Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip from Italy that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
‘School right’ citizenship
Talks of a potential ius scholae citizenship reform were once again in the news earlier this week after Foreign Minister and centre-right Forza Italia party leader Antonio Tajani said it was his “idea of society”.
“We are loyal [to our government partners] but we must also focus on changing Italy” he added, in response to Deputy PM and League party leader Matteo Salvini, who had previously said there was “no urgency, no need” to change national citizenship laws.
But as contrasting views over the proposed reform continue to create a rift in the ruling coalition, pitting centre-right Forza Italia against the League and PM Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy, what’s the ius scholae actually about?
The ius scholae (or ‘school right’) is a law which would grant citizenship to minors born in Italy to foreign parents upon completion of ten years of compulsory education in the country (that’s five years of elementary school, three of middle school and at least two of high school).
This would create a quicker path to Italian nationality for Italy-born children of foreign nationals as current rules mean they can only apply for citizenship after turning 18 by showing proof of uninterrupted residency in Italy.
The introduction of a ius scholae citizenship model has long been backed by left-wing parties, including the Democratic Party (PD), but only recently endorsed by centre-right Forza Italia amid fierce protest from coalition partners League and Brothers of Italy.
Though discussions over the potential reform have only just started and new developments are expected when parliament resumes work in September, this has already been described by Italian media as a “hot topic” with the potential of splitting the ruling coalition in two.
Carbonara wars
News that US food manufacturing giant Heinz was set to launch canned spaghetti carbonara (yes, you read that right: pasta carbonara sold in a tin) was met with horror by Italian cooks this week.
Chef and TV personality Gianfranco Vissani said that Heinz “should be ashamed of themselves,” accusing the manufacturer of “destroying Italian culture and our cuisine”.
The chef of Rome’s Michelin-starred Pipero restaurant, Alessandro Pipero, shared Vissani’s indignation, comparing the new tinned product to “cat food”.
But culinary controversies over pasta alla carbonara, which is traditionally made with guanciale (cured pork jowl), pecorino cheese and eggs, are nothing new, as unorthodox versions of the classic Roman dish crafted by international cooks have angered Italians multiple times in recent years.
A New York Times ‘tomato carbonara’ recipe replacing pork cheek and pecorino with bacon and parmesan, and adding tomato sauce to the eggs, sparked widespread outrage in February 2023, with a Twitter user calling the affront “a declaration of war”.
In February 2020, British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s creative take on the original carbonara recipe caused an uproar on Italian social media platforms, with one user calling it “a joke” and another saying: “My liver is rebelling”.
But why are Italians so protective of their cuisine that they seemingly take up arms against any culinary creation that may stray from tradition?
As it’s generally the case with most Italian traits, habits and traditions, it’s hard to pinpoint a single factor, but it is often argued that Italians are emotionally attached to their food and cuisine in ways and to extents that aren’t matched anywhere else in Europe (and perhaps in the whole world).
Food is a vital part of their personal identity, which means that any external reinterpretation of Italy’s centuries-old culinary traditions is automatically perceived as an attack on them as opposed to an ‘abstract’ set of cuisine-related customs and norms.
A late-August Christmas concert
English rock band Oasis made international headlines on Tuesday after they announced they will go on a reunion world tour in 2025 following a 15-year split. But many media outlets in Italy focused on a very different music performance this week.
Italian opera trio Il Volo (‘The Flight’) will play a live gig at the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, southern Sicily, this Saturday.
This alone would have hardly made national news had it not been for the fact that they’ll be playing a Christmas concert, which will be recorded and then aired on Italian TV on Christmas Day.
What’s more, organisers have been asking attendees to turn up dressed in winter garb, including “black or dark-coloured clothing, pants, long dresses and skirts, long-sleeved shirts for men, outerwear or shawls for women,” to make the performance look as Christmas-like as possible.
Unsurprisingly, the story inspired countless memes and reactions on social media, with many wondering what the reasoning behind putting on a Christmas show in Sicily on August 31st was.
Arrivato ad Agrigento
per il concerto de Il Volo pic.twitter.com/aOSFUKIgAE— Il Grande Flagello (@grande_flagello) August 29, 2024
With temperatures in Agrigento set to be around 27C on Saturday evening, we’re certain this will be one of the most ‘hotly anticipated’ performances of the year in Italy.
Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news and talking points in Italy that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox, by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
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