 The common greeting is a handshake with direct eye contact and a smile.

If
the greeting is between a man and a woman, the woman generally extends
her hand first.
 Stand up out of respect when an older person enters the room.
 It is important to dress neatly and respectfully.
 Cover your mouth when yawning or sneezing.
 Hats should be removed indoors.
 It is impolite to remove one’s shoes in front of others.
 Punctuality is not tight in social situations. In Italy, ‘on time’ can mean 20, 30
or even 45 minutes late
 If you are visiting somebody’s house just before dinner time, it is expected you
will stay for the meal.
 Italians generally wait for their host to sit before they do so and wait for them to
indicate it is time to eat
 Take the time to show some thoughtfulness and consideration regarding people’s
lives, no matter your familiarity with them. For example, enquire about their well-
being before getting to any point at hand
 Allow concessions for friends where possible. Italians are generous with favours and
are slightly less tight about the use of their private property when it comes to those
they have a good relationship with. They may borrow things or money and take a
while to return the item or pay someone back. 
 if you need an Italian to perform a task for you, ask for their help on a personal basis
rather than emphasising their duty to do it as something they ‘owe’ you. Positioning
favours as a form of reimbursement for previous actions that one is obligated to
perform can seem impersonal or insensitive. 

 Avoid making generalised comments about Italian crime, corruption, the Mafia
or Italy’s involvement in World War II.
 Do not joke about the Catholic Church or the Pope when in the company of
older Italians. The younger generations are often quite relaxed about these
topics and open to deprecating humour, but it can seriously offend the elderly.
 Do not critique Italian food or suggest ways it could be changed for
improvement. Italians are deeply proud of their cuisine.
 Direct Communication: Italians are typically direct communicators. They
tend to be open about their emotions and speak clearly about their point. They
generally expect similar honesty from their conversation partner and hence
may fail to read into understatements. Therefore, avoid ambiguity and indirect
speech.
 Communication Style: Italians are generally quite open, inquisitive and bold.
Expect to be asked a lot about your life story and background. You may find
that they are eager to give their opinions or advice on your activity. For
example, they may point out an error in your organisation of your home and
give you a tip on how to correct it. Foreigners can find this judgemental or
nosey. However, avoid ignoring them or shutting down their questions and
comments. This may lead them to see you as closed off or overly sensitive.
 Silence: Italians can grow uncomfortable with prolonged periods of silence
and may naturally speak to fill it.
 Raised Voices: Italians may speak in loud voices to make themselves heard
over one another. A raised voice is not necessarily a sign of anger, but can be
 an expression of excitement or conviction. You may find people talk over one
another in order to be heard.
 Humour: Italians often enjoy joking throughout conversation to lighten the
mood. Having humour in one’s voice can allow people to speak their mind
quite openly. Be aware that their humour can be quite cynical, making fun of
sensitive topics. They can also be quite self-deprecating, ironic and sarcastic.
Expect them to mock one another and slip sarcasm or double meanings into
any topic of conversation.
 Online Communication: Consider that some Italians may find online
communication to be an impersonal form of interaction or a lazy way of
maintaining a relationship. The older generation in particular may limit its use
to helping organise further face-to-face interaction. This does not apply to the
younger generations that are more involved in the digital world.

 Non-Verbal
 Personal Space: Italians generally keep a close proximity to one another,
sometimes standing less than a metre away from the person they are talking
to. While this distinction is not always noticeable, they may think you are
avoiding them if you move farther away from what they consider to be normal.
 Physical Contact: Italians are generally tactile people and quite affectionate.
It is common to see hugging, kissing, back slapping and hand holding in
public. People may touch their conversation partner to show their engagement
in the discussion – for example, nudging them or touching their arm when
pointing something out. Friends may also walk arm-in-arm in public.
 Eye Contact: Direct eye contact is expected and held during conversations.
In some places in Italy, people may inadvertently stare out of curiosity.
However, be aware that staring is generally considered rude and can also
represent an act of defiance if a person of low social status stares at someone
higher than them.
 Expression: Italians are naturally more expressive in their tone of voice,
facial expressions and body language, often motioning with their hands to
emphasise their point. This can sometimes seem theatrical. Expect many
gestures to be used during communication and consider how much you use
your own in comparison. Newly migrated Italians can often interpret Australian
body language to be stiff and reserved.
 Gestures: To rub one’s thumb against the fingers indicates money. People
may acknowledge the cleverness of another person by pulling down the
bottom eyelid with a finger. People can gesture “no” by jerking their head
upwards –- be aware this can look similar to a nod.
 Counting: Italians start counting with their thumb instead of their index finger.
The thumb represents 1, and so on.