Category Archives: Law and order

Parli Italiano?

28 Friday Jan 2011

Posted by in Customs, Italian bureaucracy, Italian habits and customs, Italy, Law and order, Uncategorized

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Illustration courtesy of Tile Hill Wood School

Italy has passed a new law that requires immigrants to offer proof of proficiency in the Italian language and to have a basic understanding of Italian culture.  Wow!  Can you imagine that happening in the U.S.?  Here are the details as set out by Baker and McKenzie in their website:

On June 10, 2010, the Italian Government enacted a new decree… that introduces substantial new developments for what concerns immigration permits. Once fully enforced, these new provisions will apply to all non-EU citizens who enter Italy for the first time with a stay permit having a duration of at least 1 year or more. Purpose of the new law is to guarantee that foreigners, who will be living in Italy for a long period of time, integrate in the community where they live and conditions the renewal of the stay permit to a series of new obligations that must be fulfilled by the foreigner.

The main aspects of this new law may be summarized as follows:

a) upon presenting an application for a stay permit, for whatever reason this may be (work; study; humanitarian reasons, etc.), the foreigner will be required to execute an agreement according to which he/she undertakes, in the following 2 years, to acquire sufficient knowledge of the Italian language (lev. A2) as well as Italian civic culture and lifestyle.

b) in order to help the foreigner acquire the knowledge mentioned above, the Italian Republic will sponsor adequate projects and in any case will hold courses of civic culture free of charge.

c) upon execution of the agreement mentioned above in a, the foreigner will be granted 16 credits. If he/she does not participate in the courses of Italian civic culture, mentioned above in b, he/she automatically looses 15 credits.

d) credits may be increased (to a maximum of 30 credits) if the foreigner participates in courses or acquires certificates, diplomas or degrees. Instead, credits may be lost if the foreigner incurs in criminal sanctions or even serious breach of administrative and tax laws.

e) the Immigration Office (Sportello Unico per l’Immigrazione), via the documentation that must be provided by the foreigner him/herself, will verify if he/she has acquired the 30 credits necessary to sustain a test, organized by the Immigration Office, to ascertain knowledge of the Italian language and Italian culture.

f) if the foreigner acquires 30 credits and passes the test mentioned above, his/her stay permit is renewed. An extension of one year, for the fulfillment of obligations deriving from the agreement, may be granted in the event that the foreigner has not acquired 30 credits at the end of the first 2-year period. Instead, with 0 or less credits, the foreigner will not receive renewal of his/her stay permit and will be forced to leave the country.

Leave it to Italy to make the process incredibly complicated.  Credits?  Pluses and minuses?  Why not just give the exam and then issue a card proving successful completion?  I know why!  It would require only a testing room at the Questura, instead of numerous teachers, classes, etc.  I can’t help but think that Italy herself is in love with all the layers of bureaucracy that make the rest of us wring our hands.  Surely it could have been designed more simply.

Two things strike me particularly about this law:  The first is that it applies only to non-EU immigrants.  I suspect it had to be written that way to appease Brussels, but it does rather favor those immigrants coming from the new eastern members of the Union (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) over those from the Middle East and Africa, to say nothing of those coming from the U.S., Canada and South America.  Fair?  Not really, but then perhaps that isn’t the point.

The second is that while the government will sponsor courses in civic culture, it is up to the immigrant to keep track of all those pesky credits and present himself at the Immigration Office in a timely fashion – another example of people being given responsibility for their own record-keeping (as discussed in this old post). Come to think of it, maybe this is a good introduction for the new arrival to this do-it-yourself feature of Italian life.

What would happen if a similar law were passed in the U.S?  Well, first of all, such a law never would be passed because it would be deemed discriminatory.  But if through some strange course of events it were, what a hue and cry there would be!  There are whole pockets of immigrant populations scattered about the country who have maintained a strong ‘foreign’ cultural identity.  The Captain’s own grandmother lived in Illinois for 60 years and never learned to speak English.  No one came after her waving a language law.

