During my roadtrip in Europe (ended up with the Passat V6) we where also inside Italy for a litle while (due to driving stelvio pass) - was amazed at the "collective" non respect for speed limits etc (I guess we all do speeding at times - but still).......roadwork area with 60km/h ALL where driving 100+......and everyone is trying to take a bite out of your fenders - is this the same style throughout Italy or was this just a coincident ?.
I must say I much prefer the German style - even though it can be faster - but then again the roads are generally better....:)
Just thought it was a bit of a surrealistic experience, and when coming over the border into Switzerland again it was almost like flicking a switch - and things got back to a "normal" driving style again....lol...:)