With values and beliefs as the pillar of their society, Italians are known for placing a high value on their culture and traditions. They pride themselves on embracing the concept of family, attaching importance to history and knowledge, and maintaining the balance between work and social life. Italians have figured out the meaning of life–being present with their loved ones despite the adversities. Relationships are not only maintained, but also fostered because they have been used to having their family as their top priority. In the recent study by OECD, they have discovered that “In Italy, full-time workers devote 69% of their day on average, or 16.5 hours, to personal care (eating, sleeping, etc.) and leisure (socializing with friends and family, hobbies, games, computer, and television use, etc.) – more than the OECD average of 15 hours.” This simply indicates how excellent they are at upholding their work-life balance. It is all about how to juggle life’s demands without having to let go of their personal values.
When thinking of Italians, the most common things that come to mind are food and cooking, wine, arts, fashion, and architecture. Focusing on their way of communicating–elaborate expressions, big gestures, and clear articulation, all contribute to the fact that they give their all in every aspect of their life. They can be defined by a number of other things, but it is astonishing how they always have this reputation of honor and integrity. They are the epitome of passion–instilling that image through high regard for culture and traditions.
A big part of their identity
There is pride and a sense of identity. By preserving culture and traditions, it strengthens one’s ability to be their own person. People naturally form their assumptions based on a person’s nationality given that they have prior knowledge of their culture. When meeting an American for example, the tendency is to expect direct communication. On the other hand, when meeting an Italian, the usual reaction may be things like food, fashion or automobiles. This is how people form judgments.
For instance, Italian cuisine highlights pasta. Its history comes with the story established by the legendary traveler, Marco Polo. It was known that he brought pasta to Italy from his travels to China in the 13th century–where noodles first existed. He made an account of this through his book The Travels of Marco Polo in which he touches on a plant that produced flour. The Chinese used this to create meals similar to barley flour. Polo highlighted that this is how they produce pasta-like dishes, mentioning a food similar to “lasagna.” However, this is just a popular myth attached to pasta. According to the publication of the National Pasta Association (NAPA) and food writer Jeffrey Steingarten, the durum wheat had already been introduced by the Arabs from Libya in the late 9th century during their rule over Sicily, preexisting Marco Polo’s travels four centuries earlier. Hence, the Italians have simply emphasized their pasta reputation through their manner of cooking and inventing the combination of pasta with tomatoes and other delicious ingredients.
They have preserved their Italian cuisine by having food as their way of bonding. By having family at the core of their identity, they strengthen their relationships over cooking and eating together especially during Sundays or big celebrations.
Teaching future generations
To preserve culture and traditions means there is an opportunity to pass on teachings to the next generations. Pleasure and beauty are a matter of great importance to Italians who teach their children to appreciate the arts from galleries, museums, and churches. They focus more on the idea of enjoyment rather than pure knowledge. It is all about the sense of feeling and perspective.
Italians teach their children about the ways of life. From an early age, Italian children are expected to participate , they include them in their daily tasks and the inclusion of community, family, friends and cultural traditions including. These concepts are introduced to at an early age, which explains how much they value relationships. Certainly, all of these would not be possible without the bond over food. The children get to experience the bustling kitchen, the smell of the food, the need for fresh daily bread to which all have been accustomed over the years. When dining at restaurants, they do not have “kiddie” meals or children’s menu, the Italian children eat the same meals as their parents only with smaller portions. For them, children learn the most through their senses–something that is indirectly taught.
Italians also value politeness and respect for the elders. By tradition, they have to let the family elders enter a room first while children are taught to stand up when adults enter in order to show respect. Furthermore, for Italians, a child is always seen as a child–despite teaching independence, the elders expect that they will be consulted for decision-making and permission. All of these are attributable to how they learn about personal dignity–extending into adulthood.
In a nutshell, Italians savor everything from their daily lives to their culture and traditions. They have effortlessly established these due to how they approach life in general. – Michael Canzian