Are you planning a trip to the Apennine Peninsula? We tell you what to bring from Italy. How much are popular souvenirs and gifts. Tips on how to choose and where to buy cheaper.
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Pinocchio doll
Sunny Italy is considered the birthplace of the puppet theater. If you do not know what to bring from Italy as a gift for children, buy a funny figurine of Pinocchio. The stores have tablet, glove dolls and funny puppets made of different materials.
Price... Toys cost from 2 €.
Advice... Any resort sells dolls in national costumes. Different regions of Italy have their own puppet heroes. In Naples, the character of the Italian comedy Pulcinella is popular, and in Sicily, the puppets Pupi.
Porcelain
What to bring from Rome? Italians are skilled craftsmen. In Rome, it is easy to find beautiful porcelain items - plates, vases, tea sets and whole sets. Tourists love figurines that copy the famous monuments of the eternal city.
Prices... Porcelain items start at 3 €.
Advice... Do you want to have an original thing in your house? Check out any of the designer glassware stores. It is made and painted by hand, so it is not cheap.
Olive oil
Italian olive oil is renowned for its amazing quality. It is used in cooking and home cosmetics. Take extra virgin oil Olio extravergine... In order not to risk with glass bottles, buy oil, packaged in cans.
Price... 1 liter costs 4-5 €.
Advice... Inexpensive oil of excellent taste is sold on farms located in the suburbs of Italian resorts.
Chocolate
What can you bring sweet tooth from Italy? Italians produce excellent chocolate. Chocolates are popular with tourists Modica, Venchi, Perugina, Amedei tuscany and Ferrero... Take bars, bars, truffles and chocolate sets. There is never too much of a sweet life!
Price... Chocolate bars cost 1-3 €.
Advice... Surprise your loved one with Perugina Baci chocolates. Each of them is wrapped in a candy wrapper, on which are written statements about the love of Italian philosophers and poets.
Balsamic vinegar
If Italian food is your thing, bring home a bottle of balsamic vinegar. With it, you can cook as delicious as the Italians themselves. The cost depends on the ripening period - from 1 to 100 years. Label Extra Old indicates that the vinegar has been aged in oak barrels for at least 25 years.
Price... Famous chefs enjoy a bite for 80 €. Italian housewives and tourists buy bottles in supermarkets for 4 €.
Advice... What to bring from Italy for a woman who loves to cook? Grab quality balsamic vinegar from the ancient city of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region. The miracle product is called Aceto Balsamico di Modena and costs 10 € for a 0.25 liter bottle. It has a dark brown color, a pronounced grape aroma and a pleasant tart taste.
Paste
Thinking of what to bring as a souvenir of your trip to Italy? An excellent choice is the famous Italian pasta. More than 300 types of dry pasta are made in the country from durum wheat - semola di grana duro. This is best because it has a long shelf life. Italians prefer brands Barilla and De cecco.
Price... A package weighing 0.5 kg costs 0.4-1 €.
Advice... Pasta from Italy is sold in Russian supermarkets, so look for original types that we do not have. Use colored pastes with cuttlefish ink, beetroot juice, tomatoes and spinach.
Cheese
Real gourmets know what products to bring from Italy. Italian cheeses are the tastiest and most exquisite delicacy you can think of. What cheeses to take? Feel free to buy sheep cheese - pecorino. Take home mozzarella especially Mozzarella di bufala.
An excellent choice is parmesan. The product of Northern Italy has special qualities. It ripens from one to three years, contains little fat and a lot of lactose. Connoisseurs love Gorgonzola, a blue cheese with a special quality seal. It ripens in cylindrical forms weighing 6-13 kg.
Price... 1 kg of cheese costs 7-20 €.
Advice... Buy sealed packs with a maximum shelf life so the cheese doesn't spoil on the way home.
Wine
What to bring from Italy for a connoisseur of elite drinks? Of course, real Italian wine! It never tastes bad! When choosing, be guided by the region where you are resting and your own preferences. Keep in mind that there are wines on sale in different packaging - 0.25 l, 0.5 l, 0.75 l, 1 l, 2 l and 3 l.
Prices... A bottle of 0.75 l of table wine - Vino da tavola - will cost 2-4 €. Elite varieties of wine cost 15-50 €. There is no upper price limit.
Advice... Wine farms in Italy sell wines cheaper than in shops in cities and resorts.
Liqueur "Limoncello"
The popular liqueur made from lemon zest, sugar and alcohol is drunk as an aperitif and added to various cocktails. Italians are convinced that Limoncello promotes proper digestion.
Rates... 0.7L bottles cost 8-22 €.
Advice... Wondering what to bring from Italy as a gift to friends and colleagues? Take the tiny 20-50 ml Limoncello bottles, which sell here for € 2.
What else can you bring from Italy
- Olive oil cosmetics - 3 €.
- Venetian carnival masks - from 10 €.
- Murano glass products - from 15 €.
- Copies of the statue of David - from 1 €.
- Florentine paper products - from 3 €.
- Pearl baubles from Bologna - 5-10 €.
- Italian sausages, 1 kg - € 9-20.
- Lavazza coffee, 250 g - 2.5 €.
- Pesto sauce - 3 €.
- Vermouth Martini and Cinzano, 1 liter bottle - from 7 €.
- Attributes of Italian football teams - from 2 €.
- Automotive souvenirs - from 1 €.
- Religious souvenirs - 1-5 €.
- Lava crafts - 2-10 €.
What cannot be exported from Italy
There are no prohibitions on the amount of goods exported from the country. Only works of art, archaeological values and objects over 100 years old cannot be taken out of Italy. If such are in your luggage, then you will need a permit, which is issued by the Ministry of Fine Arts of the country.
There are restrictions on the import of goods from Italy to Russia. It is allowed to import duty-free up to 3 liters of alcohol and up to 5 kg of animal products - cheeses and meat delicacies. You will have to pay extra for more volume and weight.
Travel Tips
- When buying souvenirs, ask the seller to fill out the Tax Free Form and keep your receipt. At the airport, you can get up to 15% of the money spent back.
- Consider the packaging of fragile and fragile souvenirs so that they can withstand the return trip home. Wrap glass bottles with olive oil in bubble wrap. Transport Venetian masks and ceramics in boxes.
- It is profitable to buy pasta, sauces, cheeses and other food products in supermarkets. There are regular promotions and discounts.
- To avoid counterfeiting, purchase alcohol only in specialized stores.. Here you can not only buy a drink, but also taste it.
- When choosing a wine, pay attention to the labeling. Semi-dry wine is denoted by the word Abboccato, dry - Secco, semi-sweet - Amablie, and sweet - Dolce.
- When transporting, try to comply with the temperature regime. In the heat, wine, cheeses and meat products deteriorate quickly.
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