Fashion Alert

In Italy the buttons on the sleeves of men’s sport coats and suit coats often have fake button holes sewed around them so that it appears that these buttons can be undone as is possible when the coat is custom made. I’ve noted that on some new models in fact there are one or two buttons at end of sleeve that appear to be unbuttoned and there are fake button holes on the sleeve over these buttons into which it appears these button could be fastened. These buttons thus are not visible, only the fake button hole is. As to the other two buttons along the sleeve, they are sewed on the outside (visible) with a fake button hold around them as has been typical.

See if this new sleeve fashion migrates to the USA (if it has not already).

Integrating the Immigrants: A Small Example

While visiting my son who works on a military base in Germany, I saw an American TV late night network news show. The anchorman spoke with a slight British accent, but he appeared to be originally from some Middle Eastern country. Probably 20 years ago, such a person would have been too “foreign” to land an anchorman position on an American network news show, but not now. In Italy I could not conceive of someone obviously from another country who spoke Italian (although with perfect grammar) being selected for such a job.

Obamania in Italy (Another Example)

In the European Soccer Cup championship first round, four top Italian teams drew as their opponents four English teams. An article in the Italian national sports daily, in speaking of the determination of the Italian teams to win against these opponents had the following headline (in English) “Yes We Can.”

The Film “Casablanca” –the Italian Connection

An article in the newspaper explained how the anti-Fascist leader in film, Victor Lazlo, was in fact based upon the Italian anti-Fascist Randolfo Pacciardi. The director of the film even consulted with Randolfo before making it. Why was the character changed from an Italian to an Eastern European? Who knows? It may have been because as an Italian the Victor Lazlo character (Vittorio Lazzino?), as a matter of honor, would have had to try to kill Humphrey Bogart. This would have taken the plot off into a totally different direction.

Christmas Stamp – Italian Style

I’ve never seen in Italy a Christmas stamp to be used on cards and letters in the Christmas season. I buy my stamps at the tobacco shop and perhaps this shop carries only standard stamps, but I’ve never received any correspondence from Italy with such a stamp. This year, however, I did see a Christmas stamp. It was for 2 Euro 90 cents and was one of the stamps I put on a package. So if you get a package mailed in Italy, you may see a Christmas stamp, but don’t look for it on a card or letter.

Wild about Woody

I have mentioned before that Woody Allen’s films are more popular in Italy than in the USA. This week Woody and his Dixieland jazz band (with Woody on Clarinet) played to a packed house in Florence. No matter how much I loved his films, this would not be an incentive for me to go see him play the clarinet. From all I have heard he is a competent but not virtuoso musician.

Cisalpino Trains

Cisalpino is a joint Italian-Swiss train company that runs trains from central and northern Italy into Switzerland and back. Recently one of these trains was stopped in a tunnel for a few hours and caused problems not only for itself but for other Swiss trains using the tunnel. This is far from the first problem on the Cisalpino line, and now some Swiss are calling for a ban on Cisalpino trains running in Switzerland which would seem to mean the end of the business. You did not have to read the article too closely to figure out whether the ongoing problems of this company are at the Swiss or Italian end of the operation.

This episode reminds one of the old joke that in Heaven the Italian are the cooks, the French are the lovers, the Swiss run the trains, and the English operate the government bureaucracy. While in Hell the English are the cooks, The French run the government bureaucracy, the Swiss are the lovers, and the Italians run the trains.

Fleeing Fascist Past

Gianfranco Fini is one of the leading politicians in Italy. He formerly was the head of a party with a neo-Fascist history. He since has left that party and seems to do all he can (either from a change of convictions and/or political expediency) to distance himself from any trace of Fascism. His latest venture in this effort was a statement on the 70^{th anniversary of the passage of anti-Jewish race laws in Italy. He noted that these laws were accepted with very little dissent and discussion by Italian society including the Catholic Church. Church officials were outraged. They pointed out that Pope Pius XII expressed opposition to the proposed laws and had lobbied with Mussolini to get him not to issue these laws. The fact remains, however, that once the laws were promulgated, the Pope’s main concern seemed to have been as it usually is for the head of any large organization – maintain and protect the position, power, and property of the organization rather than lead a moral/religious/philosophical crusade.}

Stranded for the Holidays

A group of employees affiliated with Alitalia (which has been sold and is in the process of moving to new ownership) staged a strike for the few days right before Christmas. Especially in Rome, passengers were stranded on their way for holiday visits with family and friends. I feel sorry for the passengers, but in my book anyone who books a flight of any importance on Alitalia is in the same category (in terms of common sense) as those in the USA who send money to televangelists .

