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10 Things Italian's do best.

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pokerplayer Grand Master

pokerplayer

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(CNN) -- Pizza, pasta, Verdi, the Coliseum, runway models.

We know Italy does some things incomparably well.

But travelers to the elegant boot don't just want to eat spaghetti, deal with opera and gawk at old ruins.

Beyond the clichés, you'll find 10 other surprising ways in which Italy shines.

More on CNN: Verdi: Exploring the Italian hometown of a musical genius

1. Flattery

Depending on whether or not you think the occasional catcall or butt grab is flattering, you'll find Italians are aggressively complimentary of friends and beautiful strangers alike.

A historical tool for both disarming and defusing, flattery is the fulcrum on which Italian society teeters.

As Luigi Barzini writes in "The Italians," "The people have always employed such arts offensively, to gain advantages, destroy rivals and conquer power and wealth; and defensively, as the squid uses ink, to blind and confound powerful men, dictators and tyrants."

But you'll likely only notice the butt grabs.

2. Hot baths

If flattery doesn't get you out of your clothes, the peninsula's 380 spa sites offering healing mud and bubbles will.

Boiling as much beneath the surface as its people, Italy pioneered the world's first large-scale spas, exporting them as they colonized Europe.

Watery therapies include island baths (such as those on volcanic Ischia), Tuscan hot springs, mountain baths in the town of Bormio and the thermal park of Lake Garda.

Just drinking the mineral-rich water in some places is reputed to be healthy.

So convinced is the Italian government of the healing power of hot springs and geothermal mud packs that it covers the cost of some therapies for its citizens.

Free hot springs in Tuscany: www.turismo.intoscana.it

3. Cursing

130804112912-italy---cursing-story-body.
Best thing about an Italian curse -- it looks as good as it sounds.

Be it in Italian or any other language, the accent of native Italy turns any expletive into a blunt force instrument.

Rhythmic, staccato and with an almost operatic legato that fuses syllables together like a hammer-on guitar note, swearing here is a performance art.

Inspired mostly by pigs, anatomical exit points and promiscuous women, Italian profanities -- which vary by region -- sound equal parts dramatic, angry and comical.

Powered by the passion characteristic of the Italian people, the results stun, intimidate and even charm their recipients, sometimes all at once.

More on CNN: 15 best coffee bars in Rome

4. Beach bumming

With 7,400 kilometers (4,600 miles) of coastline, Italy boasts the most beaches in Europe, as well as 27 marine parks.

Summer temperatures peak in many places at just below 30 C (86 F), compared with the mid 20s (70s F) in France and Portugal.

It's like swimming in tropical waters, minus the sharks and trinket hawkers.

When it comes to beaches, it's a tough choice between blinding-white dunes, pebble and even turf shores, but 248 Italian beaches have been awarded Blue Flag status for clear waters and unspoiled sands.

More on CNN: Italy's best beaches and islands

5. Pop-up governments

Italians tear through regimes like their sports cars do dinosaur juice.

Since the end of World War II, Italy has established 62 governments under 38 prime ministers (40 if you count Silvio Berlusconi's three total terms), and only one has lasted a full five years.

Fearing the rise of another Mussolini, Italy's constitutional system years ago provided for a weak executive branch that requires majorities in both legislative houses just to get anything done.

That, combined with an already fractured political landscape of small, warring parties, puts Italy's average MPG (months per government) barely over 12.

6. Volcanoes

130804113850-italy---mt-etna-volcano-sto
Mt Etna - the world's second most active volcano - is in Italy.

Ten active volcanoes allow Italy's geology to vent the way voting gives release to its citizens.

The country's (and Europe's) largest volcano is Mt. Etna in Sicily, the world's second most active volcano after Hawaii's Mauna Loa.

Etna's spectacular eruptions, soot-blackened scenery, lava flows and extensive caves draw more than a million tourists a year.

It leads TripAdvisor's top-10 must-see volcanoes list, along with four other Italian spouters, including Mt. Vesuvius.

In June, Etna became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, joining three other Italian volcanoes, including the Aeolian islands of Vulcano (no translation prizes there), Lipari and Stromboli, known as the Mediterranean's Lighthouse for its breathtaking eruptions.

