thisweekinitaly.com

Gelato Flavors

After I wrote about these last week, I realized that I have not seen in
Italy the one ice cream flavor that in the USA (at least when I was a kid)
was associated with Italy–Spumoni. This, as best I recall, was a mixture
of chocolate, strawberry and mint with some brandied fruit pieces. Maybe if
I spend more time in southern Italy I will see it there.

Italian Legal System

I mentioned a while back that the managers of the local Breda Works were
found not guilty in a criminal trial over their failure to warn workers
about the dangers of asbestos. In the USA that would be the end of the
criminal matter, but I saw in the paper that a new investigation (perhaps
even a new trial) was in the works over this issue. I don’t think Italy has
the same principle of double jeopardy as in the USA. In fact, in Italy
there is clearly a greater emphasis on reaching the right, just result (even
if it takes 20 years) than there is on the practical goal of reaching a
timely decision. The concept “justice delayed is justice denied” is not
strong here.

Trip to the Beach

I went with some visiting American friends to the beach at Viareggio.
There are few public beaches in Italy. Instead you pay for a lounge chair
and an umbrella on the private beach. At Viareggio there are many business
each with a section of the private beach. Fortunately each business uses a
different color for its umbrellas and chairs. Otherwise if you took a walk
along the beach, you would have trouble finding your chair and umbrella
again in the mile long stretch of private beach that is totally packed with
these items.

In Tuscany the pizza is made with a very thin crust and is round, but at the
beach the pizza place was selling thick crust pizza made in square pans.
Much more similar to pizza in the USA. When I talked to a pizza maker at
Pistoia, he said that this thick pizza is common on the beach where the
pizza is sold by the slice. The thin round Tuscan pizza is hard to slice
cleanly, but the thick pizza slices easily into square pieces.

Differences Between Italy and the USA

When I wrote last week about gelato flavors in Italy, a friend from
Annapolis, Maryland sent me a note telling me that there is an Italian
gelato shop there that has these same flavors. Once when I wrote about how
well Italian children are dressed, a friend from New York wrote to tell me
that children are dressed similarly in New York City. There is little in
Italy that can’t be found somewhere in the USA: shops with similar clothes,
restaurants with similar high standards, people with similar styles of dress
(or other styles similarly refined). But whereas you might find these
similarities in New York City, Winnetka, Illinois, or Grosse Point,
Michigan, you are not likely to find them often in Kankakee, Illinois,
Saginaw, Michigan, or Troy, New York. Things that are pervasive in the area
of Italy where I live (maybe not in southern Italy), are not common in the
USA.

A Trip to Lake Como

I spent two and a half days visiting Lake Como. It is every bit as
beautiful as I had been told. There is an extensive system of boats between
the towns, and they seem to run much more efficiently than the trains.

Italy in the European Soccer Championships

In the last World Cup, Italy did not advance past the first round. In this
year’s European Championship again Italy was eliminated in the first round.
Italy was in a group including Bulgaria, Sweden, and Denmark. The top two
teams in this group were to advance to the second round. Italy tied Denmark
and Sweden. In the final games Denmark played Sweden and Italy played
Bulgaria. If Sweden or Denmark won the final game, Italy would go on to the
second round, but if Sweden and Denmark tied, then to go to the second round
Italy would have to beat Bulgaria by more goals than Sweden or Denmark did.
The final games took place at the same time in different stadiums. So
players in each game were aware of what was happening in the other game. As
the end of these games approached, it was clear that Italy would not defeat
Bulgaria by more goals than Sweden and Denmark did (Italy won in last minute
2-1). Sweden scored a late goal and tied Denmark. As I fully expected, the
next day in the Italian paper there was much speculation that this tie was
“arranged” when it was clear that the tie would allow the two northern
countries to go forward to the second around. This speculation was not made
with rancor; to the Italians it was common sense that such an arrangement
would occur among two “similar” nations to the disadvantage of a more
“alien” nation.

Of course, any Italian can give you a 30 minute explanation of why the
Italian team is such a failure in recent international competitions. The
consensus seems to be that the team plays with verve and style when the
score is tied or Italy is behind, but once Italy gets ahead the strategy
becomes one of crippling conservatism.

Editorial Page in Newspaper

Many Italian newspapers have no editorial page.The newspaper has an
acknowledged political bent. You don’t need an editorial page because the
articles themselves express the political views of the paper.

