spent a fortune but felt terrific when I returned to the states and had the goods appraised by experts......real bargains.

Brunello Wine in Montelcino, Pottery just outside Gaiole in Chianti, olive oil & balsamic vinegar everywhere we went and my most favorite of all - 8 Tuscan glass vases in San Gimignano.

Katie, Florence is a great place to buy Italian sterling silver, glass, <BR>pashminas, museum prints for your walls. I found wine too heavy to carry and had to drink it all before I left!

Not to sound offensive but people that do not go to Famaceutica Santa Maria Novella while they are in Florence are just not really that "smart." The products are MUCH more expensive in the U.S. and that is IF you can find them. The store history goes back many hundreds of years and you should stock up because YOU WILL REGRET it when you get back and run out of product. The person that went with me went only for this shop and the Prada store. When I was there was only a few people in the store at the time because the store is well hidden and trying to remain exclusive. They don't want a lot of looky-loo rift raft in there yet the staff does not have the bad "attitude" that the designer bag shops do. They were more than helpful to assist in picking out there relatively expensive products yet inexpensive compared to our cheesy U.S. perfumes/skin care products. If you are a man traveling alone be sure to find out what "type" of product your wife wants ahead of time and she will surely be impressed by your gift.

leather items at the Leather School at the back of Santa Croce<BR><BR>pretty stationery from piazza stalls<BR><BR>richiarelli cookies wrapped like a present from a bakery in Siena<BR><BR>jewelery on the Ponte Vecchio<BR><BR>machine embroidered kitchen towels at the outdoor market in Cortona<BR><BR>anything you buy at a church store, ot especailly at a monastery is usually of excellent quality - don't miss Monte Olivet Maggiore

.<BR>A teapot in a small store in Monteriggioni. Well, since Monteriggioni is tiny in & of itself ... Every time I use it I think of that exquisite medieval walled town perched above plains of Tuscany.

I'm really glad we bought some of those colorful fine glass candies in Florence. They imitate a paper-wrapped candy. They were only a couple of dollars each....and my daughter and I bought eight to sneak into our luggage to give to Mom(who was with us, but elsewhere at the moment) at Christmas, later that year. I wish now that we'd bought more. We have them in a candy dish in our living room at home and they are always admired by visitors and remind me of Italy every time I see them. They're quite fragile, but easily wrapped and safely carried home...unlike the other beautiful Italian glassware that might get home in fragments.

Black truffle olive oil. amazing.

GUCCI outlet store

Up for J &amp; Z -- here's a thread about shopping suggestions you may find interesting.

Olive oil-we bought some in Castellina en Rada that is the lightest oil I have ever tasted..and we bought 15 year old balsamic vinegar in what looks like a perfume bottle. We might have been able to find the vinegar elsewhere but the$ seemed justified buying it there. There is a linen shop in Siena and one in Montepulciano that both have beautiful goods.

and the pepper jelly from the butcher in Panzano(which you should check out on a Sunday afternoon when he has various goods cooked up for you to sample while sipping wine he also provides. This guy recites Dante as well.

WOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!! I'm gonna be in florence for 3 months next fall and i can't wait!!! I'm salivating with all this talk about shopping! (now i have to save up even more)<BR><BR>Keep em coming!

here were some of my favorites after a month long trip:<BR><BR>I made friends with the most amazing aritist at Il Sigillo (she sells the most amazing etchings, watercolors, high end ceramics) … Borgo degli Albizi 25 <BR>Solo A Firenze/books, frames, gifts … Borgo SS Apostoli 37 Rosso (www. soloafirenze.firenze.net, cookbook)<BR>SIA/which sells housewares… Via Dante Alighieri 18 (near Amex office… )<BR><BR>Siena: there are tons of ceramica shops here but at Arcaico they sold many unique pieces/via di Citta 79 <BR><BR>these are just highlights ... i have tons of other ceramica stores if you're interested.

In addition to all of the above : ) consider buying eyeglasses in Italy! I chose designer frames that are a lot more fashionable and daring than anything I would have picked back home. I get compliments all the time, and every day it's a reminder of my trip. I had brought my prescription with me and they made up the lenses there, but you could always just buy the frames. And the price was a lot better than in the US!