San Remo Festival

This yearly festival of Italian music features both new singers and famous entertainers from the past. One of the latter was a 60 year old woman named Patti Pravo who had a huge hit song in 1972. The audience broke into this song as soon as she came on stage. She, on the other hand, looks like someone from a space alien film or perhaps, more accurately, like Plaintiff’s Exhibit Number 1 in a malpractice suit against a plastic surgeon. A friend told me that her plastic surgery was partly prompted by the fact that she burned up her nose sniffing cocaine. She wore a dress open in the front with only netting –just what you want from a member of the Senior Citizen’s set.

Of course, she was not alone in representing the old folks. Hugh Heffner was there flanked by four current Playmates from the Italian edition of Playboy.  If you can die from an overdose of Viagra, Hugh won’t be around for long.   Meanwhile, a nude porn star ran across the stage and was escorted out by Security. 

The music was very well presented at this Festival. When I compare, however, the San Remo Festival to the Academy Awards, there is a noticeable difference.  At the Academy Awards the continuity of the presentation is better; the segments flow one into the other in a smooth way.  Despite their considerable artistic flair, the level of the continuity on Italian TV is not high.

Pistoia and The Baroque Era

Pistoia’s high point as a city was in late medieval period before it was conquered by Florence.  Therefore, its lovely city square is one of medieval buildings.  During Baroque era of 16^th and 17^th centuries, many of its buildings (public buildings and private palazzos) were redecorated inside in the new style. In an 1822 tourist guide of the city, the emphasis was on the Baroque arts treasures, not the medieval buildings. In the late 19^th century, however, when the Baroque style fell out of favor, much of this Baroque art was removed and sometimes destroyed. Some of it still exists, but now Pistoia is again known for its medieval buildings. The Baroque interior of one of the churches was beautifully restored a few years ago. Unfortunately the church is almost always closed.

The Case of Carlo Parlanti
 
He is an Italian who was convicted in California of raping his ex fiancé. He is now in a California state prison.  His current fiancé, Katia Anedda, has mounted a worldwide effort, primarily over the Internet to get his conviction reversed. The main web site is http://www.carloparlanti.it   He was offered a release from prison with time served if he would admit his guilt, but he refused. So he is more interested in clearing his name than in getting out of prison.
 
I think the case has gone through all appeals and now the lawyers are seeking a post appeal habeas corpus hearing to get a new trial.  His claims are that the case against him was weak and inconsistent and that false documentary evidence was used.  If these claims have already been raised and rejected in the appeal process, his chances for a new trail are minimal. This case highlights a difference between the Italian and American judicial systems. In the USA there is a much stronger sense of finality in judicial proceedings. If you received a fair procedural trial, then you are not entitled to keep litigating even though the result of that trial may have been in error.  In Italy I think raising doubt about the correctness of the verdict is more likely to earn you a new trial.  Finality is not a prominent feature (to say the least) of the Italian system.

Speaking of Finality in Italian Justice System

In the United States you often see stories about wild and crazy court case like the recent one about the man who wanted millions of dollars from the cleaner who lost his suit. Such articles appear in Italy, but more popular here are stories about justice delayed.  The current favorite is this one. A 90 year old lady instituted a civil suit. The first decision in this case arrived recently when the woman is 103 years old.  She won, but the losing party in Italy has up to two appeals of the first decision.  The final decision in this case is estimated to arrive after 12 more years. The oldest citizen in Italy today is 108 years old so the plaintiff in this case has a rather slight chance of ever seeing her final victory.

The Garbage Mess in Naples

A year or two ago there was a garbage crisis in Naples.  Garbage was piling up uncollected in the streets. The citizens of Naples were supposed to separate their garbage by type to facilitate recycling; they did not do so. Furthermore, there were no nearby facilities (landfills, incinerators, etc.) to process the garbage.  So garage was being shipped to Germany in trains for processing there at a high cost.

Berlusconi got the army to pick up the piles of garbage.  It is not piling up any more. Where is it going?  Are there new landfills open nearby?  Are there new processing plants and incinerators near Naples?  Are the people now separating their garbage?  Is some or much of it still going to Germany at high cost? Who knows?  In Italy the media seldom publish follow-up articles with titles such as “Naples One Year Later.” Here once the cosmetic problem (garbage in the streets) was solved, interest in the whole issue died.

