Picked up a couple of stones in Lovento, Italy, but now wondering if it's even legal to take stones from the beach in Italy to take back to the US?
Forbidden by navigation code (law #222/2007), section 1162, fine starting from eur 1549 to eur 9296. At any rate, it is not in the criminal code.
If I had to smuggle something unlawfully, I would try to do so with a whole prosciutto or salame.
Although my wife always brings back a small container of sand from every beach where we go to (a friend of hers collects sand from beaches from all over the world). That is also illegal.
Absolutely forbidden to remove them from a beach. Security will find them and take them from you.