History Main / SpaghettiAndGondolas

[[caption-width-right:350:Clockwise from top left: [[Film/RomanHoliday a vespa ride through Rome]], [[Film/EatPrayLove eating pizza in Naples]], [[Film/CallMeByYourName enjoying the warm countryside]], and [[Film/TheTourist a boat ride through Venice]].]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3'': The episode "The Venice Menace" is set in Venice and features an extended chase scene in gondolas. Koopa's plan is to chase out the human's population and turn the flooded city into a water park for Kootie Pie.

* The ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfSuperMarioBros3'' episode "The Venice Menace," is set in Venice, and features an extended chase scene in gondolas. Koopa's plan is to chase out the humans population and turn the flooded city into a water park for Kootie Pie.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}'' episode "In Stitches," the two rival bands, "The Holograms" and "The Misfits" are invited to a fashion contest by the owner of a salon in [[CityOfCanals Venice, Italy]].

* A WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes example: In "A Hound For Trouble" the foreign, ButNotTooForeign, Charlie Dog went to this version of Italy, attempting to be adopted by a ludicrously stereotyped Italian chef. At the end, said chef tricked Charlie into "holding up" the Leaning Tower of Pisa while he "went for help".
** One WesternAnimation/TweetyAndSylvester cartoon called "A Pizza Tweety-Pie" is set in this version of Italy's Venice, where a foreign, [[ButNotTooForeign but, again, not too foreign]], Sylvester tries to catch Tweety, who, with Granny, is vacationing here. He ends up trying to catch Tweety with spaghetti noodles, tied together like a lariat.

There's also a [[UsefulNotes/FascistItaly dark side]] to this idyllic country: the time-warped post-war black-and-white Italy that somehow survived till today, directly from [[ItalianNeoRealism neo-realistic movies]]. It's a dangerous and inhospitable country mostly populated of [[WidowsWeeds black clad]] [[NeverMessWithGranny old women]] that speak quietly and make [[ItaliansTalkWithHands emphatic gestures]], act as superstitious yet religious fanatics, and still don't own a TV set or a vehicle. The only intelligible words these creatures seem to be able to communicate is some distorted provincial dialect like "goombah", and they still claim to vote for [[UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini Mussolini]]. (Which you technically still can, in the form of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandra_Mussolini his granddaughter.]]) The remaining population of dark Italy is composed of [[AmbiguouslyBrown dark]] [[ButNotTooWhite skinned]] and dark-haired (almost Indian looking) [[TheMafia scoundrels]], good-for-nothings or whores.

UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}, mostly known for its food, wine and the fat mustachioed guys who prepare delicious dinners. There are only two cities in Italy, UsefulNotes/{{Rome}} and UsefulNotes/{{Venice}} (maybe three with UsefulNotes/{{Florence}} in more recent works). None of these cities seems to contain a single building constructed after the 17th century, unless special attention is given to ruins from AncientRome. Rome is heavily populated by gourmet chefs, effete fashionistas, and handsome, Adonis-like Vespa-riding homewreckers all too eager to give young female tourists a romantic ride past the Trevi Fountain -- oh, and most famous landmarks are within five minutes of each other, too. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is usually found here as well, as opposed to, you know, in ''Pisa''.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' bucks the trend by actually having an episode set partly in Milan. Of course, the villains in that episode were criminally-minded {{fashion designer}}s. (Hey, at least they did ''some'' research!)

UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}, mostly known for its food, wine and the fat mustachioed guys who prepare delicious dinners. There are only two cities in Italy, UsefulNotes/{{Rome}} and UsefulNotes/{{Venice}} (maybe three with UsefulNotes/{{Florence}} in more recent works). Neither city seems to contain a single building constructed after the 17th century. Rome is heavily populated by gourmet chefs, effete fashionistas, and handsome, Adonis-like Vespa-riding homewreckers all too eager to give young female tourists a romantic ride past the Trevi Fountain -- oh, and most famous landmarks are within five minutes of each other, too. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is usually found here as well, as opposed to, you know, in ''Pisa''.

UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}, mostly known for its food and the fat mustachioed guys who prepare it. There are only two cities in Italy, UsefulNotes/{{Rome}} and UsefulNotes/{{Venice}} (maybe three with UsefulNotes/{{Florence}} in more recent works). Neither city seems to contain a single building constructed after the 17th century. Rome is heavily populated by gourmet chefs, effete fashionistas, and handsome, Vespa-riding homewreckers all too eager to give young female tourists a romantic ride past the Trevi Fountain -- oh, and most famous landmarks are within five minutes of each other, too. The Leaning Tower of Pisa is usually found here as well, as opposed to, you know, in ''Pisa''.

