Ciao e benvenuti! I hope you are as excited for this blog post as I am! Today we will be discussing life in Italian towns, as it is very different from life in American suburbs and cities. What drove me to this topic was, well, driving. Lately, I have been hearing about how America’s cities were designed in a car-centric way. On the other hand, the towns across Europe were mainly built before the age of the automobile, so they are structured quite differently. For this blog post, we will be taking a deep dive into these antiquated settlements to see how they create a culture different from what we see in the United States.

To give you a little bit of background, let’s talk about how Italian towns, especially in the south, are arranged. For the most part, the Italian live in very concentrated settlements. Farmers constructed their homes on the tops of the mountains, where the soil was rocky and infertile. In the hills below, they cultivated the land and raised livestock in small plots. Over time, enough people settled in the area, and a condensed, city-like town would form on the mountaintop. Because of the formatting of the towns, houses manifested as narrow, 2-to-3 story buildings. And since many farmers were poor and did not own elaborate wagons, the streets connecting these homes were likewise very narrow. As a result, walkability became a key factor of Italian towns, and it plays a large role in culture even to this day.

Due to their compact size and pedestrian-focused structure, towns have all amenities within about a square mile or so. From nearly every house, citizens can walk to the church, the bakery, the pharmacy, the bar, and so many more public establishments. In addition, to visit friends and family, 90% of trips are made on foot. As a result of this structure, townspeople interact much more than what is seen in America. Everybody knows everybody, and this gives towns a laid-back, welcoming aura compared to what is felt in a place like State College. Everyone says that Europeans are much friendlier than Americans, and this disparity is largely connected to the difference in town structures on the two continents. Interestingly enough, many of the businesses are small mom-and-pop shops, and this too fosters a sense of community among citizens. Walk into the macelleria (butcher shop), and you know the owner. Walk into the Pasticceria (bakery) and you also know the owner. As one could imagine, purchasing commodities from local enterprises builds a sense of connectedness among residents. And lastly, the condensed layouts of Italian towns give rise to another quintessential subset of local culture: balconies. Nearly all houses in town have balconies, and it is a common sight to see people interacting with pedestrians from their balconies. Such interactions have been captured on TikTok, where a group of old Italian women were shown yelling to each other from their respective balconies. It is hard to explain why balconies add to the culture, but it is most important to understand that they do add to culture.

To wrap up, I would like to share some of the effects of the community ties and structure found in Italian towns. Perhaps most prominently, towns hold religious processions, in which they carry floats throughout the town streets. This is a whole-town affair, and no through-traffic passes during these events. In like fashion, citizens collaborate to hold festivals in city streets. For instance, my family’s hometown holds Carnevale, or the Italian edition of Mardi Gras, and an annual equestrian festival. Although events like these happen in the States, the feel is quite different. There is no avoiding the celebration, like I often do here. Rather, everyone in town is immersed in the festivities.

The culture in Italian towns is truly unique; one blog post does not do it justice. If you want the true experience, I encourage you to go there yourself. You certainly won’t regret it! A presto!