In my last weekly newsletter, I referred to an earlier item I had written about Padre Pio. All prior newsletters can be accessed on the Web at www.thisweekinitaly.com If you click on “About this Blog”, you will also find a search function for all the newsletters so that you can search for an earlier story according to its subject.
Politics in Southern Italy
There are upcoming elections in Italy for regional and local administrative offices and for representatives to the European Parliament. I see election posters in Pistoia. These are almost all for candidates of the few major parties in Italy. In Puglia I saw posters for candidates representing parties not known in Tuscany, for the most part parties with a regional base. I also saw sound trucks going around promoting candidates. One used to see these in films from the 1960s in Italy, but they are no longer used in Tuscany.
The national government has never been able to establish policies that lead to a vibrant economy in the south. The major way that the residents of the south are helped by the government is by putting a disproportionate number of government positions in the south and through public works projects. For example, in Pistoia almost every public school is an old convent. In Puglia I saw many large public school buildings build in the 20th century. Since politics really under girds the whole economy of the south, it is not surprising that politics takes on a greater importance in this area.
Vito
On our bike trip it was the time one day to stop for the evening, but we were not near a town with hotels or bed and breakfast places. We saw a very crudely lettered sign (BED & BEAKFAST) at the end of a driveway. As we pulled up there was a lady and a fat guy in his underwear who retreated into the house to become presentable. It was the owner of the B&B, Vito. This was the house his deceased mother had lived in. It probably had not been cleaned since her death. The certificate on the wall said he had attended (as is required in Italy) a course to operate a B&B. Vito seemed to be a guy for whom third grade must have been a difficult challenge; I would have loved to see him in the class for B&B owners. It was late. Choices were few. We negotiated down the price. Later we discovered that Vito is considered a bit crazy in the neighborhood, and nobody can understand how his place ever passed the mandatory inspection required for a B&B.
At another B&B we were told that this kind of accommodation was not available in Italy prior to the year 2000 because of opposition from hotel owners. The year 2000 was a Jubilee Year for the Catholic Church. The Vatican was afraid that there would not be enough places for visitors to Italy to stay so it lobbied to get a law passed permitting B&Bs. So the Pope, not Parliament, gets credit for opening up this new avenue of ventures. As with many things in Italy, who knows if the story is true?
Returning from Puglia to Pistoia
The train service in the South is sparser than in Tuscany. Throughout the country there are fewer trains on Sunday so the lack of trains is even more pronounced in the south. As a result, we could not get back to Pistoia in one day. It took over a day and a half. With bicycles you can only take regional trains (not long distance or express trains that have no bike facilities) so trips take longer. You can get bikes on busses if there is room in luggage area below the bus. Unfortunately the one bus we tried did not have a full luggage area below so four bikes was too much.
We did at times on our trip go on a train route that is not part of the national Italian train system. I did not know such routes still existed. It was a narrow gauge train that used a diesel engine, not electric power. My guess is that when the national train system was established through the consolidation of regional systems, it did not take over this regional system because the gauge was different.
Berlusconi’s Latest Troubles
His British attorney was convicted in Milan of (I think) misrepresenting the source of funds that Silvio paid to him to hush up some problem. The details don’t matter. The attorney will never go to jail because the statue of limitations will expire before the final judgment in the case, and the conviction will be annulled.
More interesting is the issue of how Silvio knows the 18 year old girl whose birthday party he attended. He and his allies told more than one story. The girl’s father just told a totally different story about the genesis of the friendship between the family and Silvio. (Some newspapers report that neighbors and friends of the family say that nobody in the family ever said that there was a friendship with Berlusconi.) Meanwhile the former fiancé of the girl tells the most scandalous story. He says that Silvio saw her picture through a friend who runs an agency for potential models and actresses. Silvio called her and established a friendship. The ex fiancé claims that Silvio had a party for her and maybe 20 other similar young women at his home in Sardinia. This clearly relates to claim of Silvio’s wife that she is seeking a divorce because he is consorting with minors.
Meanwhile one of the opposition papers notes that these kinds of things (both the case of the British lawyer and of the 18 year old) would be the end of the career of a politician in the USA or England, but it doesn’t really matter much in Italy. The paper did not emphasize the moral implications of the alleged behavior with the young girl; instead it raised the question of whether Berlusconi’s alleged latest escapades indicate that his mental health is in decline.
It turns out that the ex fiancé has a criminal record which Berlusconi supporters are noting to undermine his credibility. I haven’t noted any discussion of why Berlusconi has such a close relationship with a young girl who had the bad sense to choose such a guy as her fiancé.
