A happy event
The arrival of a newborn baby comes with a variety of traditions. To announce the birth to the neighborhood, the fascio nascita, a blue cockade if it's a boy, pink if it's a girl, is hung on the door of the house. Baptism is still widely practiced in Catholic families, even those who declare themselves non-practising. Finally, even today, in some families in the Modena region, the birth of a child is still accompanied by the acquisition of a new set of barrels for making balsamic vinegar, which ages and improves as the child grows older. In the past, this set of barrels was even part of the dowry of young girls to be married!
The family, core of Italian society
In Italy, family ties remain very strong, and the pivot of this social unit is the mamma, the Italian mother. The term "mammism" is used to refer to the closeness of the mother to her children. Italians are unable to cut the umbilical cord; we see "big boys" (known as mammoni) staying with their mamma
until the age of 30 or older, or getting married but living only a few minutes away from the family home! As for marriage, it remains a major event in family life, and often the occasion of a great ceremony. In Emilia-Romagna, instead of the traditional sugared almonds(confetti), guests are offered zuccherini, ring-shaped biscuits symbolizing the wedding ring. There are many proverbs in the Emilian-Romagna dialect that deal with marriage and are particularly truculent regarding the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law: Nuora e suocera, è un prosciutto ancora da tagliare: "Daughter-in-law and mother-in-law are like a ham still to be sliced" (implied: one does not know how it will be)!The educational system
Public school is free and compulsory up to the age of 16 and the school divisions are as follows:
La scuola dell'infanzia
is the nursery school, which takes in children from 3 to 6 years old.La scuola primaria
, which lasts 5 years, corresponds to our primary education and is for children from 6 to 10 years old. They have about 30 hours of lessons per week, spread over 6 days.The scuola media is the lower secondary education, equivalent to the French collège. It concerns 11-14 year olds and lasts 3 years, at the end of which the student is subject to an exam, the licenza media
.The liceo corresponds to the general secondary education of the second cycle and lasts 5 years. Students can choose between classical, scientific, linguistic or artistic studies. The final exam, the maturità
, corresponds to the French baccalaureate. Finally, it should be noted that in both collège and lycée, classes take place in the mornings from Monday to Saturday until about 1pm. Unless the child is enrolled in an extra-curricular activity, the afternoon is free: this will answer the recurring question that one asks oneself when travelling in Italy: "But why aren't these young people at school?"! As for the university system, it is divided into two cycles, of 5 years in total. After the first three years, a three-year laurea (which corresponds to a French licence) is awarded, then it takes another two years to obtain a laurea magistrale (a master's degree). Emilia-Romagna has four universities. The University of Bologna, founded in 1088, has the prestigious title of the oldest university in the world. It is internationally renowned and attracts about 80,000 students from Italy and around the world, with the student life that goes with it and contributes to the dynamism and vitality of Bologna. The other three universities are in Parma, Ferrara and Modena.Osteria, table settings... and football..
In Italy more than anywhere else, the meal is a moment of conviviality and sociability. The multiplication of litters (antipasti, primo, secondo, dolce, digestivo, caffè
) is perhaps only intended to keep the commensals at the table as long as possible! The meal can thus drag on, and brings together family and friends in a moment of sharing.In spite of this apparent abundance of food, the Italian is not a particularly big eater and the cuisine, if generous, is rarely gargantuan. Italians are not heavy drinkers either, they consume alcohol in natural moderation. This would not be a new phenomenon if we are to believe the manuscripts of the late Middle Ages in which the authors of the peninsula unreservedly criticize the gluttony and propensity for alcohol of their Germanic neighbours!
Food and drink sometimes appear more as a pretext for social bonding. A good example of this is the tradition of theaperitivo
at the end of the afternoon: Italians gather on the terrace, over a drink and a snack, and chatting happily, while watching the flow of passers-by distractedly.The bar is a place to socialize at any time of the day: in the morning, many Italians line up along the counter to swallow an espresso
before heading off to work, exchanging a few words with the waiter or other customers.In Bologna, the tradition of osteria is strongly rooted: theosteria is an establishment that today corresponds to our restaurant, but was previously synonymous with an inn. People used to meet there to drink, to swallow a dish of traditional cuisine, to play dice, cards or simply to pass the time. Some of these osteria
have retained their picturesque and popular character, with their long tables and wooden benches, as at the Osteria del Sole in Bologna. It was also possible to meet all social classes, from the nobility to the workers, intellectuals, prostitutes, artists and students. Nowadays, football(calcio) brings together all ages and all strata of society, a true national religion! During a match, social distinctions fade away and the tifosi (supporters) unite fervently to cheer on their team, whistle at the opponent who has committed a foul and comment on the actions. Football is also a family affair, and it is common to see parents in the stands with their offspring, alongside early pensioner supporters and groups of teenagers. The atmosphere in a stadium in Italy is generally good-natured and acts of hooliganism are rare. However, every club has its own group of 'Ultras' and some are notorious for their violence (Rome, Verona); in Emilia-Romagna, the Piacenza club has its local group of far-right Ultras, responsible for disturbances in the 1980s and 1990s. But hooliganism is generally not part of the Italian fan's DNA, and attending a match in Italy is still a great opportunity to soak up the spirit of a community around one's national sport.
