Historical background of Italy
Historical background of Italy
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The Italian peninsula is in southern Italy, surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Italy’s nickname is ‘Bel Paese’, meaning beautiful country. Italy was ruled by royal kings until the end of World War II but has sense been considered a democratic republic. The Roman Empire- under Romulus Augustulus- fell in 395 A.D. because of many detrimental military losses in battles, which led to Rome being taken over by the Barbarians. During the 19thcentury, different areas throughout Italy merged into one single kingdom under the Congress of Vienna. This merge of territories is commonly referred to as the Italian Renaissance and in the process, Rome became the capital of Italy in 1851 and is now Italy’s largest city. Before 2001, the official currency of Italy was the Italian Lira, but it is now been changed to the Euro.
Communication Style
The language mainly used in Italy is Italian. Verbally, Italians are known for being very bold and direct while communicating, so honesty is expected. Also, Italians are likely to raise their voices, not because of anger, but because they are sometimes trying to be heard. It can become difficult to understand conversations because of the raised voices, though, because people may try to talk over one another loudly. Because silence is considered awkward to Italians, humor is often used in its place to lighten a mood or to allow someone to sarcastically speak their mind (“Italian Culture”, n.d.). On the other hand, Italians are also known to utilize non-verbal communication tactics such as gestures and personal contact. Italians uses their hands while conversing to emphasize points or to exaggerate while also maintaining eye contact. Italians make affection also obvious in public, so it is said that Italians also prefer to keep close to one another and not having a sense of personal space.
Beliefs
In the past, about 85-90% of Italy were Catholics. Today, however, a recent poll showed that only 50% of Italians claim to be Catholic, while 13% claim to be Christian, and 4% said they were either Protestant or Orthodox (McKenna, 2016). Other religions in Italy are Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. These religious groups make up only about 4% of the population, but, surprisingly, 20% said they were atheists and 8% did not have any religious affiliations or considered themselves spiritual (McKenna, 2016).
Family is the single most important element to Italians. Adults normally have control over their children before adulthood, but children also tend to live with their parents for a while into early adulthood. In the family dynamics, the elders of the family are treated with the utmost respect by each member of the family. It is expected that the children take care of their parents in their old age and Italians will not put their elder relatives in an assisted living home unless it is absolutely necessary to ensure that the elder is surrounded by loving family in a family-home setting.
Social Structure
In Italy today, the hierarchy of the social class/working population is composed of 10% bourgeoisie (high class politicians, managers, etc.), 17% white-collar middle class (middle class workers not employed in manual work), 14% urban petite bourgeoisie (small business entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, etc.), 10% rural petite bourgeoisie (small agricultural/forestry estate owners), 37% urban working class (people employed in manual work), and 9% is the rural working class (farmers, loggers, fisherman, etc.) (“Social Class in Italy”, n.d.). When it comes to ethnic groups in Italy, Italians have the largest ethic block at 92% of the population while only 1.8% is Romanian, and 1.1% of the remainder of the population is Maghrebi and Arabic (Sawe, 2016). Each region of Italy is different in that people have different ethnic and cultural roots, so that is why people think of Italy as diverse, not necessarily because there are a lot of people with different nationalities or cultures.
Italy is a democratic republic type of government. The current president and head of state is Sergio Matterella, but he is more of a figurehead than an actual ruler. Recently, the Italian government is said to have swung more to the right-wing, and that could lead to an extremist agenda (Ellyatt, 2018). This swing also may be the cause behind the increasing gender gap in Italy, where more than half of working woman do not get paid for working each day.
Codes of Cultural Behavior
Do’s
1. It is important when greeting Italians to shake hands firmly and to maintain eye contact with the other person because these gestures show engagement in the conversation and if they are not done, it can show ignorance or arrogance.
2. Giving a smile to people in everyday life such as cashiers, taxi drivers, or waiters is something that tourists should do while in Italy. It shows the native Italians that the tourist respects them and admires the work they are doing, or they are just being kind. If tourists do not smile, it appears as if they are ignoring or discounting someone, which is very inconsiderate seeing that Italians are affectionate and kind people.
3. Tourists must obey all dress codes while entering a church. As a place of worship, the churches in Italy are sacred and they believe that you are also entering God’s home, so if the dress codes are not followed properly, it is offensive to the Italian culture and religions and can result in a tourist getting kicked out of the church or being denied access inside.
4. Tourists who plan on moving to Italy are encouraged to be able to understand the Italian language and cultures of the region they are going to be staying. If a tourist is willing and open to learning about the ways of life and the language in Italy, it shows natives that the tourist cares about their home and are not just trying to bring their culture to Italy. This also helps tourists communicate better with locals, leading to good relationships between tourists and the locals.
5. Gift giving is a huge aspect of Italian culture. If invited to a party at an Italian’s home, it is important that tourists do give gifts to the host/hostess, where a common gift is sending flowers to the host’s home before or after a party. A tourist showing up empty handed to a party demonstrates that the tourist has nothing to offer, or makes the host believe that the tourist is just a person who likes to take form others.
Don’ts
1. It is not okay for tourists to have picnics on stairs, monuments, or besides fountains. IF a tourist is seen doing this, Italian natives will construe the tourist as being dirty. The tourist would also be dishonoring Italy and all it has to offer. Sitting in cafes with outdoor seating is the way for a tourist to not be impolite.
2. Even though giving gifts is a staple in Italian culture, sending gifts that are bad luck is something tourists need to ensure that they avoid, where knives and scissors are said to be bad luck gifts. Stick to giving gifts such as flowers (as long as they have an uneven number of flowers in the bouquet) to avoid giving back luck to locals.
3. It is important that tourists do not seat themselves in Italian households; wait to be seated in an until told to do so. Italian culture shows that people who seat themselves are making themselves too comfortable (especially if they just met) and can be a very bad first impression.
4. Don’t call a businessman while he is out of the office and at home. Any person who does this is intrusive and inconsiderate of the businessman’s personal life, especially if trying to call to the businessman’s home phone. The way to avoid being rude is to leave a message on an office phone and wait for a call back.
5. When in public, a tourist should not take off their shoes. Removing shoes in public shows a lack of class and being unprofessional, making natives believe that the tourist is contaminated and disrespecting the Italian ground that they are walking on.
Works Cited
Ellyatt, H. (2018, March 01). The dark side of Italian politics – Italy’s swing to the right could see a more extremist agenda. Retrieved from election-darker-side-politics-far-right.html
Italian Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved fromculture-communication
McKenna, J. (2016, March 30). Poll: Only 50 percent of Italians call themselves Catholic. Retrieved fromcall-themselves-catholic
Sawe, B. E. (2016, August 18). Largest Ethnic Groups Of Italy. Retrieved from
Social class in Italy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.revolvy.com/page/Social-class-in-Italy
