Delicious Italy

Fly Italia

The Alitalia saga is, dare we say, almost in its final act.

By the end of this month the new company should have divorced itself from the ruining debts and mismanagement of the the old company and started to fly just in time for Christmas.

And unlike most divorces, there are no messy maintenance payments.  

But who will be piloting the aeroplanes?

It seems the independent trade unions who represent the flight staff have no intention of accepting the new contracts proposed and are anticipating strike action.

Some say approaches will be made to pilots of other airlines, even Ryanair believe it or not.

What all agree on, however, is that the new airline will be swallowed up in the not too distant future by one of Air France, Lufthansa or British Airways.  

Foreign owned, foreign run and flown by foreigners, it could make some money.

But just don't call it Alitalia. 

http://corporate.alitalia.it/

Retro Italian Liqueur

Italian liqueurs or digestives such as limoncello and grappa have been produced for centuries, but have only been advertised and marketed fairly recently.

Well, concerning that marvellous 'bring it on' artichoke concoction known as Cynar, for sure since 1975.

The proof (no pun intended) was the 1975 Cup Winners Cup final between Dinamo Kiev, of the then USSR, and Ferencvaros of Hungary.

Recently retelevised on ESPN Classic Sports channel here in Italy, Cynar filled the advertising hoardings behind each goal in prime eyeball position   

The match was played in the St. Jakob Stadium, Basle in Switzerland, that hotbed of Euro soccer.

Watching it after an interval of 33 years was a surreal experience, not least for the rest of the advertisers who had invested their budgets on the game.

The list reads: Texaco, Stella Artois, Palma Camping Articles, Samson Shag, Ferguson Televison & Radio, Lois, Kent and Sunny Holidays South Tenerife.

By sheer coincidence Cynar has a new campaign just out in Italy which stars the oblique 80's pop group Elio e Le Storie Tese (and better then ever).

The ad sees the boys enjoying a Cynar in central Milan while nonchalantly disturbing the traffic to a standstill.

Just as they look as if they are going to get a good cuffing for wearing too thin ties, a space ship in the form of an artichoke lands and whisks them off.

Probably to extra time and penalties between Ferencvaros and Dinamo Kiev.

    

All you need is Love

Although Alitalia is losing over 2 million euros a day and the airline is on the brink of bankruptcy, a slogan for an eventual new company has already been developed.

'Amo litalia, volo Alitalia' or 'I love Italy, I fly Alitalia'.

Ah, love. All you need is love and everything will be fine.

And in fact the word love pops up all over the place as we are encouraged to buy things related to the Bel Paese.

Radio DJ has launched a television campaign with the line 'Radio DJ ama Italia' featuring a role call of diverse communities across the country. 

A range of industrial ready made traditional fry ups is also being advertised heavily over here called 'That's Amore'. From the ad spot you'd think Findus were making it in deepest Chiantishire.

And even McDonalds in Italy are 'lovin it', but only in English funnily enough.

Italy Magazine out of the UK is also in love: 'the n. 1 magazine for lovers of all things Italian'.

While 'LoveItaly' is the self declared consumer branding for the website of ABTOI, the Association of British Travel Organisers to Italy.

To end we have just discovered a website called 'Dream of Italy, the insiders guide to undiscovered Italy' which features an interview with the author of 'In Love with Italy, a Traveler's Guide to the Most Romantic Destinations in the Country of Amore', a book about what makes Italy so romantic.

Who married Alitalia?

It seems the drawn out walz to find a new partner for Alitalia is coming to an end. 

At the end of the day, the old lady couldn't face getting hitched to a sober foreigner, Air France, and has got into bed with Air One, an ambitious youngster from Abruzzo.

The previous Italian Government did all they could to marry her off to her French cousin, but the wicked Uncle Unions wouldn't allow it to happen, especially when they greedily eyed the backing of the new suitor's main sponsor, the incoming Italian Government.

A dowry of 300 million euros was duly paid to rich benefactor Banca Intesa San Paolo and the coupling goes ahead.

Both bride and groom seem happy enough and hopefully the Italian tax payer who was funding the ailing bride to the tune of 2.3 million euros a day to keep her on her feet.

The losers are certainly the five to eight thousand employees of Ms. Alitalia who are no longer needed at court, and perhaps also the wicked Uncle Unions who played the wrong card, drowning their sorrows at the reception.

What a ride!

The Past or the Future?

A recent article in the Spectator magazine chose Venice as the sacrificial lamb in a debate which everybody in Italy is only too aware of.

Stephen's Bayley's piece was entitled 'Venice is the only city on earth going backwards' and  criticized those who want to keep the lagoon city preserved by embalming.

According to many, fine modern architecture is the only solution to urban regeneration.

Splendid and inspiring buildings which lift the spirit and promote action and local creativity, helping residents take back control of their environment from mass tourism which should not be the only source of wealth generation.

Just like Venice used to be until about 1590.

It's all about embracing the future but holding onto the best of the past. Heritage is a loaded term so the words 'beni culturali' seem more appropriate.

