It’s been hard getting my head around this land called Italy. The country continues to suffer in the wake of a world-wide depression over the last 10 years. Unemployment rate of the young people is over 20%, so they live with their parents. Homes are passed on from one generation to the next, because they can’t afford to build many.

 

But it’s the place that invented pizza, and lots of other things.

 

Its hills and dales are flush with vineyards that produced wonderful wines for us to consume during our recent 10-day excursion. 

 

They think their gellato is far superior to our ice cream. Maybe. You’ll regularly see two gellato shops on a block. 

 

Men rule there. And it took a giants effort to remove their former President Berlosconi from office after repeated efforts he was courting underage ladies for favors. (Of course, we had a somewhat similar incident 20 years ago in Washington, DC. His name was Bill. Isn’t he the same guy whose trying to get back into the White House?)

 

Italy is a country of contradictions, I feel. 

 

Our touring group of 25, led by Twin Cities Environmentalist Jim Gilbert and his wife Sandy, returned from Milan last Friday after getting a wonderful taste of its cities and countryside.

 

We visited Rome for two days, then scooted north to Assisi and a late-afternoon trip to a wonderful vineyard. Then, it was off to their cultural center, Florence, for three days. We did side trips to the Italian riviera on the west coast, took the fast train to Venice for a day, then concluded our stay in Milan and Lake Como up in the foothills of the Alps, just a few miles from the Swiss border.

 

Each community showed us a different side to the country - and each of its own splendor.

 

The Romans are in love with their squares, most often featuring a fountain, a real gathering place.

 

Some of us remember the 1960’s film, Three Coins in a Fountain, featuring the Fountain of Trevi. Three American coeds met their loves (one being Italian heart throb Tony Franciosa) and tossing coins for good luck.

 

We saw parts of it, though it was barricaded for repairs.

 

The first night as we returned to our hotel, the Michealangelo, we peered down the street to see the brightly-lighted rotunda of St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican.

 

Yes, on our doorstep were the Vatican - and the Roman coliseum, where 2700 years ago gladiators were fed to the Lions. The Lions, our guide Rosanna Scippacercola informed us, would not be fed for four days to ensure a healthy appetite for humans.

 

A paradox, of sorts.

 

The Romans, as much as they preyed on each other, must be complimented for their engineering prowess. Many of their developments of centuries ago featured aqueducts transporting water and sewage underground. That led to growth of their cities far faster than rival communities.

 

“The aqueducts could transport two and a half-times as much water as we can today,” said Scippacercola. “So, who’s smarter?

 

“And that comes from two cynical women,”she said, referring to herself and fellow Guide Laura Pagano.

 

We were daily reminded public toilets in Rome come at a cost - about one Euro (Now 1.12 US dollars.) So, do your thing at the hotel or a cafe, where you can buy something, they said.

 

Lunch most-often afforded us the opportunity to eat with the locals, or other tourists. Major fare included very tasty but usually-meatless pizzas, salads and panini sandwiches.

At least two courses to the evening meal were pasta, which became tiring.

 

Their local beer was very good. All white wines served us were outstanding; some of the red ones, I thought, were a little “tinny.”

 

Italy is the most-Catholic country on this planet. Rome boasts about 405 churches, of which 400 were Catholic. The remainder: Two Anglican, one Lutheran, one synagogue and one something else.

 

The Pantheon was a wonderful site to visit one late afternoon. It was built by the Romans in 100 AD, then taken over by the Catholics. To this date, it has required no maintenance inside.

 

Romans are a warm people, quite easily engaged.

 

Our guide, Laura, emphasizes elbow-rubbing and closeness is an important part of their culture. How else could 62 million of them live in a space the size of Arizona?

 

But don’t linger on the crosswalk past the green light, for any of their one million motorcyclists will help you lose a leg. 

 

I saw no full-size car or SUV on Italian roads; they were all compacts, sub-compacts or vans for hauling. The reason: Gas prices at $1.43 to $1.51 a EU, per litre. That breaks out to $6 a gallon.

 

Enough of this. We’ll get on to the Roman Ruins and the Vatican next time.