13 Cool and Interesting Facts about Italy and Italians

1. Pizza was invented in Naples

The United States did help in making this dish popular, but pizza was born in the heart of Naples.

2. Italy has roughly 350 types of pasta

Italy is the land of pasta, so you can expect to find a great variety of pasta types.

3. Italy has nearly 500 types of cheese

Italy has the highest cheese variety in the world, with 487 different types.

4. Italians rarely sit for coffee

The country doesn’t have the tradition of sitting down for a cup of coffee.

5. Fettuccine Alfredo is Italian… but not eaten in Italy

The dish is almost unknown in Italy, despite being born in its capital city.

6. Italy is the home country of Nutella

The beloved spread popular worldwide was born in Italy, more specifically in the town of Alba, in the Piedmont region.

7. Gesticulating is inevitable for Italians

If there’s one distinctive feature about Italians is that they gesticulate a lot.

8. You can find a free wine fountain in Italy

There’s a free red wine fountain in the small town of Villa Caldari, in the province of Chieti.

9. Dropping salt brings bad luck

If you’re passing someone salt at a table and accidentally drop it, you may be in big trouble.

10. Always look people in the eye when toasting

In Italy, it’s bad luck not to look someone in the eye when you toast.

11. You should never walk under a ladder

Another fun fact is that Italians will avoid walking under a ladder because it brings bad luck.

12. Dialects are spoken in Italy

Regional dialects are still very much alive in Italy, with 31 recognized in the whole country.

13. The West’s oldest university is in Italy

The University of Bologna is the oldest university in the Western World in continuous operation.

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