Prosperity in USA and Europe

A friend sent me an article on the relative prosperity of the USA and
Europe. The theme was that Europe is not closing the gap with the USA. The
authors admitted that in high tax European countries (especially Italy in my
view) there is an underground economy whose production is not included in
the economic statistics. If you asked an Italian if it would good for Italy
to have the same level of prosperity as the USA, he or she would probably
say yes. But if you asked that person if it would be good for Italy to have
the American level of prosperity and also the American system of values and
social policies (assuming for the sake of argument that these two items are
necessarily linked), it is not clear to me whether the average Italian would
say yes or no.

Correction

In my account of my trip to Calvello I said that the death certificate of my
grandfather listed his year of birth as 1879. This should have read 1870.
So the death certificate was in error by 7 years (not 16) since he was in
fact born in 1863.

The New Polo Shirt and the Economy of Italy

At a sale I purchased a polo shirt for 12 Euros, a shirt with list price of
58 Euros ($70). Now why anyone would pay 58 Euros for a polo shirt is
beyond me. (I know you can pay $70 for such a shirt in the USA too, but
this is even more foolish than paying that price in Italy.) The new shirt
has very light and fine fabric; it is 60% silk and 40% cotton. It is
typical of many products made in Italy –very high quality and very high
price. At the same time, however, the low cost goods from China and
elsewhere are of increasingly better quality. These products cost about
one-fourth or less compared to Italian products. Eventually the marginally
better quality of the Italian item simply is not worth the cost.
This is an essential problem for the Italian economy.

The Elections

Throughout Europe, including Italy, the parties in power fared poorly in the
elections for the European Parliament. Why? As they say in the USA “It’s
the economy, stupid.” Berlusconi is in power until 2006. At that point he
will have had a 5 year term. A friend of mine says that he thinks it
probably would take 10 years for a government to make the changes necessary
to make Italy a more competitive country economically. Assuming that
Berlosconi’s policies are the right ones to accomplish this goal ( a BIG
assumption), if the economy does not improve markedly by 2005, I doubt
that he will get a second term to carry out his plans.

As everyone knows, there are a great number of parties in Italy. In Italy a
party that gets, for example, 5% of the national vote will have some
representation in Parliament unlike the USA where to be represented a party
has to actually win elections in district. After a massive bribery scandal
in the 1990s the courts in Italy dissolved some of the major parties. These
parties, of course, came back with other names, but they also divided and
came back as additional parties. The large Christian Democratic party
became four new parties. In Italy we even now have two different Communist
parties.

Becoming a Real Italian

I took another important step this week toward becoming a true Italian. I
received in my e mail my first Spam message in Italian.

Gelato Flavors

Probably no gelateria in Italy has an many flavors as Baskin and Robbins,
but the flavors are also a little different. Here is a list of flavors you
might find one day in a large gelateria: Amarena (cherry with large cherries
included in it), Malaga (Rum/Raisin) Pistachio, Apricot, Melon, Strawberry,
Lemon, Peach, Pear, Bacio (Chocolate with a type of nuts), Stracciatella
(Vanilla with chocolate streaks), Vanilla and Rum, Nutella (named after the
chocolate hazel nut spread), Nut, Pine Nut, Chocolate, Cream, Yogurt, Cream
Caramel, Torrone (nougat), Milk, Mascapone (a type of sweet cheese), Coffee
(in two different strengths) with coffee beans included, Limoncello, Mint,
Rice/Milk.

A Sad Story

I tell this story not to comment upon the equities of the Arab-Israeli
conflict, but to describe the inevitable suffering that takes place on both
sides of any armed conflict. I have a Palestinian friend who returned home
recently to his home in Gaza to see his family for the first time in a few
years. After he arrived, he was not able to return to Italy because the
borders were closed; finally through the Italian Consulate he was able to
get a special exit visa. When I saw him he looked like a guy who had been
shell shocked in a war. Clearly his family had not told him in advance how
bad their situation is. The homes of two of his siblings had been destroyed.
With the closed border to Israel, the economy in Gaza has come to a halt.
His family has no money for food. Relief supplies that arrive in Gaza are
quickly commandeered; one must have money to buy them. My friend can only
get a low paying job in Italy despite his high level of education. He can’t
earn enough to support himself and his family. With considerable
embarrassment and chagrin he now has to beg his friends for a little help
for his family.

