文/Diego

Diego：一個充滿想象力的美國文藝青年，彈著夏威夷四弦琴，畫著漫畫，做著營養(yǎng)師。帶著家人看這世界的花花綠綠、草長鶯飛，就是人生最大的滿足。

Shaped like a boot stepping into the Mediterranean Sea,the country of Italy is just like its shape： enchanting（迷 人 的 ）with unique characteristics.

In Italy,the old and new coexist（和平共處）.As the origin of the Renaissance（文藝復(fù)興）,Italy produced numerous artists and classic works；as the center of modern fashion and trends,Italy is home to the biggestnumberofhigh-end brands.The romantic Romeo and Juliet were Italians, the beautiful sunshine and tasty food belong to Italy too.Most of Italy enjoys a Mediterranean climate,with lots of sunshine and moderate temperature,thus Italy is one of the most livable places on earth.

Italian people are innocent,laid-back and full of passion.People who travel to Italy can easily feel homecoming.

像一只踏入地中海的靴子，意大利這個國家就如它的地形一樣，注定妖嬈多姿。

在意大利，現(xiàn)代風(fēng)情與古老文明并存。作為文藝復(fù)興的發(fā)源地，意大利擁有無數(shù)藝術(shù)、文學(xué)大師和經(jīng)典作品。作為當代時尚潮流集中地，意大利又聚集了全世界最多的高級品牌。意大利有浪漫的羅密歐與朱麗葉，更有不分地域的陽光和美食。這里大部分地區(qū)屬于地中海氣候，陽光燦爛，氣候溫和，是地球上最適宜人類居住的國家之一。

The Irresistible Italian Cuisine

No matter which country in the world you visit,people will always smile when pizza and pasta are mentioned,hardly anyone can say no to them.But there are more Italian dishes besides pizza and pasta.The world’s best coffee,the sweet wine made from grapes kissed by sunshine,the fresh tasty seafood rice,the brightly colored yummy salami（意大利臘腸）,the enchanting tiramisu（提拉米蘇）,not to mention gelato（意大利冰激凌）,which everyone loves,etc.

All Italians are born baristas（咖啡師）and chefs.They can make the best meal out of the basic ingredients（原料）.No wonder Italian food is one of the top 3 most popular foods worldwide.

Sometimes it can be difficultfor Italiansto travel abroad.They are often times shocked to see pineapple as pizza toppings and mushrooms in the pasta.Sometimesthey getconfused when people invite them to have a cup of coffee with milk in the afternoon.In the mind of Italians,food has strict rules that just should not be changed.

Mama Is The Family’s Soul

Though many Italians wouldn’t admit they are“mama’s boys”,no one can deny the high intimacy（親密）and closeness among Italian family members.As a result,mostItalians wouldn’tleave their hometowns.They may continue living with their family after they grow up,sometimes even until their 30s or 40s.In cases of them moving out of their homes,they often live not far from their families,so that they can go back during weekends or weekdays to pay a visit.

意大利人天真爛漫，既悠閑放松，又熱情奔放。無論是誰，到了意大利，都會產(chǎn)生一種回到了自己家的“似曾相識”感。

無人能抗拒的意大利美食

無論在世界的哪個角落，提到比薩餅和意大利面，聽到的人都會會心一笑，難以抗拒其魅力。但意大利的美食并不止這兩樣，還有舉世聞名的醇香咖啡、被陽光滋潤而香甜的葡萄酒、新鮮美味的海鮮焗飯、紅艷可口的意式香腸、讓人精神一振的提拉米蘇和老少皆宜的冰激凌……

And among allfamily members,mama is always the one that has the highest status（地位）.Mother is the soul of the family.She makes tasty coffee and delicious meals,she cleans the house,she brings up children...she might talk too much sometimes,butherlove towardsherchildren is never-ceasing（停止）.It’s an unspoken top priority to respect and love mamas for all Italians.

No wonder Italy is regarded as“The China of the West”.

每一個意大利人都是天生的咖啡師和美食家。他們選用最基本的食材，就能輕易做出最美味的食物。無怪乎意大利菜是全世界最受歡迎的三大菜系之一。

對于意大利人來說，有時候出國旅行會因為本國菜太過出色而成為一件“難事”。他們會因為看到其他國家的人在比薩餅上放菠蘿而驚訝，在意大利面中加蘑菇而震驚，也會因為有人邀請他們在午后喝一杯加了奶的咖啡而不解。在意大利人心中，美食原則不可隨意改變。

媽媽是靈魂

雖然很多意大利人不愿意承認自己是“黏媽媽的孩子”（意即不愿長大，黏著母親），但意大利家庭成員之間的親密性無人能否認。正因為如此，大部分意大利人很少離開自己的家鄉(xiāng)。他們會在成年之后一直和自己的原生家庭住在一起，甚至直到三四十歲。即使從家里搬出來，也會盡量選擇住在家附近不遠處，這樣周末或平時就可以方便探訪家人。

而在全家所有成員中，母親永遠是地位最高的那個。母親是全家的靈魂，她做咖啡，做美食，清潔房屋，哺育孩子，即使有時候會嘮嘮叨叨，但永遠都對孩子充滿關(guān)愛。對母親的尊重和愛護，幾乎是所有意大利人無需言說的基本準則。

難怪，都說意大利是“西方的中國”。