chapter five
|
chapter five |
Italian life is rooted in the family and the network of close family friends. As we have seen, they are the ones who can always be relied on. This attitude has led to a realistic and slightly pessimistic view of life.
In the cities, most Italians live in rented apartments, but in the suburbs and small towns and villages, families own their own houses. Housing is extremely hard to come by in Italy, and many people wait years before moving into their own home. Italian apartments can be quite small. Three-bedroom apartments are rare but two bathrooms are common. The Italians take great pride in decoration and design and spare no expense to make their homes beautiful. The use of marble, wood, and stone is common. Italy is famous for its ceramics, which can be found in bathrooms and in kitchens. Bathrooms will normally have a toilet and a bidet, and the washing machine is often placed in the bathroom rather than the kitchen.
When Italians move they take everything with them except, literally, the kitchen sink and perhaps the bath. All furnishings, including fixtures and fittings, have to be installed, usually by a local artisan/carpenter. Every Italian has his or her “special” person whom they will recommend. Italian floors are usually tiled rather than carpeted. Parquet flooring is expensive and tends to be reserved for the “master” bedroom.
One interesting feature of many Italian houses is the top-floor balcony, which is open to the elements and called a loggia. Another is the basement taverna. This is a sort of playroom or rumpus room for grownups, which is used for parties and barbecues. It may have a fireplace, wines, rustic-style furniture. Found in newer houses, the taverna is a throwback to the old Italian hunting lodge and may be where the condominio inhabitants join up with friends on the mid-August bank holiday of Ferragosto, or on Liberation Day on April 25.
Some experts say that if you intend to stay in Italy for less than five years it is more economical to rent than to buy, but beyond that it is worth considering buying. Some foreigners buy into a condominio, a group of apartments around a garden and perhaps a swimming pool, in which utilities and general upkeep are shared between the owners. If you do this, always make sure that your contract allows you full use of the facilities.
Experts also suggest that, even if you eventually intend to buy, it is better to rent for the first six to nine months, and to do so in the worst part of the year weather-wise. Many foreigners have bought in the balmy spring and autumn and repented at leisure in the steaming hot summer or damp freezing winter.
The Italian rental market is strong, with houses and apartments available in all categories. Rentals are usually unfurnished (non ammobiliato), and long-term furnished rentals (ammobiliato) are rare. Some properties are rented semi-furnished, in which case they are like a self-catering apartment. For detailed advice on renting or buying accommodation in Italy, consult Graeme Chesters’ Living and Working in Italy (see Further Reading). One piece of advice he gives is that the worst time to look for apartments or houses is September/October. That is when the Italians are back from vacation and their wanderlust translates into the search for a new home.
The Italians like to buy their food fresh, and going to the market is an important part of daily life. Italy works on the metric system, and items are bought in kilos (kilograms), half-kilos, or grams (usually measured in hundreds). There are permanent indoor markets, street markets, and traveling markets, which are usually cheaper than stores (depending on your bargaining skills). As well as fresh local produce you can buy all kinds of manufactured products, including clothes.
Supermarkets are not as ubiquitous as in North America or Britain and account for about six percent of the Italian food market. Small grocery stores and open-air markets are still the preferred way of shopping, but the major supermarkets are Coop Italia, Interdis, Conad, and SPAR. Italians take their own bags to the supermarket (plastic bags are usually charged for and there is no “bagging and carry-out” policy).
Milan and Rome are the centers of Italy’s department stores, of which the most famous is La Rinascente (www.rinascente.it) as well as Metro, Standa, and Upim. Department stores have international facilities, take credit cards, usually have English speakers, and may well be easier for foreign shoppers than small local stores.
The saldi (sales) take place in January, and in July and August before the summer holidays, but even then prices can seem high. (Italian “cheap” is often British or American “expensive.”) Sportswear and sports equipment, children’s clothing, and toys are also expensive, even in the children’s wear chain, Prenatal.
If you are taking children to Italy it is worth making sure you have supplies of their favorite food. It may not be available locally as children’s diets in Italy are somewhat different to those in the US and the UK.
Items that can be hard to find, or are expensive, are electric kettles, duvets, and bayonet light bulbs (only screw-type bulbs are sold in Italy).
Italy works on the standard two-prong round pin at 220 volts and 50 hertz, so although British appliances work perfectly, American ones will need an adaptor. Phone adaptors for modem connection may be different, and you may wish to buy one of the multiadaptor packs available at airport duty-free stores.
