For Italian families, among the most popular daily leisure activities are watching television, listening to the radio, reading newspapers, and going to the cinema; reading books and engaging in sports are less common among the majority of people.
Popular forms of recreation for Italian teenagers are similar to those in the U.S. -- meeting friends, going to parties, playing sports, club activities, dating, movies, shopping, etc. Italians teens often go out in groups. Sports are very popular, the favorite being soccer, or football as it is called in Italy.
All aspects of life are valued and celebrated by Italians, including spending time with family and friends, eating and drinking well, and appreciating beauty in all its forms.
Italy is famous for its tourism, its art cities and unique scenery. Italy is also known for its language, its opera, its fashion and its luxury brands. It is also known for its football team!
Italy has over 3,000 museums. The national sport of Italy is soccer (known as football outside of America). Italy's national dish is pasta. The Italian language evolved from the Latin of the Roman Empire.
The inventor of pizza is a highly debated topic amongst foodies and historians alike. Many people credit baker Raffaele Esposito from the Naples region of Italy for first creating the dish. Others believe that the history of pizza dates far further back than Esposito's era of the late 1800s.
"Traveling" and "Reading" are the top two answers among Italian consumers in our survey on the subject of "Most popular hobbies & activities". The survey was conducted online among 12,184 respondents in Italy, in 2023.
Basic Etiquette
It is common for Italian friends and families to kiss on the cheek when they meet, irrespective of their gender. Stand up out of respect when an older person enters the room. It is important to dress neatly and respectfully. Cover your mouth when yawning or sneezing.
Simple, fresh and cooked with a passion that was almost tangible. There are so many reasons to love Italy: its food, wines, language, architecture, design, people, history, landscapes, beaches… the list is endless. These are all great reasons to visit Italy and I always try to plan a trip back every year.
In Italy, Sundays are family days and for many families, the only day that the kids are not in school (highschoolers attend half days on Saturdays as well). Sunday lunch – or Sunday brunch in some places – is a thing, so you should join the Italians. Just book in advance.
Family Culture
Not only do Italians live in a close proximity to their family, but they get together at least once a week, generally on Sundays, usually for a big dinner at someone's house. More often than not, Italians will get together during multiple occasions throughout the week rather than just Sundays.
What is the most celebrated holiday in Italy? Out of all of the holidays stated above, probably Ferragosto, the Festa Della Republica, and the Primo Maggio are definitely the most celebrated Italian festivities.
Yep, the best party destinations in Italy run the gamut from boisterous towns to happening summertime retreats. You can hit some for a glass of Barolo in a quaint piazza, others for after-hour aperitivos in cool cocktail bars, and others for ceaseless parties in underground clubs. Andiamo!
People ask “quali sono i tuoi hobby?” (what are you hobbies?).
The ancient people living around the Mediterranean made the first step by eating all their flatbreads with toppings. Then the people of Naples took it and created pizza as we understand it today.
Based on etymology, the “Vocabolario Etimologico della Lingua Italiana” reveals that pizza comes from the dialectal pinza from the Latin pinsere, which means to pound or stamp. Other etymologists suggest it is related to the Lombardic word bizzo or pizzo, which means mouthful, and is related to the English word bite.
Pizza was first invented in Naples, Italy as a fast, affordable, tasty meal for working-class Neapolitans on the go. While we all know and love these slices of today, pizza actually didn't gain mass appeal until the 1940s, when immigrating Italians brought their classic slices to the United States.
Across a span of more than 3,000 years, Italian history has been marked by episodes of temporary unification and long separation, of intercommunal strife and failed empires. At peace for more than half a century now, Italy's inhabitants enjoy a high standard of living and a highly developed culture.