shopping what to buy in Italy

Food stuffs: Olive oil, cheese, Baci and other chocolates, crystallised fruits, biscuits.

Wine and other drinks: Don't go for very cheap wine. Opt for medium-priced, well-known wines such as Chianti, Frascati, or Soave. If you can, visit a local vineyard and collect a few bottles you won't find in the duty free - it'll be much cheaper too.

Limoncello is a lemon liqueur found in an assortment of novelty bottles on the Amalfi coast. Grappa - a very strong, rough brandy - is for the strong-stomached only. Opt for Sambuca or Strega instead.

Clothing: After seeing how well the average Italian is turned out, you may feel the need to splash out. Milan is the home of high Italian fashion - all the major designer labels are here - but don't expect many bargains.

Italian leather goods, widely available, are of good quality - jackets, belts, handbags and shoes particularly.

Jewellery: Florence's Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) is the place to buy gold. Sardinia still sells beautiful coral jewellery.

Crafts: Glassware from Venice is wonderful, though not cheap. Buy lace and embroidery on the Venetian islands. Venice is also the place to buy a ceramic carnival mask.

Pasta dishes are available all over Italy - try to pick up something with a regional design. Olive dishes, salt and pepper pots and serving spoons with ceramic handles are nice too.

Handmade marbled paper from Florence is a lovely souvenir, made into notebooks and photograph albums.

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