Why are people in Florence,ITALY so NASTY?

Question

I went to Florence, Italy found the people to be very rude and nasty and mean.. I am a stylish New Yorker and was starred down, given dirty looks and some lady made a look of disgust while i was talking. Whats their problem? I've been to Paris, London, and Germany and had no problems at all.

Whats wrong with them?

Answer 1

I went to Italy last year in the summer and I did not seem to have the same experience you did.  I went to Florence, Capri, Positano (absolutely beautiful), Rome and Tuscany as well as the Amalfi Coast.  Everyone was so nice.  I have a disability as well and I was worried they would treat me badly but they did not.  I did see so much poverty in the streets all over Florence.  They gypsy type women and their children were constantly begging for money.  Made the mistake of giving a gypsy child 5 euros and they a whole group of them started to hound me.  I am sorry you  had that experience but I would not say I was ever treated badly at all in any part of Italy and I was there for two weeks.

Answer 2

People from Florence are mostly rude and unfriendly - Milan is about as bad and I have never found Rome to be friendly either. That is why it is probably better to visit smaller towns though the starring thing is bad everywhere and the South is normally worse at starring .  People though are very friendly in the smaller towns and in the South - you just have to ignore the starring.

Answer 3

I live in Italy and been to Florence many times and have never had this problem. Maybe you are looking to much into them or it was some thing you where doing. If you trying to speak Italian and you used a wrong word meaning something else maybe you pissed someone off. I don't know.

Answer 4

Well, how did YOU behave.  Just because you are from NY doesn't mean everyone is going to bow down to you.  I'm American and have been to Florence a dozen times, and have always been treated very kindly.  I have other foreign friends who have visited Florence, and have they have never been insulted or looked down at by the people.  I'm sorry, but it was probably YOU.

Answer 5

maybe somenthing is wrong with you, nobody give a look of disgust without a reason, and if more then one person did it....

But in your favor , I have to say that people from florence they feel "superior" to other people and some are s****. (they think they speak the only perfect italian....)

Answer 6

I've been to Milan, Venice and Verona and only encountered friendly people!

Answer 7

When I was there everyone minded their own buisness and were very polite and nice.  If you live in New York than you are used to living in an area where they dont sugar coat things and they speak their minds.  Maybe Florence was having a bad day ;-)

I hope that didnt ruin Italy for you.

Answer 8

I just returned from a trip to Italy via the Disney Cruise Line.  

I'm not sure what you may have seen, but our tour guides did a great job letting us know ahead of time what to expect at certain markets/locations, with everyone yelling, pushing, or running around.  Our tour guides actually told us to make a game of it..."don't afraid to be rude yourself...everyone is that way".  I kind of found it fun to yell back at some of these vendors.

Or maybe we just got lucky and viewed them as an intersting part of Italian culture....we enjoyed seeing the hustle of Palermo, Naples, Rome, and Florence.

Answer 9

That's how the northern or central Italy is...come here in the south...we're much more friendly !!!!!! (a note for the Italian readers: per i lettori italiani...sto scherzando, non vi incazzate!)

Answer 10

Florence is a beautiful city - having spent 3 months living there I have seen the attitudes both good and bad italians have towards tourists. I am afraid to say that as a very rough generalisation, many europeans have a problem with americans. My florida born bloke had to endure a lot of questions and scorn at the beginning of his time living in the city. People do recognise american accents too, but as another replyee has said, people dont generally speak amazing English so its unlikely to be what you were saying.

Tourism is a very big industry in florence, and I also get the impression that a lot of people realise the need for this industry but dont generally like that fact or that there are hoardes of people tramping all over florence all the time. Considering its such a small city, there are millions of people at any one time trying to be there. Thats all I can offer I am afraid, but I wouldnt take it personally, Italians by their nature stare a whole lot and frequently check you out and stare as you walk past - more likely to be judging outfit that you!

Answer 11

I live in Italy, though I am Irish (married to an Italian). If you had seen more of the country, you would know that this behaviour is far from being restricted to Florence alone. Welcome to Italy.

Answer 12

You know the same happened to me. I got hassled, got starred down, people spit at me, I felt nervous walking around... in the Bronx, in parts of Manhattan and of Chicago, LA, Atlanta, Tucson.... Just where did you go in Florence? Did you take a bad attitude with you - were you trying to be a New York City bad ars? Do you know what an ugly American is? Did you try to play the role?

I've been in and out of Italy for the past 27 years (and have travelled most of Europe and the US) and have really never seen, heard or had an experience such as yours. I cannot apologize for how you were treated but I would ask you to try Italy again - of course not Florence where you had a bad experience. Contact me and I'll give you some tips and maybe help you change your mind on Italy.

NB - there is a difference between racism and being prejudice - let's try to use the correct terms here.

