Follow the jump links to learn more about Italy:
Lifestyle and Family Living
Teen Life
Dress and Appearance
Diet and Meals
Educational System
Geography and Climate
Population
Language
Government
Religion
Spending Money
Safety and Support
Fun Facts
Lifestyle and Family Living
Italians are often described as warm and friendly people. Strong traditional ties bind families together, although Italian family dynamics vary from zone to zone. Normally, northern Italians are a little more reserved than southern Italians.
There is a wide range of host families. Many host mothers are housewives; fathers generally work and spend many hours away from home, though societal norms are changing.
Host families are usually quite strict regarding schedules. Students must follow family rules and be helpful with chores. Most parents want to know where a student is going when he/she leaves the house, whom the student is going with, etc. You will need to respect curfew and any other family rules.
Soccer and politics (Italian and international) are the most popular topics of conversation.
There are generally three types of housing: apartments or condominiums, big country houses surrounded by land, or townhouses with a small garden or yard. Naturally, whether an AFSer will share a bedroom depends on the kind of house; very often you will.
Italians are not very punctual. Italians are happy and easygoing, always ready to have fun or to laugh at a good joke. They place great importance on friendship and loyalty and are usually very willing to help others, even if this means going out of their way.
Selfishness and strong individualism are frowned upon. It is common to offer to share whatever you are eating. It is considered rude if you eat something in front of others without offering.
Italians usually take the initiative when meeting people, especially foreigners, and they generally show a great deal of patience when visitors have difficulty communicating in Italian.
Italians are passionate in the way they talk – loud and with lots of gesturing and emphatic facial expressions. In the beginning, you may think that everybody is arguing.
Teen Life
Because schools do not organize many extracurricular activities, students usually organize their own free time. Foreign students who have been in the program have noticed that young Italians talk a lot in the afternoon about what they are going to do later, but don’t often do what they had planned earlier.
Young people can generally stay out until late on Saturday night and, if the family is more liberal, perhaps one or two other nights during the week. On weekends, they usually go to pizzerias, pubs, or discos. They also go to movies, theaters, concerts, sporting events, the beach, or the country.
Young people tend to live at home until they get married. Teens do not usually have part-time jobs.
Dress and Appearance
Italians believe it is important to dress well at all times. In general, young people dress informally but with care, wearing jeans and T-shirts during the warm season.
Seasonal and regional clothing are appropriate. If you are sent to the alpine region of Italy, come prepared for a long, cold winter.
If you will be on the southern Mediterranean coast, winter will be short and rainy, and summer will be hot.
Schools seldom require uniforms.
Diet and Meals
Italians are very proud of their cooking, which they believe to be the best in the world.
Italians generally have a light breakfast of coffee with milk or tea along with cookies, crackers or bread with jam or honey, early. Do not be afraid to ask for a more substantial breakfast that includes fruit, cheese or bread.
Lunch, the biggest meal of day, is often a big plate of pasta followed by meat, fish, cheese, vegetables or salads. Lunch is generally eaten around 1:30 p.m. Afterwards there may be fruit and dessert.
Dinner is later, around 9:00 p.m. and a little smaller than lunch, but with bigger portions of meat, fish or vegetables together with cheese, ham and bread.
During meals, Italians drink water and wine but seldom soft drinks, and often they watch the news on TV. After lunch Italians love to drink coffee, and sometime they have a nap (especially in the south).
After you finish eating, your host family will always tell you “have some more” and if you do not, they will complain about it, but never be afraid to tell them that you are just too full to eat more.
Meals are an important family gathering time. It is a great time for socializing and catching up. You should offer to help with the meals and not expect to be waited on.
The Italians eat very fast, holding the knife in the right hand and the fork in the left. They keep both hands on the table while eating and between courses.
While it will be difficult to arrange a vegetarian placement, vegetarians may be accepted if they are willing to prepare their own meals.
Educational System
The Italian Constitution guarantees the following: the right to education for all, regardless of means, up to the highest level; freedom in teaching methods; and an education free of ideological manipulation. The Constitution also gives the State the power to set requirements for education at all levels and establishes that at least the first 10 years of education (from ages six to 16) are compulsory and free of charge for all.