This Week in Italy 300

Sample Sizes

At a warehouse shoe sale of Hanover Shoes in Hanover, PA, I once noted a large number of shoes in men’s size 8 ½.  Someone told me this was the standard size for shoes that were displayed in the window of a shoe store. I think there may also be a standard size for men’s suits that are put on mannequins in the windows of clothing stores, and it in Italy it is Italian size 48 (U.S. size 38). On the used clothing tables at the market there are a lot of size 48 coats and pants that in fact are new.  My guess is that many of these are window samples. Unfortunately I never wore a size 38 suit, and I have few friends that small now even if some of them might have worn such a size many years ago. My  friends still at a U.S. size 38 have received some fine garments from me.

The English Carol Service

There is a small Anglican church in Bologna that has a loose affiliation with both the Anglican church and the Episcopal church (my church) in Florence. I went to Bologna to see the annual Christmas Carol service of this church.  It was standing room only. The service is held in a Catholic church used by the Anglicans. Most of the crowd was Italian.  Maybe Catholic churches in Italy do not hold such services in which Christmas gospel readings are interspersed with appropriate carols. The priest from my Episcopal church in Florence has traditionally gone up to Bologna once a month to offer communion there because the Bologna church has no clergy person. Now, however, we have a woman priest in Florence, and the Catholic Bishop of Bologna, who approves of the use of this church for Anglican services, forbids any mass (including the Episcopal one) to be said in the church by a woman.

Death of Betty Page

The passing of the lady whose sexy cheesecake photos were iconic in the USA in the 1940s and 1950s got a lot of coverage in the Italian media.  Full page story in the newspaper I read; a segment on the national evening news. I would bet that her death, although noted in American newspapers and TV, may well have received more publicity here. As I’ve written before, Italians find certain aspects of American popular culture, usually not the highest, to be fascinating.  As for Betty, I read that she became a Born Again Christian after being a sex idol.  Samuel Johnson once said “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”  In the USA a “total religious conversion” seems to take the place of “patriotism.”

Italian Political Expectations for the USA

No matter who won the Presidential Election in the USA, the next President faces difficult challenges. Both candidates ran on a “Change” platform, but a lot of promised changes are going to have to be delayed (if, in fact, they ever are accomplished) while the President deals with the current crisis.  I constantly meet Italians who seem  to be overly optimistic about President Obama making immediate great changes in the USA. I always stress that the country faces many large problems that most certainly are not going to be resolved quickly. The word “Obamania” may describe many Obama supporters in the USA, but, believe me, it is far more prevalent in Italy.

Strange Bedfellows

In 1928 fundamentalist Protestants were in the forefront of the campaign against Al Smith, Democratic nominee for President, because he was Catholic.  Recently Fundamentalist Christians and Catholics have formed an alliance in fighting abortion. In Italy too the Catholics have been able to form a strange alliance.

There have been recent demonstration with priests, nuns and prostitutes protesting the proposed  law about permitting legal houses of prostitution…….all seem to be against it for different reasons.  The priests and nuns are obvious, but apparently the prostitutes don’t want to be regulated (translate taxed) and with houses it increases that chance. 

Flood Time in Florence ?

The Arno River seems to flood about once every hundred years. The 1966 flood in Florence was one of the worst.  There were some flood control mechanisms in place then; some say the flood damage was particularly bad because flood control gates were opened up river without notifying the folks in Florence.  As you can well imagine right after the 1966 flood there were promises and plans to take steps to avoid (to the extent possible) a reoccurrence of such a catastrophe. The Florence Flood of 1966 was comparable to the Katrina disaster in New Orleans.  Now after about 20 straight days of rain in Tuscany, the Arno is getting quite high.   In the paper is the very predictable article pointing out that most of the flood-prevention measures promised after 1966, in fact, have not been done.  Will the USA do a better job of protecting New Orleans from future floods?

