LIFE: In My Opinion . . .

SARONNO, Italy – It’s always interesting to read  the public opinion polls taken by the newspapers  in various cities in Italy. Usually I focus on Milan and Genoa, but today I thought I’d venture south and see what the Neapolitans were thinking as well. The results just might surprise you.

Best Way to Start a Day

Readers of Genova’s Il Secolo XIX were asked:

Is the proposed settlement Costa is offering cruise accident victims adequate?

Yes – 50%

No – 50%

Total votes: 4,431

Is the proposed location of a new mosque a good choice?

Proposed location OK – 10%

In the port area of the city’s historic center – 57%

In the center of Genova – 5%

In another location along the coast – 6%

Not in any location – 22%

Total votes 24,188

Then they were asked: In your opinion, how was the cruise ship emergency handled?

Good – more than 4,000 people were saved – 59%

Bad – many passengers were upset – 41%

Total votes: 3,161

 
What are you hoping to find in 2012?

Love – 10%

Work – 16%

Health -  41%

Money – 18%

Total votes: 4,134

Should older women try to become mothers?

Yes – 10%

No – 60%

Each case should be decided individually – 30%

Total votes: 4240

The Costa Concordia

You Should Know: Genova is the home of Costa Cruises

 

In Milan, readers of Corriere della Sera were asked:

Italy’s Premier Mario Monti recently withdrew Rome's bid for the 2020 Olympics saying the Italian government can't supply the required financial backing at a time of economic crisis. The cost for hosting the Olympics has been estimated at $12.5 billion. Did he do the right thing?

Yes – 91%

No – 9%

Total votes: 3,143

Which of these news events affected you the most?

The killing of Bin Laden – 2%

The earthquake in Japan -  13%

The wedding of William and Kate – 0%

The Genova soccer team Sampdoria in Series B – 43%

The death of Amy Winehouse – 1%

The absolution of Amanda Knox and  Raffaele Sollecito – 2%

The killing of Gheddeffi – 3%

Death of Marco Simoncelli at Malaysian Moto Gran Prix – 9%

The floods in Liguria – 15%

Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi’s fall from grace – 5%

The new Premier Mario Monti’s economic plan – 8%

Total votes: 8,162

How would you judge Premier Mario Monti’s first 100 days?

Good, he’s on the right track  - 33%

Not so good, it’s always the same group of people who end up paying the most – 46%

It’s too early to tell – 20%

Total Votes: 457

Tax evasion is a huge problem in Italy, so the question asked was:

What do you think about the government’s stricter controls for tax evasion?

Finally, it’s about time – 78%

They will never be implemented – 22%

Total Votes: 9611

Snappy Looking Guardia di Finanza

You should know: Finance and fashion are Milan's major industries and they are both constantly scrutinized by the Guardia di Finance, Italy's Internal Revenue Service. 

In Naples, readers of Il Mattino were asked:

Do you agree with the plan to allow advertisements in front of Capri’s famous Blue Grotto?

Yes -  14.6

No – 84.3

Don’t Know – 1.1%

There is a plan to arm Naples’ city police with batons, do you think it is a good idea?

Yes – 76.3%

No -  22.9%

Don’t Know - .09%

The concept of allowing merchants to decide their own opening and closing hours is spreading through Italy. Asked if they thought it was a good idea, readers responded this way:

Yes – 62.2

No -  35.6

Don’t Know -  2.1%

And finally Il Mattino readers were asked whether they preferred a Christmas tree or a Nativity crèche.

Tree – 23.4

Crèche – 70%

Neither one -  5.7%

Naples Via San Gregorio Armeno

You should know: The Via San Gregorio Armeno, in central Naples is the center of the world's nativity market, with several hundred workshops, stores and stands selling full nativity scenes and individual statues made of wood, plaster, terra cotta and even chocolate.

ON THE ROAD: Savory Savona

This is another in a series of monthly travel articles inspired by a New York Times article on 31 places to see in 2010. All of the towns on my list are in Italy, most are small, rich in history and art and for the most part off the beaten track which, for me, makes them all the more interesting.

SAVONA, Italy - Savona isn’t your typical Italian Riviera hotspot. It’s an old, serious, seafaring kind of place, not glamorous, not slick and not particularly tourist friendly either.