So what plans are on the table and in the news? Two are current.

Firstly, the new tram line which may or may not pass though Florence's central Renaissance heart. The aim is to reduce CO pollution, but will the tourists be put off?   

Secondly, the huge Renzo Piano skyscraper proposed for Turin and financed by newly refinanced Intesa Sanpaolo Bank. Maybe, but ..

See Naples ...

In the late 1990's American writer Bill Bryson penned a book called 'Notes from a Small Island'.

The small island in question was Great Britain and one of the most memorable chapters began with the immortal lines 'They were having a litter festival in Liverpool when I arrived in the city'.

Almost on a par with architect Ian Nairn's 'There's something not quite right about Swindon', both came to mind during the current refuse problems in Naples.

What is going on?!

Suffice to say that 50 tons of stinking rubbish have been shipped to Cagliari in Sardinia and the problem has eased a little, at least for the Neapolitans.

Anyone who lived in Liverpool during the 1970's and 1980's could only have dreamed that the widespread urban decay would resolve for the better.

But, where there's a will there's a way, and 2008 opens with the city Europe's proud new Capital of Culture for the next 12 months.

Forza Napoli.

Bill Bryson Official Site

Alitalia Walz

Christmas and New Year is always a good time for a walz.

This year Alitalia has been swapping potential partners like Princess Sissi in the ballrooms of Vienna.    

As the music stops lets see who is still seeking her expensive hand.

Well, the suitors are Air France/KLM and Air One and within the next 48 hours we should all know which of the two is likely to consummate the marriage.

A business reporter on SKY television last night was asked who he thought should win. He simply stated that the profits of Air France/KLM were twice the turnover of their rival.

Yet, the political pressure in Italy to go with Air One is tremendous, with the unions and Confindustria leading the call.  The Italian PM Romano Prodi and the union of pilots (ANPAC) favor Air France.

But who else wants Air One? The answer lies somewhere between Torino and Milan and aren't they happy it's not Lufthansa.      

Maratonarte

Maratonarte is a call to save seven of Italy's lesser known but fascinating archaeological and historical sites from disappearing.

With the support of the 'Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali' and the 'Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri Dipartimento per lo Sviluppo e la Competitività del Turismo', RAI Television ran a video campaign to highlight each at the beginning of October 2007.

Claudia Cardinale and other well known and respected figures presented a project close to their heart.

The one which impacted most on us was the Modica-Ragusa railway line which aired just as we were helping Condé Nast House and Garden magazine with a photo shoot in Ragusa.

They crew didn't take the train, but the RAI video is a spectacular and slick homage to the zone and site.

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO HERE or view the You Tube clip below to get an idea

So far almost 3 million euros have been donated to Maratonart.

When you consider the spending of Ministry of 'Beni Culturali' was just over 2 billion euros in 2005, and the pressure is on to cut public spending, then there's a long way to go.

Stazione Termini

There's been a lot of good work done in recent years to restore Termini Railway Station in Rome to most of its original glory.

It almost looks as good as it did in Vittorio de Sica's 1953 film Stazione Termini or 'Indiscretion of an American Wife' as it is sometimes known. 

The open spaces of the station we see in the film have been recuperated and the shopping area given back a certain elegance.

What have gone are the telegraph offices, the third class waiting rooms and the barrier which allowed only those with tickets onto the platforms.

And of course that 1940's atmosphere, which funnily enough you can still experience in Milan's central station. 

The railway station is the real star of the film which stars Montgomery Clift and Jennifer Jones with dialogue written by Truman Capote.

If you do get to see it, also try and catch Noel Coward's 'Brief Encounter' (1945) and 'Cairo Train Station' or 'Bab al Hadid' by Youssef Chahine (1958).

The three make a great triology of unrequited love in those black and white post war train stations they just don't seem to do anymore.

If you have seen a similar film set in North America we would like to know.

Man cannot live on bread alone

Man cannot live on bread alone!

Well, if you consider some of the fantastic traditional breads from around the Italian regions, it's worth giving it a shot.

And with certain political leaders calling for a fiscal strike in the autumn we may all be on crumbs and water very soon in any case.

But back to the point. What is happening to all the local shops Italy was famous for?

Here in one of Rome's more quoted quarters, the only high street commercial activities opening up are three; banks, estate agencies and pizza take aways.

They are replacing small local grocers who are all but gone. We are now all doing our food shopping in supermarkets retailing only goods advertised on television.

The estate agents are understandable considering the spectacular properties, something like 80% private ownership and a noticeable generational change.

The pizza take aways are catering for public employees and other workers who could once indulge in longer lunches in restaurants, such is the pace of life now.

While the banks are a mystery. Who needs a brand new branch of the Popular Bank of Bari in the middle of Rome? Isn't it all about online banking these days.

What are thriving, to a certain extent, are shops specializing in quality local food products, such as mozzarella buffalo cheese from Salerno and burrata from Puglia.

A new growing demand is there and many of the products once sold in local grocers are appearing in these outlets for their wares.

Long may it continue.