When I lived in Italy it always caught me off guard how every business closed up shop after 18:00, the city looked dead past these hours. I’m used to shops and markets being open 24/7, and it was a vast contrast. But I liked it in the long run, people should have their off hours.
Interesting, but if all the shops close when everyone gets off work, when do people get a chance to actually visit the shops when they are free before they close?
You usually get about an hour to do your shopping, plus big supermarkets like Esselunga would still be open, you just had to make the trip. I guess there’s always a lunch break, a pizza place next to a place I used to live in only opened from 14:00 to 17:00, and there would always be a long line (because they had very good pizza)
It’s especially noticable in cities where the storefronts close with rolling metal doors, and the windows close over with shutters. It is very apparent that the city is “closed.”
Of course these doors and shutters have very practical purposes. Just that if they’re not common in your home country, it can be jarring.
