Italian Laws

Thanks to John, who gave me the idea of writing this post, here are some interesting laws in Italy!

• There are regulations for the number of hours in a day the heater can be turned on. And I wonder why I'm so cold a lot... But seriously, this really conserves energy.
• In Lucca kebab shops are banned within the city walls. Other cities only allow these shops if they also sell traditional northern food, such as polenta. This law was put in place by the Lega Nord party, who have been linked to political remarks against southerners and immigrants. Interestingly, the Italian Minister of Agriculture, Luca Zaia, of the Lega Nord party has partnered with McDonalds to create a McItaly burger. His reasoning is to help Italian farmers, who will provide the ingredients for this burger. But what happened to preserving local foods? It seems that American and Japanese restaurants are safe while African and Middle-Eastern ones are not. There is a line between preserving biodiversity (such as with the Slow Food movement) and practicing gastronomic racism.
• I've read about other crazy Italian laws too, such as it being illegal for men to wear skirts (but what about kilts??), in Rome eating or drinking outside in the historic center is not allowed, and some cities banning the feeding of pigeons in the center to preserve the buildings (I like this one, they are so annoying!).

Through conversations with my 2nd conversation partner, Valentina, (due to personal reasons, I had to get a new one) in the school cafeteria, I learned more about certain "rules" Italians have towards food. She thought it was so strange that Americans drink a cappuccino in the afternoon. For her, it didn't make any sense, and she didn't even understand HOW they could do it. Valentina said that the milk is too heavy for after breakfast, so she almost flipped when I told her kids in the US drink milk with their lunch. Another time she commented that another girl was eating her fruit before her sandwich for lunch. Valentina also found this very weird. I have noticed that Italians are very particular about food. This includes the order as well. I believe I've mentioned before that Vivaldo didn't understand how the Americans they've hosted could mix the primo (pasta) and secondo (meat) dishes because they are supposed to be eaten separately.

Speaking of cappuccino, I think today or tomorrow I will do a coffee post for you all.

Until then,

Caitlin