30-36 vacation days, yearly (France)
24-36 vacation days, yearly (Italy)
22-25 vacation days, yearly (Spain)
10-20 vacation days, yearly (USA)
70% Italians considered "obnoxious" on holiday
Italians have longer vacations than most but that’s not enough to make them well-behaved on the beach, according to newspaper reports. Something to think about when picking a spot for the umbrella: the worst “neighbors” are usually either teenagers or 40- somethings. Offenses range from endless cellphone chatter, impromptu soccer games and blaring radios…The good news is that yesterday, Aug. 19, an estimated six million Italians headed back home.

Related resources:
http://mm1.rai.it:8080/ramgen/rainet/clip/spot5.rm
State broadcaster RAI has taken upon itself to reeducate rude Italians–here’s one of a series of ads aimed at ending rude behavior, starring the aptly-named Scortesi family.

The clock at Bologna’s train station was frozen at 10:25 a.m.–the exact time when a terrorist bomb killed 85 and injured 200 in 1980. On August 16 2001, the clock was again set in motion to appease travelers who kept missing trains because they didn’t know any better. “It wasn’t a decision we took lightly,” train officials told newspapers. “But how do you explain to a tourist that a particular clock, stopped at that precise time, is of great symbolic value?” So the clock has started ticking again, along with protests from political groups and families of the victims. Possible solutions include providing a multi-lingual plaque explaining the reason for “stopping time” as well as an exhibit showing just what happened the morning an explosion ripped open the waiting room and a waiting train on the track. Some twenty years later, offcials have yet to attribute responsibility for the deliberate attack.

Related resources
http://valeoggi.tiscali.it/immagini/200108/18/3b7e04cb03e9d
A photo gallery of the bombing…

In folklore garlic was said to keep vampires at bay, now the city of Vercelli is hoping it will have the same effect on those other bloodsuckers–mosquitoes. The first fumigation of “Garlic Reset,” a concentrate of the stinking rose, wafted through city parks in early August. The local government, which spent about $100,000 on the operation,will continue spraying tree-lined streets for the remainder of the month. The evening stroll will never be the same.

Related resources:
www.onde.net/desenzano/comune/servizi/zanzara/ZT-1.htm
An info booklet on the "tiger mosquito" (zanzara tigre) the latest, fiercest version to plague central-Northern Italy

The hottest new flavor in Italian ice cream takes its name from the Etna volcano. Vanilla and cherry ice cream laced with anise liqueur, perched on a base of sponge cake. The final touch: black powdered sugar, for that realistic ash-effect.
In an attempt to drum up business since rolling lava scared off tourists, caf? owner Francesco Urz? of Catania started giving away the “Etna Earth” flavor to regular customers. He told zoomata only about 10% of them refused–convinced it would bring bad luck. Etna, which got busy again the last half of July 2001, is Europe’s highest active volcano.

62% gambled in some form, last 3 months (July 2001)
67.7% those who gambled from South
51% those who gambled have university degree
25% of gamblers played average 25 times in period
90% gamblers “believe in themselves”
84% non-gamblers “believe in themselves”

This extensive study (10,000 Italians, age 14 and up) gives an idea how many are willing to gamble a bit in hopes of hitting pay dirt. Any sort of betting (from scratch & win state lottery to the horses) was considered. Italy’s crowded betting arena includes three soccer-betting schemes, wagers on horses and numerous state lotteries, with Bingo to come in fall 2001.

Related resources:
http://erewhon.ticonuno.it/riv/societa/pubblicita/fujifilm.htm
Common parlance for “luck” is “culo” (butt), here’s one of many tasteless recent ads based on the idea.

