Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Italian Stereotypes | rome blog


Italian Stereotypes - Do they exist?

November 24, 2009 By: romeblogger Category: Rome

We’ve all seen the movies La Dolce Vita and The Godfather, the favourite food of most kids is pizza and a lot of people choose Italy as their holiday destination. And we all have an image in our mind of what a typical Italian looks like. But are all these Italian stereotypes true? Where there’s smoke there’s fire, right? Let’s talk about some of the most common ideas foreigners have about Italians.

mafia

They eat pasta every day. True, Italians love pasta and lasagne. Pasta is a generic term; since there is more then 600 varieties, from farfalle and rigatoni to penne. An average Italian is said to eat about 28 kg of pasta per year, and they prefer to eat their pasta ‘Al dente’, which foreigners often find raw. Compare it with rice or potatoes. Instead eating potatoes with meat, fish or vegetables everyday, Italians eat pasta.

Italian men are great lovers. This is partly true. A poll in which more then 15,000 women from all over the world participated ranks Italians as the third best lovers in the world. They are passionate, give you all the attention you want, and know how to flirt. Does that make them womanizers? They sure as hell used to be, ask any woman in her forties and chances are pretty high she once had her heart broken by an Italian summer lover. But today it seems like these machos or players are on the verge of extinction. 7 out of 10 Italian men admitted being too insecure to flirt with girls on the beach.

All Italians dress very well. False, it is a mistake that all Italian girls seem to come straight off the cover of Vogue and not all Italian men wear Armani suits. They don’t like to stand out and everyone does dress more or less the same, but that doesn’t necessarily mean designer clothes. But what about the typical ‘Guido’, with his tight white t-shirts, necklace, spray on tan and massive amounts of hair gel? Although Italian men are very concerned with fashion, these type of tacky wannabe Italians you’ll only find in the United States.

Italian men are momma’s boys. True. 1 out of 3 Italian men sees his mother everyday, and 7 out of 10 single men above 35 still live with their parents. Most of them don’t leave home until they are married. Italian mothers are very protective and love to be in control of their son’s lives because only the very best is good enough for their boys. Sadly, 1 out of 3 divorced women pointed to their mother in law as the main cause for their divorce. But on the other hand, if you stand up to the Italian mama, set your boundaries and convince her that you’ll take care of her son very well, she’ll welcome you into the family with open arms and do anything for you.

No, not all Italians belong to the mafia. Yes, they often say ‘Mamma Mia’ and not everyone drives a Lamborghini. When in Rome, do as the Romans do… Spend a wonderful holiday in Rome, and find out for yourself if these stereotypes are true or not! And why not rent you own apartment in Rome and throw yourself completely into the Italian way of life!

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