What it boils down to for an immigrant is the conflict between assimilation into a new culture, and maintaining one’s own, often very different, cultural identity.  Personally I think it’s an excellent idea to learn the language, geography and history of the country to which one moves.  I’m just not sure passing a law to make it mandatory (for some) is the best way to go about getting it done.  And I’m quite unclear on what the actual motivation behind this particular Italian law might be, though I have some suspicions, based on no clear evidence at all.

Polizia Stradale

21 Friday May 2010

Posted by in Driving in Italy, Italian habits and customs, Law and order, Uncategorized

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While we’re on the subject of police, which we were very briefly in April, it seems the Italian police are making a huge public relations effort just now.  Our guest and I made a day trip to Genova last week, and among the many delights that city offers we stumbled upon a Road Safety Exhibition at the seaside near the Palazzo San Giorgio.  The Carabinieri and the Polizia  Stradale were there in numbers, including this gentlemen entertaining a group of youngsters.  Behind the auto’s open hatch is a radar speed gun which can be used either from a stationary position or from a moving police car.  Bah!  The autostradas now have a nasty thing called Tutor, which is a fixed speed gun mounted to various bridges, etc.  But this little item below is really mean – it can get you coming or going.

Part of road safety, alas, is the ambulance service.  Finally the young fellow on the right below was able to answer our confusion about all the different colored Crosses – Croce Rossa, Croce Bianca, Croce Verde (Red, White, Green)- all of which seem to operate ambulance services in and around Rapallo.  The Red Cross is affiliated with the International Red Cross and is a professional outfit; some of the participants are paid.  The Croce Verde and Croce Biancha instead are all-volunteer organizations.  Just to make things more complicated, there is also a Croce Rosa (Pink Cross), also volunteer; I don’t believe they operate in our area (please tell me if you know otherwise!).  A few years back I needed a quick trip to a hospital.  I can’t tell you which color cross came to cart me off, but whoever they were, they were fantastic.

Just a cotton-pickin’ minute…  Why are the Carabiniere on BMW’s?  Can’t Ducati or Bimota or Cagiva or Moto Guzzi make a good enough cycle for our national police??

Only by the sea will you find fast floating rescue vehicles like the jet ski below, this one under the auspices of the Fire Department. Personally I never think of boats catching fire, but evidently they do.  There were 42 serious fires/explosions on boats in 2006, just in the U.K!

This was my favorite exhibit, though.  It’s another fire department truck that is also a boat!  Wouldn’t that be fun?  (I want one, after I get my car that turns into an airplane…).  When the baby below blew her horn we jumped out of our skins – think of standing inside a foghorn and you’ll have the general idea.

We arrived at the Expo at about 12:30 p.m., which by sacred decree is part of Italy’s lunch hours, so there were not many people visiting the Expo.  That was good for us, because we got to speak with the people in the booths.  It’s great to see the Police of all stripes making an effort to educate and to be friendly and helpful.  Even if they do have those @#$! speed guns.

Bersalgieri Visit Rapallo

23 Friday Oct 2009

Posted by in Italian men, Italy, Law and order, Photographs, Rapallo, Uncategorized

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For a couple of weeks the main streets of Rapallo have been criss-crossed with hundreds of little Italian flags.  Why? we wondered.  This weekend we found out: the Bersaglieri visted Rapallo and some neighboring towns for a gathering of the Corps from central and northern Italy.  There were many events around their visit, including a concert on Saturday evening and a parade on Sunday morning.  We were able to go to the parade for a few hours, which made us  swell with pride, if not for being Italian, at least for living here.

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There’s something about a uniform – or at least there always has been for me – and the signature feathers of the Bersaglieri hat are so over the top (oh excuse the pun) that they are divine.  Where did that idea ever come from?  Was it a type of ill-thought-out camouflage?  Perhaps it was to suggest the speed of flight (though wood grouse, the source of the feathers, have never been noted for speed)?  Me?  I think it was simply a Style Statement, and a very fine one, too.

