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!