Martin Solly: Xenophobe's Guide to the Italians

The exact role of the Catholic Church in present-day Italy is hard to quantify. Superficially its power is on the wane, yet in terms of real power it might even be stronger than in the past. It is present in every parish, in every community and the late Pope John Paul II had an enormous personal following among the nation’s young as was demonstrated by a celebration at the height of the holiday season in Millenium year, when around a million young people gathered in a field just to hear him say mass and to sing a few hymns together. Despite scorching heat and being kept waiting for hours, it was agreed by all to have been a truly memorable occasion, far more fun than most rock concerts. His German succcessor the former Cardinal Ratzinger, despite his nationality, is treated with great respect – after all, as one of Italy’s journalists commented, all Italians are at heart Christian whether they go to church or not. Yet deference for His Holiness did not prevent the biggest Italian fireworks on sale for New Year’s Eve 2005 being nicknamed ratzingers (the Italian for missiles is razzi ).

Religion is preferred to be visual and tangible, hence pictures of the Madonna, the Pope, local saints and football stars are pasted everywhere – in public places, private homes, and even on personal computers.

“Religion is preferred to be visual and tangible, hence pictures of the Madonna, the Pope, local saints and football stars are pasted everywhere.”

The Pope ( il Papa ), is Italy’s only crowned Head of State and because of his position his visits to Italian cities are treated with much greater interest and excitement than those of the President or the Prime Minister. He is the only leader in Italy who can fill a stadium with his fans, and the only visitor le autorità will make an effort to impress, painting the stadium walls white on the morning of his visit, so that no offensive graffiti will offend his holy eyes.

The Italians worry about objects, events, behaviour and (especially) people who they think cause, or might cause, them misfortune. Many protect themselves, their cars and their houses with an array of prayers and amulets, and spend huge amounts of money visiting a whole series of astrologers, witches and charlatans, as a kind of insurance policy against ‘the evil eye’.

They also make good practical use of their superstitions. An Italian had a dream that he was sitting with Pope John XXIII listening to an old 33 r.p.m. record. When he woke up he told the dream to his neighbour. Her first reaction was: ‘23 and 33. I’ll play those numbers on the Lotto (national lottery) tomorrow.’ The number 17 is considered very unlucky in Italy: the most plausible explanation is that when written as the Roman numeral XVII, it is an anagram of vixi , the Latin for ‘I lived’, with its implication that I no longer do.

“Church-goers or not, Italians are fascinated by the unsolved mystery element of miracles.”

Many people watch the cycle of the moon carefully, not just because of its effect on the human mind and body, but because of the effect it has on the sowing and harvesting of crops, and on the preservation of food and drink. Thus wine should always be bottled under the right moon; luckily it can be drunk under any moon.

Whether they are church-goers or not, Italians are fascinated by the unsolved mystery element of miracles. When an ordinary mass-produced statue of the Madonna started to cry tears of blood in a back-garden in Civitavecchia in spring 1995, the whole nation became involved in the debate (‘Why did the bishop accept the miracle before the Vatican did?’ ‘Why was the blood male?’ and so on), and le autorità and tradespeople got ready to handle the armies of pilgrims who were expected in the city. In the event, common sense prevailed and only a handful of locals actually showed up at the scene.

“This is the country with the most impressive reliquaries in Christendom.”

However, this is the country with the most impressive reliquaries in Christendom; the country of Padre Pio; the country where the blood of San Gennaro in Naples has liquefied three times a year since 1389. Never mind that there are enough pieces of the True Cross around to build a basilica, or that St. Eulalia (the foster mother of Christ) must have had 13 breasts, relics and miracles are good for keeping the faithful in the fold. Better still, they are good for business.

The Italians are foodcentric people. Much of Italian life revolves around the growing, buying, preparing and, above all, eating of food. Whenever possible, meals are shared and eaten in company. The very word ‘company’ comes from two Italian words, con (with) and pane (bread), implying breaking bread in friendship.

“Italian enthusiasm knows no bounds when it comes to arranging a meal.”

But the Italian meal in company is much more than breaking bread, for Italian enthusiasm knows no bounds when it comes to arranging a meal. First there must be the antipasti (starters), usually a minimum of five, then the first course (the primo) , with a choice of different pasta or rice dishes; next the main course (the secondo) , which will be meat or fish with the accompanying vegetables (the contorno) ; then cheese, and finally the dessert (the dolce) followed by coffee ( espresso ). The meal can happily take from two to five hours to consume. If it is lunch, you have a couple of hours to recover before supper time.

The Italians have always appreciated quality and keep the very best of foods for themselves. Italy is still an agricultural nation and its small farmers ( i contadini ), who wield enormous power in the community, are highly practical men. They pay little attention to E.U. directives and farm according to time-honoured ways, harvesting wonderful produce.

Many city-dwellers have relatives in the countryside who will keep them stocked up with home-grown and home-produced specialities. The salad and wine that are put on the table in honour of a guest will be very special, and every bite and drop will be truly memorable.

The Italians acknowledge the changing of the seasons and the different delicacies linked to each. The whole family will take part in preparing the passata di pomodoro (tomato purée) in the late summer, go mushrooming in September, grape-picking in October, and in March collect those exquisite young dandelion leaves that add a zest to salads.

“They learn how to cook when young, and a look at Italian cookbooks shows that the writers start from the premise that their readers already know how.”

The secret behind Italian cooking lies not only in the fact that the ingredients are fresh and of good quality, but also that most Italians, male and female, are excellent cooks. They learn how to cook when young, and a look at Italian cookbooks shows that the writers start from the premise that their readers already know how. Italian recipes are much less precise than British or American ones and don’t say, ‘carefully add 150 grams of this’ or ‘slowly pour in 4 fluid ounces of that’; they simply say, ‘take a pinch of this’, or ‘add a couple of drops of that’.

Despite their admiration for many things American, the Italians have been remarkably resistant to some American foodways. Coca-Cola and hamburgers have been accepted, but peanut butter and baked beans have not; breakfast cereals are advertised, but without much success. Italy is the only country in the world where the marketing strategies of McDonald’s have been hampered by the highly successful Slow Food Movement.