June 2008

Monthly Archive

Mon 30 Jun 2008

286

Posted by Robert C. Nordvall under 2008
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Watching Italian Films

I mentioned that I watch Italian films to keep up my language skills, but I also watch American films. One of these was Godfather II. It turns out that it was about one-third in Sicilian so I got a little language update watching it too.

I watched a 1950 film of Robert Rossellini, St. Frances, Jester of God in which Rossellini collaborated with his younger apprentice, Federico Fellini. The two were very close to each other until Fellini abandoned realism for a dream-like cinema. In the USA a younger collaborator going off in a different direction might not seriously strain a relationship, but in Italy the cinema is much more a matter of art than in the USA so that a new direction becomes artistic treason against the master.

Speaking of Fellini, many of his masterpieces are autobiographical, e.g., Amacord, I Vittelloni, La Dolce Vita, and 8 ½. Of these, I especially recommend (I think I did once before), Amacord, which is a marvelous evocation of life through the eyes of a young teen age boy.

Patriotic Songs

I’ve mentioned in a number of contexts the lower level of overt patriotism in Italy as compared to the USA. Recently I observed another example. I was at a band concert in Gettysburg at which the group played a medley of patriotic songs – My Country ‘Tis of Thee, America the Beautiful, God Bless America, etc. The audience sang along. I asked an Italian friend how many patriotic Italian songs (extolling the whole nation, not just a region or city) he could name that an Italian audience would know the words to. Besides the Italian National anthem, there are none. Of course exuberant patriotism in Italy unfortunately is still somewhat associated with the Fascist era, but this was over 60 years

Excerpt from Thomas Friedman column in the New York Times (June 28, 2008)

“My fellow Americans: We are a country in debt and in decline — not terminal, not irreversible, but in decline. Our political system seems incapable of producing long-range answers to big problems or big opportunities. We are the ones who need a better-functioning democracy — more than the Iraqis and Afghans. We are the ones in need of nation-building. It is our political system that is not working….

‘America and its political leaders, after two decades of failing to come together to solve big problems, seem to have lost faith in their ability to do so’ Wall Street Journal columnist Gerald Seib noted last week. ‘A political system that expects failure doesn’t try very hard to produce anything else’.”

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What struck me about this excerpt is that its description of America is exactly the description I have frequently made of Italy – a country in decline without the political will to deal with the underlying problems of the decline. I’ve often noted that the Italian political system meets exactly the low expectations the Italian people have of it.

Italian Judge Sanctioned

The story below is self-explanatory. You will note that the judge can, of course, appeal his punishment. My guess is that (1) you will never read in the Italian press what happens to his appeal and (2) his punishment will be reduced, and he will be back on the bench before long.

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Rome - A judge whose failure to write up a sentence over an eight-year period left Mafia bosses roaming the streets of Sicily was sacked from the judiciary on Monday.

The action was taken by the Italian judiciary’s self-governing body, the Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM), but it will not take effect for 30 days and the judge will have another 90 days to present an appeal before the supreme Court of Cassation.
The case of Judge Edi Pinatto sparked outrage throughout the country and spurred Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to state that there could be no recurrences of “delays which undermine the prestige of the magistracy and the trust citizens have in it”.

Pinatto may also face criminal charges in the Sicilian city of Catania for failing to carry out his public duties.

The judge convicted a Mafia family in 2000 of helping its notorious boss Giuseppe Madonia continue to run things from a jail where he was serving several life sentences for murder. Pinatto, then head of the court in another Sicilian city, Gela, sentenced two of Madonia’s lower bosses to 24 years each and Madonia’s wife to ten. Four other family members got shorter terms.

But they all walked free because Pinatto had not gotten around to writing his statutory “motivation” for the sentence within the allotted term.
Pinatto leaped to public attention in March when Gela Mayor Rosario Crocetta appealed to the justice ministry, saying “it is unthinkable that in a democratic country a judge has still not filed a sentence in eight years, letting an entire Mafia clan walk around free in my city”.

