Italy - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture

104 Pages·2016·2.45 MB·English

by  Barry Tomalin

Copyright © 2016 Kuperard
Revised and updated edition 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing from the publishers.
Culture Smart!® is a registered trademark of Bravo Ltd.
ISBN 978 1 85733 830 0
This book is also available as an e-book: eISBN 978-1-85733-831-7
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library
First published in Great Britain
by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd
59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
www.culturesmart.co.uk
Inquiries: [email protected]
Series Editor Geoffrey Chesler
Design Bobby Birchall
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v3.1
About the Author
BARRY TOMALIN, M.A., is Senior Lecturer in International Communication and Cultural
Awareness at the London Academy of Diplomacy, and Director of the Business Cultural
Trainer’s Certificate course at International House, London. After graduating with a B.A.
(Hons) in Anthropology and Linguistics from the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London, he gained an M.A. in International Liaison and Communication
at the University of Westminster. He has taught at Link University in Rome, and run
training programs in Milan, Rome, Genoa, and Naples. He has traveled extensively in
Italy and brings firsthand experience and professional insight to the country and its
people.
The Culture Smart! series is continuing to expand.
For further information and latest titles visit
www.culturesmart.co.uk
The publishers would like to thank CultureSmart! Consulting for its help in researching and developing the concept
for this series.
CultureSmart! Consulting creates tailor-made seminars and consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate,
public-sector, and individual needs. Whether delivering courses on multicultural team building in the USA, preparing
Chinese engineers for a posting in Europe, training call-center staff in India, or raising the awareness of police forces
to the needs of diverse ethnic communities, it provides essential, practical, and powerful skills worldwide to an
increasingly international workforce.
For details, visit www.culturesmartconsulting.com
CultureSmart! Consulting and CultureSmart! guides have both contributed to and featured regularly in the weekly
travel program “Fast Track” on BBC World TV.
contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
About the Author
Map of Italy
Introduction
Key Facts
Chapter 1: LAND AND PEOPLE
• Geography
• Climate and Weather
• Population
• Regions and Cities
• A Brief History
• Postwar Italy
• Government
• Politics
• Economic Life
Chapter 2: VALUES AND ATTITUDES
• Family First
• Feelings and Emotions
• The Church
• Tolerance
• Bella Figura
• Loudness
• Order and Hierarchy
• Garbo
• Relationships
• Campanilismo and the Piazza
• Bureaucracy–The Fourth Estate
• Being Furbo
• Conclusion
Chapter 3: FESTIVALS AND TRADITIONS
• Main Italian Public Holidays
• The Festive Year
• Annual Vacations
• Local Holidays
• Carnevale
• The Palio
• Name-Days
• Saints
• Behavior in Church
• Superstition
• Conclusion
Chapter 4: MAKING FRIENDS
• Esterofilia
• Close-Knit Circles
• Commitments
• Jealousy
• Power
• Invitations
• Gift Giving
• Social Clubs
• Bars and Nightlife
• Conclusion
Chapter 5: DAILY LIFE
• Housing
• Shopping
• Education
• Military Service and the Armed Forces
• Finding a Job
• Marriage
• Birth
• Money and Banking
• Keeping Healthy
Chapter 6: TIME OUT
• Eating and Drinking
• Dress
• Outdoor Life
• Football as a Way of Life
• Seeing the Sights
• Festivals
• Museums and Art Galleries
• Monuments
• Music and Theater
• Cinema
Chapter 7: GETTING AROUND
• Air Travel and Entry to Italy
• Police Registration
• The Ubiquitous Bollo
• Residency
• Public and Private Transport
Chapter 8: BUSINESS BRIEFING
• Business in Italy
• Company Structure and Organization
• Company Finance and Corporate Governance
• Labor Relations
• Planning
• Leadership
• Decision-Making
• Teamworking
• Motivation
• The Overall Language of Management
• Feedback and Managing Disagreement
• Communication Styles
• Making Contact
• Business Hours
• Preparing For Your Visit
• The First Meeting
• Making a Presentation
• Meetings and Negotiating Skills
• Business Entertaining
Chapter 9: COMMUNICATING
• Language Skills
• The Media
• Telephones
• The Postal Service
• Conversazione
• Gender Issues
• Conclusion
Further Reading
Acknowledgments
Map of Italy
introduction
It is impossible to be bored in Italy. To excite, delight, and stimulate you there is the
beauty of the land, the elegance and charm of its people, the variety of its regional
cultures, the richness of its food and wine, the quality and dash of its design and
engineering, the reputation of its artists, sculptors, writers, musicians, and filmmakers
and, above all, the glory of its monuments and architecture. There is the sensuous
pleasure of the Italian language, everyday as well as operatic; and the way Italians use
diminutives and nicknames to create familiarity and intimacy with those around them.
There is the whiff of intrigue and even scandal as well as tragedy in its history and
politics, from the time of the ancient Romans, through the Renaissance right up to the
present day.
Like all the Culture Smart! guides, this book focuses on the people. How do they
behave, and what makes them tick? What is the best way to get on good terms with
them? For that is the real way to enjoy Italy.
Above all other European nations, the Italians epitomize style. Fare bella figura—“to
look good, to make the right impression”—is a social imperative, not a fashionable
option. Some people have commented dryly that Italy represents a “triumph of style
over substance.” As this book shows, style is part of the substance—it helps explain the
success of Italian design and fashion worldwide.
Like the other titles in this series, CultureSmart! Italy shows you as a foreigner how to
get the best out of being in Italy and meeting and working with Italians. It tells you
what you need to know about its history and culture and gives you a platform for
further investigation of this fascinating country. It shows you how the Italians go about
their daily lives, and highlights some of their passions and preoccupations. It introduces
their festivals and traditions. It suggests how to have a good time in the Italian way,
and gives tips on how to travel around. It offers a guide to communications, in
particular to communicating successfully with Italians in a business situation.
Italian culture has been exported all over the world. What is it like at home? The
Italians are the most European-minded of nations, emerging as they do from a long
history of regional fragmentation, with some ancient battles still fought out on the
football fields of Italy every week in season. This is your chance to get to know them
better.