--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One doesn't come to Italy for niceness…" description: "\"“One doesn't come to Italy for niceness, one comes for life!”\" — E.M. Forster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/e-m-forster-2-1148_italy_one-doesn-t-come-to-italy-for-niceness-o_2335064.jpg" --- # One doesn't come to Italy for niceness, one comes for life! ![“One doesn't come to Italy for niceness, one comes for life!” quote by E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/e-m-forster-2-1148_italy_one-doesn-t-come-to-italy-for-niceness-o_2335064.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/e-m-forster-2-1148_italy_one-doesn-t-come-to-italy-for-niceness-o_2335064.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/85e/e-m-forster-2-1148_italy_one-doesn-t-come-to-italy-for-niceness-o_2335064.jpg) > ““One doesn't come to Italy for niceness, one comes for life!”” [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Italy is valued not for polite hospitality but for its vibrant, intense way of living that awakens the senses. **In simple terms:** Italy offers lively experiences, not just politeness. Key Takeaway Seek authentic, energetic experiences. Themes culture experience authenticity Mood enthusiastic reflective Type observational inspirational When to use this quote - tourism - expatriate life - culinary exploration - festival attendance Key Concepts existentialism sensory immersion Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of Italian life energize you? - How do you balance cultural immersion with respect? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize Italy, overlooking everyday challenges locals face. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Italy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/italy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-lessons/) [Live life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-life/) [Niceness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/niceness/) [Travel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/travel/) ## Related quotes > [One doesn't come to Italy for niceness," was the retort; "one comes for life. Buon giorno! Buon giorno!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-doesn-t-come-to-italy-for-niceness-was-the-retort-one-comes-for/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“You know, people come to Italy for all sorts of reasons, but when they stay, it's for the same two things." "What?" "Love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-evans-welch/you-know-people-come-to-italy-for-all-sorts-of-reasons-but-when-they/) [Jenna Evans Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-evans-welch/) > [Appeal to all scholars of stupidity in the world. Come to Italy, this country has the highest rate of morons of the universe, especially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/appeal-to-all-scholars-of-stupidity-in-the-world-come-to-italy-this/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [People say the English players don't come to Italy because they look down on Serie A, but that's just not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hart/people-say-the-english-players-don-t-come-to-italy-because-they-look/) [Joe Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hart/) > [“People who switch their niceness on and off are not to be trusted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-diamond/people-who-switch-their-niceness-on-and-off-are-not-to-be-trusted/) [Lucy Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-diamond/) > [All the best players wanted to come to Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-batistuta/all-the-best-players-wanted-to-come-to-italy/) [Gabriel Batistuta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-batistuta/) > [More and more, I am beginning to understand why every one who has ever accomplished anything really great and truly beautiful in the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-van-vorst/more-and-more-i-am-beginning-to-understand-why-every-one-who-has-ever/) Marie Van Vorst > [“Why would you come to Italy to see Spanish steps? That's like going to China for Mexican food, isn't it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/why-would-you-come-to-italy-to-see-spanish-steps-that-s-like-going-to/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Nobody should imagine that they could go to England and change the way that football is played there. Just as nobody should imagine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimiliano-allegri/nobody-should-imagine-that-they-could-go-to-england-and-change-the/) [Massimiliano Allegri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimiliano-allegri/) > [“They travelled for thirteen hours down-hill, whilst the streams broadened and the mountains shrank, and the vegetation changed, and the people ceased being ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-travelled-for-thirteen-hours-down-hill-whilst-the-streams/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [The more living patterns there are in a place - a room, a building, or a town - the more it comes to life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-alexander/the-more-living-patterns-there-are-in-a-place-a-room-a-building-or-a/) [Christopher Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-alexander/) > [The translucence that comes when life hardens into a bead of such cruel perfection you see it with the purest clarity. Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [The book really comes to life in the rewriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-book-really-comes-to-life-in-the-rewriting/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Money comes to life as it is spent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/money-comes-to-life-as-it-is-spent/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“Real happiness comes into your life when you accept yourself as you are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nitin-namdeo/real-happiness-comes-into-your-life-when-you-accept-yourself-as-you/) [Nitin Namdeo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nitin-namdeo/) ## More by E.M. Forster > [“She gave up trying to understand herself, and the vast armies of the benighted, who follow neither the heart nor the brain, and march…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/she-gave-up-trying-to-understand-herself-and-the-vast-armies-of-the/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Oh, what's the use of your fairmindedness if you never decide for yourself? Anyone gets hold of you and makes you do what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/oh-what-s-the-use-of-your-fairmindedness-if-you-never-decide-for/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“You mean that a Frenchman could share with a friend and yet not go to prison?’ ‘Share? Do you mean unite? If both are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/you-mean-that-a-frenchman-could-share-with-a-friend-and-yet-not-go-to/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Margaret realized the chaotic nature of our daily life, and its difference from the orderly sequence that has been fabricated by historians. Actual life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/margaret-realized-the-chaotic-nature-of-our-daily-life-and-its/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Everything seems just alike in these days.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/everything-seems-just-alike-in-these-days/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He had said it bravely, and that is why one can trust Beethoven when he says other things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-had-said-it-bravely-and-that-is-why-one-can-trust-beethoven-when/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He whispered: ‘Is it this? Is this possible? I’ll put a marvel to you. That your cousin has always hoped. That from the very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-whispered-is-it-this-is-this-possible-i-ll-put-a-marvel-to-you/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Perhaps anything that he did would have pleased Lucy, but his awkwardness went straight to her heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/perhaps-anything-that-he-did-would-have-pleased-lucy-but-his/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“Because a thing is going strong now, it need not go strong for ever,' she said. 'This craze for motion has only set in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/because-a-thing-is-going-strong-now-it-need-not-go-strong-for-ever/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“England was alive, throbbing through all her estuaries, crying for joy through the mouths of all her gulls, and the north wind, with contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/england-was-alive-throbbing-through-all-her-estuaries-crying-for-joy/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But the poetry of that kiss, the wonder of it, the magic that there was in life for hours after it--who can describe that?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-the-poetry-of-that-kiss-the-wonder-of-it-the-magic-that-there-was/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“But that some sonatas of Beethoven are written tragic no one can gainsay; yet they can triumph or despair as the player decides, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/but-that-some-sonatas-of-beethoven-are-written-tragic-no-one-can/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [“He chanced to be in a lucid critical mood, and would not sympathize with exaltation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/he-chanced-to-be-in-a-lucid-critical-mood-and-would-not-sympathize/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) [Explore all 274 E.M. Forster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) ## More Italy quotes > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [If I had been an Italian I am sure that I should have been whole-heartedly with you from the start to finish in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/if-i-had-been-an-italian-i-am-sure-that-i-should-have-been-whole/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Everything is global now. It's not London, it's not Spain, it's not Italy - everything is everywhere. So you have to be everywhere, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manolo-blahnik/everything-is-global-now-it-s-not-london-it-s-not-spain-it-s-not/) [Manolo Blahnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manolo-blahnik/) > [Italy has sun and tomatoes, and Russia just has real problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/italy-has-sun-and-tomatoes-and-russia-just-has-real-problems/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“People who switch their niceness on and off are not to be trusted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-diamond/people-who-switch-their-niceness-on-and-off-are-not-to-be-trusted/) [Lucy Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-diamond/) > [“I say we hit Italy first because they can't drive and are usually drunk!" -America”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hidekaz-himaruya/i-say-we-hit-italy-first-because-they-can-t-drive-and-are-usually/) [Hidekaz Himaruya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hidekaz-himaruya/) > [I grew up in Italy, and our country is a country of great agriculture and food produce. It wasn't like I was urban and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabella-rossellini/i-grew-up-in-italy-and-our-country-is-a-country-of-great-agriculture/) [Isabella Rossellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabella-rossellini/) > [I find it difficult to imagine Juventus and Italy without Buffon. He is an incredible personality and has had an exceptional career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-tuchel/i-find-it-difficult-to-imagine-juventus-and-italy-without-buffon-he/) [Thomas Tuchel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-tuchel/) > [“Mr Benz, the parapet of an Italian bridge doesn’t look like the proper place for you,” said Chase.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefania-mattana/mr-benz-the-parapet-of-an-italian-bridge-doesn-t-look-like-the-proper/) [Stefania Mattana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefania-mattana/) > [I miss Italy; that's beyond doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-conte/i-miss-italy-that-s-beyond-doubt/) [Antonio Conte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-conte/) > [It's an honour to play with the Italy jersey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ciro-immobile/it-s-an-honour-to-play-with-the-italy-jersey/) [Ciro Immobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ciro-immobile/) > [When I lived in Greece and off the coast of Italy, I enjoyed a branzino dish so much that I created my own version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-alves/when-i-lived-in-greece-and-off-the-coast-of-italy-i-enjoyed-a/) [Camila Alves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-alves/) > [“With Italy made, we must now make the Italians.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-f-blashfield/with-italy-made-we-must-now-make-the-italians/) [Jean F. Blashfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-f-blashfield/) > [It is rather unusual for Italy to be at the forefront of pro-market initiatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-monti/it-is-rather-unusual-for-italy-to-be-at-the-forefront-of-pro-market/) [Mario Monti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-monti/) > [If you've got a plot the size of a car or a tiny yard in Italy, you're going to be growing tomatoes and basil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/if-you-ve-got-a-plot-the-size-of-a-car-or-a-tiny-yard-in-italy-you-re/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) [Browse all 705 Italy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/italy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“One doesn't come to Italy for niceness, one comes for life!”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "E.M. 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