You might have seen in the Italian news this week that ministers are proposing a law requiring restaurants to provide ‘doggy bags’ or takeout containers to customers on request.

Readers from other countries may wonder what all the fuss is about. After all, many of us will take home unfinished food as a matter of course. Why let it go to waste?

But in Italy there’s been some controversy over the proposal – which is a reminder of one of the country’s lingering restaurant taboos.

You may still find that Italian waiters, or other customers, look at you askance if you request a box for anything other than leftover pizza, though luckily it does seem to be becoming increasingly acceptable (my favourite local trattoria graciously puts up with these requests, anyway.

We looked at whether Italians today really are still averse to the idea of taking home leftovers and why, and whether attitudes are changing amid a push to reduce food waste.

Are doggy bags still a taboo in Italy’s restaurants?

Fans of panettone will be glad to know that in Italy the seasonal treat is not just for Christmas.

In fact, you may have heard that in the Milan area it’s traditional to keep a slice of the cake from Christmas Day to eat several weeks later – on February 3rd, to be precise.

People in Milan today however are much more likely to buy a new panettone for the occasion, the city’s Chamber of Commerce says.

In fact, it says, the Milanese buy panettone all winter long, and a smaller trade continues throughout the year.

We looked in the article below at Milan’s curious winter panettone tradition – and why you can keep eating it after the holidays have been and gone:

Do Italians really save a piece of Christmas panettone for February?

In Italian, one little letter can make a world of difference – and lead to a world of confusion and embarrassment for Italian language learners.

These mistakes usually stem from not pronouncing double letters correctly, or getting the gender of nouns confused (it’s easily done).

With just one little slip, you can end up wishing someone “good greenhouse” instead of “good evening”, or talking about, say, kidneys instead of reindeers.

Here are 15 pairs of words to keep in mind next time you’re having a conversation with someone in Italian to make sure that doesn’t happen.

15 Italian words that change their entire meaning with one letter

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Is there an aspect of the Italian way of life you’d like to see us write more about? Please email me at [email protected].