Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi being struck in the face by a statuette hurled by an attacker at a rally in Milan.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will need up to several weeks rest following his attack while giving a speech on the evening of December 13 in front of Milan’s Duomo, the city’s massive Gothic cathedral. A 42-year-old man with a history of mental illness hurled a softball-sized souvenir statue of the cathedral at Berlusconi’s face, leaving him with a fractured nose, two broken teeth, and cuts on his lips and face. It’s also reported that he has a severe headache.
He’s not the only top government official in Italy, I suspect, with a headache these days. In late October, Luca Zaia, Italy’s agriculture minister traveled to Washington, DC to announce that the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) would no longer require Italian government certification for imports of Brunello de Montalcino to the United States. The certification requirement stemmed from allegations in early 2008 that wine producers from Brunello de Montalcino and Chianti Classico had adulterated their wines in 2003 by adding unauthorized grape varieties.
According to existing appellation regulations, Brunello di Montalcino must be produced using 100% Sangiovese grapes grown in Montalcino, Tuscany. No arrests or indictments were made by Italian authorities during their “Operation Mixed Wine” investigation, but treasury department officials reported this past summer that 20% of the 6.7 million liters impounded in the inquiry was declassified from Brunello di Montalcino DOCG to Toscana Rosso IGT. The meeting between Italian Agriculture Minister Zaia and TTB head John Manfreda was part of a weeklong tour in the U.S. that Zaia made to promote authentic “Made in Italy” agricultural products.
“Brunello,” Zaila was quoted in the press as explaining, “is one of the wine ambassadors of ‘Made in Italy’ products.” He added, “I have obtained the definitive go-ahead for the importation of Brunello de Montalcino to the U.S. The case is now definitively closed.”
Maybe he spoke too soon. On December 11, Decanter.com published a story headlined “Adulteration scandal surfaces in Tuscany.” Yogi Berra ,if he were alive, would have said would probably say, “It’s déjà vu all over again.” This time, in addition to Brunello di Montalcino, two other Tuscan appellations—Chianti DOCG and Rosso di Montalcino—are implicated, and 10 million liters of wine are in question. The Italian media reports that 17 people and 42 companies are currently under investigation, including wine producers in the regions of Abruzzo, Trentino, Piedmont, Lombardy and Emila-Romagna (presumably, the areas which provided the wine that was blended with the Tuscan wine).
You might wonder what this story is doing in a wine blog about French wine and French wine producers. Being of Italian heritage, both on the paternal and maternal side of my family, I care deeply about Italy and I have a special interest in all things Italian. I also lived in the Bel Paese for five years, so I know a little about the Italian psyche.
My thoughts about this latest scandal can basically be summed up in one Italian word: furbo. Furbo is a word, like the English word “clever,” which can be interpreted several different ways. Someone who is clever can be thought to be intelligent, while another clever person may be viewed as being merely quick-witted. Depending on the context, an Italian may construe furbo as meaning crafty, clever, smart, sharp, astute or sly. For example, if someone manages to get to the head of a line (or queue, in British English), then he or she is furbo smart (at least in the line-jumper’s eyes; to the people in line, the person may just be furbo sly; although if the people in line are not Italian, the line-jumper is probably viewed as being simply rude). If you come up with an imaginative solution to a problem, then you’ll probably be regarded as being furbo astute. Much of the creative genius that has brought Italian fashion, style, design and architecture fame and admiration is rooted in this concept, which is an integral part of the Italian identity.
Where things start to fall apart is when furbo is put in context with the concept of honesty. Now, what is considered as plain dishonest in America or the U.K., may, in Italy, when viewed through the fuzzy furbo lens, not appear to be so clear. Benedetto (Bettino) Craxi, was an Italian politician who apparently embezzled a large amount of Italian taxpayer money. He then hid in Tunisia until his death in 2000. In the eyes of many Italians, he belongs in the furbi hall of fame. Not only did he manage to get rich, he was also smart enough to go to a country that has no extradition agreement with Italy.
Some Italians have admired Berlusconi for many years for his furbizia (cunning at a level rarely seen) Others have not been so tolerant of him, and it’s probably somewhat satisfying to these people to see so divisive a politician, with marital, legal and conflict-of-issue problems, get what one can only hope is a wake-up call.
Perhaps the authorities investigating this latest wine scandal will view any identified malefactors as not so much as furbi, but as criminals who are destroying their country’s reputation. Et tu, Silvio?
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
“furboness”: the word I think you’re looking for is “furbizia.”
You’re absolutely right, Jeremy. Thanks for your input. Although he was too modest to include the address of his blog, Do Bianchi, I recommend it as an excellent source of information about Italian wine and food. Not many bloggers can claim a Fulbright scholarship, a Ph.D. from U.C.L.A., having played in two rock bands, and accolades from wine writers ranging from Eric Asimov at The New York Times and Alice Feiring, who writes one of the best known wine blogs, Veritas in Vino. He also started, along with Italian wine writer Franco Ziliani, VinoWire.com, the first English-language blog which reports news about the Italian wine world.
yogi’s still living
You, too, are absolutely right. I owe an apology to Mr Berra, who, I’m sure, would have a quip as interesting as Mark Twain’s reflection, when it was erroneously reported that he had been lost at sea, that “The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.” Thanks for pointing out this error.
Your discussion of “Furbo” brings back many memories, some pleasant and some not so pleasant, of small-town life in western Pennsylvania. “Furbo” knows no geographical boundaries.
Yes, Donnie, and no ethnic boundaries, either, I suppose… Happy Holidays and the best in the new year to you and your family.