Love at First Sight

I was at a dinner hosted by a classmate in my Italian class for her fellow
students. On my side of the table there were three women. Emelia from Poland
came to Italy for a one-week vacation and met an Italian in a bar. Love at
first sight even though they could not talk to each other in a common
language. She retuned and married him. Maria Claudia met an Italian who was
visiting her homeland of Colombia on a short vacation. Once again no common
language although perhaps some ability to communicate because Spanish and
Italian are close. She moved to Italy and married him. Sara is half English
and half French. She met an Italian (I am not sure where). No common
language, but she moved to Italy and is marrying him this month. Even
though these lovely ladies were willing to marry an Italian man whose
language they did not understand, it does not appear that many Italian women
are suffering the pangs of love at first sight with an American who does not
speak their language well.

Civics in Italy

It is amazing to me how many educated Italian cannot explain to you (even in
general terms) how the government is organized in Italy. Apparently there
is little education in Civics in the Italian schools. Italy is a country
where there is national pride for the group (“I’m proud to be an Italian”)
but no pride in the nation. You won’t often, if ever, hear an Italian say
“I’m proud to be an Italian citizen.”

Below is an account of my visit to my ancestral town in Italy. The account
is longer than the usual newsletter and may not be of interest to all
readers of the newsletter. So I am sending it as a separate item.

---

Calvello, in the southern region of Basilicata, is the home town of my
mother’s parents. Basilicata is a poor and little known region of Italy.
After WWII the head of the Italian state oil company tried to find sources
of oil in Italy. It was not a highly successful venture, but he did find
some oil in Basilicata which is jokingly called the “Kuwait of Italy.” As
in many poor countries, the discovery of oil made a few people rich and
left the rest untouched.

I took a fast Eurostar train from Florence to Naples. From Naples to Potenza
(as far as I can go by train) I took a slow train that was more shabby than
the trains in Tuscany. During the trip of almost three hours nobody checked
my ticket, a phenomenon that I had noticed before on a short trip to the
South of Italy.

At Potenza I had to get a bus. The posted schedule at the bus stop at the
station did not show Calvello. A policeman directed me to another bus stop
nearby, but it too had no buses to Potenza. I found my way to a travel
agency nearby. The clerk did not know about buses to Calvello. After
making three telephone calls, she finally found the bus line that goes
there. I was in time to catch the last bus, but the clerk did not know if
it stopped at the nearby railroad station. So she directed me to the
hospital where she knew it did stop. I had to take a cab to the hospital.
It cost 20 Euros: I jokingly asked the driver if the meter was in Euros or
Lira. He must have set it at the tourist rate. After I boarded the bus, I
discovered that it does stop at the station.

In talking to the cab driver on the way to the hospital, I discovered
something else too. In Tuscany people often talk of prices both in terms of
the Euro and the old Lira. In Basilicata they talk of prices primarily in
the old Lira.

The bus ride to Calvello is through the mountains with many hairpin turns.
The landscape is lovely, but the land is poor. There are no crops. I see
sheep and goats grazing. Twice the bus has to stop to allow the
free-roaming cows to cross the road. How did my grandparents ever travel to
Naples from this remote mountain territory to get the ship to America—ox
cart, on foot?

When I arrive in Calvello, the hotel does not have my reservation that I
sent ahead via fax. Fortunately there is one room left, a large one with
four beds. It costs more, but I take it.

Calvello is in an area subject to earthquakes. Most of the town was rebuilt
after the last quake in 1980. The higher part of town survived the
earthquake, but it is slowly being abandoned because the streets are very
narrow and it is a tough walk up to this part of town from the main part of
the city. It is strange to be in a poor southern area of Italy where the
town is more modern than in the north. Calvello has about 2200 residents.
It was once far more populous; the steady stream of emigration for over 120
years to the USA, Australia, Argentina, and the more prosperous north of
Italy has depleted the population.

After I arrive in Calvello, I call an elderly “relative”, Michele Mazziotta,
who has the same last name as one of my great-grandparents. I discovered
his name in the Calvello phone book over the Internet. I find out that he
died four months ago.

In the morning, I start with a trip to the Anangrafe—the town records
office. I have the death certificates for my two grandparents that show
their dates of birth as well as the names of their parents (my
great-grandparents). Only one of the four surnames of my great-grandparents
still exists in the Calvello phone book.

