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(12/08/09 5:22am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Hundreds of people cram into the brick walls of the Basilica of Saint Ambrose as the smoke from the incense billows into the high ceilings of the church. Outside people slosh through the wet ground of the park where vendor after vendor screams out, selling everything from knick-knacks to cannolis. Dec. 7 marks the commemoration of the bishop of Milan during the 4th century – Saint Ambrose. His many contributions to the history and religious culture of the city make him Milan’s patron saint. St. Ambrose day is a celebration that Milan can call its own and has continued to celebrate it for centuries in this way. I sat at the back of the crowded church as the service began. A parade of white-garbed men walked through the aisles, swinging the incense in front of the bishop of Milan crowned with the mitre, the traditional tall white hat stitched with gold worn by Catholic bishops and priests. I could barely see the point of his hat as he walked to the front of the church because I was surrounded by the people who came early enough to actually get one of the few seats and the ones standing alongside the edges of the walls.The service began as the voices of the choir echoed as they sung through the Italian hymns. They recognized St. Ambrose throughout the service calling him the shepherd of the city during the homily and songs.The day of the saint begins its celebrations in this serene way, but take one step outside and it is complete chaos.An immense crowd pours into the piazza and browses among the innumerable stands from morning until night selling dresses, furniture, ethnic objects, furnishings, crafts, cakes and sweets, hot mulled wine and handmade clothing.This market has an ancient tradition and has always been much loved by the children. Traditionally, at the Piazza del Cannone, children would yell out “O Bej, O Bej,” meaning “Oh beautiful, Oh beautiful” in the local Milanese dialect, giving the festival its today’s traditional name.At that time, the products on display were mostly flee-market items and food: the famous “Firon,” which are nothing more than roasted chestnuts stuck in long wires by the dozens. Despite the rise of major industrialization in the city, this is proof of the survival of Italian tradition.
(12/01/09 5:19am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>MILAN - Here, jailbirds are transformed into designers. I watched as needles traveled up and down, sewing together the plush fabric that will eventually be worked into one of the magnificently detailed costumes for the world-renowned La Scala opera house. This would look like any other custom shop if it were not for the prison guard standing at attention alongside the sewing machine. This is the scene at San Vittore women’s prison. Women here are serving sentences of five years or more – many for drug trafficking or stealing, others for murder. All the same, these women are given a chance to become a part of a program, teaching them skills that they will be able to use when they leave. Our prison tour guide boasted about the differences between San Vittore and the inferior prisons in the United States. We walked through the hallways alongside many of the inmates because during the day the doors to the women’s rooms are left open. Inside, the rooms looked like my freshman dorm plus a toilet and a kitchen stocked with utensils (everything but knives) and a camping stove. The prison concentrates on the rehabilitation of inmates and believes that by giving them pathways to success in the outside world, the women will find their way. This is one of the reasons why they decided to collaborate with Cooperative Alice in 1992. The program includes cultural arts courses like film editing, theater, poetry and tailoring, giving inmates more than “survival” skills by helping them discover their passions and talents in an effort to decrease recidivism rates. It was created with the intent to give a means of employment for women serving sentences. They say it is working.Alice’s mission is “to focus on innovative ways of combining economic equity and firm social solidarity; in this way, Alice touches and deals with the two spheres, the ‘enterprise’ and ‘social responsibility,’ in the constant search for delicate balance.” Cooperative Alice believes in the constitutional principle of Article 27: “Punishment cannot consist of treatment contrary to human dignity and must aim at rehabilitating the condemned,” building a system of relationships between prisoners and the outside business world. Sartoria SanVittore and Jail Cats are two brand names that have come out of the prison walls in the past two years. Last year, inmates even strutted the catwalk in wedding dresses they designed and stitched themselves, with guards at each side of the runway.
