How is the attitude in Italy?
 

We were planning a trip to Paris & then Italy in October. However, I've recently read some posts on another travel site that many Americans have experienced poor service & attitudes from Italians. Now, I know, many Americans behave in ways that encourage a bad attitude! But, I was wondering if the Italians are experiencing a depression with all the financial problems and austerity measures that are being taken. This is my SO's first trip to Italy, so I want him to have a good experience.

Instead of Italy, we were thinking about renting a car & touring the Dorgone region of France. Any thoughts? Neither of us have ever been to that area.

Thanks for any replies.

I'm quite sure that wherever you read that Italians are giving Americans attitude is coming from an ill informed traveler or another source guilty of stereotyping.

I get more attitudes in France than Italy.

nah, I don't think you will get much anti-american stuff in Italy. Equally I was in Spain about 10 years ago and a couple of very wealthy Texans were so parinoid they were claiming to be Canadian.

What you might find is that Italians warn you off talking to Romanians but that is a whole over can of worms.

As you state there can be missunderstandings and I expect that Americans can be confused that Italy is like home, it isn't.

Part of visiting another country is accepting that their culture is different, and adapting to it.

In Paris, I do not expect to be pushed out the door of a restaurant when I am finished eating. Viewed from another culture, what poor service, they do not bring the cheque.

Asking questions here will help identify what some of these are.

You really need to be more specific about poor service and attitudes in Italy. Where/what activities?

I've been to Italy quite a few times and have never encountered poor service and attitudes.

There are plenty of people who love to complain and use travel boards to do so.

The culture is different, but I don't consider that "attitude." When I was in Rome, the store clerks were there to do a job and didn't go out of their way to be friendly. However, that's a cultural difference (I'm from the South, where it's practically part of the job description to chat up the customers), and I certainly never took it as anti-American sentiment. We were in Rome, Venice, Bellagio, Varenna and Milan last year. Some people were very friendly. Some people were polite but not friendly. Some people were grumpy. From that standpoint, no different than anywhere else.

You may want to read some trip reports on this forum from people who have recently visited Italy. Obviously you are new to this site. Italy is one of the most popular destinations for a reason...the people are wonderful.

I fell in love with the Italian mindset when I was a young schoolboy in my hometown which was heavily populated with first generation Italian sons and daughters of immigrants.

I later asked the question with an essay titled "1913", for the local newspaper:

<i>Could this New England town
that spawned rebellious Adams
become home to homeless,
haven for hounded,
Finn and Italian
Syrian and Jew?</i>

...The lengthy opinion/answer that followed was a resounding "Yes"...giving high marks to all four communities wth special emphasis on the Italianos. In my many subsequent happy travels to Italy, I have always found countless examples of that delighful persona throughout the country.

Please do not let some disgruntled posters on that other travel site deter your trip.

Stu Tower

I am a firm believer that the attitude you project will largely result in the "attitude" you receive. We have not perceived any change in the italian disposition as a result of any recent economic difficulties and have consistently experienced wonderful treatment. Be careful of what you are fearful of!! If you want things exactly like you have at home, you are not acknowledging the cultural differences that make travel such an exciting experience. It will be different--embrace it without fear.

Actually, Italians have been considerably heartened by having Mario Monti at the helm of their government. It is not easy to face increased taxes and the loss of many traditional securities in jobs and professions, but Italians have almost uniformly expressed a cautious hope that Italy will gain more than it will lose by undertaking reforms now.

However, I think people coming to Italy looking for a "good experience" might want something more predictable than most of Italy is prepared to offer at any time. You don't say where you were planning to go in Italy, but I think some places in italy are more in tune to catering to foreign visitors and their demands than others. Bellagio, Venice, Chianti & the val d'Orcia, Lucca, the Amalfi and le Cinque Terre make a lot of American visitors happy with their hospitality. I've never been to the Dordogne area of France (note spelling) but perhaps that is what yo are looking for.

Have been to Europe many - MANY - times and have never experienced surly attitudes or poor service in general in any country except Russia (where it is endemic).

Naturally one specific person may be havig a bad day, but I have found Italians in particular to be friendly and helpful - often charming - as long as one behaves in a reasonable way.

With hundreds of trips to Europe under my belt, many of them to Italy, I can say that Italians far outshine most other people in terms of pleasant, friendly, and helpful attitudes.

IF it is the Dordogne you're referring to, I have owned a home there for 20 years. There's not a single person in my commune who would give you the time of day as a tourist (with the exception of the owners of the prehistoric cave next door to me, who would be pleasant in exchange for your euros). Of course in towns where there is commerce, you could expect a lack of "attitude" for the most part, as long as you behaved yourself.

After going through both France and Italy, I can easily say that people in both places are very, very friendly. They are all very proud of their city/country, they want to show it off, and help you discover it. Their culture is different and that could be why that particular poster had issues. While there I also noticed a lot of people (mainly Americans) publicly complaining about the culture/people of the area (or behaving badly) and the locals looking very offended, and behaving differently with them.

There were many times in France and Italy, where we would just walk up to a local stranger to ask for information or help with directions, and everyone we met was happy to help, and extremely helpful (in fact, while in Rome, we asked a shopkeeper who was working how to get to the colluseum, and he immediately came to help and did not pressure us to buy anything). The only people who would not be happy to help would be those who were rushing somewhere or did not speak much English (though I a lot of people who did not speak English would find a translator to interpret).

