L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 4 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS which country doesn't face money issues or doesn't have a wobbly government these days? No, we Italians could be ok with the 15th overall place: we still rank number one in the world when in comes to artistic and cultural importance as well as heritage, and number two for "adventure," whatever the people of Best Countries mean by that. There is one point though that truly bothers us: that worrying 22nd place in the "quality of life" rankings. We, the country of Dolce Vita, of taking things at a slower pace to enjoy the small pleasures of existence. We, the land of families, good food and old fashioned values, those our grandparents taught us when we were children, and to which we hold on with eagerness and determination, as if our very own human identity depended on them. We, the country where everyone in the world dreams to move and enjoy a life made of beauty and love, we scored a mere 22nd place in a ranking made of 80 positions. And so it is: Italy apparently has a worse quality of life than China. Let me begin with a clear disclaimer: China is an amazing place, its economy blossoming, its culture rich and its people incredibly friendly. I have never been there, but I have friends from my college years who moved to Beijing to work in academia and they are totally besotted with the place. The point here is not bringing down China's way of living or its qual- ity of life, but rather understand- ing how "quality of life" is assessed and whether these methods truly allow to paint a fair image of the way people feel they live in any given country. To do it, we need to take a look at the reasons why Italy's quality of life is considered, ranking-wise, so poor: La Stam- pa, a popular and respectable Italian daily pointed out such negative results are probably caused by the usual culprits, that is, slow bureaucracy, unemploy- ment, messy politics. In truth, the Best Countries report goes much heavier on us than that, adding to the mix an aging population, the rise of populism in politics, immigration issues and orga- nized crime. What a dire, grim picture of Italy we get: but is it faithful to reality? Because this is the point, in the end. Mind, there is no rea- son to deny the presence in Italy of each and every one of the issues above mentioned, but here comes the thing: in today's world, which country doesn't have them? "Mal comune mezzo gaudio" we say, a trouble shared is a trouble halved, and there is so much truth in it in this case: there is no place in Europe, at the moment, which hasn't been facing immigration-related issues, populist parties rising and its population getting older. Neg- ative trends are not solely Ital- ian, they're global and we shouldn't forget it. Yes, Italy has issues and we shouldn't deny it. Yet, it remains the most breathtaking, amazing, unique, incredible place to live on earth and deep down, we Ital- ians wouldn't change it for any- thing and any place. We are in love: and when you love, you don't care if there are problems, you keep on loving with all your heart and fight for that feeling. And that's what we Italians do, and with us all those people in the world who left a piece of heart in Italy because their fami- ly comes from here, because they felt comfortably at home when they visited or because, as it happens when you fall in love deeply and madly, they just can't imagine their existence away from her. And then, let's not this nega- tivity lead us to believe Italy is Quality of life in Italy is more than a statistic not up to standards when com- pared with other countries: we have one of the best health sys- tems in the world; the leading European centers for paediatric research - in Genoa - and for the study of neuro-degenerative dis- eases - in Turin. We are among the healthiest people on earth, thanks to a diet which is a patri- mony and that, here, you can fol- low spending little money and making little effort. Our rents are reasonable and there are hun- dreds of villages of immense beauty waiting to be discovered, where people will welcome you, the new member of the commu- nity, as if they had known you forever, because Italians are good, wholesome people at heart. Don't be fooled if we sometimes seem introverted and solitary, especially in the North; we're mountain people, you see, and often a tad too reserved, but once you sit at our table and drink our wine, consider yourself a family member. But there is so much more to say. Italy is a place where even the smallest hamlet has churches so beautiful and rich of art they'd be a main touristic attraction in any other part of the world. Italy is a place where you think you got used to beauty, but then you find yourself, all of a sudden, with tears in your eyes because you notice how elegant, bal- anced and perfect the façade of that 17th century palace you walk by on your way to work every morning is. Italy is a place where the highest mountains of Europe, the Alps, and the father of our civilization, the Mediter- ranean, ideally hold hands. Italy is a place of first times: the first time you drink a real caffè, the first time you eat pastiera napoletana, the first time you seat in a caffè in Piazza Vit- torio in Turin, with a bicerin or a hot chocolate in your hand, and it looks and feels like you went back in time and " who cares about modernity, I want this moment to last forever." Italy is also the place of first times that touch and change your soul: the first time you see the Colosseum and realize those stones are the heart of our civilization; the first time you enter Saint Peter's and you find yourself praying some- how, even if you no longer remember your Hail Marys and Holy Fathers that well, because all that beauty and majesty has to mean there is something out there that inspired and enabled Man to put it together so perfect- ly. So, Italy ranks at number 22 in the Best Countries' quality of life list. Fair enough, we accept the statistics, and we understand the reasons behind them, but for- give us if we Italians and Italy's lovers decided a long time ago life is more complex and articu- lated than lists. We happily bypass this negative judgement to keep on with our daily lives, made of small pleasures, friendly smiles at the shop, a home that has walls of stone and a chimney in the kitchen that dries our clothes in the winter better than the most technological of dryers. Forget rankings, really. Liv- ing in Italy is amazing and noth- ing - not even China - can beat it. Continued from page 1 Quality of life in Italy remains good, also in name of the habits and attitudes of people towards life itself And we shouldn't forget that Italy has one of the best health systems in the world, its people are among the healthi- est and there are hundreds of villages which could offer quality and cheap accommodation for new residents Art and architecture are also strong points that make living in Italy a beautiful experience, in spite of the issues of the country

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