L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano T he past year and a h a l f c h a n g e d our lives in more w a y s t h a n o n e and now that -- let us hope -- we are on the w a y b a c k t o s o m e s o r t o f normality, it's perhaps the right moment to look back a n d a s s e s s a c o u p l e o f things, including how Italy is planning to move forward. M a n y c o m m e n t e d t h a t the post-Covid world won't b e t h e s a m e a s t h e o n e b e f o r e , a n d t h i s i s t r u e : catastrophic events such as a p a n d e m i c d o n o t o n l y change a country's outlook on its future but also the manner its people think. We said it many times, even on t h e s e p a g e s : m o n t h s a n d months of shelter at home o r d e r s a n d l i m i t e d s o c i a l i z a t i o n m a d e u s different, they modified our priorities and perhaps, for s o m e , e v e n p e r s o n a l l i f e goals. If you ask around, almost e v e r y o n e s a y s t h e s a m e thing, that we should now change our lifestyle's pace, we should slow down, we should take the time to savor e v e r y t h i n g w e d o : w a l k s l o w e r , t a k e a n e x t r a 1 0 m i n u t e s w h e n y o u g o f o r coffee with your best friend, read an extra chapter of that b o o k y o u k e e p o n t h e bedside table, every night. A change of pace is what we n e e d t o r e c o v e r , p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y a n d e m o t i o n a l l y , f r o m t h e trauma of living through a pandemic. And a change of pace is, p e r h a p s , w h a t I t a l i a n tourism needs, too, if the c o u n t r y w a n t s t o r e c o v e r f r o m t w o y e a r s ' l o s s e s - - even though 2021 has been so far better than what it was expected -- and, even more crucially, if it wants to give real value to the treasures it holds. Tourism, everyone k n o w s i t , i s , a l o n g w i t h fashion and the agro-food industry, one of the main e c o n o m i c e n g i n e s o f o u r country: in pre-Covid time, we'd welcome around 100 million people every year on our shores. Of course, we have ski bunnies and lovers of the traditional sea-sun- and-sand vacation, but art and heritage remain the real attractor: Venice is the most v i s i t e d l o c a t i o n i n t h e nation, followed by Trentino Alto Adige and, of course, our capital, Rome. In fact, the presence of the northern I t a l i a n r e g i o n i n t h e t o p t h r e e t e l l s u s e v e n m o r e a b o u t p r e - C o v i d t o u r i s t t r e n d s , t h a t i s , t h a t holidaymakers do love our natural beauties, too. This is certainly more true than ever today, after we s p e n t t h e b e s t p a r t o f 2 0 months unable to leave the house, let alone travel; 20 m o n t h s d u r i n g w h i c h w e finally realized the truth our g r a n d p a r e n t s a n d g r e a t grandparents always told us a b o u t : i n d e e d , j o y c o m e s from the smallest of things. A change in direction that brought many professionals -- especially those from the younger generations -- to quit their overpriced city center lofts and evenings on t h e N a v i g l i , i n f a v o r o f a s l o w e r k i n d o f l i f e i n t h e countryside. "Slow," here, is t h e k e y w o r d , b e c a u s e i t stands for a concept, for an i d e a t h a t e n c o m p a s s e s everything, from the way we organize and plan our days, t o h o w w e e n j o y o u r f r e e t i m e , w h i c h s h o u l d b e savored, enjoyed, goduto, as we say in Italian. Much like y o u d o w i t h a g l a s s o f vintage wine. This is something that we should keep in mind also when it comes to tourism, to the way we Italians and our f r i e n d s f r o m a b r o a d experience il Belpaese when traveling around it: do we w a n t a " b i t e - a n d - g o " experience or should we try to get to know this beautiful country little by little, secret after secret? "Bite-and-go" t o u r i s m s e e m s t o b e a perfect way to define how most visitors of Italy have been enjoying our country in t h e p a s t 2 0 t o 3 0 y e a r s , cramming as many popular h o t s p o t s a s h u m a n l y possible, within the shorter time available: a quick look here, a 10 minutes visit to another museum, churches only from outside because "there is no time." But why i s n ' t t h e r e ? W h o s a y s w e c a n ' t f i n d t h e t i m e t o immerse ourselves fully in the beauty of our cities, in the miracle of our art? Why d o w e h a v e t o t r e a t o u r t r e a s u r e s a s i f t h e y w e r e mere things to tick off a list? Beauty, declined in every manner, is what makes our beloved country so special and there is so much to learn f r o m i t , s o m u c h t o experience: forget photos and hashtags, just take your time and savor every single thing you are surrounded by. This should be the mantra of Italy's post-Covid touristic trends, quality over quantity, nurturing of the soul, rather than nurturing of our social media pages. Truth is that, for the past two summers, slow tourism, lesser-known destinations, more private, intimate holidays to spend a w a y f r o m c r o w d s h a v e become quite popular: of course, that's because we had little choice, and the s i m p l e i d e a o f b e i n g i n a mildly crowded place would give us panic attacks. But we discovered that, in the end, w e l i k e t h e s e e a s y - g o i n g , simple vacations. We need to slow down, we need to embrace anew the old philosophy of the Grand Tour, when traveling to our c o u n t r y w a s a r i t e o f p a s s a g e , a w a y t o l e a r n a b o u t t h e r o o t s o f o u r culture and a journey that, often, brought travelers to d i s c o v e r a l o t a b o u t themselves, too. Post-Covid t o u r i s m n e e d s t o f o r g e t about cramming as much as possible of our country into p e o p l e ' s s c h e d u l e s , a n d p r o p o s e s m a l l e r b i t e s o f w h a t w e h a v e t o o f f e r , allowing our visitors to enjoy every single facet of it. Summer 2021 has been g o o d f o r I t a l i a n t o u r i s m , although numbers are still, clearly, far from those of 2 0 1 9 . Y e t , i t w a s a g o o d summer for the industry and it was a good summer for s l o w t o u r i s m a s w e l l , because people seem to be enjoying the concept. And Venice banned cruise ships from the lagoon. Could this really be the beginning of a new era for how we enjoy, love, and discover Italy? CHIARA D'ALESSIO A day in Venice is nice, but a week is better: it's time to enjoy Italy without rushing (Photo: Zigrea/Shutterstock) Covid-19 may have given us a new way to discover Italy LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE

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