Besides Sunday's primary for the Partito democtratico, one of the top news stories in Italy at the moment involves a steel mill at Taranto, in Puglia, closed by court order because of toxic emissions. Italian newspapers have been carrying the story for several months but the situation has recently become more acute. On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that workers had stormed the locked gates at the Ilva mill site in Taranto and that 1,000 workers at a sister facility in Genoa had taken to the streets. Meanwhile, the Monti government is looking for a way to keep the plant open and at the same time make sure it's no longer a health threat.
Back at the end of July, local prosecutors had ordered the plant closed for health reasons; additionally 150 "injured parties" had health-related claims pending against the company. The prosecutors charged that the Ilva plant, the largest steel mill in Europe, was emitting dust particles containing dioxin and PCBs, which had been settling on the city and surrounding countryside. Although the company claimed to be complying with environmental rules, investigators had shown that it only did so during the daytime. Italian newspapers at the time also recalled that several years earlier some 2,200 cows and goats on nearby farms had to be killed after they and their milk products were found to contain dangerous levels of toxic materials.
In August, a report to the Minister of Health found serious health problems in Taranto. Rates of lung cancer were 30 percent above those for Italy generally; for respiratory illnesses rates were 50 percent higher for men and 40 percent higher for women. It that point, almost three months ago, it was expected the national government would take the lead in finding a way to keep the plant operating while it was cleaned up. There was talk of a total cost of 336 million euros, of which 98 percent would come from public funds. Somehow, though, nothing happened. And the Monti government is still trying to find a way out of the mess.
One might wonder how a steel mill came to be located in an area without much, if anything, in the way of necessary raw materials. According to historian Paul Ginsborg (A History of Contemporary Italy), the original investment at Taranto followed designation by the Cassa del Mezzogiorno, a development agency for southern Italy, as a poli di sviluppo (development center). Pressure from local Christian Democrat politicians helped the agency to commit to providing generous public assistance: straight-out grants of up to 20 percent of the initial investment costs, plus loans of up to 70 percent at 4 percent interest for 15 years. Given this early history, it's not surprising that the government would be heavily involved now to keep the plant operating and the workers employed.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Doha 2
Yesterday delegates at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Doha heard that this year should be among the hottest on record. The director of the U.N. World Meteorological Organization, Michael Jarraud, said that data confirmed trends towards a warmer planet. “Climate change," he added, "is taking place before our eyes and will continue to do so as a result of concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which have risen constantly and again reached new records.” And yet delegates in Doha are not expected to do much during these two weeks of meetings. This probably because the U.S. and China, the two principal actors at the conference, aren't ready to act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Leaving China aside, after Obama’s reelection, can we expect a change in the U.S. approach, if not now, over the next few months? It would seem unlikely given Republican magical thinking about climate change and the pressures to deal with the economy. Right after Obama’s reelection, David Renmick, in the New Yorker, took a moment to celebrate and then said that, despite these obstacles, we have to recognize climate change as the central issue. He noted that Obama has more than once spoken of its importance, most recently in his acceptance speech on election night. As a way to move to action, Renmick proposed that the President take the lead in making us aware of what’s at stake, perhaps with an address from the Capitol on Inauguration Day. If only.
Leaving China aside, after Obama’s reelection, can we expect a change in the U.S. approach, if not now, over the next few months? It would seem unlikely given Republican magical thinking about climate change and the pressures to deal with the economy. Right after Obama’s reelection, David Renmick, in the New Yorker, took a moment to celebrate and then said that, despite these obstacles, we have to recognize climate change as the central issue. He noted that Obama has more than once spoken of its importance, most recently in his acceptance speech on election night. As a way to move to action, Renmick proposed that the President take the lead in making us aware of what’s at stake, perhaps with an address from the Capitol on Inauguration Day. If only.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
France's debate over energy transition
France is using an interesting approach to developing policies for “the energy transition.” Rather than develop these internally, François Holland’s government has chosen to organize “national debate” on the country’s energy future. The debate is to begin tomorrow, 29 November. It is expected to produce a set of legislative proposals to be proposed in 2013. The minister of ecology, Delphine Batho, will be leading a working committee of six energy experts. Although the Le Monde article reporting on the event isn’t completely clear, it appears that this group is charged with distilling the debate and preparing initial draft proposals.
Tomorrow, the discussion will begin with a group of technical experts presenting several possible energy futures. These, in turn, will be debated by representatives of seven “colleges” including unions, management, local elected officials, members of the Assembly, consumer organizations, environmental organizations, and members of the government. Several environmental groups have expressed unhappiness over the make-up of the working group, particularly the presence of two individuals considered pro-nuclear. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth decided not to participate. Reportedly, they objected in some manner to the way the debate was being organized and to the delay in fixing the date.
I’m curious about this “national debate” as an approach to governance. In theory, Holland and the Socialist Party could have offered a program for energy transition during the presidential campaign earlier this year. For whatever reason they didn’t. Maybe they felt it was too risky a subject and their first priority was to get elected. So now what? How much shaping and direction does the government apply? How open is the debate? What happens once the working group goes to work? I’m somewhat skeptical of the "national debate" model, but I'm very interested to see how it works.
Tomorrow, the discussion will begin with a group of technical experts presenting several possible energy futures. These, in turn, will be debated by representatives of seven “colleges” including unions, management, local elected officials, members of the Assembly, consumer organizations, environmental organizations, and members of the government. Several environmental groups have expressed unhappiness over the make-up of the working group, particularly the presence of two individuals considered pro-nuclear. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth decided not to participate. Reportedly, they objected in some manner to the way the debate was being organized and to the delay in fixing the date.
I’m curious about this “national debate” as an approach to governance. In theory, Holland and the Socialist Party could have offered a program for energy transition during the presidential campaign earlier this year. For whatever reason they didn’t. Maybe they felt it was too risky a subject and their first priority was to get elected. So now what? How much shaping and direction does the government apply? How open is the debate? What happens once the working group goes to work? I’m somewhat skeptical of the "national debate" model, but I'm very interested to see how it works.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Doha meeting
Michael Harrington, I think it was, used to say that nothing else is possible without full employment. Grand as it is, I think the statement is true. Still, it’s equally true that full employment isn’t possible without a sustainable environment. And we won’t have that if we can’t do something about the disruptions in the climate.
Yesterday, in Doha, Qatar, delegates from around the world began two weeks of negotiations over measures to address climate change. The meetings will end on December 7. The objective in Doha seems modest; it's simply to start discussion of a new legal structure under which countries would take actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The framework is to be completed by 2015.
The most interesting question for us is what approach the Obama administration will take. Especially, will there be consideration of a carbon tax? Will his reelection free the President to exercise leadership in this area? The U.S., China and India are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide from fossil fuels. The success of these negotiations won't depend solely on the U.S., but it’s hard to imagine meaningful results unless we are in support.
