ITALY CULTURE AND LANGUAGE ITALY – “THE BOOT” ITALY – THE FLAG.
Culture Profile - Italy
Transcript of Culture Profile - Italy
Italy
Geographic & Demographic Italy is located in Southern of
Europe and borders with Switzerland, France, Austria and San Marino
Lake Garda is the largest of the Italian lakes.
300,340 km2 : 40% are mountains and volcanoes, rivers and lakes, islands
Etna, the highest active volcano
60.4 million, the fourth-largest population in the European Union and the 23rd-largest population worldwide.
Culture of Italy
Italian culture is one of the world's oldest cultures and has so many differences in language, religions, cuisine, arts…
Political System
President Giorgio Napolitano was elected on 10 May 2006.
•Parliamentary Republic• 3 Powers: the Executive: the Counsel of the Ministers the Legislative :the Parliament (Congress), which is divided in Senate and Chamber (the House) the Juridical: the Magistrates (Judges)
Main language and minorities Official language: Italian Minorities: German (provincial),
Slovene(provincial), French (regional) Other minorities (11): • Sardinian(2.2%)• Friulian(0.9%) • Occitan(0.3%)• Albanian (0.2%)• Roma (0.2%)• Croat (0.01%)• Misunderstandings • Misunderstandings
• Franco-Provencal and French (0.2%)
• Ladin (0.1%)• Greek (0.03%)• Catalan (0.01%)• Croat (0.01%)
ReligionChristian 80% (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic with very small groups of Jehovah's Witnesses and Protestants)Muslim (about 800,000 to 1 million)Atheist and Agnostic 20%
Educational system
+ Italy's public education is FREE and Italy has both public and private +It has a five-year primary stage and an eight-year secondary stage+After secondary school, students have to take the final exam called Esame di Maturità.+Pass the exam choose university
Stereotypes
ITALIAN AND SPANISH CULTURES ARE RATHER
SIMILAR
NO
Italians eat pasta and pizza all the time
Kind of yes
ITALIANS DRINK LOTS OF COFFEE
YES
ITALIANS ARE ROMANTIC AND PASSIONATE
YES
ALL ITALIANS ARE CONNECTED TO THE MAFIA
NO
ITALIANS GESTICULATE WHILE TALKING
Kind of yes
ALL CARS IN ITALY ARE MAZERATTI AND FERRARI
NO
ITALIANS ARE NOT THE BEST DRIVERS
Kind of yes
Communication style
• Greeting - handshake • Once a relationship is formed - a kiss on both
cheeks (even men) in greeting• Speak loudly • Interruptions are to be expected• Silence is rather uncomfortable• Eye contact - direct and constant• Small personal space• Demonstrate emotions (even in a business
setting)
Smalltalk
Appropriate topics: •Italian history•Architecture •Art and culture•Sports (especially football/soccer)•Food and wine•Current events•Families
Topics to avoid:•Religion, the Vatican and its policies•Politics, taxes•World War II•Criticizing the Italian culture (even if your Italian counterparts are doing so)•Mafia•Personal questions•Income
GesturesSign language is rich in “expressions” •grouping all fingers’ tips together against the thumb and waving the hand back and forth•pointing the index and little fingers downwards to shape two “horns”
•Hand Gestures in Italy
FoodPear Pasta or Ravioli di
Pera Truffle or Tartufo
Angry Sauce or Sugo all'arrabbiata
Fried Olives or Olive all'Ascolana
Pizza
Cheese
DrinksCoffee
Juice
LiqueursWine Iced Tea
Arts• International art scene from the 19th century• Major artistic centers include:
Rome Florence Venice Milan Naples Turin
Family
1960 2014
“ A family who eats together stays together”
Dress Code
• Known to be the prime concern• Elegant accessories crucial for both men
and women
• Dark-colored conservative business suits for men
• Business suits and conservative dresses for women
• Stylish clothes that are rather formal
BusinessBusiness
PartiesParties
• 8 am to 1pm and then 3pm to 7pm– With approximately two hours of break
• Total working time of 48hours/week (Inclusive of overtime)
• Rest of 11 hours for every 24 hours• Paid leave of not less than 4 weeks/year
• Not a priority• Work plan not taken too strictly• Usually multi-task
Working HoursWorking Hours
PunctualityPunctuality
Gifts
• Not common• Only after a trusted relationship is established• Not too expensive
• Do not turn up empty-handed• Chocolates, Pastries, Wine, Flowers
BusinessBusiness
Family Lunch/DinnerFamily Lunch/Dinner
Equality
• Very low gender equality– Ranked 71st in Global Gender Gap Report 2013– Worst country in EU
• Income, positions
Business Negotiations• North Italians are direct and value time as money• South Italians are more relaxed and like to get to
know the people they are working with• Usually prolonged
• Prefer doing business with higher ranked people• High-pressure sales tactics are not used• Following commitments are very critical
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION