In order for the result of the vote to be valid, 50% of the electorate + 1 voter must go to the polls. Since we have just voted for the local governments in several major cities, you might be wondering why these referendums could not be combined with that vote. Most of us are wondering… this will cost the country a lot of money. The official answer is that the government wanted to make people feel free to participate or not. The fact is though that you can choose to accept or refuse (some of) the referendum voting papers, so the truth I suspect lies elsewhere.

The four questions

All the fuss is about two questions, but I believe the most important vote should be the one about the other two laws.

Grey Voting Paper: Question on nuclear power stations

The question voters are asked to answer is whether they want to abrogate the law that allows the construction of new nuclear power stations in Italy. The commas that would be abrogated if the majority of the voters vote YES are n. 1 of the 5th article of the DM Omnibus, which delays the selection of the locations for the new power stations, and n. 8, which sets the date of the beginning of the nuclear program in 2012.

This is the most opposed and promoted question of the four at the same time. The government is actually trying to invalidate the question in order to exclude it from the referendum vote. First they changed the law slightly in the hope that it would be enough for the referendum to be annulled. Then when the Supreme Court of Cassation judged that changing the law was not enough to make the question invalid, the government appealed to the Constitutional Court. The verdict will be made public tomorrow.

The arguments of those who support the project for the nuclear power program in Italy are that no renewable energy source can possibly provide the amount of energy necessary to the industrial infrastructure of the country. The new power stations would be safe, and besides there are plenty of them just on the other side of the border so fears of nuclear catastrophes are irrational.

The arguments of those who are against the nuclear program are that it is too expensive, the time it will take for the new power stations to be ready is so long that the technology used will be obsolete, the country has many areas at risk of earthquake, there is no way to guarantee the quality of the constructions as by law public contracts must be awarded to the lowest bidder. And much more.

My opinion. Personally I am not against nuclear energy per se, but I don’t trust Italy to be able to make it safe, to be able to dispose of the nuclear waste in a serious way (we are still suffering from the bad disposal of the nuclear waste of the 70′s when we did have nuclear power stations), and most importantly, I believe that this is not the investment our country needs at all. How long can Italy remain an industrial power? 20, 30 more years? The future of heavy industry, as sad as it may sound for our economy, lies elsewhere. I believe our economy cannot sustain such a big investment, and the money should be spent more wisely on research, education and other fields that can give our young people more hopes for the future. Besides I believe that research is making progress in renewable energies, and I am not so sure that if a serious effort is made in that direction, green energy cannot represent a valid alternative to nuclear power in the future.

Green voting paper: question on the legitimate impediment law.

The referendum on the legitimate impediment law aims at abrogating this law which has been judged partially unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in January 2011.

The law says that the Prime Minister and all the Ministers can choose to never appear in court during office because of the commitments entailed by their institutional obligations. This has the practical result of blocking the trials in which they should be involved.

By voting YES, people can have the law repealed.

The people who are in favour of this law say that until proven guilty, everybody is innocent, so there is no point in disrupting government activity for some allegations.

The people who are against the law say that it stands in open violation of the 3rd article of the Italian Constitution, which says that all citizens have equal social dignity and are equal in the face of law, indistinguishable of sex, race, language, religion, political opinions, personal and social conditions.

My opinion. I am in favour of abrogating this law, partly because of this clash with the constitutional law, but most importantly because it’s a risky, unethical law in a country that has had a dictatorship in its past. In civilized countries, Ministers resign when they are even suspected of something as serious as some of the things some members of our government and parliament have been accused of. In this country they have immunity. It’s unacceptable. The people who govern a nation should be model citizens and not just professionals of the political career with no scruples. I don’t care at all if Silvio Berlusconi is brought to trial or if he is made a hero for his conduct. The laws of a country should guarantee that, no matter who the Prime Minister and the Ministers are, justice and equity be ensured.

Red and Yellow Voting Papers: two questions on water

We can live with nuclear power stations and with corrupt politicians. We cannot live without water. For some reason, though, even though these should be the most important questions, they have been relegated to the background of the debate.

The red voting paper allows people to abrogate the law on the ways in which the management of local public services of economic importance (e.g. water…) can be given to private entities. The existing law allows the liberalization of public water management and the privatization of the water network and services (aqueducts, sewers, etc.).

The yellow voting paper concerns the law that allows people who will manage the water network to set the price according to the investment they have made in the project.

People supporting these laws say that this would make the system more efficient and it would relieve the state from a heavy financial burden. The local municipalities are not capable of facing the costs of maintenance and the services are often in the hands of the organized crime.

People who are against this law say that this would allow organized crime and private interests to gain further control over such a precious sector. A fundamental good like water should be public.

My opinion. I believe these are the most important voting papers to accept and that it is fundamental to vote YES to abrogate these infamous laws. Most people worry about the day oil will run out without worrying about the much more serious moment when fresh water will be in high demand. We must protect this public good, we must make sure part of the money the government would be ready to spend on nuclear power stations goes towards the maintenance of the water network so as to solve many of the problems and wastes that make water expensive in many regions. Public, affordable, safe water is a fundamental right in any democratic state. There are certain services that simply cannot be given to private entities, because, no matter how ethical they might be, they will always have private interests to guard. The state should vouch for the preservation of the basic rights, and the right to good affordable water is one of them.

Will the referendum questions get the “quorum”?

I don’t know, but I do hope they will. It will be a serious loss for this country if they don’t, and not because of this or that politician’s future, but because there are certain matters of public interest that should just not be underestimated.

I will go vote and I will vote YES to all 4 of the questions. I hope those of you who can vote, or who have a husband, a friend, a son or a daughter who can vote, will ask them to go and vote according to conscience and not just political orientation.

The title of my first post in this series is the answer to the question we chose to guide our first roundtable: “why do you write about Italy?” I confess that I had to think about this before I could come up with something that made sense (and I am not sure I did!). I had never thought about the reason why I blog about the things I blog about. Most of the time, something comes up and I need to vent or talk about it!

I guess that’s part of the answer. I am Italian, I live in Tuscany: by blogging about life in Italy, I am blogging about myself and my life here. I am blogging about home.

I spend my life between Pisa, in northern Tuscany, and my home village, Civitella Marittima, in southern Tuscany, so I mostly blog about living in these places. It’s not so simple though. To figure out what I would write today, I re-read some of my posts. I figured out that most of the time, they are not about places or things I see and do: they are often quite personal posts… more personal than I had realized! I share my experiences, my feelings and my opinions on certain aspects of living in Tuscany or in Italy.

Most of the time I post about “trivial” aspects of local life, like a traditional recipe or about something I saw during a walk in the countryside or in the city… but all these “small things” have great meaning to me and come with the sudden awareness that certain little cultural-specific things are such a huge part of myself that by writing about them I am trying to write about what being born and raised in Italy and living here all your life is really like.

Sometimes I write about them because I am proud of this part of the world. Often I write about my corner of Tuscany because it is more beautiful than people think. And here comes the second big reason why I write about the things I write about: Tuscany is not just Florence and Chianti, Pisa is not just the Leaning Tower, living in Tuscany is not about chilling out under an oak tree all day long and going back to your beautiful countryside villa to chill some more with a glass of red wine in your hand (if you want to read more about what I think about this, you can check this post about hidden gems and popular spots).

I write about my everyday life and about off-the-beaten-path places in Tuscany because I want to express my opinions and beliefs about tourism and its impact on destinations. I feel that, being part of the tourism industry, I have a responsibility towards my home. I manage two vacation rentals (Casina di Rosa south of Siena and Behind the Tower in Pisa) and I contribute to bringing people to Tuscany. I want to contribute to bringing the right people, those who share my view of what traveling means. It’s a bold statement, I know, but there must be a reason if we have met so many great people over the years… I must be persuasive… or terrifying!

I strongly support slow, local and authentic travel, what I defined (a while ago) as “gentle travel” (if you are curious you can also see this post about the various “labels”). I believe that there are many more places that deserve to be known and appreciated than just the usual tourist routes, and that they must not necessarily be transformed in “theme parks” as has happened to very popular tourist spots. I also believe that there are a lot of stereotypes that need to be fought so that people can truly experience life at the destination for what it really is without changing the destination too much.

So to go back to the original question, I guess the main reason why I write about Tuscany is to offer the local resident’s perspective on what it means to live in a very popular area, on what living here is really like, on what people can and cannot (and should and shouldn’t) expect when they come, and at the same time to promote and to protect this beautiful place which for many might be a destination, but for me is home. Of course all the opinions expressed on this blog are just that: my very own personal opinions and experiences.

Italy Blogging Roundtable

This is the first post in a monthly series called The Italy Blogging Roundtable. Here you can find the posts of the other bloggers who participate in the roundtable and who, like me, tried to answer the question “Why do you write about Italy?”

Alexandra (Arttrav) – On Writing about Italy

Jessica (Italylogue) – About Italy

Melanie (Italofile) -What could I write about Italy that hasn’t been written before?

Rebecca (Brigolante) – Why I write about Italy

Thing that I have missed

There are a few things that I have missed. First and foremost, Christmas with my family, but I have had a great time here. My husband’s family is amazing. I am really lucky.

I’ve missed our dog. Our 72 pound black ball of fur… I can’t wait to pick her up at my parents’ place on Monday.

I have missed the “Befana” tradition, you know… the celebration of the Epiphany, with the stockings filled up with sweets, and a piece of coal for the few naughty actions I have to account for… We usually have lunch at my aunt’s place every year. She’s waiting for us to be back, so I guess we will have a late Befana anyway!

I’ve missed good fruit and vegetables. Canada has delicious food, but sorry to say… fruit and vegetables are absolutely tasteless. Not sure why… I’ve always heard our guests talk about how delicious fresh food is in Italy and I’ve always thought it was a nice way to be polite… but no. Fresh vegetables and fruit is definitely better back home. Maybe because we mostly only use fruit and vegetables that are in season. Not sure.