Yesterday, in Doha, Qatar, delegates from around the world began two weeks of negotiations over measures to address climate change. The meetings will end on December 7. The objective in Doha seems modest; it's simply to start discussion of a new legal structure under which countries would take actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The framework is to be completed by 2015.
The most interesting question for us is what approach the Obama administration will take. Especially, will there be consideration of a carbon tax? Will his reelection free the President to exercise leadership in this area? The U.S., China and India are the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide from fossil fuels. The success of these negotiations won't depend solely on the U.S., but it’s hard to imagine meaningful results unless we are in support.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Partito democratico primary
One of my first posts here involved the primary election to be held by Italy’s Partito democratico (PD) on November 25. The two leading candidates for the party leadership were Pierluigi Bersani, 61 years old and the party’s current national secretary; and Matteo Renzi, 37 years old, mayor of Florence, and challenger of the party’s gerontocracy. At that point, at the end of September, polls seemed to show the two about even. As it turned out, the vote yesterday was not that close. Bersani received 44.9 percent and Renzi 35.5 percent. They will face each other in a run-off vote next Sunday, December 2.
The percentages for each of the five candidates were:
Pierluigi Bersani 44.9%
Matteo Renzi 35.5
Nicchi Vendola 15.6
Laura Puppato 2.6
Bruno Tabacci 1.4
(Although it’s not clear on what basis, Renzi has challenged these results. He claims Bersani’s vote should be 43.4 percent and his own 38.8 percent.) Clearly the question is where Nicchi Vendola’s voters will go. Vendola, the president of the Puglia region, is considered an environmentalist and the most “left” of the candidates. Interestingly, it was to Bersani that Vendola directed the suggestion that to claim his voters Bersani would need to offer a profumo di sinistra (literally, a "scent of the left").
The total number of voters (3.1 million) was the same as in 2009 and below the party’s primaries in 2007 (3.5 million) and 2005 (4.3 million). Still, observers saw the turnout as an indication that anti-political attitudes among Italians may not be as strong as has been thought.
The percentages for each of the five candidates were:
Pierluigi Bersani 44.9%
Matteo Renzi 35.5
Nicchi Vendola 15.6
Laura Puppato 2.6
Bruno Tabacci 1.4
(Although it’s not clear on what basis, Renzi has challenged these results. He claims Bersani’s vote should be 43.4 percent and his own 38.8 percent.) Clearly the question is where Nicchi Vendola’s voters will go. Vendola, the president of the Puglia region, is considered an environmentalist and the most “left” of the candidates. Interestingly, it was to Bersani that Vendola directed the suggestion that to claim his voters Bersani would need to offer a profumo di sinistra (literally, a "scent of the left").
The total number of voters (3.1 million) was the same as in 2009 and below the party’s primaries in 2007 (3.5 million) and 2005 (4.3 million). Still, observers saw the turnout as an indication that anti-political attitudes among Italians may not be as strong as has been thought.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Building codes for hurricane protection
Yesterday, I highlighted an op-ed piece by a group of Virginia Tech researchers arguing that we need to start moving back from coastal areas. They probably weren’t thinking specifically of New York City. But it is a coastal city; including all five boroughs, it has over 500 miles of shoreline. So what is to be done about big cities on the coast? Yesterday’s New York Times reports on very tentative first steps by New York to take account of Hurricane Sandy. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and City Council speaker Christine Quinn have just created a “resiliency taskforce” to consider changes to the city’s building code. The task force is to present recommendations by next summer. So far, though, no one is talking about more dramatic changes to zoning rules that might restrict new building in at-risk areas.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Coastal settlement
We have friends with vacation houses in Lewes and Bethany Beach (DE). We’ve enjoyed really nice weekends with them and hope we’ll be invited again. But one has to wonder now about vacation places along the coasts, and about development generally in these areas. Is Hurricane Sandy likely to have any effect? I’ll be curious to see what, if anything, happens to real estate values in places out on the Eastern Shore. Will people still be buying vacation homes? Will state and/or county planners take steps that might limit new developments? We know sea levels are rising and that record-setting storms like Katrina and Sandy are likely to become more frequent. Yet the most densely-settled parts of the U.S. are along the coasts; that density has been increasing; and it is likely to continue to increase. Pressure is likely to remain on all levels of government to continue spending billions to protect coastal development. In Wednesday’s Washington Post, James D. Fraser, Sarah M. Karpanty and Daniel H. Catlin, coastal ecologists in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment, point out some of what’s at stake and provide some useful policy suggestions. Fingers crossed that some folks are listening.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Toxic clothing
In many cases analysts found high levels of cancer-causing phthalates and hormone-affecting nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). The U.S. has banned phthalates from use in clothing and children’s toys. The European Union has restricted use of NPEs, which are lethal for aquatic animals. Offenders included Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Zara. The report praised H&M and Levi’s for efforts to detoxify their clothing.
The report doesn’t mention J. Crew or Patagonia, but, of the things I'm wearing right now, at least I know my jeans are trying to be toxin free.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Refocus
When I started this blog I was pretty open-ended in defining what it was about. Effectively, it was about whatever I was interested in and wanted to concentrate on to the extent of making some notes and turning them into a post. Initially, it was easy to find topics. For the last six weeks, until Tuesday, I was in Italy, first for the photography workshop in Umbria and then four weeks of studying Italian in Bergamo. But that’s behind me now. I’m back home and back to a certain kind of routine without the inherent interest of things noticed during travel. What to write about isn't so obvious. So I thought I needed to revisit the question of what the blog is about. What’s important enough to me now to make me stop, figuratively scratch my chin, and write a few lines about it?
I was awake early this morning, a combination of crashing early last night from jet lag and an empty stomach, an effort to deal with extra pounds I brought home. I was done sleeping, but I didn’t want to get up. So I came back to the questions about the blog. Laying there, I considered and rejected several possibile ways to refocus. Finally it occurred to me that most of what I'd been considering -- various environmental issues in Italy, France and the U.S. -- could, in one way or another, be tied to issues of “sustainability.” As enormously broad as it is, this seems like what I want to work on. I only have a general sense of what the idea involves and I’d like to learn more. Who knows, I might even write about our household efforts to live more sustainably. It’s certainly an orientation that’s broad enough to allow reading all kinds of things. These days almost anything can be linked to it; certainly all the usual environmental issues, urban development and land use, and, of course, politics and political figures and government. The issues are as current, if not more so, in France and Italy as they are here. I’ll also pay attention to what’s happening in the U.S. I should say, though, that this isn’t going to be blog about sustainability per se; it couldn’t possibly be. Rather, I’ll be trying to make it a blog about topics mostly in these three countries that I find interesting and that are somehow part of this enormous project.
Update: I need to mention a couple other topics that might not have a connection to sustainability but which mean a lot to me: I mean photography and soccer.
