Among European countries, if you want to say who is most similar to China, you must nominate Italy!
Many people may wonder how Italy, which is thousands of miles away in Europe, is a typical Western country, so how can it be similar to China?
It can only be said that many people's understanding of Italy is very one-sided, in fact, Italy's call "China in Europe" is not groundless, there are many grounds.
Both sides have a long history and a splendid culture!
In ancient times, there was China in the east, and Rome in the west.
Rome is the spiritual totem and pursuit in the hearts of all Western countries, and Italy happens to be the hinterland of the former Roman Empire, and many relics of the Roman Empire have been preserved intact.
Roman legions
In my opinion, ancient civilizations are all sympathetic to each other, after all, after thousands of years, civilizations that can survive to this day are very rare.
Chinese civilization is in the same line, the Chinese have the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and Italy has also inherited the glory of Roman civilization well.
Therefore, Italians have no less pride in their own culture than their own people.
At the same time, Italy's various monuments and cultural heritage are very well preserved!
Colosseum
Italy and China both have 55 World Heritage sites, the highest in the world.
However, considering that Italy is a smaller country, it has a higher concentration of cultural relics!
Wander around the small towns of Italy and see a lot of historical and cultural heritage, full of ancient buildings from the Middle Ages and earlier.
Many parts of Italy may look old, but they are very literary.
It's a pity that our ancient buildings have been damaged more than in Italy.
However, in recent years, with the attention of the state, our ancient buildings and various cultural heritages have also been properly maintained.
It can be seen that Italy and China are very similar to each other in terms of the importance and inheritance of their own culture!
They are all "foodie countries", the leaders of the food industry!
There are eight major cuisines in China, as well as countless folk snacks, special dishes, and so on. There is no doubt that the Chinese are definitely one of the most knowledgeable and knowledgeable groups in the world!
Needless to say, the breadth and profundity of Chinese food is well known, but let's take a look at how Italians treat food.
If French food is the "mother of Western food", then Italian food can definitely be regarded as the "father of Western food"!
Italian pizza
Although the name and grade of French food are far better than Italian food, I think that the real essence of Western food is Italian food!
Italians are unequivocal when it comes to eating, and like their counterparts, many Italians are happy to spend a lot of time cooking delicious food.
In most European and American countries, all kinds of quick-frozen food and semi-finished food have long been popular, but Italians have always scoffed at semi-finished food!
In the eyes of Italians, the semi-finished food on the supermarket shelves is not "real food" at all!
They prefer to buy fresh ingredients themselves and then go home and cook them in the kitchen.
Pasta with tomato bolognese
Slowly boil the tomato meat sauce over low heat and stir well with the spaghetti, which is probably the most common staple food eaten by the Italian people.
In addition to the tomato bolognese, there is also a classic Italian pasta dish that is very simple: heat the pan, pour in the olive oil, fry the garlic until the garlic is fragrant, then put the cooked pasta in and stir well.
Italy's garlic olive oil noodles are not similar to China's oily noodles!
To be honest, this kind of fresh, pot-like home cooking is what people should eat the most.
Many people in China also have three meals a day, go to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, and go home to stir-fry vegetables and make soup by themselves.
From the above, it can be seen that Italians, like us, take eating very seriously and will never treat themselves badly in this regard.
"Eat a good meal" is the most simple need of people, and it is also the most similar thing about Italians and us!
The concept of family is very traditional, and they all attach great importance to family!
Italy also has a lot of similarities with China, that is, it attaches great importance to family, cares for family, and is very keen on family gatherings.
We will have a big family together to eat during the New Year and festivals, and the Italians are the same, and the whole family has to eat together during the holidays, which is very important!
Other folklore is also similar, such as getting married and having a wedding. Many weddings in rural Italy are similar to those in rural China, and there are usually two or three days of banquets, with dozens of relatives, friends, three aunts and four mothers-in-law.
In addition, there is one thing that is almost exactly the same thing in Italy as in China!
I saw the sharing of a netizen in Italy before, and I felt very interesting, so I sent it out for everyone to see.
This netizen's daughter-in-law is Italian, and on the day of her daughter-in-law's cousin's sixteenth birthday, the whole family celebrates with dinner together as usual.
Their grandmother handed an envelope to her cousin, and when she opened the envelope, she saw a birthday card inside, and even more surprisingly, there was a 100 yuan bill (100 euros) under the card!
Isn't this the same as our domestic elders giving red envelopes to younger generations!
Of course, the more interesting thing is still to come, although the little cousin got 100 euros, but her mother said to help her keep it.
The little cousin was not happy at once, and said that she was 16 years old!
Not to mention that Italy is similar to China, many people have such a "same mother" when they are young!
Therefore, from the perspective of historical culture, eating habits, and family concepts, the statement that "Italy is the European version of China" is quite reasonable!