Nonsensical?

There’s some weird stuff here!

Things that took some getting used to. At least, for us stranieri (foreigners).
Take shop sales.

'Saldi' ('Sales')

Unlike many other countries, here you’re allowed only two sales periods a year: One in winter; the other in summer; and between government-set dates! I mean: In NZ or the UK, if’n you wanted to celebrate your cat’s birthday with a sale? Fill your boots!
Not here though. These dates can vary from region to region, too. The 2023 summer sales period for Sicily runs between the 6th July and the 15th September, while in Lombardy (Milan), it’s 6th July and 30th August.
Go figure!
Then there’s the fact that, although we live in a city of 53,000, there are no traffic lights here.
Not one! Which makes us about a century behind the rest of the world. Now, it’s widely acknowledged Italy has far fewer traffic lights than roundabouts. And, to be fair, in Modica we do have a lot of the latter!
I have to say though, I don’t think it’d make an ounce of difference to the locals’ bad driving habits … so maybe why bother?
Writing of traffic?
I’ve noticed many drivers don’t bother with seatbelts. Which maybe is their concern, right? This, however, also extends to their kids not being strapped in! Don’t know how many we’ve seen bouncing up and down on mum’s lap … or standing on the back seat.
Given their love of children here … this is entirely nonsensical!

Quirks?

From the nonsensical ... to the quirky.
One, albeit welcome, oddity here is that you don’t have to pay for that coffee or aperitivo, at a cafe or bar, until you’re ready to leave. No matter how many you may subsequently order. Or, indeed, how long you choose to sit there!
For me anyways, when you’re so used to being asked to pay up-front for each beverage (or donut!) when you order it, this is such a refreshing change!

Then there’s the way Italians will say “Pronto?” (lit. “Ready?”), when answering the phone. Straight off, I noticed Alice naturally started doing this here. This, apparently, is to let the person on the other end of the phone know that you are, in fact, ready to talk to them.
And then, instead of saying “May I come in?”, as you maybe would in English when entering someone’s home, you say “Permesso?” (lit. “Permit?” or “Permission?”). Of course, they’re asking for permission to come in.
Then again, neither pronto nor permesso are actually meant literally, it’s more good form and common courtesy here.
On the border between nonsensical and (un)charming quirky Italian habit, f’sure there’s timekeeping!
A ‘for instance’ here? The other day we made an appointment with the local bank, and the guy we had the appointment with said 10am … then added the caveat “That’s 10 … Sicilian time, okay?” Meaning he’d be ready to see us at 10am … or maybe 10:05 … perhaps even 10:20.
Anything’s possible!

Rules?

There are f’sure some hard-and-fast ‘food rules’ not to be broken here.
Like never break spaghetti! That’s a ‘never ever’, alright? If’n you snap your spaghetti before putting it into the pot, you might just hear some nonna (grandmother) tsk-tsking away in the distance.
I kid you not! And don’t use a fork and spoon when eating said spaghetti: Only a fork is acceptable for pastas that ‘twirl’, okay?
And let’s not get started on the ‘pineapple-on-pizza’ crime against humanity...
Yes: Italians have a lot of rules when it comes to food!

'Filet-O-(maybe)Fish' with cheese? Nope!

Including not putting cheese (Parmesan or otherwise) on any fish-based pasta or risotto dish. Here the thinking is the cheese flavour would overwhelm the delicate taste of the seafood. However, many pizzerias will offer seafood-and-cheese pizzas, which don’t seem to raise eyebrows!
Then, don’t ask for a ‘salad dressing’ for your insalata (salad) either. You can forget about that “Italian dressing” so popular elsewhere, here you may dress your salad with olive oil and vinegar. Maybe substituting the latter with lemon juice or balsamic vinegar.
The practice of walking and eating, fairly commonplace elsewhere, is frowned upon in Italy. Food should be enjoyed slowly, with sit-down, sociable meals. Even street food should only be eaten standing up if there's no convenient seat.
Of course, there’s one notably delicious exception: Gelato. Now that you’re allowed to enjoy while strolling about the place!
The above rules are the tip of a very big iceberg.
Buon appetito! Enjoy your meal!

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