Italy Roundtable: 8 of My Favorite Italy Gifts

The Italy Blogging Roundtable was a group of us Italy bloggers who each wrote on the same theme, and this time the theme was GIFTS. I've already put together a long list of Italy gift ideas as well as some places to go gift shopping in Italy, so here I wanted to highlight my very favorite Italy gift items. These are almost all things I've bought for myself, and in some cases begged Italian friends to send to me (yes, really).

You can get some of them outside Italy, but often the product you buy at home differs from the one sold in Italy. The other reason to shop for these when you're actually there is that many of them require hunting. You'll need to browse the aisles of an Italian grocery store, an outdoor market, and maybe even an Italian hardware store, and those quests almost always make for great travel stories.
>> Learn more about shopping in Italy

8 Extremely Italian Gifts You Might Not Otherwise Think to Buy

Bialetti-Style Moka Pot

I'm starting with coffee, just as I start every morning, and I make mine in a 3-cup Bialetti moka pot. The "3" refers to espresso-size cups, so a 3-cup pot gives you roughly half an American mug of coffee (perfect for me: I fill the rest of the cup with hot milk). Most Italians get their morning coffee at a bar on the way to work, but the coffee maker they have at home is far more likely to be a moka pot (or several) than an espresso machine. In Italy you'll find cheap knock-offs in grocery stores and outdoor markets. They're adorable, especially the 1-cup size, but not as well made. If the person you're buying for will use it every day, get the sturdier Bialetti.
>> Here's the 3-cup Bialetti Moka Express on Amazon

Pocket Coffee

The name "Pocket Coffee" is enough to get any coffee lover's attention, and the candies are a treat you can quickly become addicted to: chocolate shells with a shot of liquid espresso inside. Because they melt in Italy's hot summers, they're only on store shelves in the cooler months, which means visitors who only come in summer have often never seen them. If you're in Italy when it isn't hot, swing into a grocery store or tabaccheria and look for Pocket Coffee with the candies.
>> You can also find Pocket Coffee on Amazon

Dosacaffè

Yep, more coffee stuff. This gadget goes with the moka pot you're buying for the lucky coffee addict on your list. It's a canister that keeps ground coffee away from the air and doubles as a dispenser, so you don't spill grounds all over the counter when you fill the pot. It's a genius little device. I found mine in a closet-sized casalinghi (housewares) shop in Milan, one of those places that sells everything from light bulbs to brooms. You may have to hunt for this one, and that's half the fun.
>> A search on Amazon sometimes turns one up, but an Italian housewares shop is your best bet

Canned Tuna

No, I'm not kidding. The tuna packed in olive oil on Italian store shelves is phenomenal. You don't know what you're missing until you try it. Crack open a can and dig in, and bring home plenty for yourself as well as for everyone else. Because it's packed in oil, security treats it as a liquid, so put it in your checked bag or ship it.
>> It's much cheaper in Italy, but you can get imported Italian tuna in olive oil on Amazon

Nutella

When I first started traveling in Europe, Nutella was almost impossible to find in the US. Now it's everywhere, and yet it isn't: the jars on American shelves aren't made in Italy, and the Italian-made stuff really does taste different to me. As a bonus, in Italy you can buy Nutella in small glass jars that double as drinking glasses once they're empty. I have a pair of Pink Panther (Pantera Rosa, as they say) glasses in my own cupboard.
>> Look for imported Italian Nutella on Amazon

Eyeglass Frames

Even people who aren't fashionistas often feel compelled to buy some piece of clothing in Italy, the land of the unfailingly well-dressed. One thing you might not think to bring home is a pair of glasses. Don't worry about the prescription: buy the frames you love and have your lenses put in at home. Italians have incredible flair even with their glasses (look around any Italian crowd and you'll see what I mean), and the small independent opticians have frames you won't find outside Italy.
>> You can find Italian designer frames at home, but they're not cheap, and the lesser-known labels are hard to find outside Italy, so buy these while you're there

Comic Books

This one is for the language learners. Stop by almost any newsstand (edicola) in Italy and you'll find a display of Italian comic books, from Topolino (Mickey Mouse, a weekly institution) to Dylan Dog and Tex. For someone learning Italian, they're a fun, visual way to test your reading. The language isn't "Dick and Jane" easy, but the pictures help you follow the context and pick up slang. Another language-learning gift I like is a board game in Italian, such as the Italian edition of Scrabble (yes, the letter tiles are different!).
>> These are surprisingly hard to find outside Italy, so put them on your list for your trip. For more ways to practice, see learning Italian with podcasts and apps

Florentine Paper

If you're in Florence, find a stationery shop and see the range of things made with the city's beautiful printed and marbled paper. The ornate, colorful designs are hard to resist, but who writes letters on paper anymore? That's why it's worth going into a shop to see what they use it for. I've brought home picture frames and journals covered in Florentine paper, so I get to enjoy it on things I actually use. Florentine paper gift bags are also a lovely way to wrap all the other goodies.
>> There are plenty of Florentine paper products on Amazon, including journals, wrapping paper and stationery

Other Voices from the Italy Blogging Roundtable

Other bloggers wrote about what GIFTS meant to them too. These posts are still online:

• At Home in Tuscany: The Gifts of Life
• Bell'Avventura wrote about the many gifts (mostly food!) she gets from her neighbors in Positano.
• Sometimes the best gifts are unexpected discoveries on church floors, as A Sense of Place found out in Rome.
• Le Marche Photo Blog posted an image of the region's "forgotten fruit".

What's your favorite totally Italian thing to bring home from Italy?

photos: Mokapots by Maggie Hoffman, canned tuna by Like_the_Grand_Canyon, Nutella jars by mueritz (annotated by me), edicola by Luigi Rosa