Chapter 1: È bello essere italiani!

Feliciano: Ciao, Ciao! This is Feliciano~ Lately, I've been seeing how people are interested in visiting my home but as a nation, I feel that no one is respecting our customs... Oh, and Romano is here! Say hi, fratello!

Romano: YOUR HOME, FELICIANO? You're only just the north part of the country, you dumbass! Italia is my home too! Ma sí, my brother is right for once. If you bastards ever want to visit our home for whatever reason, you should at least try to follow our customs here, dammit! What good will it do if you came here and didn't follow le regole? The RULES?

Feli: Sí. That's why we're here to tell you pretty girls and nice boys. Right, fratello?

Romano: Hmph. I guess. I'm just glad that Spain isn't here to bother me.

Feli: That's great, fratello! And once we're done, we can go to a nice restaurant together and eat pasta...

Romano: -Let's get started, fratello.

Feli: Okay! So, the first thing to discuss is our importance to valori familiari, or family values! As Italians, family is very important to us.

Romano: Feli, I think family is important to all of us, even the non-Italians.

Feli: I know, fratello. But family plays a big role in our society! In my half, generally the mommies, daddies and their children live together in one house.

Romano: And in my half, the family is extended and together in one hous- You get the idea!

Feli: Fratello! The nice people won't learn if you keep yelling like that.

Romano: Shut up, Feliciano! I'm just doing this so that I can get away from Spain and these bastards really need to know our system of manners! Anyway, the family centralizes the social structure, stabilizes influence for its members and provides emotional and financial support for the other families. But I'm sure that you all know that already since you're no different to the importance of family.

Feli: Mhm! So now that we have the family values covered, we should discuss the next topic: The style of Italians!

Romano: Great. But since I volunteered myself to help you out, I'll start. Okay, you bastards, listen up. If you ever consider coming to Italy, you better remember one thing besides learning our language: CLOTHES. As Italians, we are very fashionable and we consider appearance to be VERY important! We can be very judgmental by what you wear and how you act. Not to mention that our first impressions can last for a long time. Like I said, if any bastard here is wishing to go to Italy, I suggest you go and pack nice clothes, shoes and accessories if you want to make a good impression for our people.

Feli: We also have this thing called "bella figura" or 'good image'. But it does not narrow just on appearance! As much as we value appearance, we also value the person's mannerisms.

Romano: For example, acting with confidence and style like that bastard France can most likely get you accepted.

Feli: Don't say mean things to big brother France, fratello!

Romano: He's the only example I can think of! And for the record, I'm actually complementing your "big brother" for being bold with his fashion. But I am not referring to his "touchiness" and weird laugh so don't do it to creep our people out!

Feli: Oh, I am glad Fratello is warming up to big brother France~!

Romano: Shut up and get to the next topic.

Feli: And that is the meeting of the italiani~ Can I explain this one, Fratello?

Romano: Psh. Just go right ahead.

Feli: Yay~!
So when you meet us, we will greet you enthusiastically but formally. If we're meeting a stranger for the first time, shaking hands and smiling will be nice. Remember, first impressions are very important in italia so be sure to know your manners! But when we think that you are nice enough to become our friend, we might start air-kissing your cheeks (left then right) and if you're a guy, you also receive a pat on the back! Isn't that nice~? Also, don't be alarmed if we suddenly might start asking personal questions. It's part of the first impression!

Romano: Don't forget about the calling cards we hand out during social gatherings. They usually contain the person's name, address, title, and phone number. If you are planning to stay here for some time, a good suggestion is to make a number of those cards. And if you are in a business, never give out your business card in place of your calling card!

Feli: I'm sure that the nice girls and boys don't own businesses at this age, fratello.

Romano: But you'll never know, Feliciano. They can be one of those rich kids representing their parents.

Feli: Hmm... Oh! We should continue! So we have family values, the style and meeting of the italiani... The gifts!

Romano: We better explain this properly, Feliciano. This is one of the most important topics for visiting Italy, especially if the tourists would want to show respect to our people.

Feli: Roger! For the boys and girls reading this, I'm sure that there are things you like and things you don't like, right? Do you sometimes hear your parents telling you certain things that are and are not allowed in your culture? In italia, we also have things that are and are not allowed too!

Romano: I think you're confusing them, Fratello. I think I should explain. Basically, when you want to give us gifts, there are some things that are allowed and not allowed. I know you want to show us some respect and give us gifts but what good will that do if you end up giving us something that says: "Go fall down a cliff and die, you bastard"? You and I know that we don't want that, right? Good, I'm glad you understand. Now mio fratello will explain more of this.

Feli: Grazie! As Fratello had said, there are things that we don't want to receive as gifts. For example, there are certain flowers we do not want.

Romano: Don't show up in front of our door with Chrysanthemums since they basically mean: "I'm sorry for the loss of your beloved". Do you want people to think that our home is a place to lay the dead? Show some consideration, dammit!

