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Italy Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Italophile

· Updated · BootsnAll

This is my Italy gift guide: things the Italophile in your life would love to unwrap, or things to put on your own wish list. It’s organized by category, so jump to what you need:

A note on the links: the product links go to Amazon searches rather than single listings, because editions, sizes and sellers change all the time. Check the seller before you buy food or anything that claims to be “authentic.” Happy shopping, Italophiles!

Food and Kitchen

Any true Italophile likes Italian food, even if they don’t cook it. Here are edibles and kitchen tools that make any kitchen a little more Italian.

  • Nutella: Who doesn’t love this chocolate hazelnut spread? It’s made by Ferrero, an Italian company from Alba in Piedmont, and it has its own holiday, World Nutella Day, every 5 February. A big jar of Nutella is the easiest crowd-pleaser on this list.
  • illy coffee: Everyone has a favorite coffee, and for a lot of Italians it’s illy coffee, from Trieste. It’s my favorite too. Buy the moka grind if you’re pairing it with the Bialetti below. The tins are reusable: ours holds loose change, and I’ve known people to bake small loaves of bread in them to give away.
  • Bialetti Moka Express: You don’t need an expensive espresso machine to make good Italian coffee at home. Nearly every Italian kitchen has a Bialetti Moka Express, often in more than one size (there were two in my house). Note that a “3-cup” pot means three espresso cups, not three American mugs. The 1-cup is adorable. Read my Italian coffee guide for what to make with it, and what to order in Italy.
  • Espresso cups: Once the kitchen has the right coffee and pot, you can’t drink out of beat-up mugs. A espresso cup set with saucers with saucers (and tiny spoons, if you’re lucky) finishes the job. There are endless shapes and designs to collect. Just don’t let the kids mistake them for a tea party set.
  • Marocchino cups: My friend Sara introduced me to the marocchino, espresso with milk foam and cocoa, served in a small glass, and it became my favorite Italian coffee drink. You can make it at home in any cup, but a set of small marocchino glasses makes it feel like a real Italian bar.
  • Pocket Coffee: Another one I owe to Sara: a shot of liquid espresso inside a dark chocolate shell, made by Ferrero. It’s seasonal, only in the shops from about November to April because it would melt in the Italian summer, so it’s a perfect winter-holiday gift. Look for Pocket Coffee online when it’s in season.
  • Traditional balsamic vinegar: Not all balsamic is created equal. The real thing, aceto balsamico tradizionale, comes from Modena and from nearby Reggio Emilia, each with its own protected name (DOP) and its own official bottle shape used by every producer. It’s aged at least 12 years, costs accordingly, and is used by the drop. For everyday cooking, “Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP” is the affordable version. Start with a small bottle of aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena DOP; even the 12-year stuff is mind-blowing.
  • Olive oil: For an Italy lover, only Italian extra virgin olive oil will do. Not the oil for the bottom of the frying pan, but the stuff you drizzle over salads, soup, pasta, pizza, everything. Look for a DOP label and a recent harvest date on the bottle. It costs more, and you’ll love every peppery drop.
  • Limoncello: There’s still time to make your own homemade limoncello, the sweet lemon liqueur from southern Italy, and bottle it up as gifts. If you can’t be bothered, buy a bottle at your local liquor store (the homemade stuff is better) and dress it up with a set of ceramic limoncello glasses, or a limoncello set with bottle and cups.
  • Gelato maker: I don’t mean you invite me over to make gelato. I mean an ice cream machine so they can make their own. The affordable kind uses a bowl you freeze overnight, like the Cuisinart gelato maker; buy a spare freezer bowl and one is always ready. If you want to go all-out, a machine with a built-in compressor, like the Italian-made Lello Musso gelato machine, churns batch after batch with no waiting.
  • Italian wine: A good bottle of Italian wine is never unwelcome. There are hundreds of grapes and prices to choose from, so make friends with a good wine merchant, and ask about tastings so you can try before you buy. For the wine nerd, the classic reference is Vino Italiano by Joseph Bastianich and David Lynch.
  • Perugina Baci: Perugia is home to Perugina and to Eurochocolate, one of Europe’s biggest chocolate festivals (in November; 13 to 22 November in 2026). A box of Perugina Baci is an affordable taste of Italy: chocolate and hazelnut with a whole hazelnut on top, and a little love note wrapped around each one. “Baci” means “kisses,” so think of it as the Italian Hershey’s Kiss, only much better.
  • Parmigiano Reggiano: A whole wheel is a bit much (and expensive), but a big wedge of Parmigiano Reggiano is a great gift. You’ll know it’s the real thing by the name stamped in dots on the rind. Outside the EU, “parmesan” can be anything; Parmigiano Reggiano can’t.
  • Tuna in olive oil: This one sounds strange, but hear me out. Italophile friends swear that good Italian tuna in olive oil, sold in jars and tins, is nothing like the supermarket stuff. It’s a pantry staple in Italy, and it turns a plain salad or plate of pasta into dinner.
  • Italian cookbooks: Help your resident Italophile in the kitchen with a cookbook that sticks to authentic recipes. A favorite in my house was Jamie’s Italy by Jamie Oliver. The one I’d give a serious cook is Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. For desserts, Gina DePalma’s Dolce Italiano is a must-have.
  • An Italian cooking class: Instead of another thing, give them an experience: a cooking class, near home or booked for their next trip. Many towns in Italy have them, often in someone’s kitchen, and a class is the best souvenir I know.

