# Small towels in Italy/Europe **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 8, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365 "2010-12-08T01:36:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/1 "2010-12-08T01:36:22Z")
We spent most of our time in Italy, so I am not sure if this is just an Italian thing or not. The towels in hotels/agriturismos were the smallest thinnest towels I had ever seen. [Compared to passport](http://d.imagehost.org/view/0057/Small) (note the passport is thicker than the folded towel) [Can see your hand through them](http://d.imagehost.org/view/0317/Transparent). We saw this in at least three different locations. Is this normal? Where they really only handtowels and we were expected to bring our own? They were 80% of the area of a [normal towel](http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=114785&RN=273&), just 10 times thinner. I would also like to say that this is not a typical “big fat American” problem. My wife and I are about 100 lbs (45 Kg) and 125lbs (56 Kg), respectively, and we had a hard time drying off with these things. NOTE: I am not complaining exactly, I travel to other countries to experience different cultures. I am just trying to figure out some semblance of an explanation as to why. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/2 "2010-12-08T02:18:32Z")
Oh, Europe has godawful towels… and no washcloths! The towels don’t dry like a good American towel, either. I’ve stayed in nice hotels over most of Europe and have yet to see what I’d consider a proper towel. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/3 "2010-12-08T02:37:31Z")
It’s quite common in Italy, and it’s like trying to dry yourself with a sheet. A very small sheet. As I recall it (but I may be wrong), the other parts of Europe I visited had actual towels, but perhaps slightly on the small side. Bad towels, and hard bread rolls for breakfast, are seemingly unavoidable aspects of being a tourist in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/4 "2010-12-08T02:54:54Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Oh, Europe has godawful towels… and no washcloths! The towels don’t dry like a good American towel, either. I’ve stayed in nice hotels over most of Europe and have yet to see what I’d consider a proper towel. Sure, our roads are crap, we have no healthcare, and God forbid you lose your job. Yes, we are #15 in Internet speed, and our schools aren’t quite as good as Latvia’s, but we have the best damn towels and the softest toilet tissue in the world! **U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!** ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/5 "2010-12-08T03:24:20Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > Bad towels, and hard bread rolls for breakfast, are seemingly unavoidable aspects of being a tourist in Europe. Ok, so we’ve established that this is somewhat common in Italy/Europe. The question is Why? The towels I linked to were colored and $6.00 retail. I bet a hotel could probably buy a batch of white ones in bulk for $3.00 or less a piece. Why not? ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/6 "2010-12-08T03:48:30Z")
Some kind of towel/body mass ratio? ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/7 "2010-12-08T04:05:34Z")
“Hello, front desk? Can you send up some bath towels? We seem to have gotten some of your dish towels by mistake.” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/8 "2010-12-08T04:43:17Z")
Is it normal for European travelers to not bathe while in Italian hotels? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/9 "2010-12-08T05:28:39Z")
I have been in Italy four times in the last 20 years, probably stayed in 15 hotels. I consistently found towels large enough, but tending to be thin, waffle-weave types. I have no idea why anyone would prefer them. Some of the fancier hotels have nicer towels (I’ve stayed in a wide range of hotels there), more like the American standard. The standard in American hotels is thicker, terrycloth towels. And shower curtains or doors that completely enclose the shower 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/10 "2010-12-08T06:20:28Z")
Thin towels are easier and cheaper to launder. They harbour less dirt and detritus to begin with; they take up less space and consume less energy in the washing; they dry more easily. For these reasons they are common in European homes, and your basic/standard/family European hotel tends to favour them. More upmarket hotels will offer the decadent, effeminate, character-sapping towels whose prevalence in the US is largely responsible for the collapse in American prestige worldwide. Thin towels have advantages for the traveller too. They also ry more quickly when simply hanging – if you have a shower in the evening before going to bed, your towel will be dry in the morning. If you are carrying your own towel, as a backpacker would, the saving in space and weight and the quick drying capacity are invaluable features. The fact that it feels like wet-and-dry sandpaper is a small price to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/11 "2010-12-08T12:13:32Z")
I’m a european resident and I don’t recognise this problem at all. If I stay in a guest house, hotel or apartment across Europe, the default is big fluffy towels. I’m scratching my head to think of any occasion when your scenario applies. Though I will say that when I’m in the US for business I’m struck by the same-ness of the hotels. So maybe small differences across hotels in Europe are amplified for you and simply pass me by? But I think I’d notice poor towels, I’m a real stickler for fluffiness at home. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/12 "2010-12-08T12:29:35Z")
I have never been to Italy, but I grew up in Britain and (and have been in cheapish hotels in a few other European countries) and have now also lived for 20 years in the U.S.A. I have never noticed any particular difference between the two continents in respect of the towels available in either homes or hotels. If I had ever been offered towels like the ones shown in the OP, I think I would have remembered. They do not seem at all adequate, and are certainly nothing like what I was used to at home in Britain. Maybe it is an Italian thing. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/13 "2010-12-08T13:14:33Z")
I have travelled quite a bit through Northern Italy recently. I’ve never noticed towels like this in hotels. Further, my Italian flatmate from the north of Italy doesn’t use towels that look anything like that (they use what we would back in the UK: big, fluffy towels). However, my southern Italian flatmate does something strange: he doesn’t actively dry himself, just sit in his room with a bath robe on. Where were you in Italy? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/14 "2010-12-08T14:13:05Z")
> [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](#): > > I have travelled quite a bit through Northern Italy recently. I’ve never noticed towels like this in hotels. Further, my Italian flatmate from the north of Italy doesn’t use towels that look anything like that (they use what we would back in the UK: big, fluffy towels). However, my southern Italian flatmate does something strange: he doesn’t actively dry himself, just sit in his room with a bath robe on. Where were you in Italy? Well, to be fair, it IS very hot down in the south. Maybe they drip dry. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/15 "2010-12-08T14:44:09Z")
> [@qazwart](#): > > Sure, our roads are crap, we have no healthcare, and God forbid you lose your job. Yes, we are #15 in Internet speed, and our schools aren’t quite as good as Latvia’s, but we have the best damn towels and the softest toilet tissue in the world! > > **U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!** Seriously, you have to be excited about _something._ If we just hung out heads and admitted we’re not very good at much of anything we might as well have stayed British. The towels pictured in the OP are extreme cases, but even in England the towels weren’t really up to the American standard, especially not in size. I’ve stayed in hotels at lots of different price points. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/16 "2010-12-08T15:04:00Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > [Compared to passport](http://d.imagehost.org/view/0057/Small) (note the passport is thicker than the folded towel) Looks like an ordinary linen hand towel. My little old mother’s got loads of them, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one in a hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/17 "2010-12-08T16:13:34Z")
There are plenty of US motels with flimsy towels. They’re still typically terrycloth, rather than linen, but very thin and scratchy. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/18 "2010-12-08T18:48:24Z")
Dude, you’re in _Italy_. You’re meant to hang out naked for a while, sip a limoncello, paint a fresco or two, overthrow the government, and _air-dry_. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/19 "2010-12-08T20:56:27Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Seriously, you have to be excited about _something._ If we just hung out heads and admitted we’re not very good at much of anything we might as well have stayed British. Errr, EXCUSE ME, we are the only country that knows how to make a decent cup of tea, give us\* some \*credit. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365/20 "2010-12-08T23:07:19Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Thin towels [list of advantages] Yes, and a car that won’t start doesn’t use much gas, either. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/small-towels-in-italy-europe/563365.md?page=2)