Transcultural

Assessment:
Italy
Overview of the Italian Culture:
 Italy As A Whole
● Italy is located in Southern Europe
● It has a population of 58 million people
● 3.5 million of Italy’s residents live in Rome, which is the capital
of Italy
● Italy is shaped like a boot, thus giving it the nickname “lo
stivale”
● Residents experience extreme temperatures all year round.
Including very hot summers and painfully cold winters.
 Family Life
● Family is very important to Italians
○ Extended family is just as important as the nuclear
family
● Sons and daughters live at home, even as they start their
careers
● Gatherings are frequent and very important to the Italian
culture
● Asking for help outside the family has a large negative
stigma to it
 Men V.S. Women Gender “Norms”
● Women:
○ In charge of all care tasks
○ They make all possibly “guilty” decisions
○ Keep a clean home
■ Usually very prideful of this
● Men:
○ Main decision maker of the family
○ Usually considered the primary income earner
 Lifestyles
● Italians are known to be hardworking people
● They are well known by two phrases that define their lifestyle
○ “Dolce far niente”-pleasant idleness
○ “Bella Vita”- good life
● Fashion has became important to everyday life
○ Brands like Gucci founded by Guccio Gucci, Versace founded by
Gianni Versace, Armani founded by Giorgio Armani, Prada
founded by Mario Prada, Dolce and Gabbana founded by
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, Fendi founded by Edoardo
Fendi, etc. were founded here
 Lifestyles cont.
● Milan, Italy is one the fashion capitals of the world.
● Italian fashion expresses the spirit of glamour.
● Italy is also home to some of the most luxurious and famous car
manufacturers in the world.
○ These brands include Ferrari founded by Enzo Ferrari, Lamborghini founded
by Ferruccio Lamborghini, Maserati founded by the 3 Maserati brothers.
 Architecture
● Italy holds the most famous architectural structures in the world
○ Colosseum
○ The Leaning Tower of Pisa
● It is also home to many castles and royal palaces
○ Valle d’Aosta Ford Bard
○ Ussel Castle
 Art
● Museums are abundant to view art in Italy
● Art can also be found in various buildings and churches
● Ceilings are known to be a canvas for artists like
Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci in the 1500s.
○ One of Leonardo’s most famous piece of artwork is the
Mona Lisa.
○ Described as the most well known, most frequently
visited, most commonly written about, most sung
about, and most parodied work of art in the world, the
Mona Lisa is considered an archetypical masterpiece
of the Italian Renaissance.
 Music
● Gave birth to Opera
● Classical music and their instruments were invented here in the
16th and 17th centuries
○ Piano
○ Violin
● Italian folk dancing music, the Tarantella, is a core part of
Italian weddings
○ Most well known song in this genre of dance music in Italy
 Cultural Stereotypes VS. Typical Occurrences
Stereotypes Typical
● Italians have big families ● Italians eat a lot of pasta
● Italians talk with their
● Italian men are rude
bodies
● Italians do not speak ● No problem showing
English public affection
● Italians dress well
Italian Health Care Practices:
 Pain
● Italians prefer to not be alone while in pain
○ Rather have company, encouragement and
attention from others
● Very important for Italians to be relieved from
pain by their doctors
 Doctor-Patient Relationships
● Most Italians put full trust into their doctors and listen to them with full
confidence
● When they relieve their patient’s pain, even more trust is added to their
relationship
● Most of the aging Italian adults will not go and look for a second opinion from
another doctor
○ They feel that the doctor is always right
○ Getting someone else’s input is seen as disrespectful
 Health Beliefs
● Italians view their health in comparison to how they
normally perform their daily activities
● Some believe in folk medicine
● Some also believe in the connection between fresh air and
good health
 Older Italian Care
● Normally, the family is responsible for the care of their elder relatives
○ This is usually the women of the family
○ This ideal is slowly diminishing due to more employment among the younger
family members
● If the patient is placed in a care facility by their family, there may be
anger toward the relatives that placed them in there
● The women will be gossiped and shamed by the family if the older
Italian is moved out of the home
Spirituality:
 Current Most Common Religions in Italy
● Christianity- 80.8% of population
● Muslims- 4.9% of population
● Do not identify with a religion- 13.4% of population
● Under 1% of population-
○ Buddhists
○ Folk religions
○ Hindus
○ Jewish
○ etc
 Roman Catholicism
● One of the three major branches of Christianity
around the world
● Most popular type of Christianity in Italy
● The Pope is the leader of the Roman Catholic
Church since the 9th Century
● The current Pope of the Roman Catholic
Church is Jorge Mario Bergoglio
 The Core Beliefs: The Holy Trinity
● One God, the Father and maker of the heavens and the Earth
● Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born from the Virgin Mary and that
Jesus was crucified on the cross and rose again on the 3rd day and
ascending to heaven
● The Holy Spirit- The giver of life and has spoken through prophets
 Italian Religious Traditions
● The Day of the Immaculate Conception-
○ On December 8th
○ Celebrates Mary’s conception of Jesus Christ
○ Christmas markets officially open and those include a
nativity scenes, staged plays, and lights to start the
Christmas season
 Italian Religious Traditions
● Feast of the Seven Fishes-
○ This is predominantly practiced in southern Italy
○ The people celebrate the birth of Jesus at midnight of Christmas
Eve with this feast
○ The feast traditionally includes salt cod, shellfish, eel, calamari,
conch meat, and clams
○ Includes:
■ Midnight mass
■ Vow to not eat until Christmas Day
 Italian Religious Traditions
● La Befana- The “Santa” in Italy
○ In italy their “santa” is not a jolly man she is an old witch.
