The true Italy is only to be found by patient observation.
— E. M. Forster
What draws us to Italy? Is it the food, the art, the history, the wine, the natural beauty or is it more? Millions plan to visit the Great Wall, the Pyramids, the Ganges once in a lifetime. Most, when given a choice, will return to Italy over and over. Italy is such a sweet addiction. Once smitten you never shake it off or get enough. Someone aptly said: each of us is an amalgamation of three different beings: how others see us, how we see ourselves and what we truly are. Can Italy and the Italians be viewed in a similar manner?
Fatal Attraction — What we observe may lie somewhere between two well known quotes: Was in short, ever well to be elsewhere when one might be in Italy? — Edith Wharton and Italy is not technically part of the Third World, but no one has told the Italians. — P. J. O’Rourke. This discordant combination of irresistible charm and warm chaos draws us like moths to a flame. It’s far too easy to envision Italy or the Italians as a kind of suave, bad boy perpetually sweeping dainty damsels off their feet. Actually, we clamor for it. Methinks it is not quite how they appear to us but rather it’s the mesmerizing effect this place and its people have had on mankind ever since Aeneas, a hero of the Trojan war, first set foot in Italy.
In the early nineties Frances Mayes captured our attention and heart by revealing simple day to day encounters with ordinary Italians. By the end of the decade every villa in Tuscany had dozens of copies of Under the Tuscan Sun left behind by guests who had sought and found their holy grail. In the new millennium Linda Dini Jenkins masterfully joined this illustrious cabal of writers enthralled with Italy in her most recent outing: Up at the Villa — Travels with my Husband. Most of her book is dedicated to Italy. Linda went beyond relating encounters, she infused her work with poems, images, recipes, travel tips and ultimately the passion this country and its inhabitants imbued her with. Italians, it seems, have an uncanny ability to strike hidden chords within us that both excite and soothe our spirit. This is how I believe we view them...
The charm of Italy is akin to that of being in love.
— Stendahl
Stay tuned for part 2: The Italians — Who do they think they are?
Hint: Men of genius do most when they work least” Leonardo da Vinci
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