US Student Sexually Molested in Firenze

Last night a 23-year old American college student -- in Florence to learn la lingua italiana -- was sexually molested in Piazza Santa Croce. She is currently recovering in a hospital in Careggi, a neighborhood in northwest Florence. The attacker has not been apprehended, and a description not released.

Yesterday, Anna Falchi, one of Italy's biggest actresses, revealed that when she was 18, on the streets of Rome, an extracomunitario -- illegal immigrant -- tried to rape her but she defended herself by slipping off one of her high heels, hitting the attacker with its sharp heel, and breaking free. She immediately reported the incident to the police, but never heard from them again.

100,000 Dogs Abandoned a Year in Italy

(It's vacation time. Don't abandon your dog. He would never abandon you. Bring him with you, don't leave him at home!)

A recent Italian bestseller by Diana Lanciotti contends that 100,000 dogs (and cats) are abandoned each year in il belpaese -- the beautiful country, averaging one every 2 minutes (700 a day). The majority (60%) of the canines are abandoned during the summer months of June, July and August when Italians migrate en masse to beaches, often for 30-plus days, and often to places that are not dog-friendly.


Italy has long had a problem with stray dogs, and officials put the number of randagi -- stray dogs, at 200,000. In the countryside it is not uncommon for landowners to "bait" (i.e. poison) food and leave it out, in order to kill the strays.

Protecting strays is becoming a popular cause, often pushed by Italian socialites. Recently, Paolo Berlusconi (left; Silvio Berlusconi's brother) enlisted himself in the struggle, on an advert reading: "If you abandon him, you make us sick."

The case for protecting strays is two-fold. Certainly, the campaigners' foremost concern is the protection of the animals, who are sadly abandoned. The second concern, however, is related to human lives. In the past decade alone strays have been implicated in 40,000 traffic accidents, resulting in 200 human deaths.

Milan Calls for Summit on Sexual Assault

In a last ditch attempt to stem this week's long list of sexual assaults, and calm what many now see as an inevitable immigration backlash in Italy, the Milan prefect has called for an emergency meeting addressing sexual assault, scheduled for Wednesday, August 30.

In the past week alone there have been a half dozen assaults. On August 20 at 6 a.m. a 40-year old woman was raped on the street by a North African; on August 26 a 50-year old woman was sexually molested by an Egyptian -- but her screams for help saved her; yesterday two 20-year old French tourists were offered a ride by two Algerians -- a common language breaking the ice -- and subsequently sexually violated for 5 hours; on August 22, in Chieti, a 17-year old girl was brought into a discoteque bathroom and raped by an Algerian. This week's violence, however, has not all been sexual: the NYTimes reported that on August 21 a Moroccan was arrested in Brescia for killing a notable Italian painter, Aldo Bresciani; on August 18 a 21-year old woman, Elena Lonati, was strangled to death in a church in Brescia by a Senegalese immigrant; on August 24 an Algerian immigrant stabbed his pregnant wife to death, and commited suicide, launching himself off of their third-floor balcony; today, hours ago in Rimini, a Polish immigrant violently assaulted and stabbed his sister's Italian fiance.

Italians, as are many Western Europeans, are becoming increasingly skeptical of successful U.S.-style integration, and recent sexual assaults -- and non-sexual assaults -- are strengthing their convictions. As a result of problems linked to immigration, Italy's Northern League has grown in popularity (much like Le Pen's Front National has in France), and the Italian culture war is heating up.

European supporters of U.S.-style immigration often point to the U.S.'s success of integrating "its immigrants", but European opponents contend that the U.S.'s immigrants from Asia, the Mideast and Africa are usually wealthier and better educated than their European counterparts; and that the U.S. was built on immigration, and therefore, naturally more open to it.

Italian intellectual Emanuele Severino spoke to Milan's Il Corriere della Sera last week, denying that Italy's immigrants are any different from Italians or other Europeans, explaining, "It's natural that when vastly different cultures coexist the probabilty of friction increases."

