More on Macedonia

My weekly newsletter is primarily a collection of random observations from Italy.  Over a period of time these observations, when put together, provide a somewhat comprehensive picture of life in Italy.  When I visit another country for  short period of time such observations provide a far less complete picture. So here is a little more on my visit.

A good general short overview of Macedonia for the tourist is at http://www.theculturedtraveler.com/Archives/NOV2006/Macedonia.htm

I was only in Ohrid and a nearby archaeological site near Bitola. So I haven’t seen much of Macedonia.  What I did see was beautiful. (Tourist brochures suggest that there are other lovely places in Macedonia.) Ohrid is on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites because it has a unique combination of natural features and cultural treasures. The Lake is a tectonic lake of unusual clarity, depth, and rare plant and animal life.  For me its beauty is more important than its geological and biological features. Because it was a major ecclesiastical center the city has an impressive collection of churches with masterpieces of liturgical art—frescoes and icons. I am not an expert on the art of the Eastern churches; I am more accustomed to the western art seen in Italy.  Still it was interesting to see that the subject matter of the frescoes in the Ohrid churches was in some ways different (although in others similar) to that in Italian churches.

An item that is sold everywhere in Ohrid is jewelry made with Ohrid Pearls. Ohrid “pearls” are made of scales from the little fish “Plasica.” A lot of what is sold as genuine is just regular mother of pearl. The local residents know how to tell the difference and where the genuine product is sold. I did not, although I will say that even the imitation pearls were attractive.

The fruits and vegetables were very tasty. Macedonia is known especially for its tomatoes.  I discovered a local specialty – mountain tea made from a bush that grows in the nearby mountains. Some claim therapeutic qualities for this tea. I can only say that it tastes good.  Peppers (hot) are also a staple.

As far as I could tell Christians and Muslims have lived together and continue to do so in relative harmony in Macedonia.  Although there was Muslim/Christian conflict in other parts of the old Yugoslavia, it is important to note that this conflict is not inevitable when these two religions share the same country.

The people were very friendly and helpful.

Many people emigrated from Macedonia in the last 100 years especially to Canada, Australia, and the USA. Now these immigrants have ties in their new lands, but if I had a good pension from one of these countries, returning to Macedonia for retirement would seem a wise idea. You could live cheaply in a very nice place.

Macedonia also has a historical/cultural heritage. It is the home of the first Slavic alphabet.  Like many countries where there is a history of foreign domination, the residents take intense pride in this heritage which at times in history has been suppressed. For example some of the churches I visited had been rebuilt after the Ottoman Turks had replaced them with mosques.

A Little More on Albania Too

On the way back from Macedonia I spent a little more time in Tirana, capital of Albania. I saw some of its more attractive parts, but I am still not promoting it as a tourist destination.  I saw something in Tirana I haven’t seen elsewhere.  People would set up a bathroom scale on the sidewalk, and for a small coin you could weigh yourself. I also saw a number of people roasting corn on a small grill along the sidewalk to sell.

While I was in Tirana there was a power outage.  All along the street in front of shops were portable generators humming. The fact that the shops were all prepared with these generators tells you that such outages must be common.  Looking at the interest rates being offered by banks on billboards, Albania must have much more inflation than Italy.

Albania was (maybe still is) the poorest country in Europe.  It as a rugged landscape in which it must have been difficult for residents to make a living by farming or otherwise.  Italy is not the only country in which immigrants from Albania are not welcomed with open arms.  You can imagine that the people from the poorest country are not well educated and a little inclined to illegal activities. It was the same in the USA a century ago for the immigrants from the poorest lands.  As I’ve said 1001 times, the secret in having a successful country of various nationalities and religions is that those who start at the bottom do not remain at the bottom for generations.

When Albanians leave Italy to return to Albania for a visit they must show their Permisso di Sorggiorno (permission to live in Italy) both upon leaving Italy and upon re-entering.  I too am a foreigner living in Italy with a Permesso, but I do not have to show it upon leaving or entering the country.  An American passport is a great thing to have.

Last week I mentioned, without describing it, a distinct “Albanian look.”  I did not want to engage in negative national stereotypes, but when I mentioned to a friend from England that Albanians have a distinct look, her one word description was exactly the word I would use, “rough.”

Converting to the Euro

Although some Eastern European countries have already joined the European Community, they have not yet converted to the Euro.  I know that conversion to the Euro in Germany and Italy (perhaps elsewhere too) was accompanied by complaints that there was an immediate serious  inflation in prices in the conversion process. Such an inflation was unwelcome in Italy and Germany, but it would be even more of a problem in the Eastern European countries where the income of citizens is much less. So I hope these Eastern European nations have learned from the mistakes made in Western Europe and will do a better job in converting their currency.

McDonald’s Goes Italian

I saw in Bari a McCafe.  It is a regular McDonald’s to which has been added an Italian coffee bar complete with coffee, tea, fruit juices, and Italian pastries.  We will see if this catches on in Italy.

Topless on the Beach

One of the beaches I visited in Macedonia was adjacent to a famous church.  Some friends, who are not offended at topless attire on the beach in general, were nevertheless upset at a topless display so close to a holy place. The problem may soon solve itself. I read in the paper in Italy that topless is now going out of style on Italian beaches. When the new Italian fashion reaches Macedonia, as it eventually will, there will be no more defiling of the holy place.

