Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ultimately sustain your family. Yet
fare bella figura
(making a good impression) goes bey-
ond a well-kept house, extending to dressing well, behaving modestly, performing reli-
gious and social duties and fulfilling all essential family obligations. In the context of the
extended family, where gossip is rife, a good image protects one's privacy.
Neapolitan families are still among Italy's largest; their average size is 2.87, compared
to 2.44 in Rome, 2.15 in Milanand 2.19 in Turin. It's still the norm to live at home until
you marry and one-third of husbands still visit their mothers every day. While many of
these will have a bowl of their favourite pasta waiting for them, some will also have their
laundry freshly washed and ironed. According to a 2009 report by the Uomini Casalinghi
(The Italian Association of Househusbands), 95% of Italian men have never turned on a
washing machine, and 70% of them have never used a stove. Indeed, a survey released by
the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) in 2010 found
that Italian men enjoy almost 80 more minutes of leisure time daily than their female
counterparts. Ironically, a narrow job market has seen women's time in education
lengthen. According to figures released by Italy's bureau of statistics, Istat, in 2008, enrol-
ment in tertiary education in Campania was 47.9% for women, and 35.1% for men. Wo-
men also out-performed their fellow male students on the graduation front, with 40.6% of
university-enrolled females obtaining a basic degree, compared to 29.4% of male stu-
dents.
Yet, while women are moving forward,
obstacles remain. Men continue to receive
roughly 10% more in their pay packet than
their female colleagues, while some employers
still see women as a risk, likely to ditch their
jobs to raise a family. Add a largely ineffective
childcare system and the juggling of work, and
motherhood becomes a rather stressful act for
In interactions with locals, ocus on the posit-
ives. Although Neapolitans regularly lament
their city's shortcomings, jibes from a
straniero
(foreigner) can cause offence.
many Neapolitan women.
IN FOOTBALL WE TRUST
Catholicism may be Italy's official faith, but its true religion is
calcio
(football). On any given week-
end from late August to May, you'll find millions of
tifosi
(football fans) at the
stadio
(stadium), glued
to the television, or checking the score on their mobile phone. Naples is no exception: the city is home
to southern Italy's most successful team (Napoli) and the country's third largest stadium (Stadio San
