After you’ve visited the art cities in Italy, return travelers have a few great options for other areas to explore. One of our favorite areas is the Lakes region, in the northern region of Lombardia, the next region we are highlighting in our “Italy in 5 trips” blog series. Arriving to this area is easy with Milan Malpensa airport being a major gateway with many nonstop flights from the US.

This month, I headed to the Veneto, the region surrounding Venice, for the Buy Venice show, an excellent place to find stunning, artisanally-made Italian products.

While I have certainly found many new items for my “Things I Love” column in the newsletter, especially these Le Furlane hand-made slippers sold under the Rialto, I have to tell you about something even better than a new pair of earrings or gourmet food to tuck in your luggage: