Italian, Italians – do we speak the same language?

Here I am, back from holidays! I just spent 3 weeks around Calabria and Sicily, in Southern Italy. It was my first time “below Naples” and I loved it! It was not an adventurous holiday at all, and I didn’t take note of much on my notepad. But day by day, taking notes, I found out something really weird, something I didn’t expect at all! And here I am to tell you about it.

As many of you already know, I’m Italian even if I (try to) write in English. Ah, Italy, the Country of sun (it’s raining here btw), art and food! Each region has its own typical dishes, so far so good. But I thought at least I knew what to order in a restaurant/bar when around Italy. Answer: negative. I found that many things I refer to with a name, are a totally different thing in Southern Italy, or at least in Calabria. Here are some of them, starting from the “less weird” ones!

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• Calzone

Northern Italy:  a (big) pizza roll.

Southern Italy: a (small) fried dough roll stuffed with tomato, mozzarella and sometimes ham.

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• Brioche

Northern Italy: a croissant.

Southern Italy: a rather harder dough, circular, often stuffed with ice cream or Nutella. In Sicily they even dip it into granita for breakfast!

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• Tovaglia (this is my favourite!)

Northern Italy: a tablecloth.

Southern Italy: a beach towel.

So watch out… You could end up laying on a table when you think you’re sunbathing!

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Now, seriously, this shows how ignorant one could be about his own Country! When I go to a Japanese restaurant I can proudly choose among different kinds of sushi rolls and nigiris, soups, etc. And what happens in my Country? This is funny and awkward at the same time!

I know that many of you are Italy-lovers, so what do you think about this? Have you ever ordered some food and got something you didn’t expect? Do you know about other funny differences between regional vocabulary? Hope to hear from you soon!