At the same time, Berlusconi attempted to put an end, once and for all, to all the vicious rumours flying about the election muddle in Rome.  Only the attempt seems to have led to further confusion.

During said press conference, during which, incidentally, Italy’s defence minister manhandled a journalist who insisted on asking Mr B about the recent Bertolaso bribery case, Berlusconi gave his party’s official version of events surrounding the presentation of election documents in Rome by his candidate, Renata Polverini.

Yesterday, Polverini’s candidacy had been rejected once more, this time by a court which examined the case.  The court held that, firstly, the government issued interpretative ’save the election’ decree was not applicable, and secondly, at the end of the day, Polverini’s team simply turned up too late for her documents to be properly registered.

Apparently though, the press and the judges have got it all wrong.  Berlusconi’s party’s left hand did know what the right hand was doing, it was another, left (commie), hand which did the bungling – the papers did not arrive late, even if every one else thinks, or reported, that they did. In support of his claim, Berlusconi gave a blow by blow account of what happened during the presentation of the Polverini documents, and used it to shove the blame firmly onto the shoulders of the bureaucrats who handled the papers.

We can only hope, vainly probably, that now Berlusconi has first hand experience of Italian red-tape, he might get round to doing something about it.

From Confused to Befuddled

Despite the attempt to resolve the confusion, observers, like this here blogger, stand as confused as ever.

Were the documents delivered on time, or were they late?  In stating that the documents arrived too late, the Italian press got hold of the wrong end of the stick in Berlusconi’s eyes.  How can the Italian press, much of which is run by Berlusconi, have got their facts so wrong?

If Berlusconi’s version of events is the right one, why then was it necessary for Berlusconi’s people to produce a funny little ‘interpretative decree’ mini-law?  This ‘mend the mess’ law was designed to persuade the administrative courts of Rome and Milan to re-admit Berlusconi candidates.

While the court in Milan readmitted the Berlusconi candidate, the court in Rome confirmed the initial rejection of Rome candidate Renata Polverini’s papers.  Why, if the documents were delivered on time, did the Rome court not confirm Polverini’s candidacy?   Surely if the documents arrived in time, the court would have said so, and the matter would have ended there.

One might also suggest that maybe it was not such a great idea to try to register important electoral papers at the very last moment.  Berlusconi’s party obviously had not heard of ‘Murphy’s Law’.  Or maybe they had, and wanted to stir up a little controversy to divert attention away from other scandals…

If the whole thing is such a tempest in a teacup, why all the fuss?

Reactions

The Italian opposition parties reactions to Berlusconi’s claims have ranged from stating that Berlusconi’s version of events is pure fantasy (Bersani), to labelling Berlusconi as the devil incarnate (Di Pietro)!

Then there is the march.

The March March

To counter the street protests organised by opposition parties to complain about the handling of the election paper mess and the ‘interpretative decree’, Berlusconi has called on his own party faithful to take to the streets.  Only during his press conference, Berlusconi mentioned the 20th March as the date of the march, but now, confusingly, the 21st March is being mentioned as the date when Berlusconi supporters are expected to march through the Rome piazzas in support of their leader.  Although, from what I’ve understood, something similar will be held on the 20th anyway.  Even Berlusconi supporters might admit to being a little confused by the two March marches.

At both of these rallies, Berlusconi’s number two, Gianfranco Fini, will be conspicuous by his absence.  When questioned on this by Italy’s rumour mongering press, Fini remained rather cagey as to why he’s not going to turn up along with the other party faithful.  This sends out a confusing message, in that if all of what Berlusconi has been saying is true, why won’t Fini offer his support?

Rome March or Marathon?

Then we come to the other ever so slightly confusing fly in the increasingly opaque ointment.   On the 21st March there is the Rome marathon.  Holding a political rally in the midst of marathon confusion is probably not the best of ideas.  Unless, of course, Berlusconi is to run in the Rome marathon!

Situated in the midst of the unspoilt Italian region of Umbria in a gorgeous medieval village, the house for sale is not far from the truly spectacular Marmore Falls, the highest waterfalls in Europe.

