The next chapter is about the Italian culture/society: architecture, transportation, the people food, and vendor marketing. As you are reading this remember this chapter is meant to be informative, based off three months worth of close observations.
Also, don’t be that literal reader. The numbers in the chapter aren't accurate but I promise it is precise. It's all estimated. If you do happen to be a skeptic, I suggest you do closer research.
Enjoy!!
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| At the top of Piazza de Michelangelo |
Architecture
As much as I hate myself for comparing Italian culture to U.S. culture, I could not help but observe the difference in society. One of the first things I observed on arrival was how much the city of Florence reminded me of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. I came to the United States at a very young age but I still remember most of my time in Liberia like it was yesterday. The old fashioned architecture (yellow and brown brick everything), the unnoticeable street signs, the extremely tight and busy city roads, the vendor lifestyle, the outdoor markets etc. It has been many years since I was there but I couldn’t help feeling like I was home; as in back in Liberia. I remember feeling the same way when I was in the Bronx two springs ago. Not in terms of architecture of course but the cultural environment and outdoor markets. We drove past an outdoor market and I immediately started having flashbacks to being back in Africa. That was my first time seeing an outdoor market in ages. The amount of obvious culture around may explain why I fell in love with the city of Florence the moment I arrived.
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| Christmas Market |
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| Yellow Brick Houses |
As I was saying, the buildings are very old fashioned, everything looks relatively similar. There were no distinctions between pharmacies, stores, hotels, shops, restaurants and sometimes hospitals, libraries and academic buildings. They were all located in one big brown or yellow brick building which took up a whole block. I'm not sure about other campuses in Florence but I know for a while I couldn't recognize where my classes were because they blended in with everything else. It was even more impossible because there were no major signs, so I didn't know a specific location until I got there.
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| Duomo |
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| The better of Italian Signs |
The only landmarks which stood out were churches. Churches in Italy are bigger than life, for example the Duomo. That’s how my roommate Chris and I, along with the other housemates found anything in Florence. Churches were our GPS when we didn’t have a map. Even with a map it was impossible to find anything and street signs didn't help much. You had to look 7-10ft up on buildings, or strain your eyes before reading the name of a street, and I’m not exaggerating. I always felt bad for drivers trying to navigate around the city. Tourist or not, everyone struggled. I always thought the best thing to do was either walk or take public transportation (train, bus or a taxi because they are experts at what they do).
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| More of the Duomo |
Transportation
The average car size in Italy is the size of a Fiat or smart car we all know of in the States. I swear everything came in mini sizes – majority of the cars, the people and the portion sizes. Don’t even get me started on Italian portion sizes. I will tell you all about it later. Did I mention people ride bikes everywhere? When I say bikes, I really mean motorcycles or scooters/mopeds. Kids ride bikes to school, parents ride bikes to work, business men, everyone! One of my favorite sights was seeing people in suits on bikes. It just didn’t seem to mesh well but Italy is a different world & different society and I absolutely loved it! Imagine having a date night and showing up to pick up your date on a scooter or moped? In the States she or he would see you as a joke and that may potentially be your last date with that individual. However in Italy, it’s the norm!
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| Bikes on Bikes |
Talking about cars and bikes, pedestrians do not have the right of way, machines do. Vehicles had no limit as to where they could & couldn’t go, which explains the intimate relationship between cars, bikes and pedestrians. The streets were for everyone to share. I’m surprised I made it out with all ten toes and no broken foot from getting rolled over by a tire. I had some close calls but survived the 3.5 months I was there. That actually became one of my major concerns over time.
People & Bad Habits
People
Remember the statement about how everything in Italian society came in mini size? Well, I wasn’t kidding. I also mentioned in the first blog about the American perspective of the original Italian body image; which is based off the Americanized Italian (round or “big boned”). An average Italian looks like your typical European, skinny! And aside from being skinny, they are very short. The average Italian from central Italy is about 5’7 or 8 and weighs between 130 to 160 pounds (based off my observations). The younger generation is taller actually – more towards 5’9-5’10. Not sure what they are being fed now but there is definitely a difference between the younger generation and their parents and grandparents. Ask one of my abroad roommates Mark Strong, (member of #super8-3rd floor). He is about 6’3-6’4 according to JoJo (Joanna Peters, also a member of #super8). Mark is of German descent, so as you can imagine, he stood out like a giant in Italy. Chris and I being the slow walkers, we would always lose the rest of the group in a crowd. All we had to do was look up for Mark and there they were! It worked every single time. On a smaller scale, Mark was our Italian church (referencing gps). Just look up and you will find your way.