I’ve missed our usual diet and meal schedule. Ok, here I’m just using parallelism… I haven’t really missed much. The Indian food that my mother-in-law prepares is to die for. And I would have missed our usual diet and meal schedule back at home as well. It’s the amount of food that I can’t take anymore. I need to go back to eating regularly after the holidays. I guess this is the same everywhere, really.

I have missed the snow. Not because there usually is snow back at home. Not at all. But I was hoping to see more snow here, as that’s something we don’t normally get in Tuscany. Well… we did get it this year… but right after we left! I still got to have a white Christmas, which is all that matters! I am actually glad it hasn’t been too cold.

I have missed pizza… I had pizza yesterday and I ended up with a hot water bottle on my stomach!

Oh… and I have missed the bottom of public restrooms’ doors… people, you have such an overdeveloped sense of privacy for a lot of stuff that really requires much less headaches and you can’t build bathroom stalls with proper walls and doors?! What’s wrong with this picture?! If there is one place you need to be private it’s the freaking bathroom!

Things that I will miss

What I will miss… a lot actually. I’ll miss bagels… boy I love bagels!!! Oh. And chicken wings. Can please somebody start selling those in Italy?!?!?!

I’ll miss the wild shopping. We always buy too much stuff here.

I’ll miss the ethnic food: Italy is quite “boring” in that sense. It’s mostly all about Italian food. (ok… I know I said I miss eating normally… but hey… Thai food is delicious).

I’ll miss the pretty houses, the white landscape, the conveniences of the orderly Canadian cities.

I’ll miss bacon… and pancakes.

I’ll miss the nice evenings spent drinking and chatting with my husband’s family.

I’ll miss seeing my husband so happy at the pub, with a good beer in his hands or watching hockey.

I’ll miss the fabulous bookstores and the large shopping malls.

I’ll miss being able to see movies in their original language at the cinema.

I’ll miss the time spent doing nothing but the things I want to do… I’ve read a lot, and I’ve loved that!

Oh, I’ll miss the fancy cars with heated seats… mmmmm!

Things I haven’t missed and I won’t miss

Something I haven’t missed is the hectic working schedule back home and the drives back and forth between Civitella and Pisa, the rain. Something I won’t miss are the wind chill, peanut butter, blue cheese, the nasty viruses that have kept me in bed for way too long given that I was on my well-deserved vacation, the wine bottles with screw tops (what happened to cork being essential for letting the wine breathe?!), having to dress in layers and taking off and putting on your jacket ten times per hour…

Canada and Italy are different. And that’s fabulous. We are lucky enough that we can get the best of both.

I can’t wait to go home to Tuscany, and I can’t wait to be back in Canada!

Canadian museums are places where you go to have a recreational experience while you learn some stuff. The artifacts of the various cultures are displayed with a wealth of additional information, such as models of the settings in which they would be found, pictures, videos, etc. which gives to the individual pieces a whole different appeal. They are collocated in an installation, and not just on a wall or shelf as it happens in Italy.

The Canadian Museum of Civilization has four floors on which entire bits and pieces of towns of different epochs have been recreated. And that becomes the “stage” for the individual objects. It’s true experiential learning: you go back in time, you are brought to different places and you can literally touch reproductions of the precious objects that you are looking at.

In Italy, most museums and exhibits are essentially a collection of objects placed in some sort of order. Boring as hell.

Here in Canada, you can buy a family subscription to the largest museums and go as many times as you want with your kids. They make for a perfect day out with the family. Can you imagine doing that at the Uffizi?! Kids are bored to death after the line to get in… and the first two or three rooms are enough to produce crying, sleeve-pulling and endless “how long before we can go” types of questions.

I think the most serious consideration to make here is the different attitude that Italy and (in general) the English-speaking world have when it comes to culture. First of all, in the English-speaking world everything is worth being considered as culture, whereas in Italy, certain things that here feature prominently in museums would be dismissed with a snobbish laugh (and maybe a horrified look).

Second, culture is democratic, it belongs to everybody and it is still what it was originally supposed to be: entertainment. And it shows in any corner of every museum and gallery. In Italy, culture and art are for the cultivated, for the educated. We are huge snobs when it comes to this kind stuff. And in so doing we essentially kill everything. We make everything heavy, boring and élitarian.

Here going to the museum means doing something special. In Italy it means going to look at something special. But how long can you look at something without doing anything?! I get bored in less than 30 minutes.

Here curators have their audience in mind and the design of the informational material, of the paths, of the installations are meant to be useful and captivating. In Italy, the underlying principle seems to be that a masterpiece should speak for itself, and if you are so thick that you need more than that to be entertained and interested, than you should maybe just go hang out at the bar at the end of the street and forget about art. Leave it to the true intellectuals. A totally different attitude towards education, towards culture and towards people, which is reflected at all levels of society, even in museums.

Wouldn’t it fabulous if we Italians could start renovating our society by starting from our obsolete, painfully boring museums?

