Hi, I would like to know do's, don'ts, and taboos in Italy. So what to do in Italy? How to behave with Italians? And the more important, what NOT to do? Also it would be interesting to know if there are some taboos, so issues which are ever never mentioned.

I do think that most of the unwritten rules are about food.
You can read my article here and if you like comment on it.
http://www.lifeinitaly.com/travel/italian-food-rules.asp

Paolo

Maj,
no major rules!
The world its all the same!!
Just enjoy it
Ciao
Michael:)

Hi Mike
I don't agree. Italians do follow very few rules and they are usually quite tolerant but they do follow the food rules.
Break 2 or 3 rules from the list above and see if you get invited again :-)
Of course a foreigner / tourist will usually be excused but he/she too is expected to learn within a reasonable amount of time that he/she cannot order Pizza and cappuccino at the same time and hope to get away with it for ever. Even milk and lunch / dinner is not so much tolerated.....

That is very interesting, Paolo. I think that I've managed to obey most of the rules, so far. I'm going to take your article with me next time, though.

One problem is that I'm basically a tea drinker and I don't think that Italians like that, as you say. I often have coffee anyway because I don't want to be looked down on. When in Rome...

Tea drinking is 100% ok. I have many friends who like green tea, me included. However you should not have tea and pasta. Red wine and red sauce pasta is a much better combination.

In all cultures, food is matched with the drink that goes with it. Here in Asia, specially south-east Asia, tea is normally drunk with food, whether iced or hot, without milk or sugar, sometimes with lemon. For that matter, they also drink barley water, and a dizzying variety of fruit juices. But this goes with the spices and foods in this part of the world, which also have developed according to the climate here.

But pasta and tea would tea would taste ludicrous together. WIne goes much better.

I am not a coffee drinker (actually allergic to most types of coffee) so tea is the only option for me for a pick-me-up drink.

With pasta I would always have wine, or plain water. I do admit that I have seen people order pasta and ice-lemon tea, but that does not make sense to me.


And I hate it when people add tomato or tabasco sauce to the pasta:mad:

...a very informative and humorous article. Had to share with my Italian-American co-workers and friends.

Reading this thread just reminds me how American culture - and food is a great example of this - can sometimes plod forward without intention. Fast food often means we don't have to think about the making or the eating of it.

I hope Italian eateries don't compromise their traditions in the face of American tourism (and dollars). Especially regarding when to serve cappucino...

Just to add a couple of rules I have come across since living here.

1. This is a big no-no in Sardinia, and maybe in other regions: never poor wine, water or any other drink from a bottle out of the back of your hand. It is highly distrespectful and you could end up in hot water.

2. One about langauge. Use the Lei form when speaking to people unless you are invited to do otherwise. When I got married I was told by my mother-in-law I could now use the informal tu form when addressing her. This is quite forward thinking of her because I know many mothers-in-law who still insist on their sons-in-law using the more formal form of address.

Do's and Don'ts:

Just be Yourself. Be kind with people and treat them with respect and humility.

Nobody will judge you badly if you will eat tea with pasta: you are foreign and not Italian, everyone has his own tastes.

However... tea with pasta :eek:
Oh my goooooooood !!!!! :D (only joking by the way)

Thanks Stephanie for spreading the word around Lifeinitaly, thanks Stellina and everybody else.

It is funny to have eating rules in a culure where the rule is breaking the rules :
> See the joke below taken from my European nationality joke page:
Nationalities:
- A cruise ship captain has to convince the passengers of his sinking ship to jump overboard. He has to use a different approach with each European. He tells the English it would be unsporting of them not to jump. He tells the French it would be the smart thing to do. He tells the Germans that it is an order. And he tells the Italians that jumping overboard is forbidden.

I promise I never ordered espresso or cappuccino with pasta or pizza, but I do love a good cappucino any time of day. Here's what happened when I broke this food rule at a new job in Rome...
http://my.lifeinitaly.com/blog.php?b=74

Martha