thisweekinitaly.com

Pedophilia in Italy

It seems to be in the news a lot; especially in the area of internet child
pornography.
This is a worry for parents in all countries. How does one teach his or
her children to be wary and cautious without making them overly fearful
of all strangers? In Italy I think this dilemma is magnified. Strangers
here are always coming up to young children and making a big fuss over them.
This is part of the Italian love for and fascination with children. So
teaching children to distinguish between “good” strangers and “bad”
strangers
must be a difficult task indeed.

Mixed Messages

I mentioned in the past the commercial on Italian TV which urges citizens
to make purchases (in general) so that the Italian economy prospers. You
don’t need commercials to urge people to buy the necessities of life; this
commercial obviously promotes purchases of items that are not necessary.
On a children’s show, I saw a segment that talked about pollution and the
conservation of resources. This segment praised the person who did not make
unnecessary
purchases and thus did not cause unnecessary pollution and unnecessary
depletion
of resources in the production of these items.

I suppose all advanced industrial economies face this same dilemma between
conservation of resources and a high level of commercial activity to foster
economic prosperity.

Children’s Drawing Book

A friend’s three-year old child was working with a drawing book. Actually
it was a book with the outlines of various animals. You used these outlines
to draw the shape of the animal on a piece of paper. Then you colored the
animal. What interested me were the suggestions for coloring your picture.
They were not simply “Color the elephant grey.” Instead they had
suggestions
for using different colors and shadings. Here in a book for very young
children, I could already see the more sophisticated Italian approach to
art.

Separate Entrance

I noted for the first time this week that the Theatre I attend has a
separate
entrance (no longer in use) that is for the balcony only. Obviously in
the old days there was the desire that the people who had the good seats
on the main floor did not have to rub shoulders with those who bought the
less expensive seats in the balcony. This is sort of like in the USA where
in the south in the past there was a separate entrance in movie theatres
for Blacks who could sit only in the balcony. Although there is in the
United States a “myth” that our country always was and still is a classless
society; nevertheless, I see in Italy from time to time indications of
class
divisions in the past that were more forceful than in America.

Explaining Italy’s Economic Problems

The Berlusconi government has not been able to make good on its two main
campaign promises, lower taxes and a revived economy. I listened to the
Finance Minister explain why this is so. He cited five unforeseen crises
that had inhibited economic growth which is a necessity to lower taxes.
(Because Italy is subject to the fiscal rules of the group using the Euro,
it cannot lower taxes and
run bigger government deficits as the Bush administration has done.)

These five crises were: 9/11, growing competition from India and China,
crisis of the World Bank (I don’t know what this refers to.), drop in US
stock market, conversion to the Euro, and internal difficulties of major
industries such as Fiat, Parmalat, and Al Italia. It is interesting to note
how many of these crises are items external to Italy. Also they are mainly
items that affect also the other European countries. So if these countries
revive their economies and Italy
doesn’t, these five reasons will lack credibility.

Concerning conversion to the Euro, the minister said that Italians had a
particular problem getting used to coins that had some value. The smallest
bill in the Euro system is the 5 Euro bill; there are one Euro and two Euro
coins. Under the Lira system, the largest coin was worth about 25 cents,
and some of the smaller coins were practically worthless.But in the USA
too, the quarter is the largest coin in general circulation. In the USA,
the 50 cent coin has disappeared and the $1 coin has failed to gain public
acceptance even though it makes very good sense, especially for vending
machines. So maybe on this one point the Italians and the Americans are
similar.

Beggars Not Welcome

I’ve mentioned that beggars are seen on trains, in the theatre, in
restaurants,
etc. One time a beggar appeared in the middle of my Italian class at the
Intercultural Center. If you don’t lock the door, a beggar might appear
anywhere he thinks there is a crowd. At my church in Florence, after the
service, we gather in the courtyard in front of the church for light
refreshments. The church
is surrounded by an iron fence and there is a doorman at the gate. Last
week I heard a commotion near the gate. Two beggars wanted to come into
the courtyard and “work the crowd.” One parishioner told me that they were
in fact pickpockets. Who knows? But one thing is sure; despite their loud
protests, they were not admitted at the American Church where, in this case,
the attitude towards them was more “American” than “Italian.”

s
On the subject of beggars, I’ve noted that they often have dogs, thus giving
the understood message that if you don’t want to help me at least help my
dog. I saw a beggar with two dogs who was more explicit in this pitch.
Instead of the
usual sign, “I’m hungry,” his sign said “We are Hungry.”