Berlusconi: "I'm condemned to continue"

Philosophizing in Rimini at a meeting of the Communione e Liberazione (CL), "an ecclesial movement whose purpose is the education to Christian maturity of its adherents and collaboration in the mission of the Church in all the spheres of contemporary life", Silvio Berlusconi proclaimed that he is "condemned to continue".

"I am hated by half of the country, and supported, maybe even loved by the other half. If I were to leave now I'd then be hated by this half too. Therefore, I am condemned to continue, and continue I will."

Later in the evening Berlusconi addressed a hot topic in Italy -- immigration -- stating: "To become an Italian citizen you need to respect the laws, rules and traditions, without coming to our table and putting your feet on it... ...you must demonstrate a knowledge of the Italian language, history, geography, and other cornerstones of our state, like the constitution...

....The Left, they envision a multiethnic, multicultural Italy, but for us, Italy must be Catholic and for the Italians."

Chirac Steals Prodi's Mideast Limelight

After hearing more than a week of rumors that Italy might be leading the Unifil mission in Lebanon, France, after offering to initially send only 400 troops, has upped its engagement to 2,000 troops. Furthermore, France has offered to lead the mission, something that Italy has been offering for the past week.

From the get-go Italy has offered 3,000 troops, has been willing to lead the mission, and has not waivered on either commitment.

This past week, Israel, Lebanon, the United States, the U.K. and Russia have all voiced support for an Italian-led mission. France on the other hand underwent harsh criticism from the world's leaders, with many inferring that France wasn't living up to its responsibilities as a global player.

Hours before Chirac's announcement this evening (20h00 Paris), President Bush phoned Prodi stating that the United States was "pleased with Italy's commitment", and the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, called Italy "a model country" (in the EU).

If France once again sits on the sidelines, its role as an EU powerhouse and player in Mideast politics is at stake. It remains to be seen, however, which country will lead the Unifil mission.

Summer in Sardinia

"Politics? They make me sick." -- Silvio Berlusconi, August '06, Porto Cervo, Sardinia

Prodi Mideast Policy Begins to Take Shape

Recent world events have forced the Prodi administration to quickly form a coherent Mideast policy, and as the policy takes shape, Italy's soft power is on the rise, and its status as an honest peace broker is becoming an increasingly viable option. In the Mideast the U.S. and U.K. are often seen as dishonest brokers, inextricably linked to Israel, whereas France's historical ties to Lebanon and Syria, make France's role unpalatable to Israeli politicians.

Prodi and D'Alema's announcement to send Italian troops to the U.N.-run zone south of the Litani River in Lebanon was praised by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, and President Bush. Italy's Defense Minister, Arturo Parisi, warned today that, "without being given clear rules of engagement, Italian troops will not leave for Lebanon."

Italy's recent Mideast diplomatic efforts go beyond Lebanon, however. Unlike other great continental European powers, Italy is part of the coalition in Iraq. Italian troops are also in Afghanistan, Prodi has offered to faciliate negotiations in the Israel/Palestine crisis, and in May, La Repubblica reported that Italian negotiators staved off a recent attempt by U.S. and Ethiopian forces to speed up contingency plans for joint military operations in Somalia, an Italian colony from 1920-1960.

Somalia was part of the Italian African Empire, which also included Ethiopia, Eritrea and Libya.

Italian troops are due in Lebanon "within a week," and the holding of the ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel, and Prodi's handling of the crisis, could potentially boost Italy's standing in the Mideast, and re-enforce ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's assertion -- as well as Prodi's -- that Italy's role in the Mideast is one of peace, not war.

Padova Erects Steel Wall Around Ghetto

Locals say that when the 273 apartments of Via Anelli were constructed the area was safe and convivial, a neighborhood popular with lawyers, doctors, young professionals and students. In the past decade, however, Serenissima ("very serene"), as it was named at the time of its construction, has turned into one of Italy's most violent neighborhoods.

In response to the violence of July 26th, a night that quickly spiraled into rival gangs of Nigerians and Arabs wielding clubs, machetes, knives, and crowbars, Padova's Center-Left coalition erected a steel wall around the ghetto.

