Hello old friends. Sorry it has taken so long for me to write but as the school year slows down I find myself with more time to actually write out my thoughts. Also this post has been on my mind since December and I am dying to finally write it. For those of you who don’t know my boyfriend is from a small town close to Naples, Marcianise, and if you don’t know anything about Italy, anything south of Rome is considered the south and anything North of Rome well if you can’t guess it’s considered the North (insert all the game of thrones quotes here). So my boyfriend is a southern Italian (oh mamma mia). In the month of December we had two holidays, Christmas and because we live in Milan, Sant Ambrogio. For both of these holidays we went to visit my boyfriend’s family in the south and I got a taste of the Italian lifestyle down there. It is different from the north and what I have learned over the last couple years so I am here to share some of things I observed between the two “regions” of this country.
1. Language
I start with language because it is the most obvious difference between these two regions. Italy has 20 regions each containing their own dialect. My boyfriend often says Italy has 20 different languages. It’s kind of true though. From the pronunciation, the expressions and even the gestures differ in each part of Italy. However, the biggest difference is the North from the South. I learned Italian in Milan which is considered to be the base of Italian. However, when I went to Campania (the region which contains Naples and Marcianise) I was not prepared with my basic Italian. The dialect is so strong and specific that even other Italians cannot understand it unless they are from that region. I mean most of the time I can understand 80-90% of a conversation in Italian but when we went to Marcianise I was lucky if I understood 10% of what they were saying. All the words were cut in half and they were using parts of other languages. My mind was blown. Just sitting at the dinner table I needed some subtitles in Italian. When my boyfriend’s lovely family would talk to me I could hear the change in their voice as if they were changing languages. At times there was even confusion on how to say things in Italian. If the language intimidated me there was definitely something that comforted me. The food.
2. Food
The next biggest difference between the North and the South is the food. In this part I also want to include diet and well of course pizza because they contribute to the differences. So let me start with this. I lived with a Milanese Family and well now I live with a Napolitano and food has been and will always be important. Milan is known for risotto and cotelleta (like a breaded piece of meat) and well Naples is known for pizza and all things fried. Since living in Italy I have always noticed the importance of food but I didn’t realize how great the difference would be in Milan versus Naples. In Milan I mean we always ate and I enjoyed the food but it wasn’t much different than the U.S. Ok the breakfast is small in the morning and lunch is considered the most important meal but meal sizes were generally the same. Then we went to the south. Breakfast is still incredibly small but for lunch and dinner I am talking 3 course meals and not just for special occasions or holidays. There were always starters, pasta, and meat. I thought I was going to die. I mean I still ate everything but I seriously thought death from too much eating was a possibility at the time. Most of the food was fried and heavy and I am pretty sure I gained 10 pounds over Christmas holidays. Although it was a lot, Pasquale and I appreciate it (even the weight) because we know once we return to Milan it’s going to be different. Our portion and courses would decrease and there would hardly be any fried food. Besides just the basic meal differences the pizza is also a huge difference. Pizza in Milan is supposed to be flat but if you find the right places you can get Naples style pizza which is how you typically imagine pizza, flat in the middle with a high crust. Can’t really give you too much of my opinion on which is better because Pasquale makes sure we only eat at Napolitano style pizza places, doesn’t matter which part of Italy we are in, but in my mind pizza is pizza so it’s going to be good.
3. Driving
Besides the most noticeable differences of these two regions, the next thing I noticed was the driving. I remember when I was in Viterbo and I kept thinking my god driving here is crazy. They don’t care if you’re in a crosswalk or on a sidewalk they will run you over, or maybe they are just trying to find a place to park. In the south seatbelts are not to be worn. While we were in the South we used his family’s cars and every time I got in I would reach for the seatbelt to find it wrapped around the seat already in the seatbelt thing (does it have a name) so seatbelt alarm wouldn’t go off. In other cars there was a fake seatbelt in the seatbelt thing to keep the alarm going off. I understand that it is a small town and that you can’t drive fast but still everyone should wear a seatbelt. In the North I am not going to say everyone wears their seatbelt but it is a lot more common. The one time I saw someone not wearing a seatbelt in Milan was with another person from the south with a fake seatbelt in the clicker thing (that’s a good name right?). Besides the seatbelt thing the driving is equally crazy all over Italy. However, I do notice that in the north most people use blinkers and common road rules while in the south it’s just who is there first and who can fit. My boyfriend constantly laughs at my grip on the door for dear life. I don’t think it will be letting up anytime soon no matter where we are.
4. Coffee
Besides pizza there is another large difference between these two regions: coffee. My boyfriend isn’t picky but when it comes to coffee and pizza this man is the pickiest. After visiting the south and living in the North I can say that I understand why. Side note when I talk about coffee I mean espresso and like a shot of espresso. Ok moving on. In Milan I always thought coffee was fine, good in fact. It looks and smells like coffee. I mean some places are better than others like any coffee place but then walks Pasquale into my life and I guess I’ve been doing everything wrong. He starts taking me to Café Napoli which is a southern style coffee place in Milan and let me tell you it is different. The coffee is thick and almost creamy and the flavor is intense. Let’s say after going there it was hard to go to other places and I also found myself criticizing every coffee we had at any other place, even our house. When we went to the south the coffee was thick and creamy everywhere we went. I had to actually turn down coffee because they drank it more often and it was heavy, my stomach could have exploded. In the south they drink MORE coffee than in the north and all Italians drink a lot of coffee. I mean every hour or small break there is a coffee involved but in the south I think it’s every 15-20 minutes. I remember my first day with his family, we had just had breakfast and everything was cleaned up and we were getting ready for the day and I was already offered my second coffee. Don’t worry I didn’t turn it down but it’s a good example of how often and how important coffee is in their daily routines.
So I know these are just a few things but they are the biggest things I noticed. I really enjoy having a foot in both parts to really get to know this country that I now call home. This summer we plan on going back down to his house to visit the sea so definitely some more observations coming your way. Stay tuned.