Feli: We also don't like it when you bring red flowers because they show something called "secrecy" and yellow flowers tell the person that they are "jealous".
It's really not nice to let another person know how jealous they are, non?

Romano: But I guess any other flower would be nice. And also some good quality wine would make a nice gift. It's not that I want wine or anything but it's good to show that you can offer something with good quality. Who doesn't like expensive things?

Feli: And when you wrap it, make sure it's wrapped nicely- you are going to give this to someone, right? But please, do not wrap the gifts in black or purple. In italia, purple is a very unlucky color and black represents mourning for the dead.

Romano: What bastard would wrap their present in black anyway? Isn't that common sense?

Feli: Fratello, we still have two more topics to discuss before we finally get to eat pasta! I'm hungry~

Romano: Okay, Feliciano! Let's get this over with! The last two topics are supposed to be dining and table etiquette, right?

Feli: Sí!

Romano: If you get invited from an Italian and if the card says: "wear informally", show up with formal clothes! For the ladies, a nice elegant dress is proper and for the men, a jacket and tie will do. How many times do I have to stress that fashion is very important here?

Feli: Maybe three times? That is still a lot, Fratello!

Romano: Hmph. And when you get invited, show up with chocolates or wine. This is respect to our people. If you want to give them flowers, deliver it on the day you have the dinner.

Feli: Also, you don't have to be on time in italia! You can come somewhere around fifteen minutes when invited to a dinner and up to thirty minutes when invited to a party~! I'm hungry now~

Romano: We have one more topic to discuss and then we can go and get some pasta! I'm surprised that the bastard Spain haven't shown up to bother m-

Feli: FRATELLO~!

Romano: Alright, alright idiota Feliciano! Dammit. Okay, last topic you bastards! Listen real good because the last topic is going to be on table manners!

Feli: Yay~!

Romano: First, you wait until you are invited to sit at the table and the host might even give you a seat. Remember to follow the hostess' lead! She is the first to sit, the first to eat and the first to get up.

Feli: Be sure to hold your fork and knife in a continental way (fork in left hand, knife in right) and always take a small amount of food so that you will have room for a second helping~!

Romano: And during the meal, be sure to keep your hands away from your lap and your elbows off the table. I'm sure that the other nations have this rule too.

Feli: Also, the host is the first to make a toast and the pretty girls can make a small toast as well~! If you do not want any wine, leave the wine glass almost full~

Romano: If they also give you cheese, pick it up with your knife and not with your fingers.

Feli: Formaggio~ Cheese~!

Romano: And you can always leave a small portion on your plate or piatto.

Feli: Formaggio~ Pasta~

Romano: Okay, I'm done. We're done, right?

Feli: Sí, Fratello~ I'm sure that the nice boys and pretty girls reading this know a lot of things about us~!

Romano: I hope so because I felt like I lectured a bunch of babies.

Feli: Don't be mean~! Now that we're done, we can go to that restaurant and eat some pasta~

Romano: Hurry up and end this then. I'm starving.

Feli: Okay~! So I hope all of you learned something about our culture.

Romano: And even though it may be difficult to get used to, you are helping us show that at least you are trying to show that respect that many of us deserve. So I guess I can thank some people here who are willing to try to appreciate our culture a little more.

Feli: Sí~ We thank you for reading this far! I know it's a lot of information to get used to but grazie for reading the entire thing! Maybe I should get Germany and Japan to show how their cultures are like...

Romano: I'm going, Feliciano!

Feli: Wait, fratello! Don't leave mee!

~Benvenuti in Italia!~

A/N: I decided to take a short break with Zhelanie and start a new fanfic since this was constantly bothering me. But I doubt I will get this finished in time.

Welcome to Regit Mundi!

As you may have noticed, this is somewhat like a manual to etiquette hence, Regit Mundi or "the rules of the World" in Latin. As a Hetalia fan, I figured that we should not only learn about the country's history but their culture as well! And so, by researching etiquette for specific countries, I was able to draw up a lot of interesting information!

While I was reading through the etiquette, I happened to develop a greater appreciation to Himaruya. Although the characters he created were stereotypical, he really dedicated his time to researching the mannerisms corresponding to the country in his characters. I guess this is why people like Hetalia so much.

My purpose in writing this fanfic is to help respect other people in other nations as well as to remind them that each and every culture is different not just in food and clothing, but in rules and mannerisms. I wanted to help show the appreciation that I have for the world out there.

Different nations have different cultures, no? :)

If there is any inaccurate information in this chapter and/or any future chapters, please let me know so that I can fix it.

And if this have offended anyone, I apologize in advance.

Thank you!

NEXT CHAPTER: GERMANY AND PRUSSIA

(I will do all the Axis and the Allies. Additional Characters will be notified after I have completed the eight nations)