r/askitaly

I'm sorry for how random this is, and I hope it fits the sub, but I was driving around Italy (Emilia-Romagna and Marche mostly) a few weeks ago and we noticed what appeared to be corn growing on the side of major roads. It wasn't an isolated thing but rather along most of the toll roads. Is that actually corn and if so, what is it doing there?

I'm not talking about big cornfields, but rather what appeared to be just random corn growing just along the edge of the road and not really farther back.

Hello! My friend will be giving birth soon and she's preparing the room where the baby will be. Aside from Amazon.it, are there any other websites you may suggest where I can order things such as decor for the room or for the baby? Are there any local businesses you can suggest that I can support? I'm not from Italy and would need to have it shipped to them. Thank you for your help!

I was born in Italy to immigrant parents who accidentally swapped my first and middle name on my official birth certificate when registering me, and I desperately need to fix this ASAP because my legal name is wrong. I already tried going to the Comune directly to sort it out, but they completely turned me down and said they can't do anything about it. I currently live abroad in the UK, I feel completely stuck and have no idea what the actual next step is to get my birth record corrected remotely. If you've been in a similar situation or know Italian registry law, do I have to go over to the embassy despite the insane waiting times?

Hi,

The internet made the videos of pickpockets in Italy quite popular. While not an exclusive problem of Italy, it seems to me quite a recurring problem.

What is most interesting to me is that it seems that it is always the same people involved in these incidents, which leads me to believe that either victims don’t follow through with legal actions or the police/justice system is not effectively handling these cases.

What is your take on this? Why do we keep seeing the same people over and over involved in these incidents? Is the government doing something to improve the situation or is it just business as usual? Or is it just not as much of an issue as the internet portrays. I’m interested to get local’s perspectives.

Hey!!

Not sure if this is allowed but it's worth a try.

We are travelling to Italy next week for a little shopping trip. To make things a bit cheaper we wanted to make a Eurospin and Ipercoop card for the discounts. Sadly neither of these apps are available in our region so we can't make a profile.

Could anyone share their cards with us??

important note: I don't know if these work with the "collecting points" system, but we would NOT spend anyone's points, we only want the discounts. Also if we collect any points that would obviously go to the owner of the card.

Ciao!
From my colleague I came to know that to sell a soft drink in italy, you have to have certain % of real pulp in it and thats why Fanta tastes better. Is this true?

Grazie mille.

My husband and I are trying to name a daughter and settled on the name Sofia/Sophia. She will be a dual US and Italian citizen and we presently live in the US. The name is popular in both countries but the dominant spelling is different in each. Would having the name Sophia spelled with the ph be problematic for someone living/studying/working in Italy? I imagine it would be well recognized but frequently misspelled. Aside from this, is there a significant difference in how the two variations are perceived in Italy? The surname will be Italian.

We were on vacation in Veneto, and one night we stayed out late. When we got back to the hotel, I was just randomly flipping through the channels and came across this. There were ladies’ names displayed on the screen — Daniella, Natalia Rodriguez Pornostar (sorry, that’s literally how it was written 😅), Padrona Erotika — and the video kept cutting between different shots before going back to a lady sitting in a chair and talking.
What kind of program is this? Is it some kind of call-in and talk show, or something else? I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve honestly never seen anything quite like this where I’m from.
I wanted to upload the video, but apparently I’m only allowed to share a link to a video.

I connected with this fellow from Italy who's really nice, but I'm super confused because he uses these emojis 🥳 ❤️‍🩹 a LOT. Like, almost every message.

There was a similar post about this 10 years ago, and I've heard it's just regular for Italian folk to be more expressive with emojis. But is this amount normal, is there any meaning here that I should be worried about? 😅

At work, one of our colleagues (an Italian one) is celebrating her 40th birthday. We’re preparing a small surprise: a short movie, and for the end credits, we’re planning to show some pictures with funny texts.

We’re looking for music that a 40-year-old Italian person might feel nostalgic about. A song that's sort of a historical overview of the '90s. She doesn’t particularly like Italian music, but she grew up in Italy. She also liked anime.

Obviously, we’re looking for something joyful and fun.

