Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty*

What the world needs now....

This video has nothing to do with my trip other than it happened in Italy. It was posted to my Facebook page so I thought I would stick it on my blog.

* “Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty” -  Anne Herbert

Mario

This is Mario.

I met Mario in Piazza Castromedian.

In the piazza are three well graffitied copper and glass structures that look a bit like modern art. They are in fact windows to an underground Roman city, discovered during excavations some years ago.

Mario explained to me that they were connected to the nearby Roman amphitheatre and that much of the old walled city is built over the old Roman town.

Lecce was a town near the Appian Way which linked ancient Rome to the Adriatic Sea. It ended on the coast where Brindisi is now.

Anyway Mario must have thought I was in need of divine help as he insisted on showing me Chiesa Sant’Angelo, the church he goes to every morning for mass and communion.

Divella pasta factory - who needs workers?

Divella is the second biggest pasta company in Italy after Barrilla. Today we were taken on a tour of the Divella factory near Bari.

Two things struck me. The size - it is enormous - and how few people actually work there. This was modern, sanitised, automated manufacturing at its starkest. The only humans I saw were people minding the machines, technicians in white coats and fork lift drivers. The rest is all done by industrial robots and automated production lines.The giant warehouse reminded me of the final scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Raffaele's walk to uni - the movie

Ciao a tutti. Cinque settimane restano...

Today is the end of week 5 of my course. I am now half way through. So how is it all going? 

Before I answer that question I want to introduce you to the people at the Scuolo di Italiano per Stranieri at the University of Salento that I have most contact with.

Anna is the main contact person for the Italiano per Stranieri  program. She also teaches the advanced class. Valentina is my grammar teacher, while Laura takes us for conversation.

Lava, blood and bullshit

Naples - some final observations

Lava

Every thing I've ever read  about Vesuvius  has said that it is one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world . 

It has erupted 22 times since 1660. That's about seven eruptions every century for the last three centuries. The last major eruption was in 1944 destroying four nearby villages. Vesuvius is very much alive and it 's due.

Over the years urban development has crept ever closer, with the most recent, mostly illegal constructions, on the volcano's slopes (see arrows on pic). Fatalistic, in denial or plain stupid, Vesuvius will ultimately decide these people’s fate and maybe all of Naples.

Start spreading the news…

Okay so you are an intrepid traveler, you've decided to commit time to Naples and you want to find out about how the city works. 

You’ve scoured the internet for information and bought Lonely Planet but you really want local knowledge.  How do you get it?

New York might just have part of the answer. Just like Naples, New York City suffered from an image problem with potential visitors thinking the city was too dangerous, too expensive and too overwhelming.

In 1992 the Big Apple Greeter was born. The Big Apple Greeter is a free service run by the City of New York whereby visitors can meet a real New Yorker and find out how the city ticks. My family and I used the service a few years ago and it was fantastic.

Napoli 101: See naples and live

I am a big fan of Penelope Green's books about Italy and in particular See Naples and Die. With apologies to Penelope here is my attempt at a Naples inspired Haiku.

See Naples and live

See Naples before you die

See Naples and weep

Friday 4 February was my first day in Naples with the sun and the wind collaborating to produce a stunning day. I can say without reservation I have never seen it more beautiful. Look at my picture of Vesuvius and the Bay of Naples and tell me I am wrong. However Naples is not always like this and appearances can be deceiving. It is not an easy city to get to know and like.

Am I actually learning anything?

This is Tiziana. I met Tiziana on the train to Naples recently (3 Feb).

It was the end of the fourth week of my course and I was starting to feel that I wasn’t learning very much.

I was starting to doubt the value of what I was doing. In particular I am finding the grammar hard going.

Tiziana is from Bari and was on her way back to Rome where she is closing in on a journalism degree with only a few exams to go before she finishes. She sat opposite me, offered me something to eat and we started talking. Three hours later we stopped when I had to change trains for Naples.

Only 6,643 to a Serie A game?

How come in soccer mad Italy an important Serie A match only attracts about 6,643 people?

I went to the Lecce v Cesena game on Sunday and was very surprised at how small the crowd was.

Lecce (4th from bottom) haven’t had a great season and neither have Cesena (3rd from bottom). Both are fighting to avoid relegation.

But this was an important game. It was Lecce’s home game and they have been playing well in recent weeks scoring a win against Lazio and worthy draws against Milan and Fiorentina, all teams much higher on the ladder. A win would have put them fifth to bottom and given them some much need breathing space. So why the poor crowd?