Hi; my friend is a manufacturer and supplier of silk ties and hand made shirts. Please send me a PM and I'll send you their details by return. For your interest they also have a very nice Bed & Breakfast in the Ascoli Piceno province of Le Marche. The owner / tie + shirt supplier is Italian but spent many years in Manchester UK so speaks excellent English, as does his wife who is in fact English.

 The neckties that you find at the San Lorenzo markets are generally made in China copying Italian design. Here is a long list of Chinese manufacturers:

http://http://www.made-in-china.com/productdirectory.do?action=hunt&code=EEnxEJQbMJmm&order=0&style=b&page=1&memberLevel=&asFlag=&comProvince=nolimit&propertyValues=1121000000_150864&from=hunt&word=Necktie&mode=and&comName=&comCode=&subCode=&size=20&viewType=1&toTradeMarkets=&hotflag=0

This is the reason why those ties are much cheaper than the genuine Italian ones.

If you want the authentic Italian tie, contact Andrew's friend.

so i may have fallen for a poor imitation?! nevermind, i may try andrew and see how we go!

 Italy has lost most of its silk industry due to the low Chinese prices. Even some of the silk scarfs are only stamped in Italy. Next to our place in Bagni di Lucca there used to be a mill which employed many locals in the old times as the area was able to produce its own silk.... Unfortunately, it is now a ruin....

 I agree with Gromit that the prices found at the San Lorenzo markets are excellent and some of the ties are quite beautiful, but they come from China.

Here is a very interesting article on this topic:

http://http://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/10/business/italian-silk-industry-upset-by-a-new-us-trade-law.html?pagewanted=1