A Daily ‘Best’ Gift Guide for Italophiles

The Daily Best is our pick of the best stuff on the web.

By Alex Erickson

Searching for the perfect gift for the Italophile in your life can be trickier than you’d think. You want to avoid the obvious option (wine!) and the tacky one (Olive Garden gift card) while also keeping the present clearly Italian. So we’ve rounded up 12 products that exude the beautiful, subtle Italian charm lovers of the Amalfi Coast, Piazza San Marco and the Trevi Fountain fell for in the first place.

1. Italian Comfort Food, $35

Italian cookbooks are a dime a dozen, but none capture the true beauty of fresh Italian food the way this new tome from the editors of Saveur magazine does. Compiled from the magazine and the editor’s archives, the book includes 100 recipes set to Saveur’s trademark stunning photography.

Available at Amazon

2. Tournament Bocce Set, $89

Nothing says Italy quite like a Saturday afternoon round of Bocce in the backyard. Italian grandpa sold separately.

Available at L.L. Bean

3. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, from $66

This classic fragrance from the inimitable Italian fashion house doubles as subtle confidence in a bottle. Whether for him or for her, the fresh blend of citrus, wood and spice notes smell like a beautiful Italian summer day.

Available at Macy's

4. Genova Gourmet Italian Gift Bag, $75.80

Loving Italy means loving great food. This gift bag includes delicious Extra Virgin Olive Oil by Roi, Trofiette Pasta by Alta Valle, Ligurian Pesto by Niasca, Moretti Cookies by Grondona and even Sparkling Lemonade by Niasca, as well as other distinctive Italian food items.

Available at Eataly

5. Italian Wines of the Month Membership, $39.99

Nebbiolo, Montepulciano, Sangiovese—your friends won’t even have to pretend to be able to pronounce the names of fantastic Italian wines when they get two bottles per month in the mail, when you snag them a membership in K&L Wine Merchants’ Club Italiano. Two hand-picked bottles will arrive at their doorstep each month, at a steep discount from the local cellar or red sauce joint down the block. Salute.

Available at K&L Wine Merchants

6. Espresso Machine, $190

Italians invented those espresso drinks we love, no matter how far we’ve come from an original shot to a bucket-sized serving of sugar-water and a little caffeine. If you’d rather go back to the real thing, this Nespresso Inissia Red Stand Alone espresso machine brews up espresso (and espresso-based drinks) quickly and easily. Bonus: its compact size means you can brew the perfect espresso without having to sacrifice your entire kitchen counter.

Available at Bloomingdales

7. Raffaello Santa Croce Leather Briefcase, $692

Long a staple of Florentine leather craftsmanship, Santa Croce leather is the epitome of subtle sophistication. It’s old-school, but will fit your laptop too.

Available at Pratesi

8. Italian Soccer Jersey, $79.99

You can’t love Italy without also loving the Italian national calcio team!

Available at Soccer.com

9. Jersey Boys Tickets, from $97

Half the fun of loving Italy is also loving Italian-Americans. On Broadway, check out the long-running, quintessentially Italian-American story of how Frankie Valli (aka Francesco Stephen Castelluccio) and the Four Seasons hit it big in the 1960s with pop classics like “Walk Like A Man” and “December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night).”

Available at Broadway.com

10. 2016 Vespa 946 Bellisima 150ie ABS, $10,499

For extravagant gift-givers, or for that very special someone in your life, zipping around like an Italian is easier—and way more fun—than most people would expect.

Available at Vespa

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