Vitruvius
Donor
Funny, I also 1st picked up Italian from my boss who was from La Spezia (alright, he was actually from Volastra in the Cinque Terre, but close enough) and was sometimes mocked for it by friends from Florence- they seem to consider their Italian the 'best' and kind of looked down at other variations.
I know exactly what you mean. In my friend's case it probably didn't help that she was living in Florence and that her father was from Sicily (hence she had a Sicilian surname) ... too many insecurities for her to handle. She used to teach me Ligurian phrases and idioms. Of course they were completely useless in Florence and most anywhere else, I just got blank stares anytime I tried to use them as if I was; stupid, didn't know italian or both.