Jazz fans may be interested to hear that the annual Umbria Jazz festival is held in Perugia, which is about an hour away by car.

Far away from the hubbub of the big city, this home for sale has been restored and is ready to move into.  The house is located within in a village so tranquil that you will probably be able to hear yourself unwinding.  As an added bonus, cars are not allowed into the centre of the village, so you’ll be able to sleep in without having to be worried about being awakened rudely by some passing Ferrari or Ducati.

Casa Mauela, for sale in Umbria, Italy

There are plenty of other attractions too, such as the breathtakingly beautiful views you’ll wake up to.  And with the addition of a pleasant roof terrace, how about breakfasting whilst gazing out over the lush green Umbrian countryside?  In the evenings you could chat to a few guests over a prosecco based aperitif.  Sheer bliss.

All this must sound rather tempting, so if you would like to know a little more, and see a few photographs of the house and its fabulous views, then please read on to find out more about Casa Manuela.

For Sale – Casa Manuela, Umbria, Italy

A View from Casa Manuela, Umbria, Italy

The accommodation

Casa Manuela, Umbria, Italy

Ground Floor

• Fully fitted kitchen

• Living room with open fireplace

• Dining room

• Bathroom

First Floor

• Two bedrooms

• Bathroom

Second Floor

• Bedroom

Externally, there is a courtyard with a separate side entrance.

Attractions in Surrounding Area

Not far from Casa Manuela there are the truly spectacular Marmore falls, which are the highest waterfalls in Europe.  Then there is Lake Piediluco, which is an ideal place for those who like water sports such as canoeing, windsurfing and sailing.  Keen boats-men and women with a penchant for exploring may be interested to learn that the Velino River into which Lake Piediluco drains is navigable.

Here is a map which shows Lake Piediluco – zoom out to see where this is in Italy:

Those who love a spot of fishing might be interested to hear that royal perch, tench, pike, coregone, albarella, and eels await them in the lake.  The pike should be king sized!  Oddly enough, well, oddly for me, pike is a rather tasty fish, I know, I’ve tried it.

Want More?

Jazz lovers might like to know that in nearby Terni there is a jazz festival which is held in July, and of course, in Perugia, there is the world famous Umbria jazz festival, which is also held in July. This is the house for jazz fans!

Actually, there are more than enough of local events to keep one going in the area around the house.

Disadvantages?  Only one, really.  You will need a car, but then to get the best out of any country area, a car is essential.

Christmas

A view of Casa Manuela, for sale in Umbria, Italy

Whereas heavy snowfalls can present problems in other parts of Italy, Casa Manuela will not become snow bound.  OK, it might every so often, but it would be the exception to the rule.  This, of course, means that the house would a fine place to spend Christmas.

Skiers will find challenging slopes not too far away near L’Aquila in the Abruzzo region.

To discover the asking price of Casa Manuela, please visit the real estate agent’s English language web site, where you will also be able to see more photographs, and, should you wish to do so, arrange a viewing.  Then all that remains is for you to do is make an offer!

See more photographs and the price of Casa Manuela on the Umbrian Property real estate site

If you do contact the agents, please mention BlogfromItaly.com. Many thanks.

Disclosure:  Neither BlogfromItaly nor its author, Alex Roe, are receiving anything in return for running this post.  OK, Alex might earn himself a few cups of coffee for posting this.

That’s a new Calla Lilly we’ll sink into the soil as soon as the morning temperatures stabilize below freezing.

But you’re not interested in gardening in California, are you? No, you’d rather be sinking a shovel into the ancient soils of Umbria or learning to sort the wild edibles of Italy wouldn’t you?

Well, you can. In fact, for the money, if you’re interested in gardening and are going to be in Umbria, I’d venture to say you’d be nuts not to take a Spring Garden Workshop at the Art Monastery at Casale Santa Bridita. A more beautiful place to garden would be difficult to find, I’m guessing.

I actually don’t have to guess. I’ve been there. The picture on the right shows the little cafe (you know, called a bar in Italy) with some great views of the surrounding rural countryside.

