Fiat 500L

by Lori Shannon
CNN is reporting that the next model of the Fiat 500L will include an option never before seen in a car - an espresso machine. The news story says, "The 500L is the first standard-production car in the world to offer a true espresso coffee machine that utilizes the technology of the 'A Modo Mio' pods," the company said in a press release. "It is perfectly integrated in the car with a deck designed expressly by Fiat."

This seems like such an odd idea for an Italian company to think of because you don’t see Italians eating on the run or getting a coffee to go. When you ask a barista for a coffee to go, they look at you odd. In Italian culture, sitting down to enjoy a meal or a coffee is the norm. “Take out” and “to go” don’t exist. Since Fiat is tied to the America carmaker Chrysler, maybe this brilliant idea came out of Detroit, not Torino.

While this may seem like a feature that American car consumers would appreciate, according to the CNN report the car is scheduled for release in Italy, not North America. However, backlash about the idea was over safety and that was from Americans. It will be interesting to see if this new option affects Fiat’s sales.

The Bridge

by Molly Rupert
The Italians recycle - a lot. This is not a new concept to them like it is to us in the Western world. They reuse things over and over and over again. Most of the buildings are hundreds of years old. Yes, they have Internet (when it works), lights and modern bathrooms, but the structure of the buildings remains the same. They use what they have until they can’t any more. Their first thought isn’t to destroy the building and build a new one, but how to improve the one they have and make it better for their purposes. There are exceptions. Old and New Cagli are separated by a bridge. It’s a nice bridge, in a modern ”I’m only 60 or 70 years old” sort of way. But on the left, down below the “new” bridge is one that was used for years - about 2,100 years. The Romans built it over 2,200 years ago. Legionnaires walked across it. Great names in history may have lingered there to view the water. It survived multiple wars, famines, floods and other natural issues.

It was still used until the 1950s. But it couldn’t survive the big trucks. According to Prof. Giovanni Caputo, the bridge was replaced because big trucks couldn’t cross. The goods being transported would be unloaded and hand trucked across the bridge into Cagli. So a new bridge was built. The Roman bridge still sits there, resting for more than 60 years. It was used enough.

Conservation

by Tracy Ging
“Non piace?” I am asked again and again by waiters who shake their head and tsk, tsk as they take away my half-eaten pizza. It’s not that I don’t like it; I just can’t eat a pizza double the size of my head. Sadly, I often waste food when I eat out. That’s not something I’m proud of, but I am also not a fan of eating five times what my body can comfortably hold. Yet in the U.S., no one gives it a second thought. I have never registered scorn from a waiter for not cleaning my plate. My impression of Italians is that in general, they consider it foolish to waste. From their careful use of electricity, to bikes or smaller and more fuel-efficient cars, or craftsman industries like shoe repair, there seems to be a concerted effort to conserve. As I hang my clothes out to line-dry, I think about how on earth I would find the time to do my laundry this way at home. But I am also reminded that productivity doesn’t necessarily mean efficiency.

Shopping

by Heather Hafer
My roommate Libby and I completed our first shopping trip at a small grocery store near the piazza. Pleased that we had managed to find most of what we were searching for, including fresh mozzarella and frizzante, we headed up to the cashier to pay. Believing we were waiting in line, we watched a mother stroll her infant up to the cashier to buy diapers. We watched a woman purchase a small item. We watched two nuns meander in front of us to pay for a few items. Surely a nun would not cut in line, I thought. We may still be standing there were it not for the cashier motioning us to move up to the counter. This line we were attempting to recreate was one formed by culture. In American we wait in lines. The Cagliese confidently approach the counter when they are ready to check out and participate in natural order, bending like a willow in the wind.

Pronunciation

by Jessica Guiton
 The morning after arriving in Cagli I entered a cafe and ordered a cappuccino. I told the woman behind the bar “un cappuccino, per favore.” She understood what I wanted and began making my drink. I noticed an old man sitting in the corner who was laughing at me and when I looked at him he said, “CAP-pu-ccino, CAP-pu-ccino.” He was obviously correcting my pronunciation despite the fact that I said the word clearly enough that the person I was actually talking to understood my request. I smiled, laughed, and repeated the word in the same manner as the old man but this incident really made me think once I sat down to enjoy my coffee. All I could thinking was, “who the heck is that guy and who is he to laugh at me and correct my Italian pronunciation.” I don’t think I have ever observed a situation in the states like the one I experienced in Italy. In fact, in most places in the US if a complete stranger tried to correct another person for something as minuscule as the pronunciation of a word I would say that nine times out of ten a verbal argument would ensue.

 I’ve heard from other classmates who have similar stories from their time in Italy so I find it very interesting how in this country they are so particular about the pronunciation of words and will take the time to correct you, while in the US if we can understand what another person is saying, despite that it might be incorrect, we just let it go. My guess is that a lot of it has to do with the big hurry everyone in America seems to be in. It takes time to correct a person and give them a mini-lesson in English, time most people don’t think they have, so they just forget about the mistake and move on.

Building in Italia

by Shelley Svedahl 
At home in Saskatchewan the construction of a new house begins with excavation. Step one: dig a big hole. The next steps are setting the forms and pouring the basement. The solid concrete basement walls are lined with 2 x 6’s for energy-efficient housing.

Here in Italia the foundation is constructed by piling building blocks one-on-top of another. Void spaces are filled with concrete. The process is extremely labor-intensive and involves mixing the cement on site and using a trowel to scrape the cement where it is needed. During this process, the structure is supported by a series of metal posts.

One of the first questions a buyer would ask when considering the purchase of an older home in Saskatchewan is “Is the foundation concrete or cinder block?” Older homes were built with cinder-block foundations, but that was a long time ago. In today’s market those homes are considered a poor investment because of the potential for movement or shifting with the clay-based soil and freezing and thawing weather conditions.

The soil must be significantly different here in Italia. Many of these homes date back several centuries so obviously this method of construction is appropriate to this region.

Market Day in Cagli

by Jill Tellez 
 Every Wednesday in Cagli, vendors come to sell their wares. Instead of shopping at a mall, Cagliese’s have the mall brought to them. There was definitely no shortage of shoe and clothing vendors, which at one point they all began to look the same. With some guided navigation through the narrow streets, you can find a fresh fruit and vegetable section including plants and flowers. In the US, this would be the equivalent of a combined flea market and farmer’s market. The one glaring thing that was missing was prepared food vendors or perhaps a lack of variety in food vendors.

There are two vendors who do come and clearly have reputations are stellar among the regulars: the fried fish wagon and the pork sandwich wagon. Business at the two wagons was steady with a clear demand for their specialty. Unfortunately, those were the only two choices for food besides the existing local restaurants and many of them are only open for dinner. Once again, thinking like an American capitalist, it seems as though an opportunity for additional revenue was lost by the local restaurants by not opening early for the occasion or by not providing a food wagon for additional variety. In the end, it appears to be more customary for the locals to shop for their wares and have their lunch back at home during pausa.