Walter Cronkite

His death rated a feature story on the Italian national news. He would have been unknown in Italy because, unlike entertainment shows, newscasts from one country are not rebroadcast in another. Once again if something is “important” in the United States, even if it has little relevance for Italy, the Italian news covers it.

Owning a Restaurant – a Good Business or Not?

Italy certainly has more restaurants per capita than the USA. Recently the news featured a story reporting that the average restaurant owner reported yearly income about the same as that of the average person receiving a government pension. Pensioners are often demonstrating in the streets claiming that it is impossible to live in Italy on the paltry amount of a government pension. This little statistic demonstrates a point I have made before. The plethora of small business in Italy is driven in no small part by the opportunities they provide for tax avoidance.

A New Kind of Tourism in Naples

Naples has natural beauty, some wonderful museums, etc. Visitors usually see these sites and avoid at all costs the more dangerous parts of the city – places even the police are reluctant to go. Now there is a new kind of tourism, a guided tour of the most Mafia infested zones of Naples led by released convicts. This has been spurred in part by the success of the film “Gomorrah” that deals with crime in Naples.

Media Bias –Italian Style

Arguments circulate in the USA about media bias. There are no such arguments in Italy. The bias is build into the system. First, some of the private TV networks are owned by Berlusconi’s company (as well as some newspapers). Regardless of the “fairness” actually shown by these media outlets, you could never convince the Italians that they are not biased in favor of Silvio. To even say otherwise, would brand you as a fool.

Many newspapers are affiliated with a political party or have a known political position. Most don’t have an editorial page. Their political opinions are evident from the stories they run and the viewpoint from which the story is reported.

There are three government TV networks. The perspectives of these are purposefully allocated across the political spectrum: one is the network of the “left,” one is that of the “center,” and the third is more to the “right:” On the evening news recently, the “left” network opened with the story that a major news magazine in Italy had placed on its web site the tape recordings of an encounter last year between Berlusconi and a high end prostitute (who unfortunately for Silvio had a tape recorder). On the same night this story did not appear on the evening news of the most “right” network.

Even in the USA stories can differ among networks, but the number one story on a particular network will almost always also be reported (maybe with a different slant) on the other networks.

Tourism in Spain and Italy

Spain is the number one tourist destination in Europe with 25% of the total tourist business followed by Italy with 15%. Whereas Italy emphasizes its culture and beauty, Spain built its tourism industry primarily on sun and sand, especially on its southern coast. In the heavily English resort areas of southern Spain, someone speaking Spanish might feel the same as someone speaking English in Miami, a stranger. Of course, Italy too has beaches to which tourists go, but it never developed this type of tourism to the extent that Spain has.

Taking the Bus to See a Friend

I went to the bus stop near my house to take a bus I had taken many times before to see a friend. I noticed, however, that although the route map showed this bus taking its usual route, the timetable for this number bus showed it taking a different route. So I went to the bus station and discovered that the bus had changed routes; I had to take a different bus which I caught across from the station. This new bus in fact soon made a stop at the bus stop near my house where I had started my journey. There simply was no information at this stop that such a bus now existed and that it went where the other bus used to go.

This isn’t the worst case of lack of information in Italy, and in fact, I ran into a similar problem, only worse, in New York City in the 1970s. At that time, New York changed the way it named its subway lines, going to a different alphabetical system, but the route maps only showed the old names for the lines. So a stranger could not tell which new line to take to get to some particular place. When I think about things that are bad in Italy and where in the United States they might be similarly poor, New York City is a prime candidate. In fairness, however, when I think about some things that are good in Italy, New York is also the place you are most likely to find them in the USA.

