10 Italian Habits That Changed My Life
- Amby Mathur
- 9 hours ago
- 10 min read
When I first moved to Italy, I thought I was coming for the adventure, culture, and my love for a boy.
And yes… those things absolutely delivered.
But what I didn’t expect was that living in Italy would completely change the way I move through everyday life.
The longer you live here, the more you realize something subtle but powerful: Italians approach life differently. Not necessarily slower, not necessarily easier… just more intentionally.
Little habits begin to reshape your day without you even noticing.
You start lingering longer at the café. You stop rushing dinner. You learn that some things simply shouldn’t be optimized.
And before you know it, you’ve absorbed a few Italian lifestyle habits that make life feel richer.
Here are ten Italian habits that quietly changed my life.
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1. Starting the Day at the Bar (Yes, Really)
In Italy, the day doesn’t start with a rushed coffee gulped while answering emails.
It starts at the bar- which is what we call our cafes here in Italy.
You step inside, order a cappuccino (and a cornetto if you're feeling indulgent), stand at the counter, and take five minutes to just exist.
No multitasking.
No laptop.
Just coffee, a pastry, and the gentle chaos of the morning crowd.
It sounds simple, but it changes the entire rhythm of your day. Instead of starting stressed, you start present.
2. The Italian Habit of Walking Everywhere
Before moving to Italy, walking was something I did for exercise.
In Italy, walking is just… life.
You walk to the bakery, the frutivendolo (produce shop), the café, aperitivo with friends.
Suddenly your day naturally includes 6,000–10,000 steps without trying.
And something magical happens when you walk through beautiful places every day:
You notice the light hitting the buildings.
You appreciate the laundry blowing in the breeze.
You greet the same shopkeepers, and learn their names too.
You even learn the names of the dogs in the neighborhood!
Walking becomes less about fitness and more about being part of a place.
Want to make walking more a part of your daily routine? You might want to check out the Oura ring. It's a fashionable accessory that tracks your steps, sleep, and a whole lot more.
3. Buying Food Fresh (Almost Daily)
The Italian kitchen philosophy is simple: fresh ingredients make better food. I went from doing my weekly Sunday Costco run, to a daily frutivendolo run.
Instead of one massive grocery haul for the week, many Italians stop by the market almost every day, and it's typically more than one stop. I have my frutivendolo for fresh fruits and veggies, my local forno for fresh bread and chitchat with the baker aka my bestie Luciana (she calls me her figlia adottiva 'adopted daughter'), and the market for my grocery staples. Oh, and our dog has her favorite macelleria (the local butcher.)
At first I did small daily grocery runs in Italy because I didn't have a car, and I literally had no other way of getting my food. Several years later, however, I have a car, yet I still prefer to walk to my local vendors for smaller grocery runs. Sure, it may be less efficient, but it's more fun! And my food tastes great, because my ingredients are always fresh.
Looking to bring la dolce vita to your kitchen? Check out this cute cotton lemon apron!
4. Long Lunches (Especially on Sundays)
Sunday lunch with Family in Italy is practically a sacred ritual.
Every Sunday, from 12pm-4pm in Napoli, the usually chaotic streets clear as everyone gathers at home with family and friends for lunch.
The table fills with wine, pane, antipasti, primi, secondi, dolce, and then caffe. We have at least three courses, and no one rushes. After a proper lunch that lasts two to three hours, we enter a food comatose state and fall asleep on the couch. Upon awaking, we might have yet ANOTHER caffe, and then go for a passieggata (more on that below.)
In a modern-day culture obsessed with productivity, this might seem indulgent. But it creates something incredibly valuable: time together.
Planning an Italian Sunday lunch? Check out this hand-painted ceramic serving bowl and pasta bowl set.
5. Dressing Well Every Day
One thing I noticed quickly when I moved to Italy is that Italians rarely dress sloppy, even for normal daily errands. My mother-in-law is a fashion QUEEN and I always admire her outfit every time I visit.
In Italy, you’ll see people picking up groceries in tailored coats, beautiful boots, or a perfectly draped scarf.
It’s not about being flashy, it's about presenting yourself with care.
As a California girl who grew up walking around in athleisure and sometimes just a bathing suit, towel, and flip flops, it has taken me years to improve my closet and fashion taste. However, slowly but surely, a nice camel coat here, classic loafers there, I'm starting to feel more polished in my daily life.
Now, when I go back to visit California, strangers stop me on the street and compliment me on my outfit! It makes me feel proud, and like I'm slowly evolving to be "That Girl." Granted, no one stops and compliments me in Italy, because we're all stylish, but I'll celebrate whatever wins I can get.
6. The Italian Passeggiata
Following up on what I mentioned while speaking of long lunches, one of my favorite Italian traditions is the passeggiata.
In the mornings and evenings, many Italians step outside for a stroll. Not for exercise.
Not for errands. Just to see friends, chat, and enjoy the evening air.
Couples walk arm in arm. Families bring their kids. Grandparents sit on benches. And of course, dogs greet their furry friends.
It’s essentially a daily social ritual. When you participate in it, you realize how much community matters to everyday happiness.
7. Taking Food Seriously (Like, really seriously.)
I was once at a dinner party when I a very heated argument broke out in Italian amongst the adults. I was concerned, thinking there was something wrong. Then, I actually listened to what they were saying, and I realized the source of this VERY passionate argument: Should mozzarella be served with or without liquid? The consensus? With liquid. (In Italy, fresh mozzarella is served in a big bowl in a liquid that is a mixture of water and latticello, a serum derived from the coagulation of the mozzarella itself.