Interviewed at the time by reporters, Pinatto was asked if he knew the two bosses and Madonia’s wife had been free for six years. Pinatto – who had since become a public prosecutor in Milan – was quoted as saying: “Yes of course I know. But it isn’t the first time that things like this have happened and I’m not the only one who takes so much time. I’ll write to you in a few months after I’ve worked my way through the cases you can see piled up on my desk”.

Pinatto failed to put pen to paper despite receiving two formal reprimands from the CSM. He reportedly defended himself by saying: “Yes, of course, it is a scandalous case, but there are others just like it”.

The Pinatto affair came just ten days after another case of what Italians call ’slow justice’ – again involving Mafiosi.

Ministers voiced indignation after the son of Mafia superboss Toto’ ‘The Beast’ Riina walked free halfway through an eight-year racketeering sentence because judges had failed to lodge an appeal at the Court of Cassation within the statutory term.
After the statute of limitations kicked in, Riina Jr was sprung to walk the streets of Corleone.

 

Fri 20 Jun 2008

285

Posted by Robert C. Nordvall under 2008
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This Week in Italy 285

 

 

Biggest Shock in Returning to the USA

 

 

Food prices!  I knew about the high price of gasoline which is news everywhere in the world, but I was surprised by how much more food costs now. Of course part of this is due to higher transportation costs for food, but my guess is that the higher prices are not all due to transportation.  I used to say that food in America was cheaper than in Italy, but I am not sure that this is still true.

 

Talking about the High Cost of Gasoline

 

 

Americans ask me how Italians are accommodating to the rise in gas prices.  Gas in Italy is about $7 a gallon.  Naturally Italians are not happy, but the rise in oil prices is less of a disaster in Italy than it is in the USA. Fewer Italians are dependent upon their automobile to get to work and to carry out essential activities.  There is a train and bus system that functions throughout the nation.

 

New Book about Italy

 

 

In 2006 I wrote about Italian author Mario Spezi who was arrested in Italy and charged with slander for the book he was writing with American Douglas Preston about the case of the “Monster of Florence,” a serial killer who murdered 14 people between 1974 and 1985. Now the book has finally been published and here is a brief review from the New York Times:

 

THE MONSTER OF FLORENCE
By Douglas Preston with Mario Spezi
Illustrated. 322 pages. Grand Central Publishing. $25.99.
The monster of the title was a serial killer who, in the 1980s, preyed on couples parked for romantic reasons in the countryside around Florence — think of the Zodiac Killer in San Francisco but without the taunting relationship with the public. (And, this being Italy, there was not only an entire culture of parking lovers, but also an entire subculture of people who spied on them — the Indiani, “or Indians, because they crept around in the dark.”) Like the Zodiac, he has never been caught. Douglas Preston, an American, and Mario Spezi, his Italian collaborator, have their own theories as to who the monster might be, which get them into trouble in the course of the book. There is no neat solution — “these were murders without motive, theories without evidence and a story with no end,” as they write.

 

An Italian in the Gettysburg Hospital

 

I don’t have many opportunities to speak Italian in Gettysburg, but one arose recently. An Italian tourist became ill in Gettysburg with a serious infection and is staying at the local hospital for a few weeks.  Fortunately he purchased short term medical insurance for his visit to the USA so he won’t be faced with an enormous medical bill.  The local priest here, who visits him, is a native of Italy, and the local Italian-American community has lent him a hand.

 

Watching Italian Films

 

To maintain at least some facility in speaking Italian, I am watching Italian films from the Gettysburg College film library.  One of these was Paisan, a 1946 movie about the Allies’ campaign to conquer Italy in WWII.  On the surface it has the appearance of typical war film –how the good guys beat back the bad guys, but it is really something else.  It is a series of vignettes about the ironies, the tragedies, and the ambiguities of war.  Its viewpoint is far different than the typical “propaganda” type film of the era. There are no simple heroes and villains.