Mt. Etna tours and excursion: www.sicilytravel.net

More on CNN: Scandal-rocked Pompeii finally gets a makeover

7. Dessert

Apple pie is good and all, and it's never a bad time for a sticky slice of baklava, but for sheer volume and variety of treats, nothing beats Italian sweets.

Much is made of the peninsula's food, the usual suspects being pizza, pasta and antipasti.

But the real stars of Italian cuisine are gelato, tiramisu, cannoli, Neapolitan, biscotti spumoni, tartufo, zeppole -- hell, Italy has nearly as many signature desserts as it's had governments.

Italian confectioners work in all media, too, combining cakes, cookies and creams both iced and otherwise to create the world's vastest, tastiest arsenal of desserts.

Ironically, Italians don't even really eat this stuff, most often preferring a piece of fruit or chocolate after a meal instead.

More: $84 gealti! Greatest travel rip off?

8. Caving

Rich in crumbly, sieve-like karstic landscapes, Italy is one of the most cave-pocked countries on the planet, with more than 35,000 cavities above ground and thousands more underwater.

Grotta Gigante holds the Guinness World Record for largest accessible cave on Earth at a yawning 850 meters (2,788 feet) wide, with 500 steps that descend 100 meters (328 feet) into the earth.

Other notable caves include the Blue Grotto on Capri, where Emperor Tiberius loved to swim. Inside the Grotta del Vento, winds whip through its tortuous trails at 40 kilometers an hour.

More info: Rock climbing and caving in Italy

More on CNN: 24-hour tourism: Rome in a day

9. Sports cars

130805103946-italy---sports-cars-story-b
Ferrari Dino - four wheels or "phwoar!" wheels?

Eliciting more turns per head than even its fashion models do, Italy's catalog of exotic land jets is what Porsche drivers dream about.

What began as a racecar manufacturer in the 1930s has become the standard bearer for aspirational autos -- in 2012, Ferrari sold just 7,000 cars, but booked $3 billion in revenues.

Meanwhile, Lamborghini may be owned by German Audi now, but the hips are still all Italiano.

Pagani, Alfa Romeo, Maserati -- these names are sex on wheels.

Italy doesn't even crack the top 20 in global auto production, but for out-of-your-league supercars that cover more adolescent male bedroom walls than Kate Upton, no other country can outrace Italy.

10. River cruises

Unlikely to be among the top two or three or hundred things that spring to mind when you think of Italy, river cruising on the peninsula is actually a vibrant business, and new routes keep opening up.

Italian rivers aren't as long or easily navigated as those in the rest of Europe, but visitors can float from one beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site to another.

Po River Travel, UniWorld and European Waterways offer week-long cruises that take in areas like the Venice Lagoon, Manuta, Padu, the Po Valley and Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet.

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/05/travel/10-things-italy-does-better/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

 

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Maggie123 Newbie

Maggie123

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Nice Post Pokerplayer :)

 

My daughter went for her junior year as an exchange student and has her Italian family that adopted her as one of their own.

 

I've been there twice for nearly a month each time. I can't begin to tell you how generous and kind everyone there was to us...

 

My daughter's Italian Mama cooked wonderful lunches and dinner's and invited us to come everyday... I just loved the way the whole family would come home from work and school around 1:00 pm and laugh and eat together until about 4:00 pm... go back to work... then get back together around 8:00 pm and do it all again... even the grown kids that had left home still came everyday for meals.

 

I loved the family values so much. :)

 

 

They were a family with 5 older kids and each one would take turns taking us to see what they thought were the important sites in the area.

 

They took us to mines, caves, shopping, museums, cathedrals, where they get marble, cheese making, wine making, favorite bars & restauraunts, their family & friends homes and farms, the countryside, the islands and of course different parts of the beautiful coast several times.

 

Another thing all of them did was shower us with gifts on our arrival and then again when we were leaving... overwelming!!!

 

 

I could never repay them for their kindness and generosity...

 

although a couple of them have been here and I certainly did my level best. :)

 

 

 

Edited by Maggie123
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Patty B Newbie

Patty B

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Italians are passionate!

We love much!

