History Main / OliveGarden

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[[WMG:[[AC:[[center:This Trope is [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1596321740002636000 under discussion]] at the [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=13222107430A61495000&page=1#1 Trope Repair Shop]].]]]]]]
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[[caption-width-right:350:Clockwise from top left: [[Film/RomanHoliday a vespa ride through Rome]], [[Film/EatPrayLove eating pizza in Naples]], [[Film/CallMeByYourName enjoying the warm countryside]], and [[Film/TheTourist a boat ride through Venice]].]]
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->''"Maybe we could have dinner! Perhaps the Olive Garden! It's like eating in the private kitchen of a delightful Italian stereotype!"''
-->-- '''Cinnamon J. Scudworth''', ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh''

Italy, mostly known for its food and the fat mustachioed guys who prepare it. There are only two cities in Italy, Rome and Venice (maybe three with Florence in more recent works). Neither city seems to contain a single building constructed after the 17th century. Rome is heavily populated by gourmet chefs, effete fashionistas and handsome, Vespa-riding homewreckers all too eager to give young female tourists a romantic ride past the Trevi Fountain -- oh, and most famous landmarks are within five minutes of each other, too. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is usually found here as well, as opposed to, you know, in ''Pisa''.

Venice, meanwhile, is chock full of handsome, gondola-riding homewreckers all too eager to give young female tourists a romantic ride under the Bridge of Sighs. Either way, men: if your wife or girlfriend steals away on one of these intimate little tours, [[RomanticFalseLead you're probably flying back home by yourself.]] Sorry you had to hear it from us.

Apparently, Tuscany has swallowed up the rest of the country, as all the surrounding countryside consists of tomato farms, olive groves, and vineyards. If anybody's got any kind of sound system, expect to hear it blasting either "Funiculì, Funiculà", "O Sole Mio", "Santa Lucia" (all Neapolitan songs) or some famous Music/GiuseppeVerdi aria.[[note]]"Santa Lucia"/"Stella del Mare" has been exported to Lutheran Sweden as a popular Christmas carol with a text full of references to snow, winter darkness and the arrival of the Queen of Lights. Few Swedes actually know of its origins and get puzzled when they hear it in Naples, like in the old ''Tom & Jerry'' cartoon when the protagonists step of a cruise ship there.[[/note]] At the same time, the population of Venice, Rome and Tuscany consists entirely of Sicilians and Neapolitans.

Female Italians are usually dark haired beauties, feisty and wildly slutty, yet for some reason are also very faithful and jealous of their man. In other words, {{Spicy Latina}}s through and through.

Expect plenty of GratuitousItalian.

There's also a [[UsefulNotes/FascistItaly dark side]] to this idyllic country: the time-warped post-war black-and-white Italy that somehow survived till today, directly from neo-realistic movies. It's a dangerous and inhospitable country mostly populated of [[WidowsWeeds black clad]] [[NeverMessWithGranny old women]] that speak quietly and make emphatic gestures, act as superstitious yet religious fanatics, and still don't own a TV set or a vehicle. The only intelligible words these creatures seem to be able to communicate is some distorted provincial dialect like "goombah", and they still claim to vote for Mussolini ([[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandra_Mussolini Well, you still can...]]). The remaining population of dark Italy is composed of [[AmbiguouslyBrown dark]] [[ButNotTooWhite skinned]] and dark haired (almost Indian looking) [[TheMafia scoundrels]], good-for-nothings or whores.

In a twist of supreme irony, the whole American continent was discovered by an Italian sailing under the flag of Spain. Rather than coming from Rome or Venice, said Italian, Cristoforo Colombo, came from Genoa, the maritime merchant republic in northwest Italy which [[UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra destroyed the Pisans (yes, them of the leaning tower) and scared the Venetians shitless in several naval battles]]. (Back in the day when they went around in heavily armed galleys rather than gondolas, defeating Venetians was an achievement to be proud of, like sinking the U.S. Navy.) Contrary to the more popular Italian tropes, Genoese are famed to be a surly bunch of seldom-smiling, understated, humorless fellows, disdaining songs and dances and preferring pesto to tomato on their pasta; they also have an unjustified reputation of being stingy, similar to stereotypes of [[ThriftyScot Scots]] and [[GreedyJew Jews]].

