Skinny People. One of the most anticipated experiences of any tourist in Italy is tasting the food. Italian food is famous for pasta, pizza, and gelato. These foods are obviously not on any diet list, but for some reason everyone is extremely thin. So thin that many of the Italian teenagers would incite concern from American high school counselors everywhere. Granted real Italian food is much different from the nasty fried and cheesy American versions (although there is a fried cheese dish in Italy, but that is a different story). Clothing size tags differ by the country. I.e. many say "U.S.-S IT-M."
Cleanliness. Italy is a bit dirty. Streets, ALL public restrooms, you name it. However, in the home Italians are insanely clean. 90% of the time my Italian roommates are talking, they are talking about cleaning (and they are from Naples!). It just doesn't add up.
Coffee. Italians know their coffee. They love their coffee. In this country that spawned the idea for Starbucks, one can find the best coffee of their lives. Ironically, they don't harvest any coffee beans in the entire country. Also there aren't any Starbucks (if you want to know why, I'd be glad to chat about the business aspects of that decision).
Business savvy. On the small merchant scale, Italians are fantastic business people. Cunning, tricky, smooth, persistent. However Italy continues to flounder on a national scale. Berlusconi represents the country. Come on.
Made in Italy. First of all, the saying 'made in Italy' is used by Italians. They say it in English, to other Italians. It is sewn into clothes and printed on leather goods in English.
'Italian' chefs. As the immigrant population continues to rise, the number of Italians doing 'blue collar' jobs like cooking and cleaning diminishes. Therefore it's more likely that Hussein from Pakistan is making your pasta all'amatriciana than Giuseppe from Orvieto.
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