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| Francesco Bassano the Younger (1549–1592), "Charles VIII recieving the crown of Napoli" ('No fighting occurred during the actual capture of Napoli') via Wikimedia Commons) |
Living in Italy has massively changed the way I think about
work, society, money – the whole kaboosh, in fact. As soon as you arrive in
this country you start to get the feeling that things are really organised very
differently here. Yes, Italy is a European country, but sometimes it feels much
more like living in an Asian / pre-1989 Soviet state: the “base” is still
there. Unions decide when and if your train will run. Real Communists with red flags
march past palatial banks where sharp-suited bankers stare out of the
windows – and yet their kids can attend the same schools. The South is supposed
to be permanently collapsing and threatening to disappear completely as the
weight of poverty, corruption and organised crime threaten to drag Italy to the
bottom of the Mediterranean. And yet, everyone I know from the South has
cupboards stuffed full of homegrown (i.e. their own family home) fruit and veg, jerrycans of locally-produced olive oil, huge hunks of delicious ham from pigs they could
name, etc. i.e. the South is virtually self-sufficient – and the Puglia region
is increasingly where hordes of British expats from the City and the Bar are
choosing to find their Italian idyll (Tuscany is still a bit pricey).
And, of course, Italian firms don’t (really) need to compete
– at least, not with each other. Consumers in Italy enjoy the same rights and
privileges as those in pre-Esther Rantzen 1960s Britain (i.e. none). Mergers
and takeovers are virtually unheard of. And a dense thicket of family-owned
businesses, cast-iron job contracts and enterprise-strangling red-tape
effectively protect the money-making bit of Italian industry from any external
threats.
Italy is in a permanent state of crisis – and yet Italians
still stop for their caffe and chat in their favourite bars on their way home
from work; flick through the heavily-subsidised newspapers; look forward to the
next extended holiday (or “bridge"); and basically enjoy life – or at least give
the appearance of doing so. Of course, people are looking over their shoulder –
there is unemployment and the prospect of economic ruin: the difference between
Italy and a “real” capitalist country is that since the market has effectively
been emasculated and subtracted from the equation what remains is essentially a
social carve-up; an argument over who gets which meaty bits of the carcass; and
the all-important “recommendation” factor. Essentially, all decisions in Italy,
from who gets which job, subsidised flat, public contract, etc depend almost
100% on who you know.
As an outsider (and a Brit to boot), Italian economic, political
and business discussions usually seem like family or tribal feuds (and often
are, literally, because so many of the main players are related to each other). Despite having produced at least one of the two big extremist
ideologies in the 20th century (fascism) and having done a huge
amount of intellectual spadework on the
other (communism), public debate in Italy is virtually devoid of interest in ideology
– or even of ideas. It’s an angry, vicious, personal spat over who gets what –
usually conducted without the least pretence of hope or belief in big ideas.
(Maybe Italy has had too many of those in the past.)
And yet, in the very darkest depths of despair and gnashing
of teeth – it’s always time for a party! This, after all, is a country where
any argument in the street quickly blows over and often ends with people laughing
and slapping shoulders. There aren’t packs of teenagers in hoodies armed with
knives (actually, there are packs of teenage hoodies – but they’re generally
armed with iPhones and spend a lot of time shaking hands and kissing each other
when they meet). You don’t feel – as I increasingly do when I get back to the
UK and wander around – that you are living in a high-tech police state where
doing subversive things like taking photos in public places could land you in
court on charges relating to the preparation or instigation of terrorism. And in Italy if someone walked into a
department store with a dog in a shoulder bag the security guard – who might
actually be armed – would probably rub noses with the canine accessory in
question and mention that they also have a Chihuahua, rather than call
reinforcements on their radio and take down the offender as recently happened at Harvey Nichols.
Basically, Italy is just a very, very nice place to live –
yes, with a lot of problems and it may even drag Europe into the economic abyss
with its towering, teetering stacks of debt. But the main thing is it’s a
people place. It’s all about people (usually Italians – immigrants like myself
don’t get much of a look in). It’s not about ideas, the vision thing, the Big
Society or even Change We Can Believe In. It really is social in a way that only my
parents’ generation – or the pre-Thatcher post-war baby boomers – can remember.
Italians have lived through many terrible experiences in history – wars, poverty,
terrorist campaigns (both against the state and state-sponsored) – and they
have come out on the other side still smiling and still incredibly pleasant people
to know.
I think there’s a lesson there for the rest of Europe and
the world: just because you are facing financial ruin and economic (and
political) catastrophe doesn’t mean you can’t open a bottle of prosecco and
have a chat about nothing at all really with whoever’s around – and some tasty
appetisers. And even a song.
Viva Italia!
Robert Dennis
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| A Do-It-Yourself Aperitivo from frugaltopia.com, the blog that 'helps you get off the earn-to-spend treadmill into a simpler, happier, and more sustainable life'. I'll drink to that! |
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