(11/17/09 6:23am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The sun set hours ago, and the street lights now illuminate the fog-covered roads near the Piazza Duomo. There are a few clusters of people sitting, talking and walking alongside the church and down the allies. The sky is gloomy, overcast and cold from the rain that did not let up for most of the day. In the distance there is the sound of music and horns. It is 10:30 p.m. Despite the cold, a group of cyclists sweeps around the corner of Via Torino, entering the square. There are young people and old, women and men, some screaming, some silent, but all supporting the same cause. A rainbow flag reading “Pace,” meaning “peace,” is held by a middle-aged man on a cherry-red tricycle in the back of the pack. A slip of cardboard is also attached reading “no oil.” This is the weekly routine of the Critical Mass bike group in Milan. Every Thursday night they join together in a riding protest of the city’s lack of bicycle lanes. On this night they take over the roads, taking what they feel is their rightful place on the streets, building their own bike paths that during the daytime are overflowing with cars emitting toxic fumes and leaving no place for bikes to pass. As defined in the city code Article 1, the street is “an area for public use for pedestrians, vehicles and animals.” Cyclists come together to reinforce the concept the law itself states: that the road is for all. Members of Critical Mass believes that by exploiting the power of numbers and invading the streets, the group can draw attention to its cause, and on this one night have complete peace while passing through the city.Anyone may join the protest. The group’s Facebook page reads, “Cycling in this way is beautiful. Easy, even. The road runs beneath your wheels and makes you happy. You move from one part of the city smoothly and rapidly, without the worry of being pushed into cars and trucks. And Milan is beautiful.” The next protest will be this Saturday in the streets of Milan, where Critical Mass hopes to have hundreds of cyclists and skaters to promote the importance of bicycle safety and the need for better lanes within the city.
(11/10/09 5:24am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>MILAN - Crosses may be seeing their final days on the walls of Italian public schools. The European Court of Human Rights said the display of crucifixes in Italian public schools violates religious and educational freedoms. But the Italian government is not giving up easily and plans to appeal the ruling against them. Education Minister Mariastella Gelmini announced the appeal calling crosses in the classroom “a symbol of Italian tradition” that did not have a specific affiliation solely to the Catholic church and is not a symbol that should make anyone feel excluded or unwelcome. Almost directly after the ruling was made, the Vatican also protested in Rome, denouncing the decision made by the court. A Vatican spokesman, Federico Lombardi, agreed in the importance of the symbol, saying “It seems as if the court wanted to ignore the role of Christianity in forming Europe’s identity, which was and remains essential.”The case was first brought to the European Court of Human Rights in July 2006 by a mother of two, Soile Lautsi, claiming her town in northern Italy refused to remove a cross off the wall eight years ago. She argued that the crucifix violated the secular principles that a public school should uphold. As a country dominated by Roman Catholics, to say the least, her efforts have not been welcomed with open arms. According to the ANSA Italian news agency, after hearing the ruling, Lautsi’s husband Massimo Albertin said “We believe the ruling is a positive signal from Europe to Italy, which seems to increasingly lose its secularism.”This decision could cause a look-over of the use of all religious symbols within European schools. The court ordered Italy to pay a fine of just more than $7,000 to Lautsi. If the appeal is successful, Tuesday’s ruling will be looked at again, and if not, the law will become completely effective in three months. The Census of 2009 Annuario Pontificio stated between 90 and 95 percent of Italians are Roman Catholic, which explains the anger that erupted after this ruling. The separation between church and state has been an interesting battle in Italy because of the importance of the Vatican in Rome and the large presence of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the country.
