Souvenirs can run the gamut from expensive to cheap, tacky to really cool. But they also take up space in the suitcase.

Florence is a place that has wonderful souvenirs – leather jackets from the market, jewelry from the Ponte Vecchio, art books from the Uffizi, napkins with cafe logos, and then of course, your own photographs.

My favorite souvenirs are postcards. They are inexpensive, they pack well, and I can pick and choose the images I bring home, rather than lugging books around.

What are some of your favorite souvenirs from Tuscany that you bought and brought home with you?

Gelateria in Florence by Min Liu

Gelato is one of those yummy food items that is almost synonymous with Italy, and in particular Florence. Creamy, cold, rich in flavor, gelato is the perfect refreshing treat while walking around on a hot day in Tuscany.

Take the poll and let us know your favorite flavor – and yes, multiple choices are allowed! Then tell us in the comments about your first or favorite gelato in Florence – where you got it, what kind of day it was, was it everything that you thought it would be? Did I leave your favorite off of the list?

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What a loaded question, right? No matter what your answer might be, there will always be another piece of art, a painting, or a sculpture, that is worth telling the world about. Or, maybe after a second or two of thought, you might find this question unanswerable.

From the austere frescoes in the Convent San Marco, to the sculptures in the Bargello and the Renaissance paintings of da Vinci, Rafaello, or Boticelli in the Uffizi, there must be one piece of art that defines Florence for you?

So let’s say that you can answer this one, even if your mind changes a moment later.

What is your favorite piece of art in Florence?

Whether you live in Tuscany or have only visited, what is your favorite souvenir from this region that you did not spend money on?

Souvenirs are funny things. The word souvenir is the French verb that means to remember. In Italian you might hear the word ricordo instead of souvenir. Most people think of souvenirs as being tangible little things that are small enough to fit in the hand and easy to pack in a suitcase.

Tuscany is a tourist mecca, and because of that, there are any number of souvenirs that a vendor would be happy to sell you as a memory-keeper of your travels there – a postcard, a picture book, a scarf …

But what about the souvenirs that you brought home, either knowingly or not, that you did not have to purchase? Maybe a rock you picked up, or a napkin from your favorite meal at a restaurant with a logo on it, it could be a photograph, a note from a friend, anything that reminds you of your time spent here.

My favorite souvenirs from Florence are the shards of marble that I picked up off of the ground at the base of The Duomo. I had thought of having them set in silver and making them into a pendant, but they are so fragile that I keep them in a jar. I can remember the day that I picked them up from the ground.

How dear are your souvenirs to you? What are they? Where did you find them?

Tell us about your favorite!