My cousin Gerry had told me that the date of birth on my grandfather’s death
certificate, August 16, 1870, is wrong. She said he was older than that.
She is correct. His true date of birth is August 15, 1863. I cannot find
my grandmother’s birth record. Perhaps the index in the records is
incorrect (doubtful); perhaps I could find a baptism record at the church;
or maybe she was born in another nearby town. The birth records in Italy
are quite good. In contrast, there is no birth record of mother in the USA
because she was born at home.

The clerk at the office directs me to some people with the same last name as
two of my great-grandparents. One name, Mazziotta, is still common in town.
When I reach the appliance shop of Concetta Mazziotta, I am greeted by the
Angela, the recent widow of Michele Mazziotta, who had already gone to the
hotel to try to find me. Later I discover that she lives in the house where
my grandfather was born, although with the reconstruction, little is left of
the 19th century home. She tells me what a wonderful man her husband was.
He produced ceramic bowls, plates, vases, etc. which is a local specialty.
Tomorrow there will be a mass in his memory at the old church at the top of
town. Concetta comes soon, and we all share a cup of coffee (one of many
during the day). Concetta studied medicine at Rome, but when both her
parents died young, there was no money for school, and she had to return to
operate the family business.

Soon I feel like the new pet dog of a child that is being shown with pride
to all his friends. Angela takes me to meet Luca and his family who run a
newsstand. There I purchase two books about Calvello – a town history and a
tourist guide. This is not however a big area for tourists. I also receive
a CD-Rom showing the wonders of Calvello. Luca’s wife Domenica invites me
to lunch.

Before lunch, however, I accompany their daughter, Victoria, on an errand in
town. We meet relatives and quasi-relatives along the way. Victoria is
going to the town hall to look up in the national official gazette
information for a friend about an upcoming Civil Service exam for 150
openings in Rome for schoolteachers. Victoria finds the correct issue of the
gazette, but can’t locate the announcement. The clerks at the town hall are
not particularly helpful. While Victoria ponders what to do, I look through
the gazette and find the announcement. Immediately I am even a better
friend of Victoria. By the way, the town hall in Calvello is open mornings,
but only two afternoons a week.

My mother did not particularly like nor did she prepare well Italian food.
She was always eager to leave her Italian heritage behind to become a true
American. My aunt Caroline was the premier Italian cook in the family. We
ate at her house whenever possible because the rest of my family loved
Italian food. As I enter Victoria’s house for lunch, I am suddenly taken
back 50 years. The smell of the kitchen of Domenica Mazziotta is the smell
of the kitchen of Aunt Carrie.

Domenica asks me if I like dried peppers. I tell her that I like peppers but
not the dried hot ones that my uncle Frank (Carrie’s husband) used to season
his spaghetti. She shows me some mild ones. Before the pasta arrives, she
puts a few peppers on the table – not telling me that these are the hot
ones. At the table is Grandma. She has almost no teeth, and even more than
the rest of the family, she speaks a local dialect. In general toothless
folks are hard to understand in any language. The combination of lack of
teeth and the dialect make her almost impossible for me to understand. Of
course she is dressed all in black. As the first pasta course arrives, I
happily season it with what I think are mild peppers. Fortunately, I am
able to partially comprehend a phrase from grandma, “ you’re using too many;
they are really hot.” I quickly remove all but a very few from the
wonderful pasta. Otherwise, my first mouthful of pasta might have ended the
entire meal.

Pasta is followed by sausage, spinach, salad, fried ricotta cheese, fresh
mozzarella, veal, and beef (which was made for grandma, but she didn’t want
it.). All is accompanied by homemade wine. It’s great!!

After lunch I give an English lesson to Victoria. She studied French in
school but wants to learn English. She has a workbook that a teacher gave
her, but not the accompanying audio tapes. So she is very reluctant to try
to pronounce English. Her vocabulary is quite good for someone with no
formal study. There is an elementary and middle school in Calvello. The
high school is in Potenza, a bus ride of over an hour. Whereas in Tuscany
it is possible to live at home and go to a university in nearby Pisa,
Florence, Siena, etc., here one has to move from Calvello to Potenza (where
there are some courses) or farther to attend a university. This is clearly
an obstacle to higher education.

