What it seems to be
An impossible language.
What it really is
If you are studying Italian, you have probably already encountered the congiuntivo, the condizionale, consecutio temporum and a quantity of rules that seem to have been invented specifically to discourage you.
The good news is that Italians know them.
The better news is that they often do not use them either.
Not because they cannot speak their own language, but because Italian constantly changes register. A conversation between friends is different from a job interview, which is different again from a public speech. Above all, every region brings with it inflections, constructions and words inherited from dialect.
An expression may sound natural in Sicily and not in Turin. A sentence is built one way in Venice and another in Bari. And yet everyone understands one another.
That is the small miracle of Italian.
It is a language with rigorous grammar, spoken with surprising flexibility.
So do not be afraid of getting a congiuntivo wrong.
If you can order a coffee, ask for directions and make a joke, Italians will already be happy to talk to you. And if you do use the wrong tense, somebody will correct you. Not always because they are a teacher. More often because they are Italian.
Scene
— Scusi, se io andavo domani...
— Andassi.
— Ah, grazie.
— Comunque avevo capito.
The key to understanding it
Italian is difficult to learn perfectly, but surprisingly easy to share.