Italy Local Tips

The Internet can be a great resource for information, but when making plans or reservations in Italy, always call. Italians are very lax about returning emails, which they answer about as often as we mail letters to each other.

Get used to surly and slow waiters, ticket sellers, hotel clerks, etc. Rather than get aggravated, adjust to the pace of life, slow down, and take your time. Learn that in Italy there's no bulletproof “how-to” way to do things.

The culture and cuisine of Italy varies wildly, not only from region to region, but from town to town. Look up the local specialties and try them in the region that made them famous: eat cannoli in Sicily, squid ink pasta in Venice, deep-fried artichokes in Rome, anything featuring olive oil in Tuscany, and buffalo mozzarella in the Campania region. Don’t just eat pizza wherever you go: save it for Naples!

You don’t have to speak fluent Italian, but a few basic phrases and words will ease your trip. Whatever you do, do not try to use Spanish in Italy, especially as an American. It’s considered extremely insulting.

For an Italian, there’s a world of difference between penne, spaghetti, macaroni, and any other noodle we would lump under the generic term “pasta.” The varieties are endless. Try unique twists like farfalle, bucatini, and strozzapreti.

You’ll get the most out of your trip if you do a little homework beforehand. Check out the miniseries I, Claudius (or novel on which it’s based), as well as the novel Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar and Edith Hamilton’s books on mythology.

For the past decade, Italian politics has been dominated by media mogul Silvio Berlusconi. In 2006, however, the right-leaning Berlusconi was voted out of office and replaced by the leftist Olive Tree coalition, led by economics professor Romano Prodi.

Italy has very little violent crime. Petty thievery and con artistry, however, flourish here, especially in big cities like Rome. When on buses, watch your purses and backpacks (these should face forward at all times), and wallets (never keep one in your back pocket).

Renting a car or a mini motorcycle (known as a “motorino”) in Italy can be very dangerous as Italian drivers zigzag at will. You’re much better off relying on trains to get from city to city, and taxis within each city. Rome and Milan both have good metro systems.

Venice is famous for its masked celebrations, but the Tuscan village of Viareggio has a giant parade in late February, with massive paper mâché floats that have to be seen to be believed.

On Easter Sunday in Florence, head to the Piazza del Duomo to see a mechanical dove launched from an exploding cart. The annual “Scoppio del Carro,” as it’s known in Italian, is thought to portend ominous or fortunate omens for the year ahead.

One of the major world tennis clay court championships is held in Rome each May.

Every June and July, the charming Umbrian hill town of Spoleto is taken over for two weeks by a festival of opera, dance, ballet, film, music, and visual arts.

On July 2 and August 16 of every summer, thousands flock to Siena as the picturesque hill town becomes the backdrop to a giant staged horse race. It’s as much about the pageantry as it is about the horses. (By the way, the outcome is fixed!)

In the fall, during odd years, Venice is home to a monster international exhibition of art (in even years, they show architecture). The Venice Film Festival, at the end of August and beginning of September, is part of the Biennale.

In the hill town of Marostica, in the Veneto region, a chess game with living players is conducted in the town’s main square during the second weekend of September on even-numbered years.

Christmas in Italy is an incredibly theatrical production that goes on for a month before, and several weeks after, the main holiday. Check out the Christmas market in Piazza Navonna in Rome – it's as much kitschy fun as a Kansas state fair.

Make sure you punch your ticket at one of the time-stamp booths before boarding the metro in Italian cities – you’ll find yourself slapped with a hefty fee if the conductor catches you without a stamp and, trust us, they come through and check tickets frequently (the same goes for the bus – look for time-stamp machines as you board). Be aware that transit strikes are as common in Italy as rain is in Seattle. Fortunately, strikes are typically announced in advance, so it’s easy to plan around them – the official transit website (www.commissionegaranziasciopero.it) lists upcoming strikes, but is available in Italian only; in spite of its name, Summer in Italy is a useful, if unofficial, year-round source of strike information (www.summerinitaly.com).

Beside the Monza Formula1 Grand Prix in September and the Mugello MotoGp in June, Italy's best loved motoring event is Le Mille Miglia, a 1,000 miles road race for vintage cars from Brescia to Rome and back, held over three days in May.

One of the major world tennis clay court championships is held in Rome each May. 011-39-80-062-2662; www.internazionalibnlditalia.it