After my nap, I go to try to find the one relative whose name I have as a
descendant of the Izzo family—another name of a great-grandparent. In the
USA I have a rule to be dubious about following direction from a person who
hesitates before giving them and to be even less confident if that person is
a teenager. Here I ask a teenager for directions. He hesitates before
sending me in the exact wrong direction. I need to preserve some American
instincts in Italy!! Still the misdirection takes me to an older part of
town that seems to have survived the earthquakes including a bridge from the
13th century. Anyway my relative is not at home.

In Calvello the teenagers wear their pants low, but not as low as in
Tuscany. Fewer of them smoke on the street. There are many old women,
often widows, dressed in black. In many little ways the more conservative
nature of Italy’s south is apparent. In Pistoia you see statues and
pictures of Padre Pio, the most popular late 20th century religious figure
in Italy, now a saint. Here his face is omnipresent. There is a picture of
him on the wall outside my hotel room and another small one on the closet
door in the room.

After a small dinner, I find Terezziana Alberti (neé Izzo) at home. She is
a little difficult for me to understand –the problem of the missing teeth
again. She direct me to her daughter Bruna who owns a local bar with her
husband. I still have not discovered anyone who speaks English, although
eventually I am introduced to a native of Calvello who is back in town for a
visit but lives in Australia. It seems here that the younger people
studied French in high school – typical for the older generation In Italy
but not for the younger generation. Here too the southerners are a little
behind the times.

The next day I make a final unsuccessful attempt to find my grandmother’s
birth record. The clerk at the office sees me as a bother. He isn’t paid
to be helpful. The town has a free Internet location, but it is very slow.
No DSL lines come to Calvello.

I have another sumptuous lunch at Domenica’s house, and then I go off for a
scenic tour of the nearby mountains. We stop at the mountain church where
there is a large statue of the Virgin. In September it (weighing 1700
pounds) is carried from the church into town (probably because the church is
inaccessible at times in the winter). This is part of a two-day religious
ceremony that is reversed in March when the statue is returned to the
church.

Today ,however, there is another religious procession in town –it is the
celebration of the Body of Christ. The procession goes from the main church
to an old church at the top of town. There is a mass performed in the old
church. This year the mass is partly in memory of Michele Mazziotta who
died in February. After the mass the procession comes back into the main
part of town. Children from town go in front spreading flower pedals on
street in front of the priest. Town folks throw pedals from windows. The
priest stops at small shires and churches along the way for short rites.
Meanwhile, the group says prayers and sings songs orchestrated through a
portable sound system. There is a stop at the town hall (no separation of
church and state here) and finally a short ceremony at the main church. It
is a two hour event in all.

I can imagine, however, that 140 years ago my grandmother was a child in
this procession. I realize that if she had not gone to the USA, her
grandchild might be a local resident rather than a stranger from the USA.
The family legend is that she was sent to the USA by her family to get her
away from the man (much older) who eventually became my grandfather. He
followed her to the USA. Her family was right; he was not a good husband or
father. In any case, I am glad she emigrated, and I had the opportunities
that never would have been available in Calvello.

After the service I am introduced to more elderly ladies in black with the
name Mazziotta. I promise that I will return. When we return to Victoria’s
house, I find out that in the afternoon her brother had been attacked by a
local man with mental problems. The brother does not seem to be serious
hurt, but he is angry in that particularly boisterous Italian way.
Eventually he calms down.

As always in Italy the talk of “poverty” and the facts don’t completely line
up. In Calvello apartments and houses in the old part of town are being
abandoned. At the same time there are large apartment building being
constructed in a new section of the city to which local residents are
moving. There is little immigration of outside people to Calvello. In
general real estate prices are ridiculously low. You can buy a completely
refurbished small house for $24,000. Still, how can you abandon an old
house (getting little if any money for it) and move into a brand new
facility when you don’t have a job or you have a job that pays very little?

People constantly say that life is “hard.” Slowly I come to realize that
“hard” does not mean lack of food, clothes, decent housing, or medical care.
Hard does not mean back-breaking labor. Hard primarily means the
inability to rise in society. Concetta who had to leave medical school when
her parents died. Domenica who also ran out of money while attending the
university. Antonio who is trained as an accountant but cannot find a
permanent job in the south. Victoria who desperately wants to learn English
but will have little use for it working at the family newsstand. Domenica,
a very jolly woman, nevertheless describes to me in detail the frustration
of having dreams, hopes, and ambitions that can never be realized. I
commented in an earlier newsletter about an international poll that reported
that the Italians are the least satisfied people in Europe. I found this
hard to comprehend in light of my daily interactions here. But it is
becoming more clear now.

