The Republic of Italy is actually not a nation at all. It is an uneasy conglomeration of city states that do not particularly like each other. These have, at various times in history, been allied with, conquered by, or subject to a wide variety of Empires, Caliphates, Barbarian invaders, Holy Roman Empires, and art-pilfering assholes named Napoleon. Each of these has been regarded with a relative mixture of suspicion and pragmatic acceptance of any benefits they confer. The most recent invader in this chain is the nation called Italy, an entity which collects taxes and provides the minimal number of useful services necessary to prevent the Veneto region from staging an armed rebellion.
Remember that "Italians" see Italy as a hostile occupier and the behaviour of government employees will suddenly make sense.