Draghi for president?
Plus new Teju Cole essays and torta di amaretti
Investment opportunities. A return to growth. The end of the the productivity crisis. Reform of the public administration. Reading the headlines this week has been a peculiar experience for long-term followers of Italian politics. Reuters, the Economist and Bloomberg have all published features over the past few days which, generally speaking, have cast a favourable verdict on the first nine months of Mario Draghi’s administration. The pandemic recovery is going relatively well. Government borrowing costs are at an all time low and new tax reforms and energy subsidies mean those struggling to get by will finally have (some) relief. Then of course there are €200bn of EU grants which are yet to be spent. In the words of John Hooper “Italians can look forward to a period in which their government will be in a position—under an obligation, indeed—to spend liberally for the first time since the days of the post-war, American-funded Marshall Plan.” The success of this, of course, will depend on politics. And with elections due in 2023 representatives of all the major parties are seemingly concerned Draghi might not be around to maintain investor confidence for much longer. That’s presumably why this week, in tandem with the strong economic data, a non-partisan group of parliamentarians began organising to support Draghi’s bid to become President of the Republic when Mattarella steps down next year. The FT has the details on what that might mean (though, given the constitutional implications, the word “democracy” is conspicuously absent…)
In my post from 14 October I dedicated a few lines to the no-green pass protests in Trieste. At the time, port staff were standing defiant against a new rule which requires all employees in all sectors be vaccinated or show negative daily test results in order to work. Well, fast forward a couple of weeks and - surprise, surprise - the city and surrounding area is now one of the largest Covid hotspots in the country. According to the Friulian health minister Fabio Barbone, the growth of cases in the area is “now exponential” and more serious measures, including a possible move back into ‘yellow zone’ restrictions, may soon become necessary. Protesters have suggested the high levels of infection are in fact attributable to Trieste sharing a border with Slovenia (which is also experiencing a spike), and to similar increases in nearby Alto Adige. There actually may be some truth to this, but there’s still no escaping the fact that doctors have identified 93 unvaccinated individuals who attended the dock worker protests as being instrumental in spreading the virus. Five of them, by the way, are now in hospital. If you’re interested in following up on this story Jason Horowitz has published a long report for The New York Times which is well worth a look.
Arts and culture: writing in a dark time
Andrea Segre, one of my favourite living Italian directors (for Shun Li and the Poet (2011)), is back with a new film! Welcome Venice tells the story of two brothers, Pietro and Alvise, who come from a family of fishermen. Pietro is happy with his lot in life and hopes to continue his traditional work for as long as he can. Alvise, meanwhile, is fed up with the cold morning fog and long hours and instead has ambitions to establish himself as a property mogul by exploiting the city’s tourist economy. It’s a solid premise, and based on the positive reviews and intriguing trailer [Italian only] it’s skyrocketed to the top of my personal to-watch list. The UK/US release is scheduled for early 2022. One to keep an eye on for sure.
OK it’s not strictly speaking “an Italian book release”, but Teju Cole’s new essay collection Black Paper does sound great, and it does touch on Italian issues. Like most readers I first came across Cole when his excellent 2012 novel Open City was released. Since then I’ve been vaguely following his photography on instagram and have enjoyed a couple of his articles over the years in Granta. I was surprised to read in the Guardian review of the new book, though, that he has also done some work in Sicily. Indeed, the first essay in the collection apparently concerns his encounter with a young Gambian man in Syracuse with whom he goes to visit the Santa Lucia alla Badia (where Caravaggio’s ‘Burial of St Lucy’ is on display). Starting from this frame - a poetic meditation on grief, art and redemption - Cole embarks on a broader discussion, linking the border crisis in the Mediterranean with that in US-Mexico; and launching ultimately into musings on literature, music, race and image-culture. Personally, I was sold from that blurb alone and I’ve just ordered my copy. For a more in-depth taster of what’s in store, though, check out a version of his Caravaggio essay over at the New York Times Magazine.
Last week the Museo di Roma (Palazzo Braschi) inaugurated a new exhibition dedicated to the life and work of the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, focusing in particular on his relationship with Italy. The show brings together 200 paintings and drawings by Klimt and some of his ‘symbolist’ contemporaries with the aim of drawing attention to lesser-known works. The curators have gone to great lengths to document the artist’s travels in the country, including on the occasion of his much-praised show at the Venice Biennale in 1910. The exhibition runs until 27 march 2022 so there’s plenty of time to catch it. Click here for more info and to buy tickets.
Recipe of the week: Torta di Amaretti
The clocks have changed, the November nights are drawing in and I’m starting to feel goloso [gluttonous]. Chocolate, sugar, nuts and so on are featuring ever higher on my shopping list. That’s why I thought I’d venture back into the world of sweet things this week and rustle up a cake (not something I do too often). After some deliberation I’ve settled on this torta di amaretti; a traditional dish from Piemonte made with the eponymous biscuits and a dash of liqueur. The recipe is from Domenica Marchetti over at Italy Magazine and I plan to enjoy slice after slice with my afternoon coffee over the next few days… here’s the link.
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About Me
My name is Jamie Mackay (@JacMackay) and I’m an author, editor and translator based in Florence. I’ve been writing about Italy for a decade for international media including The Guardian, The Economist, Frieze, and Art Review. I launched ‘The Week in Italy’ to share a more direct and regular overview of the debates and dilemmas, innovations and crises that sometimes pass under the radar of our overcrowded news feeds.
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