Written by 
Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news, talking points and gossip from Italy that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.
Endangered prosciutto
Italy’s world-famous prosciutto (dry-cured ham) featured extensively in domestic news this week as an outbreak of swine fever kept gripping northern regions, threatening the livelihood of hundreds of farmers and the survival of the country’s €20-billion pork industry.
The disease, which is fatal for pigs and disastrous for the economy, first appeared in the peninsula in January 2022 and has since forced authorities to cull nearly 120,000 pigs – three-quarters of those over the past two months alone.
Coldiretti, Italy’s main agricultural lobby group, has estimated damage to the industry so far at 500 million euros due to several international import bans.
But as Italian experts warn of a “ticking time bomb” that may “kill the pig farming industry if [the disease] becomes endemic”, you may be wondering how the situation got so out of hand.
The answer may lie in recent EU criticism of Rome’s management of the crisis, as an expert report said that “each region carries out its own measures, with minimum coordination with its neighbours”.
Italy faced similar coordination issues when dealing with a sweeping blue crab invasion last year, but the situation has since seemingly improved following the enforcement of a ‘if you can’t beat them, eat them’ type of policy.
Unfortunately, the same course of action won’t be viable this time.
Is Matera ‘moving’ to Puglia?
One of the oddest news stories of the week (and I mean ‘odd’ even by Italian standards) came from the southern Basilicata region, where two former senators asked authorities to gather signatures for a regional referendum on transferring the province of Matera to the Puglia region.
Why? You may ask. Well, according to proponents Tito di Maggio and Corrado Danzi, Basilicata authorities are to blame for allegedly allocating the large majority of the region’s funds and resources to the neighbouring Potenza province in recent years, leaving Matera deprived of essential services, particularly in healthcare and public transport.
Advertisement
Also known as Città dei Sassi (City of Rocks) due to its peculiar location atop a rocky outcrop, Matera is one of Italy’s most picturesque towns but also consistently figures among the lowest-ranking Italian centres when it comes to the quality of its public services.
Hence the former senators’ idea of transferring the entire province under a different regional jurisdiction in the hope of getting a more favourable treatment from local authorities and turning things around in the area.
Should the recent request be ruled admissible, the two ex-senators will have 60 days to collect all the necessary signatures for a referendum and send the matter to a regional vote.
Disputes over regional funds are far from rare in Italy but this one may just top them all…
Beating the autumn blues with ‘la scampagnata’
As we head towards the end of October, you may be starting to feel the autumn blues creeping in. After all, the days are getting increasingly shorter and swathes of the peninsula have been hit by frequent bouts of inclement weather over the past couple weeks.
But don’t worry: an Italian scampagnata may be all you need to shake off the gloom.
Advertisement
Also referred to as gita fuori porta, a scampagnata is a time-honoured autumn tradition in Italy which involves going on a weekend trip out of town to a small town or village in the countryside.
The whole point of the trip is to take a much-needed break from the daily routine and wind down in the company of friends or family.
But it would be inaccurate to see them simply as ‘ordinary’ weekend trips as most scampagnate are in fact cultural tours delving into the history and traditions of a certain area, thus tapping into the real heart and soul of rural Italy.
And of course, like most leisure activities in Italy, they have a strong focus on local food and drink, with people sampling all sorts of traditional fare and wines at small taverns and trattorie.
There may be no better way to find the perfect scampagnata destination in your region than picking the brain of an Italian friend or acquaintance. But if you don’t have access to an Italian scampagnata savant, you can always turn to our recent list of tips to discover Italy’s most authentic towns and villages.
Advertisement
Pisolino time
We’ll leave you this week with the latest viral photo of senator and Lazio football club president Claudio Lotito, who is regularly snapped taking a pisolino (nap) in the upper house of parliament.
Ennesima sfida in Senato tra Lotito e la letargia.
Un’altra masterclass di questo gigante delle vicende umane.
Ineluttabile. pic.twitter.com/8iIPFqfWbm— La Ragione Di Stato (@ragionedistato) October 17, 2024
Have a nice weekend!
Inside Italy is our weekly look at some of the news and talking points in Italy that you might not have heard about. It’s published each Saturday and members can receive it directly to their inbox by going to their newsletter preferences or adding their email to the sign-up box in this article.