While saying that the whole affair is a political plot against him, Berlusconi has promised to give a full account of the whole matter. As I’ve noted before, if his explanation is inconsistent with either his earlier one or with the one of her father, few in Italy will spend much time agonizing over the inconsistencies. In Italy politicians can change stories with little political risk.
Caring for Earthquake Victims
I mentioned earlier how the food provided to those in the tent city included Buffalo Mozzarella. Now the government has promised to pay for summer vacations for victims who cannot afford their usual trip to the beaches, mountains or whatever. In Italy everybody takes their full allotted vacation which is longer than in the USA. Can you imagine the United States government paying for summer vacations for those displaced by Katrina?
Don’t Look Italian
The head of Fiat is Sergio Marchionne. He has been in the news recently leading an attempt to buy Opel in Germany. He never wears a coat and tie, and his hair looks like he has just been through a windstorm. Very non Italian! Maybe this is simply how he is, and he doesn’t change his ways for anyone. Maybe, however, he knows that Italians are known as having a lot of style and not enough substance. So he does not want to fit the Italian stereotype in negotiating with the Germans.
Heroes of El Alamein
I saw a street with this name in Italy. The old joke is that the shortest book in the world is “Italian War Heroes.” So this street name fascinated me. I was told that in this battle in North Africa in WWII at least one Italian unit fought bravely. Very few were left alive when they finally surrendered, and the leader of the British troops conducted a ceremony honoring their bravery.
Renovating the Old City
In much of Italy old parts of the cities have been renovated and are quite beautiful. Not so in Taranto in Puglia. Here the old part of the city is in shambles. It reminds you of some of the areas of Naples. It contains many noteworthy buildings. Someone hinted that politicians are buying up old buildings in anticipation of the day when renovation funds will arrive.
In contrast is the Sassi area of Matera (in nearby Basilicata). This is where people lived in caves well into the 20th century. It is now a UN World Heritage site. The buildings look quite normal from the outside, but after you enter you discover that the back rooms are not constructed by carved out of the cave. Once this was an area for the very poorest, but it is no longer.
Back at the Photo Shop
Concerning digital versus film photographs, the owner of the photo shop told me that in Italy as a whole now 80% of photos taken are digital, but in Pistoia it is 60%. I don’t know the comparable figures for the USA.
I wrote last week about the influence of Frederick II in the 13th century.This was in northern Puglia. In central Puglia around Lecce there is the influence of the Bourbon kings.Lecce has the greatest concentration of Baroque churches in Italy if not in the world. In southern Puglia the influence of the Greeks is more evident.This was part of Greater Greece. The tip of Puglia is a large resort area with lovely beaches and very clear water.
Food
The food is generally very good in Puglia and reasonably priced. If you like seafood, this is as close to heaven as you will ever be. The restaurants buy the fish right off the boats that fish out of the local harbors.I’ve never eaten fish that tastes so good.
Fat
I have friends in Pistoia who are friends with a couple from Naples who now live in Tuscany. This couple feels a little ill at ease at the beach in Tuscany because so many people are in good shape. In Naples, let us say the average person, like this couple themselves, is a little more rounded. In Puglia too you see many more fat people than in Tuscany although not as many as in the USA.
Death Notices
In Italy death notices are posted on walls.In Pistoia these announce the death of a person and when the service will take place. In Puglia there are more of these notices, and many of them do not announce a death. Instead they are put up by friends or colleagues of the surviving members of the family and express sorrow at the family’s loss.Many notices in Puglia also mark the anniversary of an earlier death and announce a memorial mass for the deceased. You get the impression of a community that is closer knit and also more religious than in Tuscany.
Padre Pio
I’ve mentioned before that this recent saint is the most popular in Italy.I wrote about him extensively in newsletter number 111 dated November 22, 2004. Well he was from Puglia. If you think he is popular in general, you should see how ever present his photo is in Puglia. One of my biking partners in Puglia comes from a family in which the father thought that Padre Pio was a faker. Needless to say this is an opinion that one does not express in Puglia.
Dominico Modugno
Another famous son of Puglia. His song Volare (Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu) was a big hit in the USA and elsewhere in 1958. He was not a one hit wonder in Italy. He was a prolific singer/songwriter, probably the most famous of his generation.We visited his hometown of Polignano a Mare. The town is erecting a statue to honorhim, but only the base of the statue exists. The towns folks can’t agree as to whether the statue should face the sea or the town. No public project in Italy is ever without controversy.
