Northern Italians are usually snobs. If they stand up to Islam and parade pigs around possible Muslim sites then they are my heroes. We have one in NJ named Leo Donofrio standing up to another muslim.
True, but I generally have a certain "snob appeal", as they think that I am one also (which I am to some degree).
But in Padua, I thought that they were going to spit at me just for asking directions in American-accented Italian. In Milan, the Lakes, Mantua and Firenze, I did well and we were very comfortable.
The only thing that I guessed was that Padua is close to Vincenze where the US military base is and it's isn't very popular among Italians.