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In three days 19,736 signatures were gathered on a virtual petition to stop the execution of Italian American Derek Rocco Barnabei.
Despite fervent protests, Italian public sentiment once again failed to sway the governor of Virginia, James Gilmore. Derek Rocco Barnabei, the Italian American accused of murdering his girlfriend, was killed by lethal injection Sept. 14 2000. In the aftermath of general hysteria– safety warnings by the government for Americans abroad and accusations of barbarity– the obituaries for Barnabei passed unnoticed. Some by everyday citizens, some by officials but perhaps the most significant was from the city of Palermo. The notice published by the Corriere della Sera, which named Barnabei an honorary citizen of the city, brings to mind another execution. James O’Dell, executed in 1998 in the same prison as Barnabei, sparked the first wave of public outcry against the death penalty and is, in fact, buried in Palermo’s cemetery.
The Corriere’s round-up special on Barnabei & the protests www.corriere.it/speciali/barnabei.shtml
Italians, already passionate against the death penalty, have taken this case to heart. Derek’s mother, Jane, visited Italy several times (as far back as 1998) to raise funds for his defense. Premier Giulio Amato, the Italian parliament and Pope John Paul II have all made an effort to intervene. But the grass roots protest, especially in Tuscany –where the Barnabei family comes from– has been especially strong.
www.regione.toscana.it/campagne/barnabei.htm

Related resources:
The death penalty, even in fiction, is enough to mobilize Italians into action. Writers of popular radio drama "Alcatraz" were forced to change the ending because the public refused to accept the demise of Jack Folla, an Italian American DJ on death row. Folla escaped from prison and met, however, an untimely end as a TV program. The radio show archives live on: www.radio.rai.it/radio2/archivi/forziere/Alcatraz/alcatraz.htm

Citing security reasons, officials at the famous Milanese opera house have cut 200 standing-room posts, traditionally occupied by the”loggionisti” or rather the working-class folks who occupy the gallery. These spots, which cost only L.10.000 ($5USD), will be no more as of Sept. 12 2000– city administration seems to have just realized standing roomers constitute a fire hazard. The loggionisti, however are a cultural institution and refuse to accept the decision. The top spots, in fact, have the best acoustics in the house and the “peanut gallery” is often the most important judge of an opera. Gallery occupants are certainly the most vocal of critics– boos from them were said to have reduced Arturo Toscanini to tears and tripped up Luciano Pavarotti when he hit an off note in 1992. No word on whether the official association will withdraw support of the opera house–it holds a prestigious singing contest and runs a chorus. We’ll let you know how it plays out.

Related resources:
View the Scala from the gallery vantagepoint:
http://lascala.milano.it/theatre/visit/qtvr_map.html
At the site for Association of Loggionisti, unite your email protest to defend cheap spots for starving students & opera lovers
www.ingressi.freeweb.org English & Italian.

$10 million, circa (19,536 billion lire) income, state lottery (1999)
50% increase from 1998
$15 million, circa (34,029 billion lire) total income betting
$400 million, c. (830 billion lire) income est., State bingo halls Italy’s first bingo halls, hailed as a sure thing by the government, are scheduled to debut in Fall 2001.
While bingo certainly isn’t new to Italy, it’s just now getting out of the living room at Christmas time and into the already-crowded betting arena–which includes three soccer-betting schemes, wagers on horses and numerous state lotteries. To make sure folks don’t consider it the same old game, it won’t be known as “tombola” (the Italian name) but will go by the more “exotic” bingo. The 800 halls, expected to bring in $25,000 a day, are being hailed as a boon to state coffers and entrepreneurs alike.

Related resources:
www.lasmorfia.it
Looking for your lucky numbers? The Neapolitan tradition of interpreting dreams into numbers (“La Smorfia”) is now online.
www.giocodellotto.com
Official lottery site, online games

13 million = (1/3 of the population) is unable to formulate or understand a simple message.
13 million = have difficulty understanding elementary texts, simple dialogues and comprehending graphs.
15 million = possess modest vocabulary/reading skills. Considered “at risk” – since they do not read and write regularly.

This joint study shows that millions of Italians between 16 and 65 have trouble with the language in everyday situations. The most alarming flunk- the 13 million Italians baffled by the technical language that accompanies all medicines, from aspirin to prescription drugs.
Researchers remain perplexed, not expecting lack of literacy in a generally well-off society. How are these well-heeled Italians communicating, then? Perhaps local dialects aren’t going the way of the dinosaur.