Reflections on Italy

I was a bit bored in Modena, Italy one day after visiting the Galleria Ferrari and decided to note down the impression I received from the northern part of the country that I hadn't visited before:
------------------------------------------------------


1.) All Italians speak with their hands as well, even on the phone.  However, their sign language conveys no meaning whatsoever, as it’s all forceful hand gestures no matter the sentiment.

2.) Italian, as much as a “romantic” language as it may seem, is only romantic when spoken slowly by beautiful people.  Which it almost never is.  Not to say people here are ugly, it’s just that you never get a combination of both.

3.) It’s quite apparent that most schools here don’t teach English.  Which makes them a minority in the parts of the world I’ve seen.  Then again, I haven’t seen much so I won’t hold that judgement against them.

4.) Italians almost always are wearing something very fashionable and expensive.  I have no idea where everyone can have this kind of money.

5.) Institutions which bring Italian pride onto the world stage are worshipped in Italy.  Case and point: the entire town of Maranello is a shrine unto Enzo Ferrari and the creations of his company.

6.) Everyone in Italy smokes.  Doesn’t matter where, when, who’s around (kids), or what the smoking rules are in that area (no smoking allowed!).  Everyone is smoking and no one cares.

7.) The police are practically non-existent, kind of like unstylish clothing.  Or maybe that’s just Modena and Maranello.  Though let’s be honest, with a bunch of Ferrari’s driving around, Maranello might need it’s fair share of cops.  Hell, I busted out a 120 MPH run today.  And while we’re at it, Sant’agata probably needs some extra patrols as well.  Rampant bulls parading are no better than an army of prancing horses.

8.) Each village/town almost has a soundtrack to it.  For Modena, it was a quite one; occasional electric busses passing by (which, by the way, are genius in design), the quick chatter of people discussing clothing stores, etc.  For Maranello, it’s quite literally the sound of Ferrari V8’s and V12’s at wide open throttle.  No matter where one is around Maranello, so long as they are within a mile of it an the Fiorano Test Track, one can hear old F1 cars, 599 GTO’s, and FXX’s being wrung around the track at full blast.  It would probably take a town full of petrolheads to live in such a place.  My kind of town for sure!

9.) All negatives aside, Italy is a wonderful place.  When it comes to language, sure, I can’t understand them, but at least I can read a bit (thank you Latin!).  The architecture is beyond gorgeous and the whole country seems vibrant and full of life.  Passion is a big thing here, no matter what you invest it in.  And this is big with me.  Could I see myself living in a place like Italy?  Maybe, as long as it’s Maranello.  That town has the best soundtrack of any town/village/city/hamlet on Earth.