Buzzy

We have travelled to France for years and are off to Northern Italy for the first time this summer. For those of you who have experience of both countries what would you say were the main differences between the Italians and the French? Are there noticable differences in behaviour and attitudes? How do they respond to foreign visitors? Do you feel more positive about your time in Italy or France?

bobthenavigator

Oh my, this question may open a can of worms. I see a difference in attitude---the Italians are more fun loving and open.

bradykp

I've been to Italy a few times now and the further south you travel, the more relaxed the italians get. so don't be surprised if the north is more similar to the surrounding european countries than you think.

P_M

The French live in France while the Italians live in Italy. Those are the major differences, and it's never good to generalize. You can expect to be treated the way you treat them. My experiences in both countries have all been very positive.

Intrepid1

I'm glad to se you are broadening your horizons after having traveled in France for years.

However, I would not make the mistake of thining that the portion of Italy you are going to visit is representative of how all Italians look, act, etc., since, as in many countries, those things can vary considerably by region.

Perhaps if you interact with the right folks you may even stumble onto that old Italian Milan vs Rome vs "the rest" of the country (particularly the part south of Rome) mindset. Your trip report should prove fascinating.

Powell

Though an American of Irish and Italian (Neapolitan) ancestry, I am a confirmed Francophile who has traveled for many years throughout France. My wife and I have traveled to Italy to a lesser degree: Rome, Siena, Florence, etc. Ireland is our other major port of call.

It is very difficult to generalize. I will give it a go,

The French are more reserved. You will seldom be invited in to their homes before many years of acquaintance. The Italians are friendlier, more tolerant. They are both secular in outlook with the French in particular being rather anticlerical (I have heard that in southern France there is one priest for every eight parishes.)

As the Turin opening displayed, the Italians know how to put on a show. The Palio in Siena and opera in general give proofs of that notion. I suggest a book on Italians: "The Italians" by Luigi Barzini.

As another respondent noted, each country has regions that differ widely from each other. We fell in love with Provence and Paris in particular. Consider reading the Mayle books and "Seven Ages of Paris" to learn more about the French and France.

I think travel itself is wonderful. Some like to climb Kilimanjaro or sleep in Kenyan treehouses. God bless them. For me France, Italy and Ireland are a marvelous universe open to endless exploration and appreciation.

Anthony Spinelli

Pausanias

IMO France and Italy are the two most civilized countries in the world. I am no longer sure of the order, nor indeed of what the phrase means. That detail aside, I have noticed a slightly greater reserve in the French. The Italians smile more, but charge the same. Out of transparent reverse snobbery, and in defiance of the Conde Nast set, I prefer southern Italy to the north because it appears less disciplined and calculating. I am certain this is an illusion.

Enjoy your visit!

ira

>What's The Difference Between The Italains and The French??<

The Italains come from Italainia, which is a mainly Germanic country, while the French are more Latin.

JJ5

Less differences than you would think from just appearances, IMHO.

All of the above are good accurate opinions, but I believe in my own experience that the Italians have much more delight in playing with the "power" or authority figures.
A coup pulled on those entities is often considered and celebrated as a triumph. And I'm not so unsure that this doesn't include ALL of Italy. And yes, the Italian self-identity is much more regional than in France.

Since I am German and Italian by halves, I have more experience with those two countries, but have been to France 3 times- once for a extended period.

They call Milan, the "German" city in the South of Italy. But it isn't. It's just more fast paced, proper signage, Northern cultural style etc. I think Milan is terrific- LOVE it and it is totally underrated.

I find Italy far more relaxed on the whole than France. The French seem more conflicted all the time to me.

ira

Hi JJ,

>the Italians have much more delight in playing with the "power" or authority figures. <

Story from an Italian friend:

"My father would make his own wine. US govt rules allowed 200 gal/yr for 'personal use'.

Dad would make 225 gal.

When I asked him "why?", he said that he wasn't going to let the government tell him what to do.

So I said, "why not 250 gal"?