Netflicks

This is the company that in the USA rents DVDs via mail. You pay a monthly
fee and rent as many as you like, but you can have only three at any one
time. When I explained how this system works to an Italian friend (a movie
buff), he simply commented that with the Italian postal system, something
like Netflicks would be impossible here.

No Weather Girl??

The anchor women on Italian news show are gorgeous!! But a babe as the
Weather
Girl is rare. In Italy, the national weather service is part of the Army.
Often you see the weather being presented by an older guy in his Weather
Service uniform.

Spring Arrives

We are having some warm days. Now that it is officially Spring, the Italians
will take off their winter coats and scarves that they wear even when it
is 60-70° before Spring arrives officially.

Desserts

Pastries and desserts are not the strong point of the Italian cuisine.
They are good; all kinds of food are good in Italy, but they are not
exceptional. In fact, I find the pastries at The American Bar to be superior
to those
at an Italian bar. Anita, from America, makes lemon squares, brownies, pies,
etc. that are excellent. I don’t think my opinion in this matter is
influenced
because these are pastries that I am used to; in general I do not seek or
prefer items American in Italy.

Speaking of bars, one of the books used in my Italian class to teach English
to foreigners is called “At the Bar.” It uses the Italian bar as the
central
symbol to teach vocabulary and culture. I don’t thing the Bar in the USA
could serve this function.

A News Story or a Commercial

The Italians love cars–especially fast ones. When a new model car comes
out, sometimes
there is a story on the TV news. (This makes some sense for Fiat models
since Fiat is the national car.) Recently the story concerned the new BMW
convertible.
It was essentially an extended commercial for the new car showing
all its wonderful features. In the USA the introduction of a new car model
is not big news, and the network would not carry a news story that was in
fact a commercial for the car. If BMW wanted to tout its car, it would
have to pay for the commercial. (Of course, maybe BMW is paying the news
show under the table.)

Improvements at the Library

A while back I commented on the inefficient system for signing up to use
the public computers at the library. One had to go to two different desks
and could sign up only for a one hour slot beginning on the hour. Now you
go to only one desk and you can sign up for less that an hour or for an
hour beginning immediately. Slowly, slowly, things get more efficient.

Eastern European Women

I reported once on an article about these women “stealing” Italian husbands
from their wives. There is an image of these women as wily fortune hunters
who come to Italy to find a man. The women in my Italian classes from
Eastern
Europe are surprisingly well educated. My guess is that they are better
educated than their Italian husbands. They don’t look like the kind of
women who hang around at bars to lure “innocent” (what Italian man is in
fact “innocent”) men into their trap. They have come to Italy because,
despite their education, there are no work opportunities in their native
lands.

The Mother

This is the name of a new British film I saw at a film festival dedicated to
movies about the relationship between mothers and daughters. The Festival
is sponsored by the Provincial and the City governments. Without giving
away the plot, I will just say that this movie explores new territory for
the cinema that some people might find disgusting. Perhaps some of the
Italian viewers were shocked or disgusted, but if so, they would not march
down to City Hall the next day and complain about their tax money being used
to support the exhibition of such a film.

In the USA a few years there was a controversy about some art works
(including performance art) supported by the National Endowment for the
Arts. As I recall the controversy concerned works that some found trite
and/or obscene. Some argued that the government should not support any
artists; art, like other commodities, should rise or fall according to the
demand for it in the marketplace. Without arguing about this point, I can
simply say that such a position is unheard of in Italy. Art here is much
seen as more of a necessity and less as a luxury than in the USA:

General Strike

Friday, March 26, was a national day of general strike in Italy to protest
governmental education and fiscal reforms. General strikes are usually held
on one of two days, Friday and —— (?) (Hint,
the answer begins with M).