Today, the reform of the university system proposed by the present government and its minister, Mariastella Gelmini, was presented to the Senate and the senators are voting in favour or against it (here is a summary of the changes – in Italian).

Over the last few months, the entire education system has been protesting against this horrific law. Over the last couple of days most universities, including the University of Pisa, have been occupied by the students, who are protesting against the new reform. The Vice-Chancellor and the Chairmen of all the Faculties gave their full support to the protest.

I think that when something like this happens, a Minister should ask what she got wrong.

I’ll tell you what she got wrong: she is killing an entire generation of “precari” (contracted researchers) like myself, and the system as a whole, which will not be able to sustain itself with the few resources left.

I have a PhD, I’ve had several post-doc scholarships, I have published two books and several articles. I have taught over 30 courses.  And yet, I have no secure job, because Universities are not hiring enough people (the state imposes that only 20% of the positions left open by people retiring be filled), and when they are (the first two openings in over 10 years in my field in Pisa were last month), well… that’s another story.

You do your best, and patiently wait for the next opening. You teach, your study, you write. And then a minister who is totally subject to the ministry of the treasury (in violation of all ethical and constitutional rules) decides that researchers need to disappear. No more researchers in Italy. You will be hired as a resercher for max 6 years, then you either become an associate professor or you go home.

So what about our generation?  Most of us have already been a contracted researcher for years. Are you asking us to apply for yet another temporary position so that in 6 years you can send us home, when we are over 40 years old? Universities survive only thanks to our hard, underpaid work. A full course is often paid less than 1000 euros (not per month… in total…). There are 20,000 contracted researchers in Italy, who have been keeping the show going. I understand there might not be a career for us all. But this new law ensures that MOST of us will be fired.

Besides, how can a system who cannot afford to hire researchers afford to hire associate professors? Failure is essentially inevitable for most of those who will have the 6 year position because only a fraction of them will get tenure.

I am very sad. Very sad. Not because I fear for my job… technically, I don’t have one. And I am smart, full of energy and resources. I have many interests. I will do something else if not this.

I am very sad for my country. A country that judges it acceptable to kill the University system, to cut funds to schools, to kill a generation of intelligent, hard working people hiding behind the story of fighting the “baroni”, powerful professors who decide who gets a job and who doesn’t.

I am very sad for my country. A country that accepts that politicians insult each other, that the prime minister just does whatever he wants and that people dismiss the horrific attitude with a smile.

I am very sad for a country that has everything required to be one of the best places to live in and instead it’s only good for holiday makers and rich expats.

I am sad for my country because it’s killing the hopes and future of its younger citizens and numbs the older generations.

Don’t you see what is going on?  Italy was the country of the Medici, of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Dante Alighieri. Now we just fetch and carry.

Shame on us.

Italy: “Casa dolce Casa”

Whether it’s something in the air, the hospitality, the food, or the way of life – I don’t know, but at least to me, Italy feels like home.  At first I thought it had to be the air…what else could’ve been responsible of making me feel at home the first time I stepped outside of Rome’s Fumicino airport and set foot on Italian soil? Perhaps it was that homey feeling from Italian classic movies of Italian grandmas cooking fresh in my mind… which means it had to probably have been in my head and not in the air. But either way, I liked it.

First time in Italy is one thing….but arriving at Rome’s Termini station for the first time via Leonardo express was a tad bit overwhelming for a naive newbie who’s also not a New Yorker used to the chaos of Penn Station and Grand Central Station. For those who have taken the Leonardo express to the Termini station, you know it drops you off at the farthest possible point from the metro and bus area, that’s equivalent to the next town over.
Perhaps it was cleverly designed to force travelers walk a good way to get their circulation going from long hours spent squeezed into small airplane seats in nearly upright position. Add way too much luggage to that, and it’s an unexpected total body workout. That’s when a smartly dressed African student with a British accent and books in one hand offered to help me carry one of my luggage pieces. Perhaps it was the shock that a stranger so casually offering to help me that spurred me to blurt out YES!! Si!!
Without a further word, the lovely and apparently very strong girl, picked up the biggest luggage piece I had and quietly walked with me to where I needed to meet my ride….like it was a normal thing to do, offering help to strange tourists who couldn’t schlep their own luggage. Clearly she wasn’t Italian….but her kind offer made me feel like I just entered my family’s  home and they offered to bring my suitcase up to my room. Truth be told, I don’t even get that kind of unsolicited help from my family! Perhaps there is something in the air after all…and not long after that I was helping little old ladies cross the busy intersection in Piazza Venezia. I thought they only do that in movies, but apparently, it’s done in Italy!

