Italians: rude of just a different etiquette?

I guess it's just the cultural differences. What you think is rude, is something that they do every single day. In my culture for example, when you're the house guest or dinner guest, the host would cook up a storm, and ask you to eat as much as you can, literally. If they see that you're nibbling away, they'd pile on more food on your plate, even at your protest, and ask you to eat more. In their minds, when you eat so little, they would think you don't like their cooking, and they get a bit hurt by that. And eating is a huge part of my culture. I remember one time my dad finished his dinner and was about to leave the table, my mom dumped more food on his plate, telling him to eat more, and that she doesn't want to have leftovers. And she even shoved a spoonful of food into his mouth to top it off. I was so mad of her.