You’re thinking of moving to Italy, but you're still not completely sure. This amazing country on the Mediterranean Sea offers so many reasons that will make you fall in love and get you out to the 'Belpaese' as soon as possible. Do you want to discover the 10 reasons why you should live in Italy?
1. Italy is an open-air museum
Italy has the greatest artistic and cultural heritage in the world, an interweaving of incredible works of art that live in balance between landscape, culture, art, history and architecture. From the North to the South you can see evidence of Italy's incredible past. At the same time, Italy hosts the largest number of assets declared World Heritage by Unesco, a unique privilege.
2. Italian food
Pizza, pasta of any kind, lasagne with meat sauce, risottos, pumpkin tortelli, tagliatelle with mushrooms, canederli, pizzoccheri and arancini are just the start of what the Italian culinary art has to offer, handed down from generation to generation. Each region has its own specialties that you have to taste at least once in your lifetime. Let yourself be conquered by these traditional Italian dishes.
3. The wine
If Italy is your next destination or you have decided to move here, you should definitely try the famous Italian wines. In 2018, Italy firmly secured its place as the world leader in wine production. From the Alps right down to Sicily, speaking of Italy and its wines means, first of all, embarking on a long journey rich in history, culture, grapes, time-honoured traditions and a vast range of types of wine not found in any other country in the world. Try a Barolo or a Moscato d'Asti from Piedmont, Gewürztraminer and Riesling from Trentino, Brunello and Chianti Classico from Tuscany, Primitivo di Manduria from Puglia, Vermentino from Sardinia... the list goes on and on!
4. Ice cream
Italy is renowned all over the world for its ice creams and there isn’t a single town, village or city you’ll visit where you won’t find some homemade 'gelato'. The artisanal ice cream is a real work of art, but how do you spot good quality gelato in Italy? The first aspect is visual. If you see the ice-cream in the ice-cream parlour come out of the tubs a lot, there's something wrong. Don't be overwhelmed by the mountains of ice cream.
The second aspect is the colour: it must be natural. The problem with artificial colours mainly concerns the taste of the fruit. So bright yellows, shocking pinks and luminescent greens are to be looked upon with suspicion because they are laced with dyes.
The third aspect is the taste: strawberry must taste like strawberry, hazelnut like hazelnut, lemon like lemon and so on. Every taste must be recognisable and, especially important, should not vanish in the mouth immediately.
5. The coffee
Where can you drink the best coffee in Italy? Everywhere. First of all, in Italy there exists a real coffee culture. The place where people order coffee in Italy is not called a “cafè” or “coffee shop”, but simply 'bar' and you can find one on every corner. And remember to call it a 'caffè' or 'espresso' because Italians don’t drink coffee from buckets. In Naples for example they will give you a glass of water together with the cup of coffee. This is so you can first clean your mouth with the water and then drink the coffee, not vice versa!
6. Diversity of nature
No matter what kind of landscape you are looking for... in Italy you will find it. If you like to spend every weekend in the mountains and wake up in the morning with a view of the Alps and the Apennines, Italy has just the thing for you. See the beautiful beaches of Puglia and Sicily or experience the glamour of Sardinia and Tuscany. Let yourself be captivated by the charm of ancient Umbria, Lazio, Abruzzo and the breathtaking views of the Dolomites and the Pre-Alps.
7. Fashion shopping
Italians dress well and have a good taste in terms of style. In fact, in the major Italian cities, the appearance and the style of dressing count a lot. In addition, Italy boasts high fashion brands famous all over the world, such as Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Prada and many others.
Milan is considered the capital of fashion, with its streets dedicated to luxury shopping, fashion shows and Fashion Weeks that attract fashion fans from all over the world. Italy also represents excellence in the world of cars... have you ever heard of Ferrari and Lamborghini?
8. The way to speak
Have you ever heard the musicality of the Italian language? Have you ever noticed? Italians are famous for their charm, their way of posing and their infinite gestures. There are those who consider it a reason to visit Italy: many English-speakers are fascinated by Italian group conversations conducted in high-pitched tones of voice that try to outdo one another and hands that are waving like a ballet. Nothing quite compares.
9. The climate
The temperate climate is one of the biggest riches that you can find in Italy. In addition to helping agriculture, the Mediterranean climate is also particularly pleasant for everyday life. In Italy, moreover, it is possible to get relief from the summer heat thanks to the coasts and to value the low temperatures thanks to the Alps and the Apennines that kiss almost the whole Peninsula. It's an almost ideal climate. Well, in most other countries, especially Britain and Ireland, we're not quite so lucky.
10. There is a better quality of life
There are countries and then there are countries: some countries are not really a good choice if you are trying to improve your living conditions but in others you live well! In Italy you can find everything you need: the services are reliable, the salaries are good, the working conditions are decent, the infrastructure works and there is an endless supply of leisure events and activities. In short, the factors that determine the quality of life are many and in Italy you can live comfortably and in style.
So what are you waiting for? Italy is waiting for you...
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