I was awake early this morning, a combination of crashing early last night from jet lag and an empty stomach, an effort to deal with extra pounds I brought home. I was done sleeping, but I didn’t want to get up. So I came back to the questions about the blog. Laying there, I considered and rejected several possibile ways to refocus. Finally it occurred to me that most of what I'd been considering -- various environmental issues in Italy, France and the U.S. -- could, in one way or another, be tied to issues of “sustainability.” As enormously broad as it is, this seems like what I want to work on. I only have a general sense of what the idea involves and I’d like to learn more. Who knows, I might even write about our household efforts to live more sustainably. It’s certainly an orientation that’s broad enough to allow reading all kinds of things. These days almost anything can be linked to it; certainly all the usual environmental issues, urban development and land use, and, of course, politics and political figures and government. The issues are as current, if not more so, in France and Italy as they are here. I’ll also pay attention to what’s happening in the U.S. I should say, though, that this isn’t going to be blog about sustainability per se; it couldn’t possibly be. Rather, I’ll be trying to make it a blog about topics mostly in these three countries that I find interesting and that are somehow part of this enormous project.
Update: I need to mention a couple other topics that might not have a connection to sustainability but which mean a lot to me: I mean photography and soccer.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Monti as candidate?
I'm back home after my extended stay in Italy. I enjoyed Bergamo a lot and I think I made progress in the language. On the plane coming home yesterday, I had time to read a little on Italian politics. Italy's Partito democratico (Democratic Party) is holding its primary election next Sunday, the 25th. Five candidates are competing for the party’s nomination as party leader for the national elections now set for March 10 of next year. Meanwhile a different kind of nominating process is at work.
A good many Italians would like to see Mario Monti continue as prime minister. And they’d like to see him do it openly and explicitly as a candidate competing with the others. Massimo Cacciari makes the case for a Monti candidacy in the current issue of Expresso. In an open letter to Monti he argues:
A good many Italians would like to see Mario Monti continue as prime minister. And they’d like to see him do it openly and explicitly as a candidate competing with the others. Massimo Cacciari makes the case for a Monti candidacy in the current issue of Expresso. In an open letter to Monti he argues:
- The prime minister isn’t the simple technocrat he often portrayed as; he has long experience working in political settings and, by implication, can been an effective politician.Is Monti listening? He’s probably heard these, or similar, arguments already. And he seems a serious man ready to consider serious arguments, which I think these are, especially the last one. But I wonder how ready he is to become a full-fledged politician? I don’t really know, but I’d guess he’ll decide against it.
- He has made a good beginning at putting the country on a new course, but it’s only a beginning. He shouldn’t want to be know only as la premessa, the prelude to what comes after.
- None of the Italian political parties is ready to continue his work. If anything, the parties are in worse shape now than when Monti took over a year ago.
- An open Monti candidacy would bring people to the polls, avoiding the widespread abstention seen in the recent Sicilian elections.
- Becoming prime minister only after the elections fail to produce a clear majority for one party or coalition (a possibility suggested by Ilvo Diamanti) would mean operating in a political setting worse than the current one. No program for a new Monti government would have been articulated and he would face a more coherent opposition.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Update
It's late now in Bergamo and I won't be posting anything today. Probably not tomorrow either. A good part of today was spent packing and tomorrow I'll be on the plane on the way back home. It's been a great month.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Random Impressions of Bergamo
A few random impressions of Bergamo:
- Sometimes a scene, except for the language and the size of the cars, could have been transplanted directly from Connecticut Avenue. I’m thinking of a group of four or five women doing an exercise walk. We passed each other on several mornings when I was going to my Italian lesson. They had the same combination of windbreaker and warm up pants you’d see on a similar group in Washington, including, in a couple of case, the North Face logo. Walking at a brisk pace and talking, they could have been headed for a Starbucks.
-There appears to be money in Bergamo. I judge this by the number of expensive cars I see. Of course most of the cars are small Fiats, Citroens, Smart Cars, Renaults, and such. But the streets also include Maseratis, Porches, BMWs, Audis, and, surprisingly, station wagon-sized Jeeps.
- I’m in the Legami bookstore one day. I notice that the store's background music is some nice jazz. Then an announcer says, in un-accented English, that we’ve been listening to Mose Allison. Are the people in the store -- the clerks and customers -- listening? Or is it just pleasant background?
- People seem to smoke more than in France, especially young women. But then I dig up some WHO data from 2008. According to their report, Italians, in fact, smoke less than do the French. And it’s particularly surprising that more U.S. women smoke than do Italian women. So much for that impression.
Men Women
Italy 33 19
France 37 27
U.S. 26 22
- Stores in Bergamo don’t even wait for Thanksgiving to start putting up Christmas decorations.
- Sometimes a scene, except for the language and the size of the cars, could have been transplanted directly from Connecticut Avenue. I’m thinking of a group of four or five women doing an exercise walk. We passed each other on several mornings when I was going to my Italian lesson. They had the same combination of windbreaker and warm up pants you’d see on a similar group in Washington, including, in a couple of case, the North Face logo. Walking at a brisk pace and talking, they could have been headed for a Starbucks.
-There appears to be money in Bergamo. I judge this by the number of expensive cars I see. Of course most of the cars are small Fiats, Citroens, Smart Cars, Renaults, and such. But the streets also include Maseratis, Porches, BMWs, Audis, and, surprisingly, station wagon-sized Jeeps.
- I’m in the Legami bookstore one day. I notice that the store's background music is some nice jazz. Then an announcer says, in un-accented English, that we’ve been listening to Mose Allison. Are the people in the store -- the clerks and customers -- listening? Or is it just pleasant background?
- People seem to smoke more than in France, especially young women. But then I dig up some WHO data from 2008. According to their report, Italians, in fact, smoke less than do the French. And it’s particularly surprising that more U.S. women smoke than do Italian women. So much for that impression.
Men Women
Italy 33 19
France 37 27
U.S. 26 22
- Stores in Bergamo don’t even wait for Thanksgiving to start putting up Christmas decorations.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Monti bis?
A frequent element politial discussions here has been whether Mario Monti will continue in government after next Spring’s elections. (As of yesterday, it was finally decided these would be held on March 10, provided a new electoral law is adopted.) This is usually referred to as "Monti bis" (Monti encore). Some see him in a ministerial position -- possibly finance. His participation, it's said, would reassure the rest of the world -- and Italians, too -- that the new government would continue his sober approach to governance. Others see him returning, not as a minister, but as prime minister. Monti, himself, has said he would accept the position if conditions somehow required it. I don't think, though, he's indicated just what those conditions might be.
