Impressioni Culturali di Napoli

Buona Sera! Penso il relativo circa tempo che abbiamo esplorato alcuna della coltura di questa citta , questo paese, questa gente. Che cosa compone... ahh, scusi; Naples has been around for a very long time, and the people here have a homogeneous way of living life. So, lets check out three things: their food; their atmosphere, and the way that they drive. From these, and more to come, we can piece together a puzzle -- how does a Neapolitan live, love, and die?

On food. There's really no one in the world who would tell you that Italians have terrible cuisine, and if they did -- they don't know Italy. But what makes Italian food so good? And is it really so different than American-Italian food? These are secrets we must unlock. So Bon Appetite, lets dig in.

Consistently, the Italians just know how to grow crops better than we do. Its either they have more skill in farming, or more likely, the land favors the growing of vegetables. Whatever it really is, the produce is just fantastic. No American tomato can come close to an Italian one. And since most Italian dishes are made with tomatoes, they are that much better than their Italian-American versions. Credit must be given to the vegetables of Italy, they make up everything else.

Cheese is another part of the normal diet here in Italy. Milk and butter don't usually go into the dishes but rather cheese and oil. Mozzarella is probably the most common cheese, it is served in salads too. It is squishy, having a more creamy taste than American-made mozzarella. And with tomatoes and such a cheese, Naples is the logical birthplace of Pizza. If anyone says, "Pizza isn't the same over there" -- they are wrong! As you can see, it looks the same. This pie is about the size of a large dinner plate. But, one can actually consume it all, because it is paper thin.

Gelato (Ice Cream) is the desert of choice. It is sold pretty much everywhere, in a variety of fruit flavors. It is very creamy and consequently very tasty. One must wonder why Italians are so thin seeing that they eat so many fatty things. We'll have to find out more on that, later.

Naples is Mediterraneann and it is always warm here. It rains some in the winter, but it never really gets freezing cold. Its landscape does change, but around Naples, it is like having steep mountains rise right out of the sea floor. Truly an impressive view. Neapolitans don't seem to mind their terrain. They build on everything -- with tunnels and bridges and roads going every which way.

Driving is another insight to Neapolitan way of life. A lot can be said about the cars (all small, mostly with hatchbacks) and the way they are driven. Rules of the road don't seem to apply anywhere. I guess it could be summed up with something like this, "Me first, waiting in lines is for others, and I'm looking to beat you to the front so I can get there first. If you cut me off, no problem -- I'll get you next time." Stress doesn't exist, but nor does any sense of organization. Many Neapolitan cars have moderate body damage. Oh-- and speed limits? forget those, those would get in the way you being there first.

Let me try to describe to you the differences in a comparative story. Imagine you woke up tomorrow and you decided to drive like a Neapolitan to work through rush hour. You'd get into a car, half the size of your own, and take off. At the light, you'd stop, but small motorcycles behind you wouldn't. If you leave any space at all between you and the cars in front of you -- they'd pass you by on both sides. Ok, the light is green, floor the gas and start down the road. Someone is in front of you? Pass them, ignore the white solid and dashed lines. Make a third lane out of the extra space on the right side if you can. Cut around them, don't signal -- never signal, and just drift into the left lane where there's just enough space to pass the next car. Hey, motorcycles are zooming on past you ahead, you can't allow this personal insult to happen! Ok here comes another light, stop -- and never mind if you are 1 foot or 1 inch from the guy next to you. You beat two cars this light, what a spectacular strategic victory! But, you've made two "enemies" who will calmly seek your demise for the next light, with smiles on their faces.

In America, you'd have at least twenty road violations by the time you got to your destination. You'd have seen the middle finger plenty of times, and probably you'd have someone laying on the horn for a whole minute. Heck, you may even be dead.

What a place this is, eh? There's just so much culture to absorb and digest here -- we'll just have to continue exploring tomorrow. :)