How Much Do You Know About Italy and the Italian Culture?
How many things would you know about Italy? And just how much can you know more about the Italian culture? Perhaps you know it for being the land of Parmigiano cheese and mozzarella, Chianti wine and extra virgin olive oil, pasta and gnocchi, zucchini, tomatoes and many other food. Or perhaps you know Italy for being the native land of Giotto, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other important painters and artists of the past. You could know Italy for Ferrari cars and fashion. Lots of people knows Italy for its landscapes as well as the historical heritage: mountains, hills and lakes, Roman relics, history, culture and art and ancient cities.
But what is the first thing do you believe if you hear the word "Italian"? Many people will say "mafia" or "food", because Italy has always been described like this in the world. Let us see these aspects in details.
All of the Italians are Mafiosi
It is very frequent to hear that the Italian people is directly connected to the concept of mafia. In reality, among the most common prejudices about the Italian lifestyle and culture is that "all the Italians are mafiosi". The Italians (especially those who reside in the United States) have consistently been associated to "the Godfather" characters and also to Sicilian mafia represented in details in Coppola's American film.
Among the most curious aspects to consider is that words like "mafia" and "mafioso" are frequently used as nicknames to phone friends and spouses, as they're deemed funny adjectives.
At the contrary, mafia in Italy is a very serious problem for several of the honest citizens who reside in Italy, specifically for people who reside and work in the areas of South.
Italians? They're food lovers! Many people are really convinced that the Italians always eat and just think about food. This is just another banal common-place in many countries of the world. Everybody understands that Italy has a great and long cuisine background, but it isn't a fact that the principal topic from the conversations is food. Eating is an significant part the Italian civilization (and this is lots of dishes created overseas come in the Italian customs) but there are lots of other common and significant topics from the Italians' speeches.
Tutti vicini (all together)! Many people also think that the Italians live all together in large families in the same house. It is not infrequent to read or hear sentences like "tutti vicini" in the American novels and films about the Italian culture. The Italians are often described as individuals who reject the notion of solitude and the intention to produce their own family. This is really an extremely ancient picture of the Italian culture and its lifestyle! This could happen in the past (especially in Southern Italy families, when people couldn't buy a house), but it does not happen anymore.
Thus, what's the ideal solution to overcome all these banal obligations and prejudices? The very first thing to do is travel and visiting Italy (at least for a month) and the next thing is attending Italian courses in one of the significant cities of Italy, like Rome, Florence, Bologna, Venice and Milan. In this manner, it will possible to love the local culture and find out a lot of things about it.
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