What can I bring home?

I believe that you can bring home three bottles of wine each. Olive oil is great, especially if you can get it in the metal rectangle containers. Those work really well for packing. You should really be fine (weight limit aside) with anything but fresh produce and meat. I always like to bring home scarves and inexpensive, but beautifully wrapped soaps. Nesti Dante is my favorite. Also, there is a wine shop in Montalcino that will ship wine by the case home to you with no shipping or customs charges. In most cases though you will need to pay customs if you ship home by the case.

Have a great trip!

By all means use a metal can for the olive oil. Olive oil bottles are much thinner than wine bottles. I found that out a number of years ago when I brought back 3 excellent bottles of Italian wine and a bottle of olive oil. When I got home and opened the suitcase, the wine was fine, but.....

You cannot bring back any unprocessed foods - fresh fruit, vegetables, meats, nuts, etc. If in a sealed package fine. You can bring back as much wine as your like. First two bottles are duty free, after that - in theory - a duty is suppose to be collected at customs. However, it is a reasonable amount - five or six bottles - customs is not interested in collecting a couple of bucks of duty. They will wave you through but be absolutely sure to declare everything.

Since you can no longer bring back wine in your carry-on due to the 3-1-1 rules, you have to check it. If you know you will be bringing back wine, take with you the necessary supplies to protect it in checked luggage (wine stores sell "shields" designed for this, or others use bubble wrap).

I brought back a wedge of hard Asiago cheese. I wish I brought back more. The Asiago cheese at Trader Joe's is made in the US.

mslot2
You recognize that, just like in the States, you have to check your bag with anything liquid or gel. So the hassle is packing bottles, jars & cans so they don't get broken in baggage handling. Your call as to whether that is too much trouble.

Look at the US Customs website for the complete list of what you can and cannot bring back. I believe one liter of alcohol ( a bottle of wine is usually .75 liters) is allowed per person without duty. But you can bring back more if you declare and you might have to pay duty. No big deal if you do.

Shipping alcohol home is subject to various state rules that you should research for your home state.

How thoughtful that you are in thinking about gifts!

I agree that scarves make wonderful gifts, as do unlined leather gloves. I also like to get beautiful stationery at some of the paper stores. The recipients have loved it (although no one seems to write letters anymore!).

I wrote a postcard to my elderly mother, every day, on every trip I took to Italy. Before she passed she gave me this beautiful scrapbook with all the postcards I had sent her over the years! It was like reading a journal I had written for her. I missed sending postcards from Rome to her last year. I started sending them to random people in my address book, and I couldn't believe the positive comments I got! Every card I wrote had a note about the postcard scene I chose and then some little comment that made it personal. My favorite one was a postcard of the Spanish Steps. I sent it to a fashion maven friend with the note that I could imagine her floating down the stairs in a glamorous gown!

Have fun on your trip and enjoy sharing your adventures with those dear to you!

We didn't pack an extra bag for souvenirs but we did buy a cheap bag (under 30 euro) at stand in Rome that we used to pack and check the bag for bottles. I did bring 2 wine shields with me for bottle protection. We actually packed 3 wine bottles, a bottle of grappa and a bottle of olive oil into the bag and all 5 made it home.

We didn't buy pesto to bring from while in the CT for that reason of we were unsure if it would pass customs. Maybe you can call the TSA with specific items?

I did buy a small bottle of limoncello since I liked the bottle it was in at FCO airport. It a small size bottle and they put it in a sealed duty free bag. I put that in my carry on and when we changed planed in Washington DC they wouldn't let me pass with that even though it was in a sealed bag. So we split the bottle (smaller then a hand) before going thru security again.

There are so many interesting and quality items for sale as you travel through Italy. Aside from the obvious difficulties with liquids, take into account that bottles and jars are heavy. I don't know where you live, but Italian wines, cheeses, olive oil, etc., are imported to the U.S. I'll bet they are easy to buy - so why not bring back things that aren't available, but will last? In Venice you can find inexpensive carnival masks, pieces of Venetian glass, in Florence you can buy quality leather goods in the markets that won't cost more than a good bottle of wine. These pop into my mind immediately. There are so many more. In fact, you may want to bring an extra bag for your Christmas shopping . . . really special presents and less stress in December.

Food-wise, you cannot bring salamis and other meat products, but cheese is fine. On my customs form, I write "aged Italian cheese." A lighter product that you might buy in the north is dried porcini mushrooms (the label fine print should say porcini, or another strain of mushroom, but others should be cheaper).

You can bring more wine if you can carry it; just remember to declare it to US customs. They may charge a duty based on the price of the extra bottles, but I have it on good authority that many agents don't want to bother with the paperwork. As already mentioned, glass bottles are heavy, which is the reason I have a "no glass bottles" policy in my luggage, except for things I might pick up in duty-free or at the last stop. Another heavy favorite - ceramics; you have to be judicious.