Yesterday, I read the most affirmative statement I’ve seen so far (admittedly from a fairly small sample) that Monti will continue as prime minister. Curzio Maltese, a journalist with La Repubblica who writes a regular column in the paper’s weekend magazine, Il venerdìi di Repubblica, says that, whichever party wins the elections, it’s 90 percent certain Monti will be the prime minister. This, says Maltese, is because the Italian political class lost its legitimacy 20 years ago with the Tangentopoli scandals and hasn’t yet been replaced by a new generation. He cites Germany, Spain, and Great Britain (he could have included France) as countries where credible national leaders have come out of the political parties. This isn’t possible in Italy, he says, and for this reason, even if one or a coalition of parties wins the March elections, he’s virtually certain Monti will be prime minister. We’ll see in a few months.
Yesterday, I read the most affirmative statement I’ve seen so far (admittedly from a fairly small sample) that Monti will continue as prime minister. Curzio Maltese, a journalist with La Repubblica who writes a regular column in the paper’s weekend magazine, Il venerdìi di Repubblica, says that, whichever party wins the elections, it’s 90 percent certain Monti will be the prime minister. This, says Maltese, is because the Italian political class lost its legitimacy 20 years ago with the Tangentopoli scandals and hasn’t yet been replaced by a new generation. He cites Germany, Spain, and Great Britain (he could have included France) as countries where credible national leaders have come out of the political parties. This isn’t possible in Italy, he says, and for this reason, even if one or a coalition of parties wins the March elections, he’s virtually certain Monti will be prime minister. We’ll see in a few months.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Politics and hope
How to think about Italian politics? This is prompted in part by two dispairing conversations about politics I had with Italians in the last coupld of days. There's a sense in which you want to say, "where to begin?"
Berlusconi is still on the scene and his comments are usually major news items, this despite the fact that commentators are saying his time has passed. Mario Monti and his government of technicians have earned respect from most Italians as well as European political leaders (and others) who used to laugh at Berlusconi behind his back. But, in the face of restrictive budget and tax policies, it’s hard to find anyone predicting significant growth in the Italian economy any time soon. And governmental polcies aside, the country’s arcane bureaucracy, organized crime, and ineffective judicial system add their own drag on the economy, not to mention their discouraging effects on outside investment.
More than once I’ve heard an Italian parent say that he or she didn’t see much of a future for their children in the country. In the face of all of this, is it still possible to hope things will get better? The two people I talked to recently, if asked, might well have said no. One said he’d stopped voting for a candidate any more. He didn’t think any of the political parties or their leaders could or would do much to address the country's proplems. At best, if he voted, he said, he’d vote for a candidate, not for change, but because he thought the others could make matters worse.
I’m not sure how I would feel about all this if I lived and voted here. I do know that until last week’s election, I had tended to dispair about progressive change in the U.S. And I suspect that feeling has had something to do with my interest in the politics of countries where I don’t have a stake -- that is France and Italy. But as sentimental as it may sound, last week’s elections reminded me that there’s almost always reason to hope, and that it’s not always in vain.
It may be that, at a certain age, having learned enough about politics to lose the enthusiasms of ones’ first couple of elections, voting for the least bad alternative is what voting amounts to. The candidate you end up voting for doesn’t excite you the way he (or she) did when you were first able to vote. You know too much about him. But he’s less bad than all the others so you hold your nose and give him your support. Isn’t that, in a way, what mature citizenship should be -- a sober, slightly cynical, somewhat ironic participation, but with an emphasis on “participation?” And maybe that’s the answer to how to think about Italian politics.
----------- I was looking for something that might illustrate this note, but didn't find it. Maybe we could imagine these two men aren't really talking about the bicycle, but have been absent-mindedly looking that way while they debate last Tuesday evening's televised debate in one of the party primaries.
Berlusconi is still on the scene and his comments are usually major news items, this despite the fact that commentators are saying his time has passed. Mario Monti and his government of technicians have earned respect from most Italians as well as European political leaders (and others) who used to laugh at Berlusconi behind his back. But, in the face of restrictive budget and tax policies, it’s hard to find anyone predicting significant growth in the Italian economy any time soon. And governmental polcies aside, the country’s arcane bureaucracy, organized crime, and ineffective judicial system add their own drag on the economy, not to mention their discouraging effects on outside investment.
More than once I’ve heard an Italian parent say that he or she didn’t see much of a future for their children in the country. In the face of all of this, is it still possible to hope things will get better? The two people I talked to recently, if asked, might well have said no. One said he’d stopped voting for a candidate any more. He didn’t think any of the political parties or their leaders could or would do much to address the country's proplems. At best, if he voted, he said, he’d vote for a candidate, not for change, but because he thought the others could make matters worse.
I’m not sure how I would feel about all this if I lived and voted here. I do know that until last week’s election, I had tended to dispair about progressive change in the U.S. And I suspect that feeling has had something to do with my interest in the politics of countries where I don’t have a stake -- that is France and Italy. But as sentimental as it may sound, last week’s elections reminded me that there’s almost always reason to hope, and that it’s not always in vain.
It may be that, at a certain age, having learned enough about politics to lose the enthusiasms of ones’ first couple of elections, voting for the least bad alternative is what voting amounts to. The candidate you end up voting for doesn’t excite you the way he (or she) did when you were first able to vote. You know too much about him. But he’s less bad than all the others so you hold your nose and give him your support. Isn’t that, in a way, what mature citizenship should be -- a sober, slightly cynical, somewhat ironic participation, but with an emphasis on “participation?” And maybe that’s the answer to how to think about Italian politics.
----------- I was looking for something that might illustrate this note, but didn't find it. Maybe we could imagine these two men aren't really talking about the bicycle, but have been absent-mindedly looking that way while they debate last Tuesday evening's televised debate in one of the party primaries.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Learning a language 2
Tomorrow I’ll have my last Italian lesson. Altogether there will have been 15 of them. Friday’s are usually my teacher’s busiest days, but she agreed to see me for an hour in the afternoon. I feel a little like a therapy patient anxious to squeeze in one more meeting before the sessions end.
I’d asked for a review of something that Italian grammar books refer to as il periodo ipotetico, or hypothetical expressions; for example, “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have baked a cake.” What in English seems seems straightforward and automatic, in Italian involves variations of the subjunctive and conditional. I’ve had lessons on this topic in the past, but they hadn’t stuck and I’ve found myself avoiding anything that might end up being a hypothetical statement. If I sense myself heading down a road that’s going to require what still seems like a complicated combination, I quickly take a detour. Maybe after this review I’ll be prepared to go ahead and take the direct route. I'll see how I feel on Saturday when I have dinner again with our friends here.
During these four weeks, meeting most days from 9 to 11, we’ve reviewed the several past tenses, prepositions, the imperative, the subjunctive, direct and indirect pronouns, conjunctions, and other grammar points as they came up. I’ve written probably 10 or twelve little things meant to work at different kinds of writing -- letters, a short story, a newspaper article, even a recipe. And we’ve spent a good deal of time just talking -- about Seattle where my teacher and her husband and daughter lived for several years; about travel; about the U.S. elections; about Italian teenagers’ fixation on certain brands like Eastpak backpacks and Franklin & Marshall sweatshirts; and, of course, about Italian politics.
