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Ten things to do in Italy for the European Year of Cultural Heritage

From ancient Roman ships in Pisa to a deeper understanding of Pompeii, via a cycle route in Siena, there's plenty still to look forward to in Italy as part of the EU28-wide celebration of culture.

Published: 20 September 2018 17:31 CEST

Ten things to do in Italy for the European Year of Cultural Heritage

The Palazzo San Giorgio in Genoa is now open to the public every first Saturday of the month. Photo: scrisman/Depositphotos

As one of the most culture-intense EU nations, Italy has plenty to offer for the European Year of Culture Heritage 2018.

Italy is hosting 1,136 events as part of the EU-wide ceremony. We can't list them all, although Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MIBAC) does. 330 are still active, ongoing or forthcoming.

Here are a few to whet your appetite.

Naples, Madre museum

Pompei@Madre: Until 07.01.19

This collaborative project by the Archeological Park of Pompeii and Madre – the contemporary art museum in Naples – showcases sculptures, mosaics and frescoes recovered from Pompeii.

“The project reveals and displays the potential links between the various cultural institutions operating in Campania and, more generally, in the Mediterranean area, which are themselves palimpsests whose natural and cultural biodiversity define a widespread hypothetical museum, an integrated system in which – through different eras, subjects, methods, disciplines and institutions – it is possible to trace over thirty centuries of the contemporary life of Campania Felix and Mediterranean culture,” states the project's website.

More info.

Pisa, Arsenali Medicei di Pisa

The ancient ships of Pisa: Until 31.12.18

An exhibition on 30 ancient Roman ships excavated between 1998 and 2016. “One of the most important archeological discoveries of the last 20 years,” according to MIBAC.

Guided tours are for a maximum of 25 people.

More info.

Siena, city and suburbs

Rigenerar_SI: Until 12.12.2019

A new cycle path has been created that links the historical centre in Siena, running along the city's walls, with surrounding sites.

“A wide and multi-scope project for the redevelopment of the Sienese green valleys that remained outside the urban development of the city,” read a statement on the project website.

More info.

Lombardy, various sites

Opera Education: Until 31.12.18

A project geared at getting minors aged 0-18 into opera. The project includes performances, workshops and exhibitions, with special events for pregnant women.

More info.

Venice, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia

Venice Time Machine: Until 31.12.18

“The Venice Time Machine project, based on historical and cultural data from important archives and libraries and strengthened by advanced software and cutting-edge visualization methods, aims to build an interactive model of Venice and its social, economic and political environment during the centuries,” according to MIBAC.

More info.

Palermo, various sites

Italian Capital of Culture 2018: Until 31.12.18

Palermo is hosting 132 concerts, 132 exhibitions and 12,151 programmes by artists as part of its designation as Italian Capital of Culture 2018. Dance, photography, architecture, street art, lectures and so much more in the Sicilian capital.

More info.

Genoa, Palazzo San Giorgio

Palazzo San Giorgio open to the public: Until: 31.12.18

The Palazzo San Giorgio, normally closed to the public, has a rich history and is “one of the symbols of this port city,” according to MIBAC. It has served as an administrative building, a bank HQ, a customs office and even a prison. Marco Polo was imprisoned in the building in 1298.

The Palazzo San Giorgio will be open to visitors on the first Saturday of each month. Guided tours start at 10am and 11am.

More info.

Chiaravalle Milanese, gym

New Cultural Landscape: Until 31.12.18

An interactive project that involves residents, city-users and tourists in a “performative event” geared at regenerating this area on the outskirts of Milan.

Chiaravalle is the name Saint Bernard of Clairvaux gave to the area when he founded the Cistercian abbey in 1135.

“In a 1100-inhabitant-village, Chiaravalle’s old school gym has been transformed into a community hub, which aspires to become the local community’s hybrid cultural space dedicated to the landscape. terzo paesaggio’s goal is to provide workshop, based on the monks’ ancient tradition of cantieri scuola and memorable experiences,” say the organisers.

More info.

Lecce, various sites

Itinerario Burdigalense: Until 31.12.18

A series of workshops and tours to promote the oldest-known Christian pilgrimage route from Europe to Jerusalem, the Itinerarium Burdigalense. The excursions along some of the ancient paths and landscapes aim to “unite the nations of Europe and the Mediterranean in a great walk.”

More info.

Italy-wide, various sites

Progetto Maps: Until 31.12.18

A multimedia digital project that maps museums, archeological sites, institutes and cultural sites of interest that have specific programs for the deaf.

More info.

Didn't find what you were looking for? There are hundreds more exhibitions, workshops and special events listed on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities' website.

Ice to AC: Nine of the most common American misconceptions about Italy

It’s no secret that Americans love to visit Italy; the Washington Post predicted in December that the country would be Americans’ top foreign tourist destination for 2023, and the volume of US visitors who’ve arrived in Italy since then appears to have borne this out.

But while many Americans have a deep knowledge of – and love for – Italian culture, there are some surprisingly enduring myths about Italy that can be found in the USA specifically.

Some come close to the truth, while others fall wide of the mark.

There is no ice in Europe/Italian restaurants charge for ice

Fiction – Americans love ice, beverages are routinely served with it and refrigerators in the US often have some type of ice dispenser attached to the door.

But in Italy, ice is simply less prioritised. While ice in your drink will usually not cost you extra, you might need to specifically request it. Soft drinks in Italy are usually served without ice, so if you want your beverage iced, you need to request the drink con ghiaccio – with ice.