Immigration Reform –Not so Fast

Remember years ago in the USA when some candidates for judge or other federal positions had to withdraw from consideration because they had Hispanic household help for whom they had not paid Social Security taxes. I was reminded of those situations recently when a problem arose with the new immigration reform law in Italy. After the law passed, some folks suddenly realized that their in-the-home caregivers for the children or the elderly parents might be subject to deportation under the new law. Now it is one thing to speak out forcefully about illegal immigrants; it is another thing to lose suddenly Valeria who takes care of little Giuseppe or grandpa. So there was an immediate rush to amend the new law to protect these in-the-home caregivers.

A Train Strike

A one day train strike was announced from Saturday evening to Sunday evening. Although medium and long distance trains would run, local and regional ones would not. I got a bus schedule to take a bus to church in Florence in the morning. Before boarding the bus I checked at train station and sure enough all trains to Florence were cancelled. When I was ready to return to Pistoia, I checked first at the Florence train station (because sometimes during a strike some trains announced to be cancelled, who knows why, still run). The board showed a train running to Pistoia at 3:08 and 4:08. It was already 3:45. The 3:08 train showed a 25 minute delay, but apparently had not gone. The 4:08 showed no delay, but soon it too listed a 25 minute delay. I went to information desk to ask if either of these trains would run. The man said that all local trains were cancelled. So I asked why these two, and no other local trains, were listed on the board as departing. He looked at me like I had just asked the world’s most stupid question. Given the fact that it is Italy, he probably was right.

Summer Festivals

In the summer a typical weekend event is a festival of a certain kind of food (wild boar, rabbit, fish, sausage, etc.) in a small town. People go to eat this specialty and there usually is entertainment too. I went recently to a boar and rabbit festival. The weather was lovely. The town was picturesque. The food was fine. Where else can you order stuffed neck of rabbit? Everyone was having a very nice time. All the Big Problems of Italy seem to disappear as people enjoy a summer evening.

Our Ever More Multicultural World

I met a man visiting Italy who is of Czech origin. In 1979 he escaped from Czechoslovakia to the West and went to Canada. After a few years he was able (with much difficulty) to get his family to join him there. They then moved to Australia. In Australia the family runs a Mexican restaurant.

Teaching English

I see a number of texts for teaching English to Italians. Many have simplified the language. For example “whom” is not longer used, “can” is used instead of “may” to ask permission, “shall” is no longer used in the future first person singular and plural, and “me” replaces “I” in a sentence such as “He is older than me.” These changes can be seen as degrading the language or as reflecting actual usage. At the same time, there are examples that demonstrate a grammatical rule but don’t reflect actual usage. For example the rule is stated that an adverb of frequency follows forms of the verb “to be” as in “I am usually late for dinner.” In fact it is more common to say “Usually I am late for dinner.” In general I find too much emphasis on arcane grammatical rules in the primary and intermediate texts when the goal should be to get people speaking.

Sad Soccer Story (contd.)

I’ve written about the decline of the Pistoia Soccer team that was demoted to the lowest professional level. The story gets worse. A new owner was not able to raise the capital needed for the team to remain in the professional league. The governing body of the league threatens to throw our Pistoia which means that any team that arises will have to start in the amateur leagues and work its way back up to the professional level. Don’t despair yet. In Italy after weeks of headlines about an ever worsening problem, at the last minute some agreement is made to save the situation. Never before the very last minute, however.

Another reason to hope for a last minute reprieve for the team is that apparently owning a soccer team provides opportunities for financial and tax shenanigans by the owner. So an entrepreneur who cares little about soccer and little about Pistoia ( the new owner who could not raise the money is from Bologna) may still step in to save the situation.

Criminal Sentences

Although in Italy the criminal statues obviously determine the possible sentences that can be given, I don’t think that the dynamics of the sentencing process are subject to as much legislative control as in the USA. I think there is less of mandatory sentences, sentences without parole, etc. Sentences in general are shorter than in the USA. This issue arises when there is a case that gets national coverage such as the one recently decided in which a policeman shot a soccer fan at a toll road rest stop where there was a scuffle between fans of rival teams who were returning from a match. The policeman was sentenced to eight years in prison. The father of the victim said (This is the typical statement.) “my son has been murdered again by the judicial system.” If the conviction is appealed, the sentence could change after the appeal, but in Italy the second sentence given after the appeal (if the conviction is affirmed) is almost always shorter, not longer, than the original sentence.