Shops normally open from about 8:30 a.m. and close around 6:00, 7:00, or 8:00 p.m. Many shops, especially in the South, take a pausa (long lunch break) and close between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 or 4:00 p.m. It is always worth checking opening times. To compensate for Saturday working, many shops close on a weekday afternoon: this varies from city to city. Once again, the advantage of most department stores and supermarkets is that they are open all day.
The school year runs from September to June. The state education system is supplemented by private schools, all following the national curriculum. Education starts at an early age: compulsory schooling is from six to fifteen years old, but a child may go to infant school (scuola dell’infanzia) as early as four. From six to eleven, children attend primary school (scuola primaria). At age eleven, they take the licenza elementare before attending middle school (scuola media) from eleven to fourteen. At fourteen, they take the diploma di licenza media, a year before the end of compulsory schooling.
Between fourteen and eighteen, children have a considerable amount of choice. They might opt for a liceo classico (which specializes in a traditional humanistic education), a liceo scientifico (scientific studies), a liceo linguistico (languages), a liceo tecnico (technical studies), or an istituto commerciale (commerce). Or they might prefer an arts education in a liceo artistico, istituto d’arte, conservatorio (musical studies), accademia di danza, or accademia drammatica. If they want to start teacher training, they will attend an istituto magistrale or scuola magistrale.
The type of school does not mean that basic subjects are excluded, but that extra hours are devoted to the disciplines in which the school specializes. The maturità exam at eighteen allows access to university and the diploma di laurea (bachelor’s degree).
Military service in Italy for men only was only phased out at the end of 2004.
Women can join the armed forces and since 2000 can serve in any post, including the carabinieri.
Italy has relatively high unemployment with 12.9 percent of the working age population unemployed, largely due to the slow economy. Of the unemployed in 2014, 42 percent were under twenty-five years old. Youth unemployment is a major issue in Italy, resulting in increasing migration from the South to the North, and migration from Italy to other countries in Europe in search of work. For well qualified students this may result in longer periods at university in search of further qualifications due to the lack of employment in the jobs market.
There are practically no unemployment benefits in Italy and getting on the employment ladder can be hard, even for graduates. Many go from university into vocational courses to learn a trade. One of the main employers is the family firm, where, as we have seen, sons and daughters frequently take over when their father retires. Although Italy has traditionally had the best long-term employment conditions in Europe, more than a quarter of the workforce is now on short-term contracts.
As in Britain, one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Italian economy is the service and leisure industry. On the other hand, a widespread ambition is to become a statale (civil servant), which offers security of employment, regular hours, and early retirement on a state pension.
Most Italians live at home until they get married. It is not uncommon to find thirty-year-olds still living with their parents, and indeed for married couples to live with parents-in-law while waiting to find a suitable house or apartment to rent or buy. Italian children therefore leave home much later than their British, American, or Australian counterparts.
In Italy the birth of a child is an important event, not just for the family but for the whole neighborhood. Unlike Britain, where traditionally children are “seen but not heard,” in Italy children are celebrated. An Italian father’s first job is to buy a rosette, blue for a boy, pink for a girl, and stick it the front door. The second is to register the birth within seven days, in the place of birth, and with two witnesses. As we have seen, Italians are born into, live by, and die by bureaucracy.
In 2014 the Italian birth rate continued to be low, at 8.9 births per 1,000 population, a condition affected not just by the difficulties of the Italian economy and changing lifestyles but also by a fall in religious conviction. The Pope himself has encouraged Italians to breed more. What has stopped the Italian population falling more rapidly is immigration, although Italy now has the second-oldest population in Europe after Germany. There are signs that from an all-time low of 1.18 children per woman in 1995, it is creeping up in the richer north and central areas of Italy.
Italy is part of the Eurozone, and since 2002 the lira has no longer been legal tender. There is a strong cash economy, especially outside the major cities. Credit cards may not be accepted everywhere and it is worth checking this in restaurants and shops in smaller towns, and definitely in villages. The strength of the black market in Italy also encourages cash transactions. The important thing is not to rely on one source of funds: take both cash and credit. Always have your passport as ID and be careful of personal security. Travelers’ checks are the safest form of currency, but they are not directly cashable in most hotels and restaurants.
ATM outlets, called Bancomats, are available via the CIRRUS and NYCE networks, but they often run out of money or are not in working order, so if you need weekend cash, get there in good time. Most Italian banks don’t accept checks drawn on foreign banks, but travelers’ checks and foreign currency can be exchanged at banks and at international stations and airports.
