The 14 Best Italian Gifts (2024)

Ma che bello—how beautiful. One of the first Italian expressions I learned, and one I deployed in earnest frequency while curating this selection of Italian gifts for my fellow disciples of la dolce vita. Lovers of Italian culture tend to be drawn to beauty and pleasure, which you’ll find plenty of here: the promise of homemade pasta parties, vacation-worthy scents, and small-batch amari are the next best thing to plane tickets for the friend who’s still sharing pictures from her Sicilian vacation last summer.

When I’m missing Italy most poignantly, nothing brings me back quite so fast as the olive-scented soap I bought in Puglia, or a mouthful of salty, nutty Parmesan. Here, we’ve rounded up gifts designed to stir the senses and bring a bit of Italy home to you or your loved ones, from the olfactory pleasures of heirloom tomato–scented candles to the visual delight of a transportive coffee table tome.

Unlimited fresh pasta at home

Can’t afford a Ferrari? Spring for the Ferrari of pasta machines instead, a small but mighty workhorse kitted out in cherry red and silver chrome. This iconic Italian kitchen accessory is as durable as it is stylish, and it even comes with a two-year warranty for added peace of mind. Whip up some fresh dough (we love this recipe) and use the manual crank to roll and cut fettuccine, lasagna, and taglioni, choosing from 10 different thickness options. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you can purchase attachments to make 12 other pasta shapes. Nonna would be proud.

A selection of Italian cheese

There are two types of people in this world: aperitivo-cheese evangelists and dessert-cheese evangelists. In my personal opinion, the more formaggi the merrier—why not bring it on before and after dinner? Especially when nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano, creamy burrata, salty prosciutto di parma, and briny green olives are involved. This delectable set of classic Italian cheese and charcuterie is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, no matter when it’s served.

The scent of endless summer

There’s something incredibly evocative about the fragrant, fruity allure of ripe tomatoes in the summer. Plucked straight from the vine, sun-warmed and juicy: That’s the feeling this set of tomato-scented candles, cleaning, and bath products is meant to capture, imbuing the warmth and romance of endless summer into your home all year long.

Pasta that’s kind of healthy

When you don’t have time for homemade pasta, it’s crucial to have a few boxes of your favorite noodles on hand. This trendy TikTok pasta is viral for a reason: It’s made with Italian wheat and enhanced with lupini beans, which boast 70% more protein, lower carbs, and triple the fiber of regular pasta. But don’t call it a “healthy” pasta—I fed it to my boyfriend without showing him the box, and he was none the wiser. This is a great way to get a little extra protein in, and the variety pack is a great way to try out all different sorts of fun shapes including curly macaroni, fusilli, radiatori, and penne.

An upgraded pantry staple

Good olive oil gets all the attention as a coveted hostess gift, but aged balsamic is in fact a superior addition to your friends’ culinary repertoire. Drizzle it on everything from steak to ice cream; in my house, nothing is safe from this holy elixir. This Giusti trio is charmingly packaged in a velvet-lined wood gift box for a touch of eleganza, and features three award-winning balsamics from Italy’s famed Modena region.

A frame-worthy puzzle

If you’re home for the holidays and wishing you could be traipsing around Cinque Terre instead, distract yourself with this indulgent 1,000-piece puzzle. The result is a frame-worthy, haphazard, and hedonistic feast studded with crumbly parm, luscious figs, and sun-kissed glasses of rosé.

Michelin-level cooking classes

Can’t snag a reservation at Modena’s famous Osteria Francescana? Spring for Chef Massimo Bottura’s MasterClass instead. Here, you’ll learn directly from the Italian restaurateur how to make tagliatelle al ragù, pumpkin risotto, and the famous Emilia burger. Experiential gifts are always my favorite thing to give my loved ones, particularly when they involve eating or drinking; a cooking class is an excellent way to develop deeper ties to Italian culture and to improve your own culinary prowess.

The perfect nonalcoholic spritz

Whether you’re skipping the Aperol spritzes all together or just spacing them out, Ghia’s Le Spritz is a perfect way to indulge without the alcohol. Picnic-ready and portable, these chic cans make for a delightful hostess gift and come in four flavors: Ghia Soda (the original, and frankly, the best—a citrusy, bitter aperitivo), Ghia Ginger, Lime & Salt, and Sumac & Chili.

A wanderlust-inducing coffee table book

Il Dolce Far Niente, or the sweetness of doing nothing, is effortlessly captured in this mesmerizing photo book cataloging a languorous Italian summer by Lucy Laucht. This is armchair travel at its finest: a kaleidoscope of rainbow beach umbrellas crowd the frame here; couples sunbathe on the rocky shores of the Amalfi there; behind it all, the dazzling blue waters of the Mediterranean, or Tyrrhenian Sea. There’s a vintage quality to Laucht’s work that makes flipping through the book feel a bit like time travel, inviting you on a journey through a frozen-in-time Naples, Ischia, Puglia, and beyond.

Martini-ready cocktail napkins

The sharp, green taste of olives floats around in the brine of my memories from Italy; these darling cocktail napkins are a cute and kitschy reminder of one of my favorite flavors. The set of four is perfect for your pal who loves hosting and hates water rings left on coffee tables. Martinis sold separately, but those are always a great idea too.

An old-school coffee maker

An oldie, but a goodie. This is the most reliable, sturdy stovetop espresso maker out there, with a devoted following that’s only grown since it was first designed in 1933. The mechanism is charmingly simple: Fill up the bottom compartment with water, gently spoon your favorite Italian ground coffee into the inner funnel, replace the lid, and put the Moka pot on the stove. A quiet gurgling will let you know that your coffee is ready; the entire experience feels like a ritual from another era, one far more artful than popping a Nespresso pod into the machine. If you’re looking to splurge on a more glamorous upgrade, Dolce & Gabbana collaborated with Bialetti on a beautiful Sicilian-inspired design, available at Williams Sonoma.

An Italian love story

For the friend who always greets you with ciao bella—this is a language-learning love story. Written by Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri, this book catalogues the author’s passionate, life-altering decision to learn Italian by immersing herself in the language and culture. After moving her family to Rome, Lahiri began to read and write solely in her new tongue, building a new voice from scratch. The result is In Altre Parole, or In Other Words, her nonfiction debut, written entirely in Italian and translated into English on the opposite page. The story is captivating for anyone who loves words and language, but a must-have for anyone looking to improve their Italian and feel a little less alone in that journey.