Italy from the Inside

Farewell

After 17 years, it’s time for us to say goodbye (or Arrivederci) to the ItalyFromTheInside.com adventure.

This blog has been the foundation for our eBook about tips and tricks for first time travelers to Italy. We have received numerous positive comments for our posts, videos, podcasts, and overall efforts to share useful insights about our culture.

As we got busier with other professional activities, we have decided to pause this blog indefinitely and make our eBook even more accessible by discounting it to $2.99.

To all our readers, thank you for following us over all these years. We hope you get to visit Italy many times around.

Paolo and Francesca

How do you say “Trick or Treat” in Italian?

How do you say “Trick or Treat” in Italian? It’s “Dolcetto o Scherzetto”. Actually, now that I think about it, it looks like Italians have inverted the sequence of words, because Dolcetto (Treat) comes before Scherzetto (Trick).

Halloween is a holiday that is gaining popularity in Italy, but for us the Carnevale (usually in February or March) is still the winner when it comes to costumes and traditions. Schools even close for a couple of days during this time. The few people celebrating Halloween in Italy take it very seriously though, I would even say more seriously than Americans. Why? Because the only costumes you see around on October 31st are only witches, skeletons, or bats, and not princesses, Spider men or dinosaurs.

Parties are also more popular than trick or treating. Which makes you think that probably adults celebrate more than kids… As for the pumpkin carving, only a few people do it, I think mostly because stores don’t sell as many pumpkins as in the States, or maybe because people are just not into that yet.

What about the candies? Italian stores don’t have aisles with industrial quantities of these sugary treats. Luckily this is something we haven’t copied from Americans yet. However, you can certainly find some delish cakes or pastries in the shape of pumpkins or spider webs. Call it Halloween on a different level.

How Italians greet each other

Noto, Sicily- Italy from the Inside

It is customary to offer a salutation when entering or exiting a shop: you say buongiorno (hello) when you arrive and grazie e arrivederci (thanks, good bye) when you leave.

In Italy when you want to address someone who is older than you or someone of your same age whom you do not know, it is proper to show that person respect by greeting him/her with one of the following: buongiorno, buonasera and arrivederci (which means good morning, good afternoon/good evening and goodbye). If you are greeting younger people, or friends and relatives you can simply say ciao (hello, goodbye).

When meeting new people, Italians greet them by shaking hands. They use two kisses (first on the right cheek and second on the left cheek) or a hug with friends (amici) they’ve known for a long time. However, this is not really a strict rule: Italians are very loving and warm people, and it is not unusual that they will kiss you the first time they meet you, especially if you are introduced by someone they trust and know very well. It is also common to see Italian men meet and kiss cheeks.

{This is an excerpt from chapter 14 “Italian lifestyle of the eBook “Italy from the Inside. A native Italian reveals the secrets of traveling in Italy”. Buy our eBook on Amazon and leave us a review! If it’s good, you’ll make us happy, if it’s bad, you’ll make us improve. Thank you either way!}