So, I am Italian, on my dad’s side. Half-Italian. He’s first-generation Canadian–his parents immigrated to Canada in their twenties. He grew up in a pretty Italian household, naturally. His parents spoke to him in Italian, they would do family trips to Italy in the summers to visit the rest of the family, and they ate almost exclusively Italian food.
Italians have a very strong and relatively proud culture. A lot of it involves food, which is probably one of the reasons why their cuisine is so delicious. My parents made an effort to immerse me in Italian culture from a young age. There’s a video of me watching Winnie the Pooh Italian dub as a really little baby, which is funny in retrospect, because I cannot speak nor understand any Italian today. Still, they did their best. My mom is an excellent cook–she’s not Italian herself, but being married to my dad, she learned how to cook really amazing traditional Italian dishes. A lot of her knowledge came from cooking with my Nonna, which is the Italian word for Grandma. As a result, I grew up eating a lot of really good Italian food, which rocks, looking back.
My family also always sits down to have dinner all together, and usually the meal can last over an hour. That’s one aspect of Italian culture that I appreciate–the significance placed on meals, and how they’re viewed as a time to bring everyone together. Growing up, I’d go to friends’ houses and find that their families wouldn’t sit down to eat together, and instead eat whenever each individual person felt like it. I remember thinking this was strange.
From my experience, a lot of Italian culture really revolves around being social and forming connections with family and friends. Italian social gatherings are LOUD, and often people are talking over each other, but I find that charming and fun.
Italy is also an OLD country with an incredibly rich history. Italian art, architecture, music, fashion, and cinema are all recognized as being some of the best in the game. Especially from a historical point of view. If you know anything about music, for example, you’ve probably noticed that basically all musical terminology comes from the Italian language! A lot of words in the world of painting do, too.
I can confidently say that I am proud of my Italian heritage. I’ve visited Italy with my parents once, and it was incredible. I got to meet a bunch of my Italian relatives!
Next time you find yourself eating pizza or spaghetti or something, remember where your food comes from, and how awesome Italian culture is!