Travel

When your Italophile is planning an Italy trip, gift-giving is easy. Researching a trip is the second-best thing to taking one.

  • Italy guidebooks: Start the planning on the right foot. I’m a fan of Rick Steves Italy and Lonely Planet Italy, and I tend to buy both, which is overkill. Lonely Planet has more history (good pre-trip reading); Rick Steves is lighter and more opinionated. Both are updated regularly, so buy the newest edition.
  • Audio guides and apps: Plenty of travelers leave the paper guidebook at home now. The free Rick Steves Audio Europe app has self-guided walks through Rome, Florence and Venice. Or give an app store gift card and let them pick their own maps and walking tours.
  • A travel notebook: I wrote about Moleskine City Notebooks after using them myself: part map, part blank notebook, great for people who’d rather build their own guidebook. Look for the Moleskine City Notebook for Rome, or any good travel journal for writing up the trip.
  • City Secrets: Not a replacement for a full guidebook on a first trip, but a great companion, and a good read even at home: short tips and stories from people who know Italy well. City Secrets: Rome covers the capital, and City Secrets: Florence, Venice & the Towns of Italy covers the rest.
  • Pop-out maps: I’ve said these are my favorite Italy maps. They fold up small and spring open, so you never have to wrestle a giant map on a crowded sidewalk and announce yourself as a tourist. Look for pop-out maps of Italian cities for each city on the itinerary.
  • A menu guide: The Marling Menu-Master for Italy is a compact dictionary of what’s on Italian menus. It doesn’t replace my very favorite menu guide, “The Hungry Traveler: Italy,” which is out of print and missing from this one only for its regional and seasonal lists. If you find a used copy of The Hungry Traveler, buy it.

