In a world full of data, reports and presentations, popular wisdom reminds us of something simple: often, the deepest truths lie in a few well-chosen words.
Proverbs, idioms and sayings handed down through generations are little capsules of experience. They arise from everyday life, from the countryside and cities, from families and shops. They recount the mistakes, successes, fears and hopes of those who came before us.
“Popular wisdom” explores how these seemingly simple phrases can guide today’s choices: in work, relationships and leadership.
Each proverb is a different lens through which to observe responsibility, prudence, courage and collaboration.
Behind a colourful saying often lies a whole manual of risk management, operational common sense and respect for others.
This section brings yesterday’s sayings into dialogue with today’s challenges: from time management to trust in the team, from haste to difficult decisions. It shows how the wisdom of grandmothers and old masters can still illuminate meetings, negotiations and strategic choices.
As you read these quotes, let yourself be provoked by their simplicity.
What are they suggesting, in concrete terms, for the way you lead, collaborate and make decisions?
Let popular wisdom become a practical compass: a few clear and direct words to remind us where we really want to go.
In recent times, across social networks and chats, a curious pseudo-Latin abbreviation has appeared: “etm”, used in contexts where one would normally find “etc.”. According to some, it stands for “et merda”, that is, “and shit”, placed at the end of a list to give the same flavour as the more straightforward English “and shit”, … Read more
“Diffuse potamophagy” is an ironic, pseudo-scientific term used to render into Italian the Sicilian noun “manciaciumi”, commonly known, outside Sicilian linguistic circles, as “itching”. What we have here is a fine example of macaronic Latinism, or more precisely, of jocular pseudo-scientific language typical of Sicilian linguistic culture: a culture in which erudition is not intended … Read more
(References to real, existing people are, as always, entirely intentional.) Women possess a remarkable social talent: they know how to remain silent about what truly matters and, at the same time, comment with flair on what does not matter at all.This is not inconsistency. It is information economy. When the stakes are serious — affections, … Read more
In Sicilian one says “accattari un picciriddu”: literally, “to buy a child”. An expression that, to modern ears, may sound amusing or disorienting. Yet behind those seemingly improper words lies a precise linguistic history and an ancient way of understanding birth. The verb “accattari” did not originally mean “to buy”. In older language and in … Read more
(Inspired by a post by “Heritance Italy”) If you have ever wondered how Italians consistently manage to find good food, the answer is disarmingly simple: we almost never check reviews. Not because we distrust technology, but because we trust something older, sharper and infinitely more reliable — instinct, observation and a lifetime of culinary literacy. … Read more
Italians are not always late, but the stereotype persists because it contains a grain of cultural truth — a small one, the size of a coffee bean, but still enough to fuel an entire international myth. It is not really about punctuality in the strict sense. It is about a different relationship with time, one … Read more
I went to my long-time barber the other day.
I did not have his phone number, so I asked for it.
As I was saving it on my mobile, I asked for his surname.
“John… and your surname?”
He looked at me with perfect seriousness:
“Barber.”
“No, your actual surname.”
“In Sicily, when we do something, we do it grandly — or not at all.
That is why we often do nothing.”
(Pino Caruso)
This remark is both self-irony and deep truth: in Sicily (and not only there), there exists a natural aversion to mediocrity.
Doing things “halfway” is almost an insult to one’s own pride.
The paradox is that this drive toward greatness often becomes a trap.
The “all-or-nothing” mindset leads to postponement — waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect means, the perfect conditions — which rarely ever come.
“See you between three and five. And please, be on time!”
(Renzino Barbera)
Italian precision — and even more so Sicilian precision — is a form of art.
Forget Einstein: we bent space and time long before relativity.
“Between three and five” is not a time. It is a state of mind.
It is an invitation to enter a temporal zone where clocks follow the rhythm of the heart and the level of post-lunch blood sugar.
“You may not be interested in war, but war may be interested in you.”
