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Home / Home Featured / 5 reasons why we love Italy

5 reasons why we love Italy

July 28, 2014 by Gretta Schifano 1 Comment

Kids on the boat to Capri. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Kids on the boat to Capri. Copyright Gretta Schifano

This summer we’re going to the Italian island of Sicily for our family holiday and I can’t wait. We’ve been to Italy more than any other place on family trips and that’s not just because we have dear friends and relatives there (my husband is a London-born Sicilian and I once worked as an English teacher in Piedmont). It’s because Italy is an all-round fabulous and great place to go with children. Here’s why.

Italians love kids

I know that this is a huge generalisation and that there will be some Italians who can’t stand children but……Italians do love kids and are very indulgent towards them. I’ve never been anywhere in Italy and felt that my children weren’t welcome. I’ve been in Italian restaurants several times where crying babies have been whisked off to be cooed over in the kitchen. This is in contrast both to England, where I once saw a waiter ask a family to leave a restaurant because their baby was crying and another couple had complained, and to France, where a friend and her children were turned away from a restaurant because children weren’t allowed in (although dogs were).

Italians respect mothers

If you’ve ever felt invisible since becoming a mum then go to Italy: mothers are hugely respected there. On a recent press trip to Sicily my group ate at a wonderful family-run agriturismo (a kind of farm restaurant) one evening. We tasted many different dishes and at the end of the meal the chef came out of the kitchen to join us. She was a cheerful, grey-haired lady, probably in her sixties and as she sat down she smiled expansively, looked around at all of us and pronounced, confidently: ‘Io sono la madre’ which means ‘I am the mother’. Her meaning was clear: I’m the centre of all of this, the family, the meal and the farm. She expected, and received, congratulations simply for being ‘the mother’. I can’t imagine this happening in England.

Pizza lesson, Sorrento. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Pizza lesson, Sorrento. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Italian food

If you prefer your children to eat healthy, seasonal, locally-produced food then Italy is the place for you because that’s how most Italians seem to eat anyway. The Slow Food movement (aiming to defend good food and a slow pace of life) began in Italy. If your children are fussy eaters then most restaurants cook everything from scratch and are happy to adapt dishes to particular tastes. And there’s always something on offer which your kids will eat – have you ever met a child who doesn’t like pasta or pizza or home-made gelato?

History

Wherever you go in Italy you come across something of cultural or historical importance so that your children are bound to absorb something educationally useful just by being there. Practically the whole country seems to be a UNESCO World Heritage site. When we visit our relatives in Sicily we drive past the famous ancient Greek temples at Agrigento on our way to the beach, for goodness sake. There are ancient remains of things all over Italy and sometimes you find them when you’re not even looking for them: I saw a Roman mosaic in the middle of a dusty pavement on a recent trip.

View of Vesuvius from Pompeii. Copyright Gretta Schifano

View of Vesuvius from Pompeii. Copyright Gretta Schifano

Geography

Italy is a beautiful and diverse country geographically. It has many different types of beaches along its coastline and much of the country is mountainous. Its highest point is Mont Blanc in the north while Mount Etna on the island of Sicily in the south is Europe’s largest active volcano. This means that it offers great opportunities for all sorts of family activities from beach trips to skiing to hiking to adventurous sports.

Do you think Italy is a good travel destination for families with kids? What do you like – or not like – about Italy?

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Related

Categories: Italy, Tips & ideas
Tags: Italy for families

About Gretta Schifano

I'm a freelance journalist and blogger specialising in family travel with teenagers, trips when parents manage to travel without their kids, and 50+ travel. I also write about vegetarian travel, parenting teenagers, adoption, SEN, ADHD and anxiety. My work's been published by the Financial Times, Guardian, Independent, National Geographic Traveller, Lonely Planet and others. I've lived and worked in Italy and Spain and am now based in rural south-east England with my husband, adoptive and birth kids and our dog. I previously worked as a social action radio producer for the BBC.

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Comments

  1. Eline @ Pasta & Patchwork says

    September 17, 2014 at 8:30 am

    I’ve found myself nodding along with every point you make! Of course, I’m biased as we’ve relocated to Italy, but I do think you’re right: Italy is a fantastic place for a family holiday. I would add that it’s also quite an economical destination, with many attractions costing less than their equivalent in the UK would.
    Eline @ Pasta & Patchwork recently posted…Meal Planning Monday – 15.09 to 21.09My Profile

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This is a personal blog written and edited by me, Gretta Schifano. Sometimes I’m given products or sent on trips to review, but I always make this clear and give my honest opinion. See my About page for full details.

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