9 big misconceptions about Italy

Most Germans had never heard of pizza and spaghetti until the 1950s. Then tourism boomed and Italy established itself as one of the most popular travel destinations for German holidaymakers. Over the decades, many clichés about Italy have been established. The traveling reporter reveals the biggest prejudices and mistakes.

1. Pizza was invented in Italy

According to Italian legend, the pizza maker Raffaele Esposito baked the first pizza in Naples in 1889 – in honor of King Umberto I’s wife Margherita, it is said that he took the Italian national colors as a model for the ceiling: basil (green), mozzarella (white) and tomato (red). It seems like a real recipe for success: “Pizza Margherita” is still the most popular type of pizza in the world.

According to research by historians, the Italian court was already served pizza. The king’s wife chose eight favorites from a list of 35 toppings, which were then baked in different “pizzaolos”. So Esposito wasn’t the first pizza baker—unlike the other court vendors, he could only provide proof of receipt.

The origin of the dough circle on top goes back a long way. Assyrians baked dough covered with meat 2000 years before Christ. It is from here that today’s Lahmaku developed in the Far East.

Today’s piazza was invented before the Italians cultivated it. It is unclear whether Italian chefs once took pizza as a model. The first pizza-like dishes with tomatoes, oregano and basil are proven to have been baked in Italy as early as the 18th century.

However, the country can pride itself on its famous cuisine: “The art of baking Neapolitan pizza” has been on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2017.

2. Ice cream was invented in Italy

No, just like pizza, ice cream is produced in Italy, elsewhere. There, researchers found a document with a 1692 ice cream recipe. Ingredients: sugar, salt, lemon juice, cinnamon, chocolate, various fruits – and ice. Almost 100 years later, Neapolitan Filippo Baldini published the first ice cream recipe book.

In the 18th century, evidence of ice cream recipes was also found in France and America. This was made possible by the early 13th century world explorer Marco Polo, who observed and wrote about ice production in China with ice and saltpeter. Asian recipes can make the rounds in Europe.

However, some older ice cream recipes from ancient Rome and Arab countries contradict this. Exactly where ice cream was created cannot be determined with certainty.

3. Italian women have many children

From a German point of view, a family reunion in Italy seems like a big event. The number of people who gather around the dining table on special occasions in many Italian families may be the origin of this cliché: Italians have many children.

However, a look at fertility rates in the EU disproves this prejudice. According to the Statista data platform, every Italian woman giving birth had an average of 1.4 children in 2020. This puts Italy in 25th place, followed by France (1.83 children), Romania (1.8) and the Czech Republic (1.71). The German birth rate (1.53, level 15) is even higher than the number of children born in Italy.

4. Cupid! Italians have a lot of sex

The Italian macho cliché that almost every woman has wrapped around his finger in no time may have been spread by jealous German men. Apparently, you think you feel a lot less flirtatious in this country – or is that just a cliché?

One thing is certain: “Flirting success rates” are inherently difficult to determine. However, it is based on data from a 2006 study by condom manufacturer Durex, which surveyed nearly 22,000 people around the world about their sexual behavior.

Result: Greeks have sex 3.2 times a week on average, which puts them at the top of the statistics. Then come Brazilians (2.8 times a week) and Russians (2.7). With 2.3 cases a week, Italy is only in tenth place – but still four places ahead of the Germans (2.2).

5. Italians only speak Italian

Similar to German, Italian dialects differ in northern, central, and southern Italy. The Sicilian and Neapolitan forms are particularly distinguished from standard Italian, which is why they are considered a separate regional language.

In northern Italy, German is also officially recognized as the national language – in western France and in north-eastern Slovenia. English and French are regularly taught in Italian schools.

6. Rome is the biggest city in Italy

Contrary to what many people think, the capital of Italy is not the largest city in Italy. Including the surrounding area, Rome has four million inhabitants, less than the metropolitan regions of Milan (7.4 million inhabitants) and Naples (4.4 million inhabitants). So Rome is in third place.

7. Venice has many bridges.

In fact, it’s clear: Venice should have more bridges than any other bridge in the world. How should the residents of the famous water city do their shopping, go to work or visit friends?

However, what seems obvious is wrong: for example, there are many more bridges in Amsterdam. There are 1,400 bridges that cross the canals of the Netherlands. More bridges have been built in the Austrian capital: Vienna has 1716 bridges. However, most of the bridges in the world are located in this country. Hamburg claims to have 2,500 bridges. To be fair, the nickname “Venice of the North”, which is not meant to be taken seriously, would never apply to the Hanseatic city – Venice should describe itself as the “Hamburg of the South”.

8. Pisa has a leaning tower.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is indeed the most famous leaning building in the world. But with an inclination of 3.97 degrees it is by no means the steepest tower in the world, because it is in Rhineland-Palatinate: with an inclination of 5.4277 degrees, the record goes to the municipality of Gau-Weinheim in Alze-Worms. District.

And besides the record holder, there are still few towers in Europe flatter than the one in Pisa. Maybe not so pretty.

9. Italy is Germany’s favorite holiday destination

This fact has been outdated since the late 1960s. In the year During their first vacations in the 1950s, German tourists – in addition to German destinations – were first attracted to Austria. After that, Italy became a dream destination for Germans for a few years. But in the late 1960s, the leader was replaced by Spain. This was mainly due to Neckermann’s catalogue, which offered cheap package tours to Mallorca – the beginning of mass tourism.

The “Future Questions Foundation” tourism analysis for 2022 shows similar conditions. Accordingly, 7 percent of Germans plan or are planning to travel to Spain this year – with Italy lagging behind at 5.6 percent. However, the most popular travel destination is still home: 30 percent of those surveyed said they would like to travel in Germany.