Not until Italy did I stay at or even saw a Bed and Breakfast. B&B’s are quite popular in Italy, and most family run in residential buildings. Often the rooms are inside converted condominiums where you actually have Italian neighbors across the hall who you can say “Buon Giorno” to. Sometimes you stay in guest houses where you’re really at home in someone else’s home, staying with an Italian family while you feel like you have the house to yourself. I’m still hoping someone would invite me to an actual Italian family home cooked dinner though…

Speaking of food… even many of the restaurants and cafes I’ve eaten at are family run. The wife is the chef, the husband is the manager, the young daughter training to take over the family business one day… and granny chopping tomatoes behind the scenes. There’s no bottom line that serves as their prime motivation to offer the best food and service they can, it’s their family honor and tradition at stake… and that’s something no bottom line can trump.

A shop owner once told me, when you enter their store, you’re entering their home… their business IS an extension of their home. You’re a guest in their store or restaurant, and that also comes with responsibilities. Just like you enter someone’s house, you say hello and thank you and good bye. So basically, there’s no place where you can walk into that’s not “like home”.

You know how sometimes you give your favorite house guests parting gifts?? Yes, that also happened in Italy, but I wasn’t a house guest, I was a “store”,  “workshop” and “art gallery” guest. In Minori – a small town on the coast of Amalfi, an established local artist whose workshop I used to stop into on the way to and from the bus stop to chat, gifted me 2 large watercolor prints when I came in to say goodbye the day I left. In Assisi, I befriended an artist who had an exhibition I admired. It just so happened that during my stay there I had a birthday that coincided with a local
holiday. In honor of my birthday he asked me to pick any of his original paintings from the gallery as a gift. Declining such a generous gesture was out of the question because I inadvertently insulted the artist when I expressed that this was too generous of a gift for someone he only met briefly. On a daytrip to Cortona, I met another artist whose artwork

displayed in her gallery shop was amazing. I must’ve spent a couple of hours there talking with her when I realized I was almost missing my bus back to the train station… She wouldn’t let me leave without giving me the sepia drawing of an angel she was working on… to bring me good luck on the road.

I was deeply humbled by the generosity and kindness of so many in Italy, many more who I haven’t even mentioned.  And yes, I also felt deeply guilty that I didn’t have something to give them in return….except my fondest gratitude and appreciation.

All of those beautiful gifts have been framed and displayed in my home… fond memories and treasures of strangers who became friends and we departed like family… from a place far away, that in my heart, is home sweet home.

At Home in Italy

Often, I get the question: What is your favorite European country? My answer is always the same.  I like all European countries because they each offer something different.  But the one I’m most drawn to is Italy; it feels like HOME.

For me, home is a place that is warm and welcoming; a place I go to for comfort, acceptance and relaxation.  And there was no better example of ‘home’ than my grandmother’s house.  My grandmother’s home was where the entire family congregated; everyone was welcome and even strangers became family.  Grandma always had something delicious cooking on the stove filling the house with wonderful aromas.  We were encouraged to linger for hours around her kitchen table eating, talking and laughing the day away.

It may sound strange, but upon landing in Rome’s Fiumicino Airport (5600 miles from where I live), I often say, “Ah, I’m home!” And I have found little pieces of “grandma’s house” all over Italy.  Like when I enjoy a dinner at Rome’s Ditirambo and owner Daniel (like a cousin I see once a year) pulls up a chair at my table to catch up on life’s events.  Then there’s Dana (like the sister I never had) at The Library , whom I swap photos and stories with.

No visit to Grandma’s house was complete without a down-home country meal.  For me, Cortona’s La Bucaccia where Romano (like my big brother), his wife, Agostina (a.k.a. my favorite sister-in-law), and their daughter Francesca (like the little niece I’ve always wanted) warm my heart with their hospitality and my tummy with meals that would make Grandma proud!

Staying overnight at Grandma’s was always special. I remember simple things: bed linens crisp from drying on the line, waking early in the mornings to raid the hen house for eggs, and the night sounds of crickets and frogs singing through open windows. Those memories come alive when I arrive at Livernano. Sitting deep inside the Tuscan hills, Livernano evokes the simple life my grandmother treasured.

I miss Grandma. And when I’m in residence in Texas, I am homesick for the open arms of my Italian family, the taste of their fresh homemade cooking, and the simple and beautiful life of their country.  I miss HOME.

Today, I went online to find out a bit more about this holiday, and I actually found out that July 4th is a day to celebrate even if you’re not from the States (damn Italians, every occasion is good to party!!)

Anyway, here are the 10 good excuses I found to have a day off even if we are in Tuscany, and not at all American.