The good news is that the workshop doesn’t cost a lot. Where are you going to get a week of experiential travel for a mere €390? With limoncello tasting. Check it out.

I’m one of those people for whom the powerful and wealthy hold no particular interest. I mean, can you name even one of those overcompensated Goldman Sachs wonks who brought down the entire economy by making gambling instruments out of poor people’s mortgages last time? I doubt it. They are not interesting people in the least.

Archaeologists are wising up to this view. They’re starting to bring alive the more interesting parts of the city; the brothels, the slaughterhouses, the little shops and cafes.

And now, for a price, you can join them and learn about the real folk while they do.

Yes, this morning in a flurry of twitterings, I learned from Napoli Unplugged of the Pompeii Food and Drink Project in which you pay “to explore the ancient Roman city of Pompeii, Italy, as a research participant in an ongoing noninvasive (that means no digging) study with a staff of historians, architects, and classicists.”

These kinds of experiences are quite enlightening—with prices commensurate with the degree of potential enlightenment. Yet you won’t likely get the opportunity to do this kind of thing again in your life without spending four years in school—and you’ll have takes to tell your friends that will make you the envy of your social group, even if it is only facebook.

Check out Pompeii Food and Drink Project

I’ve decided to illustrate this post with a picture of nearby Naples, where food is an art practiced not by the elite, but by your ordinary folk who talk with their hands. And believe me, it’s some of the best in the world.

Seeing as much of Italy appears to be fuming over the latest escapade of the Berlusconi government, I felt it might be nice to take a break from politics for a moment and to look at a distinctly more appetising subject, which is also much easier to digest: pizza.

Italian author Orietta Boncompagni Ludovisi has had her book “The Best Pizzerias In Italy” republished some five times since it first appeared in 1996.  Each time a new edition of Boncompagni Ludovisi’s pizza book hits the bookshops of Italy, it sells like hot cakes.  Perhaps that should be “sells like hot pizzas”.

Anyway, I was reading a copy of what I’ve been told by our local news-stand is one of Italy’s best selling travel magazines, Dove, and I found a delicious article all about pizza.  Part of said article was a list of the top ten pizzerias in all of Italy in the opinion of Boncompagni Ludovisi, who is probably Italy’s number one pizza expert.

Pizza

I thought it would be interesting for the rest of the world to know the names of what are considered by an Italian pizza expert to be the top pizzerias in Italy.   And once they know, pizza fans the world over will have a better idea of where in Italy they should be spending their holidays.

Before reading on, in which Italian towns and cities do you think the best pizzerias in Italy are to be found?

OK, here’s the top five.  For the other five, you’ll have to buy the March 2010 edition of Dove.  By the way, ‘Dove’ is pronounced ‘dough-vay’, and is Italian for ‘where’.

The Top 5 Pizzerias in Italy

As Naples is reputedly the place where pizza was invented, it should perhaps not come as much surprise to see that four out of the top five pizzerias in Italy are in Naples.

What might be a bit of a surprise is the location of pizzeria number five.

Number 1 – The Best Pizzeria in Italy 2010

Naples, Italy

Brandi – Antica Pizzeria Della Regina D’Italia in Naples, Salita S. Anna di Palazzo, 1-2, 80100 Napoli, Italia – looks lovely from the photos on the website.

Opening hours: 12:30 – 3:30, 7:30 – 12:00 (never closes)

Website: Brandi

Location via Google Map: Brandi

Number 2

Cantanapoli, Via Chiatamone, 36, Naples

Opening hours: 12:30 – 3:30, 7:30 – 12:00 (never closes)

Website: Cantanapoli

Location via Google Map: Cantanapoli

Number 3

Don Salvatore A Mergellina, Via Mergellina, 4, Naples – rather elegant for a pizza parlour. Lovely location too.

Opening hours: 11:30 – 3:30, 7:30 – 11:30 (closed Wednesdays)

Website: Don Salvatore A Mergellina

Location via Google Map: Don Salvatore A Mergellina

Number 4

Lombardi A Santa Chiara, Via Benedetto Croce, 59, Naples

Opening hours: 11:30 – 3:30, 7:30 – 11:30 (closed Mondays)

Website: Does not exist

Location via Google Map: Lombardi A Santa Chiara

And last, but by no means least, one of the best pizzerias in Italy which is not in Naples!

