Bringing Up a Child in Italy is Better (Most of the Time)
The remarkably simple, seasonal life of Italian kids
Welcome to Raising Bambino! I’m Lolly, writing to you from Lake Como. I moved to Italy in 2010 from New York City. I hate to admit it but I was an American take-out food junkie and heavy consumer of well, everything.
My new husband’s traditional Italian family seemed connected to the earth. They innately knew the season for every fruit and vegetable. When they were in Piemonte, they cooked and ate food local to Piemonte. When in Tuscany, they cooked and ate the foods local to that region. They foraged for greens in their gardens in spring and only grew trees that bore fruit. Then I began teaching in both public and private Italian schools and discovered how the principles I learned fit into the wider food culture. My conclusion: Italians are food geniuses!
Beyond the food, which is central in a way that’s hard to imagine without living it, everything in Italy is built to last, from the houses to the clothes. I hadn’t realized before how much of a consumer I was before moving to Italy. But shopping for ‘stuff’ in Italy is an occasional activity, not a daily or weekly past time. Clothes and shoes are purchased to last and if not darned or repaired at home, at the many available sarti and calzolaii. Skilled carpenters, ironworkers, ceramic makers and artisans are a part of daily life in Italy and create furniture, fences, and ceramics to last beyond our lifetimes.
I still remember marvelling the first time I realized all the houses had real, working shutters, not fake shutters stuck to siding like at my house in Michigan. These shutters opened and closed, and every day the air inside the house was ‘changed’ with the air outside.
Raising my son in their family was a fully immersive experience and education in being immersed in the Italian way: an easier, healthier, seasonal, more sustainable life.
So glad you’re here! If you like the sounds of this, subscribe for free to be part of a community of nice people that are passionate about Italian culture, cutural differences, and how children are raised in Italy. Leave me a comment to say ciao and introduce yourself!
x Lolly
Psst! feeding bambino…weeknight pasta from Italy!
Want to be inspired to cook simple, fresh food like an Italian? Take a look at the companion foodletter, Weeknight Pasta from Italy. I post 30-minute authentic recipes that Italians actually make at home.
My Italian mother-in-law will says to tell you she inspired most of the recipes. My son says to tell you that your kids will love them too!
Buon appetito!
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I’ll share with you a few photos of my early years in Italia as a sneak peak of the many stories to come!
Drop me a comment below. I’d love to hear about you and what you’re interested to know about raising a child in Italy!