Bytes of Italy

Berlusconi Again!?!?

This is an odd topic for me to cover for my first post in a while, but it so amazes and confounds me that I was compelled to post.  How can Italians possibly be considering returning Silvio Berlusconi to power? An article in today's New York Times titled Berlusconi’s Long Shadow Casts a Chill Over Italian Politics discusses the possibility of him winning the next election.  It is utterly incomprehensible to me that, as ineffective as he was in his previous incarnations as Prime Minister, and with evidence of his corruption and blatant conflicts of interest as clear as day, anyone in Italy would vote for this guy.  Of course, I live in a country that elected George W. Bush . . . twice!!

Basta!

In a recent New York Times article, In A Funk, Italy Sings An Aria Of Disappointment, Italy's issues with chronic political corruption, stifling bureaucracy, aging population and costly entitlements (pensions, etc.) are discussed.  Fortunately, a populist movement led by stand-up comic and popular blogger Beppo Grillo are beginning to take shape with the aim of shaking Italy from its relentlessly declining path.  They are saying basta, or enough, to the corrupt and/or do-nothing politicians in Rome.

In a post today on his blog, Grillo writes:

Today, the New York Times published an article on Italy floundering and on V-day. The newspaper’s website contains a long article, a video and a series of photographs entitled “A life less dolce”.

From the article entitled “In a Funk, Italy sings an Aria of disappointment”:
“A low-tech lifestyle may enchant the tourists, however, the use of Internet and e-commerce is amongst the lowest in all of Europe, as are salary levels, foreign investment and growth. Pensions, public debt and administration costs, instead, are amongst the highest.

The latest data depicts a nation that is increasingly ageing and poor, to the point where the country’s most eminent bishop has proposed an increase in the number of food parcels for the poor.

70% of Italians between 20 and 30 years of age is still living at home with Mom and Dad, condemned to an increasingly lengthy and unproductive adolescence. Many of the most intelligent ones are leaving Italy, just as many of their predecessors did just a century ago.
American Ambassador Ronald Spogli, who has an intimate knowledge of Italy dating back some forty years, warns that Italy is at risk of seeing its international role diminish, as well as its relations with Washington. America’s best friends are its business partners, and Italy is not one of the most important of these. The country’s level of bureaucracy and its unclear rules have led to USA investments in Italy dropping to only 16.9 billion Dollars in 2004, while investments in Spain stood at 49.3 billion.

In Denmark, 64% of people have faith in their Parliament, while in Italy, this figure drops to 36%. Statistics show that 11% of all Italian families are living below the poverty line, and that 15% of them find it difficult to survive through to the end of the month on their salaries”.

This is how the world sees us. All things that frequent visitors to the blog already know, but it is comforting to see the facts being confirmed by an international newspaper.

Celebrating All Things Brunello di Montalcino

After a long gap in posts due to a job, company, city and state change, here is a post on an area and a wine that I love, Brunello di Montalcino.  The July 31, 2007 issue of Wine Spectator featured the region, with great restaurant, hotel, winery and wine suggestions.  Brunello do Montalcino is an area about 70 miles southwest of Florence.  It is "an arid area of soft rolling hills planted to grains and olive trees.  At its heart, the village of Montalcino perches on what, in context, resembles a towering mountain."  The best time to visit this captivating place is from spring through October, when everything is open.

The vineyards in the region are planted with Sangiovese, the native grape of Tuscany, known to the locals as Brunello.  My wife and I grew to love Brunello di Montalcino wines while living in Varese, Italy, an addiction we found to be quite a bit more expensive in the US than it had been in Italy.

Most of the wine estates are small (10 to 25 acres) with the owners farming their own vineyards and making their own wines.  The region produces about 600,000 cases a year, which are divided between normale and riserva bottlings.  The normali are released on the market 50 months after harvest, while the riserva come out a year after that.  They are aged a minimum of two years in wood, with subsequent bottle aging also mandated before they are released.  The wines age extremely well, but are drinkable upon release (though are even better after an hour or two of decanting).  They also go excellently with food.

Wineries to visit when in the area range from the region's biggest producer, Castello Banfi which has a great restaurant, to the family-owned Casanova di Neri, maker of Wine Spectator's 2006 wine of the year, Brunello di Montalcino Tenuta Nuova 2001.  Though be advised, that other than the larger vineyards like Banfi, most are generally not set up for walk-in visitors, though this is starting to change.

