Despite the introduction of the new Area C congestion charge system to replace the former and more limited pollution charging scheme, the city of Milan in Italy is still not winning the battle against smog.

Pollution levels in the city remain high and have exceeded European limits by four times on 15 days so far this year.  Exactly why is unclear.  The use of salt on Milan’s roads to combat icy winter conditions has been given as one reason why smog levels have not come down.

The President of the region of Lombardy in which Milan is situated is unhappy that despite more people having to pay to enter Milan’s center, smog levels have not come down.  On the other hand, Milan’s Mayor says that smog levels are falling, even if the figures suggest otherwise.

What has come down is the number of vehicles entering Milan’s center, and accidents levels are down by an impressive 44%.

Area C Stats

The number of vehicles entering the city center has fallen by 33%.  Car sharing schemes in Milan have seen a 44% increase.  40,000 drivers have given up their autos and opted for public transportation.

Equally impressive is the income the new Area C system is generating for Milan – more than €145,000 a day, which equates to more than four million Euros a month or around €52 million annually.  A not insignificant sum.

Milan is Still Suffering from Smog Problems

One wonders whether Area C will be joined by an Area B and if that does not have the desired pollution reducing effect, Area C may come into existence.   Pure speculation, but something still needs to be done.  With the income Milan’s Area C congestion charge system is generating, it is to be hoped more resources will be dedicated to seeking an anti-pollution solution.

Possible Reasons for Smog Problems

One possible reason why smog levels in Milan remain so high could be the busy orbital motorways which surround the city which, to all intents and purposes, acts as a kind of hub for transport all over northern Italy as well as being the city many of Italy’s drivers coming from the south of the peninsula will drive around.

The other reason may be that while motorists are not entering the city center, there are still too many driving around in the zones which surround the center.  Or maybe it is not vehicles which are causing the pollution?

Watch this Polluted Space

I live in Milan, so I will be keeping my beady little eye on the situation and hoping my son’s eye problem does not flare up again.  While I am not certain, I do wonder whether Milan’s rotten air may have contributed to my son’s health problems, even if doctors have been a little evasive over the potential link.

Photograph by Alex Roe.

Related posts:

• Milan and Italy’s Smog Woes
• Cool today
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• October

Italian is one of the favorite choices of students and workers who decide to do language courses, even if Italian is not one of the most popular languages as regards its number of native speakers, there is something about the language of Italy which attracts those who want to learn another language.

Italian is spoken mainly in Europe: in Switzerland, Italy, San Marino, the Vatican City and by some people in Monaco, Eritrea, Somalia and by others in parts of Croatia, France, Lybia and Malta.

Every language conveys something different.  For example, when we think of British English, what comes to mind is politeness; when we think of Russian we think of very smart people with a love for vodka; Portuguese strikes us as fun; French as elegant, etc.  Try thinking of more languages and see what impressions come to you?

So what happens when we think of Italian?  Well, it probably has something to do with the romance, beauty and history of Italy. Spoken Italian conjures up impressions of beauty and sophistication.  Some would say Italian is one of the most beautiful sounding languages in the world. Women, for instance, love the musical sound of Italian.  And Italian language and culture loves women right back: yes, women have been adored in Italy for centuries.

There was not one single Roman who wouldn’t worship Venus, the Goddess of Beauty and Love.  You can see Venus at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France.

The France Cannot Resist Venus

In Italy, you’ll feel the constant presence of another celebrated woman – the Madonna, who is regarded as a loving mother constantly watching over you. With Venus and the Madonna, it as if the culture of Italy has an intrinsic connection to femininity.  Not that this should put men off learning Italian – remember, women tend to find the sound of Italian very romantic.

Women, and men, have recently chosen to take Italian lessons in London, where native Italian speaking language instructors convey not only the grammatical aspects of the language but also explain the subtle cultural nuances that have contributed to the essence of the language.

Italian lessons can be taken on any day of the week and at just about any time of the day to suit into your busy daily schedule and not only in London.

There is so much to discover about the Italian world. lessons provide the perfect opportunity to start learning the language while at the same time discovering the cradle of civilization.

For more information on Italian lessons in the United Kingdom, visit ItalianTeachers.co.uk

When you finish your Italian course, why not go to Italy and put your Italian to the test?

Related posts:

• Floating Self-Catering in Venice
• Why Italy is the way it is.
• U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Italy.
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It does look as if Italy has started to get really tough on tax evasion.  When Italy’s technocrat Prime Minister Mario Monti took over from Silvio Berlusconi late in 2011, he began considering ways in which to fill Italy’s coffers.

Monti knew Italy had to take a tougher stance on the tax evasion issue – a huge problem which costs the Boot around €180 billion a year.