So has my Italian improved? Yes, I’m pretty sure it has, although it’s hard to tell how much. I didn’t start out with any kind of benchmark test and I’m not taking one at the end that could provide a comparison. I do know, though, that I still have quite a bit to learn.
I’d asked for a review of something that Italian grammar books refer to as il periodo ipotetico, or hypothetical expressions; for example, “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have baked a cake.” What in English seems seems straightforward and automatic, in Italian involves variations of the subjunctive and conditional. I’ve had lessons on this topic in the past, but they hadn’t stuck and I’ve found myself avoiding anything that might end up being a hypothetical statement. If I sense myself heading down a road that’s going to require what still seems like a complicated combination, I quickly take a detour. Maybe after this review I’ll be prepared to go ahead and take the direct route. I'll see how I feel on Saturday when I have dinner again with our friends here.
During these four weeks, meeting most days from 9 to 11, we’ve reviewed the several past tenses, prepositions, the imperative, the subjunctive, direct and indirect pronouns, conjunctions, and other grammar points as they came up. I’ve written probably 10 or twelve little things meant to work at different kinds of writing -- letters, a short story, a newspaper article, even a recipe. And we’ve spent a good deal of time just talking -- about Seattle where my teacher and her husband and daughter lived for several years; about travel; about the U.S. elections; about Italian teenagers’ fixation on certain brands like Eastpak backpacks and Franklin & Marshall sweatshirts; and, of course, about Italian politics.
So has my Italian improved? Yes, I’m pretty sure it has, although it’s hard to tell how much. I didn’t start out with any kind of benchmark test and I’m not taking one at the end that could provide a comparison. I do know, though, that I still have quite a bit to learn.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Work and demonstrations
Today’s Italian lesson included a discussion of work. We talked generally about the importance of work in one’s life and about which kinds of work are most sought after and respected in the U.S. and Italy . We reviewed vocabulary related to work (e.g., disoccupazione/unemployment, tirocinante/trainee). And I did some exercises where sentences about work required filling in blanks with the correct version of the subjunctive. I can always use work on the subjunctive.
Was it coincidence, or did my teacher time the lesson to go with today’s “European Day of Action and Solidarity?”
I should have asked her.
Today, in many parts of Europe workers and students are mobilizing against governmental austerity measures. There are general strikes in Spain and Portugal, and work stoppages in Italy, Greece, and France. Demonstrations are also expected in Germany, Austria, and Holland. A spokesperson for one French union said today’s set a new mark as the largest ever such Europe-wide mobilization.
Meanwhile, a government agency in Greece announced that as of the end of the third trimester the country’s GDP had fallen 7.2 percent over the last year. As if they needed it, here's more evidence confirming the demonstrators’ argument that austerity isn’t the way to growth.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Caffè del Tasso
I went for coffee this morning with my Italian teacher and two of her colleagues at the University of Bergamo. The university has locations scattered in several parts of the city, but the main part is in one of the narrow back streets of the medieval Città Alta. We met them at their offices there. It’s always a bit of a surprise when I come up to a building that may be several hundred years old, walk through the doorway, and emerge in the present.
My teacher is part of the Centro di Italiano per Stranieri at the university. The Center provides Italian classes for foreign students, as well as others, like me, interested in learning the language. We were getting together because I’d expressed an interest in finding out more about Center programs. We walked from their offices a short ways to the Caffe del Tasso in the Piazza Vecchia. I remembered that Lynda and I had had a glass of wine here when we visited Bergamo six years ago.
According to its own history, the Caffe, in one form or another, dates back to 1476 when it was known as the Locanda delle due Spade (the Inn of Two Swords). Later, in 1681, after a statute honoring the poet Torquato Tasso was installed nearby, it became known as the Torquato Tasso Caffè e Bottiglieria (Torquato Tasso Caffe and Wine Shop). Tasso was a 16th century poet best known for the epic poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) dealing with the First Crusade. He was born in Sorrento, near Naples, but Tasso’s father was from Bergamo, which, it seems, was enough for the city to claim him as one of their own. Eventually, sometime in the late 19th century, the Caffè's name was shortened to what it is today.
The place is modestly wide with the wine and coffee bar at the front and more tables towards the back. This morning there was good light from the front window and the wooden floors and fixtures gave a comfortable old feeling; not 500+ years, but at least 19th century old. Three of us had coffee and one had an orange juice. And we talked about the Center. I’m hoping to go back. If it weren’t a bit far away on foot, I could become one of the regulars.
My teacher is part of the Centro di Italiano per Stranieri at the university. The Center provides Italian classes for foreign students, as well as others, like me, interested in learning the language. We were getting together because I’d expressed an interest in finding out more about Center programs. We walked from their offices a short ways to the Caffe del Tasso in the Piazza Vecchia. I remembered that Lynda and I had had a glass of wine here when we visited Bergamo six years ago.
According to its own history, the Caffe, in one form or another, dates back to 1476 when it was known as the Locanda delle due Spade (the Inn of Two Swords). Later, in 1681, after a statute honoring the poet Torquato Tasso was installed nearby, it became known as the Torquato Tasso Caffè e Bottiglieria (Torquato Tasso Caffe and Wine Shop). Tasso was a 16th century poet best known for the epic poem Gerusalemme liberata (Jerusalem Delivered) dealing with the First Crusade. He was born in Sorrento, near Naples, but Tasso’s father was from Bergamo, which, it seems, was enough for the city to claim him as one of their own. Eventually, sometime in the late 19th century, the Caffè's name was shortened to what it is today.
The place is modestly wide with the wine and coffee bar at the front and more tables towards the back. This morning there was good light from the front window and the wooden floors and fixtures gave a comfortable old feeling; not 500+ years, but at least 19th century old. Three of us had coffee and one had an orange juice. And we talked about the Center. I’m hoping to go back. If it weren’t a bit far away on foot, I could become one of the regulars.
Monday, November 12, 2012
"Montism"
Ilvo Diamanti is an Italian political scientist who writes a regular column for La Repubblica. He also teaches at the University of Urbino and directs il Laboratorio di Studi Politici e Sociali. And the New York Times frequently seeks him out when they need informed commentary on Italian politics.
I’ve been reading him whenever possible while I’m here and today's piece is particularly interesting.
Mario Monti took over as head of the Italian government just about a year ago, on November, 16 2011, after European markets and loss of domestic support forced Silvio Berlusconi to resign. As Monti’s anniversary comes up, Diamanti considers the meaning of a year of “Montism.” In the briefest terms, he characterizes Monti’s government of (mostly) politically astute technocrats as “Aristocratic Democracy” (Aristocrazia Democratica).
