I apologize for beginning with the most sterotypical greeting associated with Italian, but it IS actually used and so we DO actually have to learn it properly in class.  Properly mostly involves, "don't greet strangers in suits this way."  What fascinates me though is the word's history.  In a roundabout way, it actually comes from the word for slave!  Allow me to summarize: once upon a time, local dialects reigned supreme in Italy rather than what enthusiastic educators like to consider the standard language.  (Ok I know this is still the case, but play along...)  At that time, Venice, an entrancing city where all visiters instantly develop an unexpected love of velvet and small boats, was renowned for it's diplomats.  (I always thought it only had pirates, but maybe it depends who is telling the tale.  Anyway.)  In the Venetian dialect, the word schiao used as a greeting of sorts developed from Latin esclavum which meant slave.  Schiao didn't mean slave exactly, but was more of a "your servant" kind of greeting.  Picture people in coats bowing with dignity and perhaps placing one hand on the heart with another on the bill.  Now he says "schiao."  Somehow this turned into the ciao that people the world over know and love today.  Maybe they noticed how successful those Venetians were at selling velvet, or maybe they just wanted to seem well traveled and didn't count on everyone else using it, including folks who only travel through the special addition digital sattelite channels.  Who knows.  In any case, that is the slightly abbreviated, slighly embellished version of my textbook's culture point.  I know a few of our most loyal bloggers have a much closer connection to Italy's language and history than two days of language lessons, so please join in!