Taking the tax evasion problem in Italy seriously had to happen one day and that day really does appear to have arrived.  Levels of tax evasion in Italy have been at laughable levels for decades.

From my own experience of living in Italy, I have noticed that many Italians tend to think that it is virtually impossible to survive financially in Italy unless taxes are evaded.

This attitude may end soon, even if Italians who have grown up with this feeling may find the new anti-evasion regime hard to accept.

Making Italians pay their dues was never going to be easy, but some may feel better about coughing up when they learn that the recouped money will be used to help out Italy’s less fortunate citizens.

Italians may also be ready to pay more taxes if the tax authorities would issue refunds much more promptly.  At present, tax payers have to wait as long as ten years for reimbursement.  Making companies and Italy’s notoriously slow paying public sector settle invoices in 30 days would help Italy’s businesses enormously and make it easier to pay taxes.

As a matter of interest my brother runs a company in the United Kingdom.  Most of his businesses income comes from the public sector and is paid in 15 days.  Why Italy cannot do the same, I have no idea, aside from problems relating to gross inefficiency.

Anti-Evasion Checks Continue Apace

Italy’s press is carrying a constant stream of reports of tax police invading many well-known cities, such as Milan and Venice, plus a few well known holiday resorts throughout the peninsula.

First there was the raid in Cortina which led to a 400% boost in the profits of local businesses, then a whole list of other places where subject to spot checks.  Milan, where I live, was one such city.  More recently, areas of Naples were taken over by tax police looking for irregularities – many of which were found in one of Italy’s most mischievous cities.

Recently, the ski resort Courmayeur was subject to an anti-evasion blitz by tax inspectors who donned skis.  Next it was the turn of Venice, right in the midst of its lucrative carnival season.  Store owners in Italy’s canal city were not overly happy with the clamp down as they claimed they are often subject to such checks and that having tax inspectors standing over their shoulders meant they could not serve customers as quickly.

Palmero was subjected to an anti-evasion clamp down today.  Trento is next.

More checks are on the cards.

The pace and regularity of all these anti-evasion checks is most un-Italian.  Whether Italy will be able to keep it up remains to be seen and Italy is famous for enthusiasm which suddenly fizzles out.

By way of an example of Italy’s enthusiasm tapering off, when I first came to Italy I was told to keep till receipts because Italy’s Guardia di Finanza tax police could stop me and ask to see the receipt.  If I did not have one, I would be fined.  In well over ten years in Italy I have not been stopped once by receipt inspecting tax police.  The checks had obviously fizzled out – in much the same way as the poop scoop checks have done in Milan – and the city’s sidewalks are suffering once again from excessive excrement.

For the moment, Italy’s tax inspectors are to continue to run checks on the income levels of those who are at the wheels of large and expensive autos as the hunt for Italy’s well-heeled poor continues.

Supercar Owners in Milan Stigmatized

In Milan, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported that sales of luxury sports cars had fallen by 30%, and that discounting had become commonplace.  Some supercar owners where selling up and buying cars which were less likely to attract the attention of tax inspectors.

Supposedly wealthy people in Milan are becoming fearful that their luxury motors may attract detailed probes into their financial situations.  Better a Fiat than a Ferrari, they are thinking.

Some drivers of Ferraris and other exotica have been accused of being tax evaders, simply because of the cars they drive.

A few owners of automotive exotica now carry their tax declarations in their supercars to demonstrate that they can actually afford their fine wheels.

In other words, the winds of change seem to be blowing.  Italian television is playing a part too.

Anti-Evasion Adverts

One public information advert on Italian television has labelled tax evaders as parasites on society, another simply spells out the correlation between taxes and services: if Italians do not pay taxes, they cannot expect decent services.

For some reason, Italians do not seem to grasp the relationship between tax evasion and poor services although it has to be said that many Italians are reluctant to let Italy’s odd bunch of politicians manage their money.  They do have good reason.

In a recent case, a left leaning politician was accused of stealing 13 million Euros and now investigators are wondering whether the same (dis) honorable gentleman managed to spirit away another €20 million.  In the face of such situations, it is unsurprising Italians do not trust their leaders to spend their money wisely.

Monti is Trying to Brush Up Image of Politics in Italy

One leader though, Prime Minister Mario Monti, is trying to brush up the image of Italian politics both internationally and here in Italy.

Details of the incomes of all of Italy’s ministers and undersecretaries are available online – all except Mario Monti, although it is highly likely details of Monti’s finances will be published very soon.

Monti is not doing a bad job for an unelected member of parliament – he has stated he wants politics to be more transparent, and he is working to achieve this, it seems.