More interesting that this summary characterization is his suggestion that, at least in part, general appreciation for Monti is mixed with a kind of nostalgia for the First Italian Republic. This was the long, post-war period when the Christian Democrats formed one government after another. Diamanti suggests, too, that this nostalgia is at work in current negotiations over a new election law that would apply to the elections planned for next Spring. Many, he proposes, would be comfortable with a law that effectively kept any single party from getting a clear majority. According to Diamanti, these people believe the effect such an electoral arrangement be to require the kind of post-election negotiation to form a government that characterized the Christian Democratic era. Again, according to Diamanti, the proponents of this approach think it would produce a version of Monti’s aristocratic democracy. Partisanship would be replaced by a consensus among experienced government figures. It seems, though, the “aristocrats” in this case could end up being people who know politics better than government.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Post-election commentary
The Sunday church bells are echoing each other across Bergamo and it’s raining. Before I turn to my Italian homework, I’m reading and appreciating more of Arun Kapil’s roundup of post-election commentary.
I was struck by his brief thoughts about the reasons for the drop off in voting this time, a reduction, it seems, of about 10 million votes. One reason, he speculates, may be a perverse effect of the electoral college. If the election is only being contested in the ten or eleven swing states, then voters on the others, where the outcome is virtually certain, have less reason to go vote. It’s a version of why I wasn’t too concerned when the District of Columbia didn’t send my absentee ballot to Italy as they’d promised. After all, what’s another Democratic vote in the District? If this is, in fact, what’s happening, and if the number of swing states drops further, the effect, as he says, is to make “the presidential election effectively irrelevant for may voters in most of the country.” Sobering.
I was also especially grateful for his link to a Frank Rich piece in New York Magazine. It reminds me of how much I enjoyed him in the Times and how much I miss him. For example:
I was struck by his brief thoughts about the reasons for the drop off in voting this time, a reduction, it seems, of about 10 million votes. One reason, he speculates, may be a perverse effect of the electoral college. If the election is only being contested in the ten or eleven swing states, then voters on the others, where the outcome is virtually certain, have less reason to go vote. It’s a version of why I wasn’t too concerned when the District of Columbia didn’t send my absentee ballot to Italy as they’d promised. After all, what’s another Democratic vote in the District? If this is, in fact, what’s happening, and if the number of swing states drops further, the effect, as he says, is to make “the presidential election effectively irrelevant for may voters in most of the country.” Sobering.
I was also especially grateful for his link to a Frank Rich piece in New York Magazine. It reminds me of how much I enjoyed him in the Times and how much I miss him. For example:
“Given that Romney had about as much of a human touch with voters as an ATM, it sometimes seemed as if a hologram were running for president. Yet some 57 million Americans took him seriously enough to drag themselves to the polls and vote for a duplicitous cipher.”And his last paragraph:
Daniel Patrick Moynihan might be surprised to learn that he is now remembered most for his oft-repeated maxim that “everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” Yet today most Americans do see themselves as entitled to their own facts, with one of our two major political parties setting a powerful example. For all the hand-wringing about Washington’s chronic dysfunction and lack of bipartisanship, it may be the wholesale denial of reality by the opposition and its fellow travelers that is the biggest obstacle to our country moving forward under a much-empowered Barack Obama in his second term. If truth can’t command a mandate, no one can.This, or some version of it, should be kept in mind any time a political commentator moans about how the two parties can’t work together. One of them isn't interested.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Michael Bradley and Roma
Yesterday’s La Repubblica included a nice surprise, an interview with Michael Bradley. Bradley is a midfielder for Roma, one of Rome’s two soccer teams. He may be the only American currently playing in Serie A (the Italian first division). He’s also a regular member of the US national team.
I’d guess this is the first time the paper has featured him and it’s kind of a big deal in a country that takes soccer as seriously as Italy does. From what I can tell, he’s doing pretty well. He’s playing midfield for one of the country’s major clubs, and, if not every game, he has started several. The hook for the piece is tomorrow’s match between Roma and Lazio, the city’s other first division club. The fact that this will be Bradley’s first “derby” (game against traditional rivals, usually located close by) He says he a bit of an “alien” to the event, but is ready.
Roma acquired him during the summer, apparently having been impressed with his play at another Italian team, Chievo of Verona. Bradley is an excellent player and I doubt Roma would have taken him if they didn’t think he would be an asset. But their initial consideration may have been helped by the fact that the team was recently bought by a group of American investors (some of whom also have interests in Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox). It’s a complicated game.
[Headline: “Bradley, American model (as in model of car). ‘You need to open your eyes; US soccer is serious’”]
I’d guess this is the first time the paper has featured him and it’s kind of a big deal in a country that takes soccer as seriously as Italy does. From what I can tell, he’s doing pretty well. He’s playing midfield for one of the country’s major clubs, and, if not every game, he has started several. The hook for the piece is tomorrow’s match between Roma and Lazio, the city’s other first division club. The fact that this will be Bradley’s first “derby” (game against traditional rivals, usually located close by) He says he a bit of an “alien” to the event, but is ready.
Roma acquired him during the summer, apparently having been impressed with his play at another Italian team, Chievo of Verona. Bradley is an excellent player and I doubt Roma would have taken him if they didn’t think he would be an asset. But their initial consideration may have been helped by the fact that the team was recently bought by a group of American investors (some of whom also have interests in Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox). It’s a complicated game.
[Headline: “Bradley, American model (as in model of car). ‘You need to open your eyes; US soccer is serious’”]
Friday, November 9, 2012
Italian versus Spanish
Tuesday's election has me looking back towards the news at home and, in particular, noting the role Hispanics played in the election; it makes me feel like maybe I’m learning the wrong language.
It has been reported that 71 percent of Hispanic ballots were cast for Obama, up 8% from four years ago. Census data from 2010 reports that Hispanics now make up a significant percentages of the population in several southwestern states and in Florida: New Mexico (46%), California (38%), Texas (38%), Arizona (30%), Nevada (26%), Florida (22%), Colorado (21%). In Colorado it's reported that Obama took 74% of the Hispanic vote, up from 61% four years ago; in Florida, even with traditionally conservative Cuban-Americans, he took 60%, up from 57% in 2008. In these, and several other states, Hispanic voters apparently did a lot to give Obama a majority.
This is especially impressive considering how commentators have been saying for some time that these voters were up for grabs, that many were new to the country and/or were first time voters, and that their impressions of the two parties and the one with which they might identify, were still in formation. It appears that identification is taking shape. It will be interesting to see whether the connection with Democrats continues to strengthen and whether it will also apply to state and local elections. This support last Tuesday has significance in upcoming discussions of federal immigration legislation. The new Administration certainly owes something to Hispanic voters and can expect to hear that message when it takes up a bill. Beyond that, if they can get passed a bill that clearly benefits immigrants in difficulty, it could do a lot to solidify Hispanics’ connection with the Democratic Party. I expect the Republicans will understand that.
