After reading Diana Baur’s post entitled Forty Things I’ve Learned in Italy, I couldn’t help but be inspired to write my own.

You see, Italy has this way about her. Those of us that have fallen under her spell have a certain understanding of each other. Perhaps, you have fallen too.

San Gimignano Air

1. There is no real need for a clothes dryer.

2. It is possible to have a full-body culinary experience.

3. You can never have too many vowels.

4. There is no need for processed foods.

Fresh food in the market

5. A raised voice does not necessarily mean yelling.

6. Italian art history is absolutely fascinating.

7. Medieval urban planners were brilliant.

Volterra, Tuscany

8. Whatever the question, the answer is simplicity.

9. Going up to a stranger that doesn’t speak your language isn’t really that hard after all.

10. Walking through a 700 year old village with your groceries is pure bliss.

Walking home from the market

11. Walking everywhere is far too underrated.

12. Italians have something they “say” for every single situation imaginable.

13. Children love history- when you tell them the right way and put them in the middle of it.

Kids in Vatican City

14. It is possible to experience what it would feel like to drive through the inside of a painting.

15. Children can appreciate good food.

16. An 86 year old Nona that has been making pasta her entire life would probably beat me in a game of arm wrestling.

Nona making pasta

17. Blending yourself into an Italian family takes love, gaining a few pounds, and lots of patience.

18. There is something to be said about generations of families growing up in the same small village.

19. A village will stop everything for a lost or injured dog. I’ve seen it happen many times.

Dogs in Italy

20. Wasting resources is unacceptable.

21. A big house is a big waste.

22. Children deserve the same respect as adults.

Italian children in Siena

23. Grandparents caring for their grandchildren is a privilege, not a burden.

24. There is no smell more intoxicating than walking past an open kitchen window where an Italian is cooking.

25. Sitting at a coffee bar with a cappuccino, while people watching in a piazza, is wonderful.

People watching

26. Sharing a meal can be a religious experience.

27. It is possible to live an extraordinary life.

28. Walking around a castle village at night is about as romantic as it gets.

Castles by night

29. We know absolutely nothing about bureaucracy in the US.

30. It is better to own 3 high-quality pairs of shoes than way too many cheap ones.

31. A tiny island village will give up everything they have and risk their own lives to save the lives of over 4,200 others that wash up on their shore.

Luca near the Costa Concordia, Giglio Island

32. You do not need many of today’s modern conveniences.

33. Everyone should experience the passion of Italian culture.

34. A bicycle is a respected form of transportation.

San Gimignano bicycle

35. The weightless fluid environment of free diving is far more meditative than any yoga practice I have done.

36. You can conquer your fears of swimming with sea life by petting a jellyfish.

37. Wine.

Gualandi Wine

38. You can fit more people than you think into a fiat 500.

Fiat 500

39. In Italy, Catholicism is a culture - a way to live; whereas in the US, it is a religion.

Abbey of Sant'Antimo

40. Fields of sunflowers are magical.

Sunflowers in Tuscany 

Grazie mille, Diana.

Laurel Perry is an Italy Expert. She shares her passion, tips, and Italy secrets with travelers through her work as a Family Travel Consultant, Italy and Luxury Travel Specialist with Ciao Bambino.