Made in Italy vs. Made in China

As I have mentioned before a label that says “Made in China” is almost certainly correct whereas one that says “Made in Italy” may or may not be accurate. I was buying an item for my grandson at an upscale children’s shop (Nothing is too good for the grandchildren.). The owner told me that she has stopped carrying some brands that are now made in China even if the label says “Made in Italy.” She noted that the prices are not lowered when production is shifted to China. She is afraid that her customers will discover that these items are of lower quality, and the reputation of her shop will suffer.

Poll Results

The few readers who had visited both the Kunsthistoriches in Vienna and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg either found them equal in artistic beauty or found the Hermitage more impressive. One reader noted that the most beautiful museum in itself may not also be the best museum in which to view the art.

Controlling Illegal Immigration in Italy

I noted recently the three main impediments to dealing with illegal immigration in Italy: the long coastline for immigrants to enter Italy, the lack of a highly effective police force, and the inefficiency of the Italian legal system. Here is an example of the third factor. A Tunisian (now it is not even sure if he is Tunisian) immigrant was arrested and told to leave Italy. Italy doesn’t escort you to the boat of plane; it just tells you to leave. Then he was arrested for failure to leave. Once again I assume he was told to leave. Then, not having left, he was arrested for selling drugs and held for a while (apparently nobody checked his immigration status at this time), but finally released before trial. Then he committed a rape. Now all the politicians and others are up in arms about this case, but it is not a unique case. This type of thing has happened before and will continue to happen despite all the wailing and screaming (for about three days after each incident).

By the way, I have a solution (much too practical for Italy) to the problem of illegal immigrants who keep landing on the Italian island of Lampedusa (far from the Italian mainland but close to Tunisia). Lampedusa has about 4,000 Italian residents. Give each family, let’s say, 100,000 Euro, and then transfer the island to Tunisia (or if Tunisia won’t take it, Libya will). Italy would save money by no longer having to deal with the immigrants who land there. This week, for example, there was a revolt there among immigrants being detained who burned down a detention center. The next Italian island is sufficiently far from Africa that few illegal immigrants can reach it by boat.

Spain versus Italy

The European Union has an ambitious goal to cut traffic deaths in half by a certain date. Spain and Italy are two nations whose drivers do not have the best reputation. Both nations instituted changes such as a point system against the driver’s license for violations, more checking for drunk drivers, etc. In Spain the death toll on the highways has declined by about 30%. I doubt that there has been any decline in Italy. Spain, as I have noted before, seems recently to be much more able than Italy to advance.

Italian versus German Clothes

I’ve noted that the semi-weekly market in Pistoia in the used clothes section has many items made in Germany. If you held up a single item and asked me if it is from Germany or Italy, I probably could not tell. If, however, you held up 10 items made in Germany and on the other hand 10 made in Italy, I think I could tell which group was from which nation. The style edge of Italian clothes would make the difference.

Parting Remarks by the American Ambassador to Italy

Rome – February 5, 2009 – Italy risks losing its status as a world economic power if its economy continues to perform so poorly, the outgoing American ambassador said Thursday.

Ronald Spogli, sent to Rome three years ago by ex-president George W. Bush, explained that “the basic problem of Italy’s economy is its long-term slow economic growth, which is much more serious than the current recession”.

Italy, he observed, “has over the years repeatedly ranked low in international rankings in regard to conditions for doing business and investing”. The main reasons for this, the ambassador said, were “too much bureaucracy, a rigid labor market, organized crime, corruption, a slow judicial system, the lack of advancement by merit and an education system which does not meet the needs of the 21st century.

However, at the root of Italy’s slow economic growth was “a lack of unity” among Italians, Spogli said.

“Unfortunately, I have no magic glue to offer which can keep this country together. Nevertheless, I’m not pessimistic. What I have seen in these past three years convinces me that this country can make it,” the ambassador added.

Speaking on Inauguration Day, January 20, Spogli said that no matter who takes his place as ambassador “nothing will change in the excellent relations which exist between the United States and Italy”.

Political Update

Walter Veltroni, the leader of the Center-Left opposition wing (to Belusconi’s Center-Right governing coalition) has resigned his post after a string of electoral losses for his party. The last Center-Left government of Romano Prodi contained so many parties that it could not effectively govern. Veltroni consolidated the Center-Left coalition and dropped some parties from it. As a result, he formed a coalition that could have governed effectively, but did not receive enough votes to win. Many of the small parties now have no seats in Parliament. This was a good development that Veltroni helped bring about. It will be interesting to see if his consolidation continues or if the Center-Left goes back to a hodgepodge of too many parties.

