When you’re on vacation, it’s easy to get caught up in tourist traps and buy generic souvenirs that don’t hold much meaning. We’ve all been guilty of it. Fake, made-in-China Venetian mask? Check. Plastic copy of the Colosseum? Check. Anything with a flag or a pizza on it? Check again.

It’s certainly easy to pick these things up from any of the many souvenir stores and stalls that pepper our cities, but how cool would it be to choose something that is not only better but also truly connected to the history of the place we visit and its community? Let’s check some ideas together.