Why do Italians seem so rude?

From Rome down, Italians can be quite rude as seen from an English cultural position. It’s the great cultural divide that I married into. Italians do not like to decorate their requests and acknowledgments with pleases and thank yous. Especially if they are your friends (or work in public service.) Between friends they find it too formal and if you say thank you to a good Neapolitan friend, they will reply that there is no need for a formal thank you. They believe thank you and please are too formal for good friends who understand each other. When in Italy their apparent rudeness is just due to cultural differences so try not to take it personally.