Why are people in Florence,ITALY so NASTY?

Question

I went to Florence, Italy found the people to be very rude and nasty and mean.. I am a stylish New Yorker and was starred down, given dirty looks and some lady made a look of disgust while i was talking. Whats their problem? I've been to Paris, London, and Germany and had no problems at all.
Whats wrong with them?

I did nothing wrong and had no attitude. I mind my own business, dress very well and conservative....for example. Me and my husband sat down for dinner, speaking quietly, a large group next to us kept starring at us in disgust the entire time. Obviously its because we are American and they heard the accent.. Another time we had dinner, a man and his wife both would not stop starring at me even when i starred back, they would not back down.. I enocuntered this alot, someone is starring at me, i stare back, they will keep starring and not stop.. Nobody does that in the US, its beyond rude..
ANother time I was at a musuem, as soon as I started talking, a lady turned around and gave me a dirty look and acted like she wanted to hit me.. Obviously these people have a problem with Americans and are very racist!!!
I have been to Rome and did not encounter this problem.

Answer 1

You know the same happened to me. I got hassled, got starred down, people spit at me, I felt nervous walking around... in the Bronx, in parts of Manhattan and of Chicago, LA, Atlanta, Tucson.... Just where did you go in Florence? Did you take a bad attitude with you - were you trying to be a New York City bad ars? Do you know what an ugly American is? Did you try to play the role?
I've been in and out of Italy for the past 27 years (and have travelled most of Europe and the US) and have really never seen, heard or had an experience such as yours. I cannot apologize for how you were treated but I would ask you to try Italy again - of course not Florence where you had a bad experience. Contact me and I'll give you some tips and maybe help you change your mind on Italy.

NB - there is a difference between racism and being prejudice - let's try to use the correct terms here.
1. There is a growing prejudice against Americans and not only in Florence but throughout Europe... and we're going to have to live with this until a new Administration takes over and starts a healing process with our allies and non.
2. I've said it before and I'll say it again - "Italians stare". They look at you and won't stop. This is why we (Americans & Italians) are culturally different. Maybe in other countries you would have been asked to put a scarf on your head. When you go abroad you leave your country to encounter new cultures - new manners of interaction. Hey, as long as they don't drool at you while they stare then you are safe! Kidding aside. They stare and it used to bother me... I'm from NYC and you wouldn't dare stare at anyone there. You even wear sun glasses on a cloudy so no one can see your eyes.
3. Keep your paranoia in check... No one in Florence was out to spite or hurt you. There are more Brits and Americans in center city Florence on a summer day than there are Florentines. Hey, maybe the people sitting next to you in the restaurant were French. Maybe the person who gave you the dirty look in the museum was Canadian.
4. Finally – do you understand any Italian? Can you speak some? Do you speak any foreign language? I mean you have traveled so much and are such a sophisticated person. Well if you can speak something other than English then you should know that different peoples have different modes of expressing themselves... this alone should placate you, it should make you realize that we are all just a tad different and therefore all special in our own ways and therefore be respected (the same way you command respect).

I just seem to think that you were just terribly unlucky on your sojourn to Florence – your karma was off, you traveled not according to your biorhythms.

Answer 2

Population Of Florence Italy

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why are people in Florence,ITALY so NASTY?
I went to Florence, Italy found the people to be very rude and nasty and mean.. I am a stylish New Yorker and was starred down, given dirty looks and some lady made a look of disgust while i was talking. Whats their problem? I've been to Paris, London, and Germany and had no problems at...

Answer 4

Florence Population

Answer 5

Florence is a beautiful city - having spent 3 months living there I have seen the attitudes both good and bad italians have towards tourists. I am afraid to say that as a very rough generalisation, many europeans have a problem with americans. My florida born bloke had to endure a lot of questions and scorn at the beginning of his time living in the city. People do recognise american accents too, but as another replyee has said, people dont generally speak amazing English so its unlikely to be what you were saying.
Tourism is a very big industry in florence, and I also get the impression that a lot of people realise the need for this industry but dont generally like that fact or that there are hoardes of people tramping all over florence all the time. Considering its such a small city, there are millions of people at any one time trying to be there. Thats all I can offer I am afraid, but I wouldnt take it personally, Italians by their nature stare a whole lot and frequently check you out and stare as you walk past - more likely to be judging outfit that you!

Answer 6

I live in Italy and been to Florence many times and have never had this problem. Maybe you are looking to much into them or it was some thing you where doing. If you trying to speak Italian and you used a wrong word meaning something else maybe you pissed someone off. I don't know.

Answer 7

I went to Italy last year in the summer and I did not seem to have the same experience you did. I went to Florence, Capri, Positano (absolutely beautiful), Rome and Tuscany as well as the Amalfi Coast. Everyone was so nice. I have a disability as well and I was worried they would treat me badly but they did not. I did see so much poverty in the streets all over Florence. They gypsy type women and their children were constantly begging for money. Made the mistake of giving a gypsy child 5 euros and they a whole group of them started to hound me. I am sorry you had that experience but I would not say I was ever treated badly at all in any part of Italy and I was there for two weeks.

Answer 8

When I was there everyone minded their own buisness and were very polite and nice. If you live in New York than you are used to living in an area where they dont sugar coat things and they speak their minds. Maybe Florence was having a bad day ;-)
I hope that didnt ruin Italy for you.

Answer 9

I just returned from a trip to Italy via the Disney Cruise Line.

I'm not sure what you may have seen, but our tour guides did a great job letting us know ahead of time what to expect at certain markets/locations, with everyone yelling, pushing, or running around. Our tour guides actually told us to make a game of it..."don't afraid to be rude yourself...everyone is that way". I kind of found it fun to yell back at some of these vendors.

Or maybe we just got lucky and viewed them as an intersting part of Italian culture....we enjoyed seeing the hustle of Palermo, Naples, Rome, and Florence.

Answer 10

I live in NJ and been to Italy about 9 times and out of that Ive been to Florence 3 times. Never encountered any problems as the matter of fact i was treated with nothing but respect.
I would go there again any time!
It must be you with the problem. Did you expect them to speak to you in english? Did you try speaking italian? did you compare what you saw there with here?
Oh and for that person that thinks europeans love dollars? Well obviously they havent seen the exchange rate.. The us dollar doesnt have much worth.