1. We have to be sympathetic with our American friends, so we could still celebrate the 4th of July! In the end, this day is a celebration of independence and freedom, and who doesn’t like and need that? These are certainly values that we should remember and celebrate a bit more in Italy too, especially these days…
2. Being a 50% Canadian family, we could celebrate the 374th birthday of the city of Trois Rivières, founded on July 4th 1634. A way to celebrate new beginnings!
3. We could also celebrate progress in civil rights remembering the 183rd anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the State of New York (July 4, 1827).
4. We could celebrate our freedom to travel by remembering the 173rd anniversary of the first long-distance railway ever opened: the Great Junction Railway between Birmingham and Liverpool officially inaugurated on July 4th 1837. Or the 124th anniversary of the first scheduled Canadian transcontinental train that arrived in Port Moody (British Columbia) on July 4th 1886.
5. We could celebrate dreams come true and the anniversary of the publication of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (July 4th 1865) or of the NASA’s Pathfinder landing on the surface of Mars in 1997.
6. We could celebrate women’s rights: on July 4th 1903, Dorothy Levitt was the first woman to compete in a motor race.
7. We could celebrate the importance of culture and free speech by remembering the terrible massacre of Polish scientists and writers by the Nazi during the capture of the Polish city of Lwów in 1941 or the first first broadcast by Radio Free Europe in 1950.
8. We could celebrate moral integrity by remembering the anniversary of Samuel Richardson’s death (July 4th, 1761): who has ever explained better than him that “virtue is indeed rewarded” in hundreds of pages of epistolary novels?!
9. We could celebrate love, passion, nature and life, with all our vices and virtues, by remembering the controversial first publication of Walt Whitman’s book of poems Leaves of Grass in 1855.
   
10. We could celebrate spirit of community by remembering Garibaldi’s birthday: he was born on July 4th 1807. You see? I told you I would find the perfect excuse for Italians to celebrate!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.
W. Whitman – “America”

Personally, I think it’s a nice thing to remember the important women in our lives and that it is also important to be aware that, for women, things are not always as easy as they are for men, not even in societies in which there is apparent sexual equality. However, I do not think that women should have any special celebration just for being women, and they should find the time to go out and have fun with their girlfriends more than just one day a year, as if that was the only time when their “lords and masters” let them out for their prison-yard time. If they can babysit/iron/take care of them on March 8, well, they can certainly do it any other day of the year.

Here is a Wikipedia article about International Women’s Day.

In Italy, the symbol of Women’s Day is mimosa flowers, which are in bloom in this period. I would therefore like to take advantage of this occasion to “celebrate” some of my favourite women on the web (and some in real life too!) with a virtual branch of mimosa!

Over the year, I have met many incredible women who, besides being interesting, funny and smart, are also great professionals and share more than one passion with me. Over time, they have encouraged me, supported me, entertained me, inspired me and, I have to say, in some cases, fed me too!

My virtual bunch of mimosa goes to:

Letizia (@MadonnaDP), the owner and great hostess of the beautiful Agriturismo Alla Madonna del Piatto near Assisi, in Umbria. She is the person who manages to bring friends together in the warmth of her home and puts up with the crazy stuff! She is an excellent cook, renowned for her authentic cooking lessons and for her great food blog.

Giulia (@vallenuova), the most ecological inn-keeper you will find in the Marches and beyond (believe me!!!)! She has a great agritourism on a working farm near Urbino, Valle Nuova,  and she is working really hard to make tourism greener and more sustainable and authentic.

Rebecca (@brigolante) has three lovely guest apartments in her agriturismo Brigolante near Assisi, in Umbria. She is a funny, witty, beautiful woman. As soon as her webmaster finisher her blog, you’ll see what she can do! LOL In the meanwhile, enjoy Rebecca’s Ruminations!

Monica (@monicacesarato), THE multitask woman! She lives in the city of the world famous “Ponte dei Sospiri”, where she runs the Faronhof B&B, she teaches Italian as a Foreign Language in Venice and traditional Italian and Venetian cooking! We are real wonderwomen, so now we have better find a way to meet in person!!!

Diana (@DianaBaur) who runs a fine B&B in Aqui Terme in Pedmont,  She is also a creative lady, a real artist, and a graceful host, but most importantly, a graceful woman.

Megan (@bellavitaitalia), another beautiful, smart and resourceful women I have trouble to keep up with! She lives in pretty Lerici, in Liguria, not far from the Cinque Terre and has something new on her plate every time we speak!!! You can read about the stuff she does on her Bella Vita Italia website!

Eleanor and Maureen, the creators and managers of an independent publishing house based in Tuscany called Pari Publishing, in a small medieval village called Pari. Small communities survive because there are resourceful women like them. One of their latest books, would be the perfect gift for Women’s Day: Unveiling the Breath: One Woman’s Journey into Understanding Islam and Gender Equality.

Lorella (@boutique_events) is a gifted flower designer based in Tuscany, Fiori e Dintorni, and my partner in our wedding and event planning business, Boutique Events. She is a real artist and a great friends!

Kim (@kimmer999) and Pauline (@PaulineK): they are the heart and soul of the Slow Travel great website and of its community Slow Talk. Without them, I wouldn’t have probably met most of the great people mentioned in this post, so thank you ladies!

Donna (@MaremmaGuide) is the publisher of a great website about my home area, the Maremma. Incredibly enough, we haven’t found the perfect time to meet yet, but we absolutely have to. It’s a great thing that there is finally someone else in the area as passionate as me about it and certainly determined to make people see how beautiful and pleasant the Maremma is.

Robin (@MyMelange) is a talented photographer and publisher of a great blog about travelling to France and Italy. She has recently started her own travel consulting business and she is already very appreciated!

