Instantly Italy

Italian language, culture and travel tips

Can a city be described by some objects? 15 items (plus one) that represent Genoa

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture! You will also get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of Italian learning materials.

If you have been following me for a while, you may know how much I love Genoa and how hard I try to describe the city – and my region in general – from an authentic point of view. 

You may remember my most recent post about the city, where I gave you a list of reasons not to miss it when you come to Italy, the one about a food tour to discover its delicacies, or another one about the oldest confectionery shop in Italy, which is in Genoa.

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Do You Want To Be Happier? Live Life Like An Italian, Then!

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture! You will also get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of Italian learning materials.

The title of the post is intentionally exaggerated but I am sure that adopting some little Italian lifestyle habits can make your life if not happier definitely more relaxed.

No matter how I complain about Italian culture and lifestyle – we Italians always do it, every day – there are some traits of our culture that I really like and that I think can make life better, so I thought I might share them with you.

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Are You In Italy At Christmas? Here’s How You Can Spend Christmas Day Like Italians Do

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture! You will also get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of Italian learning materials.

Being abroad for the Christmas holidays can be a weird experience.

If Christmas is not your thing, you are in heaven because you can avoid the traditional celebrations and the parties you don’t care about, without even needing an excuse. But if you like Christmas, you may feel a bit out of place.

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Ferrania: A Now Forgotten Company That Has Made Italian History

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture! You will also get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of Italian learning materials.

For a while in my life, I have been part of Italian history without fully realizing it.

Speaking of work, I have lived two very different lives. Before doing what I currently do, which is running this website and working freelance as a translator, I have worked for some years in the corporate world.

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10 International Movies That Make You Want To Book A Ticket To Italy Right Away

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture! You will also get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of Italian learning materials.

Movies sometimes play a fun trick: they make you fall in love with a place, a town, a country.

Sometimes the trick is so powerful that you start dreaming about visiting such place – or even moving there – and you feel that you absolutely HAVE to go there, sooner or later.

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How To Order Coffee In Italy (Without Sounding Too Much Like A Tourist)

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture! You will also get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of Italian learning materials.

You might have read posts about coffee in Italy possibly about a thousand times before. 

But probably it is worth writing one more post about the topic because I still hear too many people ordering “un espresso” when asking for coffee, here in Italy. So let’s take some time to recap a few basic guidelines you need to follow if you want to order coffee in Italy.

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What is Ferragosto? All you need to know about this unique Italian holiday

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture! You will also get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of Italian learning materials.

Ferragosto has just gone and summer has a different feeling now. 

But “what is Ferragosto?”, you may ask. What is this weird holiday that makes Italy stop and basically close down in the middle of summer? Why Italians love this day so much? Well, let me try to explain that to you.

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Expats in Italy: A Double Interview With Chris and Eva of Shabby Sheep Design

Today I am super happy because I do not get to interview just one expat but two at the same time!

In this post, I chat with Chris and Eva, a British couple who lives and works in Italy. They lived in the Cotswolds but years ago they decided to change their life, relocating to Tuscany – in La Lunigiana, precisely. They have been living there for 13 years now and have started an online business which clearly shows their love for Italy. 

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Italian Stereotypes: What Do Italians Think Of Other Italians?

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture! You will also get full access to Your Italian Toolbox, a library of Italian learning materials.

What do you think when you think of Italians? 

As it always happens with other cultures, if you look at us from afar, you probably see us as one general group. You may think that we all are very friendly, we like to talk a lot (usually with quite a loud voice and using hand gestures), we have a strong bond with our family, we don’t know how to queue and we all like to take things slow.

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Are you Looking for Some Good Italian Movies? Here Are Ten of My Favorites

If you want to Be Italian For A Weekend, you can join the Vespa ride and get a three-day email crash course about Italian culture!

I can’t say I am movie expert but watching a good movie is definitely one of my most favorite pastimes. 

When you are tired or feeling a bit down or simply in need of a boost of energy, sitting on the couch and watching a movie is just the perfect thing to do. Movies can change your mood, make you dream, make you want to go out and explore new places, and also make you discover new cultures.

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