Italian city criminal stifling expression of surprise (8)
I believe the answer is:
florence
'italian city' is the definition.
(city in Italy)
'criminal stifling expression of surprise' is the wordplay.
'criminal' becomes 'fence' (someone who handles stolen goods).
'stifling' indicates putting letters inside (some letters get stifled or contained).
'expression of surprise' becomes 'lor' (lor is an old-fashioned expression of surprise).
'fence' enclosing 'lor' is 'FLORENCE'.
(Other definitions for florence that I've seen before include "Brunelleschi's birthplace" , "Nightingale possibly" , "Capital of Tuscany" , "Nurse Nightingale in Italian city" , "foreign city" .)