Italy is falling  and I’m riding it upside down

archives \ about / contact \ code / le penne altrui
 
April 24th 2006. Another book I'd love to throw into the Venice lagoon from an helicopter

zangtumb.jpg

Oh, once again. Another book I would like to throw into the Venice lagoon from an helicopter, in thousands copies, to clog the high tides.

"Legendary for fabulous food, persistent men, and a lyrical language, Italy has inspired many great love affairs—with the country itself. From the notorious occupants and cuisine of Sicily, to the ancient marvels of Rome, to the couture of Milan, women throughout the ages have invented and reinvented adventure in this diverse and voluptuous land..."
(From Italy, A Love Story: Women Write About the Italian Experience)

Jesus, "women write about the italian experience"... who are these women anyway? Do they have eyes? Do they have any brains?

I've had enough of this absurd nonsense about Italy. Will this undeserved fortune ever come to an end? Will all this cretin commonplaces ever be over once and for all? Will all the Caravaggios and the Tuscan hills and the Sicilan sea urchins ever dissolve in a great blaze of oblivion? Will this country ever be generally known for what it is, a sinking piece of rotten land that should be run over by a giant road roller? And will my smart countrymen ever have the courage to discourage these ideas instead of riding them when they're abroad?

I'm sorry. But I know how sadly disappointing Italy can be, for real. I have been ashamed of my passport too many times already. From China to Russia, from America to Africa, so many keep looking at this damn country without seeing it. And then when they're here, they just can't believe it. Who really comes to stay, who has eyes to see, cannot but be disappointed.
I have seen too many dreams go into pieces in small ugly apartments (half the size and double the price of, say, Honk Kong cheap housing projects), at working places (ending up touring Russian tourists in Venice exchanging bribes with the local Venetian mafia, for instance), at art schools (where not the great history and tradition of Italian ancient masters is taught, but a pointless rootless modernity that despises and neglects anything "traditionalist"), in the love making beds (where silences and long faces and misunderstanding and long boring evenings rule above romanticism and sensibility)... the list continues.

The sick richness of some parts of this country (the 60% who voted Berlusconi in my city, for instance), its eternal incapability of respecting any law, the unbelievable exploitation of labour, the general mounting egoism and indifference, all the generations of broken dreams that populated this lost land... when all of this will ever be part of the picture taken?

Well, I guess, not until people in this world will blindly keep on summoning such visions, of remote golden lands supposed to save for us all the good ol' things forever. But those places are not from this earth anymore. Only admitting this could give us the force to regain those places back from hell. And I hate the compromising way this post just found to end.

it was one of the italian things // made with , , , , , , // visited 666 times // licensed and printable

 
 
 

3 Responses to “Another book I'd love to throw into the Venice lagoon from an helicopter” :

AY said

I hear you. I feel the same about those worshippers of Japan, too. I fear the lack of language skills is a huge factor. We’re easy to hoodwink because we’ll always be tourists who can’t understand basic conversation. It helps. In the case of Italy, I am not sure I want it to be any different (for me). I am sorry to be selfish. But it is sometimes very lovely to have that special place in your heart (even if it is not real). Italy is that, for many people. I know the reality, but I prefer the delusion. I know also it’s also because I don’t have to live there. :-(

corpodibacco said

Well, ok, it’s not that I want to spoil everyone’s illusions. But, sometimes you have to, you know? I know this would mean “ruining our image abroad”, which is the very fact Italian entrepreneurs and politicians feel as the gretaest of all sins. But it has to be done because truth is more important. The dreamy commonplaces are like a burden that impede the change, if you know what I mean.
I understand what you say about preserving your illusions… but even when reality breakes them, you can emigrate and visit countries and come to love them in the end, with all their difects and all. But why to lie? Why not see all the bad sides? Why do not talk about them?
Many who come here, are very disappointed but remain here anyway. It’s not too crowded, it’s not too violent, you still get your bits of free healthcare, the cities’ centers are still beautiful enough, there are all sort of advantages of the old world. But this mean nothing to me, when I see this land going bad year after year, covered by lousy commonplaces…

AY said

I know. Actually, I DO see the bad side. But I think because I do not understand the language, it is easy to overlook the negative aspects.

I do agree that it is SO very important to talk about the realities. Italy is in a terrible shape. Its bureaucracy is laughable, its right-wing politicians akin to the Mafia, its people grossly underpaid, its economy… well, let’s not go there.

Despite the faults of France (and they do live a lot in the past), at least they were able to revive their industries and one can never deny that their social services are wonderful (if at the expense of economic efficiency and the future generations).

But invariably Italy draws me. I don’t know… because for all the problems there is, it remains surreal. Well, I like that.

Again, I do apologise… it’s because I do not have to live there.

Do you want to live there?

Leave a Reply :

Italy is falling is an italian blog in english language // not entirely irresponsible // it was born on the first of july 2005 // it is based on wordpress // it is ad-free // it resisted 47,486 spamming attempts // template, graphics and content are © italyisfalling.com 2008 according to this creative commons license // all is made with ~love