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Enzoxxx24 · #1

In Italy, as in any other country in the world, there are strong cultural differences between north and south due to different traditions and habits.

The typical image of Italy, represented by a warm climate and a strong tradition of Mediterranean cuisine, is directly connected to the southern part of the country.
The typical image of Italy, represented by a warm climate and a strong tradition of Mediterranean cuisine, is directly connected to the southern part of the country.
In the north of Italy the climate is characterized by lower temperatures than in the south. The tradition of Mediterranean cuisine is weaker, because of the different types of cultivation of the land, over the centuries, which have brought to a different type of food, more focused on the use of cereals. Much more spread in the north is also the culture of fast-food.

Nevertheless, even northern Italy has some unique features that deserve to be visited.
Typical tourist destinations, also for the Italian people, are the cities of the lake, as Como and Lecco (where the novel "I promessi sposi" written by Alessandro Manzoni and where it still resides his home) and the various castles dating to the Middle Ages.
But the greatest income of tourists is undoubtedly due to the mountains, which attract skiers and climbers coming from all over the world.

Among the most popular we can mention are the Dolomites and the Three Peaks of Lavaredo.

Still in the North you will also find some of the most famous Italian cities in the World, such as Venice and Milan.

As mentioned before, the south offers more typically Mediterranean landscapes and warm, where the sea is endless and all is lost in its reflection.

An examples are the Coast of Amalfi and the Faraglioni of Capri (here below in photos)

I missed to talk about Rome, that represent the certer of Italy, because is the most famous city of Italy in the world.

By the way both the north and the south of Italy deserve to be visited to enjoy their amazing places.

Bye

Giacomo · #2 10-21-2009, 11:14 PM

Wow! What beautiful pictures! Dio mio!

I didn't know that the fast food culture was more prevelent in the north than in the south.

Now some of what I am saying are indeed generalizatioons but I know that in the north people tend to cook a lot more rice and polenta as opposed to the heavy use of pasta in the south. The North likes to use a lot more of the fresh pasta as opposed to dried. Also, in the north people cook with more butter than olive oil...sometimes there is a tendency to use both at the same time. Remember though that there are exceptions to these rules.

I am a high school teacher and I had the wonderful experience of having an Italian exchange student from Lombardia in my class. I was so excited to be able to tell him about all the traditions that my bisnonni brought to America from southern Italy. I figured he would be impressed with the small amount of knowledge I had about his country. In many cases however, he had no idea what I was talking about! One such case was when I explained to him about how we celebrate Saint Joseph's Day by making the altar and by eating fava beans and than zeppole (which are kind of like doughnuts) for dessert. He had never seen or even heard of zeppole before.

So yes, it is important to know that there are many differences between the north and south. In reality, each of the 20 regions are very different one from the other because Italy has not been a unified country for all that long.

The Russian · #3 10-22-2009, 03:34 PM

Many thanks for this post, the summary well done. Interesting observations. I especually liked the connection between the differences in cuisine and climate/cultivation! I didn't think about this explanation of the differences in cuisine.

Enzoxxx24 · #4 10-23-2009, 12:00 PM

Hello: D
I'm glad you enjoyed the post: D

Giacomo, I'm sorry but I have to contradict some things you said: D

The use of fresh pasta is equivalent to both the north and south.
If fresh pasta is homemade, its use depends only on the time that housewives have available to do it.

In the south, is not as heavy use of pasta, given the variety of products on the Mediterranean diet.
Usually, the pasta is eaten once a day, for not to overdo it: D

The north have a great use of carbohydrates, due to greater use of cereals in the diet.
Tipically dish of northern winter are the "Pizzoccheri", which is a type of pasta made from buckwheat, seasoned with butter, cheese, cabbage and garlic. They are high in calories because of the butter and cheese.

Of course it happens that traditional foods are reversed, and sometimes you eat the polenta to the south and the north a "Caprese" (tomato and buffalo mozzarella, cut into slices).

Bye: D