Free Camping in Italy

August 26, 2008 · Filed Under Italian news · 4 Comments 

The incidents concerning attacks on German and Dutch tourists in Italy are sweeping the world, and these appalling happenings have been handled rather insensitively by the Italian authorities, as a read of the post on Beppe Grillo’s blog will tell you.

However, something else that is perturbing is that the Italian authorities don’t appear to know their own laws. Read more

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Recent Italian News Roundup

August 16, 2008 · Filed Under Italian news · Comment 

Well, I’m back here in Milan after my short and not particularly holiday like trip down to Genova. Anyway, I’ll resist boring you with the details and recount some much more interesting items which have been mentioned in the Italian news.

Soldiers on the Streets

Despite the fact that Italy, with the exception of a few ‘hotspots’, has a crime rate which is pretty low, Italy’s political masters decided that it would be something of a wheeze to whack machine gun toting troops in full battle dress onto Italy’s streets to maintain law and order.

This move, which has been much hyped by the TV media here, has not proved popular with one and all. Indeed, La Famiglia Cristiana - The Cristian Family - a magazine run by a Roman Catholic publishing group - likened the presence of the military on the streets of Italy as being akin to something you would expect in Angola, not Italy.

That such a criticism should have come from this particular source came as something of a surprise to my Italian other half and and Italian friend of hers too. The reason for their surprise is that La Famiglia Cristiana is more often than not a staunch supporter of Italy’s right-wing leaning governments. This widely respected publication even questioned whether the presence of troops on the streets hailed a return to fascism.

This reaction and comment has caused a little embarrassment for the Berlusconi government, who have hotly denied any connection between soldiers and the return of one of Italy’s darkest eras. The Vatican has distanced itself from La Famiglia Cristiana’s assertions, by the way.

Funnily enough, I have only seen soldiers at Milan’s central railway station, and they were neither machine gun toting nor in full battle dress. Down in Genova I did not even see one single soldier, machine gun toting or otherwise.

Media hype, methinks. Still, the reaction of La Famiglia Cristiana was curious.

More Italians are working not Shirking

Talking of the army, another of Belusconi’s chaps has been waging a form of war against what are known as ‘fannulloni‘ here. The term ‘fannulloni’ is given to those Italians who go to work, but don’t, or sometimes do, and fiddle, so to speak. Read on if you find the definition of ‘fannulloni’ confusing. Read more

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More Proof that the UK is Sicker than Italy

July 4, 2008 · Filed Under UK · Comment 

The Great British Bulldog has heart problems.

After writing a post entitled The UK is Sicker than Italy, alas, I then read of this recent and particularly horrific crime in the UK. The title of the BBC story says it all ‘Horror descends on quiet street‘.

The story seems to indicate that the do gooders in the UK have not been doing much good.  At times, political correctness can be downright dangerous.

It’s sad to see the country I grew up in hit such depths of depravity. I fear that the UK will continue to provide proof that it has gone to the dogs.

Italy is a children’s playground in comparison.

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