Italy | General Discussion

So I'm visiting Italy next week and I just wanted to know a bit more the customs and stuff. Are the people friendly? I've also heard a lot about pickpocketers and ******* and such. Is anyone here from Italy/ visited? (btw im American)

Tacodog2470

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March 16, 2018 17:54:45

So I'm visiting Italy next week and I just wanted to know a bit more the customs and stuff. Are the people friendly? I've also heard a lot about pickpocketers and ******* and such. Is anyone here from Italy/ visited? (btw im American)

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capybaras

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March 16, 2018 18:35:47

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@Arupocalypse
Aye.

@Tacodog2470
It would probably depend what part of the country you are going to. The only parts I've been to are urban.

From my experience, most people are pretty friendly. But yeah, pickpocketers and other scammers are pretty common in the city. I'm not an expert in Italian customs, but I can give you some advice for the pickpocketers and the like.

If you are taking a purse or a bag to carry stuff in, I'd recommend finding one with a latch or lock on the zipper, and that's made of a relatively tough material. (I'm not a purse expert to know the proper terms for this kinda stuff, sorry). Make sure to keep it close and constantly check to make sure you have all your belongings. If possible, try to keep a hand on the bag. When I went, the purse I had had a latch on the zipper that could be hooked onto the purse handle.

As for scammers, my best advice would be to just ignore them (and try to keep a distance if possible). Often times they will be selling bags, cheap souvenirs, trying to get you to sign a paper, or even trying to get you to gamble. I'm sure there are some sneakier ones out there, but these are the ones I saw the most. If you don't talk to them and keep your distance, they'll probably leave you alone.

Though for a happier topic, Italy has some amazing food! My advice would be to look for local "small" restaurants to check out, rather than going to the touristy ones. If you step off the beaten path a little, you'll probably find food that's much higher quality.

Teal0ctober

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March 16, 2018 19:20:49

@Arupocalypse
Aye.

@Tacodog2470
It would probably depend what part of the country you are going to. The only parts I've been to are urban.

From my experience, most people are pretty friendly. But yeah, pickpocketers and other scammers are pretty common in the city. I'm not an expert in Italian customs, but I can give you some advice for the pickpocketers and the like.

If you are taking a purse or a bag to carry stuff in, I'd recommend finding one with a latch or lock on the zipper, and that's made of a relatively tough material. (I'm not a purse expert to know the proper terms for this kinda stuff, sorry). Make sure to keep it close and constantly check to make sure you have all your belongings. If possible, try to keep a hand on the bag. When I went, the purse I had had a latch on the zipper that could be hooked onto the purse handle.

As for scammers, my best advice would be to just ignore them (and try to keep a distance if possible). Often times they will be selling bags, cheap souvenirs, trying to get you to sign a paper, or even trying to get you to gamble. I'm sure there are some sneakier ones out there, but these are the ones I saw the most. If you don't talk to them and keep your distance, they'll probably leave you alone.

Though for a happier topic, Italy has some amazing food! My advice would be to look for local "small" restaurants to check out, rather than going to the touristy ones. If you step off the beaten path a little, you'll probably find food that's much higher quality.

I've never been to Italy but lived in Spain most of my life and traveled a lot, so I think I can offer up some advice and tidbits about traveling places in Europe. Just not specifically Italy, sorry. ^^'

First thing is, try to get outside of the tourist-y areas if you're comfortable. Staying within popular sites makes you feel like you're in a museum rather than a real place, if that makes sense. Whenever I'm someplace new I always walk around random streets as much as I can, after sightseeing the popular spots. Most importantly it leaves a big impression on you and betters the experience overall, but also the food is a lot cheaper, haha.

Second, public transport is your friend. Big cities make it easy to read in several languages (especially English) and it's very cheap. Renting a car in a European city is more headache than it's worth. If you can't walk somewhere, you can always take a bus. Taxis aren't really worth it; they mostly profit from tourists being afraid to use the public transit. Sometimes there are places you need a taxi to get to, but always check the bus first.

Third, if you don't plan on visiting again for a long time, experience as much of the cuisine as possible. I'm not totally familiar with Italian food (or the food of your specific destination in Italy), but it's a good idea to ask the servers at the restaurants what they recommend. Ask them for what the town/city is known for, specifically. Of course, do some research ahead of time about popular foods to try so you don't miss something. Have a food bucket list of sorts.

EDIT: I ditto what someone else said about local restaurants. It's not like here in the U.S. The best restaurants are actually the little ones that look sort of unimpressive. Don't bother with chains or big luxurious restaurants. Expensive ≠ better.

