In fair Verona we lay our scene…

I was only a Warwick fresher for a month before I had my first year-abroad meeting – this was the start of the adventure that would follow one year later. Studying Italian and English Literature meant I had only been learning Italian for two months, so at this point the idea of living in Italy was incredibly daunting.

My first year sped past, without me feeling the true realisation I was leaving Warwick, then suddenly I was boarding an aeroplane to start my life as an Erasmus student in Verona.
‘La dolce vita’, the Italian way of life, is all about pleasure and indulgence, which I think can be pared down to food, wine, history and the gorgeous language. Of course, there are two sides to life in Italy; the relaxed, luscious side and the arguably corrupt bureaucracy, which is demonstrated by the world famous Berlusconi. The Italians supposedly have a ‘hedonistic’ attitude to life – a plate of perfectly cooked risotto is more important than the speed of the postal system, and I can speak from experience.

One way in which Italians demonstrate their relaxed way of life is through socialising. I haven’t been mixing with Italians for long but it is very noticeable from the start how different social life here is in comparison to England. Alcohol is obviously a large point for socialising, and here in Italy there is the culture of the aperitivo. For around five euros you get a cocktail and a buffet!

The only thing Italy is lacking is an equivalent of a pub – the loud music in the ‘Campus Pub’ means that it is more of a bar than a pub. Instead, bars are commonplace: one of my favourite bars is called ‘Caffé Al Teatro Filarmonico’; it is more of a café as it closes at nine o’clock, but despite this it has my favourite aperitivo in Verona. There’s also ‘Cambridge Bar’ right outside the university where the aperitivo is delicious.

In Italy the relaxed way of socialising is almost certainly due to the relationship people have with alcohol. Italian children have grown up with it from a young age, drinking watered-down wine with meals, and it therefore holds no mystique. Wine is sampled as a delicacy and is generally not treated as a means of getting drunk.

I think that it links back to the Italian philosophy of ‘La bella figura’, meaning ‘the beautiful figure’, but the ideology is about more than just appearance and is actually a way of life emphasising delicate behaviour and sophistication. I’m sure this philosophy will crop up again and again during my stay but here I think it applies to the importance of self control when drinking alcohol.

There is a simpler explanation for the apparent lack of drunkenness in Italy. Italians place food on a higher pedestal than alcohol, and socialising is based mainly around food. By eating food when you drink you are unlikely to get as drunk than if playing Ring of Fire.
There is nothing like living abroad in Italy; learning about the relaxed culture and socialising with locals gives you a real insight into the country.
Whilst at first I was apprehensive, I now feel comfortable and there is no doubt my Italian has improved vastly. However my goal is to come back speaking fluently, so I suppose you’ll have to test me.