(11/03/09 5:15am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A bundle of sticks with an axe is the only carving left on the bare white wall of the simply designed building called Triennale. This is because almost every other symbol representative of Mussolini’s fascist era has been completely erased or destroyed from walls throughout the city.Only decades ago, Milan’s buildings were adorned with carvings reading “Il Duce,” the other name used for Mussolini.Buildings constructed under the Mussolini regime still stand today, adorned with symbols and meanings that have been forgotten by many.It is hard to miss the grandiose entrance of the Central Station, located at the heart of the city, but even the Milanese seem to miss the meaning behind the architectural design.The passageway is guarded by two gigantic Roman soldiers flanked by their winged horses. This incredible building was commissioned by King Vittorio Emanuele II in 1906, which is why the royal family’s apartment still remains untouched near the first platform. The project was halted during World War I and abandoned until Benito Mussolini became Prime Minister 20 years later.Using the style of Art Deco, with the addition of the regime’s self-celebrating program of sculptures and mosaics, Mussolini’s station, which was in part inspired by New York’s Grand Central, remains one of the most impressive railway stations of Europe as well as a memory of fascism in Italy.Mussolini used his architectural style as a sort of propaganda, illustrating the power and grand presence of his regime through the building’s structure.Like Central Station, La Borsa, which for many years held Milan’s stock exchange, is built in white limestone, similar to that of IU’s buildings. The white illuminates in the sunlight, making it stand out among every other building. The tall columns, high ceilings and detailed Roman carvings give it a presence of power that Mussolini meant to instill into his political ideals.The fasces symbol, the sticks and axe, remains the symbol of the fascist regime.The same symbol reappears in an unlikely location: the fountain outside of the Castle Sforzesco. Dating back to the late 1930s, the central basin of the fountain is formed by a series of bundles of sticks.The fountain was temporarily removed in 1959 during the construction work for the Metro, the underground subway, and the marble components were put into storage in a municipal warehouse. The connotations associated with the regime meant that it was conveniently forgotten until ten years ago, when it was reinstalled under the direction of the vice mayor, who was sympathetic to Mussolini’s time in power.From the majestic gods and winged horses of the Central Station to the bare walls of the Triennale, Milan’s architecture inevitably demonstrates its links to Italy’s history, even those its people wish to forget.
(10/28/09 4:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>“Welcome to one of the most characteristic events in Milan: the public transportation strike.”This was the e-mail I received last Thursday from my university the night before a strike was to take place.Also included in the e-mail was a full schedule of how many workers and at what time the workers would be striking. This had to be the most convenient, well-organized strike I have ever experienced.This was the schedule. From 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. people could take the subway normally. At about 8:45 a.m. the strike would begin, and those who wanted to take part in the strike could stop working. The strike would go until 3 p.m., when everything would return to normal until 6 p.m. Then, the strike would resume until midnight. By 12:01 a.m., everything would return completely to the normal schedule.I rushed to the subway for my 9 a.m. class that morning, hoping to get on before the metro cars stopped running. Students, businessmen and women pushed their way into the crowded cars. After class I decided to walk home, thinking that the would not be running because of the strike.When passing the subway stop, I realized people were walking out from below the metro. Running down the steps to see what was going on, I saw that everything was running as normal. The subway was on time and the workers were, well, working.Although all union workers were given the option to strike, only 28 percent of the workforce actually took the time off.Like in the United States, the strike is created to generate confusion and disservice and to make the customers aware of the workers’ problems. Ironically, everything was normal. The only way to discover it is to arrive at the station or the airport and try to figure it out. Flight and train companies try to ensure some trips to the main destinations, but it is not possible to know which ones in advance.The ATM, Azienda Trasporti Milanesi, employs many union workers. This particular transportation strike involved only some of the Trade Unions, not affecting all of the service. Public transportation workers in Milan protest against their company two or three times every semester. But with prior warning and a set time schedule, strikes in Italy seem awfully simple.
(10/20/09 4:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>MILAN - It is 9 a.m., the beginning of the Italian workday. On the morning metro there are men in business suits, women in heels and a child tapping her dirty pink converse to the beat of a Gypsy man playing a violin. She looks no more than seven years old, but she knows what she must do in order to keep the man happy. She knows the plan.To her, it is the same act again and again from sun up until she is told to stop. It goes like this: Enter the subway car. The man begins to set up his small speaker, plugs in the violin and begins to play. She stands by his side, holding onto the handrail in the middle of the car, tapping her foot with her head swaying back and forth to the music as she smiles. This is not the first time she has heard him play, but she acts excited anyhow. After a minute or two she begins the show. Holding a crumpled paper cup in one hand, she walks slowly from one side of the metro car to the next. She mumbles and begs hoping to have a shining euro dropped into the cup so she has something to bring back to the man. She then takes her place back at his side. They exit the metro at the next stop and continue in this way for the rest of the day. According to the CIA World Factbook, 6.8 percent of Italy was unemployed in 2008.In November 2008, the Italian National Institute of Statistics reported, “There are around 7.5 million Italians, or 13 percent of the population, living below the poverty line on less than 600 euros (about $900) a month.”According to the report, about 170,000 people are considered extremely poor, living on a monthly income far below the poverty line. One in four Italians are living below a comfortable income and those that do not have an income are forced to beg. From dressing up and painting one’s face to look like a mime-like king and posing for hours in the Duomo square, to using children as beggars, some Gypsies are finding ways to make passersby feel sympathetic in hopes of earning a buck. Gypsy children are being forced to beg and steal on the streets of Milan as adults stand at close watch. When did it become OK to pimp one’s children? Missing out on the opportunity of school and a normal childhood, these children are being brought up into a world of begging and stealing which only then breeds this behavior.
