I’ve been reading a lot of fake and misleading news on social media about Italian tourism these past few days. From influencers understating (and inflating) crowd sizes to bloggers exaggerating price increases, and bragging about non-existent bargains, the info-sphere is in a bit of a state right now. I therefore want to kick off this newsletter with a bit of fact checking about Italy’s summer season economics. So here goes. Whatever you hear in giro, this year’s numbers are more or less in line with last year. Around 70m people will vacation in Italy over the coming weeks, bringing 15bn euros in revenues (the equivalent to 13% of GDP). This is the second highest sum ever, after the post-Covid boom in 2023. As ever, most visitors will flock to the coasts and to hilltop towns, though Rome is also due an 18 % increase in visitors on account of the jubilee. I’ve been hearing a lot of anecdotal reports that “there are no Americans here” due to Trump, which is just not true. According to the latest Bank of Italy figures, the decline is just 1.1% this year, so nothing noteworthy for now. In other data: Canadian tourism is up by 27.9% for some reason while among EU-citizens Germans and Spanish are flocking to Italy with increases of +8% and +23.9% respectively. As for Italians, many are opting to stay at home due to inflation, low wages, and the general cost of living. All of which has implications for domestic-focused businesses like those along the Riviera Romagnola. Once the uncontested heart of the estate italiana, the Adriatic lidos are currently experiencing one of the worst summers in recent memory, with the beaches virtually empty during weekdays. If some Italians were once prone to taking the entire summer off, this is clearly a thing of the past. As a friend recently put it to me, “holidays on the riviera were a middle-class thing, but that class barely exists anymore, we just can’t afford it.”
With the parliamentary summer recess now imminent, Italy’s politicians are frantically trying to manage some critical budgetary issues before the break. Top of the agenda is the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), a 190-billion-euro EU-grant which the country received at the end of the pandemic to spend on key infrastructure and employment projects. Since 2022, Meloni’s government has commissioned several important initiatives including new schools, gardens, bridges and roads. What’s less encouraging is that, as things stand, only a small percentage have been completed. According to estimates, as of last month, Italy has spent just one third of the (sizeable) EU grant; something which is shameful enough in its own right but which is even more worrying given the reporting deadline is now coming up. If Italy does not complete all PNRR projects by 30 June 2026 the rest of the money will be lost, and the state may have to pay a fine. This situation is so dire, in fact, that international media are starting to smell blood. Arte, the French TV station, even released a documentary this week about a Roman tram line that looks set to fall short, as an emblem of Italy’s bureaucratic mess. Yes, there’s an element of schadenfreude to this story, but it’s an interesting watch and provides a decent account of how and why these deadlines keep slipping. So check it out below.
If you’ve been reading the Italian news this week you may have noticed a few outlets covering a strange little story about flamingos in north eastern Italy destroying rice crops. Many outlets covered it as a joke. “You’ll never guess what’s attacking Italy’s rice fields” read one headline. “What the flock? There’s a new feathery menace in town” read another. In reality this is a quite serious issue which is less about funky looking birds than climate change and agricultural collapse. Flamingos have lived in Italy for hundreds of years, but they are now causing severe problems in new areas like the Po Delta where they’ve only been dwelling for decades. With numbers in the area now over 20,000, the birds are churning up soil where rice grows. Production is down 90% in some of the fields and farmers have been forced to drive their cars up and down in the middle of the night to scare the animals away. My heart goes out to the farmers, but if you do fancy seeing the birds while they’re still there, head to Lagosanto, Ostellato, Jolanda, Berra or Codigoro to get a glimpse of the beautiful pink flocks before they’re moved on.
Arts & Culture: Foreign Correspondence
Attention Natalia Ginzburg fans: Daunt Books has just released another ENG translation of one of the novelist’s lesser-known works, and it’s out just in time for your summer break. The City and the House (trans. Dick Davies) is an epistolary novel set in Rome at the dawn of WWII which follows a group of Italian friends negotiating the departure of one of their member to the U.S.A. The protagonist, Giuseppe, is a 50-year-old journalist who is burnt out from his job, anxious about the coming conflict and keen to live his later years in a safer, more liberal environment than Mussolini’s Italy can provide. Writing and reading from his new home in Princeton, Giuseppe exchanges letters with his friends back in Rome and, as the mood sours, he learns, gradually, about their changing lives, their love affairs and, of course, their political struggles. I only started reading this last night, so I’m afraid I can’t vouch for the full narrative arc. Still, I’m happy to confirm this novel exhibits all the sentence level precision and subtle character writing that Ginzburg is so well known for. Miranda France has published an interesting review in the TLS if you’re interested in learning more. Click here to purchase straight from the publisher.
It's been a quiet summer (so far) on the Italian music front, which is probably a blessing. If you’ve ever spent July and August here you’ll know that, as a general rule, the summer means subjecting one’s ears to the annual tormentoni; mindless trashy pop that, to me, engenders a fight of flight reaction and a deep desire to get on the first plane out of here. I must say, however, this year’s hits are actually relatively subdued, and there are a few bangers in the charts right now that you may even want to add to your playlist (click here for a sample). That said, I have to admit I’ve been listening to one thing on repeat this week and that’s the new song by Neapolitan duo Nu Genea. ‘Sciallà’ is everything you’d hope for from a Nu Genea track: a groovy mix of tropical house, disco, funk, boogie, electronica and folk that’s just perfect for summer afternoons. It’s a song that, in the words of the producers Massimo Di Lena and Lucio Aquilina “is all about overcoming life’s difficulties, following your own path and enjoying yourself in spite of everything.” A fine sentiment amidst challenging times, I think. So check out the track below (and here's hoping for another EP or album before too long.)
Recipe of the week: Roman-style sweet and sour pork chops
I’m planning a little barbecue this weekend and, having just got back from the macelleria to buy ingredients, I thought I’d take the opportunity to share one of my favourite Italian-style ways of cooking on the grill. This recipe by Saveur is for a simple pork chop, cooked, without fanfare, for 12 minutes over medium coals. What I really love about this recipe is that there’s no marinade in sight. All you need is a simple Roman-style glaze of balsamic vinegar, honey and rosemary all mixed up with a pepper-infused butter. The combination is somehow magical: all the elements mix perfectly with the charred meat, resulting in a sweet, sour, smoky, spicy flavour that is extraordinarily pungent given the short prep time. I like to serve this as one component of a grigliata mista or else as a piatto unico alongside a peperonata or some sauteed greens. If you don’t have outside space, or you just don’t feel like lighting the BBQ, don’t worry, this also works fine in a griddle pan (though do make sure your hob is turned as high as it will go as the charring here is, really, essential). Here’s the link, and happy grilling!
I’m Jamie Mackay, a UK-born, Italy-based writer, working at the interfaces of journalism, criticism, poetry, fiction, philosophy, travelogue and cultural-history. I set up ‘The Week in Italy’ to make a space to share a regular overview of the debates and dilemmas, innovations and crises that sometimes pass under the radar of our overcrowded news feeds, to explore politics, current affairs, books, arts and food. If you’re a regular reader, and you enjoy these updates, I hope you’ll consider becoming a supporter for EUR 5.00 per month. I like to think of it as a weekly catch-up chat over an espresso. Alternatively, if you’d like to send a one-off something, you can do so via PayPal using this link. Grazie!