Justice for Alika Ogorchukwu
Plus, Enrico Letta’s election gambit and a new Italo Svevo translation
*Note: From 11-26 August I’m heading to Campania and Sicily to celebrate the Ferragosto holiday. The Week in Italy will be back, with some special pre-election coverage, on my return.
The first story this week is, and could only be, about the brutal murder which took place in the small town of Civitanova Marche in Central Italy on 29 July. The facts, for readers still unaware, are as follows. Last Friday, a 39-year-old Nigerian man, Alika Ogorchukwu was conducting his business as a street seller, flogging handkerchiefs, when he was assaulted and killed by a 32-year old white Italian man named Filippo Ferlazzo. According to reports, Ferlazzo wrestled Ogorchukwu to the ground, beat him with his own crutch, and strangled him to death in broad daylight. The story has, understandably, been much-discussed in the news not least due to another uncomfortable detail: dozens witnessed the attack, and while some filmed the incident none took steps to intervene. Whatever these bystanders were thinking, the murder is, without doubt, a political issue. Le Marche is one of the most far-right areas in Italy, and the region has been governed by Fratelli d’Italia since 2020. Civitanova specifically is just 25 km from Macerata, where Luca Traini, a fascist militant, shot several African men during a drive by attack in 2018. Of course, all Italy’s leaders have condemned the killing, but it’s hard not to draw some line of influence between Meloni’s frequently racist rhetoric and this atrocity (if you think I’m being hyperbolic then check out this thread on her numerous evocations of ‘great replacement theory’.) Yes, we could argue all day about the philosophical nature of causation, but one thing is unfortunately clear: unless systematic action is taken now to monitor and tackle racist violence, Ogorchukwu will not be the last victim.
So what chance is there, then, that Italian voters and politicians will successfully block the ascendency of the far-right on 25 September? I’m no reader of tea leaves, but there are a few trends to keep an eye on. First, while polls are fickle things, it does seem, at the very least, that support for Fratelli d’Italia has peaked. While they do remain the most popular party by a whisker, a new SWG survey is showing a dip in their support, to 24.2%, for the first time in months. Elsewhere, the PD, liberals and left continue to deliberate as to how to build an effective coalition, or coalitions, that could win an election. The latest news is that Enrico Letta, head of the PD, has formalized an alliance with Carlo Calenda’s centrist force Azione as well as Bonini’s +EUROPA, with a plan to win over conservative voters by promising to protect and enact Draghi’s policy agenda. This bloc, of 30% or so, will likely be the main challenge to Meloni. Sinistra Italiana and the Greens will most likely run separately, or in parallel to the PD’s alliance, due to fundamental disagreements about energy and public spending priorities. The M5S, meanwhile, will consign itself to lapping up votes from broad, non-partisan civil society groups while their ship continues to sink. Frankly, this being Italy, it’s impossible to know what alliances will actually take shape until after the vote. But the campaigns are far from over and, despite still-comic levels of factionalism, things are looking marginally better for the left than they were two weeks ago (not that that’s saying much…)
On a lighter note - or slightly - I was pleased to come across a twitter account this week which somehow I’d been previously unaware of and which, among other things, is providing some welcome satirical coverage of the ongoing election campaigns. As the name suggests, “Crazy Ass Moments in Italian Politics” [cough] is a crowd sourced compilation of videos, images and texts attesting to some of the most bizarre things going on in and around the Parliament. Posting under the tag line “Italy is not a country, is a dream” the moderators have been sharing content including Beppe Grillo’s zombie list of ex-M5S traitors, a video of Matteo Salvini blowing kisses to random cows on a beach, a photo of Di Battista mistaking an anti-M5S rally for a pro-party rally and being hounded by insults, and another of Maria Casellati, President of the Senate, wearing a blouse with the same pattern as her chair. If you don’t use twitter and you fancy a bittersweet laugh at political class they also have an Instagram account which you can follow here.
Arts and culture: Medici heritage
Good news for Florentine residents, and indeed visitors to the city from all
over the world. This week Dario Nardella, the mayor, and Eike Schmidt, Director of the Uffizi Galleries, announced that a whopping 50 million euros will soon be allocated to the Boboli Gardens as part of a renovation effort that is due to take place between now and 2030. This huge 33-hectare site is the only sizeable green space in Florence’s city centre and, as a prime example of an Italian Renaissance garden, it is also has a strong historic significance. Unfortunately, however, the giardino has fallen into a certain state of degrado over the years, with the grass frequently unkempt and fountains left uncleaned. According to the municipality’s PR statement, the time has therefore come to “really transform the space”, with a focus on “beauty, accessibility and sustainability,” with a view to making the Boboli “the most beautiful open air museum in the world.” Despite this rather over the top language, the project is genuinely exciting. I, for example, am particularly intrigued by the comune’s promise to bring citizens more into the space, to make the gardens part of the urban fabric and society rather than just a tourist attraction. A game-changer, in other words, if they can truly deliver.
Another book for your summer reading list: NYRB classics will soon be publishing a long-awaited English edition of Italo Svevo’s unfinished 1928 story collection A Very Old Man, translated by the inestimable and sadly recently deceased Frederika Randall. Readers may already be familiar with Zeno’s Conscience (1923), Svevo’s modernist masterpiece which details the inner life of a neurotic member of Trieste’s bourgeoise at the fin de siècle as he navigates the worlds of business and love while trying, unsuccessfully, to break his cigarette habit. If you haven’t read it I highly recommend doing so; it’s a great novel, hilarious and profound in its psychological insight. Anyway, this collection, which the author worked on until the end of his life, apparently serves as a coda to Zeno’s better-known story. It is, as the blurb puts it, a study of the “confusion and paralysis” that followed WWI, a sympathetic investigation of “how people fail to fit in” which offers “a recognizably human countenance in a world ravaged by the ambitions and fantasies of its true believers.” The book is out on the 9th August in the UK and the 30th everywhere else if you’re interested. Click here for a little more info.
Recipe of the week: Zeppole di San Giuseppe
A sweet treat to mark the start of the Ferragosto holidays. These little bundles of pure indulgence are – together with Sicilian cannoli – my favourite Italian pastries bar none. Dating back to the Napoleonic era the zeppole di San Giuseppe were invented in Naples, and like so many other southern desserts they were supposed to be eaten on a saint day: on this case father’s day (Saint Joseph, of course, being that eternal protector of fathers). The sweets themselves are basically small rings of choux pastry which are cooked and then topped with a particularly luxurious crema pasticcera and a sour cherry. There are two ways of preparing zeppole. Some like to bake the pastry in the oven, to reduce the calorific load a little. I, however, am an unashamed advocate of the full-fat, deep-fried version which has a truly unique Borbonic texture unlike any other dish I’ve ever come across. Letitia Clark has a very clear recipe in English, with some more background info, which you can read here. Serve these with an iced coffee for a truly transcendental experience.
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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