(10/13/09 4:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>MILAN - Become head of the country, and you are off the hook. This sentiment isn’t in the United States Constitution, but executive power in Italy, as of last Wednesday, is a different story. A bill was recently passed giving the prime minister, president and the presidents of the two houses of parliament immunity to prosecution during their time in office. It was dubbed the Alfano Law after Prime Minister Berlusconi’s Minister of Justice, Angelino Alfano.Since the announcement, there has been a whirlwind of questions about Italy’s political and economic future.On Oct. 7, Italy’s highest court ruled that the law giving the four highest members of the government immunity from prosecution violated the constitution. The law was approved only weeks before Berlusconi won the election for a third term, coincidentally after being caught up in a summer sex scandal.The Italian constitution guarantees equality before the law, and many feel that with the Alfano Law still in place, there can be no equality among citizens and leaders.The law was found unconstitutional because it did not give all Italian citizens the same rights under the constitution. Berlusconi’s lawyer tried to defend the bill, saying that as the prime minister he should be considered “first above equals.” “We are all equal before the law, including the powerful,” the opposition argued. This decision could re-hatch outstanding corruption cases from before Berlusconi’s election.Days after the decision was made final, Berlusconi vowed not to step down from his position. “I am the best prime minister ever,” he said at an Italian news conference Friday.After calling himself the “politician most persecuted by prosecutors in the entire history of the world,” Berlusconi then complemented his statement by adding he had spent 200 million euros on judges, then corrected himself, saying lawyers.There are three cases pending against him concerning his business dealings.The fact of the matter is that Berlusconi was democratically elected during a time when he was still involved in many scandals. Even with the scandals surrounding his election, he still managed to win the majority vote and therefore was re-elected as prime minister of Italy. “His dominance of the media is disturbing and completely at odds with what it means to be a liberal democracy,” said Claremont College junior Nico Brancolini, who is studying abroad in Milan for the semester. “In the United States, no politician would get away with what Berlusconi has gotten away with.” In a democratic country with highly volatile opposition parties, the stability and growth of the democratic republic in Italy now rests on the next election and the future of Berlusconi and his party.
(10/06/09 4:21am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>MILAN - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi spent his 73rd birthday, Sept. 29, giving gifts to the people of Abruzzo, where thousands were affected by April’s earthquake in the region. At 3:30 a.m. April 6, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake caused historical buildings from the L’Aquila area to come tumbling down. Serious damage was done to the surrounding mountainous region, with effects felt in Rome, more than 70 miles away. By April 9, there were 300 dead, 1,500 injured and more than 50,000 left without homes. Controversy surrounded Berlusconi’s response to the victims after he interviewed with a German television station. He told the reporter for the N-TV channel that the homeless quake victims “lacked nothing.”“They have medicines,” he said. “They have hot food. They have shelter for the night. Of course, their current lodgings are a bit temporary. But they should see it like a weekend of camping.”Six months later, in little more than a weekend, Berlusconi has given full accommodations to everyone hit by the earthquake.Keys were handed to disaster victims for their fully stocked homes. Reports say the houses they were given are ready to live in. They are equipped with furniture, flat-screen televisions and even toothpaste and bottles of olive oil. There are still about 11,000 survivors living in tents and about 25,000 more in hotels. The government aims to give 15,000 new homes before the end of the year, including 2,500 by the end of September.This event came just before another Italian city was hit with disaster. On Saturday, Sicily was hit with massive mudslides that killed at least 22 people and left more than 500 homeless.Berlusconi then promised Sunday to build new homes for these victims after visiting the devastated area as victims wait in hotels and tents just as the quake victims did.He said the government would build new houses. They would be stocked just like the others, including sheets and groceries. Although Berlusconi’s response to the disasters has been quick and efficient, constant controversy around his government power remains a black cloud over his head. The left and right wings in Italy continue to battle about the amount of power Berlusconi should be given and what he should do with that power. When asking Italians from the opposing parties, communists and socialists, how they feel about his response to the earthquake, they answer with an overwhelming list of other circumstances they feel he has failed to respond to correctly. They never once mention or return to the question of the earthquake. Meanwhile, in Berlusconi’s party, there seems to be nothing but praise for his quick action.
