suggestions for Cameo shopping - Rome and/or Florence

[CJcruzer]

fellow roll call cruisemates are going to be on the same cruise as us, and would like to know a good place to purchase a cameo - either in Rome or Florence - where they will have some extra time for shopping --- for our naples stop, they are on a private excursion to Amalfi coastal drive and visiting towns PLUS visit to Pompeii - so she doesn't think they will have enough time to shop in that port stop...Florence they are doing on their own, and they are pre-cruise in Rome, so more time for browing. A few years ago she looked on the Ponte Vecchio, but they all seemed so expensive.

 

any suggestions for them would be appreciated.

[catl331]

We took a HAL excursion to Amalfi and the tour stopped on the way back at a cameo factory//store. It is the same Italian family that sells cameos on QVC. I don't know if anyone bought cameos though as I stayed in the bus. Exhausted!

[catl331]

I just Googled" buying cameos Florence" and there is info there. One poster said there were shops on the Ponte Vecchio (sp?) and cameos were expensive but she found one for $150 (or was that 150 Euros?) check google out. Prices on QVC were pretty good but the salesman only comes twice a year.

[CoralReef]

The cameos we saw in Florence seemed more expensive than elsewhere, but there was a good selection.

 

In Rome, the Vatican shops had lovely religious-themed cameos, very detailed carvings and set in gold. Good quality for fair prices. We bought a beautiful Mary cameo for my MIL. One tip: the nuns will try to cross-sell gold chains for the cameo, but those prices are fairly high. We were able to get a better deal on a chain back at home. There are also souvenir shops right across from the Vatican where the cameos are not all religious themed, but the selection was not as wide as at other ports.

 

The shops in the port facility at Naples had the best prices we saw. Tours typically drop you off at the port in plenty of time to catch the ship, so a little shopping in the port facility might be feasible even after a day of touring.

[cruisinisforme]

Are you stopping in the naples area? That is where you will find most cameos and where a lot of them are made.