My Turtle Theory

The average visitor can become overwhelmed with the vast beauty and eccentric social structure of this wonderful country we call Italy. Everything is beautiful; from the time spent carefully crafting each dish in a meal, to the lavish churches, and even the people. The locals are wonderfully animated and passionate, and gesticulate more than any other group of people in the world.

Groups of people can be classified into five separate categories: old, middle-aged, contemporary, teenagers, and children. I’ve never seen so many old people in one place at a time; none of which are over 5 feet tall. Come to think of it, throughout each category named, I’ve rarely seen anyone over the height of 5’7″, male or female. Many people always ask me the same question, “why are Italians so small?”. As if I were to know the real reason why, my answer is always the same: the turtle theory.

It has been said that a turtle will grow to the size of their environment; meaning if you leave the young turtle in a small fish tank, it will stunt the turtles growth and result in a smaller turtle. If you allow the turtle to live and grow in a pond, lake, or sea; the turtles growth becomes endless, with the possibility of a very large turtle. I believe the same factor can be applied to people, take Americans for instance. Everything is bigger; houses, backyards, cars, meals, beds, and so on. In America, the bigger, the better, and the end result is a large population of giant people.

Italy is a magnificent country, magnificently old. Constructed thousands of years ago, most towns are spaced out along the countryside with apartments, houses, and buildings built very close to each other crammed onto the narrow roads. Everything here seems crammed together, and yet, there seems to be enough space for everyone. Compared to the sizes stateside, everything is incredibly small; doorways are shorter, twin beds are found in hotel rooms, locals drive mini Fiat 500 cars, restaurants serve smaller portion sizes, and consumers shop for smaller sizes of everything from espresso caffè to deodorant. According to my theory, everything is so much smaller here and so the Italians have adapted to this environment, “stunting their growth”, per se.

Realistically, it only seems this way. According to statistical data of the average human height around the world, the average height of a male and female from Italy respectively is; 1.760 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) and 1.650 m (5 ft 5 in). For the United States of America, the average height of a male and female respectively is; 1.763 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) and 1.622 m (5 ft 4 in). The results are in fact, the same, even allowing the average height of an Italian female to be one inch taller than the American counterpart.

Despite the statistical findings, after spending over 5 years here and glancing over the top of everyone’s head, I am convinced the turtle theory to ring true. Even so, the best experiences I’ve had in this country are cruising around in a smart car along a narrow street, or learning how to sleep comfortably in a twin bed as a six-foot tall adult. The smaller sizes are part of Italy’s charm, and as I begin to see larger sizes of commodities sold in the super market, I hope this to be short-lived and that Italy chooses to remain compact.