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| My good friend Durim Gashi |
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| Italian Locals |
Smoking
One of the worse habits Europeans in general have is smoking cigarettes. When I say everyone, I mean everyone smokes! Teens, adolescent, middle age adults & seniors, everyone! Although people smoke in the Western world, smoking cigarettes is frowned upon, especially on college campuses. I personally have no tolerance for cigarette smoking, especially with young women. It is an absolute turn off. Point is, smoking cigarettes is mostly seen as a taboo, especially amongst Western adolescents. Europeans, specifically Italians, embrace it. They smoke for breakfast, lunch, snack, midnight snack, all times of the days. The sad part is, it’s a habit people pick up on after living there for a long period of time. It becomes a norm. I say so because I befriended a fellow artist (American) who is studying in Florence for all four years of college. According to this friend, he went to Italy not smoking and now does it religiously. I saw the same thing with most American teachers. Here’s another story for you. On the first couple days of being in Florence, some of my GSE mates sat down outside an outdoor diner for lunch. Within minutes I was alarmed by a strong cigarette smell from behind. I did my usual “WHAT DAA…” reaction and turned around. Of course, it’s a woman smoking directly behind me at a lunch table! As furious as I was I remembered immediately where I was; in a society where it was ok to smoke indoors and at dinner or lunch tables. This experience was one of my harsh wakeup calls in Italy.
PDA
For those of you who don’t know, PDA stands for Public Displays of Affection. Here is a definition from Urban Dictionary:
“Public Displays of Affection, can be seen in the form of kissing, touching, groping, licking, nuzzling, cuddling, crossing hands into each other's opposite back pockets, etc. Usually spotted among new couples, frisky teenagers, and occasionally the "young at heart".”
PDA is also something that’s seen as taboo in the western world. In Italy, it is a norm. That means everyone does it. From teens to adolescents, to middle age adults to seniors. You see it on the streets, trains, buses, parks etc. There is no such thing as privacy. Once again, a perfect example of Italians having NO SHAME.
I won’t make this one a thing but Italian men are some of the creepiest people I’ve ever meet (sorry my Italian friends who are reading this blog). This is not a matter of having no shame; it’s a matter of respect for women and their private space that Italian men aren’t aware of. As American men we see a good looking girl walking by, we stare when she isn’t looking and we think; “Damn she’s hot!” or “If only she was mine,” something ridiculous like that. Or we whisper something to our friends. Italian men, married or not would stare at her from the time they see her 10-20ft away, make inappropriate comments as she walks by and stare another 10-20 feet after. There is no filter or discretion what so ever. I couldn’t imagine what it’s like being a young woman, especially a foreigner; but I saw it all. Also in our society there is this thing we call having “game”.
Here is more Urban Dictionary for you:
Having game
When someone (preferably a guy) is able to pull off anyone they desire usually quick and affirmative, by saying either the sweetest thing or act in a polite manner.
*Girl walks by*
Daniel: Man, who's the gorgeous girl approaching the front desk?
Mike: Oh, that's Jessica. She's new around here, why you ask?
Daniel: She's beautiful. I'm going to talk to her.
Mike: *laughs* You think you got game like that?
Daniel: Just watch me.
*Daniel walks up to Jessica*
Daniel: Hey girl, I spotted you from a modest distance. Let's walk together and maybe fall for commitment.
Jessica: *Giggles* You're sweet. I would love to walk with you. *Blushes*
Daniel walks pass Mike and says: That's what I call having game.
Mike speaks to himself: Damn my man’s got game.
As you can see, having game actually means having to work! Turning on the charms and hope you don’t get turned down. Italian men don’t know what that is. They don’t know what it’s like to work for an attractive girl. They automatically assume the girl is interested and she is willing to sleep with them within hours. I mean, it doesn’t help the fact that American girls go abroad with the mentality of no one knows me and so I have no standards for the next few months and will do whatever it takes to attract a foreign guy with an accent. Like I said, I can’t imagine what it’s like but I saw it all. End of story.
