These have no particular order; my love for Italy cannot be prioritized. This is a love that has been ongoing since 1992 and still going strong. If anything, every time I am there, I find another reason why I love it or reconfirm a feeling.
- The Italian language is a musical one.
I think it just a fun language to hear and to speak. The words that have double letters are said with a slight pause between the two letters. Pizza becomes Peetz Zah. Spaghetti becomes Spah-get Tee. You can’t help but mentally sound like Chef Boyardee from the commercial when speaking Italian. It is a slow language for me because of the pauses and I mentally slow down my frenetic personality while I am there. The language forces me to chill out. Also because I have to really pay attention to what people are saying to me. It usually takes a day to reaquaint my ear to it and then I am off and running. We have so many words in Italian already in English: zucchini, mozzarella, paparazzi, graffiti…..they are just fun sounding.
2. People Dress.
The Italians have style. When I lived there in the early 90s, I was amazed in my young adult grunge fashion that the Italians were not equally as shlubby. Women had full make up, heels, nice outfits to go to the butcher. Men weren’t all necessarily wearing suits but they were dressed. Having lived in a home with a family, I saw the behind the scenes wear as well. There were no ‘comfy clothes’ to lounge around in and hang out while at home. No one put on a baseball cap to cover that they hadn’t brushed their hair or showered. The wife of the couple did workout everyday and she had workout clothes….but they were only for working out. When that was done, shower and change. Flash forward almost 30 years later and this is still a consistent trend. Sure, teenagers have jeans and T-shirts but they did in the 90s as well. You do not see Italians in ‘athleisure’ wear on the streets. You do not see baggy pants and unlaced tennis shoes. You might see pristinely white sneakers that are a fashion piece being worn but it is a carefully curated look….not paired with basketball shorts and a messy tee. The importance of looking good even has a word: La Bella Figura. Italians aren’t necessarily label focused but more about a clean simple line. You are put together and groomed when you leave the house. Men and women wear cashmere sweaters. Shoes are a thing of beauty for everyone to display. Accessories are important but never overdone. My marriage has locked in on ‘it’, the Italian look, and has been mistake for being Italian himself the past three trips. For men, it is a beautiful pair of quality sunglasses, wearing a collared shirt, all clothes are in good repair and pressed when possible, and as soon as the weather allows: no socks.
3. The Fricking Food.
Come on. It is so good. We, as Americans, are super familiar with Italian food but most of what we call Italian is from Sicily and Calabria (tomato based, garlicky, and spicy) or from Emilia Romagna. Branch out, people. Each region has its own regional cuisine and it is part of the identity of that area. It is tied to slow food and local ingredients that follow the season. Italians are incredibly proud of their cuisine and with reason. When in Italy, it is well worth your time to ask the server what is in season or what is good right now. Fried artichokes in the fall in Rome, piave cheese in the north and pecorino in the south, fava beans in the spring…..the list goes on. Additionally, the wines of each region are spectacular. They pair nicely with the regional cuisine and you can almost never go wrong with order a liter or half liter of the house wine at a restaurant. Affordable, tasty, and feeling like local all in one sip. It is pretty rare that you will find many restaurants of other types of cuisine in Italy. Yes, you will occasionally see a Chinese restaurant. I have yet to see a Mexican restaurant but I am sure there is at least one somewhere. Maybe an American restaurant that serves burgers in a touristy area. Italians know…they KNOW in their hearts….that Italian cuisine is the best so why would you want anything else? It can be seen as arrogance or pride, either way, the food is good and I am going to give them a pass.
4. Passeggiata and Aperitivo time.
My all time favorite part of Italy. Usually after work, but before dinner…depending on the city anywhere from 3:30-7:30 pm. This is when everyone takes a break after work/school, has a snack or drink and walks around. THIS is when you pay for a table in a piazza to watch the scene of Italian life for an hour or more. The fashion, the women riding bikes in heels and skirts, the men with the sunglasses, the families with strollers and toddlers, the teenagers flirting and/or making out on a piazza bench–it’s all so Italian. Grab a beer (birra alla spina ‘SPEE-na’ is draft beer) and a Spritz. Spritzes are also a favorite and completely Italian (Prosecco or white wine with a splash of soda with either Aperol or Campari)….it’s so good. Italians are huge on aperitivi and digestivi (digestives/bitters). Aperitivo is a drink that is consumed before dinner to prepare your system to eat. A digestive is consumed after dinner to help digest what you have just eaten. Dinner usually doesn’t get rolling until around 7:30 or 8. Many restaurants that are not catering to tourists don’t even open until around this time. I love the slow pace of this time and the enjoyment that is squeezed out of every moment in the day.
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