The Bersaglieri were founded in 1836 to serve as high-speed infantry in the Piemontese Army (this was before Italy was unified). Piemonte could not afford a large, expensive horse-mounted cavalry, so instead developed a superb corps of sharp-shooters that featured quick movement, either on foot or bicycles, and later on motorcycles.  The Bersaglieri never walk – they run everywhere, whether in training, in the field, or in a parade. Their demanding physical training made them useful as mountain troops, too; the Alpini, the elite mountain troops, were founded in 1872, and there is still a friendly rivalry between the two groups (there were several groups of Alpini in the parade and some proud veterans watching).  While there have been as many as 12 regiments of Bersaglieri in the past, today there are six, and they are all now mechanized.

pre-parade (15)

In addition to unique headgear and running everywhere, the Bersaglieri are famous for their fanfara, the brass bands that accompany every regiment.  The musicians must be adept not only at playing, but at playing as they run, because they, too, are obliged to run everywhere they go.  The Fanfara from northern and central Italy formed the major part of Sunday’s parade, and they certainly impressed with their musical skill and physical stamina!

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During World War II there were both bicycle and motorized troops:

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There was a huge ovation for the oldest gent on a bicycle – 92 years old and still going strong:

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And how about the fellow who has to ride a bike AND play the trumpet??

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I find it very moving to see old Vets watching a parade, and Sunday was no exception.  There were scores of former Bersaglieri watching the parade; it wasn’t always easy to read their expressions.

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And of course there was a viewing stand full of dignitaries:

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A parade is always fun, and a military parade particularly stirring.  But only in Italy, I think, will you find a military parade that showcases such stamina, showmanship and style in one package: The Bersaglieri.

If you’re interested in some more photos of the parade, you may see them at a web album here.  I recommend a slide show, F11 for full screen.

Stop, look and listen

10 Saturday Oct 2009

Posted by in Driving in Italy, Italy, Law and order, Piemonte, Uncategorized

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We are very dull here in Rapallo, I am beginning to think.  Granted, there’s lots of traffic and hubbub downtown, scooters darting in and out of traffic, pedestrians crossing outside the zebra stripes.  But it is the stripes themselves that makes me think we are dull.  Our stripes are the plain old white stripes depicted in the driving manual.  Here’s an example:

rapallo beauty nice ass

(This is an old photo so it shows more of the crosser and less of the crosswalk, but you get the idea…)

This past week we were, once again, in Piemonte (about which you’ll hear more in an upcoming post).  Now there’s a region that knows how to make its crosswalks attractive  and eye-catching.  How about this snappy blue?

crosswalk blue

Red has ever been the color of caution, and this red crosswalk would make any pedestrian feel safe.

crosswalk red-2

But my very favorite is, granted, a variation on the white theme, but done with such artistry.  Nothing says class, whether it’s in the foyer, the bath, or inlaid in the street, more than marble.

crosswalk white

Say… isn’t that the captain crossing outside the stripes?  I bet he didn’t stay in the lines when he colored as a kid, either.

In the spirit of fairness I have to say that just in the last year Rapallo has added some very sparkly little lights that blink feverishly at night along the boundaries of some of the zebra crossings.  But only some of them, which makes me wonder if the others aren’t more easily overlooked by speeding motorists expecting the twinkling visual cue?  In any event, they look quite modern and marvelous… when it’s dark outside.

I’m feeling pretty good about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, so I’ve come up with my own design for a crosswalk, using all the others for inspiration:

flag of crosswalksb

L’ICI

17 Monday Aug 2009

Posted by in Italian bureaucracy, Italy, Law and order, Rapallo, Uncategorized

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So, what did you think when you read the title ‘L’ICI?  Lice?  Itch?  Well, in a way both are correct, since  L’ICI (pronounced leach’-eee) has been a pesky little problem that’s been driving us nuts.

