10 things that are done better in Italy

Posted on January 15, 2015 by babbityjean

Recently I read an article in Corriere della sera about 10 things are that are done better in Italy according to CNN’s web site.  I found the list a little strange.  I tried unsuccessfully to locate the original article online in part to see what the basis of comparison was.    Corriere says that the classification mixes clichés with a sincere love of Belpaese.  Here is the list.  What do you think?

1.     Thermal Baths.  This is a tradition that comes from ancient Rome and that has beenbagno termale exported around the world.  To relax in a spa is good for the body and the mind.  The CNN list offers a choice between Ischia, Toscana, Bormio and Garda.
2.    To Curse.  Cursing isn’t always synonymous with rudeness…at least in Italy, says Corriere.  If Italians raise their voice, sometimes it’s in a way, it’s true, that surprises and intimidates.  But sometimes it charms—as if they were on a stage and performing.  Also think of Italian football!
3.    To hang out at the beach.  Italy has 7,400 chilometres (about 4,600 miles) of beach, the record for Europe.  The beaches have artistic and environment beauty.  The seas rival spiaggiathose in the tropics.
4.    To change government.  CNN provides some chilling figures.  After the second world war, Italy changed governments 62 times with 40 prime ministers.  Only one lasted for an entire term of 5 years.
5.    To visit volcanoes.  There are 10 active volcanoes in Italy.  Visiting the craters is a flourishing tourist business.  Etna is the second most active volcano in the world after Mauna Loa in Hawaii.Vulcano
6.    Dessert.  Personally, I believe that Italy is the culinary capital of the world:  pizza, pasta, cappuccino, etc.  According to CNN, Italy is unbeatable on the dessert front:  gelato, tiramisu, cannoli, biscotti, spumoni, truffles, zeppole (like doughnuts).  But wait, truffles as a dessert?  Maybe chocolate.  Anyway, the list of desserts is longer than the list of governments.
7.    Caves.  Italy is one of the countries with the most caves.  The Guinness Book of Records cites Grotta Gigante in Friuli, visible at a depth of 850 meters (almost 2,790 feet).
8.    Sports Cars.  No one else in the world knows how to make elegant cars like the Italians. automobile
9.    River Cruise Ships.  I was not aware that cruise ships along rivers was such a big tourist attraction in Italy.  According to CNN, the rivers are not long and not easily navigated as in the rest of Europe, but the views are unique.  Ironically, many Italians hate the cruise ships, particularly around Venice where they are an environmental hazard and a tourist nightmare.  Then, of course, there is the Costa crociereConcordia….
10.    ???  Neither CNN nor Corriere list a 10th!  Therefore, we can decide.  What do you think?  Art, music, opera, antiquities?  My Italian teacher, Gabriella, votes for the people:  “Despite all of their problems, the Italians are one of the nicest people in the world.”
In any case, take this list with a smile and with a grain of salt.

Posted in Cucina italiana, English, Foto, La Gente, Vacanze | 7 Comments

Come mangiate la pizza?

Posted on January 9, 2015 by babbityjean

L’anno scorso, ho letto un articolo nel giornale intitolato, “Il primo ‘scandalo’ del sindaco di New York.”  No, lo scandalo non è stato un rapporto sessuale con una stagista (come Clinton),  nè’ il noleggio delle prostitute (come Spitzer) nè molte  relazioni amorose (come Hollande).  No, lo scandalo non è stato nè peculato, nè cattivo uso di fondi, nè corruzione.  Dopo tutto, il Signor de Blasio, il nuovo sindaco di New York,  era stato in carica solo 12 giorni.

Il primo cittadino della Grande Mela ha commesso un grossolano  errore culinario.   Nel corso di una riunione in una pizzeria a Staten Island chiamata ‘Goodfellas,’ Guglielmo de Blasio è stato catturato dalla fotocamera mangiando la pizza con la forchetta e il coltello.  È Mayor de Blasiouno scandalo sopratutto a New York, dov’è buona abitudine usare exclusivamente le mani per divorarne una fetta.  Per qualque commentatore, la luna di miele è già finita per il Signor de Blasio.

In risposta alle proteste, il sindaco ha risposto, “cercavo di essere fedele alle mie origini italiane.”  Il proprietario della pizzeria, il Signor Costentino ha detto: “Credo che volesse solo essere educato.”  Altri inquilini del Gracie Mansion, da Bloomberg a Giuliani, la pizza l’hanno sempre mangiata con le mani, anche se solo a beneficio della stampa ed dell’elettorato italoamericano.  (Nota bene:  Il  Signor Bloomberg non ha mai abitato al Gracie Mansion.)

Ma, per essere onesti con il nuovo sindaco, un’analisi dell’intera sequenza del pranzo mostra che ad un certo punto, il signor de Blasio spalanca la bocca e ci caccia dentro un altro boccone tenendo la fetta in mano.

Nelle pizzerie del Belpaese, il coltello e la forchetta si usano?  Eccome, dice il Corriere della sera.  Secondo i miei amici di Santa Barbara—Gabriella, Giuseppe, Luigi, Jacopo, e gli altri–come voi mangiate la pizza negli Stati Uniti… e in Italia?  In tutti e due i modi.

In ogni caso, sarebbe bello che  gli scandali politici fossero sempre così innocenti.

Posted in Abitudini, Cucina italiana, Differenze culturali, Italiano, Italoamericani, New York | 1 Comment

How Do You Eat Pizza?

Posted on January 9, 2015 by babbityjean

Last year I read a newspaper article entitled “The First Scandal of the Mayor of New York.”  No, the scandal was not a sexual relationship with an intern (as in Clinton), nor hiring of prostitutes (as in Spitzer), nor multiple love interests (as in Hollande).  No, the scandal was not embezzlement, nor inappropriate use of funds, nor corruption.  After all, Mr. de Blasio, the new mayor of New York, had been in office only 12 days.

The first citizen of the Big Apple committed a gross culinary gaff. In the course of a meeting in a pizzeria on Staten Island called “Goodfellas,” Mayor de Blasio was captured on video eating pizza with a knife and fork.  It is a scandal, above all in New York, where it is Mayor de Blasioconsidered good manners to use your hands exclusively to devour a slice.  For some commentators, the honeymoon was already over for Mr. de Blasio.

In response to the protest, the mayor said, “I was trying to be faithful to my Italian origins.”  The owner of the pizzeria, Mr. Costentino said:  “I believe that he only wanted to be polite.”  For other tenants of Gracie Mansion, from Bloomberg to Giuliani, pizza was always eaten with the hands, even if only for the benefit of the press and the Italian-American electorate.  (As an aside, Mr. Bloomberg never lived in Gracie Mansion.)

But, to be honest with the new mayor, an analysis of the video of the entire lunch shows that at a certain point, Mr. de Blasio opened his mouth wide and threw inside a big bite of pizza holding the slice in his hands.

In pizzerias in Italy, are knife and fork used?  Indeed, says Corriere della sera.  According to my Italian friends in Santa Barbara—Gabriella, Giuseppe, Luigi, Jacopo, and others—how do you eat pizza in the United States and in Italy?  Both ways!

In any case, it would be wonderful if political scandals were always this innocent.

Posted in Cucina italiana, Differenze culturali, English, Foto, Italoamericani, New York | 1 Comment