Italy
1.
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 (a few euros) 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 or a few euros), but it’s a choice of convenience rather than
rewarding service, and it’s nowhere near 10 or 20% of the bill. In Rome,
waiters / taxi drivers are getting spoiled with foreigners leaving tips and are
now often expecting them. But you don’t need to tip in Italy. You’re
probably already paying a supplement through the servizio (service
charge) on your restaurant bill and/or the coperto (cover charge –
common in San Marco Square in Venice), sometimes both. You probably still want
to tip a hotel porter for bringing up your bags, a helpful concierge or a
thorough tour guide, and you can consider leaving 10 cents on your receipt at
the bar when you order a coffee, but don’t sweat it.
2.
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!
3.
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.
4.
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 (many restaurants won’t open
until 19/19;30), and 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? We just experienced this again in
Sicily. We were ready to eat around
18:00 and the restaurant was closed.
5.
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 may appear to 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. [Update:
someone made a comment to me that I’m wrong here, and the service is fast in
Italy. I am not debating the speed of the service but rather the amount of
attention that is given to the patron who may be accustomed to a high level of
attention throughout the dining experience. I think the quality of service is
relatively high, but it’s not conveyed in terms of client attentiveness but in
other ways.]
6.
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.
7.
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.
8.
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?)
9.
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.
10. 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
unless explicitly told to – 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.
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