Watching the Tour de France

It is on regular TV in Italy for about three hours each afternoon. For much of this time there is no change in the position of riders on the course. So the commentators must find other things to talk about. As the race passes through different areas and towns, their history and attractions are recorded. What it particularly Italian, however, is the discussion along the route of the gastronomical specialties of the different areas of France. These get the same careful consideration as the strategies of the cyclists.

Death in Afghanistan

The Italian contingent in Iraq and now in Afghanistan has not been a large one. A suicide bombing incident killed a number of Italian soldiers a few years ago in Iraq, but in general Italian casualties are not large and come one at a time. A soldier was killed this week. The story about his death took up the first 10 minutes of the national evening news. In addition to information about him and his family, all major political figures commented upon the casualty. He will receive a full state funeral. There is nowhere in the world where the death of a son or husband in war is not a tragedy for the family, but the feelings are simply more intense here in Italy. Italians are often seen as poor soldiers, but in one sense they are not willing to die in great numbers for whatever cause the government proposes. In weighing the life of a soldier (son, father, husband) against the perceived political needs that motivate a war, the life of the soldier has greater weight here. A loss in the family is somehow even greater in a nation where the family as a unit has an absolutely essential primacy. You can’t quantify this factor, but you can feel it here.

Patriotism Reconsidered Once More

I wrote last week about how European nations might well imitate American patriotic values in order unify their many immigrants from all over the world. I also noted that American patriotism can be, at times, excessive. Here is a good example. A friend sent me a photo of a billboard from Pennsylvania.  It featured a hot looking babe scantily wrapped in an American flag.  The first line was “God Bless America.” The second line was “Got Beer”? The remainder of the billboard had the details about a local Beer Mart. Sex, Beer, and Patriotism – maybe this will replace God, Mom, and Apple Pie as essential American values.

The Ugly German

I was in line to get a train ticket at the Pisa Airport. In Italy you stay back a few feet from the window when you are in line.  Often there is a yellow line at this point.  Soon I was the only one in line, and a couple went in front of me and stood directly behind the customer being served at the window.  I went up and pointed out that I was in line first. The guy began to complain, but the Italian who had just bought his ticket verified that I was next in line.  The guy who butted in continued to yell. Although he spoke Italian, he talked in German to his wife. I just ignored him and bought my ticket.

An Italian might try to get in front of you in line, but if you called him on it, and bystanders confirmed you were there first, he would apologize and retreat.  Otherwise he would be making a brutta figura. The German was not similarly inhibited.  This guy was right out of central casting for a Nazi  in a 1940s American war film. I don’t find Germans in generally to be discourteous.  I think I’ve only once before (in 1967) met such a jerk from Germany.

The Blues in Pistoia Blues

The Pistoia Blues Festival this year had smaller crowds.  As I once noted, there is no new generation of well known blues performers to succeed that of Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, etc. I did not know the names of any of the performers this year. Over the past few years the roster has shifted to rock stars rather than musicians associated with the blues, but at least in my limited knowledge of rock, the roster had no names I recognized. Apparently a lot of other folks too did not know (or care to hear) these musicians.

Speaking of the Pistoia Blues

It is accompanied by a street market with items like tie dyed shirts, African carvings, jewelry, incense, etc. Sort of a little memory of Woodstock. Three years ago I saw the stand of a man who makes very attractive jewelry from old pieces of table silverware. I did not buy any and later regretted it.  I looked for him the last two years at this event without success, but this year he was back.  His website is www.posateindossate.com .  It’s worth a look.

