Marcello Violi believes the path Italy are following is the right one after the Azzurri pushed Scotland all the way before losing their Autumn Nations Cup opener in Florence.
The hosts raced into a 6-0 lead with a couple of Paolo Garbisi penalties before the visitors responded with a Duhan van der Merwe try to edge ahead for the first time.
Matteo Minozzi’s try restored the lead for the home side and they went into the break 11-7 up before extending their advantage with a couple more Garbisi penalties after the restart.
But Scotland roared back with tries from Zander Fagerson, Scott Cummings and George Turner to secure a bonus-point win and go top of Group B after the first round of games.
And despite the end result, Violi is confident Italy can take plenty of positives from their performance as they continue to build their identity under Franco Smith.
“In the central moments of the match, especially in the second part of the match, we could have done something more while remaining more concentrated,” said the scrum-half.
“It may seem like a cliché, but it is not: let’s take what was positive against Scotland and bring it back to the next match. The path we are following is the right one.
“We all have to fully believe – as we are already doing – in this work we are doing because there have been changes from one game to another.
“We continue to give the best of ourselves to continue building our identity.”
One of the standout players for the Azzurri was Marco Zanon, whose ferociousness in attack was central to Minozzi’s first-half try after he brushed off Duncan Weir and Darcy Graham.
And the centre rued the way Italy dropped off in the final 20 minutes of the game.
“There was a lack of consistency throughout the 80 minutes of play,” said Zanon.
“After the 60th minute we dropped slightly. We were not outdone in the impacts and on the physical side, managing to perform in several moments of the match.
“Compared to my debut almost two years ago there are things that have changed. There is a very young group, there is a lot of energy and a desire to build something important.
“The attitude we have shown is the right one, now we must continue to work on our path.”
