Travelling through Italy I observed that most restaurants only open from like 12 to 15 and maybe from like 18 to 21. Some restaurants literary open just for 3 hours a day. How do they survive working so little? What about the employees? Can they make enough money for living with one job or do they need multiple jobs? Shops also seems to be open for much less time than I am used to in my country. Can somebody explain?
edit: what do the employees do when the restaurant closes between lunch and dinner? How are they paid? In my country you simply are paid for 8 hours (or 12) of working and you have to be present in the place of work.
edit 2: Lot of people mentioned nobody eats between lunch and dinner time, which is super interesting to me, because in my country (Czech republic) people eat all over the clock and are used to restaurants being open all day (generally since 10:30 or 11), late lunch at 3 pm is not odd at all. It is true the highest peak is on lunch and dinner time, but restaurants are never empty. Some people even prefer to go little early or late for their meal so that they eat in peace and are served quicker.