Number 5

Imperia, Liguria, Italy

Frà Diavolo, Corso Garibaldi, 1, Diano Maria, Imperia (Liguria)

Opening hours: 12:00 – 2:30, 6:00 – 12:00 (never closes)

Website: Fra Diavolo

Location via Google Map: Fra Diavolo

There you have them, what are considered as being the finest pizzerias in all Italy.

If you want to eat real pizza, you now know where to go.

Buon appetito!

Photo credits:

Pizza photo by Valerio Capello

Naples photo by JJKDC on Flickr

Imperia photo by Anja Timmermans

Source:

Dove Magazine, March 2010 Edition: Miseria, pizza and nobilità

Yes, the era spawned paparazzi, men who took snaps of celebrities from the shadows, mostly women attached to the arms of handsome and nouveau-wealthy men. It was a time of machismo. Men were in.

But something changed, maybe around the time Italy had its “economic miracle” in the 80s. The edge seems to have suddenly come off the machismo, as if we noticed all of a sudden that the prosciutto was pink and feminine, unlike the ruddy redness of the cured hams of Spain, for example.

I got thinking about the people I follow on twitter who talk about Italy with passion. Mostly women. Then, too, there are women writing books about travel in Italy for women, like Susan Van Allen in her 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go (Travelers’ Tales).

Why, there’s even special parking now in the autostrada rest stops. Lady park. Nice.

Get yourself gussied up and head over to the Lady Park some day. Change is good, isn’t it? (But paper money is worth more.)

I wish they hadn’t changed the music though.

For all this, these days, we have blogs. When Martha decided to create a list of Italian blogs for Italy Travel, she didn’t want to make one of those “Top Ten Italian Blogs!” lists that people fight and whine over but create constantly, as if there was a cosmic force behind the urge.

There are just too many good blogs out there. So, she let everyone submit a blog, and then weeded out the ones that consisted of only one blog post or had pictures of naked people handling snakes. There were some surprising entries among the old favorites of mine.

For example, there’s a whole blog devoted to Artichokes in Italy. It is called, oddly enough, The Artichoke Blog. It cracks me up how they get these names. Anyway, the blog has great pictures, and is a tribute to writers who can pick a narrow topic and wow you with what they can do with it.

Anyway, if you love things Italian, you will want to check out the compilation Blogs About Italy

Did you know there’s a blog done by researchers Blogging Pompeii? You can get right down in the trenches with them, in three languages yet.

Well done.

The thing is, we didn’t expect great, traditional “Italian” food; the draw was the rat pack impersonators, especially Matt Helm as Dean Martin (warning, “Italian” music).

Ok, so the crowd was mostly old farts our age, people who remember Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop, and Sammy Davis Junior with particular (or perhaps peculiar) fondness. We sat in rapt attention as “Dean” crooned the old songs, his “cigarette” glowing with LED redness while the two olives in his “Martini” seemed glued to the glass.

(I likely have used up my quota of quotation marks. When you bring back the dead, expect some virtuosity in manufacturing the “props” (oops).)

So there we were in front of some of what folks used to call Italian food. You know, huge, heaping platters of all manner of meats troweled with tomato sauce so thick you could use what’s left over for Spackle, providing your walls didn’t mind the phosphorescent redness of it.

To be sure what was in front of us was Italian-American food. Now, there’s the rub. How do you review something which, like the performers, was brought back from the dead in an interesting way?

Surely you’d never find a thick, unctuous tomato sauce redolent—NO! REEKING of—garlic in Italy. (If you’ve never been, don’t be disappointed if your taste buds don’t get assaulted by the over-concentrated fumes of such a sauce; this kinda thing is virtually unknown these days in Italy).