“Prisoners in Paradise”

This is title of a documentary about Italian POWs in USA during WWII (Warning –there are two other documentaries with very similar or identical titles). The main point is that the prisoners were treated quite well and did not mind being in the USA.  In general any soldier of the Axis powers was better off completing the war in an American POW camp than in fighting on the battlefield. The USA had a policy of treating prisoners humanely in order to elicit the same response from our enemies for our prisoners in their POW camps.  Sometimes public opinion in the USA rose up against this “too favorable” treatment.

After Italy surrendered in 1943, Italian prisoners in the USA were offered the opportunity to leave the camps and work in helping the American war effort.  About 90% of them chose to do so.  The remaining 10% remained in POW camps –sometimes because they were hard core Fascists, sometimes because they thought it wrong to change sides in the middle of a war. After the liberation of Nazi death camps in 1945, the Italian prisoners who still refused to collaborate in the American war effort (after hearing about the death camps)  were  seen an unrepentant Fascists and their food rations were severely restricted.

What is clear from my reading is that, whereas it was common in WWII to stereotype the Japanese soldiers as crazed stooges of an alien Oriental culture and Germans as slaves to an abhorrent Nazi ideology, Italians were rarely seen this way.  Mussolini was seen as a buffoon, not the embodiment of evil as were Hitler and Tojo. It simply was impossible to stereotype Italians as wildly militaristic. Whatever are their virtues and faults, Italians are a hard group to hate.

Looking at Language

An Italian friend noted to me that Americans rarely correct someone who makes a mispronunciation or mistake in speaking English. He says that the Italians and especially the French are likely to correct mistakes made in speaking their languages. I think the reason is that for Americans language is primarily a means of communication. If I can understand what you are saying, it does not bother me that you are imperfect in your expression. In Italy language has also an  aesthetic dimension.  The language is beautiful and to speak poorly is to mar its beauty. Another friend of mine once started to study English but quit when she judged that it is not a pretty language to speak.

Italian Politicians — Another Way they Are Number 1

Not only are they the best paid in Europe, they are also the best tanned.  Almost every politician I see on TV this month looks like he has been spending all day on the beach.

Developing Photos, The Italian Way

With my digital camera I have a CD made of the photos on the camera’s microchip. Then I select from the CD the photos of which I want  prints and have these done at the neighborhood photo shop. If, however, I want prints made in two different sizes, then I first get back the prints in one size after which the shop has to resent the CD to the lab for the printing of the second batch in the different size.  The lab cannot do both sizes in one order. Just example number 2469 of the little inefficiencies that are endemic in Italian life.

News from Orhid 

This week I am staying with friends near Ohrid in the Federal Republic of Macedonia. This city is listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites because of its rich collection of churches and monasteries and because of its location on beautiful Lake Ohrid.  If you look up Ohrid on a web search engine such as Google you can find out about its history and sites.  The Lake is as nice as any I have ever seen, including

Lake

Como in

Italy. You can see the bottom up to 30 meters in depth.

Getting to Ohrid 

I took a train to Bari on Italy’s Adriatic coast and then an overnight ship to Durres in Albania.  From Durres I took a bus to the Albanian capital of Tirana.  I recently saw in a travel magazine an article on Tirana as a new “in” place to visit.  I did not see much worth visiting there.  My bus got stuck in a traffic jam because on a main street there were neither stoplights nor police directing traffic. There was a lot of new construction in Tirana which surprised me because in general Albanians are fleeing their country for lack of work. From Tiranna I got a van to the Albanian side of

Lake

Ohrid.  I don’t think these vans are “official” taxis.  They cruise up and down the street picking up passengers until they are full. It cost $7 for a three hour ride to

Lake

Ohrid.  You can take a train instead, but the train takes six hours.

Speaking of Albania

In Italy it is easy to recognize Albanians because they look different than Italians.  I now discover that there is an “Albanian” look that makes them easy to distinguish also from other Eastern Europeans.

 

Macedonia 

The part I am in is very attractive.  Like all the former Eastern European countries, it has had trouble making the transition to capitalism.  The average salary is about $300 a month. Unemployment is very high. You can’t figure out how the people survive in such an economy, but they do. Whereas in Italy the guys selling stuff on the street are usually Africans; in Macedonia you see the local folks selling stuff along the sidewalks. In

Italy there is a surfeit of shoe stores and lingerie shops: in Orhid it is barber shops and taxis.   There are a few people who are now very rich, but the average person is not better of than he or she was under Communism.  Communism here was not so severe.  You could travel out of the country anywhere you wanted to go. A Yugoslav passport would take you almost anywhere without a visa. A Macedonian passport will take you to about three countries without a visa.  This is one reason people here want to join the European Union, to get a passport they can travel with.  By the way it is hard to get a visa to go as a tourist to Italy,

France, USA etc.  The authorities in these countries are worried that you will disappear into the underground economy in their land and not return to

Macedonia.

There is a town in Albania very close to my friends’ summer home. To visit it, however, you have to pay a 10 Euro Visa fee at the border and then also buy auto insurance that is good in Albania because Macedonian insurance does not apply to Albania. So my friends have never been there even though it would otherwise be the most convenient place for them to shop.