Following a rather lacklustre performance in [=WW2=], the Italian armed forces are popularly regarded as a bunch of [[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys Chianti drinking surrender monkeys]], even if their previous and later performances were never as bad as that one.

The trope is named after an American chain of casual dining restaurants.

See [[UsefulNotes/{{Italy}} here]] for info on the real country.

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!!Examples:
[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'': North (Venice) and South (Rome - which is '''not''' Southern Italy: ''too'' often foreigners think is part of it) Italy are [[MoeAnthropomorphism personified]] (the former being the main character). North Italy is a ditz who loves good food like pasta, pizza, gelato, and appreciates art and culture. The time when he fought against Mediterranean pirates is shown too. South Italy is more of the mafia image. Both of them are flirtatious. South Italy wails that his brother is eating nothing but potatoes.
* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo'': This tropes is averted, as the protagonists basically trek around the whole of Italy, and Araki does a good job of highlighting the diversity of the entire country, although he gets some elements wrong. Although the most significant events appear in Venice and Rome, the cast is Neapolitan, and several fights are set in places such as the ruins of Pompeii, Capri, the island of Sardegna and several scenes happen in the countryside.
** One of its spin-off, non canon novel LightNovel/PurpleHazeFeedback also averts this trope by beginning in Milan and then is mainly set in Sicilia.
* ''Anime/PorcoRosso'' takes place on the Adriatic coastline of Italy (with some scenes set in Milan) back when it was ruled by the Fascists. And pigs could fly.
* Surprisingly subverted in ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'', which takes place TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture (the only apparent difference being several significant advancements in medicine, and a different political climate) in a very realistic and modern Italy.
* Subverted in most of the stories in the Anime-inspired literature series, ''Literature/TheSocietyOnDaRun'', take place in an alternate Italy ruled by Italian Space Dragons (it is also their home country). No stereotypes of Italy are seen and if they are, they are PlayedForLaughs or characters point them out.
* Completely {{Averted}} in ''WesternAnimation/LupinIIITheItalianAdventure''. After all, [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff given how popular the franchise is in Italy (to the point it started being broadcast there before Japan)]] and having an Italian network involved in the production, [[JustifiedTrope would you have actually expected anything else but an accurate Italy?]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:FanWorks]]
* In keeping with the canonical treatment in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of ''Brindisi'', which is the Disc's UpToEleven "Hollywood Italy", Creator/AAPessimal gleefully alludes to a Mussolini-like dictator called Il Doge, a sort of Vetinari without the subtlety. Among other things, Il Doge allegedly got the coaches to run on time, no mean achievement. An organisation not unlike The Mafia is alluded to and the nation has a cheerful ''domani'' attitude to punctuality and promptness. The national Army has a particular reputation for professional excellence in [[CheeseEatingSurrenderMonkeys one military skill]], and witches, called ''vecchia'', abound. In keeping with the trope all Brindisian men are required, by legal statute, to be [[KavorkaMan persistent romeos]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''[[Creator/AudreyHepburn Roman Holiday]]'' features a romantic Vespa ride, this trope in scooter form.
* ''Jane Austen's Mafia!'' had this. Completely with a holiday for the black olives.
* ''Film/AMidsummerNightsDream'' (1999) is set in Victorian-era Tuscany. It includes that newfangled contraption, the bicycle. It has a soundtrack full of famous Italian arias.
* ''Film/MuchAdoAboutNothing1993'' was filmed in a Renaissance villa in Tuscany.
* ''Film/JamesBond''
