Any curiosity about life in Italy? How it is really like to live in the northern part of the boot shaped peninsula?

So, I am a father, I love and have cats and dogs, live in a small town in northern Italy, and and I work full time in a field related to software, technology and loosely transportation. I also lived in Rome, one of the biggest northern italy metropolies, and in smaller places like Pisa.

In a previous life I traveled around lots of the world and in my current life I am training for an Ironman.

All of this, while living in the above mentioned country.

Specially for US lemmiers, but also people from other parts of the world, anything you want me to explain, clarify or just answer about all of the above?

    • ShimitarOPAEnglish
      3·
      2 hours ago

      I believe i never seen that Family Guy episode, which one is it? i could watch it out of curiosity.

      As for the mafia… We lost the war long ago. Mafia (camorra, andrangheta, whatever there are many, you call them) is everywhere specially in the north. The more money, the more mafia. Mafia is also in the government (remember Berlusconi? also our current government is full of mafia related people) but do not think of the mafia from the movies. This mafia is a business organization, they care for stealth and profit, not for public executions and bombings. That was a broken strategy from decades ago, mafia evolved…

      Actually, fun fact on mafia, the allies where able to land in Sicily in 1943 because they supported mafia giving money and weapons to overthrown the fascist government, which alway tried to destroy mafia. So we actually have mafia today thanks to the US meddling and winning the war.

      Actually, mafia would have come back anyway also under fascism i guess,its more a way of thinking and a way of life, like helping your friends and thrusting your kinfolks. But i am no expert, and this would be a different post anyway.

      • ShimitarOPAEnglish
        2·
        2 hours ago

        Still mafia (think of the term as a plural actually) is very well present. Just invisible, as it’s now even in the south, albeit less invisible.