Rapallo coat of arms

The ICI (eetchy!) is Italy’s real estate tax.  We’ve always been thrilled at how small it is compared to what we’re accustomed to paying in the U.S., where such taxes generally pay for public education.  I’m not sure what the ICI pays for here – it is a tax imposed by the commune (the town), and is used for ‘services.’  It seems to me that we are already taxed for just about every service we receive (garbage, TV, etc.), but I digress.

When we first bought our house we went to the Tribute Office where such things are paid, and asked how much we owed.  Perish the thought that a taxing body should actually prepare and send a bill!  No.  It is up to the tax-payer to a) know that there is a tax due, b) know how much it is and c) know where, when and how to pay it.  Okay.  We can and have learned this stuff, and keep a careful calendar so we won’t miss any payments.  The trick we never mastered was knowing how much to pay, so each year we went to the office and they were nice enough to tell us.  Sort of.

Last year we received a certified letter that we had to pick up an important document at the Tribute.  It turned out that since 2002 we had been paying an incorrect amount, on two counts.  First, we were paying as if our house were still a rustico instead of a restructured habitation (in spite of the fact that our geometra filed the correct forms informing the commune of the change) and second, only the Captain’s share of the tax had been paid, and that was only half of what was owed.  So we owed in excess of E 800.  They were nice enough to understand that these were honest mistakes (and not just ours), so the accrued penalties and interest were set aside.  Grudgingly we paid – yet another unexpected and large expense.  We still don’t understand why the office didn’t give us the correct amounts due each year when we trudged in to ask.

L’ICI for primary homes was abolished beginning last year (thank you, Mr. Berlusconi), which means we no longer pay.  Only businesses and those who own more than one home now have to pay.  But the ICI wasn’t finished with us, not yet.  We received a note this year telling us that we had not paid for 2002.  We hauled out the many forms and receipts left over from last year’s adventure and discovered that in fact we had nothing to show we’d paid more than the original incorrect amount in 2002.  So back the Captain went to the Tribute Office, gathered all the materials and, once again, we will be making an unexpected tax payment.

We shouldn’t complain, I suppose.  It is still way, way less than Americans pay annually in property taxes.  It’s just the inefficiency of it all that drives us crazy.  They probably never would have cottoned to the errors if the tax on primary residence hadn’t been abolished, but now I guess the workers in the Tribute office have time on their hands.

This should be the end of our ICI Adventure, but you just never know in Italy.  These things have a strange way of being resurrected at the most inopportune times.

Under attack?

27 Saturday Jun 2009

Posted by in Crime, Law and order, Uncategorized

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Lately we’ve felt a bit like we’re under attack.

First it was the Attack of the Teen-Age Firebombers.  Well, ok, that’s overstating it: it was just little fire-crackers.  But it was almost midnight, I Firecrackerswas up alone, and they made a big flash of light and then a loud bang when they landed on the front terrace.  And there were 17 of them, which seems excessive, and that doesn’t count the dozen that were set off in our mailbox.  I finally woke up the Captain who went outside and shook his fist and shouted at the departing figures, lads from a nearby settlement we surmise.  That was harmless, all in all, but it was unsettling because they were not throwing the flash booms anywhere except at our house.

A week or so later we went to our parcheggio to find that our sweet little Mini had been ‘keyed’ from stem to stern.  It wasn’t casual, because it’s very clear that whoever did it started on the front fender and decided he wasn’t going deep enough, so he started over, deeper, and did the full length of the car, ending at the back of the rear fender.  We have insurance, but that’s hardly the point – it’s the wanton defacement that is upsetting.  Were we singled out?  Who knows.  The trattoria across the street had over 150 guests that evening, and some of them were pretty drunk by the time they left.  But we have no way of knowing who did the deed or when.

The most recent insult is a large stone that was thrown on our roof from the road above.  That sounds harmless enough, and in fact it was harmless.  But our roof, like most of them here, is made of clay tiles, and it is reasonable to assume that if you throw a large rock from above it will break some of the tiles, leading to the inconvenience, expense and risk (it’s a high roof) of repairs.  We were lucky that either the rock was too small or the tiles too strong for any damage to occur.