Now for the other side of the spectrum. The following was noted in Italian media, but was not a huge story. An English attorney named Mills did work for Mediaset, Berlusconi’s company, looking after certain offshore secret accounts that may well have been illegal. He got a fee of 600,000 Euro. On his British income tax return he had to show the source of this amount, or it would be a problem.(Right away we know we are in a different universe than Italy) He tells his accountant the source is “payment from Mr. B.” Accountant puts this on return, and British tax authorities figure out (not a big problem) who is Mr. B. and tell Italian authorities. After investigation and trial in Italy, Mills is found guilty of corruption this week and sentenced to over four years in prison

Sounds like a Big Deal. A political embarrassment for Berlusconi? Jail time for Mills? Will Berlusconi be tried too? No problem. Under law that his government passed, Berlusconi can not be hauled into court while in office. Before the time his appeals of the conviction (he gets two) are done, for Mills the statute of limitations (which in Italy continues to run even after the case begins) will terminate the process, and the Mills case will end with no conviction or jail time. In Italy, with its incredibly slow justice system, many convictions are wiped out because the process is not completed within the statute of limitations. In the USA, and I assume in most sane nations, the statue of limitations is satisfied when the case begins before the limit.

At the Public Library

I live close to three Italian schools. I ride often on the train with high school students going or coming to school. To put it simply, Italian students are not quiet. Recently I was at the public library and many tables were filled with students doing school work. It was much quieter than a library full of students in the USA. I know because I spent lots of time in the Gettysburg College library. Understanding how things work in Italy, I doubt that the librarians were the ones enforcing the quiet. School homework is more difficult in Italy than in the USA. Perhaps my experience showed the serious side of Italian students that I had not previously experienced.

Terri Sciavo Case –Italian Style

Eluana was an Italian woman who was in a vegetative coma for 17 years. After many legal battles, her father won a case in the highest Italian court to allow the removal of the feeding and water tubes that had kept her alive. As in the Terri Sciavo case in the USA, at this point the government intervened. Parliament was about to pass a law overruling the court decision. The tubes had been removed already and Eluana died before the Parliament could act.

I see this mainly as a conflict between the rights and desires of the family and the position of the Catholic Church and those who support that position. If you had conducted a national referendum on this case, the winner would have been the family. In Italy the family is far more sacred and important than the Church.

Although the majority of Italians may favor the family, it still may have been in the political interest of the Center-Right government to support the Church. In the USA, when George W. Bush was President, he often took positions that supported the “religious right” that was a key part of the Republic coalition. He did so in the Sciavo case. It is my opinion, however, that these positions often also reflected the true beliefs of President Bush. He was not taking these positions solely for political reasons. I believe, on the other hand, that Silvio Belusconi has no principles other than the accumulation of power and money. He was involved in this matter solely for political purposes.

Although I have not seen any discussion yet of this hypothesis, I wonder if the threatened governmental action affected Eluana’s medical care. Her doctors did not simply disconnect the tubes that provided food and hydration. They began to reduce food and water according to a protocol that would take several days. It was estimated that she would die within seven days of the start of this protocol. I wonder if, as the government threatened to pass an emergency law ending the protocol, the family and doctors decided to speed it up so she died more quickly.

Theological Conflict Avoided –For Now

In Bologna there is a small Anglican/Episcopal group that meets weekly in a Catholic Church. The priests from the Anglican and Episcopal churches in Florence go up to Bologna from time to time to administer communion to this group. There is a slight problem. The current priest of the Episcopal Church in Florence is a woman. The Catholic Bishop of Bologna allows the group to meet in a Catholic Church (actually the Church of a Catholic order, not a parish church) with the understanding that no woman priest can perform mass there. I went with the woman priest to Bologna. On the way up we were caught in a traffic jam and arrived 90 minutes late. We had warned the group of the delay. The group held its service in the church but then went to the nearby home of one of the members. Communion was administered in the home thus avoiding a conflict for this time. I suggested that maybe the Catholic Bishop of Bologna had arranged the traffic jam.