The choices for food and lodging are no less inviting.  Located in a 14th-century fortress, the Enoteca La Fortezza is a wine shop which offers tasting of the local product as well as excellent food.  Another choice for wine and food is Osteria Osticcio, which serves local fare and wine by the glass all day.  The Ristorante Boccon di Vino features recipes recreated from Tuscany's past.  In the center of Montalcino is Ristorante L'Assedio, an intimate, 15-seat bistro.  Its food is a fusion of traditional Tuscan favorites with a light, modern touch.

For lodging, there are a few great choices, starting with, you guessed it, Banfi.  They recently completed an $8.5 million restoration project to convert the building in the hamlet around the castle into a hotel, the Castello Banfi Il Borgo.  Another option is the Hotel Vecchia Oliviera, located at the edge of the old quarter.  A third choice is Il Giglio, a former postal station which was converted to a hotel more than a century ago.  It also has a restaurant which is frequented by the locals.

Apulia

Last Sunday's New York Times Travel section provided a look at Apulia, the region located at the bottom of the Italian boot.  The region is more laid back and subtle than the traditional tourist destination of Tuscany, but is beginning to come into its own with more modern accommodations such as luxurious farmhouses.  One of the newest such farmhouse is Masseria Torre Maizza in the town of Savelletri di Fasano.  In Lecce, the centrally located Hotel Patria Palace is a good base from which to tour the city's Baroque architecture.  The most recommended restaurant in Lecce is Cucina Casareccia (Via Colonnello Costadura, 19; 39-0832-245-178), but make sure you get a reservation.  In the seaside town of Trani, the Hotel San Paolo al Convento has been carved out of a 15th-century convent.  If you're looking for pizza, stop at the Profumo di Mare pizzeria and restaurant in Otranto.   Another suggested culinary destination is U.P.E.P.I.D.D.E. in Ruvo di Puglia.

The article begins:

WE were bound for a farmhouse, and I had my doubts.

Like many seasoned travelers, I'd been burned by the promise of rustic lodging with multi-star amenities, a happy-sounding combination that often meant a working telephone in a stone chamber otherwise untouched by progress and its attendant conveniences, like reliable plumbing and regular maid service.

 

     

And the lodging in question was in the southern Italian region of Apulia, which I'd known to be an inconvenient place. I'd made work trips there in 2002 and 2003, when I was a reporter based in Rome, and had marveled at the cramped, drab airport in the region's largest city, Bari. It was fit for a Graham Greene novel, not a glossy travel brochure.

So when my friend Sylvie told me that old farmhouses less than an hour's drive south of Bari were being converted into cushy resorts, I felt more skepticism than curiosity. And when she gushed about the reputed beauteousness of the one she'd booked us into, I vowed to be charmed, not outraged, at the inevitable exposure of her gullibility. The vacation would go so much easier that way.

Early one afternoon last September, we pulled up to our agrarian idyll, and I searched in vain for any traces of a farmhouse in the airbrushed campus of smooth whitewashed buildings before us. The buildings were fringed by palm trees and latticed by tidy gravel paths. Off to their side glittered a huge, pristine swimming pool with a slatted wood deck. Beyond that, on the grounds of a sister “farmhouse,” the candlelit rooms of a full-service spa meandered through an underground cave of sorts.

We mentioned to the hotel staff that we were hungry, and within minutes pressed panini of mozzarella and prosciutto — along with glasses of inky, fruity red wine — were being placed on our table in a sleek lounge area with all-white furniture and lulling cross breezes.

This was pure luxury. It was also a barometer of what was happening in Apulia.

Check out the full article here.

Il Veneto

Though often overshadowed by its better known and much-visited cousin Venice, the Veneto is a worthy destination in its own right.  Its main provinces, including Padua, Treviso, Verona and Vicenza, contain enough great art, architecture, food and wine around which to build an entire vacation.  Its Soave and Valpolicella wines are excellent and it is home to many Palladian villas (designed by Andrea Palladio, one of the most influential individuals in the history of Western architecture). 

In a recent article by Travel & Leisure, they provide an overview of the region and its highlights including what to see, where to eat and where to shop.  The article can be accessed here.

Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome

I just finished Steven Saylor's new book Roma: The Novel of Ancient Rome.  I found this story of how Rome became Rome an interesting and compelling read.  It features the exploits of the descendants of two of Rome's first families, the Potitii and Pinarii, woven into the fabric of the ancient history of Rome.  The history extends from its founding among the seven hills on the banks of the Tiber by salt and metal traders to its rise to global dominance led by Julius Caesar and his nephew Caesar Augustus . Saylor writes very much in the mode of Edward Rutherford, another writer of historical fiction whose books include London, Sarum, Russka and The Princes of Ireland.

