inexpensive gifts to bring home

a picture of that special coffee and a pastry you had in their honour in each of those wonderful areas. You even frame each picture with empty Baci chocolate wrappers that you had for each of them too! An empty shot glass from each place and those small bottles or limoncello ...real teasers that you will find all over Sorrento. A framed picture of you in all those places. They may think twice about covering for you the next time though....Good luck

I bought back from Venice Murano Glass Pendants. They were on Black or brown rope chain. I saw them in many stores. I shopped about 3 or 4 for the best prices. I did see them in other cities we visited (ex. Rome) but I waited until I got to Venice and the prices were better in Venice. Everyone loved them, and they did not take up much room in the suitcase. It was great because Venice was our last stop, so I didn't have to lug presents around during the trip. Someone had suggested looking for them before I had left on our trip. For my niece I bought a Venetian Murano Glass watch - which a little bit more money. For 2 men there were nice Italian silk ties I bought near St. Mark's square.

Thanks for the suggestions. Can't wait to eat Baci chocolate. Wonder if any would make it back home. Venice is our last stop, too, so I'll check out those pendants. Thanks.

Don't make the same mistake we did. We bought a bunch of garden and vegetable seeds to give. They were all confiscated when we re-entered the US, even though they were all professionally packaged seed packets.

We bought the most wonderful pesto in the Cinque Terre-I think we found the best selection in Monterosso. Look for scarves and paper goods in Florence-lots of inexpensive but nice scarves at the San Lorenzo Market. Venice has lots of glass items that are not expensive. A necklace that I found in a tabac shop for 28 E is one of my favorite finds. Be sure to treat yourself to some things.

I also brought back the Murano glass pendants from Venice, very well received. In several gift shops that carried both souvenirs and a little pottery, I found olive oil bottle pourers made with painted ceramic neck and a carved wood olive as the stopper. Silk scarves from Bellagio were reasonable and beautifully packaged in their own decorative cardboard sleeve. I also gave most of these gifts away and am kicking myself for not buying more (for me). Good excuse to return to La Bella Italia!

In addition to these already great suggestions, I'd like to add that in Sorrento we found lemon, orange, and olive bar soap to be quite popular. They were sold individually or as a gift set of all three, and I don't remember them being all that expensive.

A friend brought me a lovely lemon soap from Capri (the shop is Carthusia), and I brought back chocolate eggs from Gilli in Florence[INVALID] the windows were too gorgeous to pass up!

So, bringing back pesto and chocolate is not a customs problem?

I've brought back pesto in a sealed jar and plenty of chocolate. Word of warning, though: if you're traveling anywhere warm and your baggage might sit on a cart in the hot Florida sun, waiting for other baggage to get unloaded, before it gets to the baggage claim area, your chocolate will be a lumpy mess. Sad.

Pesto sealed in a jar should be fine, although you can't bring it in a carry-on. I like to bring back dried porcini mushrooms for the good cooks on my list. They are on sale in 2- or 3-oz cellophane bags in many markets.

Thanks again, everyone. I like the idea of the soaps, too.

In Venice there are any number of small glass items, pendants were mentioned, rings, paperweights all are neat and travel well. Scarves were mentioned and we found those nice gifts, and we always bring back some food items for others ranging from Pesto, to Olive Oil, Balsamic Vinegar, candy, and wine. If liquids might be a problem, we also like to shop smaller stores and supermarkets for good pasta, usually only a few euro per package, but so many more shapes and styles that all taste great. Food items for the most part are not an issue to bring back, just stay away from any meat, fresh produce, and as someone mentioned, seeds and plants. Depending on your religious affiliation, we have also purchased rosaries and other small items at the Vatican, or just fill a small bottle with holy water. (This appealed more to some elderly Catholic Aunts I had)

Susan, I brought back a number of items, some of which took up space & weight but I insisted. The weighty items for myself were olive oil, wine and cheese. For my friends in the office, I brought back little notecards/place setting cards from Il Papiro, a favorite shop of mine in Florence. I also brought back scarves from Sienna and little jars of pesto and anchovies from the Cinque Terre, as well as homemade soaps. Everyone loved their gifts. Happy travels.

I'll definitely check out the notecards in Florence. Great idea. Thanks again, everyone.

Great ideas here. I like to bring small bottles of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, lemoncello.

In the Cinque Terre (specifically Monterosso), we bought little bottles of melon (cantaloupe I think) & strawberry liquor to give as gifts. We wrapped them in our socks so they wouldn't break. Everyone loved them. I also purchased some really cheap glass necklaces (supposedly Murano but I doubt they were the real thing based on the price) but my mother-in-law loved them. I bought them at the market in Campo de Fiori in Rome. I now see them popping up in the U.S. in various retail stores.

