I traveled with some family to Italy for almost two weeks. We went to Rome, Florence and Venice. There were lots of customs and traditions that really stood out to me. These are some things I'd bring back from Italy:
1. Transportation.
Italy has so many means of transportation. In the three places we went, there was a lot of walking. I know we walked miles everyday. Not only do the tourists walk everywhere but the locals walk from place to place as well. Walking was mostly popular in Venice being that it is the city on water. But also in Venice, they are big on water transportation. There were water taxis, water buses and gondolas everywhere. It was a really cool experience. Another important way for getting around is the metro train. It travels through all the major cities in Italy. We took the train from Rome to Florence and then to Venice. It's a fast and easy way of traveling. Motor scooters and motorcycles were extremely popular in Rome. They were everywhere on the streets. Also, their cars were really tiny.
2. Their Lifestyle.
The people of Italy are very relaxed. They aren't rushed. Italians are chill in their everyday lives except for their dress. I noticed that they generally dress well and appropriate, tending to be more formal than Americans. While a lot of Americans, including myself, wear jogging pants almost everyday, the Italians dress to impress. When I saw someone wearing shorts, I knew they weren't from Italy. Also, I noticed they are very family oriented. A number of restaurants and business we went to were family owned. Another thing that I liked was how many of the Italians knew several languages in order to speak to foreigners. When we would go on tours, there would be several other tours going on at the same thing and they would all be in different languages.
3. Passion and Pride.
All of the tours we went on the tour guides were so passionate in what they talked about. They would get lost in what they were telling us about. Anyone could tell that they really loved their jobs, country and history. They are really prideful in their Italian made products such as Italian leather or the hand-blown glass from Murano, Italy. Religion is another thing they are passionate about. Roman Catholicism is huge in Italy, which isn't surprising being that Vatican City is in the heart of Rome. They have certain rules to abide by in order to visit their cathedrals and basilicas. To be respectful in the church, you must have your shoulders and knees covered. Any tour you went on that included a church would tell you to cover your shoulders and knees before you went in otherwise you could not go in. They are big on respect in the church. I went on a tour in Venice that included St. Mark's Basilica and there was a man that refused to take his cap off. My tour guide asked him a few times to remove his cap then reported him to the church security who then escorted him out.
4. Food.
Speaking of passion and pride, Italians are prideful in their food and rightfully so. Anything they cook and eat is made out of fresh ingredients. The quality of their food is another reason Italian food is so important. Even the production processes are of high standards. Pasta is a well-known food product in Italy. The pasta is always homemade as well as a lot of other Italian cuisines. Most of their foods are DOP certified meaning that they are locally grown and made traditionally. Italian cuisines are definitely very healthy and there are barely any fast food restaurants. We even took a cooking class in Florence learning how to make homemade pasta among other great dishes.
5. Art and Architecture.
The art and architecture in Italy are absolutely incredible. I fell in love with it all. Rome, Florence and Venice have many museums and churches that give amazing samples of Italian art and architecture. Some of the most famous artwork is stationed in Italy such as the Colosseum or the statue of David. Italy has many different architectural styles like Roman, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical. One of the most popular places for art is the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The whole ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is covered in paintings done by Michelangelo in the 1500s. It was a beautiful site to see. Learning about all of these artworks in class does not even compare to seeing them in person. The buildings, themselves, are works of art.
