Anyone who has visited me in Italy knows that you should not go shopping for anything on the island of Ischia, off the coast of Naples, without a native. You need to go with someone who “has a guy” for whatever it is you need to ensure you get the proper treatment (read: best price). This is a fact in most of southern Italy as I understand it. And I recently described the phenomenon, which I like to call the “culture of scratching your back,” in an Our Paesani column for ItaliansRus. Check it out and decide if you’d like to live where everyone who knows your name gives you a discount.
Di Meglio is the author of Fun with the Family New Jersey (Globe Pequot Press Travel) and the Guide to Newlyweds for About.com.