Books

  • The Dark Heart of Italy: If your Italophile read Under the Tuscan Sun with one eyebrow raised, The Dark Heart of Italy by Tobias Jones should be next. It mixes history and politics with soccer, food, religion and everyday life, and it’s a must-read for anyone thinking of moving to Italy. Despite the gloomy title, Jones clearly loves the place; he’s trying to understand what makes it tick.
  • The Italians: For a newer, broader take, John Hooper’s The Italians explains family, food, faith, politics and bureaucracy with a long-time correspondent’s eye. It’s the book I’d give someone before a first long stay.
  • An Irreverent Curiosity: An Irreverent Curiosity was one of my favorite books of 2010, a detective story with Italian and Catholic history woven through it. The “strange relic” of the subtitle is the holy foreskin of Jesus, and author David Farley spent a year in Calcata, the odd hilltop town that housed it before it went missing. Lost? Stolen? Read it and find out.
  • In Etna’s Shadow: In Etna’s Shadow, by ItalyLogue contributor Karen Landes, is a heartfelt ode to the food and cooking of eastern Sicily, and a good gift for foodies and armchair travelers alike.
  • Italy from Above: Most of us will never hire a helicopter to see the Italian countryside from on high, but Italy from Above shows you what you’re missing. If you’re giving it away, get one for yourself too.
  • Sprezzatura: Italians don’t need help listing the ways their country is fabulous, but Sprezzatura: 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World gives them more ammunition. My friend Michelle calls it one of her favorite books, and it covers the famous inventions and some unknown gems.
  • The Miracle of Castel di Sangro: Combine an Italophile with a sports fan and you need The Miracle of Castel di Sangro by Joe McGinniss, the true story of a tiny Abruzzo town’s soccer team, told with humor and affection. You don’t have to like sports to enjoy it.
  • A Season with Verona: Another soccer book, and a personal favorite. In A Season with Verona, Tim Parks follows his Hellas Verona team around the country for a whole season, sometimes with the rowdy fans, sometimes with the team. It’s as much about Italian fan culture as the game.
  • My Cousin the Saint: Ever wondered what it’s like to have an Italian saint in the family? Justin Catanoso does, and My Cousin the Saint is his search for what that means, back in the family’s Calabrian village.
  • In Tuscany: Don’t let the author fool you: In Tuscany by Frances Mayes is mainly a book of photographs that capture that Tuscan light. There are recipes and essays too, but it’s fine to just look at the pictures. That’s what I do.
  • My Brilliant Friend: Elena Ferrante’s four Neapolitan Novels, starting with My Brilliant Friend, follow two girls from a poor Naples neighborhood through 60 years of Italian life. The boxed set is a gift that will eat their winter.
  • The Europe Book: Not all about Italy, but The Europe Book from Lonely Planet is a lovely coffee table book that might inspire bigger travels than an Italy book alone.

Music

I’m a big fan of Italian music, partly because it helps with the language and partly because some of these artists just stuck with me. Keeping this list current would be a full-time job, so here are the classics, a few pop artists I like, and a nudge to scout new ones on Radio Italia. Most of this streams now, so for the music lover a CD or vinyl copy is the gift that feels like a gift.

  • Sanremo: The Sanremo Music Festival, every February, is Italy’s biggest song contest and a fun way to discover Italian pop. The winner is offered Italy’s place at Eurovision, but Sanremo is a contest in its own right. The 2026 edition was won by Sal Da Vinci with “Per sempre sì.” Look for the Sanremo compilation each spring.
  • Pavarotti: The world lost a great tenor when Pavarotti died in 2007, but his voice lives on. A Pavarotti greatest hits collection is a must-have in any Italian music library.
  • Fabrizio De André: De André has been called the Italian Bob Dylan, a songwriter from decades past whose music and messages still mean a lot to young and old. A Fabrizio De André collection is a great start.
  • Andrea Bocelli: A good middle ground for music lovers who like the idea of opera more than the real thing. Andrea Bocelli: Incanto is still a lovely album.
  • Renato Carosone: One of Carosone’s songs is in The Talented Mr. Ripley, and a Renato Carosone greatest hits collection has that and the rest of his hits. Old-school Italian music at its best.
  • Nek: Italian students agree Nek is great for language learners because he enunciates so clearly, and the melodies are catchy. Start with a Nek best of.
  • Ligabue: For more of a rock sound, you can’t go wrong with Ligabue. His two-part greatest hits, Primo Tempo and Secondo Tempo, are the place to start.
  • Eros Ramazzotti: Hugely popular in Italy, and like many Italian singers he records in Spanish too. His greatest hits collections are an easy gift.
  • Neffa: Part jazz, part pop, part rap, and hard to categorize. I particularly love Alla fine della notte.
  • Giusy Ferreri: She shot to fame on the first Italian X Factor in 2008. Her breakout record was Gaetana.
  • Måneskin: For the younger Italophile: the Roman rock band that won Sanremo and then Eurovision in 2021 and went on to play arenas around the world. Any Måneskin album will do.