When returning with cheese, the key phrase is "hard cheese".
https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/82/~/travelers-bringing-food-into-the-u.s.-for-personal-use

On a separate note, take care with duty-free liquids purchased from the departure airport if your are on a connecting flight after your US entry. If I recall correctly luggage is re-inspected between exiting customs at SEA and boarding your domestic connection.

Try to buy your wine and olive oil directly from the producer, who will usually have a way to ship to you. It is not cheap, but it is convenient. You will be able to buy products that are not available, generally, in the U.S. Don;t so this to save money; Do it for the memory and sharing experiences with your loved ones.

Where in Italy will you be? Maybe we can give you some ideas on good places to buy.

Thank you all so much for your advise and suggestions!
Laurel, we are staying 2 nights in Varenna (Lake Como), 2 in Venice,6 in San Gimignano (renting car here,and plan to visit, Volterra,Lucca,Pisa,Siena,Montalcino and Montepulciano!), one in Florence, 2 in Rome,4 in Cinque Terre and our last night in Milan to fly home. Any ideas or place to buy would be most helpful! I know some of these regions produce wine specific to their area. In Cinque Terre, our host has his own vineyard and gives each guest a complimentary bottle of his wine. I just thought it would be fun and a neat idea to share our "wine tasting" experience with our friends and family when we return home, and to be able to give gifts of olive oil and pesto for Christmas presents!

Bring back a tiny bottle of olive oil, to comfort you when you miss Italy.

Your best opportunity for shipping wine and oil will be from Montalcino and Montepulciano. As someone mentioned, there is an enoteca (Enoteca di Piazza) just below Piazza Garibaldi in Montalcino where they offer tastings of about 100 wines and often offer specials where shipping is only an arm, not an arm and a leg.

Many independent producers also ship. We visited a tiny one outside of Montalcino the other day, Ventolaio . Very good prices, especially for the Rosso di Montalcino, and wonderful oil! Call ahead for a tasting, graciously offered "on demand." Be cautious of picking up a three-pack of who-knows-what sitting outside the door of one of the wine sellers in the town. The 3-for price is a come-on and not likely to represent the best selections. Go in and sample!

I have not purchased in Montepulciano as yet, but the streets are paved with wine merchants there, too.

things I have brought back: Modena balsamic vinegar and tablecloths, silk ties and leather wallets for the guys in my family, scarfs and small leather purses for the women in my family. Lots of varied soaps, lotion and perfume from Santa Maria Novella (the store in Lucca) and glass bead bracelets from Venice.

Think light! I brought back lemon soap from Sorrento. Leather goods like gloves, belts, wallets, credit card holders or a handbag! My daughter bought a pashmina for 8 euros and it's so light! Pretty prints of the sights would be a good gift too.

another idea I noticed in Venice but I bet is in other locations......hand marbled paper used as covers for journals, or small bits as bookmarks.......an easy thing to bring back that will not break.....and will wait until Christmas.....

I brought back scented soap in fragrance combinations I had not seen in the States, angels made of Florentine paper and some magnets from the art museums. I also browsed thru Coin - a lovely department store- in their houseware department picked up sa measure for pasta and almost bought some tiny pasta pans. It was fun to see what was different and what was the same -CarolLee jewelry for one.

If you have a smartphone, you could download the Vivino app which takes photos of wine labels that you like. That way you can find them once you are home, or contact their US distributor and either find out where it is sold, or have it shipped from them. This is what I plan to do next month on my trip. No worries about customs, weight, breakage, etc. BTW, the photo function of the Vivino app will work in airplane mode, then match your label with info once you are back online, so you're not racking up roaming/data charges.

Enjoy your trip!

I try to bring back lightweight, uniquely Italian things. I skip the Olive oil and wine because you can buy it here. Total Wine has an excellent variety of imported wines under the Alfio Moriconi label. I actually had the pleasure of meeting this lovely Italian man!

In Venice: Light weight earrings made from Venetian Glass. I LOVE mine, and have been wearing them for ten years.
Pinnocchio Marionettes for the grandkids. (Make sure they're made in Italy)

In Florence: San Lorenzo Leather Market: Leather gloves -- you can even buy purple if you want! Embossed
leather waste baskets that are purchased folded flat that you 'open up' when you get home.
My friends all loved them and put them in their powder rooms!

Beautiful paper, letter openers for the men. Also gloves

In Rome: Campo di Fiori -- dehydrated mushrooms, bruschetta spreads,
Vatican: Rosaries for the Catholic friends, Vatican Postage stamps (It's a Country, separate
from Italy, and some people collect)

It all depends on your recipients of course, but I haven't had any complaints except from my VERY tall son, whose
silk tie wasn't long enough for him, even though I bought it in a "tall" shop and bought the longest one in there!

If you plan to bring back bottles or other breakables you may want to pack some bubble wrap to cushion your souveniers. If you end up not needing it you can just toss it before coming back. I brought back roughly twelve bottles or so my last trip. Just declare everything on your customs form and most likely you won't have any problems or get charged a duty. One thing that I found out was that Kindereggs are illegal to bring back. Kids love those things but didn't want to risk a hassle for something like that.