Gone with the Wind 

Some Italian friends tell me that in this film, as dubbed in Italian, the Blacks do not speak the Sicilian dialect.  Instead they speak an ungrammatical Italian that is not any particular dialect. What we call Black English is in fact a dialect that has had some consistent features for over 200 years.  One of these features is imposing African grammatical constructions into the English language. So the dubbing of the Black actors using an ungrammatical Italian may have been as close of an approximation as was possible to show that the Blacks in the film did not speak exactly the same way as the Whites. 

“Your Feets Too Big” 

Speaking of Black English, this is the title of an old Fats Waller tune.  It comes to mind as I look in the windows of shoe stores in Macedonia. The women’s shoes in the windows are at least two sizes larger than the shoes displayed in the windows in

Italy. Now in general shoes displayed in the window tend to be smaller sizes. I think the standard men’s display shoe in

USA is somewhere around 7 ½ to 8 ½, smaller than the average man’s size. Maybe in

Macedonia, the display sizes are more realistic, or maybe the typical woman here wears a size ever bigger than these display models.

Obeying the Law in Macedonia

It is very noticeable here that few riders on motorcycles or motor scooters wear a helmet. Helmets are required by law in Italy; most, certainly not all, Italians wear them.  My Macedonian friends tell me that helmets are also required by law here. If so, then the Macedonians are ahead of the Italians in an area where the Italians ordinarily are considered supreme – disobeying the law.

Money Making Scheme Number 4685 – It Can’t Fail 

I wrote recently that FIAT has come out with a new model of its little FIAT 500. The original model stopped being produced in 1975. FIAT, however, licensed its technology for the 500 to other countries. In the old Yugoslavia the Zastava (the Yugoslav version of the 500) was made until the early 1990s.  Now the old FIAT 500s are now a prestige item in

Great Britain and sell for a high price. We buy up lots of Zastavas from the various republics of the old Yugoslavia at a cheap price; we transport them to

Great Britain; we repaint them (almost all are white) and make them look nice; then we sell them (at a good profit) to Brits who don’t have enough money to buy a refurbished Italian FIAT 500.

The Search for the Perfect Diet Soda 

Regardless of what the soft drink companies say, diet soda does not taste like the real thing.  If you like the taste of diet soda better, this is fine.  If not, you have to find ways to make it taste better. I always put lemon in my Diet Coke. My friend Larry says that Diet Dr. Pepper is the drink that is most like the original. I think I’ve found in Macedonia the new diet soda champion, Bitter Lemon Light. Schweppes Bitter Lemon drink is very popular here. The light version is perhaps a Macedonian invention. Because bitter lemon has the quinine taste, this covers the aftertaste of the artificial sweetener. Of course if you don’t like the bitter lemon taste to start with, then this is not the perfect diet soda for you.

Selling Government Assets 

As I mentioned once before, one way the Italian government balances its budget is to sell its assets.  Governments have sold office buildings that house public agencies and then leased them back from the buyer.  Note that this gives an infusion of cash in the year of sale, but incurs new rent obligations for following years.  Thinking in the “long term” is not an Italian virtue. Well now there is talk about selling some of the nation’s gold reserves.  At one time gold reserves in many nations were used to guarantee the value of the currency, but this practice is long gone. The value of the Euro is not dependent upon the gold reserves of the nations that use it. I don’t know what the purpose of gold reserves is today. In fact some other European nations have tapped into the value of their gold reserves for current needs by either selling them or having them revalued.  Of course, selling gold may be better than selling office buildings because it does not involve new future expenses. Still in Italy the search is always for a temporary fix to the problem (Italy has one of the largest public debts in the world) without facing the underlying realities.

The Debacle that is Italian Politics Gets Reported on National Public Radio in USA(or why Italians don’t pay their taxes) 

Book Reveals Excesses, Corruption of Italian Politics

by Sylvia Poggioli Morning Edition, August 10, 2007 · A recent book about corruption and excess in Italian politics has become a runaway best-seller. It claims that Italian politicians are the best-paid in Europe, and have lavish perks and privileges unheard of elsewhere on the continent.The book, called La Casta — or “the caste” — details how Italian politicians became untouchable. In just a few months, the book’s publisher has sold nearly 1 million copies — extraordinary for a non-fiction book in Italy. La Casta’s authors, Sergio Rizzo and Gianantonio Stella, have become the darlings of Web blogs and chat rooms.The book has shocked even Italy’s jaded public opinion with its revelations. Among them: that the president’s headquarters costs four times as much as Buckingham Palace, and that the Italian Parliament building is the costliest in Europe — 10 times more than that of Spain.  Also, Italian members of parliament are paid three times as much as their French counterparts; perks include chauffeured bullet-proof cars, bodyguards, and sharply discounted air travel, as well as individual tennis coaching. And after only 30 months of service, lawmakers become entitled to receive a comfortable pension when they turn 60.Members of parliament also enjoy extra-legal privileges: while de facto couples in Italy have no legal rights, unmarried members of parliament can extend health and other benefits to their partners.The book also reveals that 16 of the Parliament’s 630 members are convicted felons.Rizzo and Stella estimate that between 600,000 and 700,000 Italians live off the political machine. The worst scandals and costs, they say, are at the regional, provincial and municipal levels, where there are few controls and where political patronage creates high-paying jobs. 

