VicenzaPiù - Notizie, Inchieste, Analisi su Vicenza e provincia

The tragic sinking of the Concordia off the island of Giglio has brought to international attention what seem to be two sides of Italy - the famous order to the fleeing captain to return to his post - ‘vada a bordo, cazzo!'. This could be a metaphor for our newspaper's message to mayor Variati. Stop protecting vested interests, start cleaning up the local council as promised, instead of remaining silent.
One of our ongoing enquiries regards a council employee, a certain Diego Fontana, who has been acting manager of the council department responsible for the outlying areas of the town, or ‘decentramento' in Italian.

Mr. Fontana, who can only be acting manager, as he lacks a university degree allowing him to be titular manager, was given a second, highly paid job with a temporary contract as secretary of the Pia Cordellina, a semi-public body using its money, amongst other things, to keep the library open at night. The Pia Cordellina itself is an honourable organisation, but Mr. Fontana was required to disclose his cooperation with it, and ask the council to give him a part-time contract. Further enquiries disclosed that Fontana is on the board of the Piscine di Vicenza Spa which runs the local swimming pool, on land owned by the very council for which he works. This and much more.
When Mr. Berlusconi was presented with such information, he regularly spoke of plots organised by communist lackeys. Mr. Variati, reputed to be a personal friend of Fontana, and to have helped him into the positions he now has during his first period as mayor during the Christian Democrat fiefdom, has simply refused to answer. Not even his highly paid spokesman, Mr. Jacopo Bulgarini d'Elci has issued a press release, or whatever. The matter has passed with little comment from the GDV.
I have chosen just one amongst many subjects pursued by Vicenzapiù as an example of the paper's activities.
Perhaps the most disquieting problem we are currently facing, is the air we breathe. There is scarcely a day the air conforms to the guidelines set by the EU. Here again, Vicenza has been slow to introduce meaningful measures to confront the problem. Our neighbours in Padua and Verona seem to have done more - in Padua one hopes the general ban on private traffic in the centre, and the tram help contain the problem. As a Londoner, I can attest to the relative success of the smog tax there, a levy on all private cars within the central area. Certainly, one notices a horrible oily feel to the air on returning from a bicycle ride to the surrounding countryside, or a day out to Venice. My heart goes out to the small children walking along Viale della Pace, their mouths and noses just at the right height to absorb the never ending exhaust fumes.
Perhaps I am being too negative about life in our town. There are still many places where a good glass of wine may be enjoyed without paying more than a euro. One of my favourites is a Verduzzo Dorato del Friuli, a golden, fruity wine, which may be enjoyed at the iconic ‘Bar Flavia' in Via Volta, in the area behind St. Mark's Church. Flavia has been serving wine and meatballs from behind her bar, along with her husband Giuseppe, for over fifty years. And it's still just a euro.
Over the period I've been here, cultural life has become more interesting and diverse. The GDV (Il Giornale di Vicenza) does provide excellent coverage by and large. In a period of crisis, we are all careful - unless we have Mr. Fontana's means at our disposal - about money. There are often free concerts in local churches, and shortly, there will be the very reasonably priced ‘Maschera d'Oro', a series of amateur drama productions, usually well performed, in the Church Hall of St. Mark's. And much, much more.
For those of you of religious bent, this week sees the conclusion of the ecumenical programme organised by the diocese to bring together different Christian confessions to pray together under a single roof. The high point was last Saturday when Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants met in the Romanic Church of San Felice, containing relics of the two brothers, Saints Felice and Fortunato, venerated by Catholic and Orthodox alike. This Tuesday, 24th January, the various groups will congregate in the Serbian Church, former Capella della Misericordia. The activities continue with a series of lectures organised by Monsignor Dal Ferro of the Istituto Rezzara. I have attended some of these lectures in the past, and found them stimulating both intellectually and spiritually. The Monsignor has used what influence he has to open Vicenza up to the new ethnic groups who have flocked to the town sine the 1980's, and to the religious traditions they have brought with them.
Still awaiting your comments.
Robert Lambert
e-mail [email protected]