It’s impossible to be bored in Italy. To excite, delight, and stimulate you is the beauty of the land, the elegance and charm of its people, the variety of its regional cultures, the richness of its food and wine, the quality and dash of its design and engineering, the reputation of its artists, sculptors, musicians, and filmmakers, and, above all, the glory of its monuments and architecture. There is the sensuous pleasure of the Italian language, everyday as well as operatic; and the way Italians use diminutives and nicknames to create familiarity and intimacy with those around them. There is a whiff of intrigue and even scandal as well as tragedy in its history and politics, from the time of the ancient Romans, through the Renaissance, right up to present day.

Bordered on the north and west by Switzerland and France, and to the northeast by Austria and Slovenia, Italy's landmass extends south into the Mediterranean, between the Ligurian and Tyrrhenian seas in the west and the Adriatic and Ionian seas in the east. Italy is first and foremost as Mediterranean country and the Italians share characteristics with other Latin nations - spontaneity, and a relationship-based and particularly time-conscious society. Of the three main islands off its coast, Sicily and Sardinian are Italian, while Corsica - birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte - is French. The capital, Rome, lies more or less in the centre.

Spring and early summer are the best time to visit, though in Easter week Italian town centres are full of tourists, and in April and May they are packed with crowds of Italian schoolchildren on excursions. September and early October, when hotel rates and plane fares are cheaper, are often especially beautiful with clear fresh sunny days at the time of the grape harvest. October and November, the months of the olive harvest, have the heaviest rainfall of the year, but the winter months can also be wet, so take a waterproof coat and a good comfortable pair of walking shoes. (Naples has a higher than average annual rainfall than London!). This is the time for the opera-goer, and the winter sports enthusiast, or to enjoy crowd-free shopping in Milan, Rome or Venice. But before February is out, the pink almond is already blossoming in the South.

Fifty years ago, Italy was a largely agrarian society. It is now the fifth- or sixth-biggest manufacturing economy in the world. Even today, however, it is characterized by great disparities of income. Pockets of great wealth and industry, such as Milan, are in marked contrast to areas with a far lower standard of living, particularly in the South (known as the Mezzogiorno), where patron/client relationships are still common. Lombardy alone accounts for 20% of Italy's GDP. Although visited for its historic art treasures, Italy strikes the visitor as a modern nation in a continuing state of evolution. It is a relatively young nation, too. This is often reflected in a "get rich quick" mentality of unrestrained commercialism. Many areas of natural beauty have been ruined by indiscriminate property development, particularly along the coasts.

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Italy's geographical structure and historical divisions have produced a country of distinct regions, each with its own dialect, politics and culture. For this reason one feature dominates Italian life - the family.

Family First

The importance of family in Italian life cannot be overestimated. Your family are the people you can trust, the people you work for, the people you do favors for or who do favors for you. The most extreme example of 'family first' is probably the Sicilian Mafia, whose code of honor permits vendettas or revenge killings between families lasting generations and whose loyalty is based entirely on the family.

At an everyday level, the Italians love talking about families and regard the family as giving you roots and a stake in society. It is always useful to carry photos of your family with you (if you don't have one, invent one!) to show around and discuss. It is one of the best ways of creating links with Italians.

Italians are 'feeling' people. They readily accept and exchange information, but ultimately decisions are made on gut feeling, with family and regional considerations also playing an important role.

The Church

Although Italy is not officially a Catholic country, the Catholic Church still has an important role in providing a structure to Italian life. Whether in opposition or in sympathy with it, the Church provides a focus for values and attitudes, and has shaped Italian culture. Religion is still a part of everyday life for large numbers of Italians. It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the Catholic tradition in people's daily lives, whether or not they profess to being believers or are practising Christians. Life in Italy is to a degree influenced by your belief in or opposition to the Catholic hierarchy. Catholicism is an autocratic, top-down religion, with a hierarchy of authority extending from the Pope, down through the cardinals, archbishops and bishops to the local parish priest. This hierarchical approach is reflected in society in the authority of the father, the structure of Italian businesses, the artistic culture of the people, and the church bells summoning the faithful to mass.

Bella Figura

In Britian it's humour, in France it's ideas, in Germany it's respectability, and in Italy it's appearances that make the world go round. It's true that in Italy how you dress and act speaks volumes about you and it's important to dress and act correctly. 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do', goes the popular saying, and the Romans, like all Italians, set great store by making a bella figura.

Fare una bella figura is to make a bad impression. To make a good impression, it is important to show off. People admire ricchezza (wealth) and belleza (beauty). Putting on a good face to disguise a bad performance is admired. So much of Italy is a beautiful presentation, rather like a swan gliding across the surface of the water while its legs paddle furiously beneath.

Loudness

Italy is traditionally noisy. Life is lived much more in public than in Britain or the USA, and private conversations can be easily overheard in the piazzas and streets. Added to this is the incessant roar of the cars and the hooting of the mopeds (motorini). The noise of conversation or shouted commands mingling with the sound of traffic takes some getting used to, but at least one observer - the English author Tobias Jones in The Dark Heart of Italy - notes, "After a while, other countries begin to seem eerily quiet, even dull".

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The above extract is kindly provided by Culture Smart! the essential guide to customs & culture. The 168-page guide retails at £6.95 + P&P and is available directly from Kuperard, the publishers of Culture Smart! guides.

CultureSmart!Consulting in conjunction with Cactus Language Training creates tailor-made seminars and consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate, public sector, and individual needs. Find out more at www.cactuslanguagetraining.com.

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