Movies and TV

Many of these stream now, which is easiest. If you buy discs, check the region: DVDs from Italy are Region 2 and won’t play on most North American players, so buy the Region 1 or Blu-ray version sold in your country.

  • Cinema Paradiso: Beloved the world over, with good reason. Look for an edition of Cinema Paradiso with both the theatrical version and the director’s cut, which changes the way you see the characters. Watch both.
  • La meglio gioventù: This Italian TV drama was such a hit it went to cinemas. It’s six hours long, but The Best of Youth (that’s what the title means) tells 40 years of Italian history through one family, and it’s worth every minute.
  • Benvenuti al Sud: If you love the Italian south, you’ll love Benvenuti al Sud (“Welcome to the South”), about a Milanese postal worker punished with a posting near Naples. Predictable at times, but heartwarming, and the northern stereotypes about the south are no joke.
  • Il Postino: The story in Il Postino is ultimately a sad one, but the film drips with southern Italian scenery, a sweet love story and Pablo Neruda’s poetry. A classic for any collection.
  • La grande bellezza: Paolo Sorrentino’s portrait of Rome, The Great Beauty, won the Oscar for best foreign language film in 2014. Watch it before a Rome trip.
  • My Brilliant Friend: The HBO and Rai series based on Ferrante’s novels, filmed in Italian (mostly Neapolitan dialect) over four seasons. Pair it with the books above.
  • Under the Tuscan Sun: I thought this movie was a little ridiculous (sometimes a lot ridiculous), but it’s hard to beat the scenery. Even if you don’t buy the romance Under the Tuscan Sun is selling, lose yourself in the backgrounds.
  • My House in Umbria: My House in Umbria was actually filmed in neighboring Tuscany, but never mind. Sit back and enjoy the landscape.
  • Rick Steves’ Italy: Even without a trip planned, Rick Steves’ TV episodes are a fun way to get to know Italy. You can watch them free on his website, or give the Rick Steves Italy DVD sets to someone who likes a shelf copy.
  • Italy Revealed: This Discovery series felt a little forced in places, but the cinematography is gorgeous. Italy Revealed may not tell you anything new about Italy, but it’s eye candy.
  • Francesco’s Italy: Venetian aristocrat Francesco da Mosto is the tour guide you’ve never heard of, and after his BBC series Francesco’s Italy: Top to Toe you’ll want to ride along in his Alfa Romeo. The discs are UK Region 2, so the companion book, Francesco’s Italy, is the easier gift in North America.
  • Inside the Tuscan Hills: Not as polished as Rick Steves, but Inside the Tuscan Hills is a charming tour of the hill towns by the filmmaking couple behind it.

Learning Italian

There are lots of ways to learn a language, and the trick is matching the tool to the person. You know your Italophile best.