And if Puerto Rico becomes a state, this Hispanic flavor to U.S. life and its politics will get bumped up yet another notch.
It has been reported that 71 percent of Hispanic ballots were cast for Obama, up 8% from four years ago. Census data from 2010 reports that Hispanics now make up a significant percentages of the population in several southwestern states and in Florida: New Mexico (46%), California (38%), Texas (38%), Arizona (30%), Nevada (26%), Florida (22%), Colorado (21%). In Colorado it's reported that Obama took 74% of the Hispanic vote, up from 61% four years ago; in Florida, even with traditionally conservative Cuban-Americans, he took 60%, up from 57% in 2008. In these, and several other states, Hispanic voters apparently did a lot to give Obama a majority.
This is especially impressive considering how commentators have been saying for some time that these voters were up for grabs, that many were new to the country and/or were first time voters, and that their impressions of the two parties and the one with which they might identify, were still in formation. It appears that identification is taking shape. It will be interesting to see whether the connection with Democrats continues to strengthen and whether it will also apply to state and local elections. This support last Tuesday has significance in upcoming discussions of federal immigration legislation. The new Administration certainly owes something to Hispanic voters and can expect to hear that message when it takes up a bill. Beyond that, if they can get passed a bill that clearly benefits immigrants in difficulty, it could do a lot to solidify Hispanics’ connection with the Democratic Party. I expect the Republicans will understand that.
And if Puerto Rico becomes a state, this Hispanic flavor to U.S. life and its politics will get bumped up yet another notch.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Restoring Sant'Agata
About 5 p.m. yesterday, I took a break from my Italian homework and went for a walk along the south wall of the Città Alta. I had taken along my camera, but by the time I got up to the walls, the sun was behind the horizon and the only thing that seemed to suggest itself was a group of trees at the top of a part of the wall profiled against what light was left in the sky. Here’s the picture.
By the time I made it around to the Porta Sant’Alessandro Gate at the west end of the walls, it was completely dark and time to turn into the Città Alta itself and head home. But I wasn’t in a real hurry and, walking along the Via Colleoni, I stopped in at the Church of Sant’Agata al Carmine. There wasn’t anything particular to suggest it, but churches always seem to be open and I thought why not. It turned out to be a mini-lesson in the burdens of maintaining a cultural heritage.
It’s a good-sized baroque church with elaborately decorated chapels and side walls. The very nice paintings along the arched ceiling showed scenes from Jesus’ life from the Annunciation to the time when he was learning his trade as a carpenter. Interesting the choice to go only that far. Although the colors still appeared strong, the ceiling and the paintings were not in good shape. Several sections showed a white, chalky-looking substance on the surface; possibly damage from water leaking through the roof?
At that point, I gave more attention to a large display panel at the back of the pews, just as you came in the door. It was an appeal for funds. The panel explained that the church had been neglected and is now being restored. It explained that the first phase, already completed, consisted of securing the foundation and walls and installing a modern electrical system. The cost for this was 328,545 euros, with funds coming from the Italian Episcopal Commission, the Lombardy Region, and HCB, a hotel and entertainment booking company. The next phase will fix the roof, restore one of the side chapels, and address delayed maintenance. This is expected to cost 421,444 euros. So far half of the funds have been pledged by the Cariplo Foundation (related to the Cariplo Bank based in Lombardy); the rest still needs to be raised.
A second, somewhat larger panel on the exit side of the church represented part of the project to raise those funds. The broad panel, maybe six feet high by nine feet across was a composite of several large color photographs showing the apse and sides of the church. Over the photos was a lucite cover cover with perhaps several hundred small, rectangular cutouts about two by three inches. A text explained that contributors to the church’s restoration can buy one (or more) “brick’s” to fill in the empty rectangles. The minimum contribution is five euros. As the blanks are filled in the pictures are completed -- and the church is restored. Yesterday, it seemed that contributors had bought about sixty percent of the bricks.
All this made me think that people responsible for maintaining or restoring baroque churches like this one must curse the original builders and especially the artists who added all the decoration; or maybe more appropriately the patrons who commissioned it. I wonder if they envy those responsible for gothic churches?
It’s a good-sized baroque church with elaborately decorated chapels and side walls. The very nice paintings along the arched ceiling showed scenes from Jesus’ life from the Annunciation to the time when he was learning his trade as a carpenter. Interesting the choice to go only that far. Although the colors still appeared strong, the ceiling and the paintings were not in good shape. Several sections showed a white, chalky-looking substance on the surface; possibly damage from water leaking through the roof?
At that point, I gave more attention to a large display panel at the back of the pews, just as you came in the door. It was an appeal for funds. The panel explained that the church had been neglected and is now being restored. It explained that the first phase, already completed, consisted of securing the foundation and walls and installing a modern electrical system. The cost for this was 328,545 euros, with funds coming from the Italian Episcopal Commission, the Lombardy Region, and HCB, a hotel and entertainment booking company. The next phase will fix the roof, restore one of the side chapels, and address delayed maintenance. This is expected to cost 421,444 euros. So far half of the funds have been pledged by the Cariplo Foundation (related to the Cariplo Bank based in Lombardy); the rest still needs to be raised.
A second, somewhat larger panel on the exit side of the church represented part of the project to raise those funds. The broad panel, maybe six feet high by nine feet across was a composite of several large color photographs showing the apse and sides of the church. Over the photos was a lucite cover cover with perhaps several hundred small, rectangular cutouts about two by three inches. A text explained that contributors to the church’s restoration can buy one (or more) “brick’s” to fill in the empty rectangles. The minimum contribution is five euros. As the blanks are filled in the pictures are completed -- and the church is restored. Yesterday, it seemed that contributors had bought about sixty percent of the bricks.
All this made me think that people responsible for maintaining or restoring baroque churches like this one must curse the original builders and especially the artists who added all the decoration; or maybe more appropriately the patrons who commissioned it. I wonder if they envy those responsible for gothic churches?
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Obama reelected!
Obama wins! Hooray and whew!
I’m listening to his acceptance speech translated in Italian with a voice-over. I can hear him in the background, along with the crowd. He says he has never loved Michelle more, never respected her more for being a favorite of so many Americans. Without meaning to be at all cynical, he must know how that helped his reelection.
I can hear him affirming how much work still needs to be done, that he will try to find consensus on new proposals, and will work in a spirit of compromise. Not too much, I hope. He must have learned something from trying to work with Republicans these last four years. I’m encouraged in that when he says that he won’t be operating with blind optimism, that he knows the difficulty of the challenges. As an aside, from what I can tell, the translator on RAI 1 is doing an excellent job.
