La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This newsletter is published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to newsletter preferences in ‘My Account’ or following the instructions in the newsletter box below.

Italy as a whole pretty much grinds to a halt in early August, with millions of Italians leaving for their holiday destinations at the same time and anything from private shops and businesses to banks and public offices closing for two to four consecutive weeks (much to the delight of anyone looking to get any sort of official paperwork done). 

But while countless chiuso per ferie (‘closed for the holidays’) signs, empty workplaces and nearly deserted cities may be all too familiar sights if you live in the country, have you ever wondered why Italians take such a long break in August?

The answer may trace as far back as Roman times.

Why do Italians take such long summer holidays?

Coming from a country where tipping is expected (or optional in name only, in some cases), Americans are often prone to reflexively tipping 20 percent or more when eating at restaurants abroad.

But as regular visitors to Italy will know, tipping is not required or expected (though it’s not unheard of for staff at some restaurants to slyly suggest that tipping is in fact the norm here).

Here’s why you’re not expected to tip when dining out in Italy and – should you be aghast at the idea of not leaving a tip at all – why a small mancia will do the trick.

Why Americans don’t need to tip so much in Italy

Whether you’ve just started out on your path to proficiency or have a bit more experience under your belt, if you speak at least some Italian, there’s a good chance you’re using Arabic words too – likely without knowing it.

Out of around 23,000 words considered to be of foreign origin, Italian counts over 600 arabismi – words borrowed from Arabic which have become so ingrained into everyday language over the centuries that most people don’t even know they weren’t Italian to begin with.

And even the name for a universally recognised symbol of Italian identity isn’t really Italian after all – or at least it wasn’t in the beginning.

11 Italian words that are originally Arabic

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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 us at [email protected].