Michelle Hunziker

You may recall that she is my favorite among the innumerable sex symbols on Italian TV  (http://www.michellehunziker.it/ ).  Recently she was quoted as saying that, although she is presently single, her fans should not worry. She is sure the right man will soon come along. I am keeping my cell phone with me at all times awaiting her call.

The Latest Iteration of the Logic of the Famous Play, Lysistrata

ANSA) – Naples, December 12 – Women around Naples are threatening their husbands with no sex if they set off their beloved fireworks in the holiday period when scores are maimed and some killed by illegal bangers each year.

A group of women have taken up the idea launched by a local doctor, Vincenzo Sorrentino, who says ”we’ve tried everything to stop the mayhem caused by fireworks but we’ve never reached the results we hoped for”.

”We decided to get women involved because they are more convincing and they always achieve their goals,” Sorrentino said.

”This time women are our hope”.

The women have formed a committee led by Carolina Staiano, 42, a mother-of-two who has been forced to tend to a father seriously injured by a firework blast several years ago. ”So far we’ve had more than 30 women join up and we’re hoping for more,” she told reporters Friday.

”We’re fed up with these stupid annual massacres. ”This time they’re just going to have to choose: sex or fireworks”.

The average age of the wives or girlfriends is 25-45, she said.

The initiative is being supported by the provincial government of Naples, which has also started sending residents the SMS message: ”Don’t Set Off, Make Love Instead”.

Naples each year records the highest number of injuries – and sometimes deaths – from the improper use of fireworks, mostly illegal ones and increasingly made in China.

Local youths have delighted in giving heavy-duty fireworks scary or jokey names like The Bin Laden, The Maradona Bomb, Desert Storm, Red October and Turbo 3.

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Trains and Buses

I mentioned recently how seldom one has to present a ticket on a train. Someone told me that now the fine is € 200 for not having a ticket on the train.  I’d love to know how many of these € 200 fines are given out (or even better, are paid) every year.  Very few I guess.

At least on a train, however, there is someone who has the responsibility to check tickets. There is no such person on a bus.  One is supposed to stamp the bus ticket in a machine on the bus.  Most passengers do not do so.  Maybe some have some kind of monthly ticket.  Germany has a similar system. Recently in Germany there has been concern about too many non payers on the buses. So plainclothesmen have been assigned to the buses.  With no ticket, you don’s simply pay a fine, you go to jail. Up to one-third of those in some local jails now are fare beaters. I think the probability of this mode of enforcement migrating from Germany to Italy is something less than 1 in a 1000.

Child Support in Italy

When a couple with children separate legally in Italy, there is usually an order for child support, most often to the mother who has custody of the child. This is the same as in the USA, but once the order is entered, things are not necessarily the same. Whereas in the USA, there is usually an Support Office attached to the Court that oversees implementation of the Court order, in Italy enforcement problems have to go back through the court itself. This means long delays. Furthermore, in the USA the judge may even send someone to jail for failing to obey a court order; this is not done here. In many contexts, not just divorce, a court order is not worth much in Italy.

Energy Saving Incentives

A friend had to replace her hot water boiler that provides both heat and hot water to her house. There is a government incentive program to induce people to buy a type of energy saving boiler that recycles its exhaust products. You can take an income tax deduction up to 55% of the cost of this new type of boiler. At first it seemed a good idea, but to get the deduction, you have also to install a thermostat on every radiator in the house and get a certification from a representative of the government Energy Office that the installation is correct. These additional requirements greatly increase the cost of putting in such a boiler. In fact after the tax savings, it will still take 10 years to recover in lower gas bills the difference between the cost of a traditional boiler and the total installation costs of the new energy efficient model. My friend opted for a traditional boiler.

At the Notary’s Office

In Italy Notary Public’s do some of the work that lawyers do in the USA. So it is a very lucrative position. I went to a Notary’s office for the execution of documents establishing a new cultural association with which I am affiliated. (We are not up and running yet, but you can learn about us at our web site www.madeinpistoia.com). The Notary had a young assistant who worked with us. The assistant was wearing a blue dress shirt, a nice Ralph Lauren sweater, and a pair of distressed blue jeans with the fabric in tatters at selected points. Not exactly business-style dress in the USA, even on casual Friday, but in Italy style trumps everything.

