If you’re planning to live a life in Italy, there’s one habit you’ll have to get used to.
One of the first lessons you learn after moving to Italy is that you cannot simply decide to do something and expect it to happen that same afternoon. In Northern Europe we’re used to organising our days around our own agenda. In Italy, before long, you discover that daily life follows a rhythm of its own.
Making important appointments in advance
Don’t expect to arrange anything in the early afternoon. Supermarket close from 12:30 until 15:30. Banks are closed until 15:00. Notary offices, postal offices. Your architect isn’t answering the phone, neither is your geometra or commercialista. Even the local garage has closed its doors for a few hours. For many newcomers, it comes as a surprise. In much of Northern Europe, we are used to getting things done whenever it suits us. In Italy, life follows a different rhythm.
Pranzo
Restaurants are the exception. Lunch is serious business, and from around noon until three o’clock they are at their busiest. Later in the evening, they’ll open again for dinner, often until midnight.
Step outside during the afternoon pause and you’ll notice something else.
The streets are quieter than usual. The gardeners have stopped working. The farmers have parked their tractors. The sound of lawnmowers and agricultural machinery disappears. For a while, cicadas and church bells will be the only sound that carries through the village.
The importance of doing proper homework
When you’re buying a property, however, forgetting the rhythm of the day can cost considerably more. Missing an appointment, arriving without the correct paperwork or discovering that an office has already closed may delay the next step in the process. Sometimes by days, sometimes by weeks.T
That’s why understanding the Italian afternoon break isn’t just about local customs.
It’s about understanding how everyday life works.
Moral of the story
When you are buying a home in Italy, you’ll soon discover that the afternoon break is for most Italians in rural areas the most important time of the day. That’s one part of the story. Almost everything important happens by appointment. Banks, notaries, architects, geometri and other professionals rarely work on a walk-in basis. If one document is missing or one appointment has to be postponed, the entire schedule may shift by days or even weeks. We’ll look at the buying process in more detail in a separate article.
TBRC – Helping you find your way in Italy