Personnel Manual

I was on a small committee that drafted a personnel manual for the employees
of my church in Florence. In one way it was easier to do in Italy than in
the USA.
In Italy items such as vacation days, sick days, maternity leave, and
holidays
are specified by national law. The employer has no discretion except, I
assume, to give the employees more than they are entitled to by law.

Bill to Save Soccer

The national soccer leagues in Italy are in financial trouble. I mentioned
earlier about the scandal of their improper accounts. A bill was proposed
in Parliament to give government subsidies to save the soccer leagues, but
this bill ran into trouble with the European Economic Community that has
rules prohibiting such government subsidies to industry. Probably in other
countries the subsidies would go to steel, coal, or large scale
manufacturing.
As of now, the bill is dead, but while it was on the table it was a source
of controversy. Every groups that wanted money from the government was
saying
” If the government can spend money to save soccer, why doesn’t it have
money to (help the unemployed?, help hospitals ?, help the schools ?).
It sort of reminded me of the arguments in the USA when a city or a state
gives funds to help build a new stadium for a professional sports team.

Rally Against Terrorism to Support the People of Spain

At such a rally in Rome (mainly a left wing affair) a central left political
figure was whistled down by the hostile crowd. When I asked why, a friend
told me that this man opposes terrorism, but does not oppose war in all
cases. The far left in Italy is totally pacifist. In the USA, the only
groups that are totally pacifist tend to be religious ones such as the
Quakers
or Mennonites. Even Ralph Nader, a far leftist in the USA, would be in
the center of the political spectrum in Italy.

Threat to Mormons

As I’ve mentioned before, the two Mormon missionaries in Pistoia conduct
classes in learning English as a way to attract people. The classes are
good, and they do not indoctrinate religion at them. My student of English,
Mirella, attends these weekly sessions. She told me that the classes have
been suspended because the Mormon Italian headquarters in Milan had received
a threatening letter from Islamic terrorists. The Mormon missionaries are
not leaving Italy. I don’t know if the threatening letter was a general one
or only concerned the activity of teaching English.

Advice to the Lovelorn

I was reading an Ann Landers type column in an Italian magazine. A 38 year
old woman wrote into to tell about her love affair with a 19 year old
student. It was wonderful; they were madly in love, but some of her friends
were telling her that the age difference made this affair quite problematic.
I’ve seen letters like this in Ann Landers or Abigail Van Buren. The
advice lady first said that age makes a difference only if you let it. Then
she did point out some of the obvious reasons why this might not be a love
affair to last forever. She closed by saying just because this was not
likely to be a permanent relationship, did not mean that the woman should
not enjoy it to the hilt while it lasted.

In the USA Ann or Abigail would have warned about the problems of the
relationship and advised the lady to get out now rather than suffer a broken
heart later. In Ann and Abigail, the desired state for such a woman was a
permanent relationship (probably marriage), and relationships that were not
headed in that direction were discouraged. Despite the high American
divorce rate, the marriage for life was still the normative goal.

I think the difference between the Italian advice and that of Ann and
Abigail is that in Italy (perhaps Europe in general) there is a sense that
one could call either more pessimistic or more realistic. There is less of
a hope that there will be that ONE RIGHT RELATIONSHIP that lasts for a
lifetime. So grab love while you can.

Discount Cards for Railroad

I’ve mentioned before that my Senior Citizens’ discount Card for Italian
railroad is no good on international trips. At times I’ve brought two
tickets for trip to Germany — one to the Italian border and one the rest of
the way– so I at least get a discount on Italian portion of trip. But
this doesn’t work when I take the overnight train from Florence to Munich.
When I went to buy a ticket for this train, the lady asked if I had discount
card and I showed her the Senior Citizen one which she said did not work on
international trips. Then she told me that there is a discount card for
international trips (which, by the way, is not described in the brochure I’d
read on various discount plans). I more than recovered the cost of this
card through my discount on this one trip. This was probably the 5th time
I’ve purchased such a ticket, but the first time a clerk at the railroad
station thought to tell me about the international discount card. Customer
Service is not the #1 priority in Italy, but I’m glad to finally have this
card.