The Italian system has different kinds of high schools: Classical Liceo, Scientific Liceo, Linguistic Liceo (all Academic schools), Artistic Liceo, Art School (both Artistic schools), Technical Institutes and Vocational Institutes.
The school year runs from mid-September to mid-June with two weeks off at Christmas and one week off at Easter, along with various other national or local holidays throughout the year. The school week is usually from Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. In high school, students are given daily homework and frequent tests.
Italian schools are very demanding. Intercultural students are expected to study hard and to participate in school life. AFS students should ask their program counselors or school counselors to help them choose at least four to five subjects that they must concentrate on. They are usually placed in the third or fourth year of high school. School attendance and participation is compulsory for AFSers.
Geography and Climate
Italy is shaped like a boot. The “heel” and some coastal areas are low in elevation, but the country is generally mountainous. The Italian Alps lie along the northern border, and the Apennines form a spine down the peninsula. Italy borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia in the north, and the rest of the country is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea.
The climate is generally temperate. However, the country is long and narrow, and the climate varies between the north and the south which affects the different lifestyles of the populations in these regions.
Population
The population in Italy is around 57 million. Most people are ethnic Italians, but there are also small groups of Germans and French as well as Slovenians, Albanians and other immigrants.
Language
Italian is the official language, although there are different dialects from city to city. There are significant French- and German-speaking minorities as well as Slovene speakers close to the Yugoslavian border.
Government
Italy’s government has a president, a prime minister, a bicameral legislature and a Council of Ministers. The prime minister and the Council of Ministers govern the nation. The country is divided into 20 regions, some of which would like to have more autonomy from the central government.
Religion
The majority of Italians are Roman Catholic, although religious devotion is often neglected. Many Italian celebrations are Catholic holidays, and there are also some national holidays such as Liberation Day, Labor Day, and the Anniversary of the Republic. Celebrations are often spent with family and friends in large gatherings enjoying large traditional meals.
Spending Money
The Euro is the currency in Italy.
Your program and country information packet (provided in the months prior to your departure) will give you an idea of how much spending money is appropriate and whether you should arrive with any amount of the local currency in hand.
Host families pay only for ordinary family events in which you are expected to participate. When you do such things as shopping for yourself or going out with friends, the expenses are your responsibility. Depending on the cost of living in your host country, we recommend you budget about $100-$300 per month.
Remember: never travel with large amounts of cash. Instead, bring travelers checks or follow the advice in the country and program information packet. Another option for obtaining money while overseas is to use a debit card linked to a checking account back home (but try not to use a debit card for daily purchases since there are ATM and currency exchange fees). Or, you can transfer money using wiring services such as Western Union.
You and your parents should determine a budget and preferred money transfer plan before you depart so that you are not caught without spending money while abroad.
Be conscientious of your spending since conspicuous consumption may not be viewed favorably and spending more than your peers and family may create a distance between you and them.
Safety and Support
AFS has the utmost concern for the welfare, safety, and security of our participants. We’ve been exchanging participants throughout the world for 60 years—that’s six decades of history and experience in international education with an exemplary record of safety, security, and service.
AFS maintains a network of experienced staff and trained volunteers who provide support in each country. In the event of an emergency, 24-hour assistance is available to students, their parents, and the host families. Furthermore, your AFS tuition includes comprehensive medical insurance coverage to ensure that medical care is available to our participants anywhere in the world and at all times.
While we have the above support structures in place, we also encourage you to take responsibility for your own safety and we give you the guidance to do so. Many of the AFS orientation activities, both at home and abroad, are intended to give you the tools to stay safe. We also provide country-specific safety tips to each participant prior to departure.
Learn more about the AFS safety and support network.
Fun Facts
- In Italy, it is against the law to make a coffin out of anything except wood or nutshells.
- Santa Claus does not bring gifts to the children of Italy. Instead, gifts are delivered by the kindly witch La Befana.
- Wine and lemonade merchants in Italy in the 1600s called coffee “Satan’s drink” due to its threat to their markets. These merchants asked the Pope to issue an edict condemning coffee. However, their plan backfired when Pope Clement VII tasted coffee, liked it and blessed it to make it a Christian drink.
