How to Dress & Dine in Italy

What to wear (or not to wear) in Italy and how to dress for a dinner. This is what you’ve been often asking.
Relax, I’ll help you out.
I’ll also give you a few tips on how to be a waiter’s best friend in Italy.
This is how to dress & dine in Italy!

You’ll be walking a lot and dining out on your holiday in Italy. But you can’t and don’t want to haul your whole wardrobe on your travels. Especially if you are touring around Europe for the whole summer.
This is how to pack and behave to be street-wise, you’re welcome.

Post last updated 12/23

In my previous post How to Survive in Italy as an American I wrote how to avoid cultural misunderstandings and what you should know about manners in Italy.
Let’s continue a bit more on the topic.

Basically, you can manage with these ”rules” anywhere in Europe. Same rules for everyone, but I wrote this especially for travelers coming from the US as you guys have asked me the most about traveling in Italy.

Wheels are banned – pack light

You will thank yourself for shaking your own hand when you are carrying only a small backpack and not hauling a huge luggage over those cobblestoned streets of ancient cities.

Actually, the city of Rome has just banned luggage with wheels on historical steps.
So did Venice.

It’s also much more comfortable to fit in a bus with a small carry-on only.
And safer when you don’t have to store your belongings in a trunk but keep them in your sight.

Trust me, you can do it!
I was globetrotting the World as a full-time nomad for two and half years with a very small 7-kilo carry-on backpack only.
(That would be around 15 pounds.)
A pro camera gear included.
Being a middle-aged woman.
Okay, being a minimalist too, but I’ll preach about that subject more in some other post.

Dress code in Italy

In one word: Casual.

That’s about it, unless you are invited to some formal event.
Although the casual in Europe is different than casual in US.
Think it more like smart casual in the US and you’d be fine everywhere in Italy.
Or any other country in Europe.
Sports clothing is not appreciated in the city life.

Can you wear shorts to dinner in Italy?

You don’t need to wear fancy designer clothing. Clean, smart, basic clothing will do.
But shorts and tank tops (especially for men) are meant for gym or hiking.
Not to be worn on the street and never in a restaurant.
In some of the beach bars shorts could be okay, but definitely not in a dinner restaurant in Rome.

Are high heels mandatory when dining out?

High heels are not necessary.
Not even for women.

I accidentally first typed high hells and that’s actually very descriptive.
You’ll be walking a lot and your feet will kill you or you them if you take all those 20k steps in a day trying to look good at the same time.
So yes, we Europeans wear sneakers too.

Can you wear white shoes or sneakers?

And whatever you’ve been told white sneakers and white canvas or leather Converse trainers have been highly trending already a few years in the whole Europe.

(FYI: I’m adding this part here in the summer of 2023. I’ve no idea if 2024 will bring mandatory green sneakers.)

All those people saying do not wear white shoes not to look like a tourist in Europe are simply wrong.
That was a thing like twenty years ago, but not anymore.
It’s more a matter of when and where you can use them.
And they should be clean.

You don’t have to look out of the latest issue of Italian Vogue to not have an issue with Italians.
I do love high heels myself, but sports shoes it is for traveling.
– The best shoes for Italy are the ones you can comfortably walk in.

Sneakers are fine also in Italy, but again, maybe not in a fancy restaurant.
So consider taking also a nice pair of shoes with you.
Nice not meaning 3 inch-heels, just nice, classy. You do know.

Food rules & eating manners in Italy

You’ve probably heard zillions of stories about how to behave in a restaurant in Italy not to make staff shout in your face.
You know these things like never order a salad before the main course, as it’s supposed to be eaten afterward. And you have to eat a five-course meal and not just one plate. And there are strict rules about having certain wine with a certain food and this and that.

So how is it really? Let me explain.

Do I need to pair my food with certain wine?

I’d say that today’s generation doesn’t give a s**it about old rules. Neither do they blink an eye when you order a red wine to go with your fish plate and so on.

