Italy: Cliches

I'm about to embark on the trip of a lifetime...Five weeks in Italy. This comes with a few cliches,
first of all being the food. When I think of Italy I think of pasta and pizza. However, I have read (and heard) that this is most definitely NOT TRUE. Italians love their meats and cheeses, they only eat a slice of pizza or a small dish of pasta in addition to other foods, and they do not eat carbs on carbs.
That threw me for a loop. Bread served with pasta is a staple here in America, how does one not eat a crunch piece of Italian garlic bread with Spaghetti? I suppose that is why America is one of the most unhealthy countries in the world.
The other cliche I have about Italy and writing about traveling there is the amount of times I have heard the word "quaint." It makes Italy sound like either a third world village needing missionaries, or a town outside of Atlanta that contains the only sit down restaurant in a fifty mile radius. I don't feel as though Italians would call themselves quaint. Italy seems like one of the most bustling places in Europe when I finally see pictures and actually sit down to Google "Rome."
I am truly excited to erase these cliches with images of the architecture and landscape.