Vacations, Vacations, Vacations

August is the main vacation month in Italy. On the news at night the first three stories will be about vacations – gas prices, traffic conditions, changes in preferences among Italians for vacation sites. One big story is about delays in getting luggage off planes at airports (or luggage lost), especially Rome.  There are even rumors of sabotage (by workers who get longer work hours by the delays). It is an interesting question in Italy:  at what point does a situation get so bad that it cannot be explained by the usual Italian inefficiency and a more sinister reason must be given.

Whereas in the USA some employees do not take all the vacation time to which they are entitled (which is much less than in Italy), this does not happen in Italy.

Gone with the Wind

This film classic was on TV recently. It was an immensely popular film in Italy, and there are many streets named Via con Vento. I watched a little but had trouble getting used to Scarlett O’Hara being called Rossela. I am not fluent enough in Italian dialects to have tested what someone once told me – that the Black actors in the film spoke (in the dubbed version) in the Sicilian dialect.

Telephone Ring Tones

I saw an advertisement from a service you could call on your cell to download various ringtones for the phone.  Of course there were popular songs, film theme songs, and even short phrases in the voices of famous persons. The one that caught my eye, however, was “female orgasm.”

Perspectives on Health Care

There is concern in the United States about the health care system because (1) many people have no insurance coverage, (2) the cost of health insurance for employers make some American industries less competitive in the world market, and (3) the percentage of GNP spent on health care in the USA is high and growing at a rate than cannot be sustained without incurring grave economic problems. Thus health care is now on the political agenda for the 2008 election. I heard a Republican candidate say to an audience in Iowa that the federal government should not be providing “womb to tomb” health care for all citizens.

This statement illustrates the major difference between Europe and the USA. The difference is not primarily how health care should be financed (mix of private and public money). Instead it is that in Europe health care is seen as a right that the government must secure for its citizens just as, for example, the right to a fair judicial system or the right to have elections conducted honestly.  Once this right is granted, then how it is effectuated can differ from country to country. There are complaints in Europe about how the health care systems function, but the right of all citizens to affordable health care is not subject to debate.

Collectibles

There are frequent ads on TV in Italy for a series of collectible model items sold at newsstands, things like airplanes of WWII, different vehicles used by the Carabiniere, or classic style wristwatches. They costs about 1-8 Euro each and a new one is issued each month for a while. Sometimes they require the buyer to assemble them; usually not.

Town Signs

It is not uncommon in Italy, when entering a town or some other type of jurisdiction to see a sign denominating it as a “Nuclear Free Zone.” I guess this means they have neither nuclear weapons nor nuclear power plants in their territory.  With its current shortage of electric power, there is talk in Italy of reconsidering nuclear power (which the Italians rejected in the 1970s in a national referendum), but I think this will be politically impossible. The recent problems with a nuclear plant in Japan after an earthquake make nuclear power even more unlikely in earthquake prone Italy. Meanwhile, I’ve seen a new type of town sign, “OGM Free Zone.” Genetically modified foods are as unpopular as nuclear power. 

A Slight Amplification on Story of Erring Parliamentarian

You will recall that the member of Parliament who spend the evening with two prostitutes, one of whom experienced a drug overdose, said he was proud of the fact that he called for help even though this made it more likely that his name would be discovered.  Apparently even this feeble ray of virtue is being contested. The police are investigating him now for a possible charge of failure to seek aid for the call girl.  By the way in Italy there are numerous current members of Parliament who have received criminal convictions, some of which have been affirmed at the highest appellate level.

Italian House Redecorating

Italians are much less likely than Americans to (1) paint the inside or outside of their house, or (2) redecorate with new furniture. I don’t recall ever seeing wallpaper in a house in Italy although I suppose it exists. What Italians do change is their bathrooms.  Redoing these every five of 10 years is not uncommon.

The Death Penalty in Italian Politics

Although no European Union nation has the death penalty, Italy prides itself as a leader in the movement to abolish it worldwide. As I’ve pointed out before there is more popular support in public opinion polls in Europe (although less than in the USA) for the death penalty than one would imagine from the fact that it is not a subject for political discussion. Almost no political party or major politician in Europe supports capital punishment. One of TV the networks in Italy is now running a series of “public service” ads in which persons on death row in the USA say something about themselves. At the end of the ad is the address of the governor in the USA to whom one is asked to write to request a commutation of the person’s death sentence.

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A British Newspaper Looks at the Image and Role of Women in Italy

Naked ambition

By Adrian Michaels

Published: July 14 2007

Passengers arriving at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport recently found themselves confronted by a large-breasted woman, cleavage exposed almost to the bottom of her sternum. From her billboard perch, she was attempting to interest travellers in the business communications products of Telecom Italia.

Those flying in from many other countries, and particularly from the UK or the US, would probably have found this fleshy advertising style archaic. These days, a naked woman lying unironically on the top of a car is about as cool in advertising as a rugged cowboy on the range, cigarette dangling from lip. Long-legged variety-show lovelies or immaculately unattired game-show hostesses are rare, if not completely absent from television. But in Italy, they are an everyday occurrence.

If you are home before the 8pm news on Rai Uno, Italy’s main television station, you will discover it is preceded by a quiz show called L’Eredita (“The Inheritance”). In the middle of the programme, four ritzy women interrupt the competition to dance. “My jewels!” the male host exclaims. The dancing has no connection to the rest of the show; Rai Uno explains on its website that the “girls… with their presence and beauty, cheer up everyone watching, particularly men”.