  • An Italian textbook: Class or self-study, a good textbook is key. When I taught, I used Italian: A Self-Teaching Guide, and I also liked Italian the Easy Way. Get one with audio so you can hear the pronunciation.
  • An Italian-English dictionary: Whatever else you do, a good Italian-English dictionary is indispensable. I’ve had my Oxford since 2001. Phone apps are handy, but a paper dictionary is still the best way to browse.
  • An Italian phrasebook: For the student headed to Italy, a small phrasebook is a good cheat sheet. My favorite is the Rick Steves Italian Phrase Book: all the traveler basics, some fun phrases, and a mini dictionary in the back.
  • An audio course: For the commuter, an audio course like Living Language Italian teaches by ear, no book required.
  • Software and apps: For the interactive learner with no class nearby, Rosetta Stone Italian or an app subscription (Duolingo and Babbel are the big names) keeps them practicing every day.
  • Streetwise Italian: When they need a break from polite Italian, Streetwise Italian teaches the words their Italian best friends would teach them, the kind that used to get your mouth washed out with soap.
  • Italian word magnets: Remember poetry fridge magnets? You can get a Magnetic Poetry Italian kit and cover the fridge in Italian words. You may discover your inner Italian poet. And not even know it. Okay, I’ll stop.
  • A word-a-day calendar: A daily reminder of the language: pick up next year’s Italian word-a-day calendar and try to work each word into conversation.
  • A language class: If there’s a community college nearby, enroll your Italophile in a non-credit Italian class. Many cities also have a chapter of the Dante Alighieri Society or an Italian Cultural Institute that runs courses. I’ve been both a student and a teacher in classes like these, and they’re fun from both sides.

Miscellaneous

Still haven’t found it? Try one of these.

  • An Italy calendar: Enjoy Italy every day with next year’s Italy wall calendar. There are photo-a-day desk versions, too.
  • An Italian flag: No Italophile’s collection is complete without the tricolore, the Italian flag. Flagpole not included.
  • An Italy tree ornament: Show your Italian pride on the tree with a glass Italian flag ornament. Bonus: the tricolore is already in Christmas colors.
  • An “I’d rather be in Italy” hoodie: When I saw an “I’d rather be in Italy” hoodie I couldn’t resist. I could wear one every day I’m not actually in Italy.
  • Carthusia perfume: Anyone who has been to Capri or the Amalfi Coast has probably seen Carthusia, the perfumery on Capri that makes scents evocative of the island. My favorite is Mediterraneo: lemon-scented summer in a bottle. Buy from Carthusia itself or look for Carthusia Mediterraneo.
  • An Italy key chain: You don’t need a Ferrari to carry a bit of Italy every time you grab your keys. An Italian flag key chain will do.
  • An Italy oval car sticker: I miss the old European oval country stickers, which the license plates have made unnecessary. Bring back a bit of the past with an Italy oval car sticker.
  • An Italian horn pendant: Italians can be a superstitious lot, and many believe a little red horn, the cornicello, brings good luck and wards off the bad. Even if you don’t believe it, why not wear an Italian horn pendant, just in case?
  • Murano glass: Buying Venetian glass outside Venice is risky, because plenty of “Murano” glass isn’t. The real thing carries the Vetro Artistico Murano trademark, created in 1994 to certify glass made on the island. If you’re happy with something pretty and Venetian-style, a Murano glass necklace is a nice choice, but check the certificate before you pay Murano prices.
  • Florentine paper: Florentine paper is gorgeous, all colorful swirls and gold. If you can’t get to Florence, Florentine note cards are a handsome substitute.
  • An Italian soccer jersey: Nothing shows love for a team like its jersey. If your Italophile doesn’t have a team yet, let me recommend mine: an AC Milan shirt from the official Milan store goes with any skin tone. To back the country instead, the Azzurri’s kit has been made by Adidas since 2023. Buy from official stores; the cheap ones online are usually fakes.
  • Ferrari gear: Gearheads appreciate anything with an Italian carmaker’s logo, whether it’s Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo or Fiat, but the one everyone recognizes is Ferrari’s prancing horse. The official Ferrari store has shirts, caps and scale models.
  • An Italian vocabulary shower curtain: A bit of whimsy that’s actually educational: an Italian vocabulary shower curtain. Genius. Though I’m still not sure why you’d need the word for “pineapple” in the shower.

Whew!
I hope something here makes the Italy lover on your list smile. And if your Italophile would rather have a trip than a thing, our Italy travel guides are a good place to start planning one.