Reading Dante

My reading group is reading The Inferno of Dante, in English. The edition I have is a dual language one. Dante wrote in the late 13^th Century, a few years before Chaucer and long before Shakespeare wrote in English. Still the Italian of Dante is much closer to current Italian than the English of Chaucer and perhaps even of Shakespeare is to current English. Why? I certainly don’t know. Here is a possible theory. Dante’s Italian is based upon the Florentine dialect of his day which then became “standard” Italian. Italians, however, continued for centuries to talk in many dialects; official Italian probably was a literary and legal language more than a common spoken language. (Few Italians went to school where one would learn standard Italian.) Perhaps for this reason Italian changed less than English which was both a literary legal/language and also one of the streets subject to the ever changing currents of popular usage.

Soccer vs. Honor of Italy — Guess What Wins

Recently there has been a diplomatic controversy between Italy and Brazil A terrorist from the 1979s convicted of multiple murders in Italy fled to France and then to Brazil. Brazil refused to extradite him to Italy. Italy was scheduled to play a soccer match against Brazil. Some prominent politicians suggested that the match should be cancelled as a protest against the action of the Brazilian government. This idea may have been a good or bad one, but one thing was certain from the start – the match would go on. Italy lost 2-0.

The Art of Reading Newspapers in Italy

In all the world newspaper headlines sometimes promise something more interesting that the story affords. Recently a headline quoted a rather controversial statement by a leading politician about a current controversy. I reviewed the article to discover where, when, and why the politician made this particular statement. The politician’s name did not appear in the article (which discussed the controversy involved) nor was there any further information about the statement he made. I guess the headline served its purpose (I read the article), but this level of disconnection between the headline and the article itself was pure Italy.

Italian Bureaucracy

I’ve written about it many times. Here is a story from The Florentine English newspaper written by my friend Linda Falcone.

In Italy, every time you move into a new building, you are obligated by law to formally change your residence. Lugging your life’s possessions into your latest living room is not enough. To officially claim your turf, you must personally usher a city official into your home-as proof of the fact that you really do live there. If the visit goes well, then you are written up and filed safely away in sad-looking metal drawers that no one will ever dig into. Only then, does your residency become real. Italy is like that: whatever is processed on paper is much more relevant than what actually happens in homes.

Whether in uniform or plain-clothed, residenza representatives usually swing by unannounced early on Monday mornings. If, like most people, you’ve gone to work by that time, they’ll immediately suspect you’re a shady character who’s trying to beat the system. The scary note they stick on your doorbell says that they’ll stop by again some day soon. Miss them more than two times and you’ll find yourself straight back at the starting line-the process has to be re-initiated.

So, unless you become a stay-at-home-mom without children, who can afford to spend the morning eating rum chocolates and waiting for the reps to ring twice, it’s best to leave your phone number on the residency application form. That way, they’ll try calling you before they actually mosey on over.

The residenza man phoned me last week, hoping for a mid-morning house call. ‘I’m not home at that time of day,’ I told him. ‘Can we agree on an alternative?’ ‘Oh, don’t worry,’ he said. ‘I’ll just come by anyway. If you don’t happen to be home, I’ll leave a note.’

‘No,’ I protested. ‘It’s not that I won’t happen to be home. I’m definitely not going to be home. You’re calling me in advance and I’m telling you in advance. So, there’s really no need to pretend that it’s a question of chance. Let’s organize it, period.’

By the time we finished the argument, I had an afternoon appointment and an upset stomach. In the pit of it I realized that I’m much more peaceable a person than I’ll ever be allowed to be, simply because, like most English-speaking children, I supped on Ps and Qs, the same way Italian kids of my generation fed on pastasciutta. Alas, adulthood in Italy has taught me a brand of assertiveness unknown to those who’ve never lived here. We can argue the point if you wish, but I’d rather not-for though it pains me to comply, in this country, short-term hardball often proves the antidote to long-term nonsense.

Days later, Mr. Residenza arrived half an hour past our appointed time and hurriedly pushed me to sign the paper he’d pulled from his nineteenth-century satchel. ‘This document says that the ex-tenant still lives here,’ I protested. ‘Yes. Well, he does, according to our records.’ ‘No. He was evicted months before I arrived.’ ‘Well then, the best thing to do would probably be just to include him here anyway as part of your stato-famiglia.’

‘You want me to list him as a member of my family?‘ ‘Well, he is already registered as living in this house,’ he said, only somewhat reluctantly. ‘So, you specifically come to check if I live where I say do and then you want me to lie to you about who my relatives are?’ ‘I meant as a roommate, not as a relative,’ he replied rather affronted. ‘Right,’ I nodded. ‘Wouldn’t it make more sense just to cross him out?’ ‘I can’t cross him out. This is an official list.’

