Articles in English

ITALY MUST LEARN

Italy must learn. What? How to improve tourism. It is a topic I already dealt with but in these days I am beginning to think that it is necessary to go into this problem in more depth. Few years ago Italy was the country most visited by tourists. In a decade's time the situation has changed: France and even Spain has surpassed the country. 

For what reason? Has Italy lost its charm, the wonderful landscapes or the great monuments? No, nothing of the sort. 

The decrease in tourism presences is attributable to other problems that may seem little related to the tourists' envy of spending their holiday in the country, but in reality it is not.

Italy is full of reasons why English people or German or Japanese should choose it as holiday destination.

The country is very varied: while on the Alps people are skiing, in Sicily people are enjoying the sun and bathing in the sea.

Italy has mountains and often over these mountains there is history: just a few days ago the skeleton of a first world war soldier was found in the snow near to the Austrian border. 

Italy has beaches for all needs: in Rimini you can have great fun, along the Amalfi coast you can visit some of the most picturesque Italian villages, in Salento or Calabria you can enjoy a relaxing holiday laying on the sand, tasting good Italian food.

Italy has monuments. Actually, a research assessed that in Italy there are few museums. Obviously, my dear Watson! Every street, every path in the nature hides a great monument, an art gallery, etc. If you go to Naples, keep your hand on your bag, but keep the eyes wide open because you are to be astonished by all the hidden, precious art you can find simply everywhere. 

So what is the real problem in Italy?

Security, first of all. In cities like Naples, you can't be safe. It is a fact. And I am saying it with great regret because it is one of the most extraordinary places I have ever been to.

Secondly, communication is another great problem to cope with. In most cases, Italian people can't speak very well other languages. If you are not very exigent about pronunciation or grammar, you may catch the meaning of the instructions given but you will have to interpret. 

Communication deals with information also. In Italy there is little organization about tourists reception. In some places there is clear and easy information but in others there is not. An example: few weeks ago there was a great talk about Pompeii’s archeological area. At the exit there were two signs: one allowed the passage in that direction, the other did not. So tourists couldn't understand in which way get out of there. 

Thirdly, Italy's problem is politics. Italian politician seem too busy in stealing citizens' money to understand that the country may benefit from a wise and long-term tourism policy. A great percentage of Italian artistic patrimony is known only to a narrow range of people. There is not enough promotion about some important monuments so they seem inexistent to tourists. I am afraid that in Italy there is the silly idea that through culture you can't earn money. Wrong! Tourism is one of the most important sources the country has. The list of abandoned monuments could be infinite! Few archeologists, few funds, little promotion, the lack of international tour operators who go out of big, renewed town to make people discover hidden treasures of the country: all these aspects influence Italian tourism and penalize it.

In conclusion, I give a piece of advice: if you are willing to come to Italy on holiday, try to think Italian, try not to be a simple tourist but ask people in the street about interesting monuments to see. They could help you discover something you will never find on a guide.

ANOTHER ORDINARY SAD ITALIAN STORY

One of the most important Italian topics is the backwardness of the South. There are different and conflicting theories about the underdevelopment of this great part of the country. 

According to the traditional history (written, many say, by the evil winner of Italian Risorgimento), South Italy has always been poorer than the North.

As a matter of fact, the weak south-Italian industry before the unification of the country was protected by customs duties. Yet there's nothing wrong about it. In fact, as the German economist, Friedrich List affirms, customs duties are useful when the country's industry is still too weak. Free trade is applicable only once the industry has become strong enough to be competitive abroad.  

This passage, remark the southern theorists, was wiped off by the Italian unification that is considered nothing more than an imperialist action of the North that, abolishing all the borders and all the customs duties, invaded the South with its goods and destroyed an infant industry that, in a few years time, would have become one of the most prosperous of Europe (this is of course a prediction of those theorists and, as a prediction, has nothing but its charm to support itself).

You may think that all this stuff is old and dead but it is not quite so. Thanks to a deep economical crisis and years of northern racism and ridiculous “Celts” politicians (Lega Nord) the gap between the North and the South appears to have become wider. Some extremists movements have made their fortune exploiting the anger of those southern citizens who feel discriminated by the central government. In Naples the old Bourbon party has woken up from its hibernation and, unbelievably, it is becoming stronger. But is it the South the real sick leg of Italy?

It is very unlikely to deny all the problems South Italy has, first of all the mafia that absorbs great part of governmental and European funds. Moreover, as in the rest of the country, the high tax of corruption and an inefficient bureaucracy make more difficult for little businessmen to start something up.

Finally, many young people can’t earn a life because of huge unemployment rate (above all women’s).

Yet South Italy is very rich: most of Italian brains come from this part of the country. Because of the lack of employment, in fact, southern students study longer and harder than northern ones who can find more easily a job (at least they could before the crisis begun). Creativity is one of the key elements of the South.

In addition, tourism is a great resource: some regions such as Campania and Sicily are full of wonderful archeological sites and great cities (Naples, Palermo); the beaches in Cilento, Salento or Calabria are some of the most beautiful and unpolluted of Italy.

Finally, there are some renewed research centers (CIRA in Campania, for example) and factories. The sad thing is that most of them are closing down.

Consequently, the only thing one can ask is: How can ever things change?

ITALIANS FLYING ABROAD

It is widely said that Italians are escaping from their own country. Two are the main reasons, according to my opinion. The first is that, as a matter of fact, nowadays our country offers pretty little to young people with a good brain and tons of ideas. Last week I was interviewing a lawyer who helps young people to start up their enterprises and he said that the Italian law doesn't guarantee all the benefits a young enterprise needs in order to grow and become competitive. Because of that most of the small businessmen fly abroad where they can find more favorable conditions. The new Prime Minister Mario Monti is hardly trying to convince foreign investors that Italy is a wonderful little garden where running a business is the best thing you could ever do but maybe he would do better to mind our own investors and businessmen who are emigrating. 

Yet this is not the only field in which young people are facing serious difficulties. Education is another black hole for Italy. Italian students are stuffed with theory but they do very little practice. This is why when they graduate it' is hard for them to find a job. They know everything but can do very little and their CVs are empty. Nevertheless they have a really good education but universities are not able to "Feed" them. In Italy the funds for research are practically inexistent. Only a few months ago a team of Italian scientists launched a satellite completely made in Italy. All the evening news celebrated the event with huge emphasis. Few journalists remembered that the funds to that research team ended some months before and that the scientists themselves had a collection to complete the satellite manufacturing. 

This is what young people and students have to face day by day. So no wonder when a great Italian scientist discovers something important in a great foreign country. 

But if someone knows Italians, he also has to know that we adore complaining about ourselves. This, in my opinion, is the second reason why so many Italians fly abroad. We have very little self-esteem as Italian (not as individuals). We are fully persuaded that if it is from abroad it is made better. Even our politicians want to promote laws according to the German system or the English one. None of them has ever said "Let's do it in the Italian way" or if he did I never heard it. 

Of course we are proud of our food and our "made in Italy" but we always think "Abroad it is better" (which is not always true!).

Last week a Chinese class arrived at the university L'Orientale in Naples. "What are they doing here and why are they learning our language?" commented an Italian student.