Pace of Life
It’s hard to explain exactly how southern Italy operates.Let’s say you ask someone this question “is two plus two equal to four”? In the USA and most of the rest of the world, including most of Italy, the answer you get is “yes.” In southern Italy the person you ask says to you “you want to know if two plus two equals four, right”? then he or she turns to someone else and says “Luigi is two plus two four “? If Luigi says yes you may get that answer from the person to whom you addressed the question.Nothing is ever direct.
Your impression is that the people are simply stupid, but this is not true. They come in all levels of intelligence.It is just a different culture.
As an aside, it may be true that areas like southern Italy, that have experienced a lot of out migration to more prosperous places, may be populated by people who, on the average, are less ambitious.The more ambitious people are more likely to leave. This, however, is a theory that it is probably impossible to verify.
Waiting for Marriage
I’ve written before how in Italy engagements last a long time. I met a man whose daughter had been engaged for four years. Her boyfriend has two older sisters. At this time he has to remain at home and contribute to the family finances so the family can afford to give proper weddings to his sisters. After they are married, it can be his turn.
Albero Bello
Puglia is famous for buildings called “trulli” that are small round huts made of stones that are placed one on top of another without mortar.Albero Bello is the town with the greatest concentration of these, but every one of these in the old part of town is now a business – souvenir shop, bar, etc.So what could have been charming has the flavor of a tourist trap.
Corrections
I wrote last week that it is not a crime to enter Italy illegally. Parliament has just passed a law making it a crime. There were already many laws that would allow Italy to export illegal immigrants. I doubt that Italy wants to fill its prisons with folks whose crime is that they entered Italy illegally. As I’ve noted before, the problem with illegal immigration in Italy is not a deficient legal framework; it is a lack of will and efficiency.
I noted that at the local photo shop few people are having photos developed from digital cameras. Of course, with digital cameras you can print your photos at home or send them over the internet. So fewer photos from digital cameras end up being developed at the photo shop. Still I think that at a Wal Mart photo center in the USAthe percentage of photos developed from digital cameras would be much higher than it is at my shop in Italy.
I am in Puglia in southern Italy on a 9 day bike trip.It is a very beautiful area.Many of the castles and churches where we are now were built by Fredrick II in the 13th century when he was king of Germany, Italy, and Burgundy.The cathedral at Trani (a city few tourists know) is stupendous.In the south life is a slower.We arrived in Ruvo di Puglia at 3.30 pm. It was dead.At the main church square there was nobody, just five dogs sleeping in the shade of the church.If you had arrived in 1609, 1709, or 1809 is would have looked exactly as it does today.
Life is slower and the people are very friendly in the south.If an American moved to the south, he or she would have one big problem.Life is even more inefficient than in is in central and northern Italy.
At the Photo Shop
I went to pick up some photos. The envelopes for the developed photos for that day had just come in from the lab and were all on the counter. My envelope was blue, but most were yellow. It turns out that the blue envelopes were for pictures ordered from a digital camera (which you order on a computerized machine at the store). The yellow envelopes were for photos printed from film.There were about four blue envelopes and 25 yellow ones.The owner of the shop noted that older customers tend to still use film. Still I think this little episode illustrates that Italians are a little slow to change.
Immigration Blues
It is not a crime for someone to enter Italy illegally.The procedure under international agreements is as follows. The person entering Italy is interviewed to determine if he or she has a right to stay because, for example, he or she is a political refugee.If the person does not fall into one of the categories for which Italy grants asylum, then Italy may expel the person.In fact, once an illegal immigrant gets to Italy, he or she is very likely to stay regardless of whether the immigrant is entitled to do so.The word must be out in Africa “if you can get to Italy, you can stay here.”In short, Italy is unable to control illegal immigration under the international rules. The government is too inefficient to do so.
So last week Italy tried something new. A ship of illegal immigrants was intercepted by the Italian navy before it got to Italy.Under a new agreement with Libya (the country from which the immigrants departed although few, if any, were Libyans). Libya agreed to take them back.Who knows what will happen to them back in Libya.After the ship was intercepted, there were harsh criticisms from the United Nations agency for immigration, the Catholic Church in Italy, and the political left.It’s obviously hard to adjudicate asylum claims when you intercept the boat in international waters and send it back.
Sending back immigrant ships is probably the only way Italy can stop the constant flow of immigrants from Africa.I doubt that the government can withstand the political pressure against such a practice.
