Going up and down Italy over the course of these weeks, we got to know not only wonderful landscapes, good food and walked over history. We also tried to understand why foreigners are so in love with Italy.
From the ways of doing and the warmth of the south to the entrepreneurship of the north, traveling up and down Italy also change a lot its inhabitants. In this ranking we wanted to try to enclose the five main reasons why foreigners are so in love with Italy (and Italians).
1 – Beauty
When we talk about Italy, it is inevitable to think of beauty. But to a sense of pure, pristine, real beauty. Less commercial as possible, especially if far from tourist destinations for excellence. The deepest meaning of being Italian is paying attention to the beauty of things. Design and Fashion too.
And in this case we are not talking exclusively about what can be the beauty to be found in buildings or in history. In fashion or art. The sense of pure beauty to which we refer is that deriving from the aesthetic sense. One of the reasons why foreigners love Italy and Italians so much.
2 – Stress-free life
Italians do everything slowly. This represents by definition one of the clichés that belong to the Belpaese. But will it be true? It is true that the attitudes of its inhabitants vary – and a lot – according to the geographical location: the north, more industrious in popular beliefs, is a place dominated by the stress of work and the inability to fully enjoy the little things.
The south is the opposite representation. This is where the concept of stress-free living is explained. Everything proceeds much slower. You have the ability to stop at the bar during the day to chat with friends and then resume your work without being less productive.
You spend more time with the family. You live better and, according to the rankings, even longer. And this life in which the amount of stress is reduced to a flicker – unlike the big metropolises, could not but be present in this personal ranking.
3 – Characters
Have you ever heard of Italic gestures? Here, the Italians really gesticulate. And they do it in a way that makes it seem almost like a routine gesture belonging to the world of acting. There are many actors of Italian comedy who have written the history of cinematography. Among all, Totò can be a perfect alter ego of Laurel & Hardy.
The fact is that Italians really have this picturesque and sometimes a bit theatrical verve. For this reason, when we think about them, we often imagine them embedded within stereotypes that sometimes exist. And they create an almost poetic component that belongs to them in everyday life. And this is by far a splendid reason to love them in contrast to the greyness that often resides in British latitudes.
4 – Narrative
Audrey Hepburn riding through the streets of Rome on a Vespa is the embodiment of freedom, something that us city dwellers experience very little of. Her ability to abandon the constraints of her royal lifestyle, mirrors our annual desire to escape the real world on a summer vacation.
Similarly, the character of Tom Ripley travels to Italy in search of a new life and manages to become a stylish and sophisticated version of who he once was. The Italian aesthetic is far more than just moodboard-worthy images, it is an emotion that we are hungry to consume. And that’s what we are talking about because, truly, all over the world, ‘Italians do it better’.
5 - Food
Italian cuisine is certainly the most loved by foreigners, not only because it is varied and tasty, but also because it is rich in genuine products of the earth. It is no coincidence that the Mediterranean diet is the most recommended by doctors. Italian food fascinates those who come from other countries for the quality of raw materials, for the colors, flavors and smells that do not exist abroad.
Eating Italian means eating well par excellence. It means having the ability to enjoy life at the table, a place of conviviality and not a mere place of passage in the frenzy of life. Rediscovering the flavors of food often means rediscovering oneself not as connoisseurs but as Italians in the soul. And it is certainly something that foreigners yearn to achieve and rediscover. Maybe one day...
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