Keeping the Readers Happy

A number of you wrote to tell me that having a “bride” (rather than a
“bridge”) cemented in my mouth was a questionable idea. This typographical
error brought some chuckles. Also a number of you write to tell me that
dental bridges with a porcelain exterior side and a metal interior side are
also used in USA. I had said I had not seen these in the USA. On this
point, it is clear that I had not spent enough time looking inside the
mouths of people to make statements on dental practices. In maintaining my
record of not spelling the names of movie starts correctly (remember Cosner
for Costner), last week I wrote George Cooney for George Clooney. Part of
my general disinterest in movie stars.

On the Train in Germany

I’m in Germany visiting my son Chris to see him in a community theatre
production of “Guys and Dolls.” In Germany at times two trains will start
at different points, meet at a third city, and then be joined together for
the rest of the route. Or, on the other hand, one train will be divided
into two trains along the route and then these two trains will go their
separate ways. Quite efficient but much too complicated to be duplicated in
Italy.

I took a bike/train trip from the city where Chris works to the military
base where he works. As In Italy, you can take a bike on the local train.
In Germany, however, there is always a special car on the train that has
spots for bikes –sometimes there is such a car in Italy. As I went to get
on this car, the conduction said “no.” It turns out the train was crowded
and the bike area had people in it. Of course, I got on anyway and just put
the bike in a place between cars. In Italy, if the train happened to have
the coach to accommodate bikes, the conductor would never say “no” if that
car was filled with people. In fact, often in Italy I take the bike on the
train where there is no such special bike car. The German conductor was,
however, very nice to me after I boarded and made sure I got off at the
right stop to catch a connecting train. It is just that in Germany the idea
is that things should be in there Right Place.

Wedding Dresses

One of the advantages of not having a daughter is that I’ve never had to buy
or even think about the price of a wedding dress. In my ignorance I assume
that these probably usually cost around $1000 although I’m sure the price
can be much higher.

In Italy, as in USA, there are throw away newspapers (I think they call them
“shoppers” in the USA) that are all advertisements and personal classified
ads. Used wedding dresses appear in these papers (in both countries) –once
you’ve worn it, it has no continuing use for you. The ads often tell the
original price of the dress. I was very surprised to see original prices of
2000, 3000, and even 6000 Euros. The people peddling their dresses in these
newspapers are not likely to be paragons of the Italian Upper Class Society.
So these ads indicate that ordinary folks are buying dresses at these
prices. This is happening in a country where the average income is much
lower than in the USA.

Web Site

Many thanks to those of you who wrote to say that you enjoyed the photos on
my web site. A few people had trouble accessing the web site at
www.bob.it.tt.
If you had such difficulty, an alternate address is

http://www.spicken.de/feynman/fotos/pistoia04. I’ve now archived past
newsletters on the site (actually my Webmaster Max Hoffman[n]* has done so).
The site also has a few new photographs; click on Gallery March 2004. If
not already, there will soon be captions for these photos.

Vacant Stores

Often a business closes in the downtown area, there is often an article in
the newspaper about the closing. The typical reason for the closing is the
rent was raised too high. If the landlord can get a much higher rent, so be
it, but often the vacant business is not immediately rented to another. It
is clear that the landlord thinks he can get more rent rather than knowing
so before raising the rent on the current occupant. It looks like some
commercial landlords of Pistoia may be prone to overly optimistic estimates
of the value of their property.

Educational Reform

The government in Italy is instituting a very controversial educational
reform. The three prongs of the reform at the lower level of schools are
learning English, learning the computer, and higher level of achievement.
The reform, however, includes shortening the school day. English will begun
to be taught sooner, but a second European language will also be required so
that in middle grades the time spent learning English will be less.

Italy’s main asset is probably the intelligence and creativity of its
people. Almost everyone agrees that educational reform is needed to protect
and promote this asset. Opponents of the government plan say that its real
purpose is to cut costs. I think the left wants to spend more money on
schools, but one is left to wonder if their goal is really better education
or simply more jobs and higher salaries for teachers with the belief that
this will automatically improve the educational process.