RinoNonetheless, I’m feeling paranoid.  It’s always such a shock to see or suffer from an act that is just purely mean.  It happens the world over, I guess.  The firecrackers were probably just kids goofing around.  But the car and the rock are on a different order – those were done with intent to damage. And I’m thinking about surveillance cameras…  what a way to live.  Or maybe… maybe we’ll call Cugino Rino in Genova.  He has a menacing laugh that would scare the devil – we’ll just get him to come over here and laugh around the neighborhood a little, and then no one will dare harm us or our property again!

Permesso ad nauseam

25 Saturday Apr 2009

Posted by in Italian bureaucracy, Italy, Law and order, Uncategorized

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This is a two-part post.  The first was written before April 21st, the second part afterwards…

Some stories just grind on, and on, and on…  the end just may be in sight, though, for the Tale of the Elusive Permessi.

Our former Permessi di Soggiorno, the very important documents that give us permission to be in the country, expired last July.  With the invaluable help of the Patronato office in Rapallo we each applied (in May!) for a Carta di Soggiorno, which will give us a permission of longer duration.  (The accounts of this adventure up to now can be found here.)  Unfortunately the process was not completed before we left the country in November.

The Captain was able to navigate the Questura’s website when we got back, and found, to our delight, that our Permessi are now ready for us. Yippee!!  But of course one cannot simply show up at the Questura and ask for them; one must make an appointment.  And there’s only one way to do that.  One must go to the Questura.  In Genova.  On a Tuesday or Thursday between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m.  Well, okay… seems a little Baroque, but we’re game.

So we hopped on the local train (I love any train ride, so I was thrilled), rode 40 minutes to Genova, trotted tpermesso-appointmento the gate at the Questura, thrust our passports under the glass and were issued with two little slips of paper with the day (April 21), the time (10:00 a.m.) and the numbers of our appointments.  Then we jogged back to the train station and just caught a train which, 40 minutes later, dropped us in Rapallo.

Next Tuesday, April 21, we will repeat the exercise, although we know full well that we will sit in the waiting room for an indeterminate amount of time until our names are called.  At least this time we have been given appointments on the same day.  We had to go on successive days last time.  With luck we will be given shiny new Carte di Soggiorno that will last us five years.  By which time we will have forgotten what a long process this has been.

I’m not really complaining about Italian bureaucracy (yes I am); it’s their country, and they are very nice to allow us to be here at all, and we are happy (well, willing anyway – what choice do we have?) to comply with any and all requirements to stay here.  But doesn’t it seem odd that one cannot make an appointment by phone, fax or e-mail?  They’ve seen the passports before and taken fingerprints and, and, and…  In fact, why not just mail us the Permessi?  Oh gosh, there I go again, being all American and efficient.  Where’s the fun in that?

———– TIME PASSES————-

Okay… it’s disclaimer time…

We went to the Questura at the appointed time, and after only a little confusion were sent down to the Immigration waiting room.  Here is the rest of the 10 o’clock gang:

questura-waiting-roomIt’s a stuffy room at the best of times, so we prefer to wait outside where we can also keep an eye on the room to which we will eventually be summoned.  That’s it on the right behind all the glass:

questura

Now here’s the amazing thing.  Our appointments were for 10 a.m., and we were actually called in at 10:30.  We have never, ever, had such a short wait at the Questura.  Not only that, once one is called in there is frequently another long wait inside.  Not this time.  There were two people in front of us, each of whom took less than five minutes.  The Captain walked up to the glass partition when his number was called, pushed his passport and old permesso through, and back came a paper for a signature, followed rapidly by an envelope containing his permesso card and a bunch of secret codes for things we don’t understand (yet).  Then it was my turn, and everything was just as expeditious.

