La bella figura

I was about to write this post few days ago, exactly the second day I started to read the book, but managed today only. Well, in any case, you should read it.

So, few days ago I started a book by Beppe Severgnini, columnist for the Corriere della Sera - one of the biggest Italian newspapers. The book is called "La bella figura" meaning literally 'the beautiful figure', but really 'a good image' is hilarious guide into Italian mentality and mind. So I thought that there is no better way to share some of my observations about Italians then sharing some extracts from this book.

.... First of all, let's get one thing straight. Your Italy and our Italia are not the same thing.

....Yet Italy is far from hellish. It's got too much style. Neither is it heaven, of course, because it's too unruly. Let's just say Italy is an offbeat purgatory, full of proud, tormented souls each of whom is convinced he or she has a hotline to the boss.

....It takes an outstanding director to govern the Italians.

....Obedience is boring. We want to think about it. We want to decide whether a particular law applies to our specific case. In that place, at that time.

.... Do you see that red light? It looks the same as any other red light anywhere in the world, but it's an Italian invention. It's not an order, as you may naivly think. Nor is it a warming, as a superficial glance might suggest. It's actually an opportunity to reflect....In Italy, red lights come in many varieties. A rare few actually mean stop. Others, to the Italian driver, suggest different interpretations. At a pedestrian crossing at 7 a.m., with no pedestrians around, it is a “negotiable red,” more like a weak orange. At a traffic intersection, red could mean what the Florentines call rosso pieno, or full red, but it might, with no cars coming, be more of a suggestion than a command. It all depends.

... It's one in the afternoon. In Milan, this is time for la colazione which means breakfast in Rome but is the same thing as lunch in New York. The midday meal in Rome is il pranzo, which for many people in Milan means the evening meal that everyone in Naples calls la cena.

... Consider the humble cappuccino. After 10 o'clock ib the morning it's unethical and possibly even unlawful to order one. You wouldn't have one in the afternoon unless the weather was very cold. Needless to say, sipping a cappuccino after a meal is something only non-Italians do. Pizzas at midday are for schoolkids. Rice with meat is perfect, but pasta with meat is embarassing unless it's cooked in the sauce. Having a started after your pasta raises no eyebrows, but eating a main neat or fish dish instead of a starter looks greedy. Grating Parmesan over clams is an offense against religion...

.... You chose creamed vegetables, but the menu said vellutata di verdure di stagione al profumo di finocheietto selvatico, servita coi crostini e olio extravergine d'oliva d'Abruzzo, which is one way to charge extra 10 euros for it.

I hope you had fun:) I continue reading...:)