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Italy Roundtable: The Guide to Crafts in Italy (That You Really Need Before You Go Shopping)

· Updated · BootsnAll

This month, the Italy Blogging Roundtable topic is CRAFT. Naturally, that has me thinking about shopping in Italy.
Italy is the kind of country that can turn even die-hard anti-shoppers into crazy people on a spending spree. There’s just so much shiny, pretty, sleek, historic, fashionable, artistic (etc etc, ad nauseum) stuff around, it’s hard to stay immune to the allure of bringing home a little bit of Italy with you.
You can, of course, pick up a knock-off Gucci bag from a sidewalk vendor (risking a fine of 100 to 7,000 euros in the process), or a T-shirt bedazzled with the word VENICE, or even a snow-globe featuring the Pope. To get to the real heart of Italian craft, however, you’ll need to step away from the tchotchke stands and be prepared to spend more than a few euro.
You may also need a guide. Good thing there’s already a fantabulous book that serves this very purpose.
Made in Italy by Laura Morelli serves double-duty, as an excellent compendium of the artisan crafts around Italy as well as a resource for anyone actually shopping their way through the country. Morelli has broken Italy down by region, listing the various specialties shoppers should be looking for along with the cities or towns in which they can best be found. She includes information on why each item is notable and therefore worth buying, giving the shopper a bit more confidence before going into a market or antique shop. She lists price points for everything so you know what to expect. There are even listings at the end of each regional chapter with Morelli’s favorite places to shop.
Basically, if you’re planning to buy more than postcards and souvenirs you’d be very smart to pick up a copy of this book.
I reviewed the 2008 second edition, and a newer edition came out in 2019. Shop listings and price points go stale fastest in any shopping guide, so check those against what you find on the ground. The basic information on what to look for where is pretty timeless.
Laura Morelli’s book means that you’ll have all the background you need to bring home a spectacular piece of Deruta ceramics, a 25-year-old bottle of aceto balsamico from Modena, a handmade Sardinian basket, a Sicilian marionette, or - heck - a Venetian gondola, if you like - and a well-informed, fantastic story to go along with it.
>> Buy a copy of Made in Italy by Laura Morelli on Amazon

Other Voices from the Italy Blogging Roundtable

What did the other members of the Italy Blogging Roundtable have to say about CRAFTS in Italy? Find out by clicking on their links below.

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