An Italian Paradox

Order, sit back, relax. Linger over your appertivo. Meander through an antipasto, savor your primo with or without a secundo. Dawdle through a dolce. Sip a caffe’. No waiter will hover. No guest will glare. Dinng in Italy is a sublimely leisurely experience. You set the pace and let the meal unfold.

Yet, just mix a steering wheel with that gracious, relaxed Italian vibe and Kaboom! You create a raging maniac on wheels! How can this be! The same genial fellow who sits two hours or more over a meal, sounds his horn even just as a light turns, so impatient is he to rush to the next light!

To call Italian drivers inpatient is like saying the sun is a bit warm. It matters not if the driver is on a motorbike, in a car or driving a bus. If there’s an Italian behind you, just know you’re going too slowly- regardless your speed. How do you know? Because if you a glance in your rear view mirror, you’ll catch a glimse of a stranger who is so close he might as well be in your back seat!

I’ve imagined an Italian driving exam tests a unique skill set. Tailgating 6 inches behind a car? Check! Passing on a curve? Check! Passing two cars, 2 cyclists and a bus? Check! A special requirment for bus drivers- can you have an animated conversation on your mobile phone while negotiating hairpin turns?

Then, the other day I think I had the only bus driver who might have failed the special skills exam. or maybe he wasn’t Italian. Two motorcycles and three cars passed us on the way to Greve. He was going too slow!