For some reason, we’ve already selected those songs for other parts of the movie, it may help you understanding the mood:

• Joe Cocker – With a Little Help from My Friends
• Pink Martini - Je ne veux pas travailler

Thank you.

Hi, I‘m wondering which underwear type is preferred by Italian men. Are briefs still famous in Italy?

Hey I just want to ask the community if its weird or offensive that I named my dog Dante? I am a huge fan of italian writers and poets; My favorite book is Inferno and I love Dante so I decided to name my new dog Dante, Out of my love for the name and the poet. My partner thinks it maybe offensive when we move to italy if people realize what we did but I really think its ok because I want to remember Dante and like to explain to people why I named him Dante and talk about the great works of Dante ( Almost everyone thinks its names after the Devil may cry games).

Anyway lemme know if this is bad 😄

Are Italians aware of how important he is outside Italy, especially in other Catholic countries? And how is he viewed in Italy today?

I live in Brazil, and my family often visits and goes on pilgrimages to the city of Canindé, in the state of Ceará, where there is a basilica dedicated to St. Francis and the largest statue of St. Francis in the world. While I was there, I kept wondering what an Italian would think about a place so far from Italy, with no major historical connection to the country, having such a strong devotion to an Italian saint and making him such an important figure in the region.

I find it fascinating how someone who was born in medieval Italy became such a beloved figure in a completely different part of the world.

Hi, does anyone know what these cameras are?

There’s a tall roadside pole with a long horizontal arm extending over the road, with a solar panel and two small black cameras mounted on the arm, pointing toward traffic. I’ve seen similar setups in a few places, so I’m wondering if they’re just ANPR/traffic-monitoring cameras.

This one is on SS275 near Surano and the location is marked online as a 50 km/h fixed speed camera.

Does anyone know if these actually issue speeding fines?

From what I heard cornetto is a new tradition. Granita feels a bit too much in the morning too. What do you normally eat at home?

Hope I have used the right flair here - sorry if not! Myself and my partner are visiting Italy for my 30th birthday.

We will be in Florence on the Sunday of the Monza F1 Grand Prix (Sunday 06 September).

Is F1 really as big as they say it is in Italy? We are F1 fans so would love to be watching it actually at Monza of course but the budget doesnt go quite that far.

Will we be able to watch the race with locals? If so, does anyone have any recommendations of where to watch?

Hello,

I have a 1990 classic car that does not really have any modern euro emission certification and I am planing a roadtrip to Italy with it. It's going to be 3rd time we go there with that car but since last years adventure I have a fear of low emission zones.
I knew about ZTL's in big city centers or hourly limitations in some cities but last year I encountered a Euro 3+ emissions zone along the way with no clear way of driving around it. This year I am trying to plan ahead to avoid those zones and with that I have a view questions:

1: Is there a reliable website or a map where I can find those emission zones?

2: I've read that there are exemptions from those zones for some classic/historic cars. In theory mine is registered in Poland as a vintage/historic (Polish: samochód zabytkowy) but I don't know if that would translate into the Italian zone exemption. Anyone knows or has experience?

Area we plan to travel this year is lower Tuscany (just chill around Cortona) and then drive or sightsee along the coast from La Spezia all the way to French border. I'm most worried about the that coast

I just learned the Bourbon royal family in Spain also had branches in Italy that governed parts of Italy like Naples, Sicily and Parma, to which it made me curious how locals perceived their rule in Italy..

**Trip Dates : December 20-28, would arrive in Florence Italy on the 21st, leave on the 28th.**

**(Original trip planned for Milan and Como but there was A LOT of mixed reviews about public transport, scenery, and not much to do in December for the destinations)**

**This is my trip “activities” that are most important in order but not limited to;**

**Proposal:** Planning a romantic, scenic proposal in florence / Tuscany , my photographer told me PIENZA would be best during December for scenery and photo shoots, but I’m open to other locations.

Experience Local Dining & Nightlife: Experience authentic regional winter dining, local trattorias, wine bars (enoteche), and craft cocktail lounges in lively, non-touristy neighborhoods.

**Christmas Markets & Festive Sights:** Exploring local Italian Christmas markets, holiday lights, and seasonal festivities

**Day Trips and also Explore Tuscan Countryside & Winery**

**Exploring & Sightseeing:** Walking, hiking, and exploring historical city sights