Italy team advances to semi-finals

Italy proudly nabbed a decisive win against the Ukraine today with a final score of 3-0.  They scored their first goal within the first five minutes of the game.

We’re pretty pleased here at nakeditaly, since this means the Azzurri will play Germany in the semi-finals.  Germany won the last world cup in the final game against the US.  With the US out of the running, Italy gets a chance to shut down the competition’s host team.

The semi-final match between Italy and Germany will be on July 4th, beginning at 9:00 Germany time.

The team celebrates Luca Toni’s goal against Ukraine.

A ‘poetic’ look at Italian politics

Here’s a fabulous poem written by an Italian poet in the early 1900’s–an amusing and quite realistic take on family and political life.

POLITICS

There’s such a great variety of opinions:
my father is a Christian democrat
and, since he works in the Vatican,
every night he says the rosary;

as for my brothers, Luigi the elder,
is a socialist revolutionist;
I am a monarchist instead, in opposition
to Ludovico who is a republican.

Before having dinner we often quarrel
because of our indisputable principles
some think one way, some another… Like a congress !

We raise hell ! But as soon as mum
tells us spaghetti is ready
we all come to agreement on that idea.

Trilussa (1915)

Here’s the original for those who care.  The Italian is southern.

La politica

Ner modo de pensà c’è un gran divario :
mi’ padre è democratico cristiano,
e, siccome è impiegato ar Vaticano,
tutte le sere recita er rosario ;

de tre fratelli, Giggi ch’è er più anziano
è socialista rivoluzzionario ;
io invece so’ monarchico, ar contrario
de Ludovico ch’è repubbricano.

Prima de cena liticamo spesso
pe’ via de ’sti principî benedetti :
chi vô qua, chi vô là… Pare un congresso!

Famo l’ira de Dio! Ma appena mamma
ce dice so’ cotti li spaghetti
semo tutti d’accordo ner programma.

Trilussa 1915

Feeling too blue? Go celebrate love during La Notte Rosa.

On the coast of Emiglia Romagna this weekend all you need is love. And they’re going to have plenty of it.

Take a white t-shirt, toss it in the love washing machine, and it’ll come out tinted pink.

Go for a ten kilometer walk with your sweetie, in the gentle glow of ‘love lights.’

Hairdressers are on hand to give your hair a pink tint for the evening.

And if you’re worried about missing the world cup, relax. The ‘world cup village’ awaits you, complete with enormous screen so you can catch the games.

There are also concerts, makeovers, poetry reading, theater, and an enormous fireworks show to light up the whole coast.

Not surprisingly, this big love fest coincides with the biggest singles reunion in Italy. So if you don’t have a sweetie quite yet head to Rimini or one of its sister cities tomorrow.

You can learn more at www.lanotterosa.it, which has an hour-by-hour schedule of events for each city involved.

Sales start tomorrow in Milan and Turin

In Italy, stores don’t get to choose their own sale days.  In fact, their are legistlated days which everybody has sales.  The summer sale season begins in the northern regions tomorrow, and later on in July for other areas of the country.

The store keepers are optimistic this season.  There is expectation that every family will spend approximately 260 euro on sale purchases.

A little vocab:

sconto=discount

saldi=sales

negozio=shop

commesso/a=store clerk

Link (Italian)

Hamburg turns blue

Thousands of infectiously eager Italians dressed in blue crowd the streets of Hamburg today as we wait for the Italy-Ukraine match tonight at 9:00 (here in the states at noon).

Fans are delighted and relieved to learn that the beloved Totti is ‘not at all tired’ and will be playing in the match.  This game is, obviously, very important as a win brings the Azzurri oh so much closer to playing in the final match.

Cell phone radiation = the new caffeine?

Since Italians spend about 30% of their waking hours using cell phones, it’s not surprising that Italian neuroscientists have taken up studying the effects of serious telefonino usage on the human body. Now they find that cell signals “excite” brain cells. This stunning news apparently has no practical application whatsoever, though, since no one knows yet whether that is “good” excitement or “bad” excitement.

In the meantime, better stick to text messaging (also an Italian addiction) and keep that phone away from the little grey cells, okay?

Link

Constitutional reforms rejected

Berlusconi takes another hit, and Prodi’s center-left coalition gets some more political capital, as Italians vote in a referendum to reject broad constitutional changes that would have pumped more power to the prime minister and increase regional independence.