Exploring the Soap Opera
The item that Mrs. Berlusconi cited as the last straw in Silvio’s misbehavior was his attendance at a birthday party for an 18 year old girl who referred to him using a particularly intimate word for “daddy.” (Silvio had not been present at the 18th birthday parties of some of his own children.)The mystery is how Berlusconi knows this girl and her family. He said that her father was the chauffer of deceased politician Craxi, Berlusconi’s political mentor, but Craxi’s son said this is not true. None of the neighbors of the girl’s family knew that the family had any connection with Berlusconi.I read about this in an article in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.What fascinated me was that the Italian newspaper cited an investigative article on this subject by the London Times.Another paper noted that Bill Clinton got in trouble for lying about the Lewinsky affair; Berlusconi has already made a number of inconsistent statements about the incident in question, but Italian newspapers aren’t bothered by such inconsistencies. This incident is a good example of the low level of investigative journalism in the Italian media. Italians often note that something like the Watergate scandal, developed by newspaper articles, could never occur in Italy.
Rap Music
It started among black people. It soon spread to others.There is a style of Italian rap music.I believe there is even Christian rap in the USA.What I have never heard in the USA (although I may simply have missed it), is country and western rap music.Well I saw an Italian country and western band doing it on TV in Italy.Now I have heard it once.I think that is enough.
A Little More About Investigative Journalism in Italy
The Italian newspapers enjoyed the story about members of the British government who had used public funds for private purposes. The British like contrast their Anglo-Saxon law-abiding tradition with that Italy.Of course in Italy, if politicians used public funds for personal expenses, no Italian newspaper would ever discover this fact. Also the amounts of money misused in England would be seen as expected and ordinary in Italy.Finally Great Britain has the lowest salaries in Europe for its members of Parliament. You can guess what nation has the highest salaries.
Survivors of a Natural Catastrophe
Italy has 60 million residents; the USA has 300 million. Obviously both nations contain a wide variety of persons in terms of values, attitudes, beliefs, etc. Still some attitudes are more common in one nation than in the other.I saw a man interviewed on Italian TV whose house had burned down in the Santa Barbara wild fires. He said that he was able to save a few things (computer, photos, and some papers) but almost everything was burned up. He wasn’t frantic or crushed; his face said “we just have to start over and rebuild.” I’ve seen many survivors of the earthquake in Abruzzo interviewed. All were more emotional than he; none showed his simple attitude of resignation and looking forward.In Italy Permanence (The house you live in may have been in the family for generations and you may expect it to continue to be so.) and the Past (Italy’s glories are mostly of the past) are much more important than they are in the USA.So something that destroys the statusquo is more devastating than in the USA.
The NineDollarCandyBar
When I was a boy, a Hershey bar cost 5 cents and a Peter Paul Mounds a dime. If there was “luxury” chocolate, I did not know of it. In Italy there are chocolate makers who are considered artisan craftsman. Recently I bought a chocolate bar of one of these for $9. Now even as a child I knew that a 10 cent candy bar wasn’t necessarily twice as good as a nickel one.A typical candy bar in Italy now costs between $1.50 and $2.00. So I did not expect the $9 bar necessarily to be over four times better than the typical one. I guess it was at least a little better. It was very dark chocolate which is supposed to be good froe your health.If I started to eat these $9 pieces of candy, I ought to be able to live to 100.
At a Public Ceremony
I went to ceremony in Florence at which 93 year old film director Mario Monicelli was given honorary citizenship of Florence. The event included remarks by the mayor, four experts on the theatre and cinema, and Monicelli himself. There was also a montage of some scenes from his films which took place in Florence.The event ran for an hour and 45 minutes. I don’t know if the various speakers were given guidelines about how long their remarks should be. I doubt it. Anyway, one long-winded speaker did run into some audience resistance.As he was rambling a woman loudly shouted “Enough.” He momentarily stopped, but then continued on. The audience soon reverted to an Italian strategy for stopping a speaker. They began to applaud as he reached the end of a sentence as if the sentence were the final one of his talk. He got this hint and soon closed his speech.
The Salon of the 1500s of the Palazzo Vecchio in which the ceremony was held is a stunning room. If the talks get boring, you can admire the beauty surrounding you.
I don’t know whether Chrysler can avoid a second bankruptcy after it is taken over by Fiat. I do know that if the company hires Italian accountants, and it doesn’t want to be bankrupt, it won’t be bankrupt according to the books prepared by these accountants (regardless of what the facts are).
Two years ago Fiat was almost bankrupt and seeking a government bailout. Now it is flush with cash and buying ailing companies in the USA and Germany. A German official with the European Union came to look at Fiat’s books. He wondered how this rapid turnaround could be. I doubt that he found the answer. In Germany’s accounting rules 2 plus 2 equals 4.
