Here’s a few words of advice for anyone hoping to visit Italy in the
near future – leave your own suggestions in the comments for others!
- Tipping in Italy. Though regularly discussed, argued and debated, the truth is you don’t need to tip in Italy. Really. Let me repeat that: you don’t need to tip in Italy.
Of course most workers will not scoff or refuse a tip (though a few
will), but it’s not necessary, and I think it’s a bad precedence to set
for foreigners to tip in Italy for simple things like a coffee, taxi
rides, or dinner in a pizzeria. Many Italians I know will only leave a
tip for very exceptional service (think: anniversary dinner in a Michelin-starred restaurant) or will leave the change when paying cash because it’s easier not to wait for the waiter to make change
(think: leaving a 100-euro banknote on a 99-euro bill), but it’s a
choice of convenience rather than rewarding service. In Rome, waiters /
taxi drivers are getting spoiled with foreigners leaving tips and are
now expecting them. But you don’t need to tip in Italy. You’re probably
already paying a supplement through the coperto (cover charge) or servizio
(service charge) on your restaurant bill. You probably still want to
tip a hotel porter for bringing up your bags, a helpful concierge or a
thorough tour guide.
- Assuming you can buy tickets for public transportation directly on the bus / tram. Most
big cities in Italy (Rome, Milan, Naples, Florence) require you to buy
your bus/tram tickets before boarding. And not just that, but most bus
stops will not have a ticket machine next to the stop. Rather, you’ll
need to find a newspaper stand (edicola) or a tobacco shop (tabaccaio)
to purchase your tickets. If you’re planning on using public
transportation on a Sunday, buy your tickets the day before – you’ll
save a lot of time not looking for an open place to buy tickets. And
once on the bus/tram, make sure you validate the ticket – put it into a
machine that will print the date/time used on the ticket (so it can’t be
re-used). Save yourself a fine!
- Calling the afternoon store closings a “siesta.” It’s
not called a “siesta”…the stores are just closed. Some stores have a
day of the week that they are closed and they will call it a day of rest
(giorno di riposo) or (riposo settimanale), and most
stores will also be closed Monday mornings, opening in the afternoons
directly. A misconception is that all stores will close in the
afternoon, but it really depends on where you are in Italy, and what
time of year. Especially in crowded city centers, many stores should
remain open through the afternoon, but if they do close, it’s not a
siesta. It’s not Spain. It’s just closed. As my friend Max reminded me,
store hours are set at the Comune (city) level, so opening times will vary from city to city.
- Not respecting meal times, especially at lunch time. Most restaurants and bars have specific opening times, and they will close
in the afternoon – that you can count on. If you have a late breakfast,
visit museums through lunch and hope to get a bite to eat at 2pm or
3pm, you’re going to find a very limited selection, and some of which
was prepared before the lunch rush, including those sandwiches that have
been sitting there since 10am. Try to eat when Italians eat – lunch
hour is usually 13-14 (some start as early as 12.30 eating) and most
will be done by 14.30. Dinner is a little different – the further south
you go, the later they start eating. A good rule of thumb is a
reservation for 20/20.30, but some groups will make reservations for
21.30/22 and will stay until the restaurant closes! If you’re hungry
earlier, why not have an aperitivo (pre-dinner drink) before dinner?
- Expecting to be waited on very attentively in a restaurant or store.
The culture of “il cliente comanda” (the client dictates / is right) is
not present in Italy. Furthermore, most restaurants will be
“understaffed,” that is, they will have few waiters working many tables
because their main job is to order and deliver your food. They probably
won’t ask “how are you folks doing?”, if you like the food, if you want a
refill (this concept doesn’t exist) or other general “friendly”
requests that are in reality superfluous to your main dining experience –
they just don’t have the time. So, sit back, be patient, and flag down
your waiter when you need something, but be patient in knowing they are
probably working very hard. The good news is, you’ll rarely be presented
with the check until you ask for it.
- Ordering peperoni on your pizza and expecting hot/spicy salami. Peperoni
in Italian are bell peppers, not pepperoni in the US which is hot
salami. So if you want hot salami on your pizza, don’t order a pizza
with peperoni (note the spelling – just one p) order a pizza diavola or look for a pizza that has salame piccante as one of the ingredients.
- Thinking you have to order an antipasto, primo e secondo at every meal. Most Italians don’t eat an antipasto, primo, secondo and dolce
at every meal – you don’t have to, either. If you eat like this at
every meal, you will definitely feel full! Feel free just to pick a primo or secondo for your lunch and maybe splurge at dinner with a more robust meal.
- Ordering before paying, paying before ordering in a bar. Many bars require that you get a receipt (scontrino) before ordering, especially if you see the cash register (cassa)
sitting apart from where you’ll pick up the food or coffee, and you
don’t see immediate table service. When in doubt, observe for a few
minutes or just ask at the cash register how to proceed – you might say,
“scusi, si paga o si ordina prima?” (Does one pay or order first?)
- Drinking a coffee during a meal (other than breakfast).
Coffee is used mainly to help digestion and to finish off a meal, and
therefore at lunch or dinner it is ordered after the meal and dessert
have been consumed. If you order a cappuccino to go with your spaghetti carbonara, expect a nasty look…from everyone.
- Touching fruit & vegetables with your bare hands in a street market or supermarket.
In a supermarket you should see plastic gloves and bags near the scales
or throughout the fruit/veg section. Use them. In an open-air market,
you won’t see these gloves because you are not expected to handle
anything yourself – the people working in the stall will do everything.
Don’t touch the goods! Also, it’s considered pretty rude to tell the fruttivendolo exactly which fruit he should put in your bag.