Local Newspaper Headline of the Week

Baby Soccer Player Faints on the Field After Receiving an Elbow Blow.

Baby here simply means young. It does not appear that there was a serious
injury. When I was in 8th grade a classmate of mine was in the hospital for
a few days for observation after he was hit in the head by a shot put at a
track meet. A story such as his would be worth three days of headlines in
Italy.

* It seems impossible to teach Robert Nordval the spelling of Hoffmann (with a double N). Therefore the webmaster felt obliged to correct the spelling of his own name .

Refund at the Store

In Italy one does not get a cash refund at a store for a returned item,
only a credit slip. I had a friend visit me here once who could not believe
that she could not get a cash refund for the item she purchased, but that is
the rule in Italy. So when you buy something you might return, be sure there
are other items in the store on which you can spend your credit. I recently
returned an item to a Do It Yourself store (Fa Da
Te). Fortunately there were some staple items, light bulbs, tape, etc.
that I could purchase with my credit slip.

Renovating an Apartment

A friend has purchased an apartment in Pistoia and now wants to renovate
it. I was present as she talked to some workmen about her plans. What
was immediately clear is that the solid walls and solid floors in an Italian
apartment (built over 300 years ago) do not lend themselves to easy rewiring
or replumbing. In the past electrical wires were run on the surface of the
walls, but this is no longer allowed. So you can have them enclosed in
tubing (not attractive) or cut channels in the walls or floors. There are
similar problems for new plumbing pipes. Moving a wall to enlarge a room
is extremely expensive if not impossible. This style of building with solid
walls and floors is not something of the past; it is still the standard
method in Italy today. The construction in Italy is of higher quality than
in the USA, but this higher quality also means less flexibility.

Big Red vs, Gabibbo

I wrote last week about a TV show. It’s name is Stricia la Notizia which
an American newspaper translated as Slithering News. It features Gabbibo,
a big red puppet who makes wisecracks and takes up consumer complaints.
The creator of the puppet admitted in a 1990 magazine article that Gabbibo
is a copy of the Western Kentucky University Mascot, Big Red–an admission
that he now lamely says was a joke. What is not a joke is that Western
Kentucky is suing Mediaset (the TV network) for $250 million for trademark
infringement. There is some question of whether WKY registered the
trademark
on Big Red before he was ripped off to create Gabibbo.

Lets assume that WKU is able to establish a case of trademark infringement.
I remember by father telling me that his company had to write off
uncollectible
accounts in the south because if they sued to collect them, the local
southern
lawyer would rant and rave about “these no good Yankees coming down here
to harass our local citizens” and his company would get nothing. Although
Italy does not have a jury system, I can imagine Italian judges also
favoring
the locals in a lawsuit by Americans. But, ah, there is another twist in
this case. Who owns Mediaset? –Silvio Belusconi. Who is sponsoring the
bill to limit the power of judges in Italy?–Silvio Berlusconi. So in this
case the judges may welcome the chance to stick it to Silvio. WKU has a
chance to win, although with the painfully slow pace of Italian justice
it may be 10 years or more before WKU sees any money from this case.

Results of Reader Survey

Many thanks to those of you who responded to my survey about my proposed
book. As for those who did not respond, you are still in my good graces
are bona fide subscribers to this newsletter.

What is is that readers find most interesting about the newsletters?

Comparison of different cultures 15
Accounts of everyday problems and experiences 11
Observations generally about Italy 7
Sense of Humor 7
Sense of vicariously visiting Italy 4
Readers with a Special Interest in Italy 4
The Personal Touch 2
Comparing my experiences with their own experience of living in a foreign
land 1

What Type of Book Would You Personally Prefer?

Narrative 26
Analytical 6
Compilation 17
How to Retire in Italy 8

What Type of Book Do You Think the Public Would Prefer?

