Unification of Italy
Today is a bank holiday in Italy as they celebrate 150 years of unification. There is lots being written here about whether Italy is in fact, united or not. Talk of the North and South divide and the kinds of things that I read about most other countries too. But all I can say is that I celebrate the diverse differences within each region; the landscape; the food; the wine; the local culture and celebrations. All this makes Italy a fabulous, rich and diverse country to live in, despite who's in charge. Who cares? Well, I've never been very political as some of you will know, so I don't claim to know what I'm talking about!
What is quite amazing is the fact the Italian language as we know it is fairly young as this wasn't unified until much later. Even today, many of the older people speak with their traditional regional dialects. Which makes it a little hard for us learning the language!
Anyway, Buon Compleanno Italy! For me this is where I have felt most at home, where I can be who I want to be and a place which inspires me to fulfill my passion - living to write.
Don't Think Just Write
2 comments:
I have to admit that this anniversary passed me by - the French media didn't seem to make much of it. You could ask the same question about France - notionally unified for much longer and with a strong centralised gov't for many years. However, each region or even area has its strong distinctive character - much as I imagine Italy does. Regional pride runs deep.
Yes it does doesn't it and makes such a rich experience for us ex pats!
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