Some expected it, some didn’t. Research conducted by Preply – a language e-learning platform – interviewed 1,558 inhabitants of 19 large Italian cities, asking them to rate the frequency of twelve behaviors considered rude in daily life. The result sees Venice in first place, followed by Catania in second and Parma in third. Fourth position for Milan, Brescia fifth and Rome in sixth place. Genoa, Trieste, Turin and Taranto close the top ten.
Venice in first place
The less than honorable winner is Venice, with an average rudeness score of 6.55 out of 10.
A fact which, when you think about it, is surprising to a certain point, given that the historic center of the Serenissima, with less than 60,000 residents always in close contact with tourists (we are talking about around 13 million annual visitors) is configured as a real laboratory of social tensions that are difficult to ignore. Queue jumping and not respecting other people’s space are the behaviors most reported by Venetians.
Rome and central south
In Rome, in sixth position with an average rudeness score of 6.26 out of 10, however, the most criticized behaviors concern the prolonged use of mobile phones in public, excessive noise in crowded places and the lack of propensity, in traffic, to give way. Three habits which, upon closer inspection, are common to many Italian metropolises, not just the capital.
Perhaps the most counter-intuitive data concerns the cities of the South: Naples and Palermo, always in the crosshairs of stereotypes on incivility, are both below the national average, among the least rude in the sample. At the other end of the ranking, Padua wins the title of most polite city, with a score of 5.18. Followed by Florence, Modena and Verona.
The complete research can be consulted on the Preply website:
