Southern Europe
Video Chat with People from Italy
Italy changes character every few hours by train: Milan's design and business pace, Venice's canals, Bologna's kitchens, Florence's art, Rome's history, Naples' pizza, then the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Italy uses Central European Time (UTC+1, or UTC+2 in summer), and dinner often starts around 8 PM or later, especially in the south, so late evening is a relaxed time of day. A 9 PM chat in Rome falls in the middle of the afternoon on the US East Coast.
Italian is spoken everywhere, and many regions also have their own dialects or languages, such as Neapolitan, Sicilian, Venetian and Sardinian, plus German in South Tyrol. English comfort varies, so a little Italian is welcome. Serie A football, cycling and the Giro d'Italia, Formula 1, the Sanremo music festival, coffee rituals and summers at the sea are all easy topics, as are hikes in the Dolomites and debates over the right way to make carbonara. Our Italian phrase guide has more to try.
Italy at a glance
| Flag | 🇮🇹 |
|---|---|
| Official name | Italian Republic |
| Capital | Rome |
| Region | Europe · Southern Europe |
| Official language | Italian |
| Currency | Euro (€, EUR) |
| Calling code | +39 |
| Time zone | Central European Time (Europe/Rome) |
How to say hello
A few words of Italian make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italian | Ciao! Come stai? | chow, KOH-meh STAI | Hi! How are you? |
| Italian | Buonasera! | bwoh-nah-SEH-rah | Good evening! (used from late afternoon) |
| Italian | Ehi, come va? | AY-ee, KOH-meh VAH | Hey, how's it going? |
| Italian | Piacere! | pyah-CHEH-reh | Nice to meet you! |
Tips for chatting with people from Italy
- 'Buonasera' starts earlier than 'good evening' does in English, often from mid to late afternoon, so it's a safe hello for most chat hours.
- Ask what you should eat in their city, from Neapolitan pizza to Bolognese tortellini or Sicilian arancine; regional food is the classic opener.
- Use 'Lei' (the formal 'you') if a chat starts formally; relaxed conversations almost always switch to 'tu'.
- Ask whether they speak a local dialect. Hearing the same sentence in Neapolitan, Sicilian or Venetian is a treat.
Only meet people from Italy
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Italy, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Italy and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Italy, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Italy are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Neighboring countries
Italy borders 6 countries. Curious about the people next door? Meet them too:
- Austria
- France
- San Marino
- Slovenia
- Switzerland
- Vatican City