thisweekinitaly.com

The News in Italy This Week

Spain instituted some new rules as to what could be called “chocolate” by
candy makers. This term could only be used if the product had no fats other
than cocoa butter. This was a big news item (not relegated to the Business
pages) with the artisans (remember that candy making is a craft in Italy,
not a crass commercial venture) of chocolate in Italy pointing out that
their product did not contain other fats.

Giovanni Angelli died. For some reason his nickname was The Lawyer. He was
the patriarch of the family that owned the Fiat car company. He was the best
known industrialist in Italy. In fact, he was better known and more
important in Italy than any industrialist (even Bill Gates) is in USA. The
day after his death, the newspaper I looked at had 23 pages of stories about
him; his funeral drew 100,000 people.

Prior to World War II, despite any claims of Mussolini, Italy was one of the
poor countries of Europe in a class with Spain, Portugal, and Greece. After
the economic boom of the 1960s, Italy was in a class with Great Britain,
France, and Germany. In fact, Italy has a higher standard of living than
Great Britain. Because so much of the economy is underground, Italy is
probably more wealthy than the official statistics show. Anyway. Giovanni
Angelli was the person most associated with this economic transformation and
for this reason a very important person in Italy.

Terrorism Nearby Pistoia

Ecoterrorists blew up the chair lift at a nearby ski resort. I don’t know
what their complaint was about the resort. [The good news is that the
resort is now offering a 1/2 price plan to lure back tourists.] In Italy
there is more political violence than in USA. Every once in a while a person
is assassinated for political reasons or let’s say a newspaper office is
bombed. It certainly is not the unstable situation of the 1970s when the
head of the nation was assassinated, but things can turn violent form time
to time.

Working Hours

One might think that nobody starts working in Italy before 9 am, but the
workmen who are rehabilitating an apartment in my building do start before
9. And they are plenty LOUD.

The Proposed Change in Law on Right to Fire Employees

I wrote last week about a proposed change in law that would allow large
employers to fire employees without cause –something that currently only
small employers can do. Here is the comment to my item from an American
friend who has lived in Italy for a year.
——————-

“As with many things in Italy, you need to know how something really works,
not what the law says. There has never been a lawsuit brought by a fired
employee in which the court has ruled he or she was fired for cause. They
Have ALL been reinstated. The best I read about was a teller who embezzled
money from the bank. Even that wasn’t sufficient reason to fire him. That’s
why there are so many family business’.When a company hires someone, it’s
for the duration. That’s why co.’s don’t hire or if they do, only illegals.
It also reflects the lack of mobility in Italian society and rigid class
structure. A worker is a worker and a boss is a boss and people can’t
imagine starting a business of their own.”
——————–

Lest anyone think that the legal case referred to above is a particular
Italian foolishness, I recall that at one time (maybe still) in USA there
was a presumption in Workmen’s Compensation cases that an injury be found to
be in within the course of employment (and thus eligible for Workmen’s
Compensation payments). I read in law school the case of the game warden
who was (during off hours) in the woods in a car with his girlfriend engaged
in amorous activities. They died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The
Workmen’s Compensation Board found the death was within in scope of
employment because it was possible that the warden (if he ever put his head
above the dashboard) might have discovered some poachers during his tryst in
the woods.

The Most Important Task for America

With all the talk of war in Iraq, the fight against terrorism, and possible
changes in the tax law in America, Americans are overlooking their most
important challenge — far more dangerous to the health and future of the
USA than Saddam or Bin Laden When I came to Italy last summer, the Euro was
worth 90 cents USA; now it is worth $1.08. Write to President Bush and your
representatives in Congress. Demonstrate in the streets if necessary. GET
THE DOLLAR STRONGER !!

The Italian Bar

In a bar in Italy one can buy: pastries, a light lunch or dinner, coffee,
alcoholic drinks, soft drinks, bus tickets, lottery tickets, and I’m sure
many things I am not listing. It is not a dark place as is often the case
in USA, but a bright place. The ambience is much different than a bar in
USA — sort of a combination, bar, coffee shop, fast food restaurant and
probably a few other things too. There are many more “bars” than in USA
(where their number is closely regulated) and they are more central to the
life of the country.

Those “Free Admittance” Signs

I wondered why shops had “free admittance” signs. A friend wrote to tell me
that in the 1970s on a trip to Paris and Brussels, he found many shops that
were open by appointment only. These were very upscale shops. So I guess
that the “Free Admittance” sign is meant to convey the following message:

Although this shop looks like one of those expensive shops with
elegant merchandise that is open by appointment only, in fact
it is open to everyone, and our prices are not excessive.

