The first aspects I noticed from the different ‘cultural dimensions’ between Italy and the United States was the differing levels of individuality and indulgence. In both scenarios, Italy has a lower score compared to the United States, and in terms of indulgence, the score is less than half of that of the United States. These scores were evident from Italy’s culture because, from what I was able to observe, I found Italy to be a more homogenous country with more simplistic and traditional values.
For example, in terms of indulgence, most Italians do not own an abundance of “things” as I have seen in the US, there are less houses and more apartments, which creates a more limited, simplistic, and routine lifestyle. Also, being that Italians are less inclined to indulge, I noticed that there were also some cultural ties that encouraged this self-control like some of the catholic-paganism ideology that existed and traditions that were generally enforced by families. Americans, on the contrary, seem to be more inclined to indulge with all of the innovation and production that goes on in the country. I am guilty of it as well, with conveniences like amazon and online shopping, it is almost encouraged and a part of our culture.
As for other aspects that seem to be a part of our culture, the idea of individualism seems to be one as well. It is evident that America prides itself on its individuality and the fact that anyone has the freedom to do almost anything that they choose in order to make a living. However, in Italy, most likely due to its more homogenous culture and tendencies, is less individualistic than the US. This was evident by how Italians would choose to spend their free time, and it was evident that there were always large groups of people doing the same activities and spending time together. It could also be seen by the lack of people in the city at times, because for the Palio, it was tradition for the losing ‘contrade’ to go on vacation afterwards.
