Oh, God, not SALVE !!! By italian standards it's what you say when you really DON'T want to say hello😬. Ciao is totally OK if you are addressing people way younger than yourself or know then so well they have given you "permission" to use it. Greetings from Bergamo 🇮🇹

The inner code to say hello to a store person in Italy is "Salve" it means you understand Italian so you better be ready to back it up. Otherwise a nod acknowledgement or a pleasant ciao is appreciated. No need to be so formal as described in the video. Just be a pleasant person...

Ok no. The passeggiata is AFTER dinner the evening meal. Not after lunch!

i have been living in Italy for more than 30 years now and most of what you said is correct, however I see the younger generations are more 'informal' let's say so they are saying 'ciao' to everyone, even the younger shop attendants I think its a good idea to learn a few words in Italian, they will appeciate it and will go out of their way to help you and understand you. If you only speak Englsih and don't even say 'buongiorno' the Italians tend to not be as helpful to tourists.

This is perfect, such a lovely country, I hope to visit soon, grazie mille.

Exactly the same goes for the Spanish and Spanish habits. El ultimo is what you ask when joining a line waiting at post office or pharmacy etc. Smiling at strangers in the street is looked at as odd too, I'm English and do it with women my age, but they don't normally smile back. Love it when I go back to England where I get a smile and a greeting.

We visit Italy yearly and try to be as nice and polite as we can. You can learn a lot of Italian by purchasing an Italian phrase book. As Americans we are representing America and we act accordingly as polite Americans.

Is espresso served with a piece of lemon peel in Italy, please? Or is that an American thing?

Maple Syrup maybe not...unless they know about pancakes and know how to make them....Kissing on the cheek only OK if you know the people otherwise a nice handshake will do....Yes.....offering to take off your footwear is very important and a kind thought which will be highly appreciated in an Italian home..even though, most of the time your Italian host will tell you not to bother and keep them on. ...As an Italian...I am an oddity I know...but I refuse to eat any kind of fish pasta without a nice dusting of pecorino cheese on top of it....The two most important things to remember....Never show up empty handed when invited to dinner at somebody's home and please NEVER kiss anyone on the cheeks unless old time friends ...or relatives....PS..asking to have cheese on your pasta fish sauce..it's OK only if you are eating with friends or family...If you do not know the people very well...refrain...Bella figura is everything in Italy....LOL Enjoy bella Italia...

My 2 cents: do not burp!

Please don’t be late! If we say 1 o’clock it is 1 o’clock!

Sei bravo. Usi la pronuncia italiana corretta, conosci i termini, gli usi, e insegni cose pratiche senza girarci intorno. Video lunghi il necessario. 👍

Question. I don't drink at all. How do I politely decline alcohol while in Italy?

I just saw a video of an Italian KZbinr eating at a nice restaurant (in Parabita, Salento). He had grilled squid with chunks of some type of cheese. He even commented how that was sacrilegious in most of Italy. So there are indeed *some* Italian dishes that combine fish and cheese. I don't eat fish, so at least I'll never make that mistake 😉

I learned from Italy Made Easy that chrysanthemums are for funerals.

if there is pasta with fish the hosts won't even put any cheese on the table, so you don't need to worry about that one.

I am frequently in Italy, and everything in this video is correct.

Well done!

Grazie, very useful info, I am going to Italy soon to visit my Italian partner's family and it is good to remember these basic rules

Grazie

Have been reading your book, very informative, really enjoying it, gives you a great perspective of the Italian culture

This is great. Glad comments are now open. Been following quite a few videos. Does vorrei serve as the translation to the English proper of "may I have...?"

Nice!

Agree!!!! Thank you! :0)

The last time I was in Italy - not long ago - a shopkeeper said this to me - Grazie lei (It was in the extreme North in Piemont). Another time we were staying in a flat at the top of a small appartment building in Rome near the Via Aurelia. I'm originally from the UK, but I live in France and all my family are French, so we were all coming down the stairs at the beginning of the day about to go out visiting the city and a very nice lady whom we met on the stairs said (in French) bonjour to us. I corrected her because we were about to spend a whole day out by saying - bonne journée. She immediately understood the nuance and replied to show that she had understood - Buona giornata.

Being polite is universal. It doesn't matter the country you're in.

The problem for American travelers to Italy is lack of diversity in food choices. I don't like I like eating Italian food for 10 days straight.

Great advise man! Once a time was usually the workers' first choice, also for big family or when you don't wanna cook at home being back late night, making takw away. Just one tip to get right experience: pls, try to find the "real Italian" rosticceria/gastronomia/tavola calda that you can, runned by Italians: for many reason. Then avoid touristic places, too cheap or not good looking/greasy food. Last, also great choices in many Alimentari/Osterie/Bistro-Vineria/Pizza al taglio with great selection of dishes, fair priced, table and drink to enjoy; or take away. Many covered markets having lot of food stands/carts with instant cooking and tables. Ciao 🙂

Thank you. I have found around that world that polite expressions, even if that is the limit of one's knowledge in that language, work wonders. You come across and both polite and trying (in the good sense).

I'll be traveling to Italy in 2 weeks! I've been watching many of your helpful videos. We're only staying in Airbnbs specifically to save money on eating and laundry. Thank you for this video in particular; I can't wait to try ordering "questo, quello, and una porzione per favore"

for croissants you can just call them croissants if you want and they will get it. Otherwise "cornetto" (lit "small horn") is the correct name. Brioche is actually a different thing... but they only have it in the south. That's why there will be no problem with calling a croissant "brioche" in the north whereas in the south this would end up with you receiving a completely different thing. Also very good and you may want to try it but just know it's not the same thing. Also about sandwiches. We have the word in Italian, you can get in a bar and order a "sandwich". But it's not a "panino" - it's a specific kind of "panino" (specifically the one that uses sliced bread). The actual translation of that would be "tramezzino" while there is no real translation for a "club sandwich" so a sandwich that uses more than two slices. If this is what you want, order a sandwich. If you want the one with the real bread order a "panino". Sometimes bars have sandwiches made with different things instead of bread - in that case you may ask for that specifically (eg "focaccia" or "focaccia ripiena" or "panino con la focaccia" ("con" means with but in this case it would mean "made with" and not "filled with" as it usually would)) Anyway, saying "panino" lets you choose, saying "sandwich" indicates a specific kind. Also "toast" is a sandwich made with toasted slices of bread or a sandwich that then gets toasted. If you want plain toast ask for some "pane tostato".

Great stuff, 👍 grazie

Sperlonga: those look like some mighty nice beaches for the kids.

Well done!... But why do you pronounce SperlongO and not SperlongA?. SperlongA is correct.

Great video

You videos are so informative!

Thanks Patrick, just bought your book

The thing with the pizza left over has changed. In many restaurants nowadays you get a cardbox to bring the left overs home. At least here in northern Italy.

OMG! 😂 I'm here in Vicenza in northern Italy the dress code here is more like a damn religion (everybody must be dressed in black, grey or white, like at a funeral or something, otherwise your seen as oddball or homosexual or lesbian), it's like their gonna die if they even go outside of their own house door in the countryside without dress clothes and elegant shoes on because their scared their neighbor might see them. Then for conversations wow another point to make, most Italians here act like conversations with strangers even in a mall is flirting or most are just outright terrified about being seen in a public space talking to someone they don't know like their significant other or the palpac**zzi is watching their every move and interaction, maybe it's because I'm black IDK? 😂😅 I personally haven't been further down then Rome but already in Emiglia Romagna or Rimini people are way more friendly and chatty even towards foreigners colored or not.