Hi Bill, I remember when I first arrived here in Italy you told me there were basically two Italy's. The Northern Italians and the Southern Italians. Well, after being here almost a year, I would have to say you were right, but there are actually three Italy's. The North, The south, and the Sardinians.
First let me say, I have never had a bad experience with anyone regarding my American heritage. Sardinians are more suspicious and backward then either the northern or southern Italians, but that's about it. Their attitude can be divided up pretty sharply among the young and old. The young Sardinians want things American, they want to be modern, and they see America as hip and cool. The other day I saw a guy around 22 wearing a Spiderman shirt while hanging out with his buddies. Strange scenes like that are pretty common. I didn't have the heart to tell him Spiderman was for the under 15 group. :)
The older Sardinians (50 and older) don't seem to want much to do with the outside world. They still drive those little 3 wheeled moped trucks to and from, they hang around the barbershops all day, and are content with basically watching the world go by. They seem happy and content with drinking wine and talking with their neighbors day after day. Most could care less about what is happening in the rest of the world.
Northern Italians are modern, cosmopolitan, confident and ready to use their creative energies to take on the rest of the world economically. When you visit places like Venice, Florence, Milan, and the smaller towns and cities up north you can sense it. They drive those super-fast cars 130 mph whipping to and from the Altostrada's. My imported Honda didn't stand a chance! :)
Side bar...did you know you can drive the length of Italy in about 6 hours on those Altostrado's?
Anyway, the north is where commerce and the future of Italy reside.
The south is coming out of what I would describe as its third world state. Naples is growing, modernizing its airport and accepting direct flights from the U.S. While Sicilians are more like Sardinians in many ways.
In all of these places I have been welcomed and treated extremely well as an American. So, regardless of what the press writers say, Americans are not hated at all in Italy or the rest of Europe.
By the way, I love the small towns in the hills of Italy the best. The people are wonderfully friendly toward Americans and will go out of their way to talk with you and share their stories of life. |