A Note on Language

In movies in the USA the Mafia boss says capice (ka-peesh) for “understand”?
The correct Italian word is capisci (ka-pee-she). Ten in Italian is
“dieci” (dee-a(long a)-chee), but in Basilicate is becomes (dee-h). “It
begins” changes from standard Italian comincia (co-min-che-ah) to
(co-minch). So the local dialect, in addition to containing words not in
standard Italian, tends to shorten regular Italian words into a more compact
form.

A Musical Note

In my opinion one of the worst lines in American popular music is (from
“That’s Amore”): “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s
amore.” It’s hard to think of a more inappropriate simile. Yet, with the
penchant in Italy to import all the worst of American culture, this is a
song I hear often.

L’ Infiorata in Spello

This is an event held every year to celebrate the town’s saint. (There are
similiar events in other Italian cities.) The streets of the town are
carpeted with either designs or large (40 feet long) pictures made from
flower petals. It is beautiful. On Sunday morning there is a procession
through the town led by the bishop; he walks over the flowered areas while
the rest walk around them. The dates this year were June 5-6. I decided to
go on Saturday the 5th with a friend. When we got there at 3:30 p.m., we
discovered that the flower decorations were not put on the streets until
after dinner on June 5. The residents work all night. It was like announcing
that the Rose Bowl parade will be held two on two consecutive days, but the
first day all you can see if the floats being made after 8 pm at night. So
I had to take a hotel room; my friend was less lucky. He had an
appointment on Sunday and could not stay overnight. It was well worth the
stay. Beyond this singular event, Spello is a particularly lovely city.
Such a city is too small and too inaccessible for my tastes, but in other
ways, it would be great place to live.

The Use of English Words by Italians

I reported recently that one Italian friend was upset that Italians use
English words when there are perfectly good Italian words for the same
thing. He thought this was a matter of “style” on the part of the Italians.
My friend Sam proposes a different thesis. He thinks that English words and
especially phrases are attractive because they are much shorter than their
Italian equivalents.

Grapevine

This is the name of a magazine in English published in Lucca for the English
speaking community in that area. In Italy I believe there are more
expatriates from Great Britain than from the USA. In the 1960s and 1970s
the British Pound was strong against the Italian Lira and many English
brought property here. Some call the Chianti area “Chiantishire.”Of
course there is a long tradition of the English (especially writers) falling
in love with Italy. The film “Tea with Mussolini” derives its theme from
this tradition. With the strong ties in the past between Great Britain and
Italy and the ties between the USA and Italy caused by Italian immigration
to the USA, it’s hard to see how Mussolini ever convinced the Italians that
these two nations were their enemies. Maybe the performance of the Italian
army in WWII in part reflects this fact.

Dress in Style

Italians men sometimes wear a sweater draped over their back with the
sleeves tied in front. You see this style too in USA in ads for companies
like Ralph Lauren. On the elevator recently in my building I saw a boy, not
over 5, carefully tying the sleeves of his sweater in the front. I would
guess that in the USA too today, kids are becoming more style conscious at
an earlier age (Those horizontally stripped T shirts I wore as a child were
hardly a fashion statement.), but the Italians still hold the lead in this
regard.

Elections

In Italy this weekend there are local elections and the election for the
Italian delegation to the Parliament of Europe. In one sense the latter is
hardly important; whatever is decided by the European Parliament will not be
the result of the votes of the small minority Italian delegation. Still
this election serves as a referendum on internal politics. (Who even knows
what are the issues upon which to vote for someone for the European
Parliament?) The results will be watched closely to assess the strength of
the ruling Right-Central coalition in Italy versus the opposition
Central-Left parties.

Reading in Italy

I often hear the lament that Italians don’t read much. Yet I also note that
the newspapers often use books as a premium to boost sales. For example if
you buy newspaper X on a certain day, you can get a famous book too at a
very good price. I asked a friend why newspapers used books in this way if
in fact the Italians don’t read a lot. She replied that the books are
always classic ones (by both Italian and foreign authors); Italians think it
is good to have such books on their bookshelf even if they are not read.