On the other hand, we’re not reviewing “real” or “traditional” Italian food here. We’re looking at a reproduction of what Americans did to the thought of Italian food. They jazzed it up. They boosted the flavors to “heights unknown” as some tarnished TV chef might say. It’s the characteristic that sets America apart, this idea of cramming all manner of food ingredients together until the whole shebang doesn’t just sit placidly on your tongue while you contemplate its honesty and freshness; we feel compelled to transform most food into a goddam buzzbomb going off and rattling your senses. It’s not food, it’s an experience: you can’t taste the pork ribs under that sauce, or differentiate them from the hunk of pork shoulder; blanketed by all that sauce there are simply lumps of different texture, some still with bones. But you know you’ve eaten when you’re done. So does every one else. There’s that raw garlic we love and think the Italians do, too.

So, you know what? I sorta liked it. I wouldn’t want to eat it every day. It would mangle my taste buds into a useless clot within the month. But it was honest, authentic and true to its roots. The concept was clear, unlike places like the Olive Garden, where the food advertises itself as authentic while it’s almost pure American or at least badly tarted-up Italian.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? In Italy, the cuisine is codified through social controls that allow only for the minuscule modification of traditional recipes. What I’m sayin’ is this: Italians will refuse to eat food you’ve cooked for them if you haven’t salted it right or you’ve let the gnocchi cook a half a millisecond too long. Don’t try this at home if your feelings are easily hurt.

In America, however, the sky is the limit. You can cook just about any damn thing with just about any number of other odd ingredients and folks will say, “golly, that’s, well, interesting!” They will even have a second course if you force it on them. Folks are easy.

Which is why we don’t have a national, codified cuisine. At least we don’t have one not put on our platters by immigrants anyway.

Or maybe the 70s were just a superior time when minimum wage was enough to live on and we went out in our cars with their 400 cubic inch engines just waiting to burn the tread clear offa the tires because tires were cheap and so was gas.

Those were the days, eh? No candy-ass buckling up of them seat belt thingies either.

Which reminds me of Dean Martin:

When I die I want to die peacefully in my sleep just like my father did. I don’t want to go kicking and screaming at the top of my lungs like those other people in the car he was driving.

(There are other ideas of Authenticity in Italian cuisine floating about in the web-o-sphere these days. Try: Food For Thought: Evolving Ideas About Italian Cuisine)

I’ve been a bit too snowed under with work recently to write much about what’s going on in Italy.  Meanwhile though, little storms have been blowing up all over the place in the Living Museum.

To kick off, we’ve got the allegations of corruption leveled at the head of Italy’s civil defence organisation Guido Bertolaso still fizzling away,  although Bertolaso seems to have manged to evade most of the flack.

The Bertolaso affair, though, was merely the tip of an iceberg.

Money Laundering Corporations

Next up there has been a huge money-laundering scandal involving a senior Italian politician who has now resigned after facing allegations that he only managed to obtain his seat in the Italian parliament as a result of mafia organised vote-rigging.

The money laundering scandal is still at full blaze, and today the former head of one of Italy’s biggest internet providers Fastweb, is having long and not so cozy chats with investigators.

But there’s more:

Election Bungle

Belusconi’s party is at the centre of one almighty election bungle which is giving the impression that left and right hands within his party have no idea what is going on.

The net result of this right royal foul up, which has angered Berlusconi, is that Berlusconi’s party might well be excluded  from forthcoming regional elections in both Lazio and Lombardy.

Lazio and Lombardy are key regions for Berlusconi’s party, so if the mess is not put right, things will be awfully embarrassing for dear Silvio.

Taliban Judges

On the subject of Berlusconi, he recently refered to Italian judges as ‘Taliban’, much to their general disgust.  However Italy’s judges might have the last laugh, as it is to them Berlusconi must turn to help sort out the election bungle.

One can see Berlusconi trying to butter up to the judges now: “Now when I said Taliban, I did not really mean Taliban in any malicious sense.  I was just joking.  Can’t a guy crack a little joke in Italy?”.

Boy, would I like to be a fly on the wall in Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party HQ at the moment.  Sparks, and other objects, must be flying!  The heating system simply will not be necessary.  There’ll be enough hot air to take a hot air balloon to the moon, and back!

