Mike Bongiorno – the Quiz Show Host who United Italy

I’ve no idea how many people outside of Italy have heard the name Mike Bongiorno, or may even know that he recently passed away.  I would not imagine either that many would believe a television personality is credited with uniting Italy.

For the uninitiated, Mike Bongiorno was basically a quiz show host.  He was, however, revered by the Italian people, and a state funeral was held in his honour.  Silvio Berlusconi, a friend , the prime minister of Italy, and one time boss of Bongiorno spoke at the late quiz show host’s funeral held at the historic Duomo in Milan, last Saturday.

But why, some may be wondering, was a television personality accorded the honour of a full blown state funeral in Italy?  This surprised me, I can tell you.  Yet once you know a little bit more about Mike Bongiorno, you start to understand why he was held in such high regard in Italy.  Indeed, he is considered by many Italians as being the person who helped unite their country, primarily by getting them to watch television.  Why is this significant?  Read on to discover what Mike Bongiorno’s greatest achievement was.

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Italian Scientists’ Success Tainted by Nepotism

Antonio Iavarone and Anna Lasorella are two Italian scientists who have recently revealed the results of their research into the causes of brain tumours in children.  The ground-breaking work of this husband and wife team may well lead to new therapies which could help save young lives.

Any parent whose little one has had problems which have led to the hospitalisation, and that includes me, will know just how traumatic the event can be.  The thought of losing my child scares me, and I know of people who have lost children.  It is something I don’t think they have ever really got over, and probably never will.

Antonio Iavarone and Anna Lasorella’s work may, one sincerely hopes, help a few parents avoid the trauma of losing a child.

Alas, the road to scientific success for this Italian couple has been nothing if not rocky. Read more

Milan’s Bent Coppers

One of the triad of Italian police forces, the Milan branch of the municipal police, or Vigili Urbane, is facing allegations of corruption on two fronts at the moment.

Note: For passing Italians who find ‘bent coppers’ difficult to understand – ‘bent coppers’ is slang for ‘corrupt policemen’ (with thanks to reader Judith for pointing out the complexity of my ways).

Some members of Milan’s municipal police, a force which is responsible primarily for traffic control and maintaining public order, are under investigation for having accepted bribes from various pubs and clubs in return for turning a blind eye (deaf ear?) towards incidences of noise pollution and other problems.   Even the head of Milan’s municipal police is under investigation, and may well lose his plum job as a result.

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