The worst air in Europe?
Plus, economic recovery and Alicudi's adopt-a-goat scheme
I know, I know, I’ve written about air pollution countless times in this newsletter, but I’m afraid the issue isn’t going anywhere. On the contrary, one gets the sense that if anyone is to take any meaningful action here it’s going to require constant hassling from we the public. Hence why I’ll be continuing to do my little part. Anyway, on that note, this weekend, over the Easter break, Italy’s skies were tinged a strange yellow-red colour. Smog clouded the hillsides. These were hot, stuffy, oppressive days. It was hard to breath. I personally found my eyes itching, my sleep disturbed. Friends and family similarly suffered. The cause, on this occasion, was a Saharan dust cloud that swept across the peninsula due to a strong, warm southern scirocco wind on the 27/28 March. Dust clouds are a natural phenomenon here; they’ve been causing havoc for navigators, armies, and tradespeople for centuries — as long as written records, in fact. In an age when toxic PM10 and PM2.5 particles are so prevalent, however, this atmospheric process is rather more problematic. Not only does the Saharan sand “block air”, it also traps the polluting elements in the atmosphere which can inflame asthma and polmonitis, trigger allergic reactions and, in the most serious cases, actually cause cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Italian air quality is one of worst environmental issues the country must face up to. Around 50,000 people die prematurely each year due to PM2.5 particles alone — one of the worst rates in the EU. While the reasons are multiple — to do with geography and wind as much as bad ecological practices — tackling this emergency is an urgent priority, as the map below must surely make clear.
I don’t often link to the British right-wing Daily Telegraph in this newsletter. I have to make an exception this week, however, to share this piece by Jeremy Warner which was published with the title “Meloni’s Italy is doing what basket-case Britain could only dream of” (and the equally provocative sub “Having finally turned a corner, the Italians are slowly becoming the envy of Europe.”) In the end, the piece doesn’t quite live up to that promise, or deliver on its hyperbolic claims. Nevertheless, the author does offer an interesting perspective on how (relatively) sensible conservatives are trying to make sense of how Europe is changing; and the role of Italy in all this. There’s plenty to criticise here, don’t get me wrong — the mischaracterisation of Italians as tax-dodging deviants; the blasé disregarding of basic income as a viable economic policy; a naive quasi-apologia for fascist nostalgia. What the piece does show, however, is that the Italian economy, in some senses, is probably stronger than you think in relative and comparative terms. And, like it or not, even the pro-Brexit Mr. Warner seems ready to admit this is less down to the current PM’s economic policies than the EU’s sucesful post-Covid recovery plan.
Italy still has lots of economic strengths. Hidden beneath one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios in the world is an abundance of family and corporate wealth, together with among the highest property ownership in Europe.
Jeremy Warnter, The Telegraph, 3 April 2024 [read the full piece here]
Do you like goats? Do you fancy owning your own goat or even a pack of goats for breeding purposes, or perhaps for milking? Would you be interested in procuring such goats entirely free of charge? Well, if the answer to any of those questions is ‘yes’ then I’m pleased to report you’re in luck! This week Riccardo Gullo, mayor of the small island of Alicudi, just off the coast of Sicily, is organising a free give away of the native pecore. The reason? As you can probably guess, is overpopulation. Alicudi is a tiny place. The year-round population amounts to just 100 people and there is little in the way of a tourism industry. The goats, by contrast, are now thought to number between 600-800 and they are, by most accounts, causing havoc. Humans are fed up with the animals rampaging around, destroying walls and breaking into houses. The ecosystem, meanwhile, is struggling to regulate itself due to the sheer number of grass guzzling beasts. Gullo’s solution is, essentially, a slightly wacky alternative to the otherwise grim prospect of culling. You do not have to be a farmer to adopt the goats, and there are no restrictions on numbers. For more information check out this report by CNN.
Arts and Culture: A not-so reluctant traveller…
Eugene Levy, the actor and writer, best known for his roles in the coming-of-age teen comedy American Pie and the similarly trashy TV show Schitt’s Creek has been doing a documentary series for the past year or so called The Reluctant Traveller. As the title suggests, the format here is pretty simple: Levy who “hates to travel” finds himself begrudgingly being “forced” to take trips all over the world, to stay in luxury hotels etc while he grumbles “semi-ironically” about his privilege. The premise is absurd; it’s a bit of light hearted entertainment that only works, as and when it does, due to Levy’s gentle, self-deprecating persona and his less-gentle mocking of the travel series format. Well, whatever you think of the show itself (and there’s no doubt that it is at best mediocre) you might be interested in checking out Season 2 Episode 5 in which the actor spends a few nights in the Tuscan town of Monteverdi / Castiglioncello del Trinoro where he busies himself with truffle hunting, wine harvesting and jousting. This is pure escapism. Really silly stuff. But, I have to admit, it’s not a bad way to kill half an hour after a long working day… You can stream this on Apple TV+.
Letitia Clark is and has long been one of my favourite authors writing about Italian food. Her 2020 book Bitter Honey was one of the best things I read during the Covid lockdowns; and her follow-up La Vita è Dolce has proved a similarly useful treasure trove of ideas for sweet dishes. I’m therefore pretty excited that Clark will be back next month with her third full length cookbook, the wonderfully titled Wild Figs and Fennel: A Year in an Italian Kitchen. The cook has described this next instalment as “out takes” from the first book. The recipes are seasonal and “veg forward” apparently, and she is keen to emphasise that “the occasional addition of meat and fish enhances rather than dominates.” It’s a neat idea: an ethos that both reflects Sardinia’s long-standing diet and traditions but which also suits changing contemporary trends around the world that put new value on health and environment. Pre order at the link below and check out her blog for a sneak preview of the contents.
Recipe: Sardinian rice with pork, lemon & saffron
Sticking with Sardinian food for a moment: this week’s recipe comes from the ‘Pasta Grannies’ project, and specifically from Maria, an 83-year old nonna living in the province of Oristano. In this video, Maria preps one of her family specialities: a Catalan inspired rice dish that sits somewhere in the space between paella and risotto. These kinds of recipe are pretty common across Sardinia and particularly the island’s west coast where the Spanish Aragonese ruled for over 300 hundred years in the centuries before Italian unification. The preparation is quite straightforward here: you make a soffritto, stir-in some pork neck and rump and cook the meat and rice gently in a broth spiked with sun-dried tomatoes and spices. The result is a comforting, homely dish that’s perfect for a low-key dinner as the spring starts to settle itself down. Check out the video below for tips on how to make it.
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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