(09/30/09 4:14am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The season has come, the stages have been set and the catwalks are open. It’s Milan’s fashion week. And to describe it in the only word capable of describing such a week, it is fierce. Pucci, Gucci, Fendi and Dolce & Gabbana strut their spring and summer lines for 2010 in a weeklong extravaganza of fashion. Fashion shows occur daily and nightly. Small trailer-like “pop-ups” appear every time I pass by my street corners. These temporary stores are filled with clothing from different designers peddling their latest and greatest designs for the season. Fellow students stood at 8 a.m. the opening day of fashion week waiting as people on the lists got in and found their seats. We waited patiently beside the doorman. If you wait long enough, there is a small chance that you can talk your way into the show. Pouting or trying to sneak in does not work. They have seen it all, and now so have I.I was a fashion student for the day – a small white lie for the price of standing in the back of a crowded room as photographers flashed their cameras and bursts of color swam down the runway. If fashion is God, this is heaven.The week is filled with events, including an enormous public event celebrating the fashion of Milan. At the Piazza Duomo, thousands of Milanese locals and tourists gathered in the square for what might as well have been one of the largest fashion shows. “Milan Loves Fashion” was televised throughout Italy, giving the public a free seat at a private fashion show. A jumbo-sized stage housed contemporary dancers, Italian rock stars hysterically singing Queen’s “We Will Rock You” with an atrocious accent and a full band ensemble dressed in long black clothes floating across the stage with fire burning above their heads. Bizarre, I know. And this was all before the models came out. I’m still attempting to understand what I saw that night. It was a clash of modern and ancient. The stage and the Duomo faced each other, separated only by the ocean of people dancing, jumping, and snapping amateur photos. The Duomo of Milan was built during the gothic period and is one of the only things that was not destroyed during many years of war in Italy. Its detailed beauty stands as one of the tallest points in the city. That night, the stage adorned with lights and pyrotechnics seemed to be from another world. The beauty from the surroundings only added to the beauty of the clothing and the event.I still can’t tell you what the fashionable thing is for the next season or what the up-and-coming style is for women or men. I still am not convinced that spending more than $1,000 on shoes or a handbag is worth it. But now, I will be convinced that artwork can be found in more than a painting or a museum. It can be found on the runway, too.
