It's an unpleasant place. Very isolated in character and practical terms from even the closest neighbours. Suspicious and dismissive of anything other than their own very local way of thinking, even within the country. People are angrier and ruder than in most other places you know, based on your list.<p>Let's not get started on daily life in Rome and other filthy, permanently badly managed Italian cities -- of which Milan might be an exception at times.<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/opinion/the-filthy-metaphor-of-rome.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/opinion/the-filthy-metaph...</a><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/10/rome-rubbish-crisis-italy-eu-sanctions" rel="nofollow">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/10/rome-rubbish-c...</a><p><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/in-rome-the-exploding-buses-have-nothing-to-do-with-terror-20180511-p4zemn.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/in-rome-the-exploding-bu...</a><p>Etc. I could add links in other languages from Le Monde ( France ), El País ( Spain ), and pretty much any other country bordering or nearby for you to see what they say. Ask a Swiss, an Austrian, or a Slovene how it feels entering Italian roads when crossing the border. If I add my own life long experiences and expand on character and moral compass, or pride in one own's work, I'd be downvoted to oblivion and accused of making things up.<p>Services, transportation, infrastructure, business, food scene, daily life, safety, everything is lacking, everything's generally uncomfortable, unsettling, aggressive, and I suppose tourists don't stay long enough to see the worst, dazzled by art and ancient culture on display everywhere.<p>Edit : What Tucci ( or Clooney, who famously owns a house in Como and is so proud of his children speaking Italian ) say or show about Italy is not relevant or true to life. They literally make up stories for a living, act to make you feel what they want viewers to feel. They also live in a rich person's bubble and see what they want to see only. My family is in the same bubble, and good grief, is it mind-blowing when you peek out of it into real Italy.