[Vesuvium]

> If you are introduced to someone (a stranger), it is normal courtesy to shake hands with him/her (and that's it, no hugs, no kisses), as well, unless the other person is an old friend the normal shaking of hands is the normal means of greeting.

In northern Italy, most of the times. In southern Italy, kissing is much more common and it's often used even in formal environments. Shaking hands it's seen as polite but cold.

The stereotypical Italian is, for many reasons, the southern Italian, hence the kissing meme and other exaggerations that really do not apply to northern Italy.

[jaclaz]

Well, no.

Again, we are not talking of old friends, we are talking of strangers.

Even in the south (I lived in sicily almost 15 years) it is not at all common.

[mbrameld]

Why are we talking about strangers when the context was a restaurant manager greeting customers? Every decent restaurant that's been open for any length of time has a large number of regular customers.

[jaclaz]

And - again - regular customers are NOT normally hugged or kissed by the restaurant manager as a "standard" form of greeting, UNLESS they are - besides regular customers - also "friends" (and even that is not "common").