Monti’s anti-evasion measures appear to be working.  Indeed, now it looks as if so much cash is flowing into public coffers in Italy, further draconian austrity measures will not happen.  Not only this, but Monti is also working on funneling the benefits of Italy’s tax windfalls towards those who need a little help.

Benefits for Italy’s Honest and Poor

As well as favoring the honest, two major measures are being hinted at.  One involves giving tax allowances to low income families – those with a total income of under €15,000 a year, and the other concerns Italy’s pensioners.  Italians receiving less than €1,500 a month in pension payments may end up with free banking.  This may not sound much, but running a bank account in Italy can prove expensive.

The measures exploiting Italy’s tax income windfall may happen in 2014.

There is also a chance that Italy will end up with a United Kingdom style benefits system which may replace, in part, the current system which involves Italy’s government funding salary payments for around two years after a business has closed down or after workers have been laid off.

Used intelligently, it is possible that income from Italy’s clamp down on tax evasion could help jump start the nations economy and start Italy growing once more.

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The short answer is yes, after the October 2011 floods, the Cinque Terre of Liguria in northern Italy can still be visited.  Remember that there five Cinque Terre villages – as the ‘Cinque’ – 5 in Italian, indicates.  Only two of the Cinque Terre villages were affected by the October 2011 flooding – Monterosso and Vernazza.

Reconstruction work is going ahead in Monterosso, so while staying there might not be advisable, nor possible, today, a visit in the near future should not be too problematic, although there will be building works going on.  Please keep reading for more information on the travel situation for both Monterosso and Vernazza.

Vernazza in particular was particularly badly hit by the October 2011 floods and a visit to this area may not be advisable at present.  The situation will change as time passes.

Keep in mind that Monterosso and Vernazza are only two of the five Cinque Terre villages.

Monterosso Accommodations

Monterosso, one of the Cinque Terre affected by Floods in 2011

Hotels in Monterosso will start reopening in early March 2012, and more will open in April.  A list of hotels and other businesses along with reopening dates can be found here: Monterosso Hotels etc

Note that there are two areas of Monterosso – the older area which was hit by the floods and the newer, seafront area which was not.

More information in English, German and Italian on the rebuilding of Monterosso can be found here: Buongiorno Monterosso It would be a good idea to check this web site frequently.

Vernazza Situation

Vernazza in the Cinque Terre, Italy

The flooding damage to Vernazza was extensive, and a local tourist operator Arbaspàa Tour Organizer s.n.c. who I spoke to on the phone today told me that Vernazza may not be open for business this coming season.  The main thoroughfare, where most of the stores and restaurants are to be found, was badly damaged by the 2011 floods.

If I hear of any change to the Vernazza situation, I’ll add it here – and have done so.

Update 22 February, 2012:

I have heard that Vernazza businesses will be opening in March and April – so do try visiting the area.  Visitors will help Vernazza recover from the disaster faster!  The website www.savevernazza.com provides information on Vernazza businesses which will be open for the coming season.

Remember that there are 5 Cinque Terre!

For more information on the Monterosso and Vernazza travel situation, try visiting these sites suggested by reader Kate Little of Little Paradiso who lives in the area:

• The best and most up-to-date info regarding progress in the Cinque Terre can be found at rebuildmonterosso.com with the list of open businesses here rebuildmonterosso.com visitors information and see www.savevernazza.com with their travel advisor at savevernazza.com – traveladvisor

Thanks, Kate!

Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore

There are, however, the other three Cinque Terre villages to use a bases: Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore were unaffected by the October 2011 floods.

By all means consider a trip to the Cinque Terre this year, although you should check before paying a visit to Vernazza and expect to find building works in both Monterosso and Vernazza.

My Visit to The Cinque Terre

I visited the Cinque Terre a couple of years ago and loved the area.  You can read more here: Knowing Italy  – The Cinque Terre

If you have visited the Cinque Terre area recently, please do tell us what the situation on the ground is like via a comment.  Thank you.

Monterosso photograph by Alex Roe.

Vernazza photograph by Charles van Dijk. Original uploader Mallerd

Related posts:

• Cinque Terre Floods
• Photographs of Monterosso, Le Cinque Terre, Italy
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This year, 2012, is the anniversary of the start of the infamous Mani Pulite corruption scandals and investigations.

In case you are unaware, Mani Pulite was a nationwide investigation into the extensive problem of political corruption in Italy.  In 1992 the lid was lifted on a can of worms and sparked a scandal which rocked Italy to its core.  Despite the ructions though, nothing, aside from the political landscape, really changed.  Actually, that is slightly inaccurate.  The bribes simply got bigger.