Venice, meanwhile, is chock full of handsome, gondola-riding homewreckers all too eager to give young female tourists a romantic ride under the Bridge of Sighs. Either way, men: if your wife or girlfriend steals away on one of these intimate little tours, [[RomanticFalseLead you're probably flying back home by yourself.]] Sorry you had to hear it from us.

Expect plenty of GratuitousItalian.

*** About ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': of course, the unlucky Italian driver who gets caught in the chase in Rome was peacefully listening to a [[Music/GiuseppeVerdi Verdi]] aria (from ''Theatre/LaTraviata'') by Luciano Pavarotti, what else?

*** About ''Film/{{Spectre}}'': of course, the unlucky Italian driver who gets caught in the chase in Rome was peacefully listening to a [[Music/GiuseppeVerdi Verdi]] aria by Luciano Pavarotti, what else?

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' bucks the trend by actually having an episode set partly in Milan. Of course, the villains that episode were criminally-minded {{fashion designer}}s. (Hey, at least they did ''some'' research!)

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' bucks the trend by actually having an episode set partly in Milan. Of course, the villains that episode were criminally-minded fashion designers. (Hey, at least they did ''some'' research!)

Apparently, Tuscany (which is where Pisa is ''actually'' located) has swallowed up the rest of the country, as all the surrounding countryside consists of tomato farms, olive groves, and vineyards, and the villagers [[OldFashionedFruitStomping stomping the crops the old-fashioned way]]. If anybody's got any kind of sound system, expect to hear it blasting either "Funiculì, Funiculà"[[note]]Also known as the well-memed Pizza Theme from VideoGame/SpiderMan2.[[/note]], "O Sole Mio", "Santa Lucia" (all Neapolitan songs), or some famous Music/GiuseppeVerdi aria.[[note]]"Santa Lucia"/"Stella del Mare" has been exported to Lutheran Sweden as a popular Christmas carol with a text full of references to snow, winter darkness, and the arrival of the Queen of Lights. Few Swedes actually know of its origins and get puzzled when they hear it in Naples, like in the old ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoon when the protagonists step off a cruise ship there.[[/note]] At the same time, the population of Venice, Rome and Tuscany consists entirely of Sicilians and Neapolitans.

There's also a [[UsefulNotes/FascistItaly dark side]] to this idyllic country: the time-warped post-war black-and-white Italy that somehow survived till today, directly from [[ItalianNeoRealism neo-realistic movies]]. It's a dangerous and inhospitable country mostly populated of [[WidowsWeeds black clad]] [[NeverMessWithGranny old women]] that speak quietly and make [[ItaliansTalkWithHands emphatic gestures]], act as superstitious yet religious fanatics, and still don't own a TV set or a vehicle. The only intelligible words these creatures seem to be able to communicate is some distorted provincial dialect like "goombah", and they still claim to vote for [[UsefulNotes/BenitoMussolini Mussolini]] (Which you technically still can, in the form of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandra_Mussolini his granddaughter.]]). The remaining population of dark Italy is composed of [[AmbiguouslyBrown dark]] [[ButNotTooWhite skinned]] and dark-haired (almost Indian looking) [[TheMafia scoundrels]], good-for-nothings or whores.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' bucks the trend by actually having an episode set partly in Milan. Of course, the villains that episode were criminally-minded fashion designers (hey, at least they did some research!).

''{{Literature/Anpanman}}'' has a character named Naporitanroll-chan, who specializes in making naporitan rolls (a Japanese dish based on spaghetti, but uses ketchup as the sauce and is placed inside a bun). She also rides a gondola and sings her own rendition of "Funiculi, Funicula".

Apparently, Tuscany (which is where Pisa is ''actually'' located) has swallowed up the rest of the country, as all the surrounding countryside consists of tomato farms, olive groves, and vineyards. If anybody's got any kind of sound system, expect to hear it blasting either "Funiculì, Funiculà"[[note]]Also known as the well-memed Pizza Theme from VideoGame/SpiderMan2.[[/note]], "O Sole Mio", "Santa Lucia" (all Neapolitan songs), or some famous Music/GiuseppeVerdi aria.[[note]]"Santa Lucia"/"Stella del Mare" has been exported to Lutheran Sweden as a popular Christmas carol with a text full of references to snow, winter darkness, and the arrival of the Queen of Lights. Few Swedes actually know of its origins and get puzzled when they hear it in Naples, like in the old ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' cartoon when the protagonists step off a cruise ship there.[[/note]] At the same time, the population of Venice, Rome and Tuscany consists entirely of Sicilians and Neapolitans.