Authorities claim that most of the violence is drug-related, but they have also noted religious overtones between the Nigerians (Christian) and the Arabs (Muslim). The night of July 26th saw 21 arrests, 50 deportations, and 120 grams of confiscated cocaine.

Il Muro di Padova -- the Padova Wall, is 84 meters long, 9 meters high, and to enter and exit the complex residents must now pass a police checkpoint. The Padova Wall was constructed in just a few hours after July 26th's violence, costing the city 80,000 euros.

Residents inside the wall seem to be supportive of it, with one citizen saying, "After 10 years of being afraid to leave my apartment, the militarization of our neighborhood is exactly what we are asking for."

An official in Berlusconi's Forza Italia party called Via Anelli "the Beirut of the West."

In the past two years Padova's Center-Left government has vacated 3 of the 6 buildings in the complex, relocating the tenants in suitable housing, and effectively separating the gangs. Within a year all 6 buildings of Via Anelli should be vacated and ready for renovation.

Honor Killing Shocks Italy

Hina Saleem, a 21-year old Pakistani girl whose family had emigrated to Brescia, was killed last month by her father, Mohammed Saleem, and buried in her backyard. Hina's throat was slit for refusing to marry her cousin, and instead dating an Italian. News of the honor killing surfaced in the past few days, and it has been given ample news coverage.

Mohammed Saleem's lawyer, Alberto Bordone, said yesterday, "His (Hina's father) religious ideology is deeply rooted, and his ideas are very different from ours... ...I myself am still trying hard to understand this. It will take a long time to get to the bottom of this." Mohammed Saleem and one of Hina's uncles are currently incarcerated, awaiting a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Italy's Interior Minister, Giuliano Amato, reacted to the episode stating: "The Hina Case speaks volumes about the path to Italian citizenship: it's evident that requiring one to adhere to the values of our constitution isn't enough, we also need to require that one adheres to fundamental rights such as, The woman is respected, a rule that I consider universal... ...The woman has the right to choose her life. Arranged marriages are something that we (Italians) abandoned centuries ago... ...This dilemma (of having to adhere to our values) must be confronted."

Since 2004, honor killings have been reported elsewhere in Western Europe, in the U.K., Germany, and Denmark.

Italian Pacifist Stabbed to Death in al-Quds

Angelo Frammartino, a 25-year old law student and peace activist from Lazio, was stabbed to death on Thursday night in Jerusalem -- al-Quds. Frammartino was in Jerusalem with an Italian NGO that works in conjuction with the Cgil, an Italian labor union based in Rome. Writing in his local paper a few months ago, Frammartino stated, "I am going (to the Holy Land) to help innocent victims."

Jerusalem police have called it "an act of terrorism"; Italian police have called it "an act of fanaticism."

The local Arab press has come out in support of Frammartino, with al-Hayat al-Jadida writing, "(Angelo) was part of a group of Italian volunteers that demonstrated solidariety with the Palestinian people."

The motive for the assault is unknown, and fellow peace activisits who were with Frammartino at the time claim that the attacker did not exchange any words (with Frammartino). The investigation is ongoing.


********UPDATE********

A 24-year old Palestinian with links to Islamic Jihad has been arrested for the murder of Angelo Frammartino.

The arrested: "I went to Jerusalem to kill a Jew."

US Marines to Leave Sardinia in '08

The US Marine Corps has confirmed that a complete withdrawl from its La Maddalena base would take place by 2008. The eventual dismantling of the base was announced in November 2005, but no date was given.

La Maddalena, an archipelago off of the northeastern coast of Sardinia, has had a substantial US military presence since 1972, when the US and Italian governments signed a secret bilateral accord.

In Italy, the US Marine Corps' Sardinian base is a touchy subject because of the presence of US nuclear armaments, one that the US Congress has confirmed, but the Italian government continues to deny.

Italy does not have any known nuclear armaments.

The "Great Public Works" Lack Funding

In Italy they are known as the "Grandi Opere" -- the Great Public Works, but a recently released report by Il Comitato Interministeriale per la Programmazione Economica (Cipe) -- The Interministerial Commitee for Economic Planning, speaks little of greatness.

