Culture Profile - Italy

Italy

Geographic & Demographic Italy is located in Southern of

Europe and borders with Switzerland, France, Austria and San Marino

Lake Garda is the largest of the Italian lakes.

300,340 km2 : 40% are mountains and volcanoes, rivers and lakes, islands

Etna, the highest active volcano

60.4 million, the fourth-largest population in the European Union and the 23rd-largest population worldwide.

Culture of Italy

Italian culture is one of the world's oldest cultures and has so many differences in language, religions, cuisine, arts…

Political System

President Giorgio Napolitano was elected on 10 May 2006.

•Parliamentary Republic• 3 Powers: the Executive: the Counsel of the Ministers the Legislative :the Parliament (Congress), which is divided in Senate and Chamber (the House) the Juridical: the Magistrates (Judges)

Main language and minorities Official language: Italian Minorities: German (provincial),

Slovene(provincial), French (regional) Other minorities (11): • Sardinian(2.2%)• Friulian(0.9%) • Occitan(0.3%)• Albanian (0.2%)• Roma (0.2%)• Croat (0.01%)• Misunderstandings • Misunderstandings

• Franco-Provencal and French (0.2%)

• Ladin (0.1%)• Greek (0.03%)• Catalan (0.01%)• Croat (0.01%)

ReligionChristian 80% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants)Muslim (about 800,000 to 1 million)Atheist and Agnostic 20%

Educational system

+ Italy's public education is FREE and Italy has both public and private +It has a five-year primary stage and an eight-year secondary stage+After secondary school, students have to take the final exam called Esame di Maturità.+Pass the exam choose university

Stereotypes

ITALIAN AND SPANISH CULTURES ARE RATHER

SIMILAR

NO

Italians eat pasta and pizza all the time

Kind of yes

ITALIANS DRINK LOTS OF COFFEE

YES

ITALIANS ARE ROMANTIC AND PASSIONATE

YES

ALL ITALIANS ARE CONNECTED TO THE MAFIA

NO

ITALIANS GESTICULATE WHILE TALKING

Kind of yes

ALL CARS IN ITALY ARE MAZERATTI AND FERRARI

NO

ITALIANS ARE NOT THE BEST DRIVERS

Kind of yes

Communication style

• Greeting - handshake • Once a relationship is formed - a kiss on both

cheeks (even men) in greeting• Speak loudly • Interruptions are to be expected• Silence is rather uncomfortable• Eye contact - direct and constant• Small personal space• Demonstrate emotions (even in a business

setting)

Smalltalk

Appropriate topics: •Italian history•Architecture •Art and culture•Sports (especially football/soccer)•Food and wine•Current events•Families

Topics to avoid:•Religion, the Vatican and its policies•Politics, taxes•World War II•Criticizing the Italian culture (even if your Italian counterparts are doing so)•Mafia•Personal questions•Income

GesturesSign language is rich in “expressions” •grouping all fingers’ tips together against the thumb and waving the hand back and forth•pointing the index and little fingers downwards to shape two “horns”

•Hand Gestures in Italy

FoodPear Pasta or Ravioli di

Pera Truffle or Tartufo

Angry Sauce or Sugo all'arrabbiata

Fried Olives or Olive all'Ascolana

Pizza

Cheese

DrinksCoffee

Juice

LiqueursWine Iced Tea

Arts• International art scene from the 19th century• Major artistic centers include:

Rome Florence Venice Milan Naples Turin

Family

1960 2014

“ A family who eats together stays together”

Dress Code

• Known to be the prime concern• Elegant accessories crucial for both men

and women

• Dark-colored conservative business suits for men

• Business suits and conservative dresses for women

• Stylish clothes that are rather formal

BusinessBusiness

PartiesParties

• 8 am to 1pm and then 3pm to 7pm– With approximately two hours of break

• Total working time of 48hours/week (Inclusive of overtime)

• Rest of 11 hours for every 24 hours• Paid leave of not less than 4 weeks/year

• Not a priority• Work plan not taken too strictly• Usually multi-task

Working HoursWorking Hours

PunctualityPunctuality

Gifts

• Not common• Only after a trusted relationship is established• Not too expensive

• Do not turn up empty-handed• Chocolates, Pastries, Wine, Flowers

BusinessBusiness

Family Lunch/DinnerFamily Lunch/Dinner

Equality

• Very low gender equality– Ranked 71st in Global Gender Gap Report 2013– Worst country in EU

• Income, positions

Business Negotiations• North Italians are direct and value time as money• South Italians are more relaxed and like to get to

know the people they are working with• Usually prolonged

• Prefer doing business with higher ranked people• High-pressure sales tactics are not used• Following commitments are very critical

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