For someone who is familiar with Italian stereotypes only, northern Italy may come as a surprise.
Some of my personal ideas of Italy were:
Weather in Italy is always hot and sunny; Italians are all sun-tanned, loud and relaxed, somewhat messy; all Italian cities look like Rome (from the movies) or like somewhere on Sicily; there are spaghetti and pizza everywhere, as well as fashionable people...
Having visited northern Italy on several occasions my ideas changed.
Northern Italy is the most industrialized, the most developed and productive part of the country. Of course, that influenced the lifestyle, which is a lot different from what I wrote above. And not just that. Its geographical position is another important factor.
I'll give you an example of Italy's north-easternmost region, Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It borders Austria to the north and Slovenia to the east. Thanks to these borders the prevailing landscape consists of mountains, lakes, hills and forests.
(Stella)
(Lago di Cavazzo)
(Lago di Cavazzo)
The climate is also various, but mostly temperate. Lots of rain wraps everything up in beautiful green colors.
(Torrente torre)
(Torrente torre)
(why not have a barbecue - Torrente torre)
As to the local language, it's Italian mixed with a lot of German influence and Slovenian, as well. The vernacular spoken in this region is "friulano" - and it is sometimes difficult to connect it with standard Italian. For those of you who speak Italian, here are some examples of Friulano:
cjan = dog
gjat = cat
fradi = brother
libri = book
Anyway, you definitely won't hear the famous "Mamma mia" exclamation stereotype there. (Also, hand gestures are much less common than what one would expect from Italians).
The capital of this region is Trieste (a city quite in contrast to this region, being located on the coast). If you want to read more about Trieste and check the pictures, you can find it on my blog on the following link: http://meninaidris.blogspot.hr/2016/05/
(Trieste)
Northern Italians or Friulani (from this region) are extremely hard-working people and types of entertainment are similar to those of their neighbours - local festivals (sagra) are very common and popular. There you'll find plenty of beer sorts to choose from and local food, of course.
Local food is again very different from Italian stereotypes (although pizza is still very popular and you can find it in every restaurant/bar).
I'll mention two typical friulani dishes that I found everywhere: frico and polenta. Frico is made of fried or baked cheese and potatoes. Polenta is boiled cornmeal which is then grilled or baked.
(Frico - can be bought as souvenir, but the best is to be eaten fresh)
Another thing typical of northern Italy is that the space is used very well and there are no vast fields left uncultivated. Similar is with towns. There is a capital (in this case Trieste), but there are numerous small towns nearby. Every few kilometres there is a small town with its main square, a church, local shops and restaurants/bars. People's houses or flats are around that centre usually. Those town centres did strike me as being typically Italian in their architecture and also very pleasant to visit.
(Cividale)
(Cividale)
(Tarcento)
Tarcento
(Tarcento)
(Cividale)
On a Sunday you will find families and friends enjoying a drink, a cake or a whole meal in one of the restaurants with delicious food and excellent coffee.
(Tarcento)
All photos are copyright @blogspot connected - menina idris
(Stella)
(Lago di Cavazzo)
The climate is also various, but mostly temperate. Lots of rain wraps everything up in beautiful green colors.
As to the local language, it's Italian mixed with a lot of German influence and Slovenian, as well. The vernacular spoken in this region is "friulano" - and it is sometimes difficult to connect it with standard Italian. For those of you who speak Italian, here are some examples of Friulano:
cjan = dog
gjat = cat
fradi = brother
libri = book
Anyway, you definitely won't hear the famous "Mamma mia" exclamation stereotype there. (Also, hand gestures are much less common than what one would expect from Italians).
The capital of this region is Trieste (a city quite in contrast to this region, being located on the coast). If you want to read more about Trieste and check the pictures, you can find it on my blog on the following link: http://meninaidris.blogspot.hr/2016/05/
(Trieste)
Northern Italians or Friulani (from this region) are extremely hard-working people and types of entertainment are similar to those of their neighbours - local festivals (sagra) are very common and popular. There you'll find plenty of beer sorts to choose from and local food, of course.
Local food is again very different from Italian stereotypes (although pizza is still very popular and you can find it in every restaurant/bar).
I'll mention two typical friulani dishes that I found everywhere: frico and polenta. Frico is made of fried or baked cheese and potatoes. Polenta is boiled cornmeal which is then grilled or baked.
(Frico - can be bought as souvenir, but the best is to be eaten fresh)
Another thing typical of northern Italy is that the space is used very well and there are no vast fields left uncultivated. Similar is with towns. There is a capital (in this case Trieste), but there are numerous small towns nearby. Every few kilometres there is a small town with its main square, a church, local shops and restaurants/bars. People's houses or flats are around that centre usually. Those town centres did strike me as being typically Italian in their architecture and also very pleasant to visit.
(Cividale)
On a Sunday you will find families and friends enjoying a drink, a cake or a whole meal in one of the restaurants with delicious food and excellent coffee.
(Tarcento)
All photos are copyright @blogspot connected - menina idris
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