The Rainy Season Arrives

It’s the rainy season, and there is flooding many places in Italy. In Pistoia it has rained almost everyday for at least two weeks. It seems to me that in the USA flooding usually occurs when there are unusually heavy rains over a short period of time. Here there is just normal rain that goes on day after day. The great Florence Flood of 1966 was preceded by thirty days of rain.

Promoting Playboy

I saw an advertisement in an Italian financial newspaper promoting Playboy magazine (apparently with a new format) to potential advertisers. The ad showed the magazine being held in front of the face of a man so that only the outer lines of his face and the hairline were visible. This was more than enough to indicate that the man was meant to be Silvio Berlusconi who often speaks of himself as a playboy. In fact I seem to recall Silvio once making a reference to Playboy magazine.

An American (perhaps elsewhere too) Institution Reaches Pistoia

I’ve mentioned that my church in Florence has a monthly Thrift Shop of used goods. Also there is a traveling market twice a week in Pistoia which includes tables with used goods. In Italy, however, I have not seen permanent stores selling used items such as Salvation Army or Good Will stores in the USA. Now a local charity (a type of Hospice) has opened such a shop in Pistoia. Since I am an addict for such shops, this could be bad news. Fortunately my closets are so overflowing that now I can buy an additional item only if I get rid of a current one.

By the way, one knows that the Christmas Season is here for sure when the prices of used clothing stalls at the traveling market suddenly are higher.

Tickets on Italian Trains

A friend spent 6 days with me in Italy. We took a total of 11 trains during that period. Never were we asked to show a ticket. These were regional, not long distance, trains. Since returning to Italy, I have ridden on six trains without showing a ticket. If you can ride 17 times without showing a ticket, it is worth not ever buying a ticket and paying the occasional fine for not having one. Who knows how many Italians do so.

Dentistry in Italy

As far as I can tell the state-run health system provides some dental services, but most Italians use private dentists either for reasons of convenience or availability. In the last year there have been 344 persons arrested for practicing dentistry without a license. Apparently the fines for doing this are so low that they hardly deter the crime.

Fashion Color of the Season in Italy 

It is purple, primarily the lilac shade of purple.  Buy this color now and you will be ahead of the curve as it spreads to the rest of the world.

The Detrimental Effect of Television Upon the Young

A mother from Florence wrote to the newspaper complaining about Reality TV shows which she sees as expensive and of no cultural and little entertainment value. She called for them to be removed from TV. She told how her two children, ages 7 and 13, watch these shows religiously and see the persons on them as idols to be imitated. She finished her letter by saying “Every time the shows come on, I invite my children to change the channel, but if these shows were removed from the air, it would solve the problem.” It’s clear that the children don’t respond positively to her invitation and that she (as a loving Italian mother) will not change the channel herself against the wishes of her children. One wonders if she understands how foolish her letter sounds, or it not foolish in the Italian context?

Problems of the Boss’ Son

I mentioned before that Umberto Bossi, founder and head of The Northern League (the political party that wants to divide Italy into two nations), named his son as his successor as head of the party. At that time (when Bossi was quite ill), I think the son was 19, and there were a number of other seasoned political leaders in the party. The political party as a personal fiefdom of the leader is not uncommon in Italy. Anyway he has a younger son, whom he is also making active in the party meetings. The younger son just flunked his high school exit examination (La Maturità) for the third time. Father Bossi’s response, of course, was to attack the teachers administering the exam.

Dealing with a Medical Emergency of Old Age

An elderly woman in Palermo, Sicily called the Italian version of 911. Her 82 year old husband had taken a Viagra pill and now was demanding sex from her. She said he had a heart condition, and she was afraid that sex might kill him. The police assured her that this was not the case – an opinion later confirmed by medical experts. So the next time he takes a Viagra, she cannot run to the police for help. She may simply have to padlock the bedroom door.

