Superstitions

As any other peoples, also Italians have their own superstitions.
In Italy, the number 17 means bad luck, because in roman numbers (XVII) it uses the same character of the Latin word VIXI, which means “I lived” (thus, now I am dead). Thus, Italians avoid the number as much as they can: in hotel rooms, plane seats and even in everyday life.
Another superstition involves broken mirror.
It was the Romans who decided that a broken mirror means 7 years of bad luck. Indeed, it was one of their beliefs that life starts anew every 7 years. Hence, because a broken mirror means that health has been damaged, it would take 7 years to be again as healthy as before.