“[La bella figura] basically means
that you don't want others, be they strangers or friends, to have a negative
impression of you. .... they must always think you are the tops. This
means bringing for example, cookies to someone's house if you're invited over
for just coffee...that's putting on a bella figura. It means kids always
saying please, thank you and not being wild when visiting others ... this is
bella figura. It means helping or offering your help to neighbours
even if they don't ask for it...that is bella figura.” Expats in Italy
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Rosaria, our friendly landlady, insisted on changing clothes and putting on a touch of make-up
before she had her picture taken. |
I believe that anyone who lives
in or visits Italy experiences la bella figura in one way or another. Perhaps the only exception to this might be
those who, after landing in Rome or Milan take a taxi to the most North
American or British style hotel their travel agent could book for them, eat
only in the hotel restaurant, and take guided tours of the most famous
sites. Then, they cab it back to the
airport, fly home and tell their friends about their wonderful or
not-so-wonderful holiday in Italy. Yet
even these people may have been touched by la bella figura (even though they
haven’t realized it) in their dealings with the hotel staff, the taxi driver,
and the tour guide. It’s a shame that
these tourists don’t understand the concept of la bella figura as they most
certainly make “la brutta figura” – a bad impression. These are the tourists that you can hear
saying things like “This pizza/coffee/pasta isn’t like what we get back home in
Chicago/Toronto/Manchester!” How sad to
come to Italy and not make the most of the experience. Once, when we were visiting Roma, outside the
Colosseum, we saw a group of Americans who were being guarded on all sides by
what were obviously members of the secret service. I have no idea who these people were but I
thought to myself what a restricted view of Italy these people will go home
with!
“I definately see most people
doing their best to be kind, thoughtful, gracious, polite, and helpful.” Expats in Italy
My husband, my daughter and I
have all been grateful recipients of la bella figura. In 2010 we visited Nick’s family in
Sicily.
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| Capizzi |
We drove a windy road up to
Capizzi and went into the town hall where Mimma, Nick’s cousin, worked as the
town clerk. This started a wonderful,
whirlwind day. We were introduced to the
mayor of Capizzi, treated to a delicious seven course meal with family members
that Nick had never heard of before. We
were toured around the town and visited all the churches, saw the home that
Nick’s dad had grown up in, and were invited into the homes of distant
relatives. He was surrounded by people
who came to tell him that they remembered his father or his mother from 55
years before. And every person treated
us with kindness, delight, and joy. We
felt completely and totally welcomed.
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| Mimma and Jackie at lunch |
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| At the end of a huge lunch |
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| Nick's father grew up here. |
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| Friendly neighbours who came out to see the "Capizi boy from Canada". |
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| Nick with two of his elderly cousins. |
Nick and I are active members of
Couchsurfing. In 2010, we couchsurfed
our way from Sicilia to Milano. We were
welcomed into so many homes and treated to so many wonderful experiences. In Agrigento, Marilena and her mother,
Giovanna, took us to the family farm where we picked fruit fresh off the trees.
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| Giovanna picking fresh vegies. |
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| Marilena and her mother Giovanna |
In Catania, Nello toured us through museums
and took us to a jazz concert and later we picked bananas in his garden with his father.
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| Nello and his dad picking bananas. |
In Puglia, Elena and Paolo put us up in a
beautiful trullo and included us in their community and celebrations for their
son’s birthday. Luca, who hosted us in
his house in Padua, gave us one of our best days in Italy, touring us through
all the wonderful backstreets of Venice.
And Matteo in Bergamo treated us to an evening of laughter with his
friends in a pub way out in the middle of farmers’ fields. Every host we had went out of their way to
make our stay with them memorable. Each,
in his or her own way, was the embodiment of la bella figura.
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| Cianciana |
Last summer, in Cianciana, we
witnessed la bella figura every day. In
the evenings, people dressed their best and did passeggiata (a slow stroll) up
and down the main street. Bars placed
tables and chairs on the sidewalks and they were filled all night as the
visitors and Ciancianese alike watched the unofficial parade fill the street. More than once we were invited for coffee or
a drink because in Cianciana they say, “the visitor never pays”.
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| Gaetano invited us for a coffee at the Antico Bar Trieste as we watched the passeggiata. |
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| A youth group entertains the people strolling along the street. |
Over and over the people in Cianciana treated
us with grace, kindness and helpfulness.
When we told our friends and coworkers in Canada that we were planning
on buying and renovating a house in Sicily, so many of them told us we were
crazy and that we would be cheated out of our hard earned money. Instead we found a realtor and a contractor
who were honest and transparent in all their dealings with us.
Please don’t misunderstand
me. There are things that that are
annoying and frustrating in Sicily too.
When Nick and I made our bank account we had to sign a stack of papers
at least an inch thick. As I mentioned
in several earlier posts, driving can be hair-raising. Gas is ridiculously expensive. People crowd together on beaches and yell
back and forth. But for every difficult
moment there are ten joyful ones.
Researching and writing this post
has been a real learning experience.
Nick and I have been such grateful recipients of la bella figura that we
both want to make sure we make la bella
figura ourselves.