 

Speaking about WWII

 

The Italians have identified two German SS officers from WWII who were responsible for giving the order to kill many civilians.  Surprisingly, these two are still alive; one is 89 and the other 97.  As I have written before, the Italians are still having trials for such persons even though the defendants are not extradited to Italy so that no punishment can be inflicted. Given the slow pace of the Italian justice system, one can hope that these two will die before a trial begins.

 

Sun 8 Jun 2008

284

Posted by Robert C. Nordvall under 2008
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Italian Films at Cannes

 

Italians were pleased that two of their films won prizes at the year’s Cannes Film Festival. One, Gomorra, is a story about the Naples based Mafia called the Commora. It may find its way to the USA. The other, Il Divo, is about Italy’s senior politician, Giulio Andreotti, who has been a major figure in Italy since the founding of the Republic in the late 1940s. He has been tried for Mafia connections, and been implicated in many other scandalous situations, but at present he is one of the few honorary Senators for Life in Italy. Controversy ands scandal don’t end a political career in Italy. This film is unlikely to come to the USA because it requires an understanding of the many machinations of Italian post-war politics.

 

Results of My Latest CAT Scan

 

I had the test done in Pescia, a half-hour train ride from Pistoia. I went there to get the test results only to discover that the hospital had changed the hours during which the test result window was open. Fortunately I was with an Italian friend who persuaded somebody to get my results. When I get a CAT scan I take the negatives from the last test to the exam so the doctor can compare the last results with the current one. The doctor’s report of the exam usually contains a comparison of the two tests. This time it did not, and I was left wondering if the doctor who examined the results of the current test even looked at the negatives of the last one. I can say that I am still alive.

 

An Accident with George Clooney

 

A friend told me about a colleague who was driving around the Italian lake country when she was hit by another car. She was so upset and distraught at the accident that she did not even notice that the driver of the other car was George Clooney. For a woman that is DISTRAUGHT! Anyway the next day she received a new car (the current model of her car that was wrecked) with 36 red roses in it.

 

Waiting in Line at the Florence Airport

 

While I was in line, the airline opened up a second desk to process the long line of passengers checking in. The clerk arrived at the desk, and it took about 10 minutes for her to arrange everything at the desk before she waited on the first passenger. If you were making a film in which someone was in a great hurry and suffered increasing frustration at the window that was about to open, but somehow did not open, you could use this clerk as the actress with no training or prompting necessary.

 

On the Other Hand, Things Are Not Always Wonderful in the USA

 

Living in Italy, it is easy to think of the contrast between the efficient USA and inefficient Italy, but this is not always the case.

 

Exhibit One: The USA Cell Phone system.  The cell phone system is much better in Italy. You can buy a phone that you can use with any network. There is a standard, uniform technology.  There is no charge for calls you receive.  You can recharge your phone in thousands of places. All systems have full coverage throughout the country. On a pay as you go phone, the costs are lower.  In simple English, the American cell phone system is inferior.

 

Exhibit Two: Government Inefficiency.  The garbage crisis in Naples is a man made disaster.  Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster. Man made or natural, the crisis called for a response from the government. I listened to a Congressional hearing in USA in which representatives from two federal agencies responsible to respond the situation admitted that they could not find a way to cooperate in the housing crisis caused by Katrina.  As a result, little has been done. These guys sounded worse that the Italian officials who are dealing with the problem in Naples!

 

I need to make one disclaimer. As far as New Orleans goes, I would  not be displeased if the federal government is unable to get the city rebuilt.  Why rebuild a city that was in large part a slum and is located under sea level?

 

Different Concepts of Time

 

On the airplane back to the USA in reading the in flight magazine, I came about two advertisements that perfectly captured the different concept of time in Italy and the USA. One was for the ROM (Range of Motion) exercise machine that in four minutes a day gives you the same workout as 30 minutes of aerobic exercises, 45 minutes of weight training, and 20 minutes of stretching. The cost – only $14,615. The other was for a dating service for professionals, It’s Just Lunch. In the words of the ad, “In this day and age where busy processionals are outsourcing so many aspects of their lives, dating is no different.” The service arranges the date for lunch for you and even makes the reservation at the restaurant.