The USA, Fascism, and Socialism

I noted that a Republican strategist in the USA suggested that his party stop calling Obama a “Socialist” and opt for “Fascist” instead. He said that the word “Socialist” no longer resonated with the American public. Of course, not all of Obama’s opponents have taken his advice although sometimes they speak of the social welfare state rather than Socialism.   There are no truly Socialist countries in Europe where the state owns and operates the means of production.  European nations in general have broader social welfare programs than the USA. Whereas in almost all Communist nations, this mode of government was imposed by force, in Europe the social welfare state is the result of policies of democratically elected governments.  There is debate in Europe on the proper extent of such programs.  At times they are trimmed back; at other times they are expanded. Yet it would be very difficult, probably impossible, in Europe to find a nation where the people are depressed or downtrodden by these social welfare programs or fundamentally opposed to them. We don’t have to follow the European example in the USA, but we have to recognize that there are prosperous, well governed, and satisfied nations that have them.

What about Fascism?  Maybe some use this word to speak of the recent government involvement in the USA in the banking and car industries.  I don’t know enough about the economic theory of Fascism to judge the extent to which this term in applicable to these policies in an economic sense, but my lack of knowledge is unimportant. Not one person in 1000 in the USA could give you a reasonably accurate description of the economic tenets of Fascism.  The word Fascism in the USA is associated with a repressive, totalitarian political regime, not an economic model. This is the reason politicians might use it to describe an opponent.  I don’t see any credible evidence that we are moving toward such a political regime.

Tolerating Heat

I do not find Pistoia to be any hotter than my home in Gettysburg during the summer. Fortunately my apartment in Pistoia is shaded from the sun and does not become uncomfortably hot.  Recently I ran into a tourist from Florida.  The temperature was about 82°.  Not perfect, but certainly not sweltering. He was complaining about the heat. I thought to myself “How can somebody from Florida find this temperature to be too hot”? In the past people from warm climates tolerated heat better than those from cooler climates. Now, however, in the age of air conditioning, a person living in Florida does not become accustomed to high heat; he simply avoids it. So 82° for a Floridian may be the same as 82° for a resident of Maine.

The Train Disaster at Viareggio

This is where the tank car with liquid natural gas broke open and there was a big explosion. As I’ve noted before, the initial response to an emergency in Italy is quick and well organized.  If you have people suffering and in immediate distress, the Italians are good at confronting the situation.  Next comes the investigative stage. What went wrong?  Within 24 hours three separate investigations were launched. Given the Italian genius for evading responsibility and the Italian propensity to believe in conspiracy theories (and to disbelieve official explanations), a consensus in unlikely.  Finally there is the need to make and implement a plan to avoid the problem in the future.  If the initial response to an emergency shows Italians at their best, this final stage shows them at their worst

This same scenario from immediate strong concern to a deficient eventual follow-up probably occurs in many, if not most nations, but it is really accentuated in Italy.

Montecatini

This famous spa town is near Pisotia.  It has been ina slow decline. One reason is that previously the National Health Service would pay for a visit to the spa prescribed by a doctor. So the health service was paying for “a vacation” at Montecatini. This ended a few years ago. Even more than in the past the city is now more famous for prostitution than medical cures. A few3eyars ago the priest at the main local church began to speak out against many evils, including the citizens who profited indirectly from the prostitution business (e.g. by renting apartments at a very high rent to prostitutes). The Bishop soon moved this priest to a different location. 

Promoting Patriotism

I’ve mentioned before that patriotism is much less in Italy than in the USA.  For many persons patriotic fervor is associated with the Fascist past. Italy has a national anthem and almost no other patriotic songs, unlike the USA.  In the USA we used patriotism, its songs, the flag etc. to make people from all over the world into proud Americans.  The Italians, and other European nations, might be advised to try this tactic too as they attempt to integrate new people from all over the world.  I find American patriotism at times excessive and based as much on myth as on fact, but living in Italy has made me aware of the positive aspects of patriotism in building a nation from immigrants.