Cipe's report has revealed that Italy's public infrastructure projects lack significant "financial coverage" -- a staggering 115 billion euro.

One of the most famous public works project effected is il Mose, Venice's dam project being built by Il Consorzio Nuova Venezia. Il Mose has four moving barriers and 79 hollow steel gates, engineered to raise during high tide to stop flooding. Il Mose (pictured below) has an estimated cost of 4.3 billion euro, but Cipe reports that funding is 2.8 billion euro short.

Il Mose project is controversial because of its huge drain on Italian taxpayer dollars, as well as environmental concerns. The city of Venice's problem is caused by two main factors: its waters are naturally rising (pictured above, Venice's Piazza San Marco), and its foundation is slowly sinking due to settling of sediments and the overpumping of its freshwater acquifer deep under the city. The high-tide flooding usually lasts six hours, but if the current situation continues uncorrected, several scientists contend that by mid-century many of Venice's main piazze and strade will be forever submerged. At the time of Venice's 421 A.D. founding, the Adriatic Sea was 16 feet lower than its current level.


Another Italian public works project that risks never being started, or started and then never completed -- and subsequently turning into a massive Ecomostro (see Aprile 25 for a full report on Ecomostri) -- is the bridge linking Sicily (Messina) to the mainland (Reggio Calabria). If completed, the bridge traversing the Strait of Messina will be the world's largest, single-span suspension bridge at 2.3 miles long.

Recently, however, Prodi's government has called into question the sagacity and feasibility of the project. Shortly after the 2006 election, on a stop in Sicily, Prodi said: "My son will one day see the bridge: I don't see the bridge as some sort of demon, but our priorities are elsewhere, and they must be compatible with the resources that we have... ...When I see that there isn't a highway that leads to the bridge, and in Palermo (Sicily's capital) water is rationed, and the railways, being in the state that they're in, I ask myself what are our priorities."


N.d.R. - pictured above, the Strait of Messina and a mock-up of the completed bridge

Italy OK's "Muslim Beach" for Females

After numerous requests from Arab sheiks, the Adriatic beach resort town of Riccione has granted female Muslim tourists, (most coming from the petrodollar-soaked Gulf) their own beach so that they can remove their veils.

As expected, Italian hotel operators have come under fire in a country that fiercely safeguards its culture. A recent online survey by Il Corriere della Sera, Italy's largest daily, showed 83% of Italians being against Riccione's decision.

The hotel operators, however, responded promptly by pointing out that the Italian hospitality industry has always gone to great lengths to make their guests feel at ease, with one operator stating, "when the Germans started coming to the Adriatic, didn't we learn their language and fill up our newstands with German-language publications?". Another Riccione-based business owner said, "these are women that will spend 700,000 euro on the latest watch without even batting an eyelid."

I soldi parlano -- Money talks.

Bologna Tragedy Remembered

26 years ago today, on August 2nd 1980, a bomb exploded in Bologna's central train station, killing 85 and wounding 200. This grim day in Italian history is known as la Strage di Bologna, the Bologna Massacre. Planned and executed by far-right, Neofascist extremists, the Bologna Massacre would be the last time that far-right and far-left extremist groups fought their battles indiscriminately, in the future targeting solely elected officials and civil servants.

Bologna was (and is) known as a Communist, far-left stronghold, and was very much a symbolic target. This morning, to commemorate the massacre, Prodi said, "The massacre at la stazione di Bologna is one of the many black pages of our country's history. It is an infected wound in our democracy, a laceration that still today isn't healed. The duty of government institutions is to work every day for the triumph of truth and justice." 26 years later, no one has been tried for la Strage di Bologna.

Italy's political violence started in 1969 with la Strage di Piazza Fontana -- the Piazza Fontana Massacre (16 killed, 58 wounded) and the subsequent emergence of il terrorismo rosso (Communist) and il terrorismo nero (Neofascist). The violence lasted until the early 1980s, and the period is known as the "Anni di piombo" -- the Years of Lead. Although political violence in Italy has generally abated, it does continue, with the occassional targeting and killing of elected officials, policy makers and judges.