[Tangent on wine and cheese. Ignore if you're not into that.] Two big ones are wine and cheese. Pretty much every place has a de facto wine and cheese that become exponentially more expensive the further away you are. (For example, if I want some typical cured cheese from my home town, I might pay 7,50€/kg in Spain but $50/kg here). Wine prices are insane when you have to import so definitely take advantage of whatever local fare they have.

I could probably think of more things but am blanking out at the moment. Show up to airports AT LEAST three hours before departure, bring melatonin because it's good for overcoming jetlag, yadda yadda... Be sure to have fun!

Sidenote on pickpocketing:

My suggestions for avoiding pickpockets, which you'll find in basically any big city, is to carry only what you absolutely need and to keep things in front pockets. When you're not actively walking, avoid putting things on tables. ALWAYS have your belongings either in front pockets or in your hands, especially when staying in one place.

Some pickpockets will act like they're asking for money while simultaneously robbing you. It sounds like it would be easy to detect but trust me, these guys are experienced. I lost a phone at a restaurant in Madrid this way.

I recommend against carrying a backpack, but if you have one (or a camera pack, etc.) you can loop the strap around your chair leg before sitting down. This way, it's impossible to take the whole thing unless they cut the strap, which would be easier to notice.

No need to be paranoid, it probably won't happen, just be expecting it as that's the best thing you can do to avoid it.

TL;DR Carry minimum items, front pockets, never let go of what you're holding/carrying.

CortezEspartaco2

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March 16, 2018 21:03:23

I've never been to Italy but lived in Spain most of my life and traveled a lot, so I think I can offer up some advice and tidbits about traveling places in Europe. Just not specifically Italy, sorry. ^^'

First thing is, try to get outside of the tourist-y areas if you're comfortable. Staying within popular sites makes you feel like you're in a museum rather than a real place, if that makes sense. Whenever I'm someplace new I always walk around random streets as much as I can, after sightseeing the popular spots. Most importantly it leaves a big impression on you and betters the experience overall, but also the food is a lot cheaper, haha.

Second, public transport is your friend. Big cities make it easy to read in several languages (especially English) and it's very cheap. Renting a car in a European city is more headache than it's worth. If you can't walk somewhere, you can always take a bus. Taxis aren't really worth it; they mostly profit from tourists being afraid to use the public transit. Sometimes there are places you need a taxi to get to, but always check the bus first.

Third, if you don't plan on visiting again for a long time, experience as much of the cuisine as possible. I'm not totally familiar with Italian food (or the food of your specific destination in Italy), but it's a good idea to ask the servers at the restaurants what they recommend. Ask them for what the town/city is known for, specifically. Of course, do some research ahead of time about popular foods to try so you don't miss something. Have a food bucket list of sorts.

EDIT: I ditto what someone else said about local restaurants. It's not like here in the U.S. The best restaurants are actually the little ones that look sort of unimpressive. Don't bother with chains or big luxurious restaurants. Expensive ≠ better.

[Tangent on wine and cheese. Ignore if you're not into that.] Two big ones are wine and cheese. Pretty much every place has a de facto wine and cheese that become exponentially more expensive the further away you are. (For example, if I want some typical cured cheese from my home town, I might pay 7,50€/kg in Spain but $50/kg here). Wine prices are insane when you have to import so definitely take advantage of whatever local fare they have.

I could probably think of more things but am blanking out at the moment. Show up to airports AT LEAST three hours before departure, bring melatonin because it's good for overcoming jetlag, yadda yadda... Be sure to have fun!

Sidenote on pickpocketing:

My suggestions for avoiding pickpockets, which you'll find in basically any big city, is to carry only what you absolutely need and to keep things in front pockets. When you're not actively walking, avoid putting things on tables. ALWAYS have your belongings either in front pockets or in your hands, especially when staying in one place.

Some pickpockets will act like they're asking for money while simultaneously robbing you. It sounds like it would be easy to detect but trust me, these guys are experienced. I lost a phone at a restaurant in Madrid this way.

I recommend against carrying a backpack, but if you have one (or a camera pack, etc.) you can loop the strap around your chair leg before sitting down. This way, it's impossible to take the whole thing unless they cut the strap, which would be easier to notice.

No need to be paranoid, it probably won't happen, just be expecting it as that's the best thing you can do to avoid it.

TL;DR Carry minimum items, front pockets, never let go of what you're holding/carrying.