“Girasoli“  – I know she doesn’t like having her name published online – (@girasoli), whom I had the pleasure of meeting for lunch in Pisa, after many years of chatting online on forums and twitter! She has an interesting blog called Shave Ice and Gelato.

Sheila (@italytutto) has a great website that gathers all the major blogs about Italy. A great resource. I’ve recently had the pleasure of meeting her in Pisa over lunch and I think this might be the beginning of a friendship! She divides her time between England and the Lunigiana, in Tuscany.

Judy (@divinacucina): one of the most renowned and appreciated teachers of traditional Tuscan cuisine and a real prodigy in the kitchen! She has recently published a fabulous book and she has a very interesting website called Divina Cucina.

Evelyn (@Journeywoman) is the woman traveler par excellence. She is the CEO of Journeywoman, the largest online travel resource for women.

Alexandra (@arttrav) is an art history professor living in Florence and she publishes an incredible online magazine called ArtTrav. She is also the mind behind @tuscanyart and @TuscanyActive, of the Voglio Vivere Così social media team of the Regione Toscana (Tuscany).

Other incredible ladies I’ve met online are Kathy (@dreamofitaly, editor of the award-winning subscription travel newsletter Dream of Italy), Nancy (@ItalyTravelista, owner of a tour company and publisher of the great ItalyTravelista Blog), Julie (@TravelwithJulie, publisher of a fabulous blog about travelling in Italy), Jessica (@italylogue, a BootsnAll’s resident Italophile with a lovely blog and website – Why go Italy), Laura (@FacingTheStreet, a freelance travel writer specializing in ways travellers can live like locals on the road – you can read it all on her Facing the Street blog), Melanie (@italofileblog, publisher of the interesting Italophile blog), Roz (@miabellavita, an Italian from a long lineage of fine cooks now living in the States – check her La Bella Vita), Robbin (@robbin_g, how do you get from being a recording engineer to being an international wine expert? She did it! Check her Vineyard Adventures! I haven’t forgot we had decided to meet while you are in Tuscany lady!!!), Lisa (@wanderlustwomen – a spirited travel journalist who publishes on this interesting website Wanderlust Women Travel), Molly (@amalari – freelance journalist and owner of these beautiful vacation rentals in Lucca), Catalina (@catascraft – a very talented artist creating beautiful illustrations and taking great photos, check her blog), Nazzarena (@NazzarenaArman – we have an agreement that I will not talk about pizza with her… ooops, I’ve done it again! She’s a talented wedding coordinator living in the UK), Erica, Barbara and Oriana (@TuscanyNova, @TuscanyTunes, @TuscanyTrends, @TuscanyTips, @ShopInTuscany, @tuscanyfit… yes, essentially the Voglio Vivere Così Social Media Team!), Karen (@toptraveleurope, editor of the great sites Europe Top Travel Content and Europe à la Carte), Laura (@lauradebe – a tech girl and social media addict, she says. I suspect she’s the mastermind behind @ToscanaIN – I haven’t forgotten about our lunch in Florence, don’t worry!), Kathy (@kathygori, an eclectic, interesting woman: screenwriter and a lover of Indian cooking with a blog that I adore, The Colors of Indian Cooking), Lulu (@Calabrisella - not sure why she wants to leave Toronto to go to Calabria, but we will find out by following her great blog Calabrisella Mia! LOL), Franca (@FrancaPorter, owner of my next dream holiday destination, the beautiful Au Belle Fleur B&B in France) and Janice (@solotraveler – the most adventurous woman out there, who’s not afraid of flying alone! Check her blog Solo Traveler!)

Who did I forget? If you want to add some virtual mimosa love below, please go ahead!

March 8, 2011 Update!

I have met many more great women and I would like at least to add at least Giulia aka @julskitchen author of the amazing Juls’ Kitchen Blog. I should add more and I will! But tonight I’m falling asleep…

For a discussion on the more democratic and less élitist attitude towards museums and culture in general, see this article on Tuscany Arts, the blog about art in Tuscany by the region tourism promotion team. Actually, I should say that the Regione Toscana represents a noticeable exception in the sad panorama of Italian tourism promotion: Tuscany is trying to fully exploit the visibility given by social networks through its “Voglio Vivere Così Social Media Team” and All Thing Tuscany.

But since I feel a bit grumpy today, and a brief Twitter exchange with two very interesting people, Andy Hayes (@andrewghayes) and Flip Florence (@FlipFlorence), inspired me, I’ll just list a few things I don’t like about Italian tourism promotion.

