Uncomfortable truths
A 23-year-old Black woman being appointed regional vice-president feels like a particularly major sign of progress in socially conservative Italy. Mia Diop made history this week in Tuscany, and unfortunately this also triggered some predictable ranting and raving from the usual suspects.
The most high-profile attack came from Roberto Vannacci, 56-year-old League party MEP and party vice-secretary, who suggested that Diop’s only qualifications for the role were “being a PD member and having black skin.”
Vannacci said he was simply voicing some “uncomfortable truths”. Much of the Italian press framed his comments as “polemic” – a political controversy, a debate. Not obvious racism. Just another voice in Italy’s lively democratic discourse.
Vannacci is the type of politician who trades on causing offence. He is best known for his 2023 book Il mondo al contrario (The World Upside Down), which denounced the “dictatorship of minorities” and claimed gay people were “not normal.” The book became a bestseller and led to his suspension from the army for 11 months.
And he has been busy lately. In the last week, Vannacci also posted on Facebook arguing that the March on Rome wasn’t a coup, Mussolini was democratically elected, and fascism operated legally until the mid-1930s. Jewish groups called this “blatant” historical revisionism, while Italian media wrote that “the general has become a history professor.”
This sort of thing doesn’t come close to being covered by Italy’s laws against fascist apology, which apply only in a vanishingly small number of cases. And it’s true that many Italian voters do sympathise with his views to some degree. The country after all has an enduringly popular hard-right government with people like him in it.
Matteo Salvini, League leader and deputy PM, picked Vannacci as the party’s star candidate for the 2024 European Parliament elections – over the objections of some party officials – hoping he would help the populist right-wing party regain visibility lost to Giorgia Meloni’s rising Brothers of Italy.
He certainly is making them visible. Although the League, which once dominated northern Italian politics, is still increasingly marginalised. Former PM Matteo Renzi pointed out this week that Vannacci’s own recent work managing the party’s campaign in Tuscany helped collapse its vote from 22 percent to just over 4 percent.
Advertisement
Senior members of the League are now reportedly threatening to leave unless Vannacci goes. But Salvini himself has denied reports that he agrees Vannacci has become a problem.
His viewpoint isn’t being suppressed or censored – far from it. But, much like the League party itself, it’s becoming less relevant with each passing election.
Made in Italy, protected by UNESCO
Italian cuisine moved a step closer to UNESCO recognition this week. The UN cultural body gave initial approval to Italy’s bid on Monday. If approved, Italian cuisine would join Neapolitan pizza-making and the Mediterranean diet on the organisation’s list.
Italy’s proposal, made jointly by the culture and agriculture ministries, highlights the close links between Italian food, culture, and lifestyle.
But of course, many food experts point out that defining one single “Italian” cuisine is difficult.
Regional variations remain enormous in a country only unified in 1861. Traditional cooking in Friuli-Venezia-Giulia, part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the 19th century, bears little resemblance to Sicilian cuisine, which developed under French and Spanish rule.
Advertisement
The same week, Business and Made in Italy Minister Adolfo Urso railed against what he called an “invasion” of “low quality” foreign products from ultra-fast fashion and e-commerce brands.
For the nationalist government, protecting the “Made in Italy” brand goes beyond economics – it’s about identity.
And yet, when it comes to food, there’s also the fact that, for example, McDonald’s remains wildly popular in Italy. Starbucks continues to expand.
The campaign for UNESCO recognition argues that Italian cuisine represents centuries of tradition, and it points to unifying factors across regions such as the traditional family gathering for Sunday lunch.
But in this case, the government’s drive to promote the idea of one, national brand, or cuisine, sits awkwardly with the reality of Italy’s regional food culture and the intense pride many in the country feel about local traditions.
Let them eat gelato
There’s one less problem to be solved in Italy’s parliament this week, as deputies now have access to a range of artisanal gelato flavours right outside the chamber.
The Montecitorio cafeteria now reportedly stocks gluten-free and vegan flavours including lemon, salted caramel, hazelnut, pistachio, and dark chocolate at €3.50 (for a small cup) or €4.50 (large).
The initiative, promoted by Paolo Trancassini of Fratelli d’Italia, passed the college of quaestors (deputies responsible for streamlining spending and eliminating unnecessary privileges) by two votes to one. It’s intended to promote Made in Italy products, naturally.
Only Five Star Movement (M5S) MP Filippo Scerra voted against, arguing on social media that “we can’t ask citizens to make sacrifices while thinking about ice cream in parliament.”
The Chamber’s cafeteria has a storied history of culinary evolution. During the First Republic, supplì (fried rice croquettes) were the iconic offering.
Under a past M5S-led government, bottles of liquor were quickly removed from the shelves. Even the bottle of aniseed that once stood next to the water fountain for ritual digestifs was cut.
Now, parliament at least has its gelato counter.
Advertisement
Dining and Cooking