Since moving to Milan from New York three years ago, I have been wondering why no one seems to care about the incongruous use of women in advertising and on television, and what that says about Italian society. Do Italians, particularly Italian women, really think it acceptable to sell primetime quiz shows on terrestrial television by trying to stir the male genitalia instead of viewers’ brains? Or are they instead happy with life as it is – beautiful, flirtatious and with a supply of great shoes?

It is not just domestic companies or television stations that seem stuck in old ways of selling products to Italians. Earlier this year, advertising hoardings were plastered with posters for 3 Italia, a telecoms company owned by Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa. Three women wore dresses so skimpy they revealed not just classic cleavage but also, through large holes in the dresses’ midriffs, the more daring undercurve of the bosom. 3 Italia was advertising a new billing plan.

Of course marketing campaigns in other countries use the female body. But the difference, says Sergio Rodriguez, group creative director at Leo Burnett Italy, the ad agency, “is that in Italywhen you don’t have to use women, you use women”.

In the UK or US, such tactics might inspire anything from headshaking and irritation to clear outrage. When a US campaign for Miller, the brewer, appeared in 2003 with two women fighting and taking off their clothes, the company received hundreds of complaints. In Italy, no one says anything.

Caterina Preti, a 19-year-old Italian student who moved from Milan to London in September, says: “I didn’t really notice how bad it was until I moved. What I’ve noticed here is that you don’t see girls in bikinis or naked women on television, always smiling. People in Italy are so used to it, there is no push to try to change it.”

Emma Bonino – minister for International Trade and European Affairs in Romano Prodi’s Italian coalition government, and a former European Union commissioner – is a notable exception. Bonino, one of the leaders of Rosa nel Pugno (Rose in the Fist), the political party, recently organised an international conference in Italy to discuss issues facing women entrepreneurs. She says: “Most people, even women, accept the situation in some way for what it is.” Of dancing girls and other phenomena, she says: “Most of the time it makes me laugh, it seems so ridiculous.” But she says it strengthens her conviction to fight for change.

It was women’s rights groups that complained loudly about the Miller adverts in the US. Italian feminism, say Bonino and Graziella Parati, head of comparative literature at DartmouthCollege in the US, used to be strong, but not any more.

“Italy has had a long history of feminism,” says Parati, who has studied Italian culture and written books on gender issues. “It is different from Anglo-American feminism [and] based not on a search for equality but rather on putting an emphasis on difference… Joining a man’s world may be practical, but does not solve the fact that you end up trapped in a system that can contain and invalidate the difference that women’s otherness embodies.”

Bonino points out that Italian feminism was vigorous in the 1970s when abortion and divorce were legalised – “even with the church next door and the Pope on television every day”. In 1976, she says, 11 per cent of members of parliament were women, the same as today. “Most of my colleagues fell asleep in some way… the women’s movement never pressed for structural reforms and there is still nothing on the agenda. When women fell asleep they followed the cultural mainstream.”

The problem is evident in both parliament and the boardroom. Italy came above only Cyprus, Egypt and South Korea in 48 countries surveyed by the International Labour Organisation for female share of legislators, senior officials and managers. In the largest Italian companies, women represent about 2 per cent of board directors, according to the European Professional Women’s Network, compared with 23 per cent for Scandinavia and Finland and 15 per cent in the US.

Maybe nudity, chauvinism and a lack of professional attainment are different parts of the same enduring Italian image: the mamma rules the house but is confined to the kitchen, rolling out ravioli while her daughters, with little expected of them professionally, seek success through fame and beauty.

Preti, the student who recently moved to London, worries about a lack of variety in role models for Italian teenagers. She says: “Young girls envy showgirls, they link beauty with success… Many young women still have the example of their mothers who don’t work.” In the UK, meanwhile: “Young girls are much more determined, they are career-minded. They’re killing each other, they have dreams.”

But Laura Frati Gucci, the head of Aidda, the Italian association of top women managers and entrepreneurs, points out that successful women are rare enough in other countries too. There seems often to be surprise at the mere existence of Angela Merkel, German chancellor, and Segolene Royal, the runner up in France’s recent presidential elections. “Everyone looks at Merkel and Royal as if they are monkeys,” Frati Gucci says.

Women in Italy, she believes, are held back not by chauvinism but by rules and customs that inhibit their participation in work. Mothers complain of a lack of nurseries and kindergartens. Schools for older pupils finish at lunch time. The children have to be collected, they have to be fed, they have to be taken to afternoon activities. “A woman will never earn as much as she will pay a babysitter,” Frati Gucci says.

Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy, highlighted structural work problems in a recent speech. “Italy stands out from many other European countries in the fact that fewer women return to work after maternity,” he said. “Better designed policies to support families would have… [the] effect of raising female employment rates.”

Part-time work is rare in Italy, let alone acceptable for senior professionals. One female judge told me: “I can’t imagine a professional working part-time [and], although a woman can do whatever she wants, she also has to be the mother.” The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says that part-time workers account for just 15 per cent of the employed in Italy compared with Germany’s 21 per cent, 23 per cent in the UK and 36 per cent in the Netherlands.