We walked out of the Questura at 10:45, both proud holders of Permessi di Soggiorno that are good until 2013 – that’s four years!  It makes us feel almost indolent to have that much time before we must repeat the process.  Now the trick will be to remember to apply for the new permessi in late 2012…

Culture Shock X 2

22 Saturday Nov 2008

Posted by in Customs, Italian habits and customs, Italy, Law and order, Photographs, Travel

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You know the old joke: In heaven the French are the cooks, the Italians are the lovers, the Germans are the engineers, and the English are the diplomats; in hell the Germans are the lovers, the English are the cooks, the Italians are the engineers and the French are the diplomats.  Flying from Italy to spend a couple of nights in historic Mainz, Germany on the banks of the Rhine made us think of that.

Our first indication that we were in the Land of Precision was the airplane trip itself.  We had a 20-minute connection in Munich to catch a flight to Frankfurt.  Lufthansa had a van waiting for us when our first flight ended which whisked us to the other side of the airfield and our second flight.  Amazing.  Meanwhile, in Rome a friend was enduring a 5-hour delay for his Alitalia flight and, needless to say, he missed all his ensuing connections.  We can only say that if you have the choice between Lufthansa and other carriers, you won’t regret choosing the former.

Some things were remarkably similar, for instance, the market, where only the mittens and heavy jackets told us we were no longer on the Riviera:

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Mittens, jackets, and, oh jawohl! the background:

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That is the Dom, the great central cathedral of old Mainz.

The good burghers live on the other side of the platz:

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When we left Rapallo the Christmas lights were just being strung across the streets and wound around the palm trees.  In Mainz, too, Christmas was definitely in the air:

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Big trees like the one behind this fountain were being placed in all the main squares.  And what says “Christmas” in Germany more than this?

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Good as the Italians are at most things culinary, they have not yet mastered the gingerbread house, or, for that matter, the angry Santa.  What is wrong with him?? Must be those pesky elves misbehaving again.

Speaking of gingerbread, you don’t see many houses like this in Italy:

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But above all, the culture shock of being in Germany was the cleanliness and order that was all around. Italians are more casual about such things.  What exemplified it best for us was the difference in airport trash receptacles.  In the Genova airport they are here and there, and on the floor around them is evidence of well-intentioned but careless effort.  In the Frankfurt airport on the other hand, the trash receptacles look like this:

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They are almost frightening.

Part Two of culture shock was arriving at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in Texas. We flew on American Airlines which was comfortable, on time, and staffed with very pleasant flight attendants.  America!  We were honest citizens and, on the customs form, said Yes to the question, ‘are you bringing food with you.’  Our punishment was to be sent to the Agriculture Inspection Area where a long line awaited processing.  Fortunately a kindly inspector took pity on us, quizzed us on our cheese and olive oil, and let us through.  A few years ago I brought a cat into Italy with nary a glance from the customs officers to whom I tried to introduce him at the Milano airport.  So, Officials and Inspections and Security, all on a level a bit above that we’ve grown accustomed to.  (On the other hand, no one holds a candle to Italians when it comes to plain old bureaucracy.)

Then there’s size.  Everything seems huge in America when one is accustomed to Italian scale.  Beginning with the large people, and moving right along to the large automobiles, roads and houses which accommodate them.  It’s a change of scale that takes one’s breath away.

We’re in Arizona now, and will be for a few months, having traded a sea of water for one of sand.  Oddly, though we’ve always been Americans, we feel a bit like expatriots in our own country now; perhaps we’ve been living away too long.  Or perhaps this is just a first reaction, and after a week or two we’ll slip back into a more comfortable place. Just now being here feels like wearing shoes that don’t fit exactly right: some places are too loose, and others pinch too much. Rather like the shoes we wear in Italy.

Permesso, Part the Third

13 Thursday Nov 2008

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In May and August I wrote about our efforts to renew our permessi di sogiorno, this time with 6-year permits (you can read about it here and here).  In addition to the phone call we received in August instructing the Captain to report to the Questura in Genova, we each got a letter telling us when to appear.  Unfortunately my date was yesterday, his today.  Sigh.