Berlusconi’s Divorce
The press in other countries has carried stories about this soap opera. Mrs. B has found some recent behavior of her husband to be “the last straw” and sued for divorce. Mr. B. has said that false reports have been spread about him and has even hinted his political enemies are behind some of them. Let’s put aside for the moment whether or not Mrs. B is justified in her actions or, like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, she has been “misinformed.”
Here are the things that are not debatable. In Italy one’ personal life has almost no effect upon one’s political life. Italians think it was silly for Americans to make a “political” issue out of the Bill Clinton Monica Lewinsky relationship. Italy is the nation that elected a porn start to Parliament. Since personal issues have no political effect, it is absurd to think that Berlusconi’s enemies would try to ruin his marriage for political purposes. Many Italian politicians demonstrate dignity and tact, but these are not necessary virtues in Italy political life. Italians don’t find it odd that Berlusconi goes on national TV for two hours to defend himself as a good husband.
Originally he said he would not comment on the divorce because it was a private matter. That attitude lasted less than a day. Berlusconi cannot shut up even when it is wise to do so.
In the early years of Fascism in Italy, many politicians outside the country praised Mussolini as man who brought some order to the chaos of Italy. Eventually, however, these observers saw through the façade of Fascist propaganda. But the start of WWII, whereas Hitler and Tojo were presented in Allied propaganda as evil personified, Mussolini was presented a strutting buffoon.
Berlusconi is no Fascist. I don’t think he is a good national leader, but most Italians do. As with Mussolini, outside of Italy Berlusconi is often seek as a joke; in Italy most people take him seriously.
Michelle Hunziker
She is my favorite Italian TV babe. I noted a while back that when she said she was looking for a new love, I was keeping my cell phone turned on for her call. The bad news is that no call has arrived. All is not lost however. The game is not over. Michelle said this week that she did not believe that true love comes only once in a life time; there are also second chances. So she is still looking.
Train Toilets
I noted a while back that the modern toilets in the new Italian train cars were more likely to have maintenance problems than the old, hole in the floor, variety. Maintenance on Italian trains is terrible. Sadly my prediction has come true. Recently I have had trouble finding a toilet that is functioning on trains using the newest style cars.
The Legacy of WWII Continues
April 25 is Liberation Day; the day the Germans were defeated in Italy in 1945. The political left has appropriated this day as its own with the myth that the Left is the only successor to the Italian Partisan movement that fought both the Germans and Italians Fascists from 1943-45. This year for the first time in his terms as national leader Berlusconi showed up at a Liberation Day event. He called for reconciliation. He noted that both the Italian Fascists and the Partisans fought for their principles from 1943-45; the principles of Partisans were correct and those of the Fascists were not. Still he felt we could in some way honor both. The particular practical issue at stake is that surviving spouses of Partisans killed in the fray can receive a special pension, but surviving spouses of Italian Fascists killed in the Civil War cannot. Berlusconi wants to be able to pay both groups.
From 1943-45 Mussolini’s Republic of Salo, a puppet government to the Germans established in northern Italy, drafted Italians (many of whom fled to the hills to avoid the draft) and formed an army. The Germans, having experience with Italian troops, did not want to use this army in the fight against the Allies. So it was used solely to fight Italian Partisans. This has led to over 60 years of bitter feelings.
I don’t say much good about Berlusconi, but on this issue I agree with him. It is time to move on.
Cooks without Frontiers
This is name of an Italian TV show that filed its program this week in Pistoia. It features a battle of two cooks, one Italian and one not. The two from Pistoia were the husband and wife who own the American bar I go to; she (Anita) is American, and he (Marco) is Italian. I sat in the audience section next to a German tourist who had lived in the USA. So I could translate what was happened from Italian to English for him. There were two girls of about 18-20 standing in the crowd and wearing flimsy, low cut, dresses and very high heeled shoes. I told my German friend that these two girls were obviously the “assistants” provided by the show for the two cooks in the contest. That was easy to figure out.
Anita made chocolate cheesecake. Marco made a pasta that used chocolate and then covered it with a meat sauce. The judges gave the nod to Marco. I told him that an American husband would have the good sense to lose such a contest.