It is worth shopping around as rates of exchange can differ markedly. Airports and change machines offer the worst exchange rates and the highest handling charges. Banks offer the best exchange rates and post offices the lowest charges, but to American and British visitors, banks can be quite intimidating, with revolving security doors and armed guards.
Banking hours vary according to the city, but in general are from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. They may open for a further hour from 3.00 to 4.00 p.m. in the afternoon. They are closed on Saturdays and Sundays and on public holidays and, in the case of pubic holidays, may also close on the Friday afternoon. It is important to check in advance. Major hotels can change money and advise you where the nearest ATM is.
The main credit cards accepted in Italy are Mastercard, Visa, and Carta Sì. Credit cards are less popular than debit cards, but as a foreigner your credit card can be very helpful.
You will need to open a bank account if you’re living in Italy for any length of time. However, it isn’t that easy. The majority of banks will only permit foreigners to open an account if they are in possession of a residence certificate (certificato di residenza). It might make life easier if you approached an Italian bank with overseas branches (filiali), like the Banca di Roma, before departure. Other people feel the personal approach works best, so when in Italy, try to go with a friend who is known to the bank.
To open an account as a foreigner, you’ll need the following:
• Valid passport
• Valid residence certificate
• Proof of address in Italy, e.g. telephone or electricity bill, rental contract
Other useful facts about Italian banking are that bounced checks are illegal, overdrafts are very expensive, postdating checks is also illegal, and checks can be cleared on the day of writing regardless of the date. You can only stop a check if it has been lost or stolen, in which case you must report it to the police or the carabinieri.
A recent survey showed that Italians are among the healthiest and longest-lived people in Europe—due, it is said, to red wine, olive oil, and a Mediterranean diet. According to UN figures, men tend to live to seventy-six and women to eighty-two.
Italian health care expenditure is low, about six percent of GDP, and the standard of hospitals, especially in the South, varies widely. However, Italian doctors and medical staff are among the best-trained in the world, and Italy has the highest number of doctors per capita of any country (1 per 160 inhabitants). Many speak English. There is also a medical service for tourists with English-speaking staff (guardia medica turistica), and it is worth asking your embassy or consulate for a list of local English-speaking doctors.
Although Italy has a national health service (the servizio sanitario nazionale, or SSN, established in 1978), some Italians buy private health insurance. If you are living in Italy for any length of time, it is worth your doing so too. For Britons, who are members of the EU, an E111 form from the local British post office confirms your right to low-cost or free medical treatment on the Italian national health service, which provides free emergency health care to visitors, regardless of nationality.
If you are ill you can attend a family doctor (medico generico) or a health clinic (azienda sanità locale, or ASL) or you can go to the emergency department (pronto soccorso) of the local hospital (ospedale). Hospitals are marked with a white H on a blue background. Make sure you have the relevant insurance card as you will be required to pay before you receive treatment. If you are in Rome, try the Salvator Mundi International Hospital or the Rome American Hospital, or in Milan, the Milan Clinic, where English-speaking staff are available.
If a local doctor prescribes medicine for you, it will be dispensed in a farmacia. Note that the word droga is reserved exclusively for narcotics. Homeopathic medicines are popular in Italy and are often prescribed by doctors and stocked by all chemists. You will normally see a green sign, saying Omeopatia.
Always get your teeth attended to before you go to Italy. There are few dentists per capita, fewer still speak English, and charges are very high. Although it is possible to be seen by an optician on the national health service in Italy, it is simpler to get things checked before you go. Remember to take a spare pair of glasses with you and a copy of your eyeglasses prescription in case of emergency.
Other items that you might expect to find at a chemist or pharmacy in Britain or the States are sold in general stores or boutiques. Pharmacies in Italy are reserved for medicine. For natural toiletries and cosmetics, one British store that is well represented in Italy is the Bodyshop.
If you need more supplies of a regular medicine, take a packet with you as, although the brand may be different, the pharmacist will be able to recognize the ingredients. Italian pharmacists often have the knowledge and authority to advise on a wider range of medicine and treatments for ailments than may be the case in the UK.
One of the pleasures of Italy is the terme, or spas, offering not just immersion in spa waters but hydrotherapy and beauty treatments. Health care tourism is big business in Italy, and millions of Italians go to the country’s more than one hundred spas every year. Spas can be found in the north near Milan, in Tuscany (Montecatini is one of the most famous), and also on the island of Ischia in the south. Costs are not excessive and it is a pleasant way to detox and chill out.