Every year about sixty million people go to Italy to experience for themselves all the special wonders of this boot-shaped country. Fortunately, Italy has an efficient network of highways, railways and ferries that make it easy for you to travel around the whole country. For example, L'Autostrada del Sole (highway of the sun) is a superhighway that goes up and down the spine of Italy, from Milan in the north down to the foot of the boot.

Since manners are important in any country, it makes sense to learn the special rules and customs of Italy before you go there. For instance, Italians are more demonstrative then people in many other cultures and this means that they gesture a lot to emphasize their thoughts and ideas when they are speaking. They will even do this while they are walking down the street with someone. And you might notice that they hold their faces closer to each other when they are speaking, more closely than in other countries. This is just normal for them and it seems to be another way that we can understand how passionately the Italians feel about everything. One lovely custom throughout Italy that you will notice and like to participate in is la passeggiata (the stroll). People do this at the end of the day and you will see young people walking with their arms around each other's waists or necks, all as an expression of their friendship.

In Italy one's upbringing is judged by how you treat someone when you are being introduced for the first time. This first impression goes a long way and will be the measure of how much a family will accept a new friend. At the heart of their customs is the idea of having respect for someone, and when you are introduced you can say Molto piacere or a similar expressions (It's a pleasure) while shaking someone's hand.