It quickly became clear when my wife and I arrived from the US that there are cultural issues for women that go beyond school hours and acceptance of part-time work. A household functions with difficulty in Italy if all its adults have full-time jobs, and it is invariably the women who make sacrifices to ease the strain.

In the US you can buy milk and bread at any time, and in dozens of places. But Italians trying to shop on Monday mornings, or Thursday afternoons, or Sundays, or evenings, or lunch times, or early mornings, can be disappointed. Most banks are closed at lunch times and Saturdays. A supermarket will advertise on lampposts when it is going to be open on a Sunday, and then shut the Sunday after. And pity the parent – me, in this instance – pounding the streets at 7pm on a Sunday trying to find milk for his baby before bedtime. One pharmacy was open, but didn’t sell milk. There are no convenience stores. In the end I bought some long-life milk in a store where the staff were not speaking Italian.

One female criminal lawyer (who prefers not to be named) argues that the lack of recognition of a modern woman’s needs is even visible in hospital obstetrics units. There are not many hospitals in the Milan area where women giving birth can have an epidural, and some units prefer to offer no pain relief at all. Hospitals emphasise that birth should be a natural process, though the lack of choice that entails can leave foreigners imagining they have stepped back in time.

Pain and suffering, motherhood and pasta, shuttered banks. It is easy to see how they could be linked to a lack of senior workplace representation. There also seems to be a simple link between the dominance of men at work and the portrayal of women in advertising. Daniela Barrera, planning and research director at Leo Burnett Italy, used to work in the UK. She says: “Half our clients in senior positions in the UK were women. Most are men in Italy.”

Male clients of advertising agencies tend, she believes, to ask for campaigns in which their products are equated with a superficial, unsophisticated form of beauty. Her colleague Rodriguez says: “A man thinks of his brand as a woman.” Barrera jokes: “If you have no idea [for a campaign], you can use a pair of tits, a baby or a puppy.” If that approach did not work with the public, there would be complaints. But there are none, the advertising executives say.

With few women in parliament, one source of lobbying for reforms that would encourage women to work is absent. Bonino says: “Because we are less vocal and determined, we do not have structural reforms in areas such as schools and services.”

Women certainly seemed to be silent while Silvio Berlusconi’s commercial television stations rose to the fore in the 1980s. Berlusconi, the former prime minister and Italy’s richest man, found success with a programming formula that included liberal use of the female form. Italy’s state-controlled channels soon dropped their previous aversion to exposed flesh in the battle for ratings.

“

Television is still in the hands of men,” says Parati at Dartmouth College. “This recreates the illusion of how women can be subjugated and is reassuring… Berlusconi has not created the situation but he has made it bigger.”

Striscia La Notizia (“The News Slithers”), a satirical news programme, is one of the most popular shows on Canale 5, one of Berlusconi’s channels. It goes out six nights a week at 8.30pm presented by two men but regularly interrupted by two gyrating and minimally dressed women. Competitions to replace the two female dancers are deemed newsworthy in their own right.

The show is just one example of the astonishingly restricted use of women on Italian television. A study last year of almost 600 television shows on the largest channels by Censis, an Italian research institute, showed that women mostly appeared as actors, singers and models. “The most common image seemed to be that of women in light entertainment,” Censis said. When women were present as experts, they tended to be talking about astrology or handicrafts. Professional or political women were extremely rare.

“Beautiful, glossy and most importantly young,” said Censis. “The images of women are split between light entertainment and those of violence in bad news stories. There is a distortion compared with the real female world: old women are invisible, the socioeconomic status of women [portrayed] is middle-upper class… meanwhile there are never any disabled women.”

Often, little seems to have changed in Italy in the more than 50 years since Luchino Visconti made Bellissima, a funny and distressing satire on a Roman mother’s starry ambitions for her tiny daughter. In the film, rent and household savings are jeopardised while little Maria is carted around hairdressers, dressmakers and ballet classes in an effort to stand out at a famous director’s casting call. Her mother is meanwhile trying to bribe shady characters on mopeds supposedly connected to the studio, with predictably gloomy consequences.

But something is missing from this portrayal of Italy as backward and chauvinist. You could argue that Italians are not interested in “catching up” with other countries. Leo Burnett’s Barrera says: “Italy is behind in the role of women in society but it’s superficial to say that advertising reflects that… We have a different level of correctness: nudity is also a matter of women wanting to portray their beauty. Female politicians appear on television in short skirts because they want to show that they are well-preserved and beautiful.”

The female judge estimates that 10 per cent of women in her profession dress sexily because it is a weapon and “because they like it”. Sergio Rodriguez, Barrera’s colleague, says: “It’s not a question of being behind. Italian men and women may never be like British men and women… it’s about aesthetics, it’s a choice.”

Ilaria D’Amico is one of the best-known sports presenters in Italy. Every week she presents Sky Italia’s main football coverage, and no one could argue that D’Amico does not know her football. But she stands throughout the broadcast, invariably in a black cocktail dress, discussing the match with former players and pundits – all men, all in suits, and all seated.

Parati says: “Women have bought into male paradigms of what femininity is, so they pay particular attention to their appearance; but they have also grown up in a country full of art and beauty, and their attention to aesthetics in general can come from that.” Bonino concedes: “My feeling is that the women’s rights movement does not exist any more.”

