Levi KeswickFirst impressions are very important. If you are really lucky, you will not be harassed at customs, but more than likely you will be met by a business colleague or representative at the airport. This is a very important first contact. A well-defined action plan will help you to have a good first impression. Be sure to remember that not all “meetings” are actual meetings and make sure that you are clear on the program when you arrive. You will probably have to change travel plans and to do that you will have to have a full understanding of where and when that meeting will be.
In the beginning you will be able to manage filling out customs forms, even if the customs officials are doing it for you. More than likely they are looking for incidental items that might be in your possession that might cause you to pay a duty. Nonetheless, you should be prepared to offer up your watch and wallet.
You will be walked through the airport and you will not see many of the services that the airport has to offer. Your bags will not be paged or flown to you. You must pick them up on your own. You will probably be met by your employer’s representative who will take you out to a meeting place. If you arrive in Florence, you may arrive at the Amerigo Vespucci Airport. From there you will be taken by motor coach to the waiting room at the station called Stazione Termini. Then you will be taken to your hotel. But, you will end up at the Florence train station located in the main public square of the city. You are here to sightsee for about two to four weeks before you begin your work. And then, you will have a chance to explore.
Your very first day you will be on a carefully planned tour. You will be shown your office or offices in a building, but where that building is located; your Italian colleague will never say. They may tell you that you will know it when you see it. Never argue with your Italian friends or superiors. They look down on people who argue, and they will think you are arguing with everything they say. Don’t be surprised to be taken to a very good restaurant for lunch. Everyone exchanges business cards. Some of the persons on your list of business cards are not persons very close to your work.
Everything will happen in Italian. Even the restaurants will be Italian. Just because you are not a tourist, does not mean that you are in Italy. You are still a tourist, especially to the Italians.
Over and over again you will be told that you have made a good first impression. If there is a dress code, you should follow it. Italians have a special day planned for you. If you have a sense of time, you will find yourself having lunch at noon, dinner at 7:30, and a ride in a taxicab between 9:30 and 10:00 in the evening. You are invited to stay for a drink. Italians learn young to use real ice cubes in their drinks. There are Italian words for rum & Coke and other mixed drinks. Your employer will offer you a nice glass after dinner every night. Or you may even be offered a good drop of Limoncello here and there.
When you see an Italian party you need to understand two things. First of all, they are in a world of their own as soon as they get together. And second of all, they are not going to wait for you to catch up. The lunch is offered, and you will assume that a full plate is expected. (So, make sure you have good use of the finger bowl.) You hear only Italian. These are the times that you have to be glad that you have an appointment. You will not be expected to make any long speeches. You have done that at your welcome luncheon.
Don’t expect to go out to eat with your Italian friends. You are there to work and not to play. If you have the opportunity you can go out for pizza. Try to get it with whole milk mozzarella and a piece of prosciutto on top. People come in their suits when they come in for dinner at pizzerias. It is difficult for you to want to go out during lunch, because you realize that you may not get new clothes quickly and never before 8 to 10 pm. You may go to an all-night bar. But, it is not recommended that you go alone.
During your first days, you need to pass out business cards and certainly be ready and willing to pick some up.
- Italian Greetings are as follows:
Handshake
Hook/thumb-forefinger gesture (kneeling style)
Hand over heart
Shrug of shoulders.
Italian Business Law and Customs Union
In Italy, there is a concept of Business Law. More often than not, it is more appropriately associated with Criminal Law.
Italian Business Law is defined as well defined in the local laws of each of the twenty regions of Italy. Each of the twenty regions has its own laws that are codified, and they are based on the Roman Law.
Italian Criminal Law is governed by the articles contained in the Statuto di Roma, which was enacted by the Italians to be included in the Italian Constitution of 1948. The Government of Italy is able to legislate on the following subjects: crimes against the unity of the state, the constitutional order, democracy, the economy, the environment, public security, individual rights and legal procedures. The Parliament of Italy is allowed to decide on handing down Capital Punishment or the Presumption of Non-Existence, which is a substitute for Capital Punishment.
