About La Passeggiata.

You make it sounds so intimidating, Francis. I wasn't thinking so much about ritual when I was strolling arm-in-arm with my husband or sitting on the Spanish Steps listening to the drunken Italian college kids singing. I was just soaking in the beautiful Roman evening and relishing being in Italy with someone I love!

Francis is not talking about an evening stroll but the Italian custom of just about the whole town/village turning out in the cool of the evening to meet and greet their neighbours. It also has a more or less defined start and finish time.

A sign of the times, we have witnessed teenagers talking to each other on their cellphones whilst strolling with their parents, often only yards apart!

sorry Francis...but you sound a tad ridiculous..."The Passeggiata is about showing off how good life has been to you"...."Dress well"...seriously? You have the entire "meaning" wrong if you ask me. Yes...it is about seeing your friends and neighbors and socializing...but, please do remember that, in many places in Italy, "life" has NOT "been good" to many people in a materialistic sense! That does not mean they do not fare in giro...in our town (as in most), the main street is shut down to traffic at 7pm on Sundays and everyone is out...we're out too...and, trust me, I do not go get all dressed up in my finest to do so....I think, honestly, I would be very out of place in most towns if I did; many Italians are very modest (economically)...so...yes...you are right, people do dress up in "nice" clothes - just as I would do here going out to dinner in the US (for example) and stroll around...and maybe get a drink or ice cream and it is social...but, I certainly have never felt out of place in my American duds. I certainly would not characterise it as "formal" - perhaps it is in some places, but I would be hesitant to generalize about the entire country! as for the "show off your wife" part???! I won't even go there.

Well, I don't know where you're from, but it appears to some of us they DO dress well compared to the typical street wear in some parts of this continent. Note that dressing well does not mean "dressing up."

No offense, but average Italian streetwear is pretty snappy compared to Eugene, Oregon...

Ouch. Someone is going to be mad at me for that.

ok. didn't mean to come off so strong - I just find it a lovely time of day and very enjoyable...and Francis really made it sound like some sort of exclusive club (IMHO) - I live in the NY area -I would not wear anything different in Italy than I do in NYC...actually...I dress down more in Italy because I'm on vacation :-) never been to Oregon, so I don't know what they wear there. I do think dressing as if you are meeting friends for a drink...or going out to dinner, etc. is about right (and, I assume, people in Oregon don't wear gym-wear or anything to go grab a glass of wine) - I stroll around town in jeans if I happen to be wearing them...quite frankly, everyone in town knows I am American...I'm not trying to hide it...no one minds (I'm not talking about running around in sweat pants or anything...hehehe...although, now that I think about it...I have seen many an Italian tourist in New York and Dublin running around in polyester track suits...so I don't really think anyone is that judgmental - people everywhere understand being on vacation!) and I certainly meet up with and socialize with many locals. I guess my main point though is that not all of Italy is Rome (as it was the town mentioned)...Rome is VERY wealthy and people there DO "dress up" MUCH, MUCH more than in the countryside or small towns...especially in the South. Someone from a small Campanian town (for example) would not dress up anything like the Romans or Milanese! La passeggiata is not just in the large cites - happens in towns large and small all over the country.

I almost asked if you were from NYC!

I wasn't offended by your post, just pointing out why some of us from slobbier parts of the country do feel the need to dress better than we do at home.

I suspect you will be overdressed if you ever visit Eugene :->

Someone from Eugene deserves to call me out..If it helps, we're just about as bad in Northern CA

Since Oregon sartorial standards have been mentioned thrice, I can confirm your worst suspicions: Oregon is pretty much a sweats, ballcap, and running shoes kinda place (with Oregon's very own Nikes being de rigeur). We'd wear shorts but it gets chilly with rain sluicing off legs that haven't seen the sun in months. But show some respect for Eugene, home of the Ducks. And Oregon Public Broadcasting is one of Rick's oldest and best broadcast friends.

There is also an excellent selection of tie-dyed tee shirts for the those with discriminating fashion tastes.

I've been to Italy for a total of seven weeks, staying in maybe 15 different places, large and small, and I don't recognize Francis's scenario. It's definitely a social time, but it's not about showing off.

I have to agree with Casa - When I first saw it, I thought Francis' tone was a tad smug. And I don't know where the perceived "confusion" originates. It hasn't been an issue here.

Kent is right, dress in Eugene (and Portland) is quite casual. And still tie-died after all these years.

Except for those who wear no clothes...

now I'm feeling the urge to get out there and visit Eugene!

Let me say, first, that I absolutely LOVE Italia and the passeggiata--but all marketing and romantic notions of Italy, aside, what I love about it is the simplicity: neighbors turning out for an evening stroll together, just to touch base, every night. It's really nothing more than that...and nothing less.

Well, that brings a whole new meaning to being overdressed in Eugene.

I'm not joking...

Come to the Oregon Country Fair!

Though Francis is surely welcome to dress up in his best and show off his wife...

Sorry for apparently being entirely wrong. :)

http://goitaly.about.com/od/italytravelglossary/g/passeggiata.htm

http://www.fineliving.com/fine/adventure/article/0,,FINE_1403_2841848,00.html

It has been my experience to agree with some the above website content. And this was reinforced through conversations with locals that recognized the effort NOT to be Ugly Americans.

But I feel ya...
As a Representative of Eugene, it would be best if I left behind the fine Italian silks and woolens and pack more fleece, cargo shorts and possibly a hand made, felt, tie dyed cap, bartered for, 15 years ago at a Greatful Dead concert; when we go back in September.

Gotta find me a vintage "Pre" t-shirt.

Love you all.

No matter the dress, I will show off my wife: She is the most beautiful spirit I have ever met.

I say work it Francis! Leave the fleece in Eugene! Honestly though, I think it depends where and when you do the passeggiata. You walk Via del Corso in Rome on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, you go to see and be seen, and I believe it is like that in most of Italy. Ironically it is in some of the smaller towns where I have seen people the most dressed up, especially the small towns around Rome. Where I live in Northern Italy people make an effort to look nice any time they go into the center, sometimes to the point where I feel like saying, "We aren't in Via Montenapoleone in Milan, you can leave the designer coat at home." In general though the passeggiata is a time to window shop, see what everyone else is wearing, and hoping you might run into someone you know. It's one of the nice things about living in Italy.

I've worked Energy Park at the legendary Oregon Country Fair for many years. Well, my younger years. I've seen first hand what happens when it stops raining and the sun comes out in Oregon. People take leave of their senses. Um, and sometimes their clothes.

OK. OK. Thanks everyone for your indulgence of my frivolous contributions to this thread. Doug started it!
I will stop now. You can PM me for OCF stories.