In competition with major cities like New York and Paris, Milan, Italy is considered not only a major Italian city but is also one of the fashion capitols of the world. Sure, Milan is a big industrial exporter in the metal field, but more importantly in the textile realm. The world looks to Milan as a trendsetter, seeming to know the next style before it hits the runways, choosing what to make in and what to send into the “don’t” list. This is perhaps because some of the worlds best know designers and artists come from Italy. Today, Milan is the home to many of the biggest fashion houses in the industry. Some of these including Versace, Vallentino, Missoni, Dolce and Gabbana and Armani. Each year Milan hold Fashion Week, in which the top and upcoming designers show their lines to try to make it on top and to also decide the styles for the new year. Italy also birthed some of the staples of modern fashion. The stiletto heal, a very high pointed healed shoe, comes from the italian word for a type of knife. The bikini, though first invented yet widely rejected in Paris, gained its popularity through fashion of the people of Italy. It is perhaps the people and street style of Italy that is the main reason why it is a fashion capitol of the word. Italian fashion is all about person expression and style. They are more carefree about specific trends and would rather start their own through what they enjoy. More risks are taken and its all about the attitude of the clothes and the person inside, rather than just wearing them. Its all about quality and wearing clothing that will remain stylish for a long time, being trendy enough but still classic and elegant. The fashion is a huge industry while the clothes themselves are more of art, being carefully made in small scale factories and shops all over Italy.
Italian Soccer Team
For my final post I decided to write about Italy’s most famous sports team, and that is their national soccer team. Although I am not a huge fan of soccer Italy is one of my favorite teams when watching the World Cup. To start, Italy is one of the most successful soccer teams in World Cup history with titles in the years 1934, 1938, 1982, and most recently in 2006. Another name for Italy’s most famous sports team is Gli Azzurri which is the traditional color of Italian national teams and players representing the country. The teams primary practicing ground is at the FIGC in Florence but the team also plays its matches at several different stadiums in Italy. Some history of Italy’s soccer team consists of its first ever match played was in Milan, Italy May 15th 1910. During that game Italy beat France by a blowout score of 6-2. Finally, the first real success the country’s team had was receiving the bronze medal in the 1928 summer games in Amsterdam. Like I said even I do not like soccer at times I cannot dismiss the fact that Italy is one of my favorite teams and I always find myself watching them when they play.
Blog 6
Like here in the United States, Italy also has its massive cities that would resemble our New York, or Los Angeles. Three of the top largest cities in Italy are Rome, Milan, and Naples. Rome is the largest with a population of close to 2.8 million, Milan is the second with a population of 1.3 million and Naples comes in third with a population of about 1 million. Milan, the second most populated city was established in the 4th Century BC. The Milano Moda Donna (Milan’s fashion week) is a collection of annual fashion shows organized by National Chamber of Fashion. This establishes Milan is one of the centers of world couture.
The most populated city Rome, has a more historic meaning to it then Milan. In Rome, you will find, many historic landmarks and other attractions. One thing that you will find in Rome is the world’s largest church, St. Peter’s Basilica.
Naples, the third largest city is located between two volcanic areas. The history of Naples is based on the concept of welcoming foreigners and different cultures to live side by side.
http://www.geonames.org/IT/largest-cities-in-italy.html
http://www.europe-cities.com/en/600/italy/milan/culture/
http://www.europe-cities.com/en/600/italy/rome/culture/
http://www.comune.napoli.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/1345
Showers for the Homeless
Showers are being installed in restrooms in St. Peter’s Square so that the homeless can take showers! It’s all because Archbishop, Konrad Krajewski, invited a homeless man from Sardinia to dinner to celebrate the 50th birthday of the homeless man. He kindly declined because he claimed he “smelled.” They ended up going to dinner together and it resulted in showers being installed in restrooms. The homeless man, Franco, told the Archbishop that food was easy enough to find but showers were not so easy. I think that helping the homeless is something Americans can learn from. Instead of banning us from feeding the homeless we should take notes from the people of Italy and do more to help.
http://www.thelocal.it/20141113/italys-homeless-to-get-showers-at-the-vatican
Italian Art
Art is a very deeply rooted into Italy’s culture. In fact, Italy was at the center of art culture during the Renaissance. Some major artistic cities in Italy include Rome, Florence, Venice, Milan, Naples, and Turin. There are several different types of art that make Italy unique, one of which being Etruscan art. Etruscan art includes bronze and terracotta figures and is the most important example of pre-Roman figurative art in Italy. Another type of art is medieval art. This began in the middle ages and includes sub-types such as Byzantine art and Gothic art. Renaissance art produced many amazing and notable pieces in Italy, such as Michelangelo’s statue of David and the Sistene chapel. When traveling to Italy, art can be found in more than just museums and chapels. Italian architecture and fashion can also be considered forms of art. Italians take pride in their culture and the beauty of their country, and art is very important to them.
lifeinitaly.com
Fifa!