Food
Earlier I made a comment about the American perspective of Italian people. When we, as Americans, hear Italian, we think lots of pasta and meatballs, we think fat. Everything is accurate but the fat. I would go in to the science of carbs but “ain’t nobody got time for that”. But trust me, I had to learn the hard way. One of the hardest transitions for me was the Italian portion size. Just to give you a perspective, if you go to an Italian restaurant in the States, or to any other restaurant as a matter of fact, you will most likely need a “to go” container. I promise you that was never the case in Italy.
Unless you order the full course meal (Antipasto, Primo, Secondo, Contorno, Dolce, etc.) you will most likely leave the restaurant wanting more, especially if you eat like I do. I consider myself the garbage disposal and I usually don’t have space for dessert at an American restaurant, not even including an appetizer. Point is, the Italian portion size is literally half the size of the American portion size. Let’s not even discuss the difference in quality. Not to look down upon American food but let’s be real, 90% (my estimate) of what we consume nowadays is filled with preservatives. Everything's frozen. Unless you can afford organics and have the time to grocery shop for fresh food on a daily basis, you will need to shop once a week, which means everything is frozen. Then again, that is how our society works, we are too busy to eat healthy (cough cough, fast food). Preservatives save us more money and time. Italians grocery shop and cook every day.
To give you another perspective, we were literally frowned upon every time we went grocery shopping. We would get a cart full of food that lasted us the week while everyone else got a couple items for the night. When it came to grocery shopping and saving money, we embraced being the typical Americans. And it wasn’t even a matter of distance, being in the heart of the city, everything we ever needed was within a 2 minute walk from our apartment. It was all about saving money. Talking about distance, did I mention the amount of walking we had to do? Tourist or not everyone walked everywhere! Aside from the walking, everything was on an incline. Either hills or stairs. You were living the luxury life if you had elevator in your apartment. We had one old fashioned elevator in our apartment building but didn’t have access to it because half the building was a Bed & Breakfast. Fun fact, I, along with four of my other roommates (JoJo, Chris Davies, Mark And Ayana = Super-8), had to walk 72 steps up to our apartment, every day, multiple times a day. Italians called it the 3rd floor when it really should have been considered the 8th floor. That’s where the name Super-8 originated, not from the movies. Point is, even if Italians ate unhealthy and lived off gelato, it’s almost impossible to gain permanent weight. I always said if you were fat in Italy you were either a tourist, a foreigner who is a permanent resident most likely on their way to losing the weight, or you were the unfortunate few mutated Italians. Something genetically went wrong somewhere down the road.
Unless you order the full course meal (Antipasto, Primo, Secondo, Contorno, Dolce, etc.) you will most likely leave the restaurant wanting more, especially if you eat like I do. I consider myself the garbage disposal and I usually don’t have space for dessert at an American restaurant, not even including an appetizer. Point is, the Italian portion size is literally half the size of the American portion size. Let’s not even discuss the difference in quality. Not to look down upon American food but let’s be real, 90% (my estimate) of what we consume nowadays is filled with preservatives. Everything's frozen. Unless you can afford organics and have the time to grocery shop for fresh food on a daily basis, you will need to shop once a week, which means everything is frozen. Then again, that is how our society works, we are too busy to eat healthy (cough cough, fast food). Preservatives save us more money and time. Italians grocery shop and cook every day.