My friends loved the scarves I brought back as gifts. They have a wide variety of gorgeous colors and you and your friends living in Chicago, I'm sure scarves are a popular item to wear in the winter. Most vendors were willing to make deals and we purchased several. Ties are great for the men and paperweights too. Enjoy [INVALID]- I'd love to go back to the markets myself, maybe one day I'll return.

My friends loved the scarves I brought back as gifts. They have a wide variety of gorgeous colors and you and your friends living in Chicago, I'm sure scarves are a popular item to wear in the winter. Most vendors were willing to make deals and we purchased several. Ties are great for the men and paperweights too. Enjoy [INVALID]- I'd love to go back to the markets myself, maybe one day I'll return.

The $5 (10,000 lira back in the day) neckties I purchased in Florence and Sorrento at outdoor markets look just as good and have held up better (worn out less often) than fancy ties I've purchased in the USA for ten times the price.

My wife likes to bring back silk scarfs. If you buy a number of them you can usually get a much better price.The persons who received the scarfs loved them.

Forgot to mention that the scarves from Sienna were the logos of the winning teams of the prior year's Palio race (turtle and owl). It is nice for you to tell the story of the Palio when giving the scarf-makes it more of an experience I think.

I always bring back the BEST herbs from Campo de Fiori's Farmers' Market (easy to find the stand) and luscious sun-dried tomatoes from Sorrento/Naples. I've never had problems bringing them back, they're easy to pack and they help bring back the taste of Italy. I did error once returning from France by putting my Lavender in the same suitcase (but way apart) with my chocolate. I didn't enjoy of lavender flavored chocolates.

I second the Baci! Awesome stuff. At the Vatican in Rome I bought a couple of rosaries made from rose petals for myself and a friend. Though I'm not Catholic, I thought the rosary was a nice souvenir from the Vatican (I would have liked a rosary made of Murano glass but those were very expensive). .... (And you can keep prepackaged solid foods in your carry-on bag, to avoid any instances of melting!)

We did soaps as well, it was a nice gift and they come in all different denominations....singles, 8 packs, all sorts

All along Sorrento and the Amalfi coast are some great lemon scented soaps, they were a big hit with co-workers for us. The other plus is that when you get home, all you dirty clothes smell lemony instead of just dirty. Small local candy can be a good thing too.

Those inlaid wood pictures are special in Sorrento. I want to buy one next trip. Small ones are not very expensive or heavy.

Small ceramic pieces: tiles, dishes, pitchers can be found almost everywhere in Italy. Most shops will bubblewrap them for you. As others suggested, small bottles of limoncello or melone, olive oil, pasta shapes not found here. One thing I found this past spring in the Sorrento/Amalfi region was dried packaged pasta sauce bases-lightweight/easy to pack. I got about 6 different ones. Also in Sorrento, anything lemon: hard candy, chocolate. Small intarsia boxes nice but a bit more $$. Fridge magnets/keychains with a "typical" design. I'd forget the Baci-you can get it here & it's not that much cheaper there either. Check out local food stores away from tourist areas for unusual items you can't get here. Have fun.

Thanks again, everyone for your suggestions. It is been fun reading all your replies. Now I can't wait to be there and see all these things for myself.

In Venice, for inexpensive yet original gifts, I recommend buying hand-printed notecards, bookmarks from one of the local craftsman. For a very reasonable price, you can buy a gift that was handmade in Venice, from a century's old Venician tradition, by a local artist. I loved Paolo Olbi at San Marco, 3653 on Calle della Mandola, not far from San Marco's Square. Some of the designs were byzantine, also the St. marks lion, etc. He also features hand-pressed leather, Paolo runs the shop so you can also talk to him about his craft. Paper products don't take up a lot of room in your suitcase and they certainly don't weigh much! enjoy!

Soaps and glass murano style pendants.

My super cheap, kinda neat souvenir was one of those multi-use folding plastic bags from a grocery store! It's 2' x 1' and 16" tall with strong handles. One side has a huge picture of San Gimignano in winter, the other side has four smaller pic.s of Italian scenery. Cost me something like 2.5 euros. And it really does carry groceries too.

From Florence - leather bookmarks, available in many colors and patterns from the outdoor markets and very reasonably priced.

Pam's suggestion is excellent. You can also find handmade paper items in Florence. After my previous posting I remembered some bookmarks I got in Venice. Made of lace, altho' I doubt real Venetian lace at EU5 each, but with a Venetian scene, such as the Campanile, woven in, or flowers, cats. If it's still there, since I have not been in V for 2 years, there is a lace shop on the San Marco side of the Rialto Bridge, at the corner on the left before the stairs.

Thanks so much, everyone. We leave in a week.