Are Italians in Dubai really the pasta-guzzling, espresso-drinking, highly excitable people that other nationalities have placed into a neat stereotyped box?
Certain traits such as gesticulating wildly while talking are undeniably true, but other generalisations about a typical Italian have faded into history.
GN Focus discovers that most Italians in the UAE know about the Mafia only from TV programmes or the cinema and the Italian mafia is history. As Pasquale Della Penna, 74, Executive Director and CEO, Technical Supplies and Services Company, a subsidiary of Harwal Group, says, “Worldwide there is a new type of mafia, not only in Italy”.
Cinzia Tedeschi, 32, a mother of two from Italy’s Liguria region, says, “People identify us by pizza, pasta and the mafia,” but she puts this down to others looking for an amusing way to start a conversation.
As for public displays of affection, she says, “It’s part of our culture and the way to be. Isn’t it nice?”
Of course, in the UAE, considerably more restraint is shown compared to their counterparts back home in Italy. But Italians here are as demonstrative as any, gesticulating with hands and bodies when their hands are already occupied. They do this, according to 63-year-old Valeria Di Santo, President of the Italian social club, Associazione Italiana Dubai, “sometimes to strengthen what we say; to give more emphasis to the words.”
Marisa Turano, 53, Corporate Communications Assistant, Meydan, says, “Being very expressive people, we are very comfortable with showing our emotions, fear, anger and affection in public verbally and physically, our hands and body language are silent communicators, and we love it.”
So do Italians in Dubai fit the chic mould? “Of course!” says Di Santo, for fashion comes naturally and appeals to the creativity of most Italians.
Giulia Senigaglia, 34, Cultural Guide, Shaikh Mohammad Centre for Cultural Understanding (SMCCU), says, “I can recognise Italians among millions of people if I look at two things. Firstly, the way they dress — even in a simple T-shirt and shorts with trainers, there is a way of always looking fashionable. Secondly, if you see someone talking and moving their hands, there we are.”
Di Santo’s opinion that a tasty dish of pasta — although a diminishing food choice — opens the doors to great pleasure must echo in many a true Italian heart, for it stirs memories of what being truly Italian is all about — full of life, love, food and laughter. She admits that there are some big regional differences when it comes to preference and that today’s Italians prefer to have a balanced diet for health reasons.
Turano dislikes spaghetti but puts freshly filled gnocchi on a pedestal. Tedeschi, meanwhile, says pasta is integral to the Mediterranean diet. “Being Italian requires a lot of energy,” she jokes.
Good food rates highly on the agendas of gregarious Italians, who like to chew the fat and socialise with all nationalities in the UAE, not just Italians. And when they do opt for Italian cuisine, it is as good as that found back home, provided the chef is Italian, says Della Penna.
Gourmet food trader Massimo Vidoni, 45, owner of food importer Italtouch, finds that Italian food in Italy is more artisanal and rustic than in the UAE. He says although there are excellent Italian chefs in the country, “the variety of food is not equal due to the limited choice of ingredients that are imported”.
When 28-year-old entrepreneur Francesco Falerno is not engaging in some form of extreme sport such as skydiving or spearfishing, or club trawling, he can be found cooking at home because he is “passionate about cuisine”. He also used to have his own cooking TV programme in the UAE.
“Most Italian food in the UAE is an American-Italian replica, so there is no real Italian food at all,” he says. “I’m doing the same with my new pizza franchise called WE Love Pizza, which is Italian know-how but with an American fusion taste. It’s way more profitable.”
Having big families seems to be a thing of the past. Tedeschi finds the Italian family today represents a social and cultural problem not experienced in previous generations. “Italians don’t get married and they don’t have children like they used to.”
But Turano puts this down to the economics of raising large families and maintaining the same high standards of living. She says, “Nonetheless, we manage to have big family gatherings at any possible occasion involving distant and extended family members,” and that a normal Sunday can “easily become an amazing party”.
Ornella Parigi, 49, who is originally from Venice, plays golf and volunteers for various charities, agrees about the wider family feel. “Our hearts are very big for helping people at the right time. We are all one family with a big mamma,” she says.
Vidoni wraps Italians in Dubai up in a nutshell: “We are very emotional — we shout, we are hot-tempered, we love to complain about driving here, we love talking about Italy and AC Milan soccer team, we try to dress impeccably when going out and we love to think that we are ahead of the trend.”