Ecumenical Meeting in Florence

I went to a meeting at which representatives of the American Church
(Episcopalian) in Florence explained the history and work of their church
to members of the German Lutheran Church in Florence. The only common
language of those present was Italian. So the presenters spoke Italian
which was, of course, easy for me to understand because they spoke slowly
and simply (as foreigners usually do). The American church does not hold
services in Italian, but I’ve not really found a Protestant Church that does
except for these small evangelistic churches. I will try the American
church.

Travels

Last week my son Chris visited me from Germany and we went to Florence and
Pisa as well as looking around Pistoia. On Tuesday I go to London for two
days. On Wednesday I will accept an award in London on behalf of Pedals for
Progress (of which I was a member of Board of Directors) at the Royal
Society. It is one of a series of awards being given to organizations that
are helping with economic development in the Third World. Pedals for
Progress collects old bicycles in USA and ships them to programs in the
Third World where the ownership of a bike can be a life transforming event.
I am going because it is less expensive for me to travel to London from
Italy than to send someone from the USA.

Pernicious American Influences

In general European countries are not “lawsuit happy” as in USA. So I noted
with a little surprise that the advertisements for medicine on TV in Italy,
just as in USA, end with a whole set of disclaimers about possible side
effects spoken in speed that I certainly cannot comprehend. I assume these
are put in for legal reasons in USA; so somebody is worried about lawsuits
here too.

Befana Candy

I mentioned last week that kids who are bad get “coal” in their stocking
from Befana. I saw in stores some awful looking red and black candy in big
blocks, and I wondered what this was for. A friend raised in Italy told me
that this is candy made to look like coal to put in stockings for the feast
of Befana.

A Hot Shower at Last

My apartment has one water heater that serves both the heating system and
the hot water in faucets. (In general Europeans keep the water heater at a
lower temperature because the two appliances that require hot water in USA
–washer and dishwasher –have internal water heating systems in Europe.)So
I’ve settled for warm showers. There are two thermostats on my heater
–one for the heating water and one for the faucet (shower too) water. I
finally figured out that in the summer, water is not heated for the
radiators and the thermostat for faucet water determines the temperature of
the water in faucets. In winter however when the radiators require hotter
water to work, then this is the temperature of all water in system–for
heating and for faucets. As it turned cold (never freezing) the radiators
required hotter water and suddenly I got really hot showers. I guess in
summer I could turn up the thermostat for the faucet water, but gas is
expensive here.

Watching a Film About September 11

A local theatre showed a film abut September 11 in the morning recently for
high school students. I went too. It was a film made up of several short
films from all over the world that loosely were about the theme of 9/11.
Before the film the kids were noisy as all teenagers are, but during the
film they were quiet even though some of the excerpts were quite symbolic
and not easily understood. One of many examples of the respect for cinema
in Italy which is, as in USA, a form of entertainment, but also much more
respected as an art form.

Newspapers in Italy

They too are more respected than in the USA. On TV there are news shows
which simply review the headlines and main stories from prominent newspapers
throughout Italy.

Italian Politics

Hard to follow as you well can imagine. In USA on news there may be an
issue on which President Bush or another leading Republican gives the view
of his party and then a leading Democrat gives the opposing view. But in
Italy there are many parties. So at night there are 5 or 6 faces on the
news giving the view of the party. Sometimes all 5 or 6 speak on the news.
Sometimes the faces of 5 or 6 people are shown (with microphones in their
face)but we don’t hear their words, we hear a summary by the newscaster.

The big issue this week in Article 18, a part of I guess the Constitution or
some big law, that will be subject to a national referendum. [What follows
is my attempt to understand the issue from Italian TV and from a brief
conversation with an Italian friend--no guarantee of accuracy.] Under this
article if a company has over 15 employees, it can fire an employee only for
cause, but if it has less than 15 employees it can fire an employee without
cause (what we call in USA employment at will.)
The Berlusconi govt. has proposed to make it that all companies, regardless
of size, can fire an employee without cause. In the USA if you fire an
employee without cause, he or she may be able to get unemployment
compensation, but in general it is much easier to fire an employee in USA
than in Italy. Berlusconi rules with a center/right coalition. His
opponents are the center/left coalition. Recently the parties of the
center/left held a big unity “love in.” But the center/left parties are not
all of the same mind about the referendum on Article 18. So now we see if
the “love in” passes its first big test.