That bribery is still commonplace in Italy is evidenced by the almost continual stream of stories of skulduggery involving Italy’s politicians on all sides of the political spectrum in Italy.  A couple of examples would be the Filippo Penati and Marco Milanese cases.

Penati is a left-leaning politician belonging to Italy’s PD – Democratic Party.  This gentleman is under investigation for corruption and instigating bribery in Milan.  Then there is the case of Italy’s ex-Finance minister Tremonti’s political right-hand man, Berlusconi PdL party member Marco Milanese, who is also being investigated for corruption and more.  Curiously, Milanese was saved from arrest by his parliamentary friends.  There are plenty more examples.  Even Italy’s ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been caught up in corruption investigations – such as the Mills case for which Italian prosecutors would like Berlusconi to spend 5 years in an Italian jail.

Sadly though, the mani pulite period of recent Italian history had virtually no effect on levels of corruption in Italy.  Moreover, from the annual comments of judges presiding over Italy’s highest courts, levels of corruption in Italy are not falling but increasing.

To combat corruption in Italy, there are laws against this crime, as one might expect.  One of which is for something called ‘concussione‘ which is when someone hints that a bribe might be in order.  This is otherwise known as extortion, which is also a crime in Italy, though under Italian law, it is not exactly the same as concussione.

Evil Alliances in Italy

While it has never been confirmed, it is widely suspected in Italy that mafia investigating judges Borsellino and Falcone were assassinated as a result of an alliance between evil politicians and organized crime.  Coincidentally, perhaps, Gionvanni Falcone was murdered in May 1992 which was a mere month after storm clouds had begun accumulating over the distorted relationship between business and politics in Italy.

The Mani Pulite Scandals Rocked Italy, but did not Kill Corruption

Only Greece is Worse

Only Greece is regarded as being more corrupt than Italy within Europe – and look what is happening in Greece.  There were fears Italy would go the same way.  This could still happen although Italy’s technocrat prime minister is introducing measures which seem to be allaying fears that Italy will become the next Greece.  Monti still has a long way to go to transform Italy into a modern country and it is not beyond the realms of possibility that he may be taken out, either politically, or God forbid, physically by one of Italy’s many powerful cliques, to which many politicians belong, or even by Italy’s mafia.  The cliques could, of course, call upon the services of organized crime for assistance.

Unholy Tri and Quadrangles in Italy

It would not be inaccurate to state that an unholy triangle exists between politics, business and organized crime in Italy.  Some, I believe, would go a step further and claim that the triangle is actually a quadrangle with the Roman Catholic church being a holy member of the unholy alliance.  Certainly the finances of the Vatican are far from transparent and links between the church in Italy and organized crime in Italy are suspected.  Banks managing Vatican cash may have been used as part of complex money laundering systems.

Corruption Not Ended by Investigations

Unfortunately, despite the investigations which began in the early 1990s, the problem of corruption in Italy’s political system was not resolved.  One reason for this is that the mani pulite investigations were never really concluded.  They fizzled out in the late 1990s.

Some of those behind the corruption took their own lives, a few ended up in jail, but for the vast majority, it was corruption as usual.

The mani pulite scandal left the, albeit vague, impression that levels of corruption in Italy had been reduced, when in actual fact, the opposite was true.  The corrupt took a little more care and played upon the fact that the public believed the investigations had taken care of the problem.  This was far from true, as is clearly evidenced by my Corruption Levels in Italy in 2011 article.

Some of the names of those mixed up in the 1990s political corruption scandal are back in politics today.

Corruption in Italy in 2012 Still Increasing

Last week, a senior judge who presides over Italy’s Corte Dei Conti, Italy’s legal auditors, stated that corruption in Italy is still a huge problem.  More alarmingly, the judge, Luigi Giampaolino, also stated that corruption levels were still increasing.  Lawlessness is still widespread in Italy, the good judge added for good measure.

So much for mani pulite – many hands in Italy are far from clean today, as former graftbuster turned politician, Antionio di Pietro knows only too well.  There is some hope, though.

Italy’s parliament is drafting an anti-corruption law, although nobody really knows when it will be ready.  More importantly, perhaps, are moves to reform Italy’s electoral system.  The electoral system is responsible for allowing corruption bottoms to take up far too many seats in Italy’s parliament.  Corruption at local government level is also a major problem in Italy.

Even more work for Mario Monti.  The poor guy has an awful lot on his plate, he really does.

Related posts:

• Corruption Levels in Italy 2011
• Mani pulite Avoidance Measures?
• Does Italy Need another Dictator?
• Italy’s Stunning South Tyrol
• Walter Tobagi – in memoriam.