So yesterday we jumped in the Mini and tore off for Genova in the rain. We arrived a little early and were doing some window-shopping when suddenly we heard a great babble of voices, accompanied by police sirens.  We ran across a highway to catch sight of this:

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The students were on strike again yesterday!

There have been nationwide strikes since Prime Minister Berlusconi proposed and the Parliament passed a budget which contains massive cuts for education  (E 9 billion).  The elementary schools have been hardest hit with the new legislation as 130,000 jobs have been cut, but all schools will suffer, from primary through university.  You can read a bit more about it here.  Maria Stella, the name in the top photo (“Maria Stella, where are you?”), is the minister of education.

And what of the Permesso process?  We went to the United Nations waiting room again but there were only about 40 people this time.  My appointment was for 11:47 (yes, they’ve got it down to the minute!) and promptly at 12:15 my name was called with several others.  We reported to sportello #6 as instructed, and then had to wait another half hour or so, but this time with few chairs (why is it that in Italy if there are 3 chairs and 40 people who might want to sit down, mothers immediately put their small children in the chairs?  Is it the same in the States these days?  Back when I was a girl…. grumble, grumble, grumble…)

Part of the wait was due to the computers going down.  To his credit the police officer on the other side of the sportello’s glass was embarrassed – “It’s a shame,” he said in excellent English, “The Italian system is a shame.”  I don’t actually agree with that assessment, but it was nice he was so sympathetic to those who only stood and waited.

Finally at 12:35 I was called to the window and given two pieces of paper.  On one I had to print my full name; on the other I had to print my full name, phone number and e-mail address. Then I had to wait again.  The computers came back to life and I was summoned in my turn to show my passport and my present permesso, which expired some months ago. Then the big moment: Fingerprints!  They take them electronically now, and I was so looking forward to it.  Everyone before me got to leave all ten prints.  In my case, though, I gave only right thumb and index finger and then was told, “Basta!”  I don’t know if the machine broke again or if I simply look innocent (darn), but that was the end of the whole thing.  All that time and energy expended for two printed names and two fingerprints.  It is all a great puzzle.

The nice officer told me to visit the Questura web-site in 2-3 months and there I would find some information about my permesso.  I hope I remember to do it.  I hope I live that long!!

Privacy query – guidance needed!

30 Saturday Aug 2008

Posted by in Blogging, Customs, Law and order, Photographs

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The question, in broad terms, is this: a ) is it illegal, unethical, or in poor taste to take photos of people in public places and b) to then use them in one’s blog?

The background: The Captain and I were in our local paneficio this morning, and there was an awfully cute little girl there… so of course I took her picture.  Then I got to thinking it would be fun to take some pictures of the crowded shop, because one of these days I want to start writing about some of the Best Places to Buy in Rapallo.  So I wandered around looking for a good shot, which in any event I couldn’t find.

Just about then I realized there was a lot of loud talking going on – it’s still an effort for me to concentrate and understand Italian, so I tend to tune out a lot of it.  Anyway, it turned out a woman in the shop took exception to my taking photos of anyone or anything in the shop on the grounds that it was a violation of privacy.  The Captain weighed in on my behalf (my hero!) as did another patron, an elderly woman; everyone else just shuffled around and smiled.

I hastily assured the woman that she was not in any of my photos and if she had been I would erase them, but she opined it was a violation of everyone’s privacy.  I couldn’t tell where the padrona fell in the discourse; she mentioned ‘publiccita’ – I’ll apologize to her at a quieter time and ask if I can photograph the shop for this blog.

Usually when I’m taking a ‘portrait’ of anyone I ask first (but not always), and I’ve never been turned down. So this was rather a surprise, but it got me thinking. (I’ve begun a long-term project, working title ‘Beauty in Italy’ – a lot of it depends on anonymous shooting.)  Are there guidelines out there somewhere?

A quick noodle via Google has not been overly helpful with this issue.  I would really value hearing your comments, counsel or just your reactions.  Thanks!