Eating habits of Italians

In Campania the swimming season is quite long, usually it’s possible to take the sea baths from begging of May till the end of October. August is the hottest month and the only desire is to stay inside the sea all the day long. Only when waking up in early mornings it’s possible to enjoy some fresh air, that’s why my favorite part of the day in summer in Naples was breakfast time.

Typical Italian breakfast consists of croissant and the small cup of espresso, but I preferred to mix the salads from season fruits and nuts. For me it was a great opportunity, because in Russia fruits and vegetables are much more expensive and not so tasty. For my Erasmus time I totally forgot about cereals and porridge which is my usual morning meal in Saint-Petersburg.

From early childhood my parents taught me that breakfast is the most important meal to receive energy for a whole day, but in Naples this rule doesn’t work. Neapolitan can miss breakfast, but the dinner has to be heavy. Amount of food taken during the day should increase, that’s why dinner rarely consists of only one plate. After the main dishes locals prefer to eat some fruits or sweets.

Another interesting particularity is precise time for every meal. Average Italian can be late for business meeting, but when it concerns the food, time is sacred. Lunch should take place at 13:30, give or take one hour. And it’s better to follow it, because after 3 p.m. almost all the gastronomic points are closed and after a long search you will have to satisfy yourself with burger from McDonalds. Not bad, but in Italy you can find better places!

Italian dinner takes place around 9 p.m. without serious time deviations as well. For instance, if Italian will see you eating at 7:30 p.m., he could get really confused. Lunch time passed long time ago, it’s still a plenty of time till 9 p.m. So every meal should have its own name!

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