Author Archives:

24 Karat Tuscany: Gold Found in Them Hills

Posted on by
Reply

Golden Tuscany

The rolling hills of Maremma near Grosseto are normally just considered a goldmine for tourists, but after two years of searching, geologists have found “significant” gold deposits in Tuscany.

“This is a land full of gold. Hundreds of indications point to it. Now the scope of our research is to search for a deposit,” geologist Franco Maranzana told Italian newspapers. “Because only if there is, as we suspect and hope, all the work we’ve done in recent years can become a business.”

Two Canadian firms are hunting for gold under the Tuscan sun, Adroit resources and Tuscan Minerals. They have permits to search in areas including: Follonica, Suvereto, Campagnatico, Manciano and Scansano, the hilly country better known for producing Morellino di Scansano DOGC wines.

Recession has just made the gold rush stronger. Analysts expect a gold price hike in 2009, which would make mining a more profitable business. The rub? Permits for research are some of the cheapest in Europe ( €8-9 euros a hectare) but mining permits are more difficult to wrangle. Both firms have research permits that will allow them to see if they can strike gold in 2009.

iPod Defense Rocks Perugia Murder Case

Posted on by
Reply
Holds toilet paper and an iPod, but is it an alibi for murder?

Holds toilet paper and an iPod, but is it an alibi for murder?

In 2007, British student Meredith Kercher was murdered in Italy, during a study abroad program in hill town Perugia.

About a year later, Rudy Guede was sentenced to 30 years for his part in the killing, for which Kercher’s roommate, American student Amanda “Foxy Knoxy” Knox and her boyfriend, Italian IT grad, Raffaele Sollecito, are still awaiting trial.

Guede’s appeal now before the Italian court hinges on an iPod.

During what has been hypothesized was some sort of late-night Halloween sex game where the 21-year-old Kercher was an unwilling participant, Guede maintains he was in the bathroom of the young women’s apartment.

While she was being killed with a knife, he was listening to music on iCarta, a toilet paper holder roll that doubles as an iPod dock.

Guede’s lawyers tried to head off what they thought might be viewed as a sort of Twinkie defense for the digital age in a statement to Italian media (below translation mine):

“It is nothing more than a confirmation of how some abnormal behaviors are apparently normal among young people today,” said laywers Valter Biscotti and Nicodemo Gentile. “Just as Facebook is their virtual world, they now listen to music everywhere, even in the bathroom. The marketing of such products implies a certain routine use.”

The statement was published without details on how the defense team might further the bathroom defense in court.

Floods Mean Surf’s Up in Venice, Italy

Posted on by
2

Dutch wakeboarder Duncan Zuur took to the waters of Venice the other day.

Not Venice Beach California, but Italy’s famed La Serenissima. Zuur made a blink-and-you-missed it four turns around the city’s famed St. Marks square before calling it a day.

How did Zuur pull it off? With the help of a sponsor, naturally.

Once in Venice, Zuur’s team waited for the waters to reach about 4 1/2 feet (1.35 m), then sprang into action. They pulled a 20 horsepower motor winch from a hiding place, setting it up under the square’s arcade.

One team member, appropriately clad in rubber boots, pulled the winch cable across the square, then handed one end to Zuur.

Zuur, who in the meantime had suited up, surfed across the square. Four elegant turns later, Zuur’s feat was applauded with a standing ovation from surprised, waterlogged tourists.

Speed was key: the stunt was up and over so fast that police patrolling the square didn’t take notice.

Floods, known as acqua alta in Italian, have long been a problem in Venice prompting solutions such as the Moses floodgate project and text-message alerts. This year, the flooding reached over five feet, the worst it’s been in 20 years.

Vatican Launches “Saint Catalog”

Posted on by
1

\

Italians say that a confused person doesn’t know which saint to pray to. The process of finding a saint to appeal to for protection will be easier come next week when the Vatican launches a catalog of saints.

The International Guide to Saints features over 2,000 patron saints in prayer card form hailing from around Europe, the US and South America.

The catalog idea in Italian and English is a good one for on-the-go requests for intercession, but does seem a little behind the times, now that Italian Catholics can get daily prayers on iPhones and iPods with a free app.

Called “santini” or little saints, these prayer cards are found in Italian wallets from students (Giuseppe da Copertino, patron of those struggling with exams) to frequent fliers (St. Christopher, in these chaotic days of Alitalia strikes is invoked a lot) and singles, who can put their status in the hands of San Faustino.

Saint depictions through the centuries are considered an art form. If you’re looking for some intercession on the run, try an Italian newsstand. Several publishers in Italy sell collect-them-all series of saint images.

Italian Farmer’s Market Delivers

Posted on by
5

farmer\'s market

Just got the first shipment from Cascina Cornale, a farmer’s coop based in Piedmont that delivers weekly to northern Italian regions, including Val d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy and parts of Liguria, Tuscany and the Veneto.