Narrative 23
Analytical 3
Compilation 20
How to Book 16

There is no “right answer” to these questions. The feedback was very
helpful
to me. For example, even if I do not write a How To book, I will try to
include a chapter with advice on this topic. I will probably submit a
book proposal with a narrative format, but I will attach some sample
newsletters. In that way, if the book agent thinks that these newsletters
are better
presented in compilation format, he or she can so advise.

The Course at the University of Free Time

I am enjoying my short course at the University of Free Time on Contemporary
Topics in Italian history. Before the course started, prospective students
were given a schedule of classes and topics. At the first class meeting
a new schedule was distributed, not with a few minor changes, but with a
major rearrangement of the class meeting times and topics. Fortunately, the
class is almost all retired people whose time is, I assume, flexible.

The Music Festival at San Remo

This is the major music festival in Italy. There is nothing like it in the
United States. It features both major artists in Italy and also up and
coming ones. What is surprising is the American elements in the Festival.
There are some performers from the United States. There are many American
songs sung in English. Throughout the Festival there were short filmed
vignettes of American movie stars, with their voices dubbed into Italian,
introducing various segments of the Festival. Dustin Hoffman and George
Clooney were present in person.

The Never Ending Story of My Dental Work

The new bridge is in my mouth–not yet permanently. In America when the
bridge is ready, they cement it in your mouth. In Italy, at least with my
excellent dentist, they put the bridge in temporarily for a week to see
that it is comfortable before permanent installation. The process of
testing
the bridge in your mouth and adjusting it before installation, takes about
three times as long in Italy. Everything is tested and retested with
excruciating care. I had a superb dentist in Gettysburg (My Italian dentist
commented
that my dental work was of high quality), but, compared to my Italian
dentist,
the guy in Gettysburg looks like a person in a big hurry.

The bridge itself is well toward the back of my mouth and not visible.
Nevertheless is is made with a porcelain surface facing out (in case anyone
sees it) and a metal surface facing the inside of my mouth (because metal
is more durable). I’ve never seen a bridge in the USA made with both of
these two different surfaces.

Most Unfortunate Magazine Headline of the Year

The March 8 issue of the International Edition of Time Magazine was a
special
issue about Spain. The Headline on the cover was “Spain Rocks.” On March
11 Spain did rock with the three terrible explosions in the Madrid train
station.

Well, It’s Not “60 Minutes”

I was at my neighbor’s apartment recently for dinner when a TV show came
on that one of the other guests said “is the only show in Italy that tells
the truth.” So I am expecting a “60 minutes” type of show. Instead the
first item is a hidden camera at the “office” of a spiritualist who is
trying
to cure a man’s impotency through her mystical methods. She is not
successful,
but this hardly seems to be a major exposé. It is a hint about this show
that the hosts are two commedians. Next there is a videotape of Silvio
Berlusconi and some other government officials (I assume) starting to sit
down at a
table in front of an audience. As they are arranging their papers before
the event begins, there is on the sound track a loud sound that resembles
the noise of a person passing gas. The assumption is that Silvio is the
culprit. This item is played for various groups (like a group of students)
who then comment upon it. When the picture returns to the hosts, one is
holding a handkerchief over his noise to protect him from the “smell.” I
thought it would be like “60 minutes,” but it is a step below “Saturday
Night Live.” Maybe this show has featured some important stories of
corruption,
dishonesty, and social problems, but I remain doubtful.

Carnival at Viareggio

Although the Carnival at Venice is the most famous, the largest one in Italy
is at nearby Viareggio. Whereas in Venice there are concerts and elegant
masked balls, Carnival at Viareggio features a 3 hour parade of hugh (some
3 stories high) floats. The theme of many of these is political satire.
George Bush was on one float, dressed as a mammoth Statue of Liberty.
In one hand was the Torch of Liberty. His other hand was pointed up in
the air and delicately balanced on his third finger was a small figure of
Jacques Chirac holding a banner that said UN. The slogan on the float was
“Obligatory Liberty” meaning that the Iraquis would have Democracy, whether
they wanted it or not.

