Bring wine, chocolates, or flowers rather than showing up empty-handed, this is treated as the baseline for visiting someone’s home, not just a nice extra. Wrap it well, Italians tend to wrap gifts decoratively, but reach for anything other than black or purple paper.
If you’re bringing flowers, skip chrysanthemums entirely (they’re a funeral flower) and go easy on yellow ones too, since yellow reads as jealousy. Peel off any visible price sticker before handing the gift over, and expect your host to open it immediately in front of you rather than setting it aside for later.
- Arriving exactly on time isn’t the norm — 15 to 30 minutes after the stated time is normal for a social visit, though if you’re arriving near a mealtime, expect to be folded into dinner.
- A compliment about the home goes a long way — Italian hosts, especially the woman of the house, often take real pride in how the home looks, and it’s a natural way to open the visit.