Watching Cartoons on Italian TV

American cartoons are popular. I do miss the voice of Mel Blanc doing the
various characters. Of course, the cartoons are dubbed. Somehow “che
succede, amico” is not the same for me as “what’s up doc.”

English in Europe

With the increasing babble of languages in the expanding European Community,
a common language becomes even more important. It is English. I saw an
article that gave percentages for how many people in Europe spoke a specific
language either as a first language or a second one. The results: English
47%, German 32%, French 28%, Italian 18%, Spanish 15% … English was the only
language that over 10% of the people knew as a second language. There was a
meeting in Italy with representatives from the countries speaking the
Romance Languages about this trend. The wistful thought was proposed that
if the Romance Languages would unify (as they in a sense were in the days of
Latin), this single language could be a strong rival to English.

Headline of the Week

From the Prato Paper “Court Orders Worker to Stay Far Away from His Ex
Wife.” This is what we call a protection order in the USA; judges in an
American city the size of Prato are signing such orders every day.
Sometimes they work; sometimes (if the man is enraged or crazy enough) they
don’t. This type of order is more rare in Italy. Divorce is allowed in
Italy, but in general the law of domestic relations is more conservative as
are attitudes. Another example. In the Rome paper there was a front page
story about two married women who ran off with each other (it may have just
been a vacation) and took their children with them. The emphases in the
article were (1) they left their husbands in the lurch and (2) this was
terrible for the children. Here too I don’t think such a story would be
front page news in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles.

Sexual Harassment

Also in this area the law and attitudes in Italy seem to be different than
in the USA. There was a story of an ex university professor (I am assuming
he was fired.) who was found “not guilty” on charges of sexual violence. He
had videotaped his sexual encounters with students. These may have been in
return for good grades or to avoid the threat of bad grades. There was not,
however, enough evidence to show he had used threats of violence to obtain
the favors or violence against his victims. I found mostit interesting
that the ex professor was triumphant about how the justice system had
vindicated him against these false charges. I would have expected him to
say (apologetically) that he had done some very bad things, but he had not
done the evils which were charged in the criminal complaint. Maybe he is an
eccentric screwball, but I recall the story of an American university that
hired a prominent Italian to come teach for a year. The Italian immediately
began propositioning his women students. He was incredulous when the
university told him to stop; it was like being told that he could not eat in
the Faculty Club—an obvious fringe benefit of the job. The university did
get rid of him, but the lawsuits by students cost the university hundreds of
thousands of dollars.

Election Posters

They almost always show a close-up facial portrait of the candidate. Since
the two-day growth of beard is fashionable in Italy, many male candidates
are unshaven in their portraits. I, however, especially liked the younger
candidate who had gelled spikes in his hair. Not like a full blown punk
teenager look, but spikes nevertheless. With the possible exceptions of of
Berkeley, CA and a few similar places, I don’t think you will see this
political style in the USA.

Rent in Italy

In Italy leases are registered with the a local government office so there
is a record (open to tax authorities) of how much income the landlord is
receiving–or
is there? In Italy it is common for there to be an additional amount of rent
(beyond that stated in the lease) paid under the table. One disadvantage
of this practice to the landlord is that if the tenant does not pay the
rent, the landlord can sue only to collect the rent stated in the lease;
still the practice is common. My lease states the full amount of the rent
I pay, but last week the landlady suggested that when we next renew it,
we use a new form with a lower amount stated in the lease. As she said
with typical Italian logic “Why should we pay taxes on the whole amount
to the government?”.

Let’s Talk About Asbestos !

Now there is an exciting topic. The major industry in Pistoia is the Breda
Works which manufactures subway cars, train cars, and streetcars. In the
past asbestos was used in these cars. Workers allegedly injured by the
asbestos seek damages from Breda and from the national government which was
part owner of the Breda Works in the past. At least three times I have
seen a headline in the local paper to the effect of “Ex-Breda worker dies;
asbestos expected as the cause.” I think that if a Breda worker was shot
in the head by his wife while he was sleeping, the headline the next day
would be this same one.