Thanks for the reassurance! I have been to Italy before, although many years ago and had a wonderful time. I am new to the board, although I've spent way too much time reading trip reports (to the neglect of everything around me) and it seemed as though everyone had only positive things to say. I was just wondering if things seemed different in this particular climate. Thanks for all the responses.

We had planned to go to Rome and Florence and spend 5-6 days in each place. I thought Florence would have cleared out by October, but I may be mistaken. In that case, we would rent a car to the Amalfi.

Again, thanks for the insight.

I personally have never had anything but helpful service in Italy, but last fall an Italian-American at the next table in Rome was insulted by the waitress because he used a fork and spoon to twirl his pasta: "You eat like a child," she said.

She had already marked him as a Calabrese bumpkin for putting red pepper flakes on something that Romans don't put red pepper flakes on. His companion translated all this for me.

So maybe your friends who got attitude were Italian Americans whose tastes and customs derived from Calabria or Puglia. There is a lot of prejudice against southern Italians and Sicilians.

That's an interesting anecdote, but commenting on a customer's method of using a fork is rude in any country, as far as I'm concerned.

The first time we saw this we thought it was poor service:

We handed over euro notes for purchases in a supermarket. The cashier placed the change on the counter rather than handing it to me. “How rude”, I thought. In Australia, they would have put the change into my hand – that’s polite.

And then we became a bit better informed – and realised that putting the change into the customers hand, in Italy, is rude. I have no idea why this is so, it is just part of the delightful difference that makes travel rewarding.

Peter, at Floris in London they used to put your change into a little wooden tray so that your fingers and theirs would not touch. Can't remember if they still did that last time I was there.

The only thing you may see is some anti American grafitti. It is no big deal, you won't see that attitude reflected in the behaviour of the people. In general, Italians love Americans, many have family living in the USA and you will find they want to chat.

There are cultural differences when it comes to service. Credit cards are not appreciated and you will need to have exact change to enter museums etc because Italians hate giving change for some reason!

My guess is that you will find superior service this visit because of the economic climate. After all,businesses need customers to survive and rudeness will not work any more. Good luck and have a wonderful time.

As long as you can understand the difference between cultural differences and "attitude" you'll be fine.

<<< you will need to have exact change to enter museums etc because Italians hate giving change for some reason >>

I think the reason is that there is a chronic shortage of coin in Italy. If you can give the exact change, it will be very much appreciated.

Same thing in Argentina , having change is not one of their fortes. Most likely in some countries coins do not abound. Nothing that a smile in most cases doesn't solve.
My theory is that in 99% of cases if the visitor is polite he or she is paid back with the same coin.
I haven' t been in Russia but surely I can understand nytraveler because when I visited Checoeslovaquia for the first time many years ago most pople seemed stiff and even rude. i guess life under the USSR
didn't help.

When I first visited Italy in the early 1970s as a performer on a USO tour, there was never any change. You paid for something using lira bills and got your change back in cubes of cheese or little wrapped candies.

Bank fees in Italy are excessive, so many Italian shop owners simply do not go to the bank every day to pick of rolls of change. Security inside Italian shops is very light -- shop owners often run in and out of the store and leave things unattended, so not a lot of cash is kept around.

Italian vendors will really appreciate it if you give them ANY AMOUNT of the small change needed that will allow them to give you bulk change in return. For instance, if the price is 12.35 euros, including 2 euro in coin is much appreciated if you hand the shop owner a 20 or 50 euro bill. If you don't have 2 euros, 35 euro cents -- or even 30 euro cents -- is appreciate. THe vendor will often wave away the extra 5 cents.

As for putting change on the counter, rather than into someone's hand, it is the same as not touching the merchandise. Italians fear the communication of disease through touching. You might object that touching your money is just as germy as touching hands, but they think the risks are cut by making it more impersonal. Morever, now it is a custom, and just as you would react very negatively if a shop owner attempted to hold your hand while returning your change, Italians prefer the money transaction to be a bit more formal.

Regarding credit cars, many people who have not been to Italy this year or do not follow the news may not realize that the Italian government recently outlawed all cash transactions over 1,000 euros. So credit cards will become much more the norm in Italy, including for apartment rentals.

You might want to read Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves. You will get some nice insights.

Regarding the handling of money in Italy -- that reminded me of my first trip to an Italian veggie stand. All I can say, is do not touch the produce! Smile and point at what you want, if you don't want to get yelled at!

Or you might not want to read Travel as a Political Act and bypass the "insights."

True about the touching of produce.

actually, you shouldn't touch anything in most any kind of store in Italy, certainly not asking. Supermarkets are a new exception, and some places have big signs that say "self-service" -- and they say it in English because the concept is to foreign to Italy they didn't have a word for it. Some of this will probably change under new regimes of economic reform.

Some of the origins of these things are obscure, and have simply become the customary way of doing things. The last time I was in Target store in America, I tried to bag my own purchases at check-out, since I was carrying a near-empty shopping tote, and the cashier freaked out. She wouldn't let me do it. I am still not sure why.

We were in Italy last year and are returning to Rome in September. We found everyone we dealt with and all those we met during our travels were simply wonderful people. Our landlord accommodated and did not charge us for the time not spent at his apartment due to a canceled flight. He didn't have to do that! Clearly that is why we are returning to his place again this year. I think Italy is like any other place, they have a way they do things and like it when that is respected. Personally I think that is universal. Not being rude to people usually gets you like reaction. And I wouldn't pass on a trip to Italy for anything!