Introduction to Italy, continued: Italian personality.  This introduction would be remiss without mentioning some things we noticed about the Italians we encountered.  We found them to be very gentle, relaxed, intent on enjoying their surroundings, even when those surroundings include many, many visitors like us.  And in the high tourist season, Italy is extremely crowded with tourists. There were certainly enough of us to fray the nerves of people in the tourist industry.  But there were no signs of this.  The people we encountered in the campgrounds (campers, owners, and workers alike), and in the tourist attractions were always not only courteous but warm, and eager to talk to you and to help when necessary.  Instances of some of our encounters with Italians are described in the letters we wrote home. 

 

But do not take this to mean that visiting Italy's treasures is always a pleasureable experience.  In the height of the season, there are very long lines, and consequent long waits for everything you want to see.  We will discuss this further when we discuss Florence and Rome, in particular.

 

One example of Italians just enjoying their surroundings is in the so-called "passagiata", which literally means "go for a walk".  In Verona in the evenings, after dinner,  many people come out just to walk around, meet each other, talk, perhaps stop by a street cafe for coffee or a drink or a sweet.  You see them linked arm in arm, engrossed in themselves and the city scene.  It's a very nice thing to do.

 

Another thing we noted is that the Italian reputation for style is alive and well.  In the major cities, at least, people generally are very stylishly dressed.  The men wear stylish suits and the ladies are adorned in elegant dresses--well, outfits, anyway.  Adelle muses in one of our letters that the little old Italian ladies dressed all in black that she expected to see in Italy, based on movies we have seen, never showed up. At least not where we were. 

 

Finally, we could not help but notice that there is a very special warmth in the relations among young siblings.  We would see them taking a walk on the streets with their parents, holding hands, occasionally hugging, the older ones paying adoring attention to the younger ones, keeping them out of danger, and calming them when something disturbed them.

 

The Italian Government Tourist web site contains a great deal of information about Italy, its regions, museums,suggested itineraries, and attractions, festivals and special events, and practical information for visitors.