To give you another perspective, we were literally frowned upon every time we went grocery shopping. We would get a cart full of food that lasted us the week while everyone else got a couple items for the night. When it came to grocery shopping and saving money, we embraced being the typical Americans. And it wasn’t even a matter of distance, being in the heart of the city, everything we ever needed was within a 2 minute walk from our apartment. It was all about saving money. Talking about distance, did I mention the amount of walking we had to do? Tourist or not everyone walked everywhere! Aside from the walking, everything was on an incline. Either hills or stairs. You were living the luxury life if you had elevator in your apartment. We had one old fashioned elevator in our apartment building but didn’t have access to it because half the building was a Bed & Breakfast. Fun fact, I, along with four of my other roommates (JoJo, Chris Davies, Mark And Ayana = Super-8), had to walk 72 steps up to our apartment, every day, multiple times a day. Italians called it the 3rd floor when it really should have been considered the 8th floor. That’s where the name Super-8 originated, not from the movies. Point is, even if Italians ate unhealthy and lived off gelato, it’s almost impossible to gain permanent weight. I always said if you were fat in Italy you were either a tourist, a foreigner who is a permanent resident most likely on their way to losing the weight, or you were the unfortunate few mutated Italians. Something genetically went wrong somewhere down the road.
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| I will never be the same or look Italian food the same way until I'm back in Italy someday. Nobody can make an Italian meal as good as original Italians. No offense to all the great chefs out there. |
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| Morning runs up to Piazzale Michelangelo, the most famous Piazza in Italy and my favorite view of all time |
Vendor Marketing
I thought it would be great to talk about the marketing strategies in Italy, especially in the city of Florence. First of all, is there such a thing as corporate Italy? It took me maybe four days to see someone in a suit. Even then I was convinced it was most likely a fashion statement. I was hoping to see someone who seemed to be heading to work, someone in a rush. Yes, I said someone in a rush. It’s like time does not exist in Italy, especially comparing to our time-orientated society. Also, is there someone doing some type of administrative work somewhere? Obviously yes but it’s hard to believe. It appeared that the majority of vendors worked for themselves; independent marketers. With so many independent businesses you wonder, who manages the risk? Who will be there to pick you up or invest in you when your business goes down? Is there such thing as a risk? Absolutely! Especially if we’re talking about risking bankruptcy. How can someone not be in danger of bankruptcy? Everyone on every street corner in every store is trying to sell you something. And guess what? They are all selling the same exact items!
Hand bags, leather hand bags, leather jackets, watches, backpacks, silly/inappropriate Italian attires like the pictures below, and more. With everyone selling the same items, how does anyone make profit? I’m very curious to see how much revenue they generate annually. To give you a visual perspective of what I’m talking about:
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| One of the many Italian Markets |
How do these things generate income? They stand all hours of the day, throwing things in the air and smacking gooey silly things on a wooden board or a piece of cardboard. Every time I walked by, I smiled and wondered, why on this planet would anyone need that? And if you were that tourist to buy it, what use will you have for it? They are not even collectable items! And now you’re thinking, well they probably have kids. I promise you, a kid will play with that for a day and it will actually get broken or end up in the trash. Although I find this amusing, I feel terrible for these guys. This is their actual jobs, day in and day out. And I can imagine this is their only source of income.
Point is, these are things people/tourist want but don’t need! A perfect example about everyday needs; I searched for a towel in like 10 different locations for almost a week! And guess what? I gave up. One of my roommates had a spare. Don’t get me wrong though, I had a towel and showered all week! It’s just that the towel I was given happened to shed. I had orange little things all over my body every time I used it. To continue with my point, 90% of what we’re being sold is things tourists want because they either have the money to blow, or they buy it because they are annoyed by vendors. This makes it difficult for someone who isn’t a tourist; someone like me who was studying there for the semester (3.5months). Especially living in the middle of the city (huge tourist attraction).
The most interesting observation relates to race & vendor marketing. I am strongly convinced that the Italian social class is separated by race. How so? I will explain. Someone once told me about it but I didn’t believe it until I was there.
Blacks
Black vendors sold sunglasses, watches and counterfeit Gucci handbags etc. They either carry it around in their hands or have it displayed randomly on the street. And they of course flee the scene when they see the police.
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| Black Market |
Many street vendors had the same reaction to police presence: run for their lives. It didn’t matter the race or what they were selling. I was curious why that was so I asked my program director Chiara. According to Chiara, a person needed to be a registered vendor. Much like in our society you need a certification to provide certain services. Couple examples are: personal training, real estate, or life insurance. In the Italian society it was their day-to-day street marketing. I’m not sure how much it costs to get that registration but I’m assuming most people do it illegally because they cannot afford official registration or certification to sell. But hey you know what they say right? “You got to spend money to make money”.