Oh. Well, it’s settled then. It’s official lists like these that make one need official witnesses in life. And while we’re speaking of ‘official’, let the record show that I am, in fact, relaying this exchange entirely faithfully. It’s a new year, but I still write non-fiction, and I swear it really did happen this way. The residenza rep actually stepped over my threshold and suggested I pay additional garbage tax on behalf of Mr. Evicted, just so the integrity of his fictitious records’ book could somehow be preserved.

When I told him that I intended to pay only for self-generated rubbish, the representative was forced to phone his colleague at the Comune and find out what he really should have been telling me. The more-informed bureaucrat on the other end of the phone bent over backwards to provide an equally ridiculous option, which we’re sure, he must have dug out of the refuse bin he’d landed in. ‘You’ll need to write a complaint, requesting that the ex-tenant change his residence. But you’ll have to send it here, as this is his official address.’ ‘So, basically, I’ll be sending the complaint to myself.’

‘Yes, but make sure you send it registered mail. And when the postman delivers it, don’t accept it. If twelve months pass and the ex-tenant doesn’t respond, your removal request will be processed automatically.’ ‘One year? One year is not nearly enough time for a lout to answer a letter he’s never even going to get. They ought to make it two.’

‘It’s standard procedure,’ he shrugged.

A Poll of Readers

I wrote last week about the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, not as a place where art is shown but as a work of art in itself. It is the most beautiful museum I have ever seen. A friend wrote to say that the Kunsthistoriches in Vienna is the most beautiful museum he had ever seen. He has not seen the Hermitage; I have not seen the Kunsthistoriches in Vienna. I ask any of you who have seen BOTH of these museums to give your opinion as to which is the more beautiful work of art in itself.

Mashing the Mafia

A friend sent me an article from an American newspaper (translated from an Italian newspaper) about a maxi-trial in Italy of leaders of the Camorra (the Naples Mafia). The author hoped that the convictions might make a big dent in the Camorra. I doubt it. When criminal enterprises become as entrenched as they are in Italy, it is hard to eradicate them through the legal system. They have influence within that system. The legal rights accorded all defendants make it hard to get massive convictions for those who can afford the best legal help. This would be true in any country, but is even more so in Italy where the legal system overall functions poorly.

Mussolini made progress in fighting the Mafia, but only by arresting people and sending them into exile without trials. Lest one think that Mussolini did this to help Italy, it is good to remember that his fight against the Mafia was promoted by the desire of his Fascist thugs not to share the power and booty of corruption with the Mafia thugs (a fact that many Italians conveniently overlook). It was perhaps more like a war of one Mafia family versus another than it was a triumph for legality or the Italian people.

“Please Excuse Us for the Inconvenience”

Now when Italian trains are late, there is often an announcement on the train telling how many minutes the train is behind schedule and asking passengers to excuse the train system for the inconvenience. I think asking to be excused involves two propositions: (1) we did not cause the delay on purpose and (2) we are sorry for the inconvenience caused by it. Proposition (1) is true. The train system does not start out trying to make trains late. Most run reasonably well on time. Proposition (2) is a lie. Nobody in the Italian train system is at all sorry when a train is late. All the employees still have their jobs and will get their checks on the next payday. That is all they care about.

To give just another brief insight into the shortcomings of the Italian rail system, consider the following figures. In metropolitan Berlin there are 1860 miles of train tracks. For Frankfort the urban area has 962 miles. Paris has 870. The figures for the four largest Italian cities: Rome 116 miles, Milan 112, Turin 73, and Naples 42.

First Sign of End of Honeymoon between Obama and Italian Media?

It was not a criticism of Barack. On Inauguration Day, an Italian news program commented upon the outfit of Michelle and noted that the little red purse she was carrying did not go well with her dress. Later it was discovered that this purse was in fact the “Lincoln Bible” she held during the oath of office ceremony.

Watching the Super Bowl on Italian TV

Before this year this event was carried only on a channel that requires a satellite or cable to access. This year it was on regular Italian broadcast TV. I watched the first half which is more than I usually do in the USA. I am no fan of all the Super Bowl hoopla. On Italian TV you miss the American commercials. The commentators have to explain the rules of the game to the viewers as they also comment upon the action on the field. So the commentary is constant.

What fascinates the Italians most about the Super Bowl is (1) the fact that this is an occasion of national unity and celebration (especially important in time of crisis) and (2) the auxiliary contest among the commercials which for many is as important as the game itself.

