Education
Galileo, Dante, Petrarch, Machiavelli, Pico della Mirandola... The list of great minds of Italian origin who have shaped the history of Western thought is impressive. Admittedly, the myth is a little cracked today, and universities are no longer points of reference for the upper echelons of society. But Tuscany, the birthplace of humanism and the Renaissance, has a long and proud history of education and teaching.
School, which is of course compulsory, is divided into four periods of study: scuola materna (3 to 5 years), scuola elementare (6 to 11 years), scuola media (up to 14 years), then scuola secondaria before university. Interestingly, children with disabilities attend the same schools as everyone else.
Family and birth rate
Tuscany and Elba reflect national trends: a birth rate of 9 ‰ for a higher death rate (10.4 ‰). Worse still, the fertility rate has fallen to a record low of 1.4 children per woman (one of the lowest in the EU), insufficient therefore to renew each generation, the aging of the population is only getting worse. It is predicted that Italy's population will fall by over 4 million within 30 years! Many factors can explain this phenomenon, and will only exacerbate it: urbanization and the rural exodus, the fading of the Church's discourse to which young people are increasingly indifferent.
Although the family, long the foundation of Italian society, is gradually losing its influence, it remains a fundamental value for Tuscans, so strongly attached to tradition and blood. Admittedly, the family circle is not, as in Sicily, the backbone of being and community, or the assurance of security and shelter, but it is a permanent focus of attention. The importance given to the family stems from Tuscany's rural past and clan spirit, when individual survival depended on the cohesion and cooperation of the wider family group. Family businesses still exist, particularly in the food and wine industries, and it's easy to see how the notions of blood ties, roots and community take on an almost sacred and ineffable dimension at major traditional events.
Elbois character
The Tuscan is a far cry from the passionate, frivolous and free-spirited Neapolitan! They are often serious, discreet, thrifty, concerned with their outward appearance and social success. Of course, this is only a general impression. The Elbois are very generous towards foreigners, eager to help them discover this piece of land long overshadowed by its intimidating Tuscan neighbor. They're open-minded, so you'll have no trouble starting a conversation or obtaining information.
Here's an interesting passage that reveals the Elbois character, described in manuscripts emanating from the Napoleonic campaign. F.H. Arnaud, in his Précis historique de la Campagne de 1814, writes: "The Elbois are naturally gentle, hospitable and attached to the place where they were born. The frugal lifestyle they lead helps to make them healthy and robust. They love to hunt, are good sailors, and enjoy strenuous exercise. If their territory is threatened by invasion, they all become soldiers. Love of work and bravery are qualities that set them apart
Place of the woman
La donna... Ah, women and Italians - it's no legend! Petrarch sang of Laure, Dante praised Beatrice, and film-makers Fellini and Antonioni their respective muses. The feminists and the sexual revolution of the 1970s didn't ruin the myth but, on the contrary, liberated women from the reductive role of mamma that still often prevails in the South, and the no less reductive, decorative role in which their "liberation" initially confined them. Boys and girls have the same education and the same career expectations. Divorce has been permitted since 1970 (and confirmed following the 1974 referendum), new contraceptive methods have appeared, and abortion has been decriminalized. Women are finding new roles in society and, as we have seen, the birth rate (1.4 children per woman) is one of the lowest in Europe.
Homosexuality
The last major Western European country to grant no status to same-sex couples, Italy legalized such a union in 2016. In this deeply Catholic country attached to traditional family values, reactions to a couple of men or women holding hands in the street can vary from city to city... On the island of Elba, there are a number of "gay-friendly" establishments open to all, especially gays and lesbians, as well as a beach well known to the LGBT community, the spiaggia di Acquarilli, between Lacona and Capoliveri.
An island that's somewhat forgotten?
Tourism, mass tourism in some places, began to develop in the 1970s. Systematically centered on sun, sea and sand, it does, however, give rise to interactions with local traditions and customs. On the island of Elba, the result shows some negative socio-cultural consequences. Handicrafts, cultural practices and above all local gastronomy have sometimes been adapted to suit visitors' tastes. Don't be surprised if, in a restaurant, you're handed a menu in English or German, offering nothing but spaghetti carbonara and tiramisu... Rest assured, there are many fine restaurants on the island, and we're here to help you find them!
