Culture Shock in Italy
Settling into a new country is often challenging, particularly when cultural differences are compounded with learning a foreign language. Seemingly straightforward transactions such as finding a house, doctor, dentist, school, bank and tax number in Italy can seem daunting. The expat community is usually the best source of help for this.
Expats in Italy should know in advance that Italy’s endless documentation and red tape can take on nightmarish proportions. But eventually the process does reach its conclusion and one can begin enjoying the finer elements of Italian life, such as settling down to a daily brioche and cappuccino. Once you have mastered the array of Italian coffee choices – from espresso to lungo, macchiato and americano - you may then have to quickly adopt dexterous driving skills on Italian roads.
It is advisable to familiarise yourself with as many of your adopted country’s cultural norms as possible. For example, Italians are more formal in addressing new acquaintances and colleagues. Using an informal greeting like 'ciao' to someone you’ve just met will be interpreted as rudeness rather than friendliness. When you are introduced to an Italian you would say 'Buongiorno' (good day) and shake hands. 'Ciao' is reserved for use among close friends.
Titles are used when addressing people, particularly of an older generation and in the case of professionals you would address a director as 'direttore' or 'dottore' for a doctor, 'architetto' for an architect, and so on. If you don’t know someone’s title, you can address a man as 'signore' and woman as 'signora'.
You may be surprised by the cultural nuances in everyday life. For example, when shopping for clothes, many stores will not allow one to try on shirts and blouses, and returning or exchanging an item, even if it is flawed, is not often done. When it comes to eating, Italians seldom make special requests such as 'leave the lettuce and add tomato', and spaghetti is eaten with a fork rolled against the dish - and not cut into pieces, which would be considered tacky.
Expats in Italy should know in advance that Italy’s endless documentation and red tape can take on nightmarish proportions. But eventually the process does reach its conclusion and one can begin enjoying the finer elements of Italian life, such as settling down to a daily brioche and cappuccino. Once you have mastered the array of Italian coffee choices – from espresso to lungo, macchiato and americano - you may then have to quickly adopt dexterous driving skills on Italian roads.
It is advisable to familiarise yourself with as many of your adopted country’s cultural norms as possible. For example, Italians are more formal in addressing new acquaintances and colleagues. Using an informal greeting like 'ciao' to someone you’ve just met will be interpreted as rudeness rather than friendliness. When you are introduced to an Italian you would say 'Buongiorno' (good day) and shake hands. 'Ciao' is reserved for use among close friends.Titles are used when addressing people, particularly of an older generation and in the case of professionals you would address a director as 'direttore' or 'dottore' for a doctor, 'architetto' for an architect, and so on. If you don’t know someone’s title, you can address a man as 'signore' and woman as 'signora'.
You may be surprised by the cultural nuances in everyday life. For example, when shopping for clothes, many stores will not allow one to try on shirts and blouses, and returning or exchanging an item, even if it is flawed, is not often done. When it comes to eating, Italians seldom make special requests such as 'leave the lettuce and add tomato', and spaghetti is eaten with a fork rolled against the dish - and not cut into pieces, which would be considered tacky.
Italian time, which makes allowances for siestas, means that banks are open in the mornings and most shops are closed between 1pm and 3.30pm. During this time, many families will take a nap and should not be disturbed by telephone calls.
Italian is the official language of the country and spoken by 63 million people. As a language, Italian is considered to be one of the most similar to Latin in terms of vocabulary and dialects differ from one region to another. There are many language schools located throughout Italy that provide memorable and useful insights into Italian culture or, alternatively, private lessons can be enjoyed in the comfort of one’s home or hotel.
Italian is the official language of the country and spoken by 63 million people. As a language, Italian is considered to be one of the most similar to Latin in terms of vocabulary and dialects differ from one region to another. There are many language schools located throughout Italy that provide memorable and useful insights into Italian culture or, alternatively, private lessons can be enjoyed in the comfort of one’s home or hotel.
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