Our homes are open

to all, our hearts are big

and we will feed the 

neighborhood.

I am  2nd generation Italian!

My husband is 1st generation Italian!

I do NOT know of any men  in our

families who have EVER hit their

wives!!!!!

Italian men respect and adore their

women. They are protective and 

loving!

I am proud of my husband, father,

brothers and son. I am thankful to

be an Italian American!

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Maggie123 Newbie

Maggie123

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I can't say enough about how great our experience's were both times.

 

Maybe I was lucky because we knew people there... but knowing them tells me there are many, many more that are the same way.

 

Just look at our wonderful Umbertino. :)

 

 

Nice Post Patty B :) THAT is what I saw too! The son's adored their Mama, their Wives and Babies.

 

Very Nice Men... everyone that I met anyways. :)

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jon29 Newbie

jon29

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A guy told me that Disneyland changed there no facial hair policy years back ?

This came after they hired some Italian women ? Any truth to this ?

PD41

 

:lol: There is something disturbing with the idea of Sleeping Beauty having a 5 o'clock shadow.

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Thaiexpat Newbie

Thaiexpat

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12. Olive Oil. Real olive oil from Puglia. Burns (real oil is spicy), bitter and oh, a slice of heaven. gotta a friend that sends me a tin from time-to-time. I save it for a special meal and pour it on. it infuses its flavour and aroma into anything its combined with. Taste the "greeness" and devour the smell of real olive oil. So wonderful

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umbertino Grand Master

umbertino

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Nice Post Pokerplayer :)

 

My daughter went for her junior year as an exchange student and has her Italian family that adopted her as one of their own.

 

I've been there twice for nearly a month each time. I can't begin to tell you how generous and kind everyone there was to us...

 

My daughter's Italian Mama cooked wonderful lunches and dinner's and invited us to come everyday... I just loved the way the whole family would come home from work and school around 1:00 pm and laugh and eat together until about 4:00 pm... go back to work... then get back together around 8:00 pm and do it all again... even the grown kids that had left home still came everyday for meals.

 

I loved the family values so much. :)

 

 

They were a family with 5 older kids and each one would take turns taking us to see what they thought were the important sites in the area.

 

They took us to mines, caves, shopping, museums, cathedrals, where they get marble, cheese making, wine making, favorite bars & restauraunts, their family & friends homes and farms, the countryside, the islands and of course different parts of the beautiful coast several times.

 

Another thing all of them did was shower us with gifts on our arrival and then again when we were leaving... overwelming!!!

 

 

I could never repay them for their kindness and generosity...

 

although a couple of them have been here and I certainly did my level best. :)

Thanks.

Now that is way cool Maggie !!! When I say this article I thought of Umbertino and our other Italian members. A friend went to Italy and said he had a blast, many people showed him and his family a great time.

 

pp

Again Thanks PP.... Your kindness is appreciated. Obviously this Country has its good and its bad just like everywhere else.

 

 I think that every Individual only represents him/herself ...

 

So I'd like to say  to some that stereotyping  an entire People is always a wrong approach and doesn't make sense. I'll hold accountable one or more specific Person(s) for the bad deeds they committed each time that happens. Not an entire Population. Otherwise it'd be even too easy to start bitching about a lot of countries and its People. Also ignorant.

 

 This just happens to be the place  where I was born and currently live.... It's ok... I love travelling all over the world whenever I have the money.Right now I don't, unfortunately.

 

  Love meeting other people and cultures and learn each time I get the chance.

Enjoy broadening my horizons. That's real culture in my book. Travelling is the best mind opener imho. If done with the right approach.  Not the " I am better than all these xxxx" approach. Some humbleness is due sometimes.

Edited by umbertino
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umbertino Grand Master

umbertino

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I can't say enough about how great our experience's were both times.

 

Maybe I was lucky because we knew people there... but knowing them tells me there are many, many more that are the same way.

 

Just look at our wonderful Umbertino. :)

 

 

Nice Post Patty B :) THAT is what I saw too! The son's adored their Mama, their Wives and Babies.

 

Very Nice Men... everyone that I met anyways. :)

You are very kind, Maggie. Thank you, my Sister.

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