○ Italian Children do not open their gifts on Christmas morning
○ They open gifts left by La Befana in their shoes on January 6th
■ This marks the end of the Christmas season
■ Gifts included:
● Candies and gifts for the nice children
● Coal for the naughty children
 Italian Religious Traditions
● Easter- “Pasquetta”
○ Celebrate similar to Americans: spend time with family outdoors or with
picnics
○ “Carnevale” also known as Lent- the 40 days before Easter, where Italians
fast from certain sweets
○ During “Carnevale” Italians are not to eat meat on fridays and meat is
often substituted for fish.
Italian Communication:
 Verbal Communication
● Use Direct Communicators- very open and honest about how they are feeling
● Love to talk-
○ Italians are known to be the loudest and fastest talking people in the room
○ Also known to talk over each other
● Known to ask many questions in an attempt to get some details on your personal
life
● Enjoy making jokes
○ Can often come off as sarcastic
● Older Italians who speak strictly Italian may isolate themselves from newer
generations due to the increasing number of english speaking Italians
○ They may see these people as lazy for not wanting to speak the language
 Nonverbal Communication
● Look at direct eye contact as a sign of respect
● Tend to be very physical and affectionate with those they are speaking with
○ Example- most family gatherings will consist of a lot of hugging, kissing, and dancing in order
to communicate their feelings of gratitude
● Often put hand over colleague’s shoulder or pat their back to show their
engagement in conversation
● Common to give air kisses on both cheeks to people you know
● Normal greeting consists of a smile, handshake and direct eye contact
 Nonverbal Communication
● Very well known for their overuse of hand
gestures
○ Used to exaggerate their feelings
○ Pinecone Hand- The most well known hand
gesture
 Language
● Italian is the official language of Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, and Vatican
City
○ 63 million people speak Italian worldwide as their first language
○ In the U.S., around 700,000 people speak Italian
■ Most are from New York or New Jersey
● Italian is known as a Romance Language because it was spoken by the Roman
Empire
○ This was derived from vulgar latin
○ Other languages known as romance languages include French, Spanish, Portuguese, and
Romanian
● Throughout the years, the Latin language developed dialects and that is what
produced the modern day Italian language
Italian Nutrition:
 Meaning of Food
● For Italians, food means more to them than just nourishment
○ It means a time for family, even extended family which gather
for large events
● It is very important for Italians to prepare their own food
● Different foods they eat are served at different holidays that they
celebrate
○ Example- Italian doughnuts being made for the celebration of
St. Joseph’s Day
 Food Rituals and Habits
● Many Italians prefer eating slow and pleasurable
● Before they eat, Italians often pray or make the sign of the cross
● They always wish everyone “Buon appetito”
○ This means “Enjoy your meal”
● Prefer eating while being conversational
○ They discuss-
■ Gossip
■ The food that they had in the past
■ The food they are currently eating
■ The food they will eat in the future
● Italians open a bottle of red wine about an hour before the meal, then slice a piece of
bread and make sure it is the perfect crunchiness before putting olive oil on it
 Common Italian Food in the U.S.
● In the 50s and 60s, Italian food became part of the American diet by
incorporating salami, pepperoni, mozzarella and provolone
● In the 70s and 80s, many dishes became popular such as Eggplant
Parmigiana, Fettuccine Alfredo, Penne alla Vodka, Shrimp Scampi, Fried
Calamari, and etc.
● In the 90s, all the pastas, sauces, different types of pizza, biscotti, tiramisu,
and gelato were incorporated
 Regional Food Differences in Italy
Southern Italy
● Italians from the South enjoy eating more seafood, pasta, and
is high in fruit
○ This is mostly because they are closer to the Mediterranean meaning
there is more of an abundance of seafood.
○ Southern Italian cuisine is noted as being one of the healthiest in the
world.

Northern Italy
● Italians from the North enjoy soup, broth, and risotto
○ An example of this is minestrone soup. This is a thick soup made with
mostly vegetables and often includes pasta or rice.
 Nutritional Limitations and Issues
● Many Italians’ diets consists of fatty foods such as butter, cheese, cakes,
meats, etc.
● Due to high proportion of fatty foods, they have an increased risk of
obesity which in turn can lead to hypertension, type 2 diabetes and an
increase for cardiovascular disease
● Italians are also prone to develop celiac disease- a sensitivity to gluten
○ Due to the amount used in most of their dishes
 Top 10 List
1. Many Italians' diets consist of fatty foods. This can increase the risk of obesity, hypertension,
and diabetes.
2. Due to the amount of gluten Italian’s eat, they are prone to celiac disease.
3. Italians put their full trust into the health care system and believe everything the doctors say.
4. When Italians are in pain, they prefer to be surrounded by people. This brings them comfort
as well as encouragement from others.
5. Italians are direct communicators. This means, they are often open and honest with how they
are feeling.
6. Direct eye contact is important when speaking with an Italian, it is looked at as a sign of
respect.
7. In the United States, around 700,000 people speak Italian.
8. Most Italians believe in Christianity. The most popular type of Christianity in Italy is Roman
Catholicism.
9. Family is a top priority for Italians. They often have gatherings to enjoy family time.
10. Italians will base their health on their own daily activities.
Thank you!