Of course if some group in Italy does not like the way the law reads. they
usually find a way to work around it. So issues that seem so very important
probably in the long run are not.

“Somebody Up There Likes Me”

This is title of the autobiography of that great Italian-American Rocky
Graziano. I know how Rocky feels. Today I made my 9th visit to Quaestura
(local police) to get my Permission to Stay document. I got up at 5:15 and
went and signed the informal sign in list. I went back at 7:00 to be
assigned a formal appointment. I was number 18, a good chance to get in. I
did get in. Then I went directly to a free window (even thought the other
window had a line, and there were people sitting in chairs waiting to do
something at one window or the other). I gave the lady my passport. She
already had my form out. I signed it and was gone in 20 seconds.

HURRAH.

Now I don’t know if anyone also in the lines or in the chairs also was going
to this window which was apparently only for people obtaining their
completed Permission to Stay document. But I can tell you that it would not
occur to the Italians to perhaps make up two appointment lists –one for
this special window and one for the other window that handles other issues.
So it may well be that while I waited for an hour outside there were few if
any people going to the free window where I ultimately was ushered.

Beggars in Cold Weather

When it got cold suddenly a lot of beggars had dogs with them. The obvious
subscript was “Even if you don’t want to help me, how can you let Rover
starve in this cold weather?” I’ve always thought that the “Ho Fame” (I’m
Hungry) signs that beggars have seem suspiciously similar in form and
printing style. I wonder if the guy who supplies “Ho Fame” signs also has a
“rent a dog” concession for the beggars.

Italy and WWII

I recently saw an office which was the Pistoia office of the Tuscany
government agency for documenting the history of the Resistance in WWII in
Tuscany. A great sinecure for a historian to run this office. In WWII Italy
was allied with the Germans until 1943 when Italy surrendered. At that
point the Germans took over all fighting against the Americans in Italy with
the help of some Italian Fascists. At the same time a Resistance movement
arose against the Germans and the Italian Fascists. There was a Civil War.
Also at the same time, the Germans began to export Italian Jews to the work
camps. Anti-Semitism had not been a big part of Italian fascism, and
Mussolini did not send the Jews to German work camps.

As a result of these events, Italians have not been carrying the big Guilt
Complex that Germans have from WWII. You can be sure that after 1945, every
Italian said he or she was part of the partisan resistance and had helped
Jews escape from the Germans. Forgotten conveniently were little facts such
as the Italians used poison gas against the Ethiopians in 1936.

This office to document the history of the partisan resistance in Tuscany is
just another part of the Italian proclivity to “Accentuate the Positive”
about Italy’s role in WWII. This is a proclivity that allows Italians to
be sympathetic to the Palestinian cause where it is difficult for Germans
(at least the German government)to do so because of the legacy of the
Holocaust.

One of My Favorite Signs in Italy

Seen often in windows of retail shops –Ingresso Libero (Free Entrance).
Perhaps there is somewhere in the world where people have to pay to enter a
retail shop and this “somewhere” sends tourists to Italy (who then have to
be reminded that there is free entrance in Italy). I have no idea where this
“somewhere” is.

The War on Fur

In USA and elsewhere many oppose the wearing of fur coats. I’ve even seen
one such sign in Italy, but in Italy the anti-fur folks are fighting a
losing battle. In winter (even if it is 55°), you see lots of ladies in fur
coats. Things you see in Italy you don’t see in USA. You see ladies in fur
riding a bicycle. You see older ladies in fur coats smoking a cigarette as
they walk down the street.

Am I in USA or Italy?

I noted in an earlier newsletter that when I was in the Supermarket before
Christmas and heard American carols on the loudspeaker, I could not tell for
a moment if I was in Italy or USA. Well recently I was in Supermarket again
with American music on loudspeaker. This time it was Rap music with the
singer spewing out the f*** word. I don’t think I’d hear that in an
American Supermarket.

The best time to shop in Supermarket is Sunday at 1 pm, the time of the big
Sunday meal for Italians.

Shops in Italy

I mentioned earlier that shoe stores are abundant here. There are two other
kinds of stores that are far more frequent than in USA. First is lingerie
shops. They are everywhere, and the store windows look like a mixture of
Frederick’s of Hollywood and Victoria’s Secret. Perhaps the inventory
within is more prosaic, but from the window displays one would thing that
“after the lights go down low” life is surely exciting in the bedrooms of
Italy. The one time in Italy I was most disappointed that I did not have a
camera handy was when an old lady at the semi-weekly market was holding up
some very brief underpants for inspection.

