Are Sicilians very different from other Italians? (black, German, UK)
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In my experience, Sicilians are at least superficially warm, open and hospitable, but they can turn on you just as quickly, becoming cold, closed, and hostile. Northern Italians are not really hospitable, they are reserved, but a friendship that develops over time can be sincere, mutually profitable, and long term, with slowly progressive degrees of hospitality over a period of years. Can't really compare all mainland Italians region by region, it really doesn't work that way anyway, we are all individuals. I can relate only my personal experiences and anecdotes.
Hence, again, in my experience, Greeks are not that openly warm, open and hospitable, but always ready to help if asked, sometimes even going the extra mile which left me with deep impressions.
Again, I agree here. Sicilians are SUPERFICIALLY warmer than northern Italians. The friendship can go from hot to cold in a hurry. In families, squabbles are the order of the day. One attorney I know who hails from Sicily, but graduated from law school in the north, longs for Sicily but said "Up here, there's business surrounding transactions and stuff like that, in Sicily there are squabbles which are the base of one's work."
I will differ in that I've struck up friendships with northern Italians more quickly, and they proceed with more caution, but last longer. While they were not from Milan, they were with people from Bologna, Turin and Brescia. Sicily has the beauty, the weather, and the intrigue, but northern Italy has generally more "normal" people. One Sicilian woman, a relative, disappointingly said to me "Siamo incivile," when I went back as an adult for the first time. That means "We are not civil."
I agree about the Greeks. They are friendly if being mercantile, and for no other purpose. The Greeks are a people unto themselves, with a unique religion and language/alphabet. For them, befriending an outsider ranks very low on their list. They are the least friendly of these 3 groups. However, they know what side their bread is buttered on: tourism.
And, Tri, continuing post #18, Sicilians who have been raised up north LOVE to make fun of their Sicilian relatives - either imitating their accent, or telling stories of the ridiculous things they say and do ... while eating dinner or strolling with a gelato in hand.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bale002
In my experience, Sicilians are at least superficially warm, open and hospitable, but they can turn on you just as quickly, becoming cold, closed, and hostile. Northern Italians are not really hospitable, they are reserved, but a friendship that develops over time can be sincere, mutually profitable, and long term, with slowly progressive degrees of hospitality over a period of years. Can't really compare all mainland Italians region by region, it really doesn't work that way anyway, we are all individuals. I can relate only my personal experiences and anecdotes.
Hence, again, in my experience, Greeks are not that openly warm, open and hospitable, but always ready to help if asked, sometimes even going the extra mile which left me with deep impressions.
In any case, you do well to concentrate the Italian leg of your trip on Rome, along with the Lazio coast, and Florence, along with the Tuscan countryside, but perhaps any extra time in Naples and the Amalfi coast would be better spent in Venice - following the typical Italian triad of Rome, Florence, Venice - truly a unique place in its own right, hard to believe that you do not find it appealing. Unless, of course, as you mentioned, you think that you will return to Italy again some day in future. And, having said that, indeed the view of Mount Vesuvius from the nearby coast is haunting and the archeological sites of Hercolaneum and Pompeii are also one of a kind and breath-taking.
Anyway, enjoy!
I don't know, there's something about Venice i don't find aesthetically pleasing. Those canals just seem grey and dirty, as do all the buildings, and it's sort of weird how the buildings are just next to the water. The whole place just seems gloomy and sad and i've heard it's overrated. It might be interesting to see such a unique environment, actually, it'd be worth a visit, but I find the Amalfi coast just more beautiful and what I have in mind when I think of Italy.
Thanks for the comments re Sicilians and other Italians, will keep that in mind!
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by robertpolyglot
Again, I agree here. Sicilians are SUPERFICIALLY warmer than northern Italians. The friendship can go from hot to cold in a hurry. In families, squabbles are the order of the day. One attorney I know who hails from Sicily, but graduated from law school in the north, longs for Sicily but said "Up here, there's business surrounding transactions and stuff like that, in Sicily there are squabbles which are the base of one's work."
I will differ in that I've struck up friendships with northern Italians more quickly, and they proceed with more caution, but last longer. While they were not from Milan, they were with people from Bologna, Turin and Brescia. Sicily has the beauty, the weather, and the intrigue, but northern Italy has generally more "normal" people. One Sicilian woman, a relative, disappointingly said to me "Siamo incivile," when I went back as an adult for the first time. That means "We are not civil."
I agree about the Greeks. They are friendly if being mercantile, and for no other purpose. The Greeks are a people unto themselves, with a unique religion and language/alphabet. For them, befriending an outsider ranks very low on their list. They are the least friendly of these 3 groups. However, they know what side their bread is buttered on: tourism.
And, Tri, continuing post #18, Sicilians who have been raised up north LOVE to make fun of their Sicilian relatives - either imitating their accent, or telling stories of the ridiculous things they say and do ... while eating dinner or strolling with a gelato in hand.
So Sicilians are like the hicks of Italy...I guess Southern Italy is, but Sicilia especially?
My paternal grandparents migrated from the Marche region of Italy, as did almost all other Italians who emigrated to the Mississippi Delta. Culturally, we are not anticlerical like so many southern Italians, we do not have religious processions, and we don't make cannolis!
So Sicilians are like the hicks of Italy...I guess Southern Italy is, but Sicilia especially?
I've often thought of it that way, but actually all people from Naples on down, and on Sardinia, qualify for "hick" status in Italy. Some are in a time warp and almost scary.
But hicks don't have churches like this as the norm so, for some, the level of culture and craftsmanship was quite high:
My paternal grandparents migrated from the Marche region of Italy, as did almost all other Italians who emigrated to the Mississippi Delta. Culturally, we are not anticlerical like so many southern Italians, we do not have religious processions, and we don't make cannolis!
Make some changes in the Delta! open cannoli shops ... bring the statue out of the church once a year, with fireworks and marching bands ... let the men of the town take mistresses. Import the "dolce vita" to the South. Now THAT would be a sight. And I can say this, since I have a friend of Sicilian stock who was born in B-ham AL.
Interesting.....I actually work with a lady that is Italian, but born in Albania. So, there seems to be some crossover between the 2. Her father was from and her mother's family had origins in Bari. Another twist is that her mother was born in West Virginia.
I also work with another lady whose mother was from Abruzzo and I wonder if she knows about this group, as it seems to be an area where they have a presence.
Sicilians are very similar in all regards to the southernmost parts of mainland Italy -- Calabria, Basilicata, and Apulia. All of these regions have Greek influences from ancient times and the Byzantine Empire. I think of Sicilians as "Helleno-Romance", which I think differentiates themselves from people in say, Lazio or Marche.
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