(09/22/09 3:07am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>American politics, especially President Obama, sparks a curiosity among Italians and leads them to ask question after question. Local Milanese will ask, “Who did you vote for?” while prompting your answer with a quick “Obama?” even before you had the chance to open your mouth. You cannot flip through the World section in the daily newspapers without an accompanying picture of President Obama to every story having anything to do with the United States. I have spent morning after morning explaining American politics to an ever-so-eager coffee shop owner as he continues to point to his postcard of President Obama with the red, white and blue flag flying in the background. In my Italian classes at IU, I had briefly learned how messy Italian politics are, but never before had I grasped what that meant. My eyes were recently opened to the reality of foreign politics. While living in the American bubble, it is hard to understand the struggle that other countries and citizens of those countries face. Not only to Americans is Italy one of the most confusing government entities to understand, but most Italians themselves will tell you of its complications. On my weekend getaway, I unknowingly walked into a situation that forced me to realize these complications and the fight that many citizens here are willing to be a part of. I traveled to the coast for a concert. A local who is the drummer for one of the bands that would be playing had invited me. We walked into the event – stage set, microphones on, band ready to play. The music began. I danced along with the two other American girls I had traveled with. We danced and sang along to the foreign words coming from the speakers. As we danced, certain Italian words became clear to me – americana, sciopero, rosso, communista. Stopping, I looked around and saw things I had not been paying attention to before. Red banners flew in the air, “Down with Berlusconi” posters marked the entrance to the event, and the Italian communist party flag hung as a piece of art displayed along with other communist symbols. What does it mean? What does it stand for? I have never felt so completely confused, so completely innocent and naive to the world and everything in it.Embarrassed, I asked Daly D’Amico, a 17-year-old Italian citizen I had met at the event, what all of this meant to her. “It means everyone is equal,” she said. She explained the current situation of the Italian government, which had been explained to her by her father, also a Communist. This is what I now understand. Silvio Berlusconi is Italy’s current prime minister, but he is also the longest-serving prime minister that Italy has had. He has been in power three separate occasions beginning in 1994. This year, he founded People of Freedom, a center-right party. He also owns many broadcast and news magazines, which together amount to more than half of Italian media. Berlusconi’s political uprising was quick and surrounded by much controversy. This is controversy that causes the Italian Communist Party to protest against the current Italian government. D’Amico left the concert by telling me, “This is what I believe in. You believe in change in the United States. That’s what I want here, too.”
(09/08/09 4:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>MILAN, Italy – This is the city of beautiful people. I spent the last week hiding behind dark sunglasses staring at them all. And trust me on this – once you are staring there is no way to stop yourself. This is nothing like staring in the U.S., when the latest freak show walks past you and your eyes cannot help but travel up and down their bodies, not being able to get enough of the weirdness. Here, the freak shows of America are few and far between, and beautiful people prowl the streets day and night. They call it “la bella figura.”Behind the bright eyes, the enticing smile, and the ridiculously fabulous fashion sense, is a mind-set that Italians have and unfortunately we Americans completely lack. At least, I know I do. The mindset is similar to a diet. They consider everything in their lifestyle in terms of quantities, qualities, composition and its effects on health.If the passion for beauty simply stopped at the outside appearances of clothes and cars, you would think it superficial and maybe not as big of a deal. But it is much more than that. It spills over into their mentality. This is the only place in the world where you will hear a daily expression meaning you must have a good figure – a good lifestyle. This is nothing that I could have ever gained from a guidebook, but lucky for you, I have established a basic guide to becoming Italian, and hopefully their incredible beauty will come with it. (I’m still hoping.) In just one short week of closely observing (and by observing I mean jealously staring intently at each and every gorgeous figure to enter my sight), I have been able to come up with a guide to the beautiful life ... the European diet.Step 1: Lose the phrase “bigger is better” from your vocabulary. To have a “bella figura,” you must pay attention to quantity. Give up the clunker mobiles, big fancy houses, room to spread out your elbows. Here, little is perfect and no one wants or needs more. And the meals are all small too. There’s no Starbucks here, kids. If you want a coffee bigger than a shot, this is not the place for you. Step 2: Party all night. This is where quality comes into play. To enjoy the night and the next day without a serious hangover, it isn’t important to drink in excess. One or even two glasses of wine or an aperitivo (happy hour) with dinner is acceptable. Even after spending the weekend in the clubs, I have yet to see a stumbling drunk. I obviously am not at IU anymore. Step 3: Embrace everyone. Passing someone in the street without a smile or a hello is not OK. It’s not one good deed that makes a “bella figura,” but your lifestyle. iPods are not shoved into their ears on the subway to avoid conversation. Strangers will sit and have a conversation or give a quick hello and smile. It shouldn’t feel awkward, but yet being American, it is. It’s not the tiramisu diet I was hoping for, but things could be worse, right?