Shipping to Italy

Sold a Zippo lighter to a fellow in Italy.  It's a USS George Washington (CVN-73) lighter that I got in a batch I had purchased in order to get the USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) lighter that I wanted for myself.  Took it down to the mail center and discovered the following list of "things you can't send to Italy".

A few things stood out:

Albums of any kind (of photographs, postcards, postage stamps, etc.).

Arms and weapons.

Articles of platinum or gold; jewelry; and other valuable articles unless sent as insured Priority Mail International parcels.

Artificial flowers and fruits and accessories for them.

Bells and other musical instruments and parts thereof.

Cartridge caps; cartridges.

Clocks and supplies for clocks.

Compound medicaments and medicines.

Coral mounted in any way.

Ether and chloroform.

Exposed photographic and cinematographic films.

Footwear of any kind.

Haberdashery and sewn articles of any kind, including trimmings and lace; handkerchiefs; scarves; shawls, needlework including stockings and gloves; bonnets, caps, and hats of any kind.

Hair and articles made of hair.

Human remains.

Leather goods.

Lighters and their parts, including lighter flints.

Lithium cells and batteries — including items containing lithium cells and batteries under 135.6.

Live bees, leeches, and silkworms.

Live plants and animals.

Nutmeg, vanilla; sea salt, rock salt; saffron.

Parasites and predators of harmful insects.

Perfumery goods of all kinds (except soap).

Playing cards of any kind.

Postage stamps in sealed or unsealed First-Class Mail International or First-Class Package International Service shipments.

Radioactive materials.

Ribbons for typewriters.

Roasted or ground coffee and its substitutes; roasted chicory.

Saccharine and all products containing saccharine.

Salted, smoked or otherwise prepared meats; fats; and lard.

Tobacco.

Toys not made wholly of wood.

Treated skins and furs.

Weapons of any kind and spare parts for them.

Really?  Photo albums, toys not made of wood, footwear, typewriter ribbons, clocks, bells?  What on earth are they trying to prevent happening in Italy?  Wouldn't want people having access to clocks now.  Or maybe this has to do with some sort of trade war of which we had previously not been aware, but if that's the case, how odd that it applies to things that are being mailed versus importers of large quantities.  I can't imagine that it would be cost efficient to be mailing shoes to the Italians one pair at a time through the post office.

It's very strange.