Time Is Life For Italians

(CBS)  The great Italian journalist Luigi Barzini once wrote that his countrymen "consider laws and government impediments to good living."

And to live well, Italians also have healthy disrespect for something else: time, CBS News Correspondent Allen Pizzey reports.

Boutique owners like Giuliana Farina could make money over the lunch hour, but there are stronger priorities.

"I am hungry at one o'clock, a little bit hungry," Farina says.

And so she closes up, as do most stores and businesses, for three full hours in the middle of the day.

But it's more than simple bodily needs. It's a cultural imperative. All the things that make life worth living — good food, wine and companionship — are like the notes of an Italian love song. They need time to compose the classic "dolca vita," the sweet life.

It's one of the things that makes Italy a success in spite of itself, according to sociologist Franco Ferrarotti.

"The good life has to have one priority: life itself," Ferrarotti says. "Time is money in the States. In Italy you would say time is life, life comes first."

There are, of course, trade-offs. I've been waiting a month for the phone company to fix my high-speed internet connection. On the other hand, I can drink a coffee in 60 seconds and then linger for the next hour and no one will bother me to move on.

And when Italians do move on … it's for the time-honored ritual of the "passagiatta," the stroll to see and, most importantly, be seen.

Striking a "bella figura," a good image, is as integral to the good life as food.

"Any ethical thing, problem or issue can be translated into an esthetical appearance, la bella figura, the nice figure, is essential," Ferrarotti says.

But good living doesn't mean inefficiency. A country the size of Arizona did not become a member of the G8 through laziness.

That they managed it with lower stress levels than their fellow economic giants is all thanks to Italian version of the good life.