Travel Resource
Why My Love For Italy Increases The More I Visit
by Travel Brown Girl
July 2019
Why I Learnt Basic Italian
‘Parla Inglese?’ One of my favourite words when travelling this country translated to; do you speak English?’ I’d respond with with ‘non-parlo Italiano’ I do not speak Italian. I taught myself some words to get around, Italians are very patient and accommodating in most places, even more so when I saw the appreciation on their faces when showing an interest in their language. I have visited Italy three times, and on each visit I’ve been to different cities/towns, experiencing a different feel for Italy. So far, I have travelled to Florence, Sorrento, Venice, Rome, Verona, Catania and Taormina. I can honestly say I love revisiting this country. I should also mention that at time of writing this post I am in a hotel room in Taormina.
Stereotype Of Italian Men
It is only day two, and I have already forgotten the number of times the Italian men have nudged their friends when I have walked past, beeped their car horn, ‘hollered at me’ in their Italian way, said ‘ciao’ or gave me an intense stare sometimes smiling. Depending on the situation I may smile or wave back to be courteous, but most often I ignore. Since I have been here, I have seen a few black men begging on the streets, an Africa female migrant who kindly directed me to the superstore and a middle-aged black woman sunbathing on the beach with her white partner. You know how it is as a black person when we travel - we subconsciously count the other black and brown people we see.
Italian Reaction To Brown Skin
I remember last year when I visited Sorrento with my cousin, I was unsure how to handle the reaction we experienced from the men. I had mixed feelings and thought my brown skin was the only reason they were interested. However, I have come to realise that it’s more superficial than that. My understanding is that Italian men are generally thought to be quite vocal with women they find attractive regardless of ethnicity. When visiting Venice and Rome being brown was a lot like being brown in London or New York is, these cities attract people from all over so seeing people with my skin tone and features was quite common.
Sorrento Train
On day three I ventured out of Taormina taking a bus to the city of Catania. It was busy and not as serene as being near the sea in Taormina. However, the buildings though dirty and often graced with graffiti did not in any way spoil the grand and beautiful architecture of the remnants of the Roman empire. I observed that being chocolate in this city is not as much of a staring issue as when I visited some of the other towns, though sometimes the men would still look or catcall, but now there are also African immigrants doing this.
Sorrento coastline
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On our fourth day in Taormina, I ventured out on a day trip to the Tyrrhenian Sea islands of Stromboli and Pancrea, which required taking a tour bus to the port. As I was boarding the bus a friendly guide – a mature lady of maybe 60 greeted me as she checked my ticket, she then stroked my left cheek and said, ‘I love the bone structure of the African!’ Smiling and raising her hands as she said it. I gently laughed but found it very embarrassing, I thought do Italians think it is ok to objectify black people like this? She was quite an eccentric character, so maybe this explained her audacity.
The Tyrrhenian Sea was beautiful, and I got to see a volcano that politely put on a show for us in the evening by erupting to an applause.
The Tyrrhenian Sea was beautiful, and I got to see a volcano that politely put on a show for us in the evening by erupting to an applause.
Taormina Town
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A Taormina House
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Rome Imperial Forum
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Roman Godess
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Pasta Dish
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My Thoughts
Overall the Italians are lovely, friendly, passionate, family orientated people with a land full of beautiful historic buildings, scenic landscape and Japonesque bathroom etiquette, i.e. they use bidets. Who wouldn’t want to visit this country? They also eat lots of pasta but manage to stay slim - most of the time. Do go to Italy at least once but try to visit more than one place, mix it up a little so you get a feel for both the city and town.
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