Don't just see the sights&―get to know the people. Legend has it that when Caesar's general arrived on Portuguese soil in the first century CE, he claimed to have discovered a country blessed with a mild climate and a beautiful coastline, but whose inhabitants were ungoverned and ungovernable. Today, the Portuguese are still impulsive, set in their ways, and resistant to change, yet they are ever charming, romantic, and nostalgic, with an unshakable loyalty toward family and friends. Culture Smart! Portugal takes you beneath the surface of this fascinating country and shows you how to blend in and make the most of your visit. In these pages, you will gain insight into Portuguese priorities and learn how to tap into a helpful and resourceful nature that is often overlooked by the casual visitor. Beneath a sometimes vociferous manner, the Portuguese are laid-back and gentle, so slacken your pace, put away your watch, and enjoy the rich meals, lively festivals, and ancient traditions of this great land. Have a more meaningful and successful time abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on values, attitudes, customs, and daily life will help you make the most of your visit, while tips on etiquette and communication will help you navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Culture Smart! Portugal will help you to navigate this multifaceted society. It gives insights into different aspects of life, from sleepy seaside towns to modern, trendy cities, so that you can experience at first hand how this society, which protects family and privacy so fiercely, is eager and proud to show visitors everything the country has to offer. Portugal is a small country that has had a huge cultural and political impact on the modern world. Portuguese explorers were the first to sail round the Cape of Good Hope and open up the sea route to East. At its peak its vast maritime empire embraced colonies in South America, Africa, and Asia, and the Portuguese language is the fifth-most-spoken language in the world. Portugal is now on the radar of world travelers and multinational corporations alike, and this has made its people more receptive to change and more modern in their outlook. The 1974 Peaceful Revolution, which liberated Portugal from dictatorship, also launched it into decades of political and social instability, giving rise to a mood of inertia and pessimism. Today, it is once again living up to its legacy of discovery and invention. This adventurous spirit is evident in the urban and cultural renewal that has swept the country, in harmonious contrast with its historic and traditional backdrop. Portuguese idiosyncrasies can be both confusing and enchanting. The people are famous for saudade, a yearning for the past, a soulful trait that is at once charming and fatalistic. They are collectively proud and personally self-deprecating. They can be romantic, impulsive, set in their ways, resourceful, and loyal. While rising to the challenges of the times, they have managed to maintain their values intact, preserving the history and traditions that give their country its flavor.

Culture Smart! provides essential information on attitudes, beliefs and behavior in different countries, ensuring that you arrive at your destination aware of basic manners, common courtesies, and sensitive issues. These concise guides tell you what to expect, how to behave, and how to establish a rapport with your hosts. This inside knowledge will enable you to steer clear of embarrassing gaffes and mistakes, feel confident in unfamiliar situations, and develop trust, friendships, and successful business relationships. Culture Smart! offers illuminating insights into the culture and society of a particular country. It will help you to turn your visit-whether on business or for pleasure-into a memorable and enriching experience. Contents include * customs, values, and traditions * historical, religious, and political background * life at home * leisure, social, and cultural life * eating and drinking * dos, don'ts, and taboos * business practices * communication, spoken and unspoken "Culture Smart has come to the rescue of hapless travellers." Sunday Times Travel "... the perfect introduction to the weird, wonderful and downright odd quirks and customs of various countries." Global Travel "...full of fascinating-as well as common-sense-tips to help you avoid embarrassing faux pas." Observer "...as useful as they are entertaining." Easyjet Magazine "...offer glimpses into the psyche of a faraway world." New York Times

Don't just see the sights—get to know the people. In the popular imagination Spain conjures up a picture of rapacious conquistadores, fiery flamenco dancers, and brilliant artists. All true enough but how closely does everyday life in modern Spain conform to these dramatic stereotypes? Culture Smart! Spain explores the complex human realities of contemporary Spanish life. It describes how Spain s history and geography have created both strongly felt regional differences and shared values and attitudes. It reveals what the Spaniards are like at home, and in business, how they socialize, and how to build lasting relationships with them. The better you understand the Spanish people, the more you will be enriched by your experience of this vital, warm, and varied country where the individual is important, and the enjoyment of life is paramount. Have a richer and more meaningful experience abroad through a better understanding of the local culture. Chapters on history, values, attitudes, and traditions will help you to better understand your hosts, while tips on etiquette and communicating will help you to navigate unfamiliar situations and avoid faux pas.

Despite the Roman Empire's famous 500-year reign over Europe, parts of Africa and the Middle East, Italy does not have the same long national history as states such as France or England. Divided for much of its history, Italy's regions have been, at various times, parts of bigger, often antagonistic empires, notably those of Spain and Austria. In addition, its challenging and varied terrain made consolidation of political control all the more difficult. This concise history covers, in very readable fashion, the formative events in Italy's past from the rise of Rome, through a unified country in thrall to fascism in the first half of the twentieth century right up to today. The birthplace of the Renaissance and the place where the Baroque was born, Italy has always been a hotbed of culture. Within modern Italy country there is fierce regional pride in the cultures and identities that mark out Tuscany, Rome, Sicily and Venice to name just a few of Italy's many famous regions. Jeremy Black draws on the diaries, memoirs and letters of historic travellers to Italy to gain insight into the passions of its people, first chronologically then regionally. In telling Italy's story, Black examines what it is that has given Italians such cultural clout - from food and drink, music and fashion, to art and architecture - and explores the causes and effects of political events, and the divisions that still exist today.

Portugal is an established member of the European Union, one of the founders of the euro currency and a founder member of NATO. Yet it is an inconspicuous and largely overlooked country on the continent's south-west rim. In the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Age of Discovery the Portuguese led Europe out of the Mediterranean into the Atlantic and they brought Asia and Europe together. Evidence of their one-time four-continent empire can still be felt, not least in the Portuguese language which is spoken by more than 220 million people from Brazil, across parts of Africa to Asia. Analyzing present-day society and culture, The Portuguese also considers the nation's often tumultuous past. The 1755 Lisbon earthquake was one of Europe’s greatest natural disasters, strongly influencing continental thought and heralding Portugal’s extended decline. The Portuguese also weathered Europe’s longest dictatorship under twentieth-century ruler António Salazar. A 1974 military coup, called the Carnation Revolution, placed the Portuguese at the centre of Cold War attentions. Portugal’s quirky relationship with Spain, and with its oldest ally England, is also scrutinized. Portugal, which claims Europe’s oldest fixed borders, measures just 561 by 218 kilometres . Within that space, however, it offers a patchwork of widely differing and beautiful landscapes. With an easygoing and seductive lifestyle expressed most fully in their love of food, the Portuguese also have an anarchical streak evident in many facets of contemporary life. A veteran journalist and commentator on Portugal, the author paints an intimate portrait of a fascinating and at times contradictory country and its people.