The sport of football or soccer in the United States is very popular in Italy, and is there favorite sport. The Italian nationals team is considered to be one of the best teams in the world every year. They have won the FIFA World Cup four times, 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006. The only team that has more then Italy is Brazil with five. Italy’s club sides have won 27 major European trophies, making the the most successful nation in European football. Series A, is the most popular league in Italy with teams such as, Inter, Milan, Napoli, and Parma. My favorite is Inter or commonly known as in Italy Internazionale. It is based in Milan, Lombardy, and they are the only club to have spent their entire history in the top flight of Italian football, and the league started in 1929-1930. Inter has won 30 domestic trophies, including the Serie A league trophy 18 times, along with one FIFA Club World Cup. I also love there stadium it is the biggest in the entire league seating over 80,00 people. Milan is there biggest rival, and they re the second most popular team in all of Italy. My grandfather and I before he passed always got into the biggest arguments on which soccer team was better, and it always got on his nerves when Inter one, and I would brag to him all the time until they played again. Only good thing was, was that my grandmother was on my side so she always rooted for them with me to get on my grandfather’s nerves. I love watching the game of soccer and I am actually excited that it is becoming more popular in the United States when it comes to watching games, and playing the sport.
Blog 6
The Vatican Swiss Guard
Widely recognized for their brightly colored uniforms, oddly shaped hats, and their status as highly trained warriors, the Swiss Guard have been the defenders of the Vatican for centuries. Numbering at 110 men, they are the world’s smallest military located inside the world’s smallest country. One of their latest recruits, 24-year-old David Geisser, spoke to The Local about his career of protecting popes.
The Pontifical Swiss Guard became part of the Vatican in 1506 and 508 years later they are still considered “the defenders of the church’s freedom”.
“My father was a Swiss Guard and when I was little he told me a lot about it,” Said Geisser. Geisser’s family visited Rome often, and he soon grew a fondness for Italian culture.
Even though he was the son of guard, Geisser still had to meet the same requirements as anyone else applying for the position. He had to attend a strict military school in Switzerland before he could even apply at the Vatican. After graduating, Geisser also had to have met several requirements, which included height, martial status, and morals. A Swiss Guard must Catholic, stand at least 5’8” or taller, and during his time at the Vatican is not permitted to take a wife.
Geisser joined the elite ranks shortly after Pope Benedict XVI made his startling resignation and Pope Francis was elected as the pontiff’s successor.
Aside from his extensive military background, Geisser is also a trained chef and generated a considerable amount of media buzz when he published “Bon Appetit, Swiss Guard” a cookbook featuring the favorite recipes of numerous popes. It even includes some of Pope Frances’ favorites such as “Dulche de Leche”, which literally translated means “milk candy”.
Despite their strict demeanor that is often associated with the guards, the head of the Swiss Guard encouraged Geisser to write another book. Geisser is excited because he gets to express his love of cooking.
Just because he is writing cookbooks doesn’t mean that the young guard is excused from his duties, which mainly includes protecting the pope. “The Swiss Guards are always close to him, we’re responsible for his security day and night.” He says. “We’re with him during the general audiences and also protect the historic buildings.”
During their time at the Vatican, the Swiss Guard has been involved in many famous battles and has saved the lives of numerous popes. While the job is not nearly as life threating as it was hundreds of years ago, Geisser admits that his job is enjoyable, but can be tough. The guards often have to stand in one place for hours at a time, with groups of tourist snapping their pictures.