** Although ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' had its climax in Venice, the Daniel Craig ''Bond'' films have gone all over Italy, including Lake Como, the small coastal town of Talamone, and the city of Siena. In ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' the latter featured a foot chase during the ''Palio di Siena'' horse-race, which would be Siena's equivalent to ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans.
** ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' averts the trope by Bond going to Sardinia.
** ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' featured the northern Dolomiti mountains.
** ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' played it straight, ending up in Venice. In all these films, background Italian characters still come across as stereotypes.
* In ''Film/TheManFromUNCLE2015'', the majority of the film takes place in [[TheSixties Swinging Sixties]] Rome, a city populated with dark haired fashionistas, playboys and villains vaguely connected to Mussolini.
* ''Film/UnderTheTuscanSun'', and book it was based on, bring all corny aspects of this trope up to eleven.
* The Eat portion of ''Film/EatPrayLove'' takes place in Rome, a place that apparently exists only to help Julia Roberts reconnect with her sensuality, and supply viewers with copious food and SceneryPorn.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* The ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' of Creator/TerryPratchett introduces ''Brindisi'', which is the Disc's UpToEleven Italy. Brindisi owes a lot to "Hollywood Italy" and takes the obvious tropes of opera, pasta, calamari and big flamboyant men with ornate moustaches all the way. Italian is also mangled via food names and typical opera lyrics.
** The larger city of Genua also has traits of Italy, though it's been used as [[ItsAlwaysMardiGrasInNewOrleans a New Orleans counterpart]] in ''Literature/WitchesAbroad''. In ''Literature/UnseenAcademicals'', Bengo Macarona, a wizard footballer, is on exchange from Genua and is pretty much an Olive Garden resident.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* ''Series/EverybodyLovesRaymond'': Any Italian character and the country itself on the "trip" episode.
* ''Series/ILoveLucy'': The infamous grape-stomping episode, although early on, the bell boy did tell them that very few places in Italy still stomped grapes for wine by foot, with most now using machines.
* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Tony and the boys go to Naples in an episode. They meet a female Camorra capo, and her men mock Paulie and Silvio's lack of culture. (In fairness, Paulie and Silvio are ''seriously'' lacking in culture--they make Tony look sophisticated.)
* Angel and Spike go to Rome in the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "[[Recap/AngelS05E20TheGirlInQuestion The Girl in Question]]"; everyone they run into has a comical accent (including the demons) and tends to be [[LargeHam rather overdemonstrative]].
** In a flashback of Spike and Drusilla's time in Rome during the 50's, the shot is black and white, everyone is wearing black, smoking, leaning against parked Vespa's and say nothing but "ciao".
* Jordan Schlansky, an associate producer on ''Series/{{Conan}}'', is a huge Italophile and can drone endlessly about Italian culture and why it's miles ahead of American culture. This trait has been mocked mercilessly by Creator/ConanOBrien over the years. In 2018, Conan finally decided to take a trip to Italy with Jordan to see what the fuss is about.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* Joe Dolce's "Shaddap You Face" was a comical take on this trope.
* "That's Amore" by Music/DeanMartin.
* Music/LouisPrima often explored his Sicilian heritage in his songs, including "Angelina" which explicitly mentions "antipasta", "minestrone" and "pizzeria".
* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's song "Lasagna" (A parody of "La Bamba" by Music/RitchieValens) is just a humorous two minute long list of Italian stereotypes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
* PlayedForLaughs with the Italian Four Horsemen of Wrestling/DramaticDreamTeam, who went through several incarnations, each made up of [[FakeNationality Fake Italians]] portraying every stereotype they could think of while also spoofing the various versions of Wrestling/TheFourHorsemen.
* With his very large family, his love for wine and opera, women swooning all over him, and oh yes, his outrageous accent, Wrestling/{{WWE}} wrestler Wrestling/SantinoMarella seems to hail from this version of Italy. Of course, since his FaceHeelTurn, he only ''thinks'' women swoon over him. He's much funnier this way.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* Musical ''Theatre/TheMostHappyFella'' is steeped in this atmosphere (GratuitousItalian and tarantellas abound), though set in the vineyards of Napa Valley, California. It was adapted from a non-musical play, ''Theatre/TheyKnewWhatTheyWanted'', which also leans on this trope hard.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''VideoGame/CounterStrike's'' cs_italy, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin of course]].