A classic Italian spritz should always come with ice. Photo by Tomasz Rynkiewicz on Unsplash

Italian homes don’t have dryers

Fact (mostly) – Tumble dryers do exist in Italy, but they’re rare. A survey published by Italy’s national statistics office (Istat) in 2014 found that just 3.3 percent of Italian households had one, whereas 96.2 percent had a washing machine and 39.3 percent a dishwasher.

Those washing lines strung with laundry hanging above the heads of passers by aren’t there just to create a quaint backdrop for photos – people make wide use of the abundant sun to air dry their clothes and sheets.

That does not mean that Italians in cities don’t occasionally use clothes dryers though if they’re in a rush; some might take items to a nearby laundromat.

McDonald’s is healthier in Italy

Fact (sort of) – McDonald’s uses different ingredients based on the country, and the Big Mac in Italy is (slightly) healthier than the one sold in the United States. It is slightly less calorific, with 509 kCal in contrast to the American Big Mac’s 540 kCal per 100g.

The Italian Big Mac also has less salt and fat, but it does not compare to the world’s healthiest Big Mac (found in Israel).

McDonald’s in Italy also uses EU-sourced ingredients, and the EU restricts the usage of additives and growth hormones. For example Azodicarbonamide which is used to bleach flour, is banned in the EU, but not in the United States, where McDonald’s was still using it as of 2016.

It is true, however, that you can buy beer in McDonald’s in Italy.

McDonald’s burgers are marginally healthy in Italy compared to the US. Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

Italians drive small cars

Fiction (increasingly) – Think of Italian cars, and you might picture a classic Fiat 500 puttering around picturesque cobbled streets – but that’s all changing.

2021 was a historic year for the Italian automotive industry: the sale of SUVs surpassed those of medium-sized sedans for the first time, claiming 48 percent of the market share compared to the sedan’s 45 percent.

That may not match the US, where SUVs and pick-up trucks currently account for around 73 percent of vehicles sold, but it’s a huge increase from 2012, when SUVs made up just 17 percent of vehicle sales in Italy.

There are no free public toilets

Fact (mostly) – You will occasionally find an Italian town or city that offers some free public toilets. For the most part though, you’ll have to pay, including in train stations – and even paid public toilets are few and fair between.

Instead, you’re better off heading to one of the many caffe-bars found all over the country and paying for a euro for a bottle of water or a coffee so you can use their facilities – if you ask nicely, you might even be allowed to go for free.

Metro stations, supermarkets and grocery stores tend to not have any toilets at all, and neither will most clothing stores. One place you will find plenty of free public bathrooms, though, is a motorway service station.

Something that strikes many visitors to Italy as odd is the lack of seats on public toilets. Exactly why this is the case is debated, but there’s a general consensus that the phenomenon has rapidly accelerated in the past couple of decades.

A street sign at an antiques fair in Turin. Free toilets in Italy are few and far between. Photo by rashid khreiss on Unsplash

Italy doesn’t have air conditioning

Fact (sort of) – There’s not no air conditioning in Italy – in fact data from Italy’s national statistics office showed that one in two Italian households had AC in 2021.

It’s far less popular than in the US, though, where 90 percent of households have air conditioning. There’s still not much of a culture of AC in Italy, where many believe it will give you a colpo d’aria leading to at best a sore neck and at worst pneumonia – so even households that have a unit tend to use it sparingly.

If your hotel or Airbnb doesn’t specifically mention AC, you can assume it doesn’t have it.

Coca-Cola tastes different in Italy

Fact – While Coke is available almost everywhere in the world, the actual ingredients in Coca-Cola are different in some countries, which could lead some Coke connoisseurs to notice a difference in taste between the products in the US and those in the EU.

The biggest difference is the regular Coke – in the US this uses high fructose corn syrup while in Europe cane sugar is used to sweeten the product, resulting in a significant difference in taste.

You’re much more likely in Italy to come across Coca Zero, the zero-sugar version of Coca-Cola, than Coca-Coca Light, the European version of Diet Coke, which has always been hard to find and which some online sources say Italy stopped distributing altogether in 2022.

Coke in the US: different to its European counterparts. Photo by Cody Engel on Unsplash

You don’t need to tip

Fact – It’s not necessary to tip after a restaurant meal in Italy. However, this is a matter of personal choice and you are free to do so (tipping certainly won’t cause upset).

Diners do often leave some change after a particularly enjoyable meal. In terms of how much to give, some people round up a bill to include a tip, while others give what spare change they have.

Some people may also opt to tip other professionals as well, such as taxi drivers and cleaners, but again – this is optional and typically not a large quantity. In some apartment buildings, residents may give a Christmas card with money inside to the portiere (doorman) as a kind of annual tip.

All cars are stick shift

Mostly fact – In the United States, stick shift vehicles are becoming a thing of the past, but in Italy they are still very much being bought and driven.

As of 2018, around 20 percent of new cars sold in Italy were automatic – which is much higher than the less-than-one percent sold in the 1980s, but still a lot less than the US’s figure of 96 percent.

That said, around 70 percent of SUVs sold in Italy use automatic transition, so with the popularity of these larger vehicles on the rise, you can expect to see more automatics on Italian roads in the future.

What do you think? Have you noticed any other common beliefs or misconceptions about Italy in the US, or elsewhere? We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

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