1. There is a growing prejudice against Americans and not only in Florence but throughout Europe... and we're going to have to live with this until a new Administration takes over and starts a healing process with our allies and non.

2. I've said it before and I'll say it again - "Italians stare". They look at you and won't stop. This is why we (Americans & Italians) are culturally different. Maybe in other countries you would have been asked to put a scarf on your head. When you go abroad you leave your country to encounter new cultures - new manners of interaction. Hey, as long as they don't drool at you while they stare then you are safe! Kidding aside. They stare and it used to bother me... I'm from NYC and you wouldn't dare stare at anyone there. You even wear sun glasses on a cloudy so no one can see your eyes.

3. Keep your paranoia in check... No one in Florence was out to spite or hurt you. There are more Brits and Americans in center city Florence on a summer day than there are Florentines. Hey, maybe the people sitting next to you in the restaurant were French. Maybe the person who gave you the dirty look in the museum was Canadian.

4. Finally – do you understand any Italian? Can you speak some? Do you speak any foreign language? I mean you have traveled so much and are such a sophisticated person. Well if you can speak something other than English then you should know that different peoples have different modes of expressing themselves... this alone should placate you, it should make you realize that we are all just a tad different and therefore all special in our own ways and therefore be respected (the same way you command respect).

I just seem to think that you were just terribly unlucky on your sojourn to Florence – your karma was off, you traveled not according to your biorhythms.

Answer 13

I live in NJ and been to Italy about 9 times and out of that Ive been to Florence 3 times. Never encountered any problems as the matter of fact i was treated with nothing but respect.

I would go there again any time!

It must be you with the problem. Did you expect them to speak to you in english? Did you try speaking italian? did you compare what you saw there with here?

Oh and for that person that thinks europeans love dollars? Well obviously they havent seen the exchange rate.. The us dollar doesnt have much worth.

Answer 14

Probably you are ugly, In Italy we are so handsome and sensitive to beauty...

Answer 15

I agree..wife is a travel agent and we go all over the world and I have encountered very rude ppl in Italy and France...seems they love our money tho....cant figure that out

hmmmmmm....

Answer 16

I am an American who has been living in Florence for three years now, and I know exactly what you mean.  It is common knowledge, even among Italians, that Florentine people are very 'closed' and 'particular.'  These are the most common Italian words used to describe them.  In my opinion, I think this is a result of a few things.  One big thing is that it wasn't until recently, maybe 5 to 10 years ago, that so many American universities began programs here.  Since then, many Florentine people feel their city, especially the center, has been taken over by Americans, in particular, young, roudy Americans who don't necessarily respect their culture.  This combined with the ever increasing number of immigrants in the city center, I believe, is making Italians feel like strangers in their own home, giving them a sort of 'us against them' atitude.  Either your Italian or your not.  The rise in immigration has caused the cost of housing to rise exponentially, with families of ten or twenty immigrants able to afford what the average Florentine cannot.  Then the price of goods is artificially increased, though the quality c**p, simply because Americans don't know the difference.

To be less politically correct, the Florentine people have their own way of doing everything, from eating to dressing to thinking.  So many if them have the schedule everyday, the same values, and basically the same opinions about nearly everything.  It can be very frustrating, as if you don't think like them, you are pretty much out in their eyes.  For example, if you put cheese on a pasta with mushrooms dish, you are pretty much the most ignorant person on earth.  Or if you have a cappucino after breakfast time.  I stick with food examples because they arent quite as mean.  After 3 years, my neighborhood butcher still walks by me on the street without saying hello.  The woman at the grocer still charges me extra for fruit.  It doesn't matter that I live and work here.  It doesn't matter that I speak Italian.  In fact, my Italian boyfriend who comes from the north of italy often feels the same as me simply because he is not from here.  To be blunt, in my opinion, they are ethnocentric, zenophobic, and ignorant.  A student of mine told me that she felt a lot of it came down to envy for our way of life, though she said no one would ever admit that.

It felt good to be able to say that to someone.  Thanks.

Answer 17

I am italian and i have to say you that...almost nobody in italy can recognize american accent, distinguishing it from oxford, scottish, irish or others accents. So, i don't think the problem was you are new yorker: italian people, also in museum or in restaurant, generally don't speak a really good english. They can understand what are you saying, of course, but not your accent. Maybe it was related to something you told...or just your general attitude (for example, speaking loudly in a museum can be considered rude...were you speaking too  loudly? or making photographies?)

And another thing...in Italy is unfortunately normal, when you are starring at someone for a reason, not to stop just because the other stare at you. This is the reason of many quarrels. "aho, ma che c'hai da guardà..." (why are you looking at me? in roman dialect) it's a sentence i have heard many times...yes, it is generally rude, but this is always a reason. But, be sure, this wasn't because of your american accent!

scuse me if i did some language mistakes! ;-)