There was a criminal action brought against some managers of Breda for the
harm done to employees by asbestos. This week the managers were found not
guilty. In the United States there usually has to be an intent to commit
a crime for the criminal law to apply. There are some exceptions for minor
crimes or in cases of actions of gross recklessness. In Italy, on the other
hand, it appears that gross negligence (perhaps even simple negligence)
can be sufficient grounds for a criminal complaint.

Soccer Shenanigans

As I’ve mentioned before in Italy there are three main divisions (leagues)
in soccer: A, B, and C. There are also leagues lower than C division. At
the end of the season the top four teams in a division go up to the next
highest one and the bottom four teams drop to the next lower one. To go
up is cause for celebration; to drop is a disgrace. Near the end of the
season there are games between teams that have a possibility to go up or
down (for whom the result of this game is crucial) and teams who are solidly
in the middle of the division with no prospect of reclassification. In
such instances there is sometimes an”agreement” between the owners of the
two squads that the team for whom the game is crucial will win. For granting
this favor, the owner of the team that agrees to lose will receive a favor
in return–maybe he will need the same “agreement” in a future year.
Recently
the Florence team played a match in which it attempted only two shots on
goal in the entire game. The fans were incensed. After the match, the owners
of the Florence team had to be escorted from the stadium by the police.
It seems an “agreement” had been made.

In his book, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, American Joe McGinniss follows
an Italian soccer squad for an entire season. At the end of the season
the team loses a game pursuant to an “agreement.” McGinniss is outraged.
He just can’t accept this violation of the American principle that you
play to win. In Italy, on the other hand, there are few universal principles
that do not yield rather easily to pragmatic considerations. This is key
difference between
Italy and the USA.

“Pull Up Your Pants”

This is what a high school teacher friend of mine often says to her
students.
It is hard to believe, but pants are being worn even lower this year; it
is stylish to have your underwear showing. One is reminded of the
old line from the Limbo song “How low can you go?. I tell my teacher friend
that
for me the problem is not the 16 year old boys and girls with the low
pants–it
is the 50 year old women so dressed.

New Pizza Place Near My Home

It is called the Pizza D’ Arco; I ate there the day it opened. I later
discovered that the co-owner is Greg, an American from Worcester, MA married
to an Italian woman. I had met him when he was making the pizzas at another
restaurant. Pizza D’Arco is said to have the best barbeque in Pistoia.
This may well be true, although to win this award in Pistoia is easier
than in Kansas City or Austin, Texas. The Pizza D’Arco is only one-half
block from the American Bar. Pretty soon my neighborhood may be called
“Little America.”

Giro D’Italia

The winner of this three week bike race was 22 year old Damiano Cunego.
He is being heralded as the next great Italian cyclist. He will not ride
in the Tour De France this year. Perhaps the team rosters for the Tour
De France were set before his unexpected win in the Giro D’Italia. In his
early 20s Lance Armstrong did ride part of the Tour De France for at least
two years; I believe he won a stage at age 23. It is typical, however,
that young riders don’t finish the entire Tour.

Blue Bikes

At 10 locations in Pistoia you can borrow a bike for a day for free by just
presenting a form of identification. These bikes do have advertising on
them, but they are good new bikes perfectly adapted to riding around town.

Bed and Breakfasts in Italy

They exist–often run by foreigners. Pistoia is promoting opening more
of them. One problem with the Bed and Breakfast concept for Italy is that
in Italy the home is a very private domain–much more so than in the USA.
The idea of strangers sleeping in your home is more daunting Italy than
in
the USA. I would bet that bed and breakfast accommodations in Italy most
often have the owners in a separate structure or on a separate floor.

Immigrants

An argument made in Italy in favor of accepting immigrants is that in the
past other nations (especially USA, Canada, and Argentina) accepted Italian
immigrants. So now Italy should reciprocate the hospitality. What isn’t
often
mentioned in this argument is that the Italians were not exactly accepted
with cheers and open arms in other countries. There was substantial
anti-Italian
prejudice. In the USA (and probably elsewhere) this has almost completely
disappeared. As the Italians rose in society, they were accepted. The
challenge
for Italy is to find a way for its new immigrants, over a few generations,
to rise in society.

Italian Restaurants –USA and Italy

One common feature in both lands: the photos of some famous person (usually
with the owner) who ate at the restaurant one night. Did Frank Sinatra
ever pay for a meal in an Italian restaurant in the USA? Or when the bill
came, did he just pull out one of his photographs and inscribe it to the
owner with a short note of praise?