The Real Life in Italy – Détails, épisodes et analyse

How much do you really know about Italian Wine? Truly there is way too much to cover in just a podcast episode (why I took the entire 2 courses to become an Italian Wine Scholar!) But I love wine, and I love telling people about how amazing Italian wine traditions are, so here’s my introduction for you on wine in Italy.

If you’re an expat in Italy, wine probably has become a part of your daily life, even if you aren’t a drinker, you’ll hear about it everywhere, and you’ll need to gift it eventually, it’s a thing.

So here are some great fun facts for you to whip out and impress your Italian and wine friends. This episode explains the DOCG / DOC system, why Prosecco isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and a few of my own favorite wines.

The course I mentioned: https://www.winescholarguild.com/iws-free-chapter Articles about how Prosecco sucks: Soil Erosion - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article 

Pesticides - https://ilsalvagente.it/2019/02/20/ghiaccio-prosecco-e-pesticidi-la-nostra-inchiesta-integrale-su-12-bollicine/ https://www.pan-europe.info/blog/prosecco-story-not-sparkling-wine-local-resistance-against-pesticides

My Favorite Wines: -Franciacorta and Trento DOC -Ruché -Francone Barbera d’Alba Superiore or Michele Chiaro Cipressi Barbera -Pinot Grigio Ramato by Specogna

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

How many times have you walked into an Italian’s home and seen the TV playing during dinner, or just nonstop? Have any of you really figured out what the deal is with Temptation Island?

I had so many questions so I asked Rosa (you know her as Diary of A Dual Citizen) to come on and tell me.

This episode takes a look at the role TV plays in Italian culture, history, and regional identity. Rosa shares her take on Italian TV shows, including reality shows, game shows, and political talk shows. We discuss how traditional TV remains a daily activity among Italians despite the rise of streaming services. Rosa also gives us a little look into the historical impact of Italian TV, particularly the influence of state-sponsored RAI and Berlusconi's Mediaset.

06:40 The Role of TV in Post-War Italy 08:12 RAI: Italy's State-Sponsored TV 11:25 The Rise of Mediaset and Berlusconi's Influence 19:07 Reality TV in Italy: A Cultural Phenomenon 28:04 Political Reshuffling in RAI 28:52 Talk Shows and Age Representation 30:58 Cultural Differences in TV Debates 33:00 Local News vs. National News 36:08 Italian Game Shows 39:57 TV's Role in Italian Households 44:52 Streaming vs. Traditional TV

You can find Rosa at: https://www.instagram.com/diaryofadualcitizen/

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

In this episode of The Real Life in Italy, host Evelyn Hill chats with Jasmine Mah of QuestaDolceVita , explore the experience of being a mom in Italy as a foreigner.

We look at the things we love, and the things we are not crazy about being a mom here in Italy. We talk about cultural differences, challenges, and joys of raising children in Italy.

Topics covered include what we really think of our pediatrician, or what they think of us; the dynamics of raising a bilingual kid, and the Italian approach to maternity leave and daycare. The episode also highlights specific cultural practices like weaning (svezzamento), attitudes towards cleanliness and weight, and the social dynamics of making mom friends.

So if you are a soon-to-be mom or current mom in Italy, tune in to hear shared experiences of expat parenting in Italy. We’d also love you to weigh in on your experience.

Share with us on Instagram, or e-mail at evelyn@collineallemontagne.com

You can find Jasmine here: https://www.instagram.com/questadolcevita/ And Evelyn: www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

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This Episode of The Real Life in Italy was sponsored by Doctorsa.com A network of English speaking doctors in Italy, and Europe, available for in-person or video call appointments 24/7. Find out more: https://bit.ly/DoctorsaRealLife __

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

This week the Real Life in Italy explores the misconceptions and realities of Northern Italy vs Southern Italy. Your host, Evelyn is an american in Italy, located in Piedmont, Northern Italy, and this week I’m joined by Claire, a British expat living in Sicily. We each chose to share 5 stereotypes we hear about North Italy and South Italy, and share our own experiences with them.

Is it true Southern Italy has a lot of crime? Is it true that “everything works” in the North? Ehh, well time to listen and find out!

And of course, we share our daily life experiences as expats in Italy, and the unique charm that both regions of Italy offer. Join us as we explore what sets the North and South apart, debunking myths and revealing what life in these regions looks like.

