Italians: 21 Points

The real 21 point Guide to travelling and surviving in Italy. A good understanding of the country along with some simple suggestions
will help you make the most of your trip and give you an insight into the
fascinating Italian approach to life.

1) TIME: Kick of your shoes, throw away your watch...everything is
relative. Whilst much improved over the recent years trains, buses and
people work on an "approximate" timetable. Learn patience and go with the flow.

2) LANGUAGE: Unlike Northern Europe, English is not as widely learnt and
used. Many Italians already have to learn two languages, Italian and their
local dialect and until recently French was promoted above English.
Italians suffer from a language inferiority complex so that even those who
do speak good English are convinced that they do not and therefore only
speak if necessity insists. Luckily the Italians are experts at hand signs
and the language is so infiltrated by English words that one way or another
everything works out.

A common mistake in listening to an Italian speaking his mother tongue is
to assume he or she is angry or excited. This is not always the case as
you may witness in seeing two Italians "argue" and then kiss each other on
both cheeks and disappear for a Aperitivo (before dinner drink).

3) NATIONALISM: As reflected in the dialects, modern Italy was actually
only unified in the mid 1800's. Still today great divisions exist between
north and south. This means that culture, traditions and life style vary
significantly between the various provinces. True allegiance is to their
local town or province and less to the state (reflected well in football
stadiums across Italy). If you want to compliment an Italian, remark
kindly on his home town.

4) POLITICS: But not as we know it. Often kindly called "the politics of favours", politicians do not fade away they just become prime minister for the 10th time ! Bringing down the
government is a national past time, averaging, until recently, nearly one
government for every year since world war two. Reflecting national divide,
Italy has a strong ex communist and a strong ex fascist block. Most
Italians believe the country is successful despite the best efforts of the
government and tax avoidance is another national obsession. One of Italy's stronger parties is dedicated to the break up of Italy. Lega Nord (free the north) has a passionate following.....in the north ! To miss-quote Beppe Grillo, the famous Italian commentator “One Italian
makes a Latin lover, two together can never agree whilst three Italians
make up four political parties.”

5) DRINK: Italian bars often double up as coffee shops and there is a much
more limited drinking culture. Italians on the whole do not have a
"drinking culture" and many bars reflect this less intense relationship
with alcohol, although the club scene is more "traditional" in its appeal.
In many areas wine is cheaper than bottled water and whilst a staple
feature of Italian meals, it is rarely drunk to excess.

6) FAMILIES: Careful of stereotypes but, whilst waning, the family is
central to all and everything. Boys especially, often stay at home until
their mid 30's, children move away....to the house next door, and shouting
between balconies to borrow some sugar is common place. The grandmother
plays the role of matriarch and unexpected family visitors often turn up
for a meal and are gladly received.

7) RELIGION: Well, Catholic of course. Strangely though Italy has the
lowest birth rate in Europe, So called Mafia bosses may fastidiously
attend church on Sunday and married Catholic men may happily have an
“amante” (lover). Many Catholics are uncertain if they are Christians
as well as Catholic, such is the hold and “brand” strength of the
Catholic church. Church attendances are however in decline and the number
of new priests has declined by 85% in the last 50 years.

8) SPORT: One thing all Italians agree on is the National football team,
often referred to as Italy's "true" religion. When Italy won the world
cup, people took to the streets in their cars, blowing horns, standing on
car roofs and the entire nations transport system ground to a halt for 2
hours as Italians demonstrated their passion for the game. Other sports
take a back seat although cycling, volleyball, skiing and especially
Formula One have their occasional place on the front pages. One of the
largest selling national newspapers is entirely dedicated to sport (La
Gazetta dello sport).

9) WORLD AFFAIRS: Not our affair....

10) FORIEGNERS: In most cases are greeted with enthusiasm and delight
although heavy non European Immigration has started to create phobia and
resentment of the non European invasion.

11) FOOD: Italians are passionate about...Italian food. So much so that
even when abroad, many Italians will go out of their way to seek out the
nearest Italian restaurant….. and why not ? Italian food is like an
Iceberg, what you see and know, like Pasta and Pizza, are but a fraction
of the rich and varied Italian cuisine. Each region has their "local dish"
and each dish may be prepared in a different way according to local custom.
A wedding or Gala meal may last for over 6 hours and feature up to 20
courses. Such is the strength of Italian food that finding a Chinese,
Mexican or other type of restaurant outside the big towns, is a challenge,
although McDonalds dot the landscape nearly everywhere.