The second common type of shop is one for children’s clothes. These clothes
are quite expensive. Yesterday in the bakery I saw a lady buying bread with
a boy baby who looked like he stepped out of a fashion magazine. His shoes
matched his snow suit and he had a wool muffler of coordinated colors. In
USA, even at church on Sunday, kids no longer have suits or good shoes, but
in Italy they may be very stylish.

Befana

The feast of Befana is January 6, the day of the Holiday of Epiphany.
Befana is not a religious event at all. Befana is an old witch who comes to
give sweets to the children who have been good and coal to those who
haven’t. She has evolved into a helper of Babbo Natale (Santa Claus). In
the town square, there is a big event where Befana descends on her broom
from the bell tower. The narrative of this event had her talking to Babbo
Natale who said he was too tired to deliver the candy. So she volunteered.
Notice that the Italians here have another commercial event (other European
countries have a similar event around Epiphany) right after Christmas.

You may recall that a few months ago in Italy an elementary school collapsed
in an earthquake with many deaths. For Befana Pistoia had as its guests the
children from that elementary school. This was sponsored by the local Fire
Dept. I noted that there was a Fire Department raffle in conjunction with
the event — some things are the same the world over.

Eating in Restaurants

I eat out in a restaurant for one dinner each week. I try out different
places. Last Sunday, I went to a local osteria (an informal restaurant not
as elegant as a ristorante)and for $23 I had:

Finely sliced horsemeat flavored with vinegar over greens
Soup of Garbanzo beans and spinach
Lasagna made with cheese and pine nuts
Stew of wild boar with a wine sauce
A pudding based upon the milk of almonds with raspberry sauce

All of it was very good. You just can’t match this kind of meal in USA for
$23.

Teaching English to My Language Partner

I have a book that includes some of the typical trouble spots for persons
learning English as a second language. When I studied Italian at Gettysburg
College, one of the hard chapters was on hypothetical statements (statements
with an “if”, “then” construction). The tense of the verb in such sentences
in Italian shifts as the sentence expresses statements that are true, likely
to be true, speculative, contrary to fact, etc. I thought to myself — how
very complex. Guess what? The rules for such statements in English are
every bit as complex. I could not have written out these rules before I saw
them in my book, although I use them correctly when I speak. This is one of
many examples that show what is hard about a foreign language is not
memorizing a bunch of rules but internalizing these rules so that you don’t
have to recall them from your memory when you speak. If you have to recall
them, it takes forever to say the sentence.

Sign in Local Shop

It said “our customers are able to pay for purchases in the old lira.” It’s
been over a year since the conversion to the Euro. I guess this shop hopes
that some folks will discover a cache of old lira in a drawer somewhere and
decide to spend them on clothes rather than converting them at the bank.

A First

Although a friend reports having seen a person at a pizza shop/restaurant
take home some uneaten pizza in a box (which is readily available because of
the carry out portion of the business), in general in Italy one does not ask
for a “doggie bag” to take home food not eaten. Of course in Italy the
portions are smaller and one orders each course separately. So one is less
likely to have left-over food. Still today I did someone ask for a
container in a regular restaurant to take home some uneaten food. Once
again American customs invading Italy.

number 15

Taking the Night Train

For some reason the Italian train stations do not have many, if any,
station name signs that are lit at night. So when taking a train at night,
it is common to see people (as the train pulls into a station) who are not
familiar with the route looking out of various windows and even briefly
getting off the train to try to see a sign indicating what station it is.

You can buy tickets from a machine as well as at the window.I am entitled
to a 20% discount when I buy a ticket as a senior citizen with a Silver
Card.In Florence when you hit the button indicating the 20% discount, the
machine asks for the number on my silver card to verify that I am entitled
to the discount.But Pistoia has a less sophisticated ticket machine.It
simply asks if you are entitled to a discount and if you so indicate, it
does ask for any verification.Another example of how in some ways there
is a high degree of trust in Italy.

New Year’s Eve

The restaurants, if they are open, have a special dinner (Cenone).My
American friend Kelly and I went to a special seafood dinner at a local
restaurant.Here was the menu (you get everything):

Antipasto

Shrimp and Asparagus in balsamic vinegar
Stuffed Clam
Octopus with toast
Warm salad of green beans shrimp, and peppers

First Course

Ravioli with cream of truffle and shrimp
Risotto with prawns and champaign sauce

Second Course

Fillet of Sea Bream
Deep fried vegetables (similar to tempura)
Whole lobster with sliced fruit and filled vegetables

Dessert

Soufflé of banana with pine nuts and a berry sauce

A bottle of we wine with dinner and a bottle of champaign with dessert.

