Venezia Souvenirs
I was to Venice (Italy) last September. Having the professional interest, I have looked through souvenir shops what kind of merchandise had they on offer.
Lots of colored glass items, as expected. One would believe they all come from the famous glass works on the island of Murano, just off the main archipelago of Venezia. Well, to my astonishment most of the souvenir glass was actually imported from China.
Lots of carnival masks. The carnival is held once a year but you can buy a mask anytime. Nice pieces of Chinese work. Nothing local.
Lots of T-shirts. I have not examined their origin as one can hardly expect that inexpensive textile products come from Europe. They are printed locally on imported apparel.
And lots of gondola models. Made of glass, wood, marzipan and so on.
You may ask me what have I bought for myself. Well, I went to a Murano glass work and carefully selected a colored glass plate actually made there. I like it very much.
So when walking down the streets of Venezia and looking for something nice to take home, beware of imported crap. You better pay more for genuine local product.
Lots of colored glass items, as expected. One would believe they all come from the famous glass works on the island of Murano, just off the main archipelago of Venezia. Well, to my astonishment most of the souvenir glass was actually imported from China.
Lots of carnival masks. The carnival is held once a year but you can buy a mask anytime. Nice pieces of Chinese work. Nothing local.
Lots of T-shirts. I have not examined their origin as one can hardly expect that inexpensive textile products come from Europe. They are printed locally on imported apparel.
And lots of gondola models. Made of glass, wood, marzipan and so on.
You may ask me what have I bought for myself. Well, I went to a Murano glass work and carefully selected a colored glass plate actually made there. I like it very much.
So when walking down the streets of Venezia and looking for something nice to take home, beware of imported crap. You better pay more for genuine local product.
