What are the best souvenirs to buy in Italy?

Italian souvenirs at a glance

Food is the best value: a wedge of Parmigiano, a bottle of balsamic and a bag of bronze-die pasta cost little and taste like the trip. Glass, masks and lace are where the fakes are.

Crafts: glass, masks, lace, paper and leather

• Murano glass ($ to $$$). Much of the cheap "Murano" glass sold in Venice is imported. The Vetro Artistico Murano mark, a sticker managed by a Murano glassmakers' consortium, identifies glass made on the island by member furnaces. Not every genuine maker uses it, so buying in a Murano furnace's own showroom is the other safe route. Small pieces (beads, a pendant) are affordable; chandeliers are not, and need shipping.

• A Venetian carnival mask ($$ to $$$). A real one is handmade in Venice from cartapesta (papier-mâché), light and a little rough inside, and painted by hand. Many masks on street stalls are made abroad, often of plastic. The best sign is a workshop where you can see masks being made and the seller can tell you who made yours. If you are in town for carnival, see Venice Carnival 2027.

• Burano lace ($$$). Some lace sold in Venice and on Burano is machine-made or imported. Handmade lace takes weeks even for a small piece, so real lace is expensive; a cheap doily is almost certainly not Burano work. Buy from a maker or a shop that names the maker.

• Marbled paper and hand-bound notebooks ($ to $$). Venice's paper shops sell marbled sheets, notebooks and bookplates. Light, flat and easy to pack.

• Leather ($$ to $$$). Bags, belts and wallets from a workshop or an established shop. A designer logo on a street blanket is a fake, and buying it can be costly (see below).

Food and drink worth packing

• Parmigiano Reggiano ($ to $$). A DOP cheese, made in a defined area by defined methods; grana or "parmesan-style" is not the same thing. Ask for a wedge vacuum-packed (sottovuoto). In Bologna, the delis and pasta shops of the Quadrilatero, the old market streets, sell it by weight: see what to eat in Bologna.

• Balsamic vinegar of Modena ($ to $$$). Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP is aged for years and sold in small bottles at a high price. Aceto Balsamico di Modena IGP is the everyday supermarket bottle, and a perfectly good souvenir at a fraction of the cost. Modena is a short train ride from Bologna; see day trips from Bologna.

• Bronze-die pasta ($). Look for trafilata al bronzo on the bag: the rough surface holds sauce. Dried pasta weighs little for what it is and survives any suitcase.

• Olive oil ($ to $$). Buy a mid-range bottle for cooking and one small bottle from a named estate. Tins travel better than glass.

• Valpolicella and Amarone ($$ to $$$). The hills north-west of Verona make Valpolicella, Ripasso and Amarone. Verona's wine shops and the cellars themselves sell them; day trips from Verona covers visiting the cellars.

• Pandoro ($). The tall, star-shaped Christmas cake, first patented by the Verona baker Domenico Melegatti in 1894, in pastry shops and supermarkets from about November to January. It comes boxed and light. More in what to eat in Verona.

• Espresso coffee ($). Italian supermarket coffee is cheap, good and roasted for espresso. Add a stovetop moka pot if you do not have one.

More in what to buy at a grocery store in Italy.

Where to buy souvenirs in Venice, Verona and Bologna

• Venice: glass on Murano itself, at a furnace showroom; masks and paper in workshops away from the San Marco crowds. Our Venice guide and what to eat in Venice cover the city; how many days in Venice helps you fit in Murano and Burano.

• Bologna: cheese, pasta and balsamic in the Quadrilatero. See our Bologna guide.

• Verona: wine and pandoro; how many days in Verona plans the visit.

• Supermarkets everywhere: pasta, coffee, IGP balsamic, pandoro and olive oil at local prices. Many shops close for lunch in smaller towns, and some close on Sundays.

Our Italy guide and Italian food guide cover the rest of the route.

What to skip

• Fake designer bags. Italian law fines buyers of counterfeit goods, not just sellers. Tourists have been fined €1,000 (≈ $1,111) for buying a fake bag from a beach vendor, and the legal maximum runs into the thousands. More in tourist scams in Italy.

• Cheap glass, masks and lace with no maker. At a low price they are almost always imported.

• Prosciutto, salami and mortadella if you live in the US or UK. See the customs section below.

• Truffle oil with no truffle in it. Read the ingredients.

Tax-free shopping and bringing souvenirs home

• VAT refund: non-EU residents can claim back Italian VAT (22% on most goods) when they spend more than €70 (≈ $78) in one shop (€70.01 (≈ $78)). Ask for a Tax Free form, keep the goods unused, and get the form stamped at your last EU airport. The fee eats much of the refund on small sums, so it suits leather and clothing more than food. Steps in our EU VAT refund guide.

• United States: solid, aged cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano and pecorino are allowed if declared. Cured pork (prosciutto, salami, mortadella) is not, even vacuum-packed and even with a DOP label; the Prosciutto di Parma in US shops comes in through approved commercial importers.

• United Kingdom: since 12 April 2025 travellers may not bring meat or dairy from the EU into Great Britain, cheese included, even from duty free. Pasta, balsamic, olive oil, coffee and pandoro are fine.

• Wine and oil in a suitcase: pack bottles in the middle of checked luggage, wrapped in clothes, and keep carry-on liquids within airport limits.

Restaurants add a cover charge (coperto); see coperto and tipping in Italy. For 19 other countries, see the best souvenirs to buy by country.

Frequently asked questions