There is a bit of Giovanni della Casa in every Italian, you know. What do you mean, who’s he? Della Casa, that dude who wrote the Galateo, in 1558. Not because we’re more courteous and well educated than others, but rather, because we do live by a series of rules most non-Italians ignore and that you’re not likely to be taught in any language or culture class.  

You know, the type of thing most non-Italians would consider silly or irrelevant, but that we see as a sign of national bon-ton. To be  honest with you, there are quite a few of this unspoken rules around the country, with some of them being more common in some areas than others, but these five are probably the most typical: let’s see if you know any of them!