So I have been telling you all about the beauty of Italy. I have detailed the wonders of Renaissance art, how delicious the food is, and the interesting history. However, Italy is often called Europe's "beautiful mess." This entry will concentrate on the mess more so than the beauty. The main contributors, in my opinion, to this title are the nation's government and politics which in turn have given birth to deeply entrenched, highly unique cultural norms. Americans develop their perceptions of Italy in movies or while on vacation here. This is like basing your whole perception of the United States on Disney World. You may think that Italy is a lot like the United States only with better spaghetti and ancient ruins. Well it is not. There are many societal attributes that are very different and rather troubling.

Take for instance the biggest news story when I arrived. "The Camorra has turned Scampia into a Battle Ground." Scampia is a particular neighborhood in Naples and the Camorra is the name for the ancient Neapolitan organized crime networks. Every few years it is an expected thing that different factions of the Camorra go to war and that numerous people will be killed. The Camorra is an accepted institution.

Let's move on to politics. Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister, is practically a dictator. As the richest man in Italy and one of the richest in the world, I have heard people say that Berlusconi owns everything in Italy from "padre nostro to cosa nostra." He even owns something like 90% of the nation's media including tv stations, newspapers, and publishing companies. Some Italians hear, read, or see only what Berlusconi wants them too. But this is just an accepted institution.

Before I came here I was warned to look out for Un-Americanism. This is not so much of a problem in Italy. You experience more Un-Italianism actually. Italians have a deeply adversarial relationship with their government and their nation's bureaucracy. I previously talked about there being a high amount of graffiti in Rome. Many believe this is the country's way of lashing out at public property and public space; their way of striking a blow at the government and bureaucracy that entraps them. Most Italians may be against the war in Iraq but they have no hard feelings toward us visiting Americans because they see a clear line between citizen and government. This relationship is just an accepted institution.

Italy is a beautiful country, don't get me wrong, and I am loving my time here. But it is no utopia. To live here it is very necessary to experience the good but also the bad.