The Game of the Rose
Plus, Sicilian fishing villages and some "emo-punk" from Emilia
Have you ever, when walking around one of Italy’s most touristy cities, been approached, unsolicited, by a rose seller? Have you ever, when sitting in a restaurant, found yourself scrambling for change to purchase a flower or — let’s be honest, more likely — found yourself grumbling under your breath about the unwanted intrusion while dining in some overpriced trattoria in Venice or Turin or Rome? Have you ever, in such a moment, taken a second of your time to think about the people selling this stuff? Their stories, their lives? Well if so, and even more so if not, I’d highly recommend reading this great feature by Sandali Handagama and Agostino Petroni for Al Jazeera which lifts the lid on this little discussed reality. “Exploited, abused, trapped: The lives of Italy’s South Asian rose sellers” is a powerful piece of reporting about workers’ rights, economics, racism, precarity and migration. The report gets the balance just right between stats and data and personal testimonies. You might think you “know” this stuff already, the data on poverty and police abuses etc. But I guarantee you’re sure to learn far more detail here about the trafficking processes, the intransigence and complicity of Italian institutions and the solidarity and support that some individuals and civil society are trying to offer to those most in need. The specific plight of rose sellers has been underreported for many years now, so props to Al Jazeera and Journalismfund Europe for helping the authors get this story out. Here’s the link again.
On the “news” front, above images aside, it’s actually been a pretty quiet week. Yes, Meloni — one of the EU’s most staunchly pro-Ukrainian leaders — has been arguing with her coalition partner Matteo Salvini over his ongoing support for Vladimir Putin’s regime, but other than that the feeds have been dominated by the now-usual political pantomime of attention seeking populist nonsense and general sleaze. One relatively under-the-radar story that I do think is worthy reporting on here is the slow but steady mobilisation of communities in the south of Italy against the so called autonomia differenziata. To put it in vastly oversimplified terms, and as I’ve reported previously, autonomia differenziata is a proposal which would result in the wealthy north of Italy sending (far) fewer tax funds to the much poorer south. When the government first announced this proposal last year, nobody seemed to bat an eyelid. Now, slowly, with a few months’ delay, the south is stirring — at least a little... In Napoli last weekend more than 5,000 people gathered to protest against the latest measure that would neglect their interests. Other similar sized mobilisations also took place in Bari, Palermo and Cosenza [see il Manifesto for more details]. It’s true, of course, that public protest on such a limited scale is unlikely to prevent any change in legislation. Still, the fact that several local mayors and councillors are supporting the protests should offer some tentative hope that the measures might yet be rolled back — or so one might hope…
International journalists’ recent obsession with Sicily is showing no signs of slowing down, and I have to say, as a lover of the island, I’ve been fascinated to read so many fresh takes on familiar and unfamiliar destinations. The latest such article to catch my eye was this piece by Laura Coffey in The Guardian which was published with the headline ‘Relaxed old-school glamour: springtime in Cefalù, Sicily’. As far as these kinds of reports go, I found this an interesting read. It certainly captures the Norman and Arab history, the lingering allure of Greek mythology pretty well. The restaurant tips are strong, as are the author’s observations about swimming spots. I was also pleased to see Coffey getting off the beaten track to visit nearby Castelbuono; one of the real gems of the area. I did, however, have one gripe. I love Cefalù. It really is beautiful. The idea that this village is “more authentic” than those surrounding it, though, needs a lot of unpacking; not least for the implicit assumptions here about what Sicily should be (picturesque poverty versus not-so picturesque poverty and so on). If you’re looking for “authentic”, on that note, I just want to recommend nearby Bagheria — a small town where history and romance really do meld with everyday life. Warts and all. For better and worse.
Arts and Culture: Notes from Underground
There’s one film and one film only on the Italian critics’s lips this spring: Paolo Virzì is back with a new full length feature called Un altro ferragosto. The film, as the title suggests, is a kind of sequel (or at least a spiritual sequel) to the director’s massive hit ferie d’agosto which, way back in 1996, won over audiences for its mix of pop culture rom-com beats and political satire. The new film looks… well… judge for yourself. The premise, based on the trailer, is the same well-worn format: a group of families congregate on an Italian island (in this instance the symbolically charged island of Ventotene, where Altiero Spinelli wrote his manifesto for a united and free Europe) upon which the arguments start to get going. Think liberal wokesters bickering with alt-right fanatics; old time anti-fascists coming to blows with Meloni supporters all set against a sleazy White-Lotus-like-vibe of post-Berlsuconi Italy and you’ve probably got the picture. Will the end result be subtle? Certainly not. But if you’re looking for some cheap and topical entertainment in these infuriating times it might well be worth a watch.
Are you a fan of hardcore punk, grunge and noise rock? Hands up! Yes? No? Anyone? Well, if you’re not, and I guess that’s a good many of you (?) best to skip this segment. Still, for the half a dozen or so readers here who are (still) into this kind of scene I want to quickly recommend this new band I’ve discovered called Riviera. The Emilia Romagna based group, which was founded by singer Andrea Vasumin just before the pandemic, has a rotating line up of instrumentalists. But the common thread, and what brings the band’s sound together, is a characteristic wall of sound / guitar fuzz and distortion-heavy vocals. There are bits of Nirvana here (inevitably), as well as Refused, Fugazi and so on. In the Italian panorama the closest influences are probably Marlene Kuntz and CCCP. Riviera are small. Actually they’re tiny. They have 5000 average monthly listeners on Spotify — and you can even contact them via Facebook directly to book them for a house party! Nevertheless, despite (or perhaps because of) this, the group has a certain vitality, energy and authenticity that can be hard to find these days wherever you live, or whatever your listening habits. For my money Riviera’s new single ‘Terra Violenta’ is the Italian underground rock scene at its most genuine and exciting. Give it a listen at the link below.
Recipe of the week:’O sicchje ra munnezza
There’s something undeniably liberating about the Campanian approach to cooking. While Veneto and Piemonte, Emilia and Tuscany have their detailed rules, and sometimes up-tight and overly rigid regulations, on how to make a sugo or a pasta or a soup, residents in the countryside around Naples seem more at ease with a haphazard and quasi-anarchic approach to cooking. Make it big, make it cheap, indulgent, and boldly flavoured, they say. And they have a point don’t they? This week’s recipe captures that ethos distilled to an essence. Take some olive oil (the best you’ve got) and then chuck a selection of store-cupboard staples in there. Nuts? Check. Tomatoes? Check. Dried fruit?! Why not?! I jest, sort of. But theres an element of truth to this description. O sicchje ra munnezza is a deconstructed pesto. It is, for those particularly well-versed in the local cuisine, a pesto cetarese without being blitzed. It’s sharper, crunchier. Healthy, vegan. The end result, in most cases, is hardly elegant, but this is a useful recipe to have in your back pocket for those busy weekday eves when you don’t have time to spend hours behind the hob. Thanks to Rachel Roddy for sharing her interpretation in ENG with The Observer. Here’s the link.
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.
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