Following is a summary from Publishers Weekly:

Author of the critically acclaimed Roma Sub Rosa series of historical mysteries, Saylor (The Judgment of Caesar) breaks out on an epic scale in this sprawling novel tracing Rome's extraordinary development over five centuries, as seen through the eyes of succeeding generations of one of its founding families. Skipping over several generations at a time, Saylor puts the Potitii family descendants at the side of Romulus and Remus at the official founding of the city; of Scipio Africanus during the Punic Wars; of the legendary reformers Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus during the turbulent second-century B.C.; and of Julius and Augustus Caesar as the Republic ebbs into Empire. Solidly anchored in fact and vividly imagined, this long book moves at a sprightly clip and features some vibrant personages. One of the most memorable is Pinaria, a Vestal Virgin who loses her innocence to an enigmatic slave, and secondaries such as the deformed giant Cacus who terrorizes the early Roman settlement. Linked by blood and by a gold amulet (in the shape of a winged phallus) that is passed from generation to generation, the Potitii family gets to see some fascinating things.

Priceless Art for No Price

A second article from the NY Times Affordable Europe feature on Sunday, April 22 provides an overview of the amazing works of art available throughout Rome for absolutely free.  For example, the church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, next to the Pantheon, houses a sculpture of Christ by Michelangelo.

The article starts:

IT is hard to advise a visitor in Rome to skip the Sistine Chapel just because tickets cost $17 or that the line can last for hours. At the same time, in no other city can one wander, with completely empty pockets, and see at least nine works by various Michelangelos — among them the Pietà by the more famous Michelangelo and a number of sly paintings by the only slightly less renowned one, better known as Caravaggio.

This free Michelangelo tour takes less than a day. And except for crowds at St. Peters Basilica, which houses the Pietà, you would probably never even see a line.    

In history, culture and art , Rome's greatness — and curse — is overabundance. The curse is that a visitor can never see more than a fraction of what's there in one visit. Part of the greatness is that there is just so much, you can enjoy a first-rate cultural experience and never pay a cent.

San Clemente, the intermediate level of which is pictured above is described as follows:

“Good Lord, it's beautiful,” he said as he poked his head into the Basilica of San Clemente ,  a small treasure near the Colosseum that defies any easy description.

The spot has been inhabited for some 22 centuries, and visitors can see the layers rising from buildings destroyed in the fire of Nero's time to an old temple to a Persian religion that made it to Rome, Mithraism, to the Christian church built on top as if to physically dominate it.

The apse's 12th-century mosaics are stunning, in marble, gold and tile, with birds and deer embellishing religious themes. Then there are more than eight centuries of frescoes, interesting on their own, but to connoisseurs like Mr. Tarquini, tantalizing as a document of the evolution of art. “It's all of history,” Mr. Tarquini said. It is speculated — but never proven — that the 15th-century artist Masaccio, a transitional figure from decorative Gothic to more humanistic Renaissance painting, had a hand in some of the figures otherwise painted by his friend Masolino.

Following is a list of destinations and resources from the article:

Basilica of San Clemente, Via Labicana 95; (39-06) 77-40-021. Open daily 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., then 3 to 6 p.m.

Basilica of St. Peter's in Chains, Piazza San Pietro in Vincoli 4a. Open daily 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., then 3:30 to 6 p.m.

St. Peter's Basilica. Open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. April through September. The rest of the year it closes at 5:30 p.m.

San Luigi dei Francesi, Piazza San Luigi dei Francesi, is near Piazza Navona, as is the Church of Sant'Agostino.

Santa Maria del Popolo is at the northern end of Piazza del Popolo.

National Museum of the XXI Century Arts (Maxxi), Via Guido Reni 2f; (30-06) 321-0181. Open every day but Monday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Rome Auditorium, Viale Pietro de Coubertin 30; (39-06) 8024-1281.

Monitor Gallery, Viale della Mura Aurelie 19; (39-06) 3937-8024. Tuesday through Saturday, 3:30 to 8 p.m.

Valentina Bonomo Gallery, Via del Portico D'Ottavia 13; (39-06) 683-2766. Monday through Saturday from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Incontri Internazionali d'Arte, Palazzo Taverna, Via di Monte Giordano 36; (39-06) 6880-4009. Open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A useful clearinghouse for cultural events — free and not — is the weekly magazine, Roma C'è. It is available at any newsstand for 1.20 euros (about $1.60, at 1.36 to the dollar) or on the Web at www.romace.it. The English language section contains extensive lists of concerts, blues nights, dance, film and exhibitions.

The full article can be accessed here.