Deeply rooted into the roots of the Catholic Church, it seems more than likely that the guards will remain here for years to come.
http://www.thelocal.it/20141030/life-as-one-of-the-vaticans-elite-swiss-guards
The Seven Fishes
On Christmas Eve, Italians tend to go by the tradition of cooking and preparing seven fishes. The tradition started in the south of Italy around Naples and Sicily. The tradition is not necessarily done in the northern part of the country. With this tradition, seven different kinds of fishes are cooked and prepared for italians most favorite people, their family. The tradition started as part of the fasting period in regards to anticipation of the birth of baby Jesus. Some people only cook three different kinds of fish on Christmas Eve. The number three symbolizes the three kings as well as the holy trinity. So why did it start off as seven fishes? Some say it’s because God created the heavens and earth in seven days. Some say it symbolizes the seven sacraments. However, it does not matter how many fish are eaten on Christmas Eve. Family and the holiday spirit are the most important to italians. Cooking seven fishes is a way to keep family and tradition alive throughout the years.
http://www.ibtimes.com/christmas-eves-feast-seven-fishes-how-did-it-start-why-966640
Halloween Again?
Even though Halloween has passed, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to discuss another eerie topic: Poveglia Island.
Poveglia Island
This now-abandoned Venetian land seemed innocent enough. Poveglia’s first documented evidence of use was by the Romans as a quarantine ground during the plague. In the fifth century the island was occupied as a safe haven from attack. For the following centuries it increased in inhabitants until 1379, when warfare forced the islanders to leave. In 1776, Public Health once again utilized the island, this time as a transportation and checkpoint site for goods delivered to Venice.
However, in 1794, Poveglia regained its usage as a plague site when two boats were found to be carrying plague sufferers. Under Napoleon Bonaporte, Poveglia continually fulfilled its role as a quarantine ground to which bodies and sufferers of the plague were shipped. In 1922 Poveglia was converted into a mental health facility and insane asylum. Many of the patients reported hearing the voices of tortured souls—presumably the sufferers of the plague burned and buried there. Skeptical of the verisimilitude of mental patients’ words, the hospital’s head doctor supposedly performed many questionable operations in attempts to cure the patients’ ramblings. However, when he began hearing voices and seeing ghosts as well, he jumped from the island’s bell tower, surprisingly relatively unharmed. Yet despite his failed suicide attempt, a malicious haze strangled him. The hospital closed in1968, and Poveglia has since been off limits to visitors.
Despite this decree, many visitors including Venetians, fishermen, adventure seekers, photographers, and ghost hunters (including in 2009 Ghost Adventures) have ventured to the island. While Ghost Adventures claims the island to be undoubtedly haunted and many local Venetian fishermen refuse to provide passage to the island under the pretense of possessions and hauntings, the Poveglia per tutti organization avows island to be their childhood Disneyland. They recall many fond memories of fishing, camping, and diving trips to the islands disheveled grounds and worked to prevent Venice from selling the island which is now under a 99 year lease to the buyer who payed £400,000 in May.
Inside the old mental hospital
http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/poveglia-the-venetian-island-of-the-dead.html
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/poveglia-plague-island
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/off-track-planet/poveglia-island-like-hell_b_4188986.html
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/22/poveglia-venetians-fight-to-save-haunted-island
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/13/haunted-island-poveglia-venice-sells
http://www.danario.com/english/venice%20lagoon333/laguna%20sud1.pdf
Pasta: A History
Nothing says Italian food like pasta. Many people are taught that Marco Polo brought pasta back with him from his voyages to China, but that isn’t true. Noodles were already in Italy during Marcos time. There is evidence of an Etrusco-Roman noodle that was made for the same wheat we use now to produce pasta. The noodle was called “lagane”, which is the origin for the word lasagna. The noodle wasn’t boiled like pasta is today; it was oven baked instead.
The modern word “macaroni” is derived form the Sicilian term for kneading dough with energy. Early pasta making was a laborious process and usually took a full day. This early pasta was a staple for Sicily and it quickly spread to the mainland. The spread of this early pasta was aided by the fact that durum, the wheat used to make the pasta, thrived in Italy’s climate.
Dried pasta became very popular in the 1300’s because of its long shelf life. It was brought on my long ship voyages, including the voyages of discovery. By that time in history pasta had different shapes and new technology developed that made pasta easier to make. The true innovation in pasta wouldn’t come until the 19th century when tomatoes came into play.
Even though tomatoes were brought back form the New World soon after they were discovered it took a long time for people to realize that they were edible. It wasn’t until 1839 that the first pasta recipe containing tomatoes was documented. Shortly after that the popularity of tomatoes in pasta exploded. The rest is delicious history!
Works Cited: http://www.lifeinitaly.com/food/pasta-history.asp
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