7 Strange and Fascinating Italian Traditions You Won’t Find in Any Other Country!

According to the news site Saed News, quoting Beitooteh, when Italy is mentioned, the first things that come to mind are: pasta, pizza, shopping in one of the world’s fashion capitals, Milan, and magnificent historical sites. But Italy is not just these things. In this country, there are customs you can see that don’t exist anywhere else. In this report, we will take a look at 7 of Italy’s strange traditions.

Throwing furniture out the window
On New Year’s Eve, in some countries people try to complete unfinished tasks, like buying gifts for those who haven’t gotten any yet, etc. But Italians have a strange custom: they throw pots, pans, and even furniture out the window. This act symbolizes getting rid of old things and welcoming the new.

The cursed island of Gaiola
This island, one of the small islands near Naples, is undoubtedly beautiful but also scary. Locals call it cursed because of the deaths of its owners. The first resident who lived there alone disappeared one day without any explanation. The next owner died of a heart attack, and the next committed suicide. And these are only some of the fates of its owners. After these events, the island is currently uninhabited and abandoned.

Peeling many fruits before eating them
Italians usually don’t eat fruits like apples, pears, and peaches with the skin on. They peel these fruits. The reason is that Italians like to eat healthy foods and believe that pesticides sprayed on the fruits are not completely removed even after washing.

Italians don’t eat eggs for breakfast
Fried eggs, bread, and butter might be one of the best imaginable breakfasts—unless you’re Italian. Italians prefer to have something sweet for breakfast like cornflakes, biscuits, fruit, and espresso. Italians have a saying: “Want to eat eggs for breakfast? Go to London.”

The scary island of Poveglia
This island is known as the “island of ghosts” because of its dark history. For over 100 years, it was used as a quarantine site for plague victims. It is believed that about 160,000 people were burned on this island. Now visiting the island is forbidden for tourists.

The number 17 is unlucky
While in many countries the number 13 is considered unlucky, for Italians the number 17 carries this stigma. This is because if you rearrange the Roman numeral for 17, XVII, it becomes VIXI, which in Latin means “My life is over.” For this reason, some hotels don’t have a 17th floor.

Italians even dress up when going to the supermarket
In Milan, it doesn’t matter what situation you are in or what you are doing—you have to look stylish. Italian women even dress elegantly and attractively when going to the supermarket.