Italy from the Inside

Italians and the English language

Italian guy- Italy from the Inside

A street guy in Rome (how can he stands so still for hours?)

If you need to get information or directions, here’s a tip: ask a young person as they are more likely to speak English. Usually older people don’t speak English at all, even though they are always happy to help. Be ready, as they will speak Italian to you as if you understand what they are saying, and don’t try to read their lips, but their hands instead and you’ll surely get the point.

{This is an excerpt from chapter 15 “Miscellaneous information” 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!}

How are distance and speed measured in Italy?

Yellow Vespa- Italy from the Inside

Yellow “vintage” Vespa

In Italy, distances are measured in kilometers, while speed (velocità) is measured in kilometers/hour instead of miles/hour. A quick way to convert from kilometers to miles is to divide by 5 and multiply times 3. This is not going to give you an exact number, but a number that is close enough to give you an approximate idea.

{This is an excerpt from chapter 12 “Units and conversions” 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!}

Beer or wine, who’s the winner in Italy?

Sapone al vino- Italy from the Inside

Wine and olive oil soap made in Sicily

In Italy beer (birra) is less popular than wine. You must be 18 years old to buy or drink alcoholic beverages, even though some say that at 16 you can legally drink beer as long as you buy it and drink it on the premises (like when you are at a restaurant or a club). Hhhmmm, confusion. What’s clear though is that binge drinking is not very popular in Italy, because the main focus of the typical Italian get-together for social activities is not to drink beer (or wine) in order to get drunk, but just to spend some nice time together sipping a glass of wine and having dinner or nibbling on some snacks.

{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!}