Frantic for Facebook

Italians are certainly not anti-technology. Cell phones are more common here than in the USA. Still Italy trails most of Europe in the use of the computer; only Bulgaria and Romania are less connected. One computer program, however, is all the rage among the young in Italy –Facebook. Some employers have had to institute rules forbidding accessing Facebook during working hours. One can imagine how weak the level of obedience is to such rules. Family and friends are perhaps the two most important things to Italians so one can easily imagine the attraction of Facebook.

A New Approach to Acquiring a Marriage Annulment

As divorce becomes more common in Italy, more Italian couples are seeking an annulment from the Roman Catholic Church of their marriage so they can remarry in the Church and/or take communion in the Church. In Italy, however, annulments are far harder to obtain in the USA where they are now almost automatic.

A couple this week came up with a novel rationale for an annulment – the priest who married them later was convicted of being a pedophile.

Italy — Sexism Capital of Europe

I’ve noted in the past comments in the British media about the rampant sexism in Italy, especially in advertising. Now National Public Radio in the USA has picked up the story, concentrating more on women in television and politics. Below is a written summary of the four minute segment and a link for those who would like to listen to the whole item.

Morning Edition, December 3, 2008 · Americans and northern Europeans visiting Italy often comment on the sheer quantity of exposed female flesh in advertising and on TV shows.
That exposure is inversely proportional to the presence of women in the labor force, in management and in politics.

Feminists place a lot of the blame for the commercial use of the female body at the door of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

A recent popular TV show was a contest for two showgirl slots on a top satirical program. More than 5,000 women applied, and the prime requisites were perfect bodies and the ability to dance on tabletops.

Both on public television and on networks owned by Berlusconi, who also is a media tycoon, scantily dressed women can been seen — but rarely heard — on all types of programs, from quizzes to political talk shows.

Showgirl As Role Model

Opinion polls indicate that the showgirl is the No. 1 role model for young Italian women, including 21-year-old student Livia Colarietti.

“If I were a little thinner, I would have joined the contest to become a showgirl,” Colarietti says. “I enjoy those shows. I really like to watch them.”

One very successful showgirl is Mara Carfagna, who left an uncertain singing career for politics. Berlusconi chose her for the slot of minister of equal opportunity — and both denied media reports that they were having an affair.

Satirist Sabina Guzzanti has publicly scorned the former topless calendar girl.
“I took strong position because it is absolutely a scandal,” Guzzanti says. “Here we have more a pinup exactly than a showgirl, someone showing her body, and she became minister of equal opportunities.”
Veteran feminist Grazia Francescato concedes that Carfagna is winning with her ways.
“We have gone from equal opportunities to equal opportunism,” Francescato says. “You try to be very appealing to the other sex, especially to very powerful men. “I am very, very disappointed by women.”
Feminists were powerful in the 1970s, winning universal health care and legalization of divorce and abortion, but then there was a backlash.

Sexism In Italy

Today, Italy has the lowest percentage of working women in Europe. Only 2 percent of top management positions are held by women — that’s even behind Kuwait — and only 17 percent of the members of parliament are women — less than in Rwanda and Burundi.

Television has become women’s prime showcase. “To sell your body for a calendar, for a career, is not considered now so bad for many young women,” says social scientist Elisa Manna, who has studied this issue’s impact on Italian society. “This kind of attitude is connected to television, because they have this kind of model in every hour of the day.”

With remote in hand, a viewer can zap from game shows with giggling girls in bikinis to prime-time anchorwomen with plunging necklines. All of this sexiness on television began with the birth of Berlusconi’s networks in the 1980s.

The 72-year-old prime minister speaks openly about sex. He recently bragged, “I sleep for three hours, and still have enough energy to make love for another three.”

Female Solidarity Out Of Fashion

The Berlusconi TV model is widely seen as having shaped Italy’s contemporary society, and journalist Lilli Gruber says feminism and solidarity among women are out of fashion.
A former TV anchorwoman who resigned from public television in protest over Berlusconi’s control of the media, Gruber says most women appear unwilling or unable to assert themselves and too weak to fight.

“To fight back against growing sexism, growing violence against women and domestic violence especially, fight back all these politicians who don’t move an inch in order to allow women to be in charge and take on responsibilities,” Gruber says.

She points out, however, that the majority of Italians now studying in universities are women — a generation that she believes won’t be passive and might even succeed in breaking down Italy’s old-boy network.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97402636&sc=emaf

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