The far-right targets Firenze
Plus, a Ligurian getaway and notes on not-reading
First, a local news story: last Sunday a group of ‘sovereignists’ took to the streets of Florence to kickstart their campaign ahead of next year’s municipal election. The march itself was small but dramatic. A few hundred Lega and Fratelli d’Italia supporters marched through the streets accompanied by Matteo Salvini, the infrastructure minister, singing songs and chanting slogans. The local population of Florence, a left-wing stronghold for decades, responded, as you’d expect, with defiant, peaceful opposition. Over 10,000 joined the social centres to march “against fascism”. Locals rolled their eyes at the sovereignists and posted critical comments and jokes on social media. The mayor, Dario Nardella, placed an EU flag outside the Palazzo Vecchio and gave a short speech about Florence as a bastion of democratic values. Traffic woes aside this would have been a minor event if it weren’t for the sovereignists’ strategic end-goal: after the march, Salvini paid a visit to the Uffizi Galleries where he began his attempt to woo the outgoing Director, Eike Schmidt, to candidate himself in the forthcoming elections. This is a big deal. Schmidt - a self declared “anti fascist and centrist” - is a popular local figure who has successfully revitalised Florence’s most important museum and opened up its doors to young people in record numbers. And it seems he’s taking Salvini’s proposal seriously. Quite why is beyond me, frankly. But the fact remains that, if he runs, Schmidt could stand a good chance of getting into power next year. This was a small, local demo sure. And a bit of a flop at that. But the underlying politics is of national significance. Italy’s far-right government is continuing to push to obtain control over as much of the country as possible - and as we head to the close of 2023 it’s clearer than ever that there’s no longer any such thing as a ‘left wing heartland.’
It’s not just the Uffizi that’s at the centre of (high) culture wars this week. Heated debate has also broken out regarding this evening’s opening night of La Scala in Milan where Ignazio La Russa, the Mussolini-apologist and President of the Senate is due to take the stage to give a statement during the intermission of Verdi’s Don Carlo. Workers at the Opera House, including technicians, cleaning staff and musicians are furious about the billing. One of the largest worker associations - led by the local partisan society, the ANPI - delivered a statement that they “will not participate in any institutional greeting ceremony aimed at those who have never condemned fascism, its colonial wars, the alliance and subjection to Nazism which generated racial laws and much mourning and misery for the Italian people.” The Mayor of Milan himself, Beppe Sala, has endorsed those remarks and announced that he will leave the room if any such moment is allowed to take place. As things stand the government seems to have acquiesced and La Russa is due to be replaced on stage by a still rather monstrous trio of Matteo Salvini, Gennaro Sangiuliano, the Culture Minister, and Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati (who is leading the charge for Constitutional Change to empower the Executive). In concrete terms, little will come of this. But the rhetoric is rising to fever-pitch once again, and evocations of the 1920s are becoming noticeably more commonplace in more and more cultural spaces.
Sad times indeed. Elsewhere this week the government voted down the minimum wage bill, accelerated energy privatization and announced a new 9 euro tax for boarding planes. I’ll be writing on the big economic picture in the months ahead, so watch this space. But in the meantime, for a lighter update, I also wanted to draw your attention to this great little travel piece by Sian Meades-Williams in the Independent which I came across during the week. In her piece Meades-Williams extols the delights of Lerici, a small municipality just 30 mins from the Cinque Terre. This whole area, the whole of Liguria, is a strong contender for my favourite Italian region. And while most people flock to Monterosso and Vernazza and so on there are still plenty of small villages that remain outside the major tourist routes that make for a more enjoyable, sustainable break. Williams focuses in particular on Tellaro, which looks beautiful. But if you’ve got the time and patience to research you’re sure to find dozens of similarly great spots (though forgive me if I keep my own close to my chest ;)). Here’s the link, to offset any encroaching winter melancholia.
Arts and culture: the decluttered mind
Time now for some philosophy: the Italian intellectual Giorgio Agamben has got a new somewhat mystical book out called La mente sgombra (Einaudi) which explores issues concerning language, text, metaphysics and the need to “unclutter” consciousness as a means towards “true reflection”. Agamben has become a bit of a controversial figure in recent times. After his early - celebrated - work on ‘the state of exception’ and ‘radical Catholicism’ he seems to have been sucked down a wormhole of Covid conspiracy theories and apocalyptic fantasy narratives. He has made gaff after gaff and discredited himself in many circles. This is regrettable. Not least because his work on discourse analysis remains pertinent, eloquent and of great relevance in our distracted, anxiety-ridden times. Don’t believe me? The Italian Review has just published an excellent extract called ‘Sulla difficolta’ di leggere’ in which the philosopher reflects on the challenges of reading in today’s word, on what it really means “to want to read but to fail to do so.” His conclusions, on the specific value of poetry, and the etherial ontological status of literature as “between spaces”, are genuinely thought provoking and well-worth checking out if, like me, you find yourself frequently paralyzed by concentration lapses. Here’s the link [ITA only].
We’re entering that period of the year again when Spotify unveils the listening habits and trends of its millions of worldwide users. Naturally, I had to ask: what did the festive “Spotify wrapped” reveal for Italy this time round ? Well, according the data Italians seem to have listened overwhelmingly, in vast numbers, to contemporary (local) hip-hop and rap. The nation’s top artists of 2023 are, officially, Sfera Ebbasta, Geolier and Lazza — and their collaborative track ‘Cenere’ is the most streamed song of the year. As for ‘Italian artists listened to from abroad’: the top three included Måneskin (unsurprisingly), MEDUZA and Ludovico Einaudi. Now, I’ll be honest, absolutely none of these artists inspires me much, but, if only as an indicator of how strongly younger generations have flocked to Spotify in recent years, this data is interesting in its own right. I for one find it particularly striking that of the 14 million current Italian users the overwhelming bias is still towards national artists over international stars like Taylor Swift, Lana del Rey and Rihanna (all of whom featured significantly lower in the ranking that a handful of rather mediocre local rap artists). Make of that what you will.
Recipe of the week: baked trout with orange and green peppercorns
Need something light to take the edge off all that festive fare? Well, this cheap, quick-as-can be dish should sort you out. You might think Italians don’t eat a lot of freshwater fish. And generally, that’s true. In the Northern regions however - once you get to the Dolomites, the Lombardan Lakes and especially Trentino - salmon, carp and trout do start to feature on menus; and they’re commonly prepared in home kitchens too. Recipes vary considerably. In Piemonte, people often like to add salsa verde, spiked with with capers, for a little bite. In the central regions like Tuscany and Umbria, people produce elaborate “fillet-based stews” with tomatoes, bay leaves and cured anchovies. My favourite, though, is much more straightforward and far fresher-tasting. Take a whole fish, ideally a trout. Stuff it with garlic, rosemary, parsley and a few slices of citrus and bang it in the oven for 20 minutes or so. E basta. Rosemary Molloy from An Italian In My Kitchen has some slightly more detailed basic instructions on her website here, though you may even want to mix things up a bit. Another tip, and one I learnt from an excellent home cook in Venice, is to add orange rather than lemon to the fish, and to top it all off at the end with some chunky green peppercorns. Serve with roast potatoes and a radicchio salad for a lovely simple dinner.
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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