12) DRIVING: The Italian zest for life is well reflected in the Italian
driving style. Cars are viewed as a status symbol, not for nothing does
Italy have one of the highest percentages of Mercedes owners and speed
limits, like their train timetables, are considered approximations. Recent
clamp downs and a new license points system is beginning to dampen down
this zest and the best advise for foreign drivers is not to panic if a car
cuts in, speeds by or tailgates you. Don't worry they have had lots of
practise and are very good at it !

13) QUEING: Or lines. Until recently the concept was an enigma for
Italians. The advent of supermarket deli ticket lines and other such
devices are being readily adopted and even when no line exists, Italians
appear to have an uncanny sense of when it's their turn.

14) GREETING: Even vaguely familiar acquaintances will kiss each other on
each cheek, but a hand shake will suffice. “Buongiorno” (formal) and
“Ciao” (informal) being the classic accompaniment, followed by "come
stai" (informal) “how are you”. In Northern Europe it is normal to
reply "fine thank you" even if you feel awful, in Italy they may well tell
you how they are ! Failure to greet or say goodbye to somebody can be taken as an insult.

15) FASHION: Italians will generally conform to the latest fashion trend,
colour and style, indeed foreigners can easily be spotted, even in a
crowd, as they often do not conform to this hidden code. Italians take
pride in their dress and are much more brand conscious than some other
nationalities.

16) BUSINESS: Italians prefer to do business with who they know and trust
(hence the relatively low success of Internet companies). Unlike some
other industrialized powers the back bone of the Italian economy is based
on people not multinationals. This is reflected in the proportionally high
level of family businesses. Even large Italian businesses are often originated, directed or owned by a family (Benetton, Fiat etc). The local family shop concept still prevails
even though supermarkets are beginning to change the fabric of shopping.

17) PLANNING: Whilst many Northern Europeans are busy planning their next
summer holiday in September the year before, summer holiday catalogues in
Italy are not even printed till March ! Planning ahead is considered
restrictive and often Italians will decide what to do for the weekend on
Saturday morning. Don't try and force Italians to plan, or expect next
seasons bus timetable to be published months before. Perhaps this approach
is best summed up in the expression “why plan today what you can change
tomorrow”.

18) EUROPEAN: Whilst the UK has opposed many European directives but
implemented most of those it did approve. Italy is a great believer in
“voting European”, agreeing to many issues and then simply not
implementing the directive. Italians themselves see Europe as an escape
clause from their own governments perceived incompetence and corruption,
however when put to the test, Italians in reality dislike anybody who
tells them how to live their lives. Most Italians were enthusiastic about
the Euro, until they found most shop keepers used it to increase prices
two fold.

19) HUMOUR: Warning “Sarcasm is not defined”. Do not try sarcastic or
ironic jokes on Italians, they will think you are serious. Humour is much
more light hearted and obvious (Benny Hill was a big hit in Italy) and
Italians are not afraid to make fun of themselves. The famous Oscar
winning actor/comic, Roberto Benigni, once remarked “If the Berlin wall
would have been built by Italians it would have come down on its own.”
The prime time rated nightly comedy program “Striscia la notizia” goes
out of it’s way to poke holes and find humour in Italian news and
politics. Few Italian comedy films work well when translated but have an
avid following in Italy itself.

20) TELEVISION: Italians love game shows and reality TV (Big brother is a
yearly event). Like Italian fashion, brand names are important...The Hosts
"brand" is critical and what he or she wears is critically examined. Nearly
all shows feature "dancers or assistents, nearly always women and nearly
always clad in Mini skirts. Where other countries would cry foul, Italians
revel in the female form and are happy to have it presented to them as
often as possible, even when totally irrelevant to the show.

21) HOTELS: Contrary to popular belief there is no unified star rating
system in Europe. Each country provides it's own system (hence the recent
"invention" of 7 star Hotels by some countries, when the UK system only
goes to 5). A Hotels ambience is not assessed in any system, only
facilities. In Italy a 3 star will have a restaurant, on-suite bathroom,
bar and lounge area. Room sizes in Italy are below the European average
mainly because many Hotel are converted residences. However most Hotels
are family run with attentive service, home cooked meals and very
friendly. It is not unusual for the Grandparents to take over
responsibilites when the owner is away or too be greeted during school
Holidays by the 14 year old son (who probably speaks better English than
the parents !). This family atmosphere is one of the charms of smaller
Italian Hotels.

Oh...and one last warning...be careful of the stereotypes ! Whilst you can
always draw a thread (or even a rope) of similarity (as above) between the
nationals of a country, the extent and size of the thread can vary !

Alexander Reed www.monticolo.it  Brescia Italy