And yet occasionally there are howls of pain. Earlier this year Veronica Berlusconi, Silvio Berlusconi’s wife of almost three decades, tired of her husband’s reported boorish behaviour. After hearing that he had flirted with other women at a gala media dinner, Veronica wrote a letter to La Repubblica, one of Italy’s biggest newspapers and a critic of Berlusconi’s rightwing politics. His conduct was an affront to “my dignity as a woman”, she wrote, before demanding a public apology. “Today for my female children, already adults,” she continued, “the example of a woman capable of defending her dignity… takes on significant importance.” She hoped her outcry would remind her son, Luigi, “never to forget to keep among his fundamental values a respect for women”. The letter was printed on the front page of the paper.

Plenty of people dismissed the episode as a stunt. In the never- ending circus of Berlusconi family life, the abashed husband responded publicly on the same day: “Dear Veronica, here are my apologies to you,” he wrote, going on floridly to revere the strength of their bond. He ended with “big kiss. Silvio”.

But for Preti, the student in London, Veronica Berlusconi’s indignant letter signified a stirring of change. “I believe that her bravery could be used as a springboard for Italian women… It is an example of a woman who does not want to accept her inferior status.”

Still, it is hard to see much real change looming in a country famous for its fashion and where there is so much eroticism on display that only the foreigners notice. The current Striscia La Notizia dancers, Melissa Satta and Thais Souza Wiggers, appeared this year in adverts in Milan’s main Centrale station wearing bras that pushed up, through unbuttoned shirts, their already ample breasts. It would be hard, and probably futile, to advertise underwear in any other way. But in this instance they were selling luggage.

Adrian Michaels is the FT’s Milan correspondent.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007

The Tour de France — Contrasting Perspectives 

This race initially got diminished coverage in Italy this year because top Italian riders were not participating.  The number one Italian rider, Ivan Basso, is suspended for two years. Later, with all the scandals along the Tour, there was more coverage.   I heard comments on the problems both on Eurosport coverage with British commentators and RAI coverage with Italian commentators.  Guess what?  The British commentators said that riders had broken the rules and of course had to be dismissed. The Italians spoke of how harsh it was to be thrown out of the race (after all the work of preparation) merely for telling a lie. Or they recounted the explanation of an Italian rider as to how he failed a blood test through no fault of his own.  Of course, they believed him. The Italian commentators also stated the often expressed (to me foolish) argument in

Italy that if a number of people have done the same bad thing, it is “unfair” to punish only some of them.

If you want to understand the difference between how Grant Britain and Italy operate as countries, these different approaches of the commentators tells a lot.  In Italy it is assumed that everybody cheats.  Breaking the rules is not seen as a great sin deserving a strong punishment. As Beppi Severgnini says in his new book on the Italian mind “if you are shown to have cheated on your taxes in the

USA, your neighbors shun you; in

Italy your neighbors ask you how you did it.”

In defense of the Italians, their attitude is not all bad.  They understand that all of us from time to time are tempted.  They don’t automatically severely condemn the wrongdoer because they realize that in some situations they too might do wrong.  In short they are more sympathetic and less judgmental.

Kids in Strollers  

I’ve mentioned that you see children in Italy still in strollers who are much older than kids in strollers in the USA (and also older kids with pacifiers in their mouths).  An Italian explained to me that in the

USA, if you take your child with you shopping, you go in the car to the mall or store, and then the child (if of sufficient age) walks with you.  In

Italy you often walk to the store or mall. So the total distance to be walked is much longer, and it is more inconvenient to do all this walking at the slow pace of a child.  It also may be too tiring for the child. Thus, even children of 4, 5, and 6 are seen in strollers. 

Comparison of Italian and American Judicial Systems 

The Italian judicial system was changed after WWII to reestablish an independent judiciary which had been subverted under Fascism. The rules for selection, supervision, and discipline of judges are very complex and detailed, much more so than in the USA.  One commentator notes that in Civil Law countries (in Europe including

Italy) there is no tradition of trust in the judiciary (or in one’s fellow citizens) so that there are complex rules to build such trust.  In Common Law countries (such as

Great Britain and the

USA) there is a historic cultural trust in the judiciary and the emphasis is simply on appointing judges who are worthy of the trust placed in them.

 Doing Business in  Italy and Abroad – Different Environments 

I have a friend who is a retired Italian businessman who most of his life worked abroad (including the

USA and

Great Britain) for an Italian company. He told me that for Italians working in a place like the

USA is a joy because the rules are generally clear and understood and the employees have a common understanding of the goals of the firm. In

Italy nothing is simple, either within the company or in its dealings with others.  Beyond the governmental bureaucracy, there are all kinds of hidden agendas within the company that must be discovered and then negotiated. On the other hand, he noted that when there is a fairly simply way to make money for the company in the

USA, and you report it to the head office in

Italy for authorization, often the head office demurs. They can’t believe that there is such a direct, uncomplicated way to earn a profit so they think that you must not fully understand the situation.