* The final level of ''[[VideoGame/NoOneLivesForever Contract J.A.C.K.]]'' is set in a stereotyped version of Italian province that serves as the home turf to a second-rate NebulousEvilOrganization.
* The setting of ''VideoGame/JustCause3'', Medici, was intended by the developers to be a generic Mediterranean country, with features from Italy, Spain, and the Balkans, ultimately hewing closest to Sicily and Corsica.
* One of the cities in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'' is Gondolia, a Venice-like CityOfCanals well-known across Erdrea for its mercantilism and its cuisine. Gondolians also speak with an Italian-tinged PoirotSpeak.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' episode "In Stitches," the two rival bands, "The Holograms" and "The Misfits" are invited to a fashion contest by the owner of a salon in [[CityOfCanals Venice, Italy]].
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' bucks the trend by actually having an episode set partly in Milan. Of course, the villains that episode were criminally-minded fashion designers (hey, at least they did some research!).
* A WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes example: In "A Hound For Trouble" the foreign, ButNotTooForeign, Charlie Dog went to this version of Italy, attempting to be adopted by a ludicruously stereotyped Italian chef. At the end, said chef tricked Charlie into "holding up" the Leaning Tower of Pisa while he "went for help".
** One Sylvester and Tweety cartoon called "A Pizza Tweety-Pie" is set in this version of Italy's Venice, where a foreign, [[ButNotTooForeign but, again, not too foreign]], Sylvester tries to catch Tweety, who, with Granny, is vacationing here. He ends up trying to catch Tweety with spaghetti noodles, tied together like a lariat.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** An Italian tour bus had Mario from ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' mocking Homer. Then an angry Homer starts throwing trash cans at him, and it pretty much plays out like ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''.
** Milhouse is Italian through his mother's side of the family and, in an episode where Lisa is learning to speak Italian so she can become fluent enough in it to be able to study abroad in Rome (as one of the requirements was that you must be fluent in Italian), the tutor she hires ends up being Milhouse. He explains that, ever since he was a baby, he spends part of each summer visiting his maternal grandmother, who lives in Tuscany--Milhouse was ultimately forced to learn Italian because his grandmother [[SomeoneToRememberHimBy (who was left pregnant by an American soldier in World War II)]] hated the English-language and would beat Milhouse with an olive branch every time he spoke in English to her.
*** In the episode following the one where Lisa learns to speak Italian, she and her family head to Italy--they visit the Tower of Pisa, Pompeii, a village in Tuscany where Sideshow Bob just so happened to be the mayor, and Rome, where they see an opera being performed in the Colosseum. And in the closing credits montage, they're shown taking a gondola ride in Venice.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] also serves up stereotypical dialogue as a representative of Italy in a video game reimagining.
[[/folder]]
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* Angel and Spike go to Rome in a late episode of ''Series/{{Angel}}''; everyone they run into has a comical accent (including the demons) and tends to be [[LargeHam rather overdemonstrative]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''

** The Simpsons went to Italy. They visit Rome, the Tower of Pisa, and a Tuscan village where Sideshow Bob just happened to be mayor. They see an opera being performed in the Colosseum. In the closing credit montage they visit Venice.
** [[HollywoodNerd Milhouse]] apparently spends his summers here, as his mother's side of the family is Italian.

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureVentoAureo'': This tropes is averted, as the protagonists basically trek around the whole of Italy, and Araki does a stupendous job of highlighting the diversity of the entire country. Although the most significant events appear in Venice and Rome, the cast is Neapolitan, and several fights are set in places such as the ruins of Pompeii, Capri, the island of Sardegna and several scenes happen in the countryside.

[[caption-width-right:350:Clockwise from top left: ''Film/RomanHoliday'', ''Film/EatPrayLove'', ''Film/CallMeByYourName'', ''Film/TheTourist'']]