The Days of Abandonment

The Days of Abandonment, or I giorni dell'abbandono, while being the title of a captivating, strange and disconcerting novel by Elena Ferrante (soon to be reviewed in Three Moneys Online), is also an apt description for The View from Bologna of late.

It's not that things have been uneventful in this part of the world. Far from it. Recent weeks have seen news from the world of high finance (Parmalat and Banca Italia both worth a mention), politics (efforts by the government to change the electoral system mere months away from an election), and culture (there's a crop of outstanding movies, books, records released in recent weeks).

On top of all, that the continuing tension between the sacred and the secular is worth a mention. The Church has been far from quiet in recent weeks, pronouncing on political support for PACS (Patto Civile di Solidarietà - a contract, similar to marriage, between consenting adults) as being anti-family. Abortion, in particular in the form of the pill RU-486, which recently had clinical trials in Italy suspended by health minister Storace, is back in the news and looks set to be an election issue.

In Milan a prominent Islamic school, which taught solely in Arabic, has been shut down causing much debate over the rights and responsibilities of immigrants in Italy. Italian troops remain in Iraq, and terrorist attacks have been simulated spectacularly in both Rome and Milan (to be followed in other Italian cities over the coming months).

In short, much has been going on. It's not that this Monkey has had his eye off the ball. Perhaps, indeed, the break in transmission has been because too much has been going on.

All of the above events will be trickling through the opinionated filter of The View from Bologna over the coming days/weeks.

Over and out.

Posted by 3Monkeys at

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