Gesticulation is a signature way of Italian communication now being "taught" at British universities.
Luca Vullo, a filmmaker from Sicily who lives in London, has made a documentary about Italian gestures called La voce del corpo (The Voice of The Body), focusing on the Sicilians' gestures in particular.
When screened on U.K. campuses, the documentary, in Italian and Sicilian with English subtitles, is often followed by a workshop held by Vullo on using gestures to communicate effectively, the theme of the film.
Vullo has given talks and lectures at universities across the U.K., including Bristol University and London King’s College. "The British are modifying their approach to gesticulation,” he said. “Not in the same way we [Italians] do, but they are trying to gesticulate more. It's only an impression, but it's how it seems."
According to research by Italian professor Isabella Poggi (University of Roma III), Italians use around 250 gestures a day to communicate. Some gestures indicate character traits; others express how you feel; there are gestures for nouns, as well as rude gestures. She said these signs comprise "a lexicon of gestures that is comparable in size and sophistication to the lexicon of sign language for the deaf."
Watch a trailer for the docu-film The Voice of the Body to start learning a few Italian hand gestures (you're going to have fun):