Not bad for $60

After dinner

There was a town celebration with fireworks and music in one of the town
piazzas.A good jazz orchestra before midnight. Then a little folk music
band playing dances from various countries.People were dancing whether or
not they knew the steps.You would see a group of teen age boys dancing
together.No sign of police (who usually are everywhere in Italy) to
control the crowd.Firecrackers being thrown into the main square of town
where they reverberated off of all the stone buildings.The similar event
in Gettysburg is over by 1 or 1:30 — not so in Italy.

Montecatini Terme

Kelly and I went over on New Year’s day to visit the spa town. All the spas
but one are closed for winter.Above he town there is another town
Montecatini Alto.There is a Funicolare (a railroad) that goes up to
Montecatini Alto. When we arrived it was closed. Hard to tell if it was
closed because (1) it was winter, (2) it was the lunch hour, (3) it was a
Holiday, (4) it was under repair.So we started to walk up the street next
to railway to see the railway itself –I think it is a cable system.We
kept walking as the street turned to a path and then to a trail.We went
all the way up, probably a mile or a mile and a half.Quite a workout. We
did not want to walk back that way because the path was wet from recent
rains.So we took the road back which as about 2-3 times as long of a trip
as the path, but not so daunting in its slope.

The Climb to Montecatini Alto

The path (along the rail line) that turned into a muddy, rocky trail was
marked periodically by a series of small shrines of the Stations of the
Cross.Neither Kelly not I (being Protestant not Catholic) knew exactly
how many Stations of the Cross there are in Catholic iconography. I thought
12, but when we passed number 12 and were still on the trail, my heart
sank.It turns out that there are 14.

By the time you reach number 13 on this steep trail (where we got off),
you have at least a slight inkling of how Christ felt at the end of his
journey.In fact, when one starts out on a trail that is marked by shrines
to the Stations of the Cross, it probably is a good hint that it is wise to
turn around right away.

“Having it All”Italian Style

I was doing an exercise in an Italian grammar book.In this exercise you
match various words and phrases with the proper form of the indefinite
article in Italian. In Englsih the indefinite article has two forms — “a”
and “an.”In Italian it has multiple forms.Here is the exercise
(translated into English):

Mr. Solodoni is very rich. He has a villa, a personal airplane, and ….
There follows a long list (for which the student must supply the correct
indefinite article) of items that a very rich man might have such as
helicopter, private gym, island in the Pacific, etc.The first item in the
list is “a wife”, the fourth one is “a mistress.”

For the Sports Nuts

I mentioned in an earlier newsletter that I have not seen an ESPN type
station on TV here. Now I have. It comes from Great Britain and thus has a
lot of English sports events (but also has the NFL playoffs).It is picked
up in Italy by satellite but somehow they Italians supply an Italian
soundtrack for this station.

Mosquitoes
They are common here.In the summer I bought a little item to repel
Mosquitoes while I slept. It is a small fan with mosquito repellent
enclosed.In the fall, I put this away for next summer.I got a bite in
my bedroom on January 2.A little example of how it is both warmer and
wetter here this year than in USA.

The Movie Pinocchio

This item with Roberto Benigni did not get rave reviews in Italy, but I
think it did o.k. at box office.Benigni is sort of an icon here so I
think his movies are likely to get good reviews.I heard on the news that
American critics were not so kind when the film opened in USA.So I looked
up the review in New York Times.It was very negative and sarcastic.It
criticized very much the poor job of dubbing the film into English –this
is something the Italians do quite well, but since films are rarely dubbed
in USA, it is no surprise that it may not be done well in USA.

Elvis Mitchell’s final paragraph in Times review is

“It is an oddity that will be avoided by millions of people, this new
‘Pinocchio,’Osama Bin Laden could attend a showing in Times Square and be
confident of remaining hidden.”

Well movie critics don’t all agree with each other. A film on one critic’s
“Top 10″ list may also show up on another’s “Bottom 10″ list.So if anyone
who reads this follows the box office results of films in USA, I’d be
interested in knowing how accurate was Elvis Mitchell’s prediction.Of
course, if anyone of you saw the film and liked it, who cares what the
critics and other movie goers say.