How to Ship Your Purchases Home from Italy

“You have a lot of luggage, madam,” the hotel concierge in Rome told me on my last trip to Italy. I didn’t think two big suitcases and a smaller bag was a lot, but maybe he was reacting to the face the bellhop was making as he tried to lift one of those suitcases. It was a reminder of a good lesson; when in doubt, ship it home! Laura Morelli, who has written for Dream of Italy, has a good general piece on USATODAY.com about how to mail your purchases home. Morelli mentions several of the large shipping companies but it is worth noting that DHL has the largest presence in Italy. In the Dream of Italy article, “The Shipping News: Getting Your Purchases Back Home,” Barrie Kerper details specifics on shipping from Florence and Tuscany. And to give you an idea of costs, I shipped an oversized, framed piece of artwork back from Turin (during the Winter Olympics) for about $75.