That’s the truth! Spent a week at a resort in the Dominican Republic this past spring. It was inhabited by 95% Italian vacationers of which we found only a few who could speak any English.
Why would you assume that the natural second language for any given Italian would be English? The Italians you met could have easily been bilingual or better, and you just didn't notice because English was not one of the languages they spoke. Now if you told me that none of the Italians you met could speak German or French either, as they are common second languages in Italy, I'd be surprised.
“That’s the truth! Spent a week at a resort in the Dominican Republic this past spring. It was inhabited by 95% Italian vacationers of which we found only a few who could speak any English.”
We visited Rome recently. Most folks in the tourist areas could speak English reasonably well. A gal we met who had been a little further afield (Tuscany) said almost no one spoke English.