From mid-August until early September, a longstanding Italian tradition is to flee the hot cities for the beach. Having spent many childhood summers in Italy, we thought we understood the unique cultural aspects of Italians at the beach however as adults, returning to Italy with our own children for vacations, we appreciated ever new insights into Italian culture. I could recount my own experience, but no one describes it better than author Tim Parks in his wickedly funny book Italian Education published in 1996, a sequel to Italian Neighbors published in 1992. If you are an Italy aficionado, we highly recommend both books, they hilariously entertaining and entirely accurate…good beach reading!