Legtimate Impediment

The latest, and functional, ‘keep Berlusconi out of jail’ card goes by the name of ‘legitimate impediment’, which means whenever someone would like dear Silvio to make an appearance in court, seeing as he’s the prime minister of Italy, he can find a ‘legitimate’ excuse not to do so.

Recently, Berlusconi’s crack legal team has tried to use the legitimate impediment card on the grounds that normal everyday prime ministerial activities constitute legitimate impediment.  Italy’s, Taliban, judges did not agree with Berlusconi’s lawyers’ interpretation as to what is legitimate impediment, and told Silvio to be a good chap and turn up in court when summonsed.

I think we can expect the legitimate impediment law to be ‘reformed’ quite soon…!

Italian Economy

“Bleak”, is the word which springs to mind when describing prospects for Italy’s economy.  Production is down, and GDP is at its lowest for nearly 40 years.  Only one thing is up: Unemployment. Not good.

Italy’s politicians need to pull their fingers out and organise some real reform, but they won’t.

The Italian world is doing its usual trick of whizzing along and standing still at the same time.  Keeping up with it all is a little like trying to juggle 10 mini-Milan Duomo replicas all at once.  Not that easy.

Oh, by the way, it’s a glorious day in Milan today.

If you have not been to Venice, then you really should.  If you like the idea, but are put off by the expense, then how about seeing Venice by hiring your very own floating self-catering appartment?

Although a floating self-catering appartment might sound an expensive way to see this magical Italian city, it’s not as expensive as you might think, especially if you travel as a group.  Plus you get to see Venice from the best place imaginable – the water.

In case you have not guessed, a floating self-catering appartment is a boat.  Those nice people from FiveTravel who put together a video on touring the glorious Amalfi coastline by Alfa Romeo have also put together another video on how a boat can double as a self-catering appartment for those wanting to see Venice.

Cash strapped backpackers might be interested to hear that presenter Julia Bradbury mentions, and demonstrates, a novel way of making a little money while you are lapping up the delights of Venice.  All you have to do is stay still for a few hours. Fidgety types need not apply!  Those who are not bashful, on the other hand, might be able to make a little extra!

For those who fancy the idea of seeing Venice by Gondola, but are put off by the price, Julia has another neat little tip: Gondola lessons.

On to the video.

Boating Around Venice, and More – by FiveTravel

Note that although Venice is unlikely to have changed much, the prices mentioned in the video may well have.

Click here to view the embedded video.

As pointed out by Julia in the video, there are a couple of downsides.  One is parking your boat, which sounds rather problematic, and the other is mooring costs, which at 2008 prices were as much as €60 a night, although moorings which are free can be found.  The boat hire company should be able to provide details – as long as you remember to ask them.

The best time to go boating around Venice is probably May/June or September, when the weather is good, but not too hot.  It becomes very hot, and very crowded in Venice in August.

Moorings in Venice

One site I looked at give the impression that moorings around central Venice can be a little on the crowded side, however off the beaten canal, so to speak, finding a place to moor for the night might not be so difficult.  Places to try are, apparently:

• Burano, Murano and Torcello – although these are popular tourist spots, whereas

• San Servolo, Santo Spirito, San Clemente and Poveglia sound as though they may well be good places for a night or two, and are, by all accounts, well worth exploring too.

You also have to be careful to respect the speed limits, or else you will be fined.  The water police are quite sharp in Venice, and do not like people creating huge wakes, especially along the Grand Canal.  Speaking of the Grand Canal, as mentioned in the video, generally hire boats are not allowed down the Venice’s main canal.  In any case, this is one busy waterway, so avoiding it is probably not such a bad idea, especially if you are not an old sea dog.

Gondola Lessons

For more about the Gondola lesson experience, and where to book a few lessons, read this over on the Independent Traveller: Gondola Lessons in Venice

I’ve been to Venice twice, and liked it a lot, and, believe it or not, it is quite easy to find very quiet corners of this amazing Italian city.  Once you’ve been to Venice, you will probably want to return.  Be warned!