One of the most important aspects of Italian life and culture is food. A history of food insecurity and a disjointed nation has led Italians to placing great importance on cooking and eating. There are strict times for eating certain meals, and various rules pertaining to the foods that can be eaten depending on the context. The hardest part to adjust to are the late dinner times, often starting around 7:30 or 8pm. Many restaurants close their kitchens between lunch and dinner, reopening only hours later.
Back home, I can usually find food options open at any time of the day, regardless of when certain meals are typically served. If I arrive at a restaurant at 3 in the afternoon, I will likely be able to eat a late lunch. This is not the case here in Florence. When my roommate and I are looking for a place to eat, we tend to check online to see what time they open. The earliest most restaurants begin serving dinner is around 7 and lunch is oftentimes only served until 2. American culture is very individualistic and focused on the self. We expect businesses to serve us because it fits into our schedule. There is a different approach to service in Florence, with historical reasons behind late dinner times. Italian culture values family, so a late dinner time allows working parents to arrive at home and eat a meal with their family. The United States does not have this same approach to family, usually putting work over quality time. A family dinner isn’t one of the top priorities in American daily life.
So far, my main strategies have been to double check the opening hours of restaurants when I decide to eat out. This allows me to know exactly which locations are open for dinner and to plan my evening around that meal. Alternatively, I can start cooking more meals in my apartment which would allow me to eat whenever I decide to. The biggest issue in the first couple weeks was adjusting to the late dinner times, especially since I would eat lunch relatively early. Over time, I have been able to get used to this new schedule and will sometimes eat something in between meals or partake in aperitivo.
