Obviously, I do love Italy. Obviously because I grew-up and lived it and trust me if you grow up an Italian and brought up in its Italian Ideology it is a world of its own!!
Much like an infection, you can move physically out of Italy but you will still carry it around inside of you. like me! And why would you want to remove Italy from me… that’s who I AM. “ITALY GIRL!!”
Aside from the two-hundred obvious reasons (the crappy economy, confusing bull headed fascist mentality, over-bearing families and cheating husbands) there isn’t anything more inviting and or more beautiful than Italy to me!!
Italy in many ways is exactly what I need when I need it.
In my candidness. Everyone at least once in their lifetime needs to experience a small dose of this infectious country.
One of my breathtaking, favorite cities is Florence.
Let’s get past the art and architecture which is obviously breathtaking, the oldness of it all seems insane for those of us from countries whose art is not a foundation of our being. The cobblestone once drowned in the beauty and awesomeness of the likes of Da Vinci, Michelangelo and some Caravaggio. Florence has homed greatness for centuries and the breathtaking beauty is impeccable. If you stop and stare at the city for even a moment it is unbelievable how absurdly cool is Florence. All of it. But that’s obvious.
Then there is the food, that’s something else we could talk about. The bright red tomatoes bulging out of crates onto the street, the smell of fresh bread wafting from cafés and pasticceria, meals that only require olive oil and salt as seasoning because the ingredients are so fresh it doesn’t seem like it so easy and simple. But, actually the simplest basic ingredients create the great the food is.
The food and culture is part of my love, it’s the relationship with life and the people that make Florence and other parts of Italy so unique and incredible but it’s not necessarily the personal interactions but rather just watching them exist. Like, the old couple of about ninety years old with their matching cane set holding hands while they slowly make their way around the block after lunch; the group of elderly widows in matching black walking together and talking about their children or their late husbands; the young boys playing soccer in the street while their mother screams out of the window to come eat; Italian husbands in the street holding their wives purses with their infant strapped to their chest while the mother walks slowly behind in stilettos, deeply inhaling a cigarette; teenagers fighting in a square and nobody calls the police because, well, kids fight; an old woman drinking tea in the window of a restaurant with her little terrier on her legs, comfortably asleep on her Prada pant-suit. A pretty woman walks by and all heads of the street turn to follow her. The men stare. The women stare. If you make eye contact, you’ll be locked there because there is no reason to look away, personal space doesn’t exist.
In Italy life does not pass you by, because people are too busy living it!! From the food, which is enjoyed for hours at a time instead of inhaled. Anything that is meant to be enjoyed is savored in a way that is strictly Italian and while I can’t say much for any other relationship I can speak from my friend Giovanna’s account of her experience she exclaims, “he doesn’t look at me but he stares at me for hours every day!!”, she exclaims. “Nando softly touches me in between moments of clinging, pulling, grasping and tugging”. He doesn’t kiss me but rather he tastes my mouth like he’s tasting wine. With Italians, there is an (often obnoxious) long-lost will to argue and nag and fight that disappeared long ago in the US for a more “civilized” approach to life: perfection in well-played but limited animation. Italy has maintained its naive innocents with its thousands of years of wisdom. It lends those of us from another world a different perspective, a break. It gives us a look into the past and teaches a full appreciation for the present. Once you learn it you won’t forget it and you’ll forever see the world through Italian-tainted lenses.