Pre-Trial Detention

In the United States if you are arrested for a crime, you can remain in jail pending your trial if you are too dangerous to be let out, if there is a large risk that you will flee, or if you cannot raise the money to make bail.  For persons who are at risk to flee or are quite dangerous, bail may be set higher than they can afford. In Italy, there is a third reason for pre-trial detention – if you might interfere with the gathering of evidence or destroy evidence against you. In Pistoia a local councilman was arrested for bribery.  He was kept in jail for two weeks for this third reason and then released under house arrest. In the USA he would have been released without any house arrest. In general the Italian criminal system is much more lenient than that in the USA, but not in the area of pre-trial detention.

Florida vs. Italy

When you arrive in Florida the first thing that hits you is a blast of hot air. The temperatures in Florida on the average in summer are higher than in, let’s say, Cleveland, but often the daily high in Cleveland may match that of Florida. There are still two big differences.  If it is 92° for the high at 4 pm in Cleveland, at 6 am on that day it is comfortable. In Florida, it is already hot at 6 am; not as hot as in the afternoon, but hot enough to be uncomfortable. Second, the sun is more intense in Florida.  Even at the same temperature as in Cleveland, the sun feels closer and hotter on your skin in Florida. I am not bothered greatly by high heat so I could live in Florida in the summer, but I don’t like to be in air conditioning for the whole day during the summer.

When you arrive back in Italy, the first thing that hits you is a blast of inefficiency.  You get to the men’s room at airport, and all by one urinal is cordoned off.  You get to baggage claim area and can’t find a board that tells you on which carousel your bags will arrive; so you have to go from one carousel to the next to check. The bags are slow in coming and arrive on the belt at a very leisurely pace. On the air-conditioned train, you have to look for a car where the air conditioning in fact works.  You have to remind yourself that it is a beautiful country with wonderful art and great food.

Eating at Italian Restaurants in Florida

I ate at two of them. In one I spoke with the owner from Naples and the waitress from Bologna. The food was fine. It was, quite naturally, tailored somewhat to American tastes. The portions were much larger.  I enjoyed the meals, but it was not as good as in Italy.  In Italy so many small details are done with special care that the total result is superior.  There is no incentive in Ft. Myers, Florida to attend to such details with special care. Folks are very happy if the general quality and taste of the food is good.

Assessing a Recent Law in Italy

Four years ago Italy passed a new law giving points against one’s driver’s license for traffic violations.  I think every state in the USA has such a law.  I read in the newspaper recently an assessment of the law.  The expert said that it had a beneficial initial effect, but this was mitigated somewhat by the low level of traffic enforcement by the police.  So you have a reasonable law that fails to provide its full benefits because of inadequate enforcement.  I could have written this article without knowing anything about the actual statistics.  This is the same old story in Italy.

Some New Photos on Web Site

At www.thisweekinitaly.com if you click on “Pistoia people and places” under the Pages menu on the right, I’ve posted some new photos.  These are the last three on first page and those on second page. As always, you click on the thumbnail photo to get a full sized photo with caption. 

Changing Times in American Women Students –Italian Male Marriages

I have an American friend who came to Florence to study about 40 years with a small group from her college.  The majority of these women stayed to marry Italian men. Most of them are now divorced.  Today American women students are far less likely to marry an Italian.  They interact less with Italians because there is a vibrant American student culture in Florence that absorbs many students. Now also woman are not accustomed to marrying immediately after graduation from college. Although some American woman have had wonderful marriages with their Italian partners, as far as I can tell the batting average for such unions in not high.

An Advantage of Italian TV

There is no non-cable (satellite) 24-hour news station.  Even with satellite, there are fewer of these stations from Italy.  So Italians were not subjected to the endless Michael Jackson coverage in which few facts were available but the talk went on ad nauseum.

Preparing for the G 8 Summit in L’Acquila

For the period leading up to this summit, the times of the meeting itself, and a few days after, the usual passport rules in Italy are suspended.  All persons entering Italy, even those from a fellow EU nation, must show a passport.  I assume the motive is to exclude known members of the No Global protest movement.