I switch to France Inter for a moment, hear some of the same speech, this time translated into French. He seems “more determined than ever,” according to the French commentator. Here’s hoping.
These radio broadcasts add to how I’ve been struck by the extent of coverage in the papers and on the radio (haven’t had time to watch TV) that the U.S. election received here, and not just on election day. It’s been building up for most of the last week; multi-page sections on the campaign and ad spots for radio, TV, and the internet promising full coverage of the returns, most of which would start at midnight last night. Given how heavily our policies can weigh on the rest of the world, there ought to be a way they could vote in our elections.
Listening to these reports, I feel like I've refound my interest in the world. It's safe (more or less) to go into the water again. Fearing the worst, I hadn’t been able to read anything about the election. Pretty much everything I’ve heard for the last week or more has been thanks to Lynda. Now, I feel like I can go back to reading TPM and the rest. There’s at least the possibility of new public action and the hope that Obama is ready to put the Republicans to the test. In fact, why not a strategy that forces them into the open over and over and sets the stage for the House election in 2014?
Below are this morning’s headlines from two of Italy's major papers. I bought both thinking I wanted to read about the results before I realized that both were put to bed before anyone knew the results. There's an interesting contrast in the headlines. Corriere declares only “A Test in Key States.” La Repubblica, though, seems sly in a headline that says, “White House, America has Chosen.” And below there's a (composite?) photo with a young woman posing with a cutout Obama figure. Were the headline and photo added at the last possible moment? Did they mean the photo to suggest the result, even though none of the articles does more than report on the last campaign statements and election day turnout?
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Via Pignolo Basso
I’ve been walking up and down via Pignolo on the way to the Pam grocery store on the via Camozzi; it’s about a 10 minute walk. The first part, from my apartment down to via Verdi, is mostly a descent on a narrow sidewalk along a herringbone-patterned brick street flanked by forbidding exteriors to what seem to be old, old palazzi.
I’d been seeing the portion below via Verdi mostly as an extension of this, more closed-off palazzi with occasional glimpses of interior courtyards. But yesterday afternoon I stopped in at a cartoleria (stationary and school supplies store) in the the lower street to buy some postcards. The store was wonderful. When I went in, I felt like I’d stepped back 50 or 60 years. It could have been next door to my grandfather’s Woolworths in Normal, Illinois. The couple in the store, several years older even that I am, added to the atmosphere. I wouldn’t say it was museum-like, but I wished I could have spent more time exploring what all they had for sale.
When I went back outside, somehow an ice had been broken. Going back up the street towards my apartment, passing the small shops, I was struck by a variety I hadn’t noticed before. As is probably true in any neighborhood here, the street includes several bars (Italian style, probably serving more coffee and snacks than alcohol) and beauty salons. But it also includes Antica Legatoria, selling hand-made notebooks and providing book-binding services; Bag and Shoes, whose name describes it; Ready to Win, offering model airplane, car, etc. kits; Studio Matteo Pontiggia for guitar repair; Il Negozio, a shop selling arts and crafts to raise funds for autism support; Tip Tap, a children's shoe store, and one of the busier stores in the street. Plus a couple of women’s clothing stores, a shoe repair and key duplicating store, a real estate office, a branch of the Bergamo library system, and more. In all, evidence of a real neighborhood.
This was reinforced by the number of fathers and mothers with small children, walking or on bicycles. It’s hard to know what’s behind the blank building facades, but it must be that many include apartments with young families.
As I say, quite different from my initial impression.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Learning a language
A Google search on "language learning as an adult" seems to produce a lot of links to pieces urging adults to learn a new language. "You can do it," they seem to say. "Age and diminished blood flow to the brain are no excuses."
But I was looking for something different, maybe someone's thoughts on all that's involved: the initial reasons; the early struggle to memorize nouns and verb conjugations; the first, halting conversation where real, useful information gets exchanged; the first newspaper article struggled through; the first book completed; and all kinds of other firsts. And then the continuing entry -- slow or fast -- into the language and with it, possibly, changes in outlook, even, who knows, personality changes. It's something I'll read if and when I find it.
I think about this at the beginning of my second week in Bergamo, more or less the mid-point of the time I'll be here. As I've probably already mentioned, I'm taking Italian lessons four days a week, usually in the morning from 9 to 11. I have a very good teacher, who has been providing a variety of exercises aimed at reviewing certain points of grammar. These two hours go by pretty quickly as we talk about whatever, review written exercises I've done, and correct the short pieces I've written.
All of this is quite helpful and useful. And I sense that I'm becoming a little more at ease in conversations, if only because of my teacher's tolerance and that of the family friends here who've been taking such good care of me. But I can also appreciate just how much further I need to go before I'll be truly at ease. And I'm only here for another two weeks.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of street photos from time wandering around the Città Alta and "shooting from the hip." The main street, the via Gombito and its continuation on the via Colleoni, can be something like a medieval mini-mall when the Bergamaschi come strolling on weekends and holidays. But it's also an area that I want to know better. Anyway, here are the photos.
But I was looking for something different, maybe someone's thoughts on all that's involved: the initial reasons; the early struggle to memorize nouns and verb conjugations; the first, halting conversation where real, useful information gets exchanged; the first newspaper article struggled through; the first book completed; and all kinds of other firsts. And then the continuing entry -- slow or fast -- into the language and with it, possibly, changes in outlook, even, who knows, personality changes. It's something I'll read if and when I find it.
I think about this at the beginning of my second week in Bergamo, more or less the mid-point of the time I'll be here. As I've probably already mentioned, I'm taking Italian lessons four days a week, usually in the morning from 9 to 11. I have a very good teacher, who has been providing a variety of exercises aimed at reviewing certain points of grammar. These two hours go by pretty quickly as we talk about whatever, review written exercises I've done, and correct the short pieces I've written.
All of this is quite helpful and useful. And I sense that I'm becoming a little more at ease in conversations, if only because of my teacher's tolerance and that of the family friends here who've been taking such good care of me. But I can also appreciate just how much further I need to go before I'll be truly at ease. And I'm only here for another two weeks.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of street photos from time wandering around the Città Alta and "shooting from the hip." The main street, the via Gombito and its continuation on the via Colleoni, can be something like a medieval mini-mall when the Bergamaschi come strolling on weekends and holidays. But it's also an area that I want to know better. Anyway, here are the photos.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Bergamo photos
It's past time to put up a post. My Italian lessons have been keeping me busy and I keep finding that the time when I might write something gets used differently. There's grocery shopping, exploring the Città Alta (Upper City), finding my way around Bergamo proper, and enjoying dinners with the Terzis and their friends. That has been one of the really special things about this stay.
Anyway, I've been taking pictures here and there, nothing like the number I did during the Umbria photo workshop, but some to record the world seen from my apartment and a little of what I've seen as I've walked around. So this post, and maybe more, will focus on photographs.
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