Italy is a land of staggering contrasts where every province feels like its own world, where the sun-drenched coasts of Sicily contrast the mist-covered peaks of the Alps. To truly navigate this diverse peninsula, you need the perspective of someone who lives and breathes its winding backroads; someone like Patrizia, one of our expert Travel Directors. Born and raised in Sicily and now based in Milan, Patrizia spends her life traversing Italy from top to bottom, bringing a wealth of authentic “boots-on-the-ground” knowledge to every journey. In this candid interview, she debunks common misconceptions, shares her favorite corners of the country, and offers essential advice for first-time visitors looking to experience the real Italy beyond the postcards.
What’s your personal personal connection to Italy?
“So I’m Italian, born and raised in Sicily, but I’ve been living in Milan for the past four years. I love Piedmont a lot and it’s near Milan. I work in the Italian region, so I travel up and down Italy all the time. I also visit Italy on my own private account because Italy’s so diverse; every province is like another big world. So whenever I can, even now in the off time, I go visit.”
What’s your favorite place to visit on tour and why?
“It’s like you asked me which I prefer between the children that I (don’t) have. And after a lot of thinking, I came up with Siena and Tuscany. I love the fact that there is like Medieval buildings and Renaissance buildings together. That means a lot of walking up and down. You know, history is the subject that I adore. History and art. Those are the two children I cannot choose from. And Tuscany has it all: beautiful history, beautiful cities. Also in Tuscany you can ski. A lot of people don’t realize that there are ski resorts! You can also go to the beach, even sandy beaches, and marine parks where the turtles go to nest. Siena, my favorite place, and Tuscany, just picture perfect. I love the hilly scenery.”
If Italy were a person, how would you describe their personality?
“Flamboyant is the first word, because we’re very creative and also very expressive. And I know whenever we see somebody, we always hug and give two kisses, one of both cheek. We also like to dress well, to appear well is very important, and there is a lot of creativity in it. So I think you can summarize it all in one word: flamboyance, which changes as you go from north to south. We are also happy and caring, like even during the Olympics in Milan, a lot of foreigners were saying how we were excited to see so many people visiting. We like to interact with people from all over the world. It’s for us a wow thing.”
What is the biggest misconception visitors have about Italy?
“Misconception…A lot of guests ask me, Patrizia, can you sing something for us? I know we have Bocelli and Pavarotti, but not all the Italians sing well! I mean, I do practice in the shower, but with no big results. And then a lot of people don’t realize that Italy is actually big; we travel a lot from place to place, so there’s the traveling time. When I say, oh, we’re going to Venice today, it’s going to take us five hours…they don’t realize how big it is! And then a lot of people think that Italy is warm and sunny all the time, but we get snow and we get rain and sometimes people are caught off guard.”
Is there a stereotype about Italy that makes you laugh because there’s a grain of truth to it?
“The fact that we we use our hands, that’s so true. And then we’re always a bit dramatic, all the “Mamma Mia!” You know, not everyone uses the hands, but most people do. We don’t realize it, but we do use our hands as we talk. Also that we’re being a bit dramatic and how every minor thing is the end of the world, it’s like, OK, get over it. People also think that we still have large families and in a sense, we don’t have large families as in the past. As a matter of fact, we have a lowest birth rate of Europe, like 0.9. So now I think we’ve gone up to 1.1 because we have a lot of foreigners, so they make more bambinos that we do, but we’re still very close. The families getting together like on a Sunday lunch or you know, religious occasions is still important.”
What question do guests ask you the most about Italy?
“Sooner or later people ask about the mafia, and it’s taking us a long time to shrug this off our shoulders. Unfortunately, it does exist. It’s just a criminal organization with a fancy name. It’s now a word used for many other criminal organizations that we have in our country, like the Chinese mafia, the Russian mafia and it’s just, you know, it’s criminal. But I’m confident that we’ll get rid of it, if not altogether, because we don’t like this being associated with Italy in general, especially if you go to Sicily. I wouldn’t ask that as a first thing. You need to know people well before you ask such a question. Because it’s depressing. And I always say as soon as somebody asks, I say, OK, let’s get this out of the way. Yes, Mafia still is there and it has connotations in different fields. But you know, Italians, we try to fight it off.”
RELATED BLOG: The anti-mafia walking tour challenging how visitors perceive Palermo
What do you miss most when you’re away from Italy?
“If I do a trip that goes beyond the three weeks or four weeks, which doesn’t happen as often as it used to in the past, it is maybe my pasta al dente and my espresso. I stay away from Italian food the moment I cross the border. Ciao ciao pasta. Because it’s pointless to have pasta somewhere else when they say it’s not al dente. So I think I miss that. And espresso, but you know I love tea. That’s my backup plan. Not many Italians are into tea, but I love my tea and I’m not typical because I’m too traveled, I guess from when I lived in London. Anyway, sometimes I can find places to get the things I miss. There are a lot of Italian places all over the world. Italians say that Italians are like parsley, they grow everywhere.”
RELATED BLOG: Italian Cuisine Is Officially the Best In the World
What’s your most valuable piece of advice for first time visitors to Italy?
“OK, I have a long list:
- Things are small here and space is limited. Also portions are small, because we have a big meal with the pasta, primo, secondi, contorno and salad and so when the food comes to the table, people are surprised that the portions are small.
- Also our apartments are small, the hotel rooms are small and when you go to a restaurant it is always very small. In other countries there’s so much space, so be prepared, like if you bring a huge suitcase then you can’t move it about in the room.
- 70% of Italy is made of mountains, so the flat area is limited to the coast and the big valleys.
- Be prepared to walk and bring good shoes, not new ones that you need to break in. I mean, I guess you can catch a taxi, but sometimes it’s not worth it. It’s just easier. Also there are a lot of regulations on where the coach can drop us off. So get ready to walk.
- Then, in general, to lower the voice, especially when you’re in a restaurant; to be mindful of others.”
Finish this: “You haven’t truly experienced Italy until…”
“…You visit Bologna. Bologna is the mecca of food, and maybe it’s not as famous as Venice, Florence or Rome, but Bologna is the place where you want to go for fantastic food.”