Enjoying Life in Italy
As I was sitting in the audience during the taping of Cooks without Frontiers in Pistoia, it was fun to note how much everybody was enjoying the event. Italians in general are more pessimistic than Americans, but when they are with family and friends, Italians have a true gift for having fun. Despite all the aspects of Italian life that seem a bit screwy to an American, Italy is a very pleasant place to live (especially if you don’t have to earn a living). Added to the pleasantness of everyday life, is the beauty with which you are constantly surrounded. After the filming of the show was done, I dropped into the cathedral to catch a concert with the organ and a soprano. As I’ve mentioned before, in Italy the settings in which you hear music are often so lovely, that even bad music will sound good.
Leading a Tour of Pistoia
Preparing for a tour of Pistoia for some of my friends from Florence, I was reviewing a Pistoia Guidebook. I saw a section about a church I had never visited. There were three pages of color photos of a cycle of painting in the church. So I went to see the church. I could not find the pictures; I then discovered that there are in the cloister attached to the church. There was a lady in the church preparing some things for the next mass. I asked her if the cloister was open. She said “no.” I then asked when the cloister would be open. She did not know. Obviously it is rarely open, perhaps only by appointment. So you have a site that gets a big write up in the guide book that you can’t see.
I made special arrangements for my friends to get into another church. About three years ago this was fully restored. It may well have cost over $1 million to do so because the church had become a warehouse before it was restored. This church is open for masses once a week during the month of May. There is an occasional meeting held there. Otherwise, you have to make special arrangements to see it. Don’t ask the obvious question – why would yon spend $1 million to restore a building you keep closed.
Fortunately during out tour, someone was playing the organ in each of three churches we visited. In planning the tour I got a list of open hours for all the places I wanted to visit. Still one major church, that should have been open, was not. If you find only one place closed that you planned to visit, it has been a successful day.
There is a bit of good news. Every time I go into the Cathedral in Pistoia, I see the huge painting behind the altar that is so dark from aging that its artistic value is lost. I’ve always commented that it needed to be restored. Now it is under restoration. They have put a large reproduction of it (a photocopy) behind the altar during the restoration period. The reproduction easily looks as good as the painting did.
My Latest Article in The Florentine Newspaper
In 2005 I wrote an article for The Florentine (newspaper in English) on a day tour of Pistoia. Recently the editor asked me to do a follow-up article (published May 7, 2009) which is set out below.
More Than a Day in Pistoia??
First time visitors to Italy typically visit the most famous cities and have a “Must See” list. My strongest memory of this phenomenon is a day in Rome when a tourist group passed by, and the guide said “On your right the Trevi Fountain, Three Coins in the Fountain, and on your left …” After a three-second look at the Fountain, group members could check it off their list. .
For less famous Italian cities there is no long Must See list; there is instead the great pleasure of unanticipated discoveries – discoveries that are often overlooked in the typical guidebook. . The big ticket items in Pistoia are discussed in my article A Day in Pistoia (The Florentine September 8, 2005, http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=1119). Now I want to convince you that a second day is well worth your time.
The best place to start is the main tourist office (APT 0573-21622) in the Cathedral Square a few steps from the octagonal Baptistery. . If you come on a Wednesday or Saturday morning, you will see the semi-weekly travelling market fully arrayed. Get a city map, but more importantly, as always in Italy, check to determine when the places you want to see are open.
Let’s go modern! A short cab ride from downtown Pistoia is Fattoria di Celle, a world-class outdoor sculpture facility (displaying the Gori Collection) featuring works by premier artists such as Richard Serra, Magdalena Abalcanowicz, and Max Neuhaus. It is open May-September except for August. You must make an appointment to visit, but this is easily done (in English) by calling 0573-479907 or email to goricoll@tin.it.
If modern outdoor sculpture pleases you, but Fattoria di Celle doesn’t fit your plans, there is a new small, exquisite sculpture garden at the recently constructed Dialysis Centre of the Pistoia Hospital. (Via Degli Armeni) This facility has both exterior and interior art works by what one author calls “The Magnificent Seven” – Sol Lewitt, Claudio Parmiggiani, Hidetoshi Nagasawa, Daniel Buren, Robert Morris, Dani Karavan, and Gianni Ruffi.
Both Florence and Pistoia have museums dedicated to the works of Pistoia’s most famous 20th century artist, Marino Marini. Pistoia’s is located at Piazza Garabaldi (Corso Gramsci). Just outside Pistoia, at Arcigliano, is the studio and museum of recently deceased sculptor Jorio Vivarelli (Via Felceti 11, 0573-477423)
The Palazzo Fabroni (Via Santa) has been transformed into a small modern art museum. Check at the main tourist office to find out what is the current exhibit. An exciting new architectural treasure is the San Giorgio library, one block to the left of the train station (Via S. Pertini) that is a reconstruction by Pica Ciamarra Associates of a former large industrial building.