 

When you read advertisements like these, you think that maybe the Italian concept of time has a lot going for it.

 

Signs in English and in Italian

 

 

I have noted a times the amusing English translations on signs and documents in Italy.  Of course, there is much more material printed in English in Italy than in Italian in the USA.  I saw a sign on a Pizza Hut here “Tuscani Pasta.”  It should be “Toscana Pasta.” Of course the food itself may be even father from the Italian original than the phrase describing it.

 

Italians Favor Reopening Legal Brothels

 

Italy was the last European nation to close government sanctioned brothels. I doubt that Italy will in fact reopen government controlled and regulated houses of prostitution.  The Catholic Church will oppose this idea. I think it would be embarrassing for the government to get back into the prostitution business.  Finally the arguments in favor of doing so are largely “practical” ones, and Italians rarely adopt the most practical path.

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(ANSA) – Rome, June 4 – The vast majority of Italians are in favor of reopening brothels as a way to both protect prostitutes and get them off the streets, according to a new poll.

The survey was taken for the Donna Moderna magazine and followed a referendum initiative by right-wing politician Daniela Santanche’ to repeal a 1958 law which closed brothels in Italy.

The poll found that 85% of Italians were in favor of reopening brothels and the supporters of Santanche’s initiative split into two main groups: 47% were in favor as a means to clean up the streets, while 38% were in favor because it was a way to protect prostitutes from exploitation and violence. Only 11% of those interviewed were against repealing the so-called Merlin Law on the grounds that it would be an incentive for people to engage in prostitution, while 4% viewed the reopening of brothels as ”an immoral act”.

In a recent interview, Santanche’ said that ”overturning the Merlin Law and reopening brothels are the only way to combat this new slavery of child prostitutes, eliminate the horrid role of the pimp, isolate the criminal element, discourage drug use and make our streets safe”.

Santanche’, who unsuccessfully ran for premier as the candidate for The Right party and even failed to win a seat in parliament, said she would soon begin collecting the 500,000 signatures needed.

She added that she was convinced her initiative would have bipartisan support among women.

Although the Donna Moderna poll showed that most Italians favored reopening brothels, the political debate sparked by Santanche’s initiative showed that most Italian parties oppose such a move.

Her proposal was slammed last week by the government’s undersecretary for the family, Carlo Giovanardi, who insisted that heavy fines and the naming and shaming of punters caught picking up girls would be the most effective way to combat street prostitution.

”They should be fined and have their cars confiscated – everything that is necessary to discourage this sort of behaviour,” he said.

Giovanardi said he did not exclude the idea of publishing the names and photos of men who used street prostitutes.

According to a recent study there are some 100,000 prostitutes in Italy, 65% of whom work on the streets and 35% in private residences or clubs.

Most prostitutes were said to be foreigners, from some 60 different countries, 20% were minors and 10% were forced into prostitution by criminal gangs.

The study also calculated that prostitutes in Italy charge an average of 30 euros per customer and generate a turnover in the neighborhood of some 90 million euros a month.

Clients were said to number around nine million with 80% seeking unprotected sex.

Another study, focusing more on Italian prostitutes, painted a somewhat different picture and concluded that prostitution in Italy has undergone a transformation in terms of both those who practise the profession and where it is practised.

The study said prostitutes today are no longer the old-style, uneducated working class girls who walk the streets.

On the contrary, modern prostitutes were technology-savvy women who often held degrees, preferred political talk shows over ‘reality’ programs and were content with their line of employment, the study observed.

The single largest category of prostitutes today is made up of students (27%), followed by housewives (18%) and women who hold regular part-time jobs and, from time to time, receive clients at their own home for a little extra cash to help make ends meet.

In the majority of the cases women engage in this profession by choice and 43% consider it a temporary situation, the report said.

In regards to where the profession is practised, today’s prostitutes prefer their own home to the traditional sidewalk, considering it more safe and comfortable, the study said.

The Merlin Law was named after the late Angelina (Lina) Merlin, a Socialist senator and former resistance fighter who sponsored the bill.