From Cosa Bolle in Pentola:
Moving briefly away from food, if you know anything about Italian politics you will have heard of Giulio Andreotti; he either directly or indirectly ran the Democrazia Cristiana, Italy's major post-war political party, from the 50s until Tangentopoli (the clean hands bribery scandal) brought down all the parties in 1992, and also held cabinet posts of one sort or another in almost every government during that period. Anyone who holds that much power for that long cannot help but be accused of wrongdoing, and Mr. Andreotti was accused repeatedly of one thing or another, but he always managed to dodge what was thrown his way, even when his closest associates confessed to corruption, including collusion with the Mafia. Therefore, when Tommaso Buscetta, a Mafioso who turned State's Evidence, said that the killing of muckracking journalist Mino Pecorelli in the late 70s was a favor for Andreotti, people said ho-hum. And cheered when Andreotti was found not guilty of instigating the assassination.

However, the Italian judicial process includes an automatic appeal (which is in turn followed by a review of the verdict by a higher court), and the appellate judges... found Andreotti guilty of ordering the deed, which was, they say, carried out by unknown assassins. The reaction has been fascinating; I don't think I have ever seen the entire Italian political spectrum from far left to far right howling in agreement over anything: The judges, they say, have cooked up an obscenity of a verdict that the review court will have no choice but to overturn. "Imagine," say some, "believing the word of a Mafia Don over Mr. Andreotti's," while others have simply seized the opportunity to attack the judiciary, a common pastime of Italian politicians. Nobody I have heard interviewed has even entertained the possibility that the verdict may be correct. It's known that Pecorelli was onto something at the time of his killing, and he gave the impression that it would lead straight to the top, so it is possible that his death was a political favor. As such, the guilty verdict handed down by the judges is not just the condemnation of a man, but also of the entire Italian political system since the end of the War. And this is why the politicians are up in arms against it.

The other political news of late strikes closer to home and is more vexing, at least for me. Gaiole, one of the historic communes of the Chianti Classico region, has decided that scenic beauty and agriculture, the kingpins upon which the rest of Chianti Classico bases its economy, are not enough. The must have industry as well, says the mayor, and the town council has set aside 50 acres on the valley floor for industrial development -- capannoni, which are prefabricated sheds, according to the news. I frankly fail to grasp the logic behind the decision; Gaiole (the town) is nondescript, but its territory is hauntingly beautiful and draws tourists and vacationers bent on enjoying unsullied Nature by the thousands: why put that at risk with an ugly industrial development (is there any other kind?) in the valley floor? Especially considering that Gaiole is the most isolated of Chianti's towns, and that all the roads leading to it are thin and winding. Anyone who sets up shop there will encounter significant costs simply getting materials in and out, while the truck traffic that industry will being will make it difficult for vacationers to get about. Unhappy vacationers go elsewhere, and the town fathers may discover that in exchange for a few, possibly short-lived jobs, they have killed their goose. We'll keep you posted.

A presto,
Kyle Phillips

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