Page 30 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

28  INTRODUCING IT AL Y

reserve ciao (hello or goodbye) for friends
your age or younger, and greet older
people with piacere (pleased to meet you),
buon giorno (good day) or buona sera (good
evening) and, on parting, say arrivederci
(goodbye). Strangers are met with a hand-
shake, but family and friends receive a kiss.
Italian chic decrees that the clothes
you wear should give the impression of
wealth. Italians are conformists in fashion.
Italian politics, in contrast, are not so well
regulated. Governments in the postwar
era were characterized by short-lived
coalitions, dominated by the Christian
Democrats. In 1993 Italy experienced
a political crisis when an organized
network of corruption was exposed,
disgracing a huge num ber of politicians
Roadside stall near Positano, Campania and businessmen. The investigations may
have failed to eradicate corruption, but
efforts are being made to put as many they led to the formation of two large
buildings and collections on show as coalitions, centre-left and centre-right.
possible. The Jubilee 2000 helped matters Silvio Berlusconi, leader of Forza Italia,
by allocating large amounts of money became prime minister in 1994 but lasted
for the restoration of buildings and sites a short while, as he, too, was accused of
belonging to the Catholic Church. corruption. In 1998 Massimo D’Alema
The performing arts are also underfunded, became Italy’s first left-wing prime
yet there are some spectacular cultural minister. For over a decade, Italy saw an
festivals. Almost every town of any alternation between the two coalitions,
size has its own opera house and the with Berlusconi dominating. In August
Teatro alla Scala in Milan stages world-
class productions.
Cinema is another flourishing art form
in Italy and has been so since its invention.
The sets at Cinecittà, on the outskirts of
Rome, have been used by famous
directors such as Fellini, Pasolini, de Sica,
Visconti and many others. Italian films
such as La Vita è Bella and The Son’s Room
have found critical acclaim and box-office
success both in Italy and abroad. In Italy
the arts belong to everyone: opera is
attended by people from all backgrounds,
regardless of social status, as are cinemas
and galleries.
Social Customs and Politics
Italian society is still highly traditional, and
Italians can be very formal. Between the
generations degrees of famili arity exist: Diners relaxing at a restaurant in Orta San Giulio, Piedmont

024-029_EW_Italy.indd 28 4/4/17 5:31 PM