— Leon Trotsky
Conflict does not wait for our consent.
We may prefer neutrality, but rivals, disruptions, and ambitions still reach us.
In business as in politics, refusing to engage does not guarantee safety — it often cedes initiative to others.
Today, a dear friend came up against a wall: someone reasoning with the classic “After me, the flood!”, showing no willingness for constructive dialogue.
I suggested he resist the temptation of a public confrontation, which would have brought nothing but bitterness and no tangible results.
Better to wait, observe, and work behind the scenes to build a solution that truly works.
As the Sicilian proverb says:
“A word is like an arrow: once it has been shot, it cannot be taken back.”
“A parola è comu ‘a freccia: una vota scacciata, nun si po’ cchiù ripigghiari”
Brandolini’s Law and fake news
Formulated in a tweet by the Italian programmer Alberto Brandolini in 2013:
“The bullshit asymmetry: the amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than to produce it.”
SOS — Slower, Older, and Smarter
Slower is not delay. It is design.
Older is not decline. It is perspective.
Smarter is not cleverness. It is prudence.
““Lu tempu e la spirienza fannu nasciri la prudenza” — time and experience give birth to prudence, says a Sicilian proverb.
I am Italian.
My heart lives on my sleeve, where the sun can warm it and the wind can wound it.
In my chest, a fire that will not bow to water or to chains.
On my lips, words that rush forward; no fear can stop them.
Silence has never been my refuge — I have always sought the edge where voices rise and truths collide.
“If pride were an illness, more than half of us would be dead.”
(Si la superbia fussi ‘nfirmitati nni murissiru cchiù di la mitati)
This Sicilian proverb turns arrogance into a fatal epidemic. It is not about healthy dignity, but the inflated pride that refuses to listen, hides mistakes, and blinds judgement.
It is a scalpel disguised as humour.
It takes a universal human flaw — arrogance — and exaggerates it into a fatal epidemic, implying that it is far more widespread than most will admit.
“The written word lasts far longer than the spoken word.”
(Sicilian proverb:
“A parola scritta dura cchiussai di la parola detta”)
Paraphrased:
Memory betrays; writing preserves.
The greatest lie you tell yourself is:
“I do not need to write it down, I will remember it.”
Once, your memory was a steel trap — catching every detail and holding it fast. Today? Not quite. That brilliant idea you were sure you would not forget, that name on the tip of your tongue, that appointment you thought was “impossible to miss” — gone, swallowed by the noise of the day.
The Sicilian word “timpulata”, especially common in the dialect spoken in Palermo, refers to a slap — specifically, a blow delivered with an open hand, often to the cheek or the side of the head.
The term has ancient roots: it derives from the Greek verb “τύπτω” (týpto), meaning “to strike”. It also bears a resemblance to the Spanish “bofetada”, which also means slap. Like many Sicilian words, it reflects the island’s layered linguistic heritage, shaped by centuries of contact with Greek, Arabic, Spanish, and Norman cultures.
He who feels comfortable is always well dressed.
“Cu si senti comudu, è sempri vistutu bonu.”
(Sicilian proverb)
Style is not a label. It is a feeling.
Forget the runway. True elegance is found in what fits not only your body, but your life.
A garment may carry a famous name, but if it pinches, pulls, or makes you doubt yourself in the mirror — it is not style, it is theatre.
The Sicilian woman, when she is truly angry, grants no reprieve.
She speaks — or rather, shouts — for hours, like a flood sweeping away every obstacle.
It is not merely anger: it is strategy.
Every word, every repetition, every example is a stone laid to build a message that will remain in the listener’s mind.
Dare — and do not care.
Leadership is not about keeping everyone happy.
It is about knowing what truly matters, and cutting away the rest.
Courage is not shouting. It is choosing your battles — and ignoring the applause meter.
As the Sicilian proverb says: “Cu avi cori, passi u mari a pedi.”
He who has heart crosses the sea on foot.