From tourist to critic
I read something on social media today about why tourists love Italy so much.
To answer this question, I’d say that Italy, at first sight, is fascinating. That’s why tourists — including me — keep going back.
But if you get to know Italy more deeply, you start to see it with more clarity. Your perspective might even shift. For example, I first went there in 1995, when I was working at the children’s book fair in Bologna. I had the chance to travel from the north to the south, but all in a short and somewhat rushed period.
When I got back home, I started learning the language and returned in 1997 — and in many of the years that followed. I even stayed in Rome and Milan for longer stretches to attend language schools and study the language and other things that interested me.
Over the years, I also made some friends. As I got to know the country better, I couldn’t help but criticize it — just as I do with my own. I remember the last time I did that (though it wasn’t really harsh criticism) was in 2021, when I reposted and agreed with an Italian writer’s remarks about certain traits in Italian people. One Italian friend, who had once been very close to me, blocked me because of it.
After that, I wouldn’t say my “Italian dream” is broken, but over time, I’ve come to see it more as just another country on Earth. Even so, I’ve never stopped learning the Italian language — because what really interests me is, and has always been, the language itself. While many people fall in love with Italy as they learn the language or travel there, I never did. I’ve never fallen in love with a country I don’t belong to.
To answer this question, I’d say that Italy, at first sight, is fascinating. That’s why tourists — including me — keep going back.
But if you get to know Italy more deeply, you start to see it with more clarity. Your perspective might even shift. For example, I first went there in 1995, when I was working at the children’s book fair in Bologna. I had the chance to travel from the north to the south, but all in a short and somewhat rushed period.
When I got back home, I started learning the language and returned in 1997 — and in many of the years that followed. I even stayed in Rome and Milan for longer stretches to attend language schools and study the language and other things that interested me.
Over the years, I also made some friends. As I got to know the country better, I couldn’t help but criticize it — just as I do with my own. I remember the last time I did that (though it wasn’t really harsh criticism) was in 2021, when I reposted and agreed with an Italian writer’s remarks about certain traits in Italian people. One Italian friend, who had once been very close to me, blocked me because of it.
After that, I wouldn’t say my “Italian dream” is broken, but over time, I’ve come to see it more as just another country on Earth. Even so, I’ve never stopped learning the Italian language — because what really interests me is, and has always been, the language itself. While many people fall in love with Italy as they learn the language or travel there, I never did. I’ve never fallen in love with a country I don’t belong to.
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