In Marsaglia, the Wi-Fi Camera is King

This quaint Piedmont hamlet is usually known for its Barbera, Barbaresco, Barolo and Dolcetto (a personal favorite), but soon it will be know for something slightly more acidic : il Grande Fratello. That's right, Big Brother has invaded the serene Piedmont foothills.

Marsaglia (pop. 300) has installed 13 Wi-Fi security cameras in response to a recent spate of burglaries, averaging one a day. The Wi-Fi cameras film 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, are full-color and function in the dark. Their presence is approved by the vast majority of Marsagliesi.

Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi cameras over a month ago, there hasn't been one theft in Marsaglia. Franco Biglio, the Vice Mayor of Marsaglia (whose house was among the robbed) further detailed the benefits of the installation of a Wi-Fi system.

"We need to think about our youngest citizens, students and workers: soon they will be able to use a high-speed internet connection from the comfort of their own homes... ...we must install new technologies... ...we must get out of isolation and favor people settling down in our villages. For too long our villages have experienced a brain drain to big cities."

Prodi takes office; wins vote of confidence

Viva l'Italia.

Il Calcio: Nothing But A Ball of Laughs

Italian calcio is ripping at its seams in what is being called Series A's biggest scandal ever. Four Series A soccer clubs (Milan, Juventus, Fiorentina, and Lazio) are accused of fixing matches -- and bribing, threatening and intimidating various officials. The manager of Juventus, Luciano Moggi (a.ka. Lucky Luciano), was recorded on May 2nd talking to the head referee of Italy's soccer federation about favorable placement of referees. Moggi, however, isn't the only one that violated league rules and the probe, grand in scope, has placed a total of 41 people under investigation.

The World Cup 2006 kicks off in Munich, Germany on June 9th. Italy is set to play the United States in Kaiserslautern on June 17th.

Italy Elects Ex-Commie As President

Giorgio Napolitano, 80, has been elected the 11th President of La Repubblica Italiana by Prodi and his coalition. The Italian presidente fosters dialogue, solve disputes and represents "l'unita nazionale" -- national unity. Napolitano will also have power over the military, the power to perform diplomatic and judicial functions (including the nomination of 5 senators to a lifelong appointment) and the power to ratify treaties. The posting lasts 6 years.

Napolitano (speaking above), is a former member of the PCI (Partito Comunista Italiano) who was active in the resistenza against the Nazi occupation of Italy. In his owns words, Napolitano gives "full and loyal solidariety" to the USA and Nato. In 1992 he served as President of the House, and under Prodi's first government he served as Interior Minister.

Italy still has several active Communist parties, and in the past the PCI was formally linked to the Soviet Union's. Their ties were officially cut in 1981 when the Soviets repressed Solidarność, the Polish trade union federation once led by the now-famous Lech Walesa.

So, what did Berlusconi, a fervent anti-Communist, have to say about an ex-Communist being President of the Republic? Berlusconi, unlike his coalition partners La Lega Nord, recognizes the appointment of Napolitano as president of the Italian Republic, but he does promise to stage a "sciopero fiscale" -- a fiscal strike. "We too (like the Left) will do parlamentary obstructionism. Our opposition will not be like the Left's has been, however, where they opposed everything we put forward. But it will surely be carried out with all the means that the Left has taught us to apply. Our parlamentary obstructionism will be, as always, a conscious, serious and direct opposition, intended to represent the interests of the citizens."

Stormy times ahead.

More Italian Casualties

Last Friday, May 5th, two Italian servicemen, Manuel Fiorito, 27, of Verona (left), and Luca Polsinelli, 28, of Orbetello (right), were killed in Afghanistan. Enrico Frassanito, 41, of Verona (below), wounded in the April 27th Nassiriya attack, after a 10-day fight in a Verona hospital, has also died. These deaths bring the Italian casualty count in la guerra contro il terrorismo to a total of 35, 30 of those killed in Iraq, 5 in Afghanistan.

Ahhh...Springtime in Lampedusa

Yep, it's that time of the year again. And nope, I'm not talking sunbathing -- I'm talking clandestini. Tanti clandestini. Thanks to its mild climate, Mediterranean-style immigration is a year-round affair, but when springtime arrives, illegal immigration kicks into overdrive. The Italian island of Lampedusa, located 190 miles north of Libya and 130 miles south of Sicily, is a preferred entry point into the EU.

The immigrants arriving in Lampedusa usually depart from Libya, but most come from elsewhere: Morocco, Tunisia, Iraq, Kurdistan, Palestine, Senegal, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea. After a grueling trek to Libya -- some through the Sahara, some packed into shipping containers and then put onto freight liners -- the immigrants are then shuttled from the Libyan coast to Lampedusa by scafisti. The vessels often sink or capsize due to overcrowding, and high seas humanitarian disasters are frequent.

On Wednesday morning close to 500 clandestini arrived on the shores of Lampedusa; on Tuesday morning 171. All of this on a tiny speck of an island ( 12.5 square miles -- half the size of Manhattan) whose temporary detention center is built to hold only 190 occupants. The immigrants are usually brought to Sicily, released (penniless) and told that they must leave Italy within 5 days. Many move north to find work in Naples, Rome, Milan or Turin; others go farther north to Germany, France, Belgium, Holland or Denmark.

A 22-day Commedia Ends Senza Pizzazz

Do you want your Lira back?

22 days after the end of the election, and 12 days after the Italian Supreme Court certified that he in fact was not the winner of the election, Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister of Italy, resigned on Tuesday. Seeing one of Europe's most flamboyant, blooper-ridden politicans stage a lackluster exit was, to be perfectly honest, quite boring.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Berlusconi still claims to be the "moral winner" of the April 9-10 election, and yesterday he insisted that "the Italians will regret me leaving; we were the best government of the Republic's history. " But the bottom line is this: Italy's richest man has left the political stage senza gusto. But his return seems inevitable -- Italian bravado dies hard.