Adjacent to the Church of San Francesco, along Corso Gramsci, is a modern memorial to the slain Italian politician Aldo Moro and his guards who were killed when he was kidnapped.
For a sampling of modern artisans and artisans practicing in Pistoia see www.madeinpistoia.com
If artistic gems of the past, are your preference, there are many more to see. One little known gem in Pistoia is unfortunately rarely open, but ask, before you leave the tourist office, if it is possible to see the Church of the Madonna del Carmine. The Baroque interior was recently lovingly restored. The tourist centre is in the old Bishop’s Palace. In the tourist office itself there are both an archaeological itinerary including the ruins of the old Roman Villa upon which the Palace was built and also the Museum of the Cathedral.
Pistoia’s only Pope was Clement IX who served from 1667-69. He was chosen as an elderly compromise candidate when neither of the two major factions in the College of Cardinals was able to elect their man. He fulfilled his role admirably by dying within three years at which time a major candidate was able to amass a majority among the Cardinals. His family’s home, near to the Cathedral Square (Ripa del Sale) is a Museum illustrating a noble house of the XVI Century and also containing objects of art in the collection of the Diocese of Pistoia.
Also not far from the Square (Piazza Dello Spirito Sancto) is his family’s church. The high altar is by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, a famous exponent of the Roman Baroque style. The painting, The Assumption of Mary by Giuseppe Nasini, was recently restored and re-hung in the church. It also has one of Pistoia’s most famous organs built by the Flemish organ maker Willem Hermans. Pistoia itself was a major organ building centre from the 1700s to the early 1900s with famous instruments surviving today in the churches of San Francesco, San Andrea, and San Bartolomeo in Pantano.
Attached to the Marini Museum at Piazza Garbaldi is the Chapel of San Antonio Abate del Tau. It contains a marvellous, well restored fresco cycle with stories from Genesis covering the ceiling while the walls have illustrations from the Old Testament, New Testament, and ,of course, the life of Saint Anthony Abbot.
If you have more time, the Church and Convent of San Domenico is across from the Marini Museum and the Church of San Paolo is one block to the east. Not far from Santo Spirito (corner of
Via Curtatone e Montanara and Via Abbi Pazienza) is the Church of San Filippo with the frescos by Florentine artist Giovan Domenico Ferretti.
During your visit, there are plenty of attractive bars and restaurants for a pleasant interlude. Near the Santo Sprito and San Filippo churches for example, on Via Curtatone e Montanara at number 38 is the Pasticceria Armando. A few doors down at number 12 an excellent light meal can be had at Magno Gaudio. If you would like a more formal restaurant, with outdoor seating, duck up Vicolo degli Armonici . (adjacent to Magno Gaudio) and you will find number 14 Via di Abbondanza , the Trattoria della Abbondanza. If you desire an elegant, Italian modern décor with a lovely overview of the city and the third largest church dome in Italy , go a few blocks to Aoristò, over the Globo Theatre, at Via De’Buti 11 (www.aoristo.it) .
Other Pistoiese might direct you to different churches, secular buildings and restaurants. Full guides to the city are available at the tourist office and the nearby Baptistery which has no entrance fee. One thing is sure. You can have a fruitful and satisfying second day in Pistoia.
All Things Bad from the USA Arrive in Italy (Another Example)
A news article reports that 9 out of 10 Italian teenagers who drink do so to get drunk. The term “binge drinking” appears more and more often in the news now. There is the idea that Italian children are introduced to wine at an early age so that alcoholic drinks are not a “forbidden fruit” to which they gravitate as teenagers. I think this idea is becoming less accurate. Teenagers here are especially attracted to drinks with high alcohol content. Drunk driving among teenagers is ever more common although in Italy one cannot get a driver’s license until 18 and car ownership by teenagers is far less than in the USA.
Check out the Image Attached to This Message
At least one copy you are receiving of this newsletter 319 should come to you with an image attached. It is of a painting by Megan Euker (www.meganeuker.com) , a young Chicago artist who originally is from York County, Pennsylvania. She is studying now on a Fulbright grant in Italy. Last Christmas she saw a group of carolers in a city square in Italy. The chorus apparently had two conductors, both dressed as Santa (Babbo Natale). Instead of directing a musical piece, the two Santas were arguing forcefully with each other. I asked Megan how the chorus finally sounded when it sang. She said that the Santas just keep yelling at each other. Eventually the crowd that had gathered drifted away. The singers themselves moved away from where they were assembled; Megan did not know if they ever sang – directed by both Santas, one Santa, or nobody.
