Italians are chill people, I would know since I’m one of them, but everywhere you go people act differently and some things you may find polite or just normal, Italians can find rude or annoying. So if you’re planning a trip to Italy and you don’t want to find yourself in awkward situations or you want to blend with the natives keep on reading and remember: when in Rome do as the Romans do!
Food
Tourist can be spotted by the way they dress and the way they eat. Italians see eating as a ritual, and I discovered that other people don’t eat as we Italians do when I went abroad for the first time. Then I noticed some more weird behaviors when I started hanging with foreing people (American, South American, Chinese, Japanese, German, Scandinavian people) and by weird I mean funny, amusing or, for lack of a better word … different.
Cappuccino is a “breakfast drink” meaning that drinking it after lunch hours screams tourist. Don’t get me wrong: you can drink it, and especially in very touristy cities the barista won’t give you a “look” because he or she may be used to it but it’s not something italians do. I think the reasoning behind that is that there’s milk in cappucino and milk is something you drink for breakfast (?)
Bread with pasta is another thing that screams tourist, it’s something we don’t ever do. If you want to eat some bread with the leftover sauce you can, but you can do it only after finishing the pasta. This practice is called “scarpetta” and it’s not something super polite, meaning that you can do it when you’re at home with your family or your friends but it’s not something you would do at a fancy restaurant. It’s not rude at all, just not elegant.
Ordering tap water at a restaurant is not really a thing here. In italy is common practice drinking bottled water, even at home. There are many places in Italy where tap water even if it’s drinkable has a weird aftertaste and a serious restaurant would never serve you something that may harm you in any way (even if thechance of that happening is very remote). That may be a reason but this is all my speculation. When you go to place near a water source they will serve you that pure water but that’s the only time that happens.
Eating with an open mouth is rude and making all sort of sounds while eating in Italy is not ok.
If you are a vegan you’ll have problems finding what you need in non-specialized restaurants. Vegans are not really a thing here yet, the majority of people are vegeatrian. In almost all traditional dishes there are animal products, in fresh pasta there are eggs (to name the most famous item). If you are lactose intollerant, celiac or allergic to eggs remember to tell it to the weiters.
Speaking of waiters … tipping is not required. I don’t know how it works in other countries but here waiters are paid fairly. Of course tips are welcomed but not at all required.
We drink wine, beer or water during lunch and dinner. Apparently there are some people in the world who find this weird but we do. It’s not really common drinking wine by itself like in the American movies, we drink it while we eat. We usually drink beer with pizza and general junk food.
Language
Don’t expect people to speak English because not all Italians do, especially the older ones. English started being a compulsory subject in school not too long ago … when in doubt ask a millenial! Joking aside, if you’re in a hotel or a restaurant in any of the “famous” cities like Rome, Milan, Florence or Venice you’ll have no problems with English. Some Itlians speak Spanish or French and a few speak German. Understand that Spanish and Italian while similar are still two different languages, sometimes English – speaking people forget that: if you talk to me in broken Spanish I won’t be able to understand you so don’t just assume I get what you’re saying, ask first. Asking first is a polite practice, don’t just assume people understand any language, especially if you’re talking with people who aren’t working in the turism industry.
Clothes
Italians can spot a tourist only by the way they look. We aren’t for originality at all, we like to blend in the crowd, in other words we all kind of dress the same. If you want to blend in just look up some Italian fashion bloggers, I’ll write a post about Italian fashion later but there are a few things you really shouldn’t wear:
Short shorts are allowed if you’re staying in town near the sea. In the city center though I wouldn’t wear them, especially if you’re over 14 years old, it’s not illegal it’s just not really tastefu.
Don’t wear short dresses or short pants (they should be max right above the knee) and spaghetti straps if you’re planning on visiting a church. If you’re visiting Italy in the summer don’t worry, even in the wormest of days churches are still pretty chilly, so plan your days and wear appropriate pants/dresses and just bring someting to cover your shoulders with for when you’re inside the church.
Don’t worry and enjoy your trip, even if you do something an Italian wouldn’t normally do nobody will get mad at you, Italians are friendly and the more you travel south the more friendly they are!
Have fun and buon viaggio !!
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