Results from all polling stations except those overseas showed 61.7 percent of the voters in a two-day, nationwide referendum turned down the plan to strengthen the prime minister’s powers and give more autonomy to the regions. (Link)

Little Italy in Eritrea

Reuters is carrying an interesting little (alas, all too short) article on the lingering influence of Italian culture in Asmara, Eritrea. After being brutally “colonized” during the rule of Mussolini, the region that now includes both Ethiopia and Eritrea gained its freedom, only to fall into a civil war as Eritrea sought independence from its neighbor.

After chatting in Italian to an elderly gent in an immaculate dark suit and carrying a cane, wander off to an outside terrace and lunch on spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams).

A few hours later, drop into a peaceful gelateria with views over wooded hills for a delicious coffee ice cream.

A hill town in Tuscany? Or maybe the palms mark it as one of Sicily’s cities?

Far from it. This is Asmara, capital of Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. No wonder a few days there can leave a former correspondent in Italy somewhat confused. (Link)

And they just keep winning!

Final score: Italy 1, Australia 0. The ‘mates’ from down under couldn’t bring down the Azzurri. (And yes, they had a little help from the referee.)

If the thrill is going to your head, you can buy this jersey at Amazon and match the team.

Ale’ Ale’, Italy wins again

Italy routed the Czech Republic, 2-0.  And so on to bigger and better things, as the Azzurri lead their group.  We'll have a more complete post on the subject later, when the more sporty member of the blog squadra has a free moment.

Italians wish they could have more babies

Italy has one of the lowest birth rates in Europe.  But, according to the latest research, most Italians wish they could have more children.  The current birth rate is a low 1.3 per woman–which means there are fewer births than deaths.  The birth rate would be 2.1 if Italians could have it the way they wanted.

Almost half of those who said they wished they could have more children sited economic factors in their decision to not have more.  Other factor were size of homes or apartments (the prices of which are astronomical), lack of help of a partner, or work.

Link (It) 

Italy vs. Czech Republic tomorrow

Don't forget, fellow Italophiles.  This game is perhaps equally important for the US team.  

More than half of Italians are computer illiterate

A new study claims that 59% of all Italians have virtually no computer skills whatsoever. This puts them at the highest computer illiteracy percentage in Europe, after Greece, which comes in at a whopping 65%.

Of all age groups, those over 55 are, understandably, the most disadvantaged in this area. It's estimated that 87% of those who are computer illiterate in Italy are over 55.

These percentages are a bit disturbing considering the Italian government's current push to make the internet available to everyone.

Link (It) 

40th annual EuroVespa party–Vespa Club celebrates 60 years of Vespas

The biggest reunion of Vespa lovers took place this past week in Torino. And how big is it? They say that if you lined up all the Vespas belonging to the attendees, you'd get a line almost 4 miles long. That's a lot of scooters.

The three days of the festival were packed with shows, tours, and general drooling over or vaunting of Vespas.

To find out a little more about Vespa clubs, Eurovespa, or the world of the fantastic and legendary Vespa, you can visit www.eurovespa2006.it , www.vespaworldclub.com , or www.vespa.com. Or visit one of over 10,000 Piaggio dealers in the world and eat your heart out.

Here's one of the original vespas from 1943.

And one from 1965.

And a brand new one.

And, of course, the Piaggio Mp3.

Italy’s prince exchanges the jet set for a jail cell

Vittorio Emanuele, the 69-year-old son of Italy's last king, is in jail, arrested on charges of corruption and prostitution.

He has only been allowed in Italy since 2002, when the Italian government lifted an exile ban on any male members of his family. The Savoy family–the last royal family–was exiled in 1946 when Italy changed to a republic. Their exile was 'punishment' for collaboration with Mussolini and shamefully fleeing Rome to avoid a German invasion.

Vittorio Emmanuele has had an even more colorful political life than our old favorite, Berlusconi. He was deeply involved in a gunfight on board a yacht in which a young German man was killed. He also refused to offer a symbolic public apology for the unpleasant racial laws passed by his grandfather.

We imagine that this arrest makes Berlusconi uncomfortable. He, too, is awaiting a trial for corruption.

Below is a photo of the illustrious prince in happier times.

Link