Is there a dolce vita outside the pasticceria?

I dash out of my apartment in downtown Milan and head straight for my mid-morning perk across the street—a frothy espresso macchiato, and why not, a freshly baked, marmalade-filled brioche which just melts in my mouth. Unfortunately for me, the café is also an out-of-sight bakery, so I select a couple of farinelli (mini baguettes) for lunch, along with a focaccia, all just out of the oven and warm to the touch.

Now, how can you beat that?

Next stop, pick up 2 etti of fine prosciutto crudo (dolce or saporito – sweet or salty, I am asked), a wedge of pecorino sardo and sweet gorgonzola at the corner salumeria. I come home with a neatly wrapped & ribboned parcel that is on a par with any gift wrapping you could find at Tiffany’s.

As a longtime expat, I have become demanding in my tastes, be they culinary or otherwise.  I am spoiled by the attention paid to preparing a fine espresso, the perfect pastry, or selecting a palatable prosciutto.  Not to mention the agreeable dintorni, or surroundings, the mix of 18^th century palazzi, trendy shops and art galleries, with La Scala and the Duomo just a few minutes away.

For most people, Italy evokes a land of timeless beauty with an enviable lifestyle refined and perfected throughout the centuries. A tandem of art and tradition passed on from generation to generation.  But now, with globalization, the euro, immigration (legal and illegal), a soaring crime rate, unemployment, coupled with (or a result of) a stagnant political situation, Italy finds itself in a cultural and political quagmire.

This pervasive malessere (malaise) in Italy was recently (Dec 13) highlighted by Ian Fisher’s article in The New York Times, which placed the Italians as the “least happy people in Western Europe.”  Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano immediately retaliated by stating that Italy’s tradition and spirit would prevail in the end.

But the controversy rages unabatedly, and seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue – you can sense that something is not quite the way it used to be…

In the wake of this palpable malaise, I thought I would have a chat with a couple of friends to get their impressions which I would like to share with you.

Holly, a native of New Jersey who has been living in Milan for the past three years with her husband, senses the steady erosion of the quality of life. “The movies – Roman Holidays and Fellini – offered me my first glimpse of Italy,” she remembers. When asked what her expectations were when she first arrived, she replies, “…I was in a culture shock, I had been here on vacation, but living here entails a totally different state of mind. On vacation, life is easier, you don’t have to accomplish much, the focus is different. For me, it was a double whammy: I had never lived in a city before – now I was up against living in a city, and in a foreign country to boot. Not to mention the language barrier, which I am slowly overcoming by taking Italian lessons.

“Aside from the language, it’s the bureaucracy in general that baffles me… even mailing a letter can present insurmountable problems for someone who is new to the system. Italians are no longer living the dolce vita…it’s a thing of the past,” sighs Holly, who sees the European Union as partly responsible for this malaise that seems to be rampant these days in Italy. “Before the European Union, Italians could do as they pleased, maintaining their culture and pace… now they have had to align themselves with the rest of Europe; they are scrutinized and pushed to conformity.  What had distinguished Italy – its art, handicraft, food, music – all seems to be headed towards oblivion. I worry that other cultures will simply roll over her.” And Holly fears that the supermarket chains and fast foods will have a levelling effect on their culture as well. “There are still plenty of perks around, and I love the seasonal foods which I can find… but as an observer, I can’t help but notice that people are struggling to make ends meet. Life here is very expensive!”

Immigration accounts for a huge part of the problem, according to Clara, a native Milanese and well known figurative artist:  “The article in the NYTimes touches on a real problem, which comes from outside… the problem of immigration which Italy is now dealing with in ritardo, when compared with other European countries, i.e. Turkish immigration in Germany or the North African colonies living in southern France.  There are no jobs for these people, and the Church, which promotes fraternity by providing charity, only exacerbates a problem which should instead be resolved on a social/political level.  I live in the outskirts of town, along the Naviglio della Martesana (a navigable canal dating back to the Sforza family) which was once a safe and peaceful area – now break-ins and assaults are the order of the day. The quality of life as we knew it is being threatened by massive, uncontrollable tides of immigrants, who don’t want to become part of our social fabric, but prefer to grab whatever they can, in whatever way possible.”

Clara speaks of the major transition in Italian culture brought about by scientific/technological progress: “Before the industrial revolution, there was a close relationship between the land, the family and the workplace.  People were stationary, and art and tradition were indelibly engrained in the local culture, which we can still see if we visit small towns (just think of the many town festivals, food specialties) in Italy.  Or the impresa familiare (family business), an invaluable source of skills and talents which contributed  to Italy’s growing prosperity in the postwar period, and which, because of the intricate web of bureaucratic/governmental rules and regulations, is now risking extinction.  My fear is that Italy’s hallmarks – its artigianato (handicraft), and artistry will not be able to withstand all these pressures, and gradually become a thing of the past.”

by Marilyn Tambling