Another common occurrence, that is SO Italian, is discussing a past or future meal while you are currently eating a different meal. It happens all the time, and it cracks me up.
Italians love food, but in a very different way than diet culture. Meals are balanced, portions are reasonable, and dessert is often enjoyed without guilt. It’s one of the healthiest relationships with food I’ve ever seen. There’s no obsession with calorie counting, there's no avoiding carbs like the plague. Instead, there is a deep respect for quality ingredients and traditional recipes.
Additionally, Italians do NOT believe in shortcuts when preparing a dish. When we were first dating, Marco (my now husband) and I had an argument about a caprese cake. He wanted to go to the store and buy blanched almonds to crush for the cake. I, at the time, could not comprehend why we would go through that extra step, when we could simply purchase blanched almond flour. Marco then yelled, "Either we follow the recipe, or we don't make the cake." That night, we did not make the cake.
However, a year later, I became an apprentice at my local bakery, and I now proudly make a delicious Caprese cake. I have even bought almonds and individually blanched each one by hand, before grinding it for the batter (0/10 don't recommend, just buy blanched almonds.)
8. Prioritizing Beauty
Italians are serious about beauty. Not just in their own appearance (although there are at least 10 beauty salons on my street alone,) but also in the way they decorate their homes, dress the table, and design their little terrace gardens.
When we were moving into our first apartment together, Marco and I needed a dining table. I suggested, "Why don't we just go to Ikea and buy one?"
Marco instead found an abandoned piece of alpine marble in a basement, took it to a marble worker to smoothen and gloss up, and then commissioned an artist to create a custom table base for the marble to rest upon. That table took months to make, and for a while there, we had no table.
But when it arrived? It was gorgeous (and extremely heavy, I still have no idea how the men were able to lift it up the tiny stairwell and through the small doorway into our 1 bedroom apartment.) We have since moved homes, and the table has moved with us. It is not just a table, it is also an art piece, and tells a story. I am confident that this table will be with us for many years to come, and I am grateful for the lesson that it taught me in beauty over a quick solution. That brings me to my next point...
9. Quality Over Convenience
America is all about convenience. We go to Target, and we can be 99% sure that we will be able to purchase whatever we need, and then some. I can get a treadmill, a fishing pole, a tortilla blanket, cat toys, and almond milk all in the same store visit.
But in Italy, we have a completely different approach. The vendors are all hyper-focused. The bakery sells bread. The fish seller sells fish. The fabric store sells fabric. The cleaning supplies store sells cleaning supplies. You see where I'm getting at? Your errands will take you longer, but you can be confident that you are buying a quality product from a vendor who is passionate and an expert about that specific product.
Last month, the handle of our moka pot broke off, after hundreds of coffees and years of use. I suggested to Marco that perhaps our moka pot had run its course, and we should purchase a new one. He said "No! You're so American! You just want to throw everything away! We will buy a new handle and replace it."
I was shocked. I had no idea that they sold replacement handles for moka pots! But I walked to the store that day, a tiny store that specializes in useful things for the home, and sure enough, I was able to find a replacement handle for our moka pot. Marco replaced it, and we're still using our moka pot today! It's a cute little cow print moka pot, I made coffee in it this morning.
Want to bring the ritual of Italian caffe into your home? Check out this cute Moka pot, (Stovetop Espresso Maker), my favorite coffee, and espresso cup set.
10. My Favorite Italian Habit: Il Dolce Far Niente (The Sweetness of Doing Nothing)
One of the most beautiful Italian concepts I’ve learned is il dolce far niente, which literally translates to the sweetness of doing nothing. Italians take this idea very seriously.
When I first moved here, it honestly confused me. I came from a culture where weekends were for catching up- catching up on emails, errands, projects, side hustles, life admin. Saturday and Sunday were basically just extensions of the workweek. Even when I was technically “relaxing,” my mind was still racing through a to-do list.
But in Italy, weekends feel different.
People truly unplug. Sunday in particular has a sacred kind of energy. Shops close. Families gather. Long lunches stretch into the afternoon. People nap, go for a stroll, sit in the piazza with a coffee, or simply spend hours talking with friends. No one seems stressed about productivity, and nothing feels rushed. In summer this is taken to a whole other level, as Italians will spend a whole day lying on a boat doing literally nothing but basking in the sun, and then stop working for the whole month of August (and some Italians start their 1.5 month vacation in mid July.)
At first, I struggled with it. I’d find myself reaching for my laptop on Sunday afternoons, feeling like I should be doing something more productive. Lying on a boat all day drove me CRAZY. Like what do you mean were going on a boat to go nowhere?
But slowly, something shifted. I started leaving my laptop closed on weekends. I started bringing a book to the boat, content to do nothing but read, snack, and swim for the day.
Surprisingly, this habit of doing less made my life feel fuller. Rest stopped feeling like wasted time and started feeling like part of a balanced life.
Now weekends are truly my time to unplug, recharge, and enjoy the small pleasures that make up la dolce vita. Because sometimes the most productive thing you can do… is absolutely nothing.
Final Thoughts
Living in Italy didn’t just teach me how to make pasta or drink better coffee.
It taught me how to live with more intention.
Many of these Italian habits are incredibly simple, but together they create a lifestyle that feels more joyful, social, and balanced. The best part? You don’t need to move to Italy to adopt them.
You can start tomorrow: sip coffee while looking at the sun, go on a walk without your cell phone, cook a meal with fresh produce.
Sometimes the biggest life changes come from the smallest daily habits.
Un bacio,
Amby
PS. While you don't need to move to Italy to adopt these habits, I understand if you're curious about moving to Italy after reading this blog post! Click here to get my free Move to Italy Step-by-Step Guide.
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