Last edited on Mar 16, 2018 21:06:52 by CortezEspartaco2

@Tacodog2470
I'm Italian! I live in the north, which is the "safest" side of the Country - meaning less pickpocketers and scammers, but it really depends on the cities you're going to. Where are you going, if I may ask?

I live in a city that's considered pretty dangerous, but I've never had problems just by following what's considered pretty much common sense here. As others have said above: carry the minimum with you; if you have a backpack make sure it's safe (not easy to open or cut - I personally like better small purses since you can always have an hand of them if you're in a really crowded place); don't stay alone once it's dark (I don't really follow this advice tbh, but better safe than sorry); ignore people that are trying to sell you stuff for charity or such - most of them are scammers.

About the public transports - the service really depends on where you go. I mean, they work and they're the cheapest way to travel around, but the trains usually have at least a 5 minutes delay almost everywhere. We don't have the subway everywhere - cities like Milan and Rome do but the last one is kinda... bad. Be prepared for the smelly, old cabins if you're going there.
Still, this is way cheaper than to rent a car or use a taxi, so if you can't visit everything by feet, go for it! Busses, trains, subways and trams usually have weekly passes that you can get at the vending machines (and they have the English language), take them to spare a few €!

And as the others said about the food, go for it. Small, family-managed restaurants are usually the best. But be careful about how different our food is to American's one! Like, many, many things that are considered Italian are actually an American version and they are COMPLETELY different here. Pizza is usually very thin and the seasonings have different names or don't exist ("pepperoni pizza" here is "pizza con salame piccante", and "peperoni" in Italian are the sweet peppers); maccheroni and cheese doesn't exist and the maccheroni pasta is another kind of pasta, not those c-shaped ones; pasta bolognese/napoletana doesn't exist; the carbonara is made with pork pillow (not sure if that's how the meat is called in English ahah), almost raw egg and pecorino - a cheese made from goat milk. So really, be careful since many things you might think you know and like might surprise you - in a good or bad way.

For what concerns the people here, we're mostly friendly I'd say. A big, big problem tho is that not everybody speaks English. Instead, few people actually do. If you need help, aim for people that look between 15-30, I'd say that's the most safe range for English speakers ahahah
And yes. We do gesticulate a lot while we speak. Don't be scared it's harmless.

If you have any specific question, please do ask away!

SqueakyDuck

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March 17, 2018 16:39:02

@Tacodog2470
I'm Italian! I live in the north, which is the "safest" side of the Country - meaning less pickpocketers and scammers, but it really depends on the cities you're going to. Where are you going, if I may ask?

I live in a city that's considered pretty dangerous, but I've never had problems just by following what's considered pretty much common sense here. As others have said above: carry the minimum with you; if you have a backpack make sure it's safe (not easy to open or cut - I personally like better small purses since you can always have an hand of them if you're in a really crowded place); don't stay alone once it's dark (I don't really follow this advice tbh, but better safe than sorry); ignore people that are trying to sell you stuff for charity or such - most of them are scammers.

About the public transports - the service really depends on where you go. I mean, they work and they're the cheapest way to travel around, but the trains usually have at least a 5 minutes delay almost everywhere. We don't have the subway everywhere - cities like Milan and Rome do but the last one is kinda... bad. Be prepared for the smelly, old cabins if you're going there.
Still, this is way cheaper than to rent a car or use a taxi, so if you can't visit everything by feet, go for it! Busses, trains, subways and trams usually have weekly passes that you can get at the vending machines (and they have the English language), take them to spare a few €!

And as the others said about the food, go for it. Small, family-managed restaurants are usually the best. But be careful about how different our food is to American's one! Like, many, many things that are considered Italian are actually an American version and they are COMPLETELY different here. Pizza is usually very thin and the seasonings have different names or don't exist ("pepperoni pizza" here is "pizza con salame piccante", and "peperoni" in Italian are the sweet peppers); maccheroni and cheese doesn't exist and the maccheroni pasta is another kind of pasta, not those c-shaped ones; pasta bolognese/napoletana doesn't exist; the carbonara is made with pork pillow (not sure if that's how the meat is called in English ahah), almost raw egg and pecorino - a cheese made from goat milk. So really, be careful since many things you might think you know and like might surprise you - in a good or bad way.

For what concerns the people here, we're mostly friendly I'd say. A big, big problem tho is that not everybody speaks English. Instead, few people actually do. If you need help, aim for people that look between 15-30, I'd say that's the most safe range for English speakers ahahah
And yes. We do gesticulate a lot while we speak. Don't be scared it's harmless.

If you have any specific question, please do ask away!