A friend of mine swears by it, otherwise it was the kind of good idea that given Italian execution would’ve stayed a good idea, rather than something actually tried out.

You pay for the month in advance, delivery is included. Clients either choose online what they want every week, it’s slightly more expensive if you choose, or you get a box of whatever’s in season plus a few basics.

Here’s what arrived in the 1-2 person “surprise” box, which costs €38, nearly $47 if you’re dealing in treacherous dollars.

About a pound each of two kinds of pears, apples, kiwis, turnips, spinach, a head of cauliflower, a head of radicchio, a big slice of pumpkin (soup or risotto? not sure yet) a liter of fresh milk, six eggs, a whole brown trout, a generous wedge of toma cheese, two small jars of plain yogurt, a pack of balsamic candies (perfect for the cold season), some red onions and a spot of lard.

Said friend warned me about the perils of the surprise box (anyone know what to do with a whole trout?) after I’d signed up. But on this rainy Milan day, I’m still glad not to have to go do the shopping.

Italian Bureaucracy Gets Emoticons

Posted on by
1

emoticon
Italy’s Public Functions Minister Renato Brunetta, who outed slacker state employees, is now on a crusade to bring service with a smile to the Bel Paese.

His strategy? Use emoticons, those little happy or unhappy faces used to show emotion in written or message form.

“My dream is to have a system that allows emoticons in real time by people using any public service, ” he told Italian newspapers.

Plans are to have a trial system in place, much like the one China used during the Olympics, in the next few months. (I saw this in action a few months ago visiting Shanghai, travelers could instantly rate the immigration clerk, though most of us were too intimidated.)

Anyone who has stood in line in an Italian post office or withered in a police station waiting for a stay permit, will understand the appeal of giving immediate feedback on service.

Given some say in the matter, the Italian public could be all smiles. That is, while they zap state employees with those angry little faces.

Italians Say “Si” to Sunday Lunch

Posted on by
2

Sunday lunch

Times may change but over half of all Italians still break bread together on long, big Sunday lunches.

Though brunch has made headway in Italy recently, especially in cities and among young people, 52% of the 1,834 families polled by the Accademia Italiana della Cucina (Academy of Italian Cuisine) still follow the Sunday lunch tradition.

The menu? Usually cold cuts and crostini for starters, then pasta and roast meat plus fruit, dessert and coffee.

“In an age where all food is the same and people cook less, Sunday lunch is a bulwark against fast-food and ready-made meals,” said Accademia president Giovanni Ballarini. “It’s an important ritual to keep families together.”

This prodigal spread is still usually prepared by women, though two out of 10 men claim they “lend a hand” for Sunday cooking. Younger generations, say the study, aren’t interested in cooking, but are happy to sit down and eat with the extended family.

Photo courtesy Dpf at Flickr

Sign Your Name on Juliet’s Terrace in Verona

Posted on by
2

Juliet\'s terrace

Two million romantics flock to see Romeo and Juliet’s balcony every year in Verona.
Unfortunately, many of them also carve their names or scribble hearts on the monument, making it more of a tourist trap than attraction.

To stop love-struck tourists from ruining the building, managers of theater Teatro Stabile, who own the famous balcony, came up with the idea of “lovestones.”

For €100 (about $135) lovebirds have a their names (plus short message and date) carved in laser on marble tiles on a terrace below the balcony. You also get a certificate with a map and can also request copies of the tile, for €35 (about $45).

There are some 60,000 lovestones available, organizers assure that someone will be on hand to help you find yours, should you come to Verona to see it.

Love may not be eternal, but these these lovestones will last indefinitely. Or at least until the natural abrasion erodes the marble surface.

Purchase of the tiles will help modernize the 1846 theater.

Italy Faces Foreign Truffle Invasion

Posted on by
1

Italian Black truffles

Italian researchers nosing around have discovered traces of DNA from Chinese truffles mingled with prestigious, costly local black truffles.

The trouble with truffle intermingling? Scientists say it is one reason, along with environmental changes, that the prized tuber has become even more scarce in recent seasons.

Truffle cousins from Asia sprung up in European markets in the 1990s. Among them is the Tuber indicum from China, a close relation of the Italian black truffle, Tuber melanosporum. The two mushrooms share genes and have a similar structure and shape. Truffle conossieurs, willing to pay between €200 and 600 per kilogram (USD$130–$380 per pound) for this black gold, say the Asian variety lacks the taste and fragrance of Italian truffles.

During an inspection of a black truffle farm near Turin, where a dozen years ago T. melanosporum truffles were planted, researchers of the Institute for Plant Protection (IPP) of the National Science Council identified DNA of T. indicum in the soil and roots.
Continue reading →