Savona Harbor

A few years ago you wouldn’t have given this town of 78,000 inhabitants a second glance as you sped along to, or from, the south of France. But things are different now. Savona has become a major kick off point for Costa Cruises, which means thousands of people are passing through town every week. It doesn't make the town any more glamourous, but then again Vicki, my eight year old sidekick and I are not looking for anything glamorous. We are on a mission. Her plan is to take photographs of what we see today and then write about them in a journal. My plan is to keep this curious little person out of trouble and sneak in a few photos myself.

Cathedral of Savona

Daniele, Vicki’s father, gives us a ride into town and drops us off near Piazza Sixtus IV. Before we head for Vicki’s favorite Savona site, the Pancaldo tower, I want to see the nearby Baroque Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta. It takes a little convincing to get Vicki to go in, but in the end she’s a pretty good sport about it, and she even manages to generate a little interest in the Renaissance wooden choir. But when I suggest visiting the Sistine chapel next door, she digs in her heels. The fact that two popes were born in nearby Albissola, Sixtus IV (1471-1484) and Julius II (1503-1513), and that it was Pope Sixtus IV who commissioned both Sistine Chapels, the one in Rome and the one next to the Cathedral in Savona, means nothing to her. It is not a battle I’m going to win.
We head back to Savona’s main street, Via Paleocapa, a long, 18th century porticoed street that runs from the harbor right through the heart of town. Along the way Vicki is taking pictures of everything that catches her eye, the tall look-out towers in the historic center, the soaring cactus that decorate the fronts of buildings, the miniature bronze cast of the town so the blind can see what the town looks like, the many boats docked in the harbor and the Leon Pancaldo Tower.

Via Paleocapa

Vicki is fascinated with Leon Pancaldo. Leon was about her age when he set sail with Ferdinand Magellan on his now famous expedition around the world. Leon was also one of 18 surviving sailors out of a crew of more than 200 who lived to talk it.

His stories of seeing a ‘camel without a hump,’ and a ‘black goose’ that had to be skinned instead of plucked left the locals thinking the trip had really done the poor boy in. But now we know he wasn’t daft, just one of the first Europeans to see a llama and a penguin when Magellen’s ship reached the most southern tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego, the land of fire.

Trattoria Vino and Farinata

Later that evening Vicki, her parents and I head back into the old town for dinner at Farinata and Vino. It’s a hot summer night and we are lucky we don’t have to wait very long inside the trattoria entrance where overheated cooks are pulling and pushing large round pans of farinata in and out of the blazing open oven. Our reservations are for 7 PM, uncommonly early for Italy, and they tell us have to be out by 8:30, also uncommon for Italy. But this is a happening place and they are booked to the max.
It’s the farinata that draws the crowds. Farinata is a simple dish of chickpea flour, water and olive oil baked into a thin pancake, and along with pesto, it is one of the major components of Liguria’s famed cucina povera. Vicki’s father orders another Ligurian summer specialty, room temperature minestrone with pesto while Tracy, Vicki’s mother, and I order fish. After a plateful of farinata, Vicki can barely manage to eat a shrimp or two from her mother’s plate. As we sit there I realize I can’t even count how many times over the past 18 years we have sat together like this and shared a meal.

Crowd in Vino and Farinata

The one place Vicki and I didn’t get to was the Fortezza del Priamar, an imposing stone fortress at the edge of the historic center. I think she would have liked walking through the massive fort, especially if I could have come up with a swashbuckling tale or two about the pirates who were held prisoners here.

Back in the 16th century when the Fortezza was built the Mediterranean Sea was not the playground of the rich and richer it is today, but a watery nest of marauding pirates and armed ships from rival city states looking to attack Savona. The fort stood strong for two hundred years, never challenged until the mid 1700’s when it was attacked by troops of the French Dukes of Savoy. The invading army won the battle and Savona was absorbed into the territories controlled by the Savoy, who would later become the Italy’s first, and last, royal family.

There is a grittiness to Savona that may not appeal to everyone but if you’re the type of person who likes to explore less touristy places, it may be just the town for you. What I like best about it is that there are no pretenses here. What you see is what you get.