Middle East
With basic knowledge, my guess is that these guys with light skin complexion were from the Middle East & North Africa. I did some research on Italian immigration and these countries came up; Pakistan, Morocco, & Egypt.
Like most Italians they all sold the same items (posters that looked like paintings). I first thought these guys were talented artists but as time progressed I started noticing the ins and outs of the Italian society. I realized the pictures were a replica of the real thing. They were a painting copied a million times to be sold to ignorant tourists. And of course these vendors constantly ran from the cops. I was actually a witness of a very funny situation on a day of the trip to see Michelangelo’s David with the Global Study Experience (GSE) crew. We were standing in line not too far from where a group of these guys were posted, doing what they always did, sell. They had it lined up on the floor like they usually did. Out of nowhere, a police cruiser came speeding down the street. He proceeded to drive over the posters. The posters scattered and so did the vendors. I, along with others in line, burst into laughter as the cruiser drove off. What happened after this? Well the vendors came creeping back on the streets, picked up their fake paintings and went by their business like nothing happened. Now that is what I call no shame!
Indians
There were two types of Indians. There were what I called illegal and the legal Indians. The illegal Indians were much like the Blacks & the guys from the Middle East; they constantly ran from the police. Illegal Indians sold the silly little things that lit up at night (thrown in the air) and the gooey things I spoke of earlier.
When I think of legal Indians, I think of one of my favorite locals, Tony (owner of the mini shop next door of Via Faenza 43) and those in the leather markets who sold in portable booths. I consider them legal Indians because they were registered vendors, stable business owners. Stable as in they had no reason to run from the police. Legal Indians were also seen selling in leather markets or little portable booths stationed at random parts of the city. Tony was a hardworking, passionate individual who spoke 6-7 different languages. Like most immigrants, Tony came from India at a young age from the request of his uncle. Seven years later, at age 29, Tony now runs both of his uncle’s convenience shops.
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| Tony & some of the GSE girls |
Asians (Non-Indians)
Not to be ignorant but when I speak of Asians in this section, I mean Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese etc. I want to clarify because I know there are people out there who don’t consider Indians Asians. But anyway, Asians were found mostly in grocery stores or supermarkets. Why? I’m not sure but all I can say is Conad! Conad is a famous grocery store in Italy where you will find nothing but Asians. It’s like going to Seven Eleven in the States and expecting to find an Indian. Please don’t ask any questions, this is simply observations over a three and a half month period.
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| Italians do it fresh! |
White Italians
White Italians I thought are on top of the food chain. Majority of them owned or worked in major stores and boutiques. They obviously had no trouble with the law. Although white Italians were on top, Asians (Non-Indians) & Indians were up there with them. In a way they are the middle class of Italian society.
Shop owners were a bit of a mix; mostly Indian-Italians & white-Italians. People who sold in booths were 90% Indians based on observation. I say 90% because of two particular Italians I came across; Massimo & the hilarious fashion designer, Alberto. These two guys were two of the nicest vendors I came across in Italy.
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| JoJo with Alberto |
Story of Massimo
Massimo owns one of the most famous leather shops in Florence. Aside from the amazing customer service, Massimo was most known for his 50% student discount. When you hear 50% you think whhhhat?! How is that possible, on Italian leather especially? Well, I didn’t believe it until I got there but Florence is actually the heart of study abroad. So how is this relevant? Well in a city with so many study abroad students with the reputation of one of the biggest tourist attractions, word of mouth marketing will take you a long way. I mean that’s how I discovered Massimo’s. Someone introduced JoJo (abroad roommate), she introduced me, I introduced a couple friends and now I’m blogging about it. Anyone familiar with the Book New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott? Well this is the perfect example of successful twenty first century marketing.
Conclusion
To wrap up this chapter of my Italy blog. I hope you were well informed and learned something new about the Italian society. That was the goal, to give others who will not get a chance to travel to Italy in their lifetime a perspective of the Italian culture. This information is also for those who will be fortunate enough to travel to Italy. The greatest tool you can obtain when traveling is culture awareness.
Now that you have an idea of what the Italian society is like, stay toned for the next couple series, my personal adventures in Florence and Travel experiences.