You can find Claire here:

https://www.youtube.com/@MsBritaly

https://msbritaly.com

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If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

This week on The Real Life in Italy we are back again talking about freelancing in Italy, featuring a discussion with your host Evelyn, and Claudia. We’re sharing our journeys with the partita IVA in Italy, covering key topics like managing taxes, finding clients, and the choice between online platforms and traditional accounting. While our experiences may look different from yours, we hope we can provide other expats in Italy an overview of the challenges and opportunities faced by freelancers in Italy, including practical advice for navigating the Partita IVA, leveraging digital marketing skills, and making informed decisions to succeed in the freelance market.

This episode covers a more casual look at how the Partita IVA has touched our lives as foreigners in Italy, but if you’d like a little more technical idea of how it works, check out last weeks episode “ The Italian Partita IVA: What to know for being self-employed in Italy ”

The incredible online (and in English!) accounting software that Claudia mentions is here:  https://www.xolo.io/it-en?ref=collinemontagne

And it looks like a lifesaver.

You can catch Claudia here:

https://www.ciaobellamedia.com

https://www.instagram.com/_ciaobellamedia/

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If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

Ready for another, more practical, episode of The Real Life in Italy? We’re talking about the Partita IVA, what it is, when you need it, and how it all works.

If you as a foreigner living in Italy, ever had hopes of opening a small business or going freelance in Italy, then you’ll need to get real familiar with this code. The Partita IVA is your tax code that lets you do business in Italy.

We’ll explore the different options of the partita IVA in Italy, what taxes in Italy look like with this code, and a few pros and cons.

Ultimately if you are an expat in Italy looking to open a Partita IVA, or understand it better, the best thing you can do it find a commercialista - an Italian accountant.

As promised in the episode, here’s a resource list for you. If you are looking for an online Italian accounting service in English:  https://www.xolo.io/it-en?ref=collinemontagne

I’ll be back soon with a fellow freelancer in Italy to tell you more about what it’s like working and living in Italy as a freelancer. In the meantime, enjoy.

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

On this episode of The Real Life in Italy, we’re getting into a topic I think is so important to understand: The Mafia in Italy or rather, Italian Organized Crime.

This is a little 101 for you to understand how these organizations operate, where they operate, and who they are. Oh, and how that might effect life for us foreigners living in Italy. Spoiler: You’ll probably never even notice it, but it’s all around.

Expats in Italy seem to have so many misconceptions of the mafia in italy on two extremes: one, that it is dangerous and you should avoid certain areas of Italy at all costs, two that it doesn’t exist. Both are wrong to a certain degree, and that’s exactly what we’ll be covering in this episode. I'll share where you can find the Italian mafia operating well beyond Italy's borders, and give you a quick overview of the main organizations: Cosa Nostra, Camorra, 'Ndrangheta, and the Sacra Corona Unita. While we don't have to be scared while living in Italy, understanding how the mafia exists and operates can help us make better decisions as expats in Italy - and really as general people all over the world. 

Here are some great resources about the mafia in Italy if you would like to learn more:

Books- Midnight in Sicily-Peter Robb Gomorrah- Roberto Saviano The Day of the Owl- Leonardo Sciascia Global Mafia by Antonio Nicaso and Lee Lamothe Excellent Cadavers by Alexander Stille Mafia and Antimafia by Umberto Santino

Movies or Shows:

La Ribelle Siciliana Shooting the Mafia Robinò Excellent Cadavers 1992/1993 100 Passi

News Sites to stay up to date about the Mafia in Italy, and in the world:

The Guardian- covers news very well if you search through their site.

Antimafiaduemilla ___

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

This episode of the Real Life in Italy is answering the question: who the hell were Garibaldi and Cavour anyway?

These names are everywhere we look in Italy. It’s because these two characters were key players in the Italian Unification - the Risorgimento. There’s a long, long history lesson behind that, but today, let’s take it easy and just get to know your new Italian (er or are they French?) friends: Giuseppe Garibaldi and Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour.

I’m joined by fellow American in Italy Verity Pryor-Harden, who just like you was curious about who these men were and what their deal was. Well I’m here to tell you.

Disclaimer, in case you had any doubt: I am far from a historian, I am not an expert. And I am WELL aware the stories of the Risorgimento, Garibaldi, and Cavour go far beyond this 101.

I’m just another expat in Italy, trying to understand Italian culture and history, and make sense of life in Italy.

Welcome to the Real Life in Italy.

