The most persistent stereotype we’ve heard about Italians – especially from Americans, is that they’re lazy. They start work late, they take a long lunch, they leave early, they take a long dinner, and they chat or party into the night, right? Or do they work at all?

Based on the Italians we’ve met, it seems that Italians work more than many Americans – despite the stereotype of the 80-hour American work week, in startups, finance, etc. For example, we stayed with a chef in Cinque Terre, a very touristy area, during high season. In the morning before work, he cleaned his entire bathroom himself (despite having a cleaning service specifically because of the room he rents) and did laundry. Then, he worked all day, came back for an hour or two around 4 pm, and went back to work until between midnight and 2 am. Did I mention that he managed to stop and pick up breakfast ingredients for us? Now, you might say that we don’t know for certain that he was working the whole time: he could have been sitting with friends at his restaurant. I hope he was, because you’ll notice that aside from 7-8 hours of sleep, that schedule left him with about two hours of personal time, including house work.

In that same town, we went on a guided hike with a guide at 8:30 in the morning. Her daughter was sick with a fever, but she was knowledgeable and polite and never rushed us. And the next day, we saw her getting on the train, still in uniform, to return from her other job, at 6:30 pm.

Then, our hosts in Turin, worked in a center for mental health for kids and teens. Some of them left before we even woke, and even the ones who left around 10 am did not come home until between 6:30 and 7:30 pm.

And our current hosts, a couple that owns and runs their own vineyard, spends all their days in the fields, in the cellar, in the tasting room, and making all this run. Even after going out with friends – to plan another friend’s bachelor activities, they got up after 6 hours of sleep and went directly into the vineyard. And they’ll come home to cook a big meal for/with us tonight.

So, while we can’t speak for all Italians, everyone we have met under the age of 40 seems to be working quite hard indeed. The difference seems to be that they don’t advertise it. They focus on the long meals, the time with family, and the ‘dolce vita.’ A fine sleight of hand that disguises the fact that they are toiling quite hard to make that sweet life possible.