Manners and Customs - Italy

No Matter where you travel, it’s always best to understand a little of the language, manners and customs of your host country in order to be polite and respectful to the locals. A few of these hints and tips may help you out as you tour through Italy while it’s also helpful to know a little Italian.

Contiki’s tour managers live and work in Europe full time and are also on hand to help you out throughout your tour.

• It is common for both Italian men and women to greet each other warmly, often kissing each other on the cheek even if the person is of the same sex.

• Italians are generally very physically expressive people and say as much, if not, more with their body language than they do with their voices.

• Family units are generally very important and tight-knit.

• The importance and value of food and eating cannot be quantified or understated.

• Most of the country claims to be Roman Catholic, even if they are not practicing and when visiting places of religious significance it is important to be respectful and often wear church dress.

• Manners are extremely important and the Italians are generally very polite with their dealings with each other and particularly with elders and superiors.

• Smoking is banned inside all public buildings.

• Drinking to the point of with the intent of getting drunk is frowned upon while in contrast drinking in public places is perfectly acceptable.

• Purchasing counterfeit goods from illegal is highly illegal

• Italy is a very regionalized country and these regions (eg Tuscany, Umbria, Calabria, ) are very distinct. People from each specific region or often even city are very proud of where they are from and often suspicious of their fellow countrymen who are from elsewhere.

Contiki Tours that travel to Italy >