00:00 Discovering Italy's Unification Heroes: Garibaldi and Cavour 02:56 Exploring the Risorgimento: Italy's Path to Unification 04:58 Garibaldi's Early Life 17:22 The Expedition of the Thousand: Sicily's Conquest 24:24 Garibaldi's March North: The Conquest of Naples 26:37 Garibaldi's Legacy and the Unification of Italy 27:52 The Rivalry Between Garibaldi and Cavour 31:17 Cavour's Diplomatic Mastery and Reforms 42:55 Cavour's Influence on Italian Wine Culture 46:24 Reflections on Italian Unification and Regional Identities

Want to nerd out some more about Italian Unification, History, and these guys?

Read These:

Pursuit of Italy

The Force of Destiny

Garibaldi Invention of a Hero

You can follow Verity’s adventures in Arezzzo here:

https://www.instagram.com/verityeph/

Learn more about Evelyn at

www.collineallemontagne.com

www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it:

www.buymeacoffee.com/colline

This episode of The Real Life in Italy is all about one of our favorite topics: Coffee in Italy.

Living in Italy coffee probably shows up in your daily life - either you're like me and you're addicted, or it's not your thing but you find yourself trying to navigate the social aspect of it.

Together with our guest Catalin Varela, we’re exploring local coffee culture and what that means to us expats in Italy: how coffee is important to daily life, what our favorite Italian coffee is, and how to navigate the Italian bars as both a foreigner and female.

We’re calling bull on the no cappuccinos after 11 AM and the overpriced coffee of historic cafés. But also, yes we’re telling you how to find Iced Coffee in Italy.

Welcome to the Real Life in Italy.

00:52 Italian Coffee 101  01:55 Exploring Iced Coffee Options in Italy 03:02 The Art of Preparing Coffee in Italy

03:52 Coffee Conversations with Catalin  05:29 Coffee Habits and Socializing in Italy 28:51 Exploring Specialty Coffee and Ditta Artiginale 30:20 Navigating the Coffee Scene as an American in Italy 32:16 The Evolution of Coffee Shops and Their Global Uniformity 32:56 Addressing Sexism in Italian Bar Culture 36:48 The Quirks of Italian Coffee Bars and Payment Customs

38:24 Debating the Quality of Italian Coffee

50:23 Navigating Coffee Culture in Italy: Tips for Newcomers

That pod about Instagrammable Cafés can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/30bpnLx0GKz7ovW8UjtZgA?si=af6d92fa543744a0

Gambero Rosso’s report on coffee in Italy can be read here:

https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/caffe-bar-inchiesta/

You can find Catalin at:

https://www.instagram.com/celiacinitaly/

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

 Thanks for listening to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at  www.collineallemontagne.com www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it: www.buymeacoffee.com/colline 

A bonus bureaucratic episode for you this week. We’re talking all about the Permesso di Soggiorno - the Italian Residence Permit. An essential part of life in Italy as a foreigner, but also our worst nightmare as expats in Italy, and while I admit it can be a boring topic, you need to know about it, and some of the tips shared might just make your next appointment much easier.

I’m covering: what the permesso di soggiorno is, how to apply, and most importantly how to survive your time at the Questura (that’s the immigration office). For those of you who are newly living in Italy, this will help you navigate your first application and your renewals.

Seasoned expats in Italy, I hope you’ll listen as well, and share your Permesso di Soggiorno horror stories for an upcoming listener episode. Share your story here: https://www.speakpipe.com/TheRealLifeinItaly

Citizens, well well well, aren’t you special? I hope you listen in to understand the struggle the rest of us have to face living in Italy. 

If you are more of a visual person, watch me walk through a permesso application here:https://youtu.be/2QcsJJ0YwOk

If you are interested in getting in touch for a consultation, find out more here: https://collineallemontagne.com/move-to-italy-expat-guide/

If you enjoyed the episode, and show, please leave us a 5 ⭐️ rating, it means a lot!

 Welcome to the Real Life in Italy.

This podcast is for foreigners living in Italy, who are all just trying to make sense of it all.

Listen in to learn all about a side of living in Italy everyone else forgot to tell you about. But don’t expect us all to be better, I promise. Expect some good laughs, helpful tips and cultural explanations, and expat stories to remind you that you aren’t alone, and it’ll all work out.

Learn more about Evelyn at  www.collineallemontagne.com www.instagram.com/collinemontagne

You can show your support by buying me a glass of wine, I always appreciate it: www.buymeacoffee.com/colline