Trends and Observations: On Italy
Air Conditioning: Boon & Bane
Air conditioning is great, but brings with it unexpected
consequences
La Fiaccola della Salute
A
pamphlet from the 20s has some surprisingly current advice for preserving one's
health.
Eating in Italy: Some Statistics
A new survey shows Italians are spending less time at the table, and eating
more simply.
Chianti: Things are looking up
Gaiole is rethiking its plans to industrialize and urbanize.
Andreotti Found Guilty!
Of
ordering the death of a reporter. Also, Gaiole wants industry.
Italian Children: Eternal Youth?
A judge rules that parents must support their children until the kids find
the job they want, even if this takes many years...
L'Articolo 18: Labor Unrest!
A proposal to relax job security slightly draws the ire of the Italian
unions.
Flying out of Malpensa?
Only
if you must; Italy's major northern hub suffers a series of mishaps.
Mad Cow: An Unwelcome Return
A young Sicilian woman is the first Italian to contract the human variant
of Mad Cow disease.
Onore a Giorgio Perlasca!
He
took on the Nazis in Hungary, and saved thousands.
Italiani Creduloni
Magicians
and other charlitans do a brisk business bilking people in Italy. But sometimes
they do get caught.
The Euro & The Big Chill
The introduction of the new currency has been painless, but the weather has
not.
Massa Marittima
A
beautiful town in southern Tuscany that's perfect for a day trip.
We're all Equal in the Eyes of the
Law...
The Bishop of Pisa goes to say Mass and gets sent home
by the traffic police.
Don Camillo's Italy
Italy has
changed immensely since Fernandel and Gino Cervi brought Guerreschi's books to
the Silver Screen in the 50s.
Being an Expat in Times of Woe
Thinking about the attack on New York.
The Perils of Eating in A Tourist
Town
It's all to easy to eat badly if the hostler knows you
won't be back.
G8: Nightmare in Genova
The
meeting (July 2001) will be remembered primarily for riots and police
brutality.
Umbrella Gossip: Politics
Preparations for the G8 meeting, and hopes for a tax cut dim.
Umbrella Gossip: Internet
Students harness its power to pass their finals.
Umbrella Gossip: The Fall of an
Empire
Film producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori is caught with his
lover, and faces all sorts of charges.
Sleeping and Dining in Tuscany
Some suggestions for Florence & Lucca.
Glory for Rome, and Horrors for the
Cyclists
Rome wins the soccer championship, while the glorious
Giro is mired in a doping scandal.
Florence's Certosa
An
excellent place to get away from the summer heat if you're in Florence.
A New Prime Minister, Permissiveness, and the
Family Crisis
Mr. Berlusconi has many problems to resolve.
What's happening to the Italian family is perhaps the most serious.
Maureen Fant's New Restaurant Guide is
Out
An excellent selection of palces to dine in Rome, Florence
and Venice.
Easter Madness
Mayhem when a
ring-containing Easter Egg goes astray.
Changes in Alto Adige
Women
can now inherit farms.
Stendhal's Syndrome: Where it
Strikes
Places whose beauty overwhelms those who visit
Florence.
Only in Italy!
Judges force a
bankrupt businessman to compensate his ex employees for "pain and suffering."
Strange doings in the Accademia
Michelangelo's Davide provokes a lewd show.
More Soccer Madness
Inter's
fans firebomb their team's bus.
Persimmons and thoughts on the Italian
language
There is a connection, as you'll see.
Freedom of Religion and Getting
Along
There are those who would turn the country into a
Catholic enclave.
Energy Independence
Carlo
Rubbia thinks italy could gain it using solar power.
Thoughts on Health Insurance
The Italian system may not be as advanced as the best in the US, but it's
considerably more humane.
L'Arte di Arrangiarsi
The Art
of Getting By, or how to bend the rules to get things done.
Concorsi gone Awry
A scandal
rocks the Italian school system.
What Italians (Primarily men) Most
Revere
Quite a bit of truth here.
Gay Pride
How a march almost
brings down the Government.
Helmet & Seat Belt Laws
Italy is enforcing them, and lives are being saved.
Getting out the Garbage
Italy's homeowners begin to sort it.
Matters of Race
Peaceful
cohabitation in a multi-ethnic, multicultural society does take effort.
Goings on in Cars
It is no
longer a felony for consenting adults to have sex in a car. Yes, this was
headline news.
The Consequences of Clean Air
Ridding us of polution sounds the death-knell for Italy's best-loved car.
Luna Rossa
We're all feeling
her spell.
The Sky is Falling
Well, not
quite, but ice was for a few weeks this winter.
Legalize them?
Italy's
ruling party has suggested legalization of drugs. The pros may outweigh the
cons considerably.
Legalize them (again)
The
antiprohibitionists get a boost from the Ministry of Health.
Holiday Time:
Thoughts on
the Seven fish and how Christmas is celebrated in Italy, with digressions on
the perils of video games and the feuds of restaurant critics.
Bringing Up Baby
Why the
authorities took custody of the daughter of two young Vegans.
On Wages and Employment
Italian wages are low and unemployment is high: Though the unions are big on
job security they're doing little to help the workers.
Telefonini
Cell phones have
surpassed fixed phones in Italy.
The Tourist Tax
Florence
& Venice have a new way to gouge us.
Umbrella Gossip:
A daring
heist, new rules for driving in Italy, and thoughts on the Italian job scene,
which is now more promising for foreigners.
La Befana
Come Epiphany, a
witch flies to the bedsides of Italian children with candy-filled stockings.
La Cucina Italiana turns
70!
Observations on the special reprint of the first issue:
Things have changed less than one might think.
Le Dolomiti
A starkly
beautiful land is at last coming into its own.
On Gender
Thoughts about
gender domination in the Italian language.
On the Importance of Exercise
A fun defence of food and exercise, from a cookbook introduction written
more than a century ago.
The Joy of Growing up Italian
Why growing up in an Italian American household was so much better than
growing up elsewhere.
Italian Ices
Summer in an
Italian neighborhood, and kinder, gentler times.
Le Leggi per la Razza
Thoughts on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Italy's laws against
the Jews.
The politicians are out of their
minds!
The actions of the Italians are just as short sighted
as those of the Americans.
Soccer Madness
Salerno's
fans run amok; how to avoid getting involved if you're in Italy during the
Soccer Season.
An Urban Legend in the Making:
The revenge of a suffering theft victim.
If you haven't found
what you're looking for, please
ask!
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