L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 10 L'Italo-Americano O ur readers are familiar with t h e 1 E u r o homes frenzy that has taken Italy by storm in the past t h r e e y e a r s . I t a l o p h i l e s around the world have been enticed by the opportunity to snatch village-center, tra- ditionally-built properties for the price of a coffee a bit everywhere in the Belpaese: from Olloai in Sardinia to Sambuca in Sicily, all the way to Biccari in Apulia, the project has been embraced by many a commune and welcomed by a large number o f e a g e r , m o s t l y f o r e i g n , buyers. Because, to be truthful, Italians don't quite buy into the "Italian dream." They live it already some would say, or they know it isn't a l w a y s a d r e a m b e c a u s e there is always another side to the coin and it's usually t h e o n e s h o w i n g r e a l i t y more accurately. I am not saying that living in Italy i s n ' t d r e a m l i k e b u t , a s i t happens in every country, it's not always rose e fiori. Honestly, I am quite sure foreigners who buy proper- ties in our country seeking a life of tranquility and beauty are aware of it but happy enough to put up with some o f o u r n a t i o n a l i d i o s y n - crasies to enjoy a slice of Italian life. It's something else that may bother them to the point of giving up their dream: having too many for- eigners like them around. Last Spring, the interna- t i o n a l o n l i n e n e w s p a p e r T h e L o c a l published an article on life after buying an Italian one-euro home and, p e r h a p s s u r p r i s i n g l y t o some, the main complaints r e c o r d e d w e r e n ' t a b o u t crumbling walls or the steep price of renovations, but the presence of too many… for- eigners. There are two cate- gories of people investing in the one euro homes project: those doing it as a business venture – they renovate the houses, then rent them out to tourists, for instance – and those who, quite simply, want to leave their old life behind and enjoy perfect rural bliss, fully immersed in traditional Italian life. Need- less to say, that requires Ital- ians and, even more impor- tantly, Italians who are still s t r o n g l y c o n n e c t e d w i t h their roots and their her- itage. People buying into the "Italian dream" don't care for the fashionable lifestyle of the Romans, nor for the i n t e r n a t i o n a l a l l u r e o f Milan; they don't want to have a drink with other non- Italians in English-speaking- only bars like those in Turin, nor continue mingling with other stressed out profes- sionals who share the same job and language they do. These people want to live in a tiny slice of imperfect per- fection, a reconstructed real- ity of the world their great- grandparents once knew, but with the advantages that progress and technology can grant us today: they want the peace of rural Italy, the vegetable garden, the vine- yard nearby, plus the fastest wi-fi and Amazon Prime. I u n d e r s t a n d t h e m f u l l y because a few years back I made the same choice and I myself returned to living in my old family home in the c o u n t r y s i d e , w o r k i n g remotely and getting month- l y d e l i v e r i e s o f t h e s a m e products I used to shop for when I lived abroad. But the Italian dream of n o n - I t a l i a n d r e a m e r s i s inherently different from mine because, while I cher- ish the presence in my vil- lage of people from abroad speaking in English in the stores, and welcome it as a beautiful sign of how my c o u n t r y h a s b e e n f i n a l l y o p e n i n g u p t o t h e w o r l d fully, things work differently if you weren't born in Italy. The last thing you want is to sit at the pizzeria beside a family of Americans if your aim was that of experiencing life like your Italian ances- tors. You wanted to grab a piece of bucolic Italy and its a n c e s t r a l t r a d i t i o n s , a n d anything different from that picture-perfect image may truly be a bummer. But it shouldn't be. One of the main points made by expats in the article I mentioned was that they feared the presence of for- e i g n e r s w o u l d a f f e c t t h e authenticity of the place they chose as their new home; t h a t t o o m u c h " w o r l d " i n such small, traditional com- munities could threaten the "old Italy" within. And while I can see where they come from I feel like to reassure them, because the risk of losing "authenticity" i s n o t a s b i g a s o n e m a y expect: traditions and habits are hard to die in old school towns and, in fact, visitors and new residents' interest only helps strengthen them. Because the point is, in the e n d , o n e a n d o n e o n l y : living like the people around you, not watching them live. When new residents settle in their idyllic Italian paradise, they are observant and they enjoy taking in all that rural I t a l y h a s t o o f f e r , b u t i t c o m e s a t i m e w h e n t h e y m u s t b e c o m e p a r t o f t h e community, helping it devel- o p a n d t h r i v e . T h e y undoubtedly do so, because t h e y b r i n g m u c h - n e e d e d l i f e b l o o d t o p l a c e s t h a t w o u l d h a v e l o n g d i s a p - peared from the map if it weren't for them. They offer their know-how and their e n t h u s i a s m t o r e c r e a t e a long-gone sense of commu- nitarian happiness. If foreign residents fully embrace their Italian dream, t h e n t h e y s h o u l d n ' t f e a r other foreigners can taint the authenticity of their vil- l a g e b e c a u s e t h e y t h e m - selves are villagers and work from within to ensure the soul and heart of the place remain intact. That's the secret, you see: g e t y o u r o n e e u r o h o m e , renovate it, and live as if you were born there, not as a vis- itor. Don't "watch" locals, become a local: you'll be part of the magic, you'll help save what you love. GIULIA FRANCESCHINI Elderly people enjoying the sun in a traditional southern Italian village square. Are too many foreigners going to spoil these villages' authenticity? (Photo: Fabio Michele Capelli/Shutterstock) What if your rural Italian retreat speaks too much English? LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE

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