Regional Emphasis in Italy

As I have mentioned before, one’s region of birth and current home (usually
the same) are much more important here. On a major TV quiz show there are
teams from various regions of the country. On quiz shows with individual
contestants, a contestant will frequently be called “Mario from Bologna”
or “Maria from Puglia.”

“Carlo Lives”

This is a common graffiti. It refers to Carlo, the young man who was shot
dead
by the police at a demonstration in Genoa a few years ago as (it appeared)
he was about the throw a large canister into a police vehicle. The whole
incident was captured on videotape; I saw it on TV in the USA. Italy still
has a few terrorists (The Red Brigade) left over from the 1970s. These
are still being arrested, and they still engage in occasional political
violence. But street demonstrations are another matter. They are part
of what I call “Politics as Theatre” in Italy. What was so shocking about
Carlo’s death, I think, was that it violated the rules of “Politics as
Theater.”
It was as if you went to see a play about a murder, and the gun had real
bullets and an actor was killed. For the Left certainly this was
unacceptable
regardless of how dangerous Carlo (about to throw the canister) may have
appeared to the police.

The Good Old Days

When ever you move someplace and note a local custom, there is somebody
who can tell you that it was stronger in the old days. The transition to
the “take a number” system for service at the Pistoia Post Office has not
been a
entirely smooth one. I was discussing this with an Italian in Florence who
is married
to an American and has lived in the USA. When he brought his wife back to
Italy to live many years ago, she went for the first time to the Post
Office.
When she tried to buy a stamp, the clerk told her that they were out of
stamps, but she could get one at the Tobacco Shop down the street. A bit
of a shock for an American.

Art and History of Pistoia

I am enjoying my short course on the Art and History of Pistoia. It consists
of four lectures and four guided tours of artistic attractions in Pistoia.
The first tour was of Romanesque churches. On two of these churches, above
the exterior doors, there was a figure of a lion with a young lad underneath
him. I asked the guide what this symbolized. Originally all these figures
were painted, and the lad was painted dark brown or black. He represented
a Muslim, and the lion over him represented the triumph of Christianity
over Islam. With the influx of Muslims into Italy today, this is a
symbolism
that probably is not mentioned much.

Publicity Hound or Clowns in Politics

The United States does not have a franchise on clowns in politics. The
leader of the Northern League (the small party that wants to divide Italy
into two parts, north and south of Florence) is a man named Bossi. His
party is part of the majority coalition in Italy even though, if Italy were
divided, Berlusconi’s party –which is stronger in the south– would at
best inherit the poorer southern half of the country. There is no chance
that such a division will happen.

Recently the Pope made a remark in the Roman dialect of Italian. Bossi
got on TV and said that this showed that the church in Italy is not really
an Italian church but a Roman (meaning city of Rome) one. He suggested that
Italians not check the box on their income tax return which indicates that
they agree for part of their taxes to go to support the Church (sort of
like the Presidential Election Fund option on a US form 1040).

Now in Italy people are not particularly “religious” but still the Pope
is the most important symbol in the nation. On the news one regularly sees
political leaders visiting the Pope and kissing his ring. Imagine a person
who has Billy Graham’s prestige in the USA but magnified 10 times. You
really have to be desperate for publicity to attack the Pope. When an
opposition leader was asked about this attack of Bossi, he did not reply
with outrage
(as is usual), but with an air of sadness that said “It’s a shame to see
a man so desperate and demented that he attacks the Pope.”

While Talking of Religion

On my favorite quiz show, on the first round of questions, they ask easy
questions of the six contestants so they can start out on a positive note.
They asked a guy “into what do the faithful dip their hand when they enter
a church?” The answer is the Italian word for the Holy Water Font. This
guy said “the Baptismal Font.” The audience started to moan as if he had
said that Lee was buried in Grant’s Tomb. On quiz shows Italians often
miss questions about the Bible or the history of the Church — questions
that I can usually answer. But to miss a question about an everyday
practice
of the Church is really bad. I could not tell whether this contestant was
unusually nervous or whether he was raised by a family of committed
atheists.
Later, as luck would have it, he was asked a question about the Bible (a
tough one) which, of course, he missed too.