Italian Politics: Dealing with the Really Important Issues
The city council of Florence has had an animated debate for weeks over whether to permanently revoke the Honorary Citizenship of Florence given in 1923 to Fascist leader Benito Mussolini.
Italian Politics: Shooting Yourself in the Foot
I wrote earlier about a national government minister (center-right coalition) who has promulgated strong rules to cut absenteeism among government workers. I expressed skepticism about the success he claimed for his new rules. Putting my skepticism aside, clearly this effort on his part has been a public relations victory. Still the regional assembly of Tuscany (controlled by center-left coalition) is proposing a bill to cancel his reforms in Tuscany in the name of protecting workers’ rights. Right now in Italy the center-right is growing stronger, and the center-left is in decline, even in Tuscany. So it makes little political sense for the center-left to try to cancel one of the most popular initiatives of the center-right government. As I’ve noted before the weakness of the left in Italy is that ideology always triumphs over practicality.
A Trip to the North of Italy
I went with a travel group from Pistoia for a weekend at Lake Maggiore in northern Italy. It is one of three large lakes there; I had already visited the other two, Come and Guarda. The first thing I noticed in walking around a town along the lake is that many bicycles along the street did not have locks on them. All bikes are locked in Pistoia. There also were no immigrant street vendors. The northof Italy is more hostile toward immigrants.
Mansions in Italy and the USA
I have visited the Biltmore mansion in North Carolina, the largest if its day. I’ve seen the mansions at Newport. I have not seen San Simeon, the Hearst mansion in California. At Lake Maggiore I visited three of the palaces of the Borromeo family. There is simply no comparison between these buildings (and many like them in Italy and the rest of Europe) and the home of the very rich in the USA. These palaces were built over hundreds of years. They drew upon a rich patrimony of artistic traditions. Nothing like this exists in the United States.
Although Italy is no longer a monarchy, there are still families of nobility from the old times. Not all the traces of nobility have vanished. For example, the Borromeo family has the fishing rights on Lake Maggiore. Anyone who wants to do commercial fishing has to pay a fee to the family. A few years ago the lake was too polluted for fishing, but now apparently, fishing is coming back.
Fact vs. Fiction
I was listening on the radio to an interview from the USA with Dan Baum, the author of the book Nine Lives about New Orleans before and after Katrina. The book was based upon a series of articles the writer did for The New Yorker magazine. The New Yorker has a department charged with fact checking the articles submitted to it. This department would call Dan and ask for substantiation of some of the colorful tales he reported from The Big Easy. He finally had to convince the folks in New York that “New Orleans is not a fact checking environment.”
I don’t know how common such a fact checking department is in newspaper and magazine journalism in the USA. I believe, however, that the position of fact checker is probably non existent in Italian journalism.
Taking the Risk of Giving Cross-Cultural Personal Advice
I wrote a few years ago about the guy in nearby Montecatini who killed his lap dancer girlfriend, cut up her body, and threw it into a garbage bin. He was motivated by jealousy. Last week he received a sentence of 18 years which upset her family from Eastern Europe as too lenient. I hope they don’t know that if he appeals, the sentence will be lessened, and whatever it finally is, he won’t serve all of it. This week a 40 year old dentist from Siena kidnapped his lap dancer girlfriend in a fit of jealousy. He did it with his BMW. He was quickly apprehended.
Now there is a cultural aspect to interpersonal relationships. Advice that makes sense in Sweden might not in Saudi Arabia. With this caveat, I nevertheless offer some advice to Italian men. “If you are given to jealousy, a lap dancer is not a good choice for a girl friend.”
Assessing Honesty
A friend reported two incidents to me. First, she bought a new camera which malfunctioned the first weekend she used it. When she bought it back to camera shop, she was told that the Guarantee did not apply and she would have to pay for repairs because the camera (which had no marks on it) had obviously been dropped. The second was that in Sardinia she and her husband ate with a couple from Canada they met at a Pizzeria. They all ordered the same thing, and the waitress brought both couples identical bills. The owner of the Pizzeria, who was in the back by the oven, called the Canadian couple aside and told them that their bill was wrong. He them gave them a bill for twice the amount. He figured they were foreigners whom he would never see again.
Are these two incidents typical in Italy? No. Could they have occurred in other countries, including the USA? Yes. Having said that, I still believe this type of venial dishonesty is more common in Italy than in the USA.
