Avoiding rude behaviour is not simply about avoiding looking like a tourist: it’s being a responsible tourist and respecting the local etiquette.
Italy is a pretty relaxed country to travel to but there are a few things that are considered rude and that tourists can easily avoid without much effort.
Here are ten habits Italians consider rude for tourists. Have you seen any happening? What was your and locals’ reaction?
Vandalising monuments
This is not just rude but also a criminal offence. In fact, the fines for vandalising a monument are quite hefty.
Graffiti, carvings, your boyfriend’s name, colourful paintings are all things we don’t appreciate in our monuments, be it a historical palace, a sculpture, a fountain or an archaeological landmark.
Bathing in monumental fountains
Monumental fountains are simply this: a monument. I know summer is hot, but if you know this can bother you too much, either you craft a different itinerary to be inside during the hottest hours, or you pick a different time to travel.
Of course, one thing is to wet your hands for a quick refreshment; a whole different thing is to bathe and shower in a fountain. Trust me, in Rome, I have seen full bathing, with soap included!
Not greeting when you enter
A quick “buongiorno” is a long way to go if you want kindness in return. In Italy, we always greet when we enter somewhere, be it a shop, a restaurant, your hotel, or a museum’s ticket office. It costs nothing and gives a better first impression of you.
Expecting English everywhere
For Italians, this can be quite annoying. In Italy, the official language is Italian. Many study English, many don’t. English is not required to work and live in Italy, unless we are looking for a job that involves travelling or dealing with foreign clients or partners.
You can find English-speaking staff in touristy areas but not everywhere, so complaining because someone in the street, in a shop, in a town off the tourist route, or in your Airbnb doesn’t speak proper English or demanding someone to speak English “because you are paying for the service” is considered rude.
Vice versa, no one in Italy expects tourists to speak a fantabulous Italian academic level and make no mistakes. But learning a few Italian expressions for situations you are likely to encounter when you travel will make locals willing to help you even more.
Being too loud
I know, Italians ARE loud, but you wouldn’t believe it, many tourists can be louder! Can you imagine being louder than Italians? The place becomes hellish!
Italians can be loud when they are in large groups at dinner, but if we are having lunch, a coffee, or visiting a landmark or especially a museum or a church, we keep our tone on the low notes.
I have personally seen, in Rome’s touristy areas and quite often, large groups of tourists occupying different tables and communicating very loudly from table to table inside restaurants where there were also other customers not part of their group. Not a pleasant experience.
Disrespecting churches’ dress code
Usually, churches’ dress code requires covering knees and shoulders. Except for the Vatican, which is always the strictest, other churches can be more relaxed if you are wearing a shirt that shows a bit of shoulders.
But if you enter a church with deep cleavages and too short skirts or shorts, that’s considered disrespectful.
Not recycling if you rent an apartment
Italians are required to recycle, so the waste needs to be disposed of in separate bins. If you don’t do it, then the landlord has to do it, and trust me, picking and sorting out someone else’s trash is not a pleasant job and definitely considered rude in Italy.
Disrespecting restaurants’ dress code
Restaurants with specific dress codes are usually the more high-end ones and they will disclose it at the moment of reserving. But even if a restaurant is not a Michelin-starred one and doesn’t impose a tie to enter, if you show up for dinner wearing gym clothes and flip-flops, it might not be considered too polite!
No need for extra fancy outfits, just normal shoes (not runners), a blouse and a pair of nice (comfortable) trousers will do.
Being (too) late
Running a couple of minutes late is usually accepted, especially in the big cities where traffic is common, but if you see that you are running half an hour late, you should let your counterpart know.
If you show up an hour late without even warning your friends, first of all, it’s kind of rude, and second, they might not be there waiting for you anymore!
Cut in line
Some lines might be long, I know. The Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pantheon, the Uffizi Gallery, and Galleria dell’Accademia are all big tourist draws and attract thousands of people every day.
There might be lines to order food, in the post office, in the bank. Queuing is not pleasant for anyone, but cutting in line and trying to go first is downright rude and people will complain without a doubt.
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