Naples a Cheaper Alternative

Today's NY Times features ways to do Europe more affordably.  They highlight Naples as a great alternative to the crowds and cost of Rome.  The Naples portion of the article is provided below.  The full piece is available here.  The picture to the left is of a young crowd congregating in the Piazza Santa Maria La Nova for a late-night drink in Naples.

Rome is being invaded — not by soldiers, but by “Da Vinci Code” tours and outrageously expensive cafes. For a far cheaper bite of the Italian dolce vita, go to seaside Naples.

Long associated with organized crime, chaotic traffic and a volcano (Vesuvius), Naples is more rough-edged than the Eternal City. But Naples has calmed down and cleaned up just enough to attract the bohemian set, thanks to a dynamic mayor who is promoting the arts, from subway installations by Sol LeWitt to the new Palazzo delle Arti Napoli.

Mixing things up are private art spaces like 404 Gallery and Not Gallery , as well as the Hotel Correra 241 (Via Correra 241; 39-081-195-62-842), a 10-room boutique hotel with rotating art exhibits. Doubles start at 75 euros.

The food in Naples isn't bad, either. After all, there are a mind-boggling 12,000 pizzerias in town. You can't go wrong with Pizzeria di Matteo (94 Via Tribunali; 39-081-455-262) and L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele dal 1870 (Via Cesare Sersale 1/3; 39-081-553-9204), which serve two types of fresh pies (marinara or margherita) with perfectly thin crusts for about 4 euros.

Grim Future for Venice

Venice appears that it will be one of the victims of our global inability to muster the political and popular will to tackle global warming.  In a new report by a UN climatologist, it is predicted that within a few decades Venetians will need a lot more than rubber boots to deal with their water problems.  An article by the Italian news service ANSA is provided below.

UN climatologist sees grim future for lagoon city

BRUSSELS (ANSA) - Venice could find itself under water within a few decades if current climate trends continue, a top United Nations climatologist said on Friday.  Over the next 30 or so years rainfall in the northern Mediterranean will increase by 10-20% as a result of global warming, said Osvaldo Canziani, deputy head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  Speaking at the presentation of the IPCC's bleak new report on climate change, the Argentinian expert said that despite efforts to slow down a global rise in sea levels, the situation everywhere was "increasingly critical".  Referring to Venice, a city built on mud islands in a lagoon at the top of the Adriatic Sea, he said: "The water of the lagoon will continue inexorably to rise. If things carry on like this, Venice is destined to disappear".  The IPCC groups 2,500 scientists and is the top world authority on climate change.  It has been known for years that Venice is gradually sinking into the sea but the process was believed to be slower than implied by the authoritative warning from the IPCC deputy head.  Flooding is already a constant problem for Venice and the picturesque St Mark's Square, a must on Italy's tourist trail, is covered with water dozens of times every year.

Experts say there are three main reasons for high water in the city: the rising floor in the lagoon caused by incoming silt; the undermining of the islands by the extraction of methane gas in the sea off Venice; and the overall increase in sea levels caused by global warming.

In a bid to combat flooding, a 4.3-billion-euro flood barrier system is being built.  The 'Moses' project consists of 79 barriers, designed to rise from the seabed to block the lagoon from the Adriatic Sea when high tides are forecast.  After 30 years of debate and testing, the project was inaugurated in May 2003. Despite countless polemics and delays, about a third of the work has now been done and completion is scheduled for 2011.

Cinque Terra

One of the most enjoyable trips for my wife and me when we were living in Varese, Italy was to head south to the Ligurian Coast to enjoy the seaside villages of Cinque Terra.  The trip would often start with a speedy drive down the Autostrada, around Milan, continuing south across the poplar-dotted Lombardian plains, and then through the tunnels and around the mountains as the highway carved its way through the Apennine mountains. Finally we would leave the highway and head down the steep and winding road to the sea, through terraces of lemon and olive trees, finally arriving at the village of Monterosso al Mare. Once there, we would quickly make our way to one of the seaside restaurants for a much anticipated lunch of seafood antipasti and other frutti di mare concoctions.  We would then leisurely wander around the town shopping for gifts for friends and family.  Occasionally we would hike the path over to neighboring Vernazza, and then take the train back, in time for another amazing meal.   The scenery is amazing, with picture-perfect Italian fishing villages surrounded by rugged cliffs juxtaposed with olive and lemon tree covered terrazzas.  Cinque Terra stands for five lands and it consists of five villages, Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, all joined by rail and hiking paths.

Here are a couple of sites which provide background info and things to do at this Unesco world heritage site, starting at the source, with the site put together by a tourism consortium based in Cinque Terre itself, www.cinqueterre.it/en/index.asp.

Another great place to head on the web is to www.about.com where a good overview is provided together with links to other resources.