I am not Italian, but Im sure I belong in Italy. In recent years, Ive fallen so in love with the country, the north, the south, and both coasts, that my Francophile tendencies have been eclipsed by my obsession with all things Italian. For the Italophile in your life, a good bottle of amaro makes a great gift, but for something more creative, here are our favorite ideas.Prego!
Above: From Il Buco in New York, the Urbino Iron Candle Wick Snuffer is made from smooth or twisted wrought iron; $100 at Il Buco Family. Also available is the Urbino Iron Candelabrafor $225.
Above: The Puglia-made splatterware at March in San Francisco is available in a wide range of color combinations. Shown here is the Green on Cream 17 Inch Splatterware Platter for $120 at March. For more see our post New Serving: Splatterware Ceramics from Italy.
Above: The Italian Terro Cotto Cookware from Sambonet is made of colorful enamel-coated cast-iron. Shown here is the Terra Cotto Large Round Saucepot with Lid for $175 at Design Within Reach. Also available is the smaller Terra Cotto Small Oval Casserole with Lid in grey for $75 also at Design Within Reach. We previously featured the cookware in our post6 Elegant Cookware Lines, Italian Edition.
Above: For the Italophile with youngbambini, artist Bruno MunarisI Prelibri(Prebooks) is a set of 12 books of different perceptions and colorful images, small enough for small hands; $185 at Moon Picnic.
Above: The MoMA Design Store is hosting a pop-up from Italian shop Fattobene. The Valobra Enriched Soap Bar is available in Cocoa Butter or Calendula (shown) and made in Genoa, Italy; $12 at MoMA. For more seeDomestic Science: Artisanal Home Goods from Fattobene in Italy, Now Available Stateside.
Above: From Florence monastery and apothecary Santa Maria Novella, the Terry Cloth Towel Set features the Santa Maria Novella emblem in jacquard on soft, off-white terry towels. Theyre the sort of towels youd find in a villa in Positano. The set of two standard and two guest towels is $150 at Santa Maria Novella. Also available is the Ivory Washcloth for $11 each at Santa Maria Novella.
Above: Officine Universelle Buly, a French company specializing in ancient preparations of skin care and things like engraved combs and brushes, makes a line of Italian toothbrushes. Here, the Tornio Toothbrush in Green is $14.17 at Buly 1803.
Above: Another item from Santa Maria Novella, the Four Seasons Incense Pack (orLe Quattro Stagioni) includes four seasons of incensespring, summer, autumn, and wintermade for the Farmaceutica by Japanese brand Shoyeido. The box includes eight sticks per fragrance and one silver-plated incense burner for $70. The different seasonal fragrances are also available individually at Santa Maria Novella.
Above: From classic Italian tableware company Bormioli Rocco,Vintage-Inspired Italian Cocktail Glasses come as a set of four coupe glasses, martini glasses, Nick and Nora glasses, or fizz glasses for $32. Also available is all of the above, the full bar set of 16 for $100.
Above: Our long-favored source for rare, hand-picked European items is KIOSKfrom Alisa Grifo and Marco ter Haar Romeny. The two have been posted up in Italy and southern France for the last couple years (they formerly lived in New York where they also had a shop). One of their recent finds, the Oliera Tosca, an olive oil container with a pointy spout and a flip-up lid, they explain. Something to delicately pour the oil of the GODS (Roman gods of course), something of which only the oil of ITALIA deserves. The container is made in Italy and holds 700ml; $30.11 at Neighbor in Canada (who ships to the US). For more see our post10 Easy Pieces: Olive Oil Containers.
For more products from Italy, see our post: