Back to: Italy Training
Mealtime
- Breakfast
- Very small, and very quick (i.e. cappuccino and a pastry)
- Italians usually have something sweet for breakfast
- Note: they don’t drink cappuccino past 11 am!
- Lunch
- Eaten anywhere from 12 pm – 4 pm
- Usually accompanied by a siesta (a 90-min to two-hour break in the afternoon, sometimes taken with a nap)
- Most businesses are closed during this time
- Dinner
- A big deal; it’s a social event
- Served usually around 8 or 9 pm for families with kids, but can be as late as 10 pm
- Lasts long into the evening, especially if with friends
- Each dish is served separately so don’t fill up on the first dish 🙂
- It’s polite to help with setting the table and preparing, as well as clean up
- At restaurants, don’t expect to bring leftovers home (unless you’re doing a whole pizza to go). The restaurants expect you to eat it all because generally the portion sizes are meant to be eaten in one sitting.
- Cafes and restaurants
- When you’re ordering at a coffee shop, walk up to the bar and say your order (usually loudly!) to the barista
- Observation is the key! Some cafes have you pay first, then bring your receipt to the counter. Others have you drink your coffee and then go to the cash register to pay. Pay attention to what other people are doing and do likewise if you’re not sure.
- Tip: if you drink your coffee at the bar, it’s cheaper than if you sit down
- If you love iced coffee, the closest thing is called a caffé shakerato (espresso shaken with ice and simple syrup)
- There may be cafes with more ‘American’ options too
- If a restaurant serves bread with the pasta, it’s to fare la scarpetta. This literally means “make the little boot,” which means to scoop up the leftover pasta sauce with your bread
- Aperitivo is Italian happy hour! Served generally from 6 to 9 pm (ish) and your drink comes with either a tray of food or a buffet! Our Rome Abroad graduate from The Artful Everyday suggests you try an Aperol Spritz or a Negroni!
- An ‘open container policy’ means you can have a glass of wine in a piazza or along the river
The Siesta
- Afternoon break when not only shops but also most restaurants and cafes are closed
- This is due to the heat (no one wants to work during the heat of the day — especially since air conditioning doesn’t exist — some believe it’s cause for health issues!)
- Usually 1 pm to 4 pm
- Many working people will come home for lunch and a nap at this time — ask your host parents what their habits are
Greetings
- Double-cheek kiss greeting do’s and don’ts:
- Do lean left offering your right cheek, then switch to the other side
- Don’t actually kiss the other person’s cheek (it’s an “air kiss”)
- The more you know someone, the more cheek kisses
- 1 kiss = a quick hello or goodbye to a friend, acquaintance/stranger
- 2 kisses = friend/close friend/family member
- 3+ kisses = very close friend/family member
- “Ciao” is pretty casual, used among people that you know well
- “Buongiorno” (Good day) is more formal
- When entering and exiting shops, greet the store owner
- “Buongiorno” for during the day
- “Buona sera” for the late afternoon/evening
- “Salve” also can be a formal farewell
Are they angry all the time?
- Italians may sound angry, but they usually aren’t
- In general, Italian culture is much more blunt (or are you more sugar-coated?)
- If your host mom gives you some feedback/criticism, don’t take it personally!
- Italians speak their mind and rarely hold grudges
- They’re just telling you what they think, so incorporate their feedback and move on 🙂
General Mindsets
- Family is super important, usually grandparents live close and are fairly involved
- Italians are very proud of their culture, food, beauty of the land, art, history, etc. so they like telling you about it
- They love hearing what you love about Italy (it butters them up like nothing else!)
- One of the worst things you could do is to not know anything about Italian culture or history — Italians will literally be hurt by this so educate yourself! 🙂
History & Literature