1. I don’t like most official websites. I don’t find them attractive at all and they are rarely suitable to perform the function a tourism-related website should perform, i.e. attract the traveler, make him or her dream of the location, convey the spirit of the place. They are often very plain, graphically unappealing, too “crowded“, often old and dated in their look. Often, they work fine in Explorer but not in Firefox or Safari. They are usually not suitable to be browsed on mobile phones.
2. Most recent articles on official tourism websites are only in Italian. Many sites don’t even bother having all the textual content translated. Therefore, it often happens that the most interesting and recent stuff on the home page does not have a corresponding version in the other languages of the website, which makes it impossible to use the information unless you want to take the time to translate it yourself. Some of the translations are really bad, clearly not done by professionals. I’ll never forget the title on the cover of the official Pisa tourism magazine that we distributed to over 200 participants in an important conference we had spent a year planning: it promoted the “51th Regatta” (Bad English 101).
3. I find it upsetting and unacceptable that most official sites, including the national ENIT ITALIA one, do not include regularly-licensed self-catering accommodations: Case Vacanza. We pay the same taxes as hotels and other “strutture turistico-alberghiere”, and we go through the same amount of trouble to comply with all the safety and hospitality regulations and yet, vacation rentals are not even a category in the accommodation search on the website (whose navigation, by the way, is made up of two dreadful buttons named accommodation and accommodation 2).
4. The promotional material is often useless. I remember the book that the Maremma tourism promotion distributed last year and which was full of completely useless stuff for the tourist and it was more suitable as a phone book than as a resource that accommodation facilities could make available to their guests. And it looked expensive too, in glossy paper, with a hard cover binder. Basically wasted money. The publications are often wordy, and boring. Guides to museums and monuments, or cities sound like lectures rather than entertainment, which is what tourism is for most people. The graphics once again are plain. I think the country lacks real communication professionals specifically trained for tourism communication.
5. There is no coordination between the different entities in tourism promotion, and this results in a general confusion in which much energy is wasted to attain very poor results. The regional site and council has nothing (as far as I can see) to do with the local tourism councils (e.g. Terre di Siena – just redesigned, Maremma tourism council, Pisa Unica Terra, etc.), and with the “consorzi” (another Italian mystery… basically associations of private business owners who can get public money…), and the local tourism associations (associazioni turistico-culturali or ricreative) and pro-loco associations (village and town associations). The result is that there is no central database of events. There is no sharing of resources. If you want to know what’s going on in Tuscany you need to check 30 different sites, and most of the time you’ll have no idea of what’s going on, because the page is only in Italian.
6. At the local level, which is what is most relevant for local tourism businesses, events are almost always planned at the very last minute, which is of absolutely no use if you work with foreign guests and want to use the events as a means to promote the area. We need the events planned and published at least 6 months in advance. And we need stuff that is good for both Italians and foreigners.
7. Most of the promotion is always focused on the major “pull factors” of an area, that is on the most popular stuff. The stuff everybody already knows about. Even if I understand that you need the “hot spots” to attract people, you also need to promote the lesser-known destinations that are off-the-beaten-path for no good reason than not having been promoted well before. I remember Montalcino °before Brunello was Brunello”: the town was just as beautiful, the wine was just as good, but the marketing and advertising campaigns had not been nearly as effective. There are many other places that are just as beautiful as Montalcino or Cortona, just as well located, but which have not had that massive amount of money poured into promoting them, or a rich American writer who bought a house there and wrote 2 novels about it, or vampires saving mortal girls in their main squares. It should be the tourism councils’  job to promote the territory, and not the local Castello Banfi’s.
8. Most of the initiatives promoted by local tourism councils involve some larger private business, which in the end is after its own profit. Consorzi are like that most of the time: they usually involve a bunch of desperate accommodation facility owners and a travel agency that manages their promotion and reservations. The larger the consorzio the smaller the visibility of the individual properties, yet the profits of the travel agency remain the same. Every year the local tourism council organizes seminars for the tourism business owners and every year the same large web agency gives a presentation, offers a free evaluation of your website and pours a bunch of professionally sounding words into non-web-savvy people’s ears (web 2.0, viral marketing, social networks, open websites, etc) and then tries to sell their services. Nobody needs to spend money for what they offer. The council should teach people how to do it themselves. Then, if they want, they can choose to pay someone to do it for them, but not without first knowing how easy it is. And ultimately I don’t understand how a public institution selects a private business to give it such overwhelming visibility. It doesn’t seem fair to all the other similar agencies, the local ones, that pour their money into the area and are never contacted to give presentations or offer suggestions. Another Italian mystery.
9. I know that in international fairs some tourism promotion agencies offer free holidays and other free stuff. How do they decide who is to offer the free stuff (and hence to get all that publicity)? I’ve never been contacted once.
10. The Italian government now offers “holiday vouchers” to low-income families. That is a good idea, because it creates opportunities for the tourism businesses and it improves the economy. I admit the first time I took a look at the website I was upset because it was not possible to sign up to be one of the places where you can spend the vouchers, and yet there were so many commercials about it, etc. Now they have reopened the subscriptions again, so that problem is solved. What’s not solved or fair is that if you accept holiday vouchers, in order to cash them you have to go to one of the branches of Banca San Paolo, you get reimbursed 45-60 days later and you have to pay 4% + VAT as a processing fee… Now, why in the world should I pay 4% + IVA for accepting vouchers?! If the State wants to give that money to Banca San Paolo it should come out of their pockets, not ours! Another Italian mystery.