"That would be dishonest".

mr_go

Dad's right...can o' worms here. Yes, the Italians are generally more open and fun-loving while the French are generally more fussy. But you'll find as much variance between regions in each country as you will between the countries themselves.

In both countries (and all others), the reactions I've received from the locals has been in direct proportion to how friendly, polite and clued-in I have been. And if you don't speak much French, I would recommend a Pimsleur crash-course on CD.

Enjoy!

Kate

The French often sneer at my attempts to torture their language, whereas the Italians show great patience and delight in the words I can mangle in Italian.

Both nations are very polite in their discourse with you. This politeness doesn't extend to queueing.

Both nations regard their cuisine as the best in the world. The italians are right.

The French will only drink French wine. The Italians will only drink wine that was made within a 5 mile radius of their house.

Celticharper

Thanks for the question Buzzy, It's one I've been wanting to ask.
We also have spent nearly a month in France every year for the past 5 years but this year we will be in the north of Italy.
My husband wants to ride his bike on some of the famous routes of the Giro d'Italia, so we will be in the mountains, the alps and the dolomites.
We prefer small villages where the feeling is often very different than in larger metropolitan areas.

I've always found the French to be very warm and welcoming, always willing to offer help and assistance should we need it. I've also had many people help me with my French pronounciation, so my French language skills have improved dramatically.
I'm studying Italian now, so hopefully I'll be able to be polite in Italian, I think that is very important.

JJ5

Mr go, I speak some French (pronunciation terrible regardless of how I try- after 5 years of academic study) and understand it better than I do Italian, since I listened to a Sicilian dialect that sent me around the bend as far as good Italian is concerned. And in France I was not tolerated with patience, regardless of how I tried to make myself friendly, polite etc.

That doesn't mean I was treatly badly in France, but I was not treated in the way I have been treated in Italy with much less correct usage. Maybe it is different now, as this was more than 20 years ago. But that has been my experience- in Paris especially the reaction I got was one that made me feel a fool for trying more than a few times.

Celticharper

I have never been treated rudely in France, on any of our visits, and my attempt at the language was greeted with surprise and great pleasure.

I mean it when I say that people were helpful in gently correcting me when I made a mistake and were pleased that I understood their lesson and that I appreciated their willingness to help me.

My French gets better every year, but I've found that whenever I tried to speak the language I was treated with a special welcome.

I think it's looked upon as a matter of respect, that I am interested enough in their country and culture that I am trying.

Now I'm trying to learn Italian to be polite when we are in the northern part of Italy, but I think I'm up a creek because the books all say I should be studying German for that area instead.

Buzzy

I'll be staying in an old apartment in the village of Ceriana near San remo. I'm looking forward to some lazy meals and exploring all the surounding small villages on the riviera. I tend to like smaller villages and local restaurants rather than the big tourist towns. In france we always stay in old gites and essentially go native. I was just interested to hear other people's views. Thank you.

maitaitom

The French have better bread, and the Italians have better wine (in my opinion, of course). That said, I'll eat Italian bread and drink lots of French wine.

If I could, I'd spend six months in Paris and six months in Tuscany any year. Outside of the rarest occasion, I have not run into rude people in either country (well, outside of tourists), and I've been to both countries many times.

tancredi

"What's a Frenchman ? An Italian in a bad mood" (Jean Cocteau)

Tallulah

Ask anyone English and you're most likely to be told that they like Italians

(Go on, you can laugh - we don't REALLY mean it about the French!! ;-) )

USNR

My wife and I traveled by train and found amusing differences between the Italians and the Germans when it came to eating.

The Italians would open a box or basket, spread a cloth, and have a picnic, asking us to take part because we did not have sense enough to bring along any food or drink.

The Germans, when it came time to eat, would become what we call "the armpit eaters." Each would try to sneak food from inside their coat, move it slowly toward their mouth, see if we were watching, then pop it into their mouth. Share? Never!

Picnikers and Armpit Eaters -- classic generalizations with a grain of truth.