You are surely correct, my first time watching the Giro, done on a whim, went to the city, didn't then, don't now ,speak any Italian, instead I used German and English. Many northern Italians in my experience speak good German!
I stayed in a cleaning closet in the rafters of a hotel on a single bed. It was a hundred and something dollars for the night, no bathroom or windows. Went down for coffee and breakfast, guy was getting lots of attention, handshakes, smiles, photos.. Francesco Moser!!! Pretty sure his room had bigger bed, windows and a bathroom!! Didn't matter to me!!