Italy, the

Kingdom of

Excuses 

A member of Parliament was discovered to have spent an evening in a Rome hotel with two prostitutes fortified by alcohol and cocaine. This all came to light because one of the call girls had an overdose and had to be taken to the hospital. The politician apologized but then noted he was “proud” that he had called an ambulance (thus making it more likely that he would be discovered) rather than just leaving the lady to her fate.  Not surprisingly, the politician belonged to a political party closely allied to the Catholic Church.  In fact the erring deputy had voted for a bill for tougher penalties for drug use. So the head of the party accepted the politician’s resignation from the party because his actions were inconsistent with the values of the party. Then, however, party boss went on to say that the life of a member in Parliament in Rome is lonely, being separated from his wife and family. So the temptation to stray is of so understandable. It didn’t stop there. As frosting on the cake, the party boss suggested that members of Parliament (already obscenely overpaid) should receive a supplemental payment so they can bring their families to

Rome more often. Now it is hard for a politician in

Italy to say something so obviously stupid that all sides of the political spectrum vociferously object, but this suggestion was greeted with universal derision.

Priority Mail to Italy 

I’ve discovered that often, if not always, mail set to me via a priority method or though ordinary UPS or Fed. Ex (not the methods with guaranteed delivery times) arrives more slowly than mail sent simply with regular postage. Who knows why?  Here is my theory. Such “priority” mail is at some point set aside in the process to receive special treatment.  Instead of being expedited, it just sits there for a few days until somebody gets around to it.

The Sin of Tax Evasion 

In 1997 the Catholic Church issued a new catechism, compendium of its teaching, drafted by a Commission headed by Cardinal (now Pope) Ratzinger but promulgated under the aegis of then Pope John Paul II. In included a list of new sins, products of modern-day society, such as tax evasion, drug abuse, abuse of environment, etc. 

National leader Romano Prodi stirred up some controversy when he suggested that the Catholic Church should be more active in speaking out against one of these sins –tax evasion. One might wonder why the head of the government would be giving advice to the Church, but in Italy the Church is very involved in politics and often giving advice to the politicians.  Old habits die hard, and I doubt that after 1997 many priests began to preach about the sin of tax evasion. A favorite sin for homilies in

Italy is adultery.As I’ve noted in Italy, with a tradition of non payment of taxes, the tax rates are very high in order to get sufficient revenue for the government.  Italians say all politicians are thieves and thus they are justified cheating on taxes. (Italians omit to note that they are the ones who elected these thieves.) Unfortunately, however, many Italians, who are salaried employees, cannot cheat much on their taxes. Their income is reported to the government and the taxes withheld from their salary. So those who cheat are not just denying tax revenues to those terrible politicians, they are also “stealing” from the citizens who must pay the high taxes. In many ways Prodi is trying to move Italians beyond the “politicians are all crooks so why should we pay taxes” view to a more ample discussion of tax evasion in Italy.  I must say, however, that if the priests took his advice and started to rail in the pulpit against tax evasion and the results were the same as from their many homilies against adultery, Mr. Prodi should not be looking for any tax revenue windfall.   I think this whole system distorts the Italian economy. Salaried workers must be paid higher wages because they must get a living take home pay after the deduction of large taxes. Thus employers want to hire fewer employees because each one necessitates a high salary. Meanwhile, Italians are always seeking to go into business for themselves so they can avoid taxes. Italy has the highest concentration of small shops in

Europe. Thus, in my amateur economist opinion, labor and capital flows are not governed by a system of efficiency but according to desires for tax avoidance.

A Visit to Palazzuolo sul Senio 

On the advice of some friends, I took a day trip to this town north of Florence which had been selected as the “Ideal

Village” by some magazine.  After three train rides, I got off seven miles from the town and planned to do this last stretch on my bicycle. On the map the road looked straight from train station to Palazzuolo sul Senio, no series of wiggly which indicate a road through the mountains.  I cannot ride up long uphill roads anymore because of the prohibition of my doctor. Well the road went straight up for four and a half miles.  I had to walk that.  The last two and a half miles were downhill.  I arrived and went to town tourist office for a brochure and map.  They were out of maps. The only brochures were in Italian which fortunately I can read.  Of the three churches recommended for a visit, two were closed and the third was so dark you could hardly see anything. The Museum of the Mountain People in town was also closed.  Remember August is the high tourist season in

Italy. I decided to take the bus back to train station. I went to the bar that sells bus tickets. They were out of tickets, but I could buy a ticket on the bus. Actually I should have taken the bus only to the top of the mountain on the way back. I could go down the mountain on my bike much faster than the bus did because, with the hairpin turns, the bus could not build up any speed and still negotiate these turns. By the way, it is an attractive town. I enjoyed walking around and had an excellent lunch, but the inefficiency of the Italians is a constant that no longer surprises me. 

Tough Love, Italian Style 

“Tough love” refers to steps that families sometimes have to take with problem children, such as kicking the kid out of the house, both for his own good and for the sanity of the rest of the family.In Sicily recently a mother threw her son (whom she called a “fathead”) out of the house (took his house key) and cut off his allowance because he would not: respect her, tell her where he was going, or return home at a decent hour. She went to the police for help. The son retorted that his mother did not give him an adequate allowance, and she was lousy cook. The police did a little domestic counseling, and the mother returned the key, reinstituted the allowance, and the two went home to try to live together again.  The mother is 81 and the son is 61.

 Political Invective 

In the USA is it practically impossible (because of American constitutional law) for a politician to bring a law suit for things that his opponents or the media say about him. In Italy he can. One city counsel member recently sued another who had told him to “go f**k yourself.”  The court, however, ruled for the defendant.  It said that his phrase is so common in everyday Italian life, that it is not slander (or whatever is the Italian equivalent) to hurl it at another.