I'm italian and I'm very interested on your opinion about Italy, tell me everything positive and negative, cause I want to know what the world thinks on it...
The people are fairly nice. But try to scam non-Europeans . Its really hot and humid during the summer. their food is amazing. And they are always very calm and relaxed, like its nap time 24/7 . Oh and the siestas get annoying for travelers because they are on a tight schedule, but for two hours during the day nothing can be done because no one is working.
Hmm, I have been to Rome with my high school class, and I have to say... Your McDonalds is far better than here, but your pizzas... I have had frozen pizzas tasting better than the ones I bought in the restuarants. I might have been going the wrong places. I like the country, nice views from about everywhere, and one of the few places I can actually not get lost for some reason.
but your pizzas... I have had frozen pizzas tasting better than the ones I bought in the restuarants.
That is because pizzas are an American food, invented by Sicillian immigrants. And I agree with you. Not nearly as good as ours, especially compared to a Chicago deep dish!
But on topic, I enjoyed my experience in Italy. I visited both Florence and Rome over the course of a week. The people were very nice. I'd say 70% of people, upon hearing I was from Tennessee, would say "Oh! Jack Daniel's Wiskey!" which was hillarious. The thing I remember the most though was all of the sites. Hadrian's Villa, Nero's Palace, the Colloseum and Senate, the Vatican... America is only 232 years old, but your culture spans millenia. Don't take these for granted!
I love Italian art, language and food; as for politics, well... you don't have a great track record. The guy that sticks out most in my mind is Benito, whom I'm sure Italy does not want to be connected to/reminded of. Of course, the other figure that comes to mind is Machiavelli; possibly one of the most cold & calculating political minds I've read about so far. I'm not familiar with the modern political landscape (I'm majoring in history, not political science), but those are the most immediate thoughts I have on the subject.
ChopstickBoB, pizza wasn't invented by sicilians... instead people from Naples, and they were here when they invented pizza. They called "margherita" the basic pizza because it was a tribute to the queen of Italy, visiting Naples, at the ending of 1800. But pizza was first invented in 1490 more or less, not by immigrants in America, but in Italy... Who thinks that pizza is an American food doesn't even know what he is eating when he goes to the restaurant...!