By law, all public office-holders and private citizens are prohibited from disclosing any information acquired in any government office or business, through whatever means, including the judicial inquiry.
The same rules that apply to the judicial inquiries apply to the investigative inquiry. The distinction between both forms lies in the type of persons who are subjected to investigation or inquiry.
In general, the investigative inquiry has a broader scope and anyone can be involved in the process, be it public office-holders or private citizens. Almost everything is possible because of the wide power of inquiry that a Public Prosecutor has. An inquiry must identify and prove a suspicion of a crime against the public administration; or a crime against the juridical bodies and public offices; a crime against public safety; a crime against the political system and democracy; a crime against the property and the environment; a crime against the individual rights; a crime against the public health; or a crime against the public order.
In the judicial inquiry, the investigators are limited to the examination of a limited number of persons and the allegations are related to the specific category of crimes.
In both cases, the Comptroller General conducts the investigation. The Comptroller General is an independent central entity that unites the administration of all the national public offices.
The Comptroller General is a public office-holder with the highest professional rank. The Comptroller General provides maximum redundancy of private interests of those in public office. However, certain offices are outside of its reach.
In Italy, there is a basic Italian company law that does not allow Criminal Law to govern its proceedings.
For almost half a century, there has been a new form of company law in Italy. It is known as B.L.L. or Bocconi Law, that was set in motion in 1962.
It is a law that was named after Luigi Einaudi. He was a former Italian Prime Minister and the former President of Italy. He was also the Honorary President of Bocconi University in Milan.
This law was approved by the confederation of the trade union of Italy with the aim of centralizing public law in the Italian legislation and the unification of the company law.
The Bocconi Law was a product of a general agreement between the three confederations of political parties and the government.
This law created a whole new form of merger in corporations. It is known as the “Baysian” law, and it is a law that is based on the idea of the humanist movement that is known as a “longo term administration participation in the same goals of the company”.
By the Bocconi law, every citizen has the right to run for a board of directors position in a corporation.
Italian Criminal Law is the general body of criminal law in Italy. It covers the general principles of criminal law and criminal procedure that is in force in Italy. This Criminal Law is ruled in accordance with what is established by the Statuto di Roma (Constitution of the Italian Republic).
Post 1949, the criminal proceedings are regulated by the Italian Criminal Procedure Code. The codes that govern the criminal proceedings are:
It is the highest governing body of public law in Italy. It is the Supreme Court, the head of the Judicature, and it is also the guarantor of the constitutional order. It is an independent judicial body that was established in the 1947 Constitution of Italy. Any violation of this code would be considered an impeachable offence.
Before continuing with the history of the Italian Constitution, it is important to describe the history of Rome. This is because Rome has had a very prominent role in the history of Italy.
The origin of the history of the constitution of Italy is as old as 575 BC. According to legend, Romulus and Remus, who were grandsons of the goddess Rhea Silvia, founded Rome on 21 April 753 BC.
At that time, they founded the government on the basis of an assembly, named the Roman Senate, and according to the legends, they had established the monarchy.
After numerous cities had fallen due to the invasions, the cultural hub of Rome was born. There were numerous wars and battles over the hegemony of Rome.
However, Rome was able to take advantage of the invasions because it had the Senate, which was effective in resolving conflicts.
This Senate was set up by the Kings of Rome in order to resolve the conflicts. The Senate was composed of Patricians. Patriic means “father of a family who belongs to the noblest class, owning land”.
The Senate was a deliberative and consultative body. It commanded the army and the resolutions of the inner and outer actions. However, it was wholly dependent on the monarchy.
In the history of Rome, around 509 B.C., the first Roman and the longest Kings reigned for forty years. In this duration, he founded the “Consul”. Consul is a type of leader.
The Second Consul was created in the history of Rome in the year 443 B.C. and then the third Consul was created in the year 367 B.C.
The Roman State under the system of Government of the Kings was not a monarchy anymore. The Roman State was a two-tribe republic, which meant that the Consul was independent of the monarchy.
