Had an Italian friend (as in, from Italy, not someone whose great great great great grandpappy once snorted a line of parmesan) tell me the reason for this.
Italian women are notoriously hard to woo, and will resist all advances to appear "hard to get"
Italian men (As in, actually Italian, not people who think obnoxious behaviour can be excused by far-removed genetics) realise that it's way easier to try and get their balls emptied chasing slappers called Sharon from Essex