I’m not a big fan of white wine and my stomach can’t handle beer, so my choices are water and red wine to go with anything. I’ve never had bad experiences going my way, meaning not a single nosy waiter I’ve met.

Surely some people will gasp for your ”bad manners”, but there are as many rules about food and eating in Italy as there are habitants in that country.

Ok, Italians drink cappuccino only in the morning. But if you feel like having that after your dinner, I don’t think they would resist bringing you one. Even if they are wondering how you can really get that big milky thing down after your huge meal.

Also, it’s not very common in Europe to get take-away coffees, and eating while walking is a no-no.
Some of us do that, but in general, it’s not considered a very nice manner.

No need to eat a 5-course dinner

As I said in my previous post about surviving in Italy, just eat that pasta or pizza you are lusting for.
And you can really eat only that.
No one can force down four other portions anyway.
Though it’s polite and of course fun to have at least two portions.

You could order an appetizer to share with your loved one and then have your own mains and dessert for each of you or again to share. However, you wish and are able to fit in your belly.

You pay, you choose.
Just add two words of Italian you know and keep that smile.

But one thing, wifis do exist in many restaurants, but please please don’t ask for the password before asking for a menu.
Also please do not scroll through Facebook while eating, but concentrate on the culinary art on your plate.

Seriously, appreciate the Italian cuisine.
Italians are proud of their food and there is a reason for that.
It’s cooked slowly with love from the purest ingredients.
Spend time while eating it and enjoy.

Pssst… if you like to dine early or travel on a shoestring budget, you might enjoy some aperitivo.

Avoid dining in tourist traps

That food is amazing anywhere, even in the smallest countryside trattorias.
Actually, the food in the small villages is much better than in those ”authentic” so-called restaurants in Piazza Navona in Rome, targeted only to trap tourists. In those places they have new customers coming in every day without having to care whether you liked their food or not.

I mean, in their opinion you’re just another stupid American who doesn’t even know how to spell the name of their restaurant (to warn your fellow citizens to avoid the place).
Neither does their Chinese chief.

Don’t worry, Italians are charming people, for real. I love that country and it’s people.
They just sometimes get disappointed by the tourists who don’t respect their culture and especially their food.

You know you’ve done a good job when the waiter brings you some dessert or drink after the meal for free. Often a glass of limoncello, a local lemon liquor on the house.

Pure and authentic Italian food is enough the reason to travel to Italy.
Have you not heard of what Anthony Bourdain said about having only 48 hours in Rome?
If you haven’t, then read my previous post to see the quote.

Pizza isn’t always a local thing, even in Italy

One more thing.
Italian food varies from one area to another.
To get an idea: There are at least a thousand different pastas!
Even the tiniest villages have their own.

Please do not complain about your pasta in risotto areas of Northern Italy. Do not whine about that tasteless pizza in a place that has never seen forno al legna, a pizza baked in a firewood oven, as it should be.
You get what you ask for.
But if you ask, Italians are happy to help you. Ask local, eat local.

I once asked a waiter who was trying to tempt us to get into his restaurant in Rome if they had a pizza forno al legna.
They didn’t, but he was so happy for me to ask for the ”real thing” that he gave us directions for another place.
And in that restaurant, we’ve been eating our pizzas in Rome ever since.

Get fresh drinking water right out of the historical fountain

Romans are also exhausted by some bad-behaving tourists and for the mess they leave behind.
The Eternal City wanted to stay that way, so they banned eating at historical monuments.

Yet drinking from the fountains is a local habit and water is very pure, but still one more rule: Do not touch the fountain with your mouth while drinking, but fill your bottle.
Or do as Romans do and stick your finger to tap to make the water fly high and then catch it into your mouth.
You wouldn’t drink from the same glass as the stranger, right?

Okay, enough lecturing!
I’m sure you are curious to know where to eat and where to sleep in Rome.
Read next: 3 Tips Where to Stay in Rome & What to Eat

Where to stay in Rome & what to eat