For the little it is worth, I was rooting for the Cardinals simply because they had never won a Super Bowl. Any team, however, that allows one of the large, slow players on the other team to run a ball back 100 yards without pushing him out of bounds deserves to lose.

Quotes of the Day

This is a feature in an Italian newspaper that publishes three or four current quotations each day from famous people. One of these is almost always from an actress or showgirl who is often pictured half dressed next to the quotes of the day. The sexy lady usually says something about her love life or career, but this week featured a quotation that hit a new high or low, depending upon how you look at it. Lovely showgirl Valeria Marini (shown in a usual state of partial undress) was quoted as saying “If I could, I would dedicate myself to others like Mother Teresa of Calcutta.” My advice to the folks at Mother Teresa’s Center in Calcutta is “Don’t be a hurry to get the room ready for Valeria.”

Speaking of Those Sexy Italian Babes

One of the government ministers had a romance going with a woman dermatologist who looked more like a movie star or top model than a doctor. As you might guess, she was quite a bit younger than he. The romance ended this week. In itself, this is not a surprising development, but the question all Italy is asking is “did he really end the affair by sending her a text message over the cell phone?”

Youth Drinking in Italy

Americans often note that since in Europe alcohol is available to children, in the form of wine at an early age, drinking does not become a “rite of passage” as it is in the USA. It certainly is true that university life in Italy does not center around drinking as much as in the USA. Still there are many problems with drinking and drugs for young people in Italy. The excesses usually take place at clubs. There seem to be few effective restrictions on selling or providing alcohol to minors. The newspapers carry frequent stories about auto accidents, fights, and rapes following excessive drinking and/or drugs. A famous incident this week was when three inebriated youth set fire to an immigrant from India. I don’t have comparative statistics to assess the rates of these problems in Italy compared to the USA. In Italy of every 100 cases of medical treatment for alcohol poisoning, 17 involve youth 14 or under. The “more civilized” European approach to drinking does not eliminate excessive use by young people.

Policies of the Pope

After Vatican II there was a schism in the Roman Catholic Church primarily over changes in the liturgy. Members of the schismatic branch of the Church were excommunicated. The current Pope has lifted the ban on the Latin Mass and is seeking to bring those excommunicated back into the fold and end the schism. Last week among those for whom he lifted the excommunication was a bishop who also happens to be a Holocaust Denier. The Pope has spoken out clearly against the Holocaust and seemed surprised that his action in lifting the excommunication was criticized, not only by Jewish groups but also by others such as Chancellor Merkel in Germany. After the furor erupted, the Vatican claimed that the Pope did not know of the Bishop’s statements about the Holocaust (time to hire a new staff for the Pope?), and the Vatican ordered the Bishop to withdraw these statements or else he would not be able to serve as a Bishop. How does one who believes “x is the case” suddenly declare that “y is the case” simply because he is ordered to so. Who would believe his new declaration?

The Island of Lampedusa

This little Italian island is closer to Africa than Italy. You are more likely to find it on a map of Tunisia than on a map of Italy. Almost daily illegal immigrants arrive here in rickety boats. The Italians send very few immigrants back, and the boats these people come in are too decrepit to ship them back on. Furthermore, the African country from which they departed (usually Libya) is not their home country. There is a welcome (detention) center for them on Lampedusa. Obviously, however, as they keep coming, this center can not accommodate them all so immigrants are transferred to other similar centers on the Italian mainland. When they are detained on Lampedusa, these folks cannot get to anywhere else in Italy; once they are transferred to the mainland, many walk away form the welcome center and become illegal immigrants in Italy. One obvious solution, which the Italian government is pursuing, is to have another welcome center on Lampedusa so more of these boat people can remain isolated there.

The small population of Lampedusa is protesting this new center. There apparently is at least some small tourism business in Lampedusa, but it is hard to promote a place as a tourism site when frequently you see on the news half starved or half dead immigrants landing there.

Italian Postage Stamps

I wrote recently that the glue on the back of some of these stamps does not work well. Now I finally have a full understanding. In Italy there are stamps that come with a backing that you take off and the stamps are pre-glued ready to affix. In Italy there are stamps with glue on the back that you lick to affix the stamp. These are the everyday stamps. There are also, as in the USA, commemorative stamps with pretty designs. These stamps have no glue on the back. You must put your own glue on them to stick them to the envelope. Why no glue on commemorative stamps? Another of Italy’s great mysteries.