{"id":2904,"date":"2014-05-02T20:23:37","date_gmt":"2014-05-02T18:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=2904"},"modified":"2017-06-22T19:30:28","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T17:30:28","slug":"eating-eataly-alex-roe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/eating-eataly-alex-roe\/","title":{"rendered":"Eating in Eataly with Alex Roe"},"content":{"rendered":"

I wrote in my pre-trip post that I\u2019m going to be seeking out \u201cstories.\u201d\u00a0 More specifically, the stories that interest me involve people who are doing their best to make Italy a better place in their own way.\u00a0 The sort of folks that strive to celebrate all the things that made the \u201cOld Italy\u201d so appealing to the rest of the world, while at the same time dragging \u201cNew Italy\u201d into the 21st<\/sup> century for the benefit of its own citizens.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So then it might seem a bit odd that I\u2019m beginning this trip with a stop in Milan to chat up an Englishman over Prosecco and fritto misto<\/em> at the new Milan Eataly<\/a> in the posh Brera district.<\/p>\n

\"eataly_milano\"
Photo: Vogue.it<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alex Roe appeared on my radar several years ago, even before I moved to Rome.\u00a0 I was keen to learn more about modern Italy, and increase my practical knowledge beyond the well-known history and tourist itineraries.\u00a0 His website, Italy Chronicles<\/a>, was (and still is) highly visible and impressively prolific, churning out article after article attacking the political status quo that has kept this country firmly stuck in the past.\u00a0 Many of his articles were equally harsh against the social and cultural norms, placing a proportionate amount of the blame for Italy\u2019s problems on the shoulders of the citizens. \u00a0So yes, in the very beginning, I was bit put off by Alex, to be honest, as I felt that he had no right to be bashing his host country with such apparent vitriol.<\/p>\n

The truth is, I\u2019ve never met a foreigner who cares for Italy more.\u00a0 Sure, lots of people \u201cfall in love\u201d with Italy, like a passionate affair with a mysterious stranger.\u00a0 That first meandering cruise down the Grand Canal or the first gaze upon the radiant dome of Saint Peter\u2019s at sunset touches all of us in a visceral way, and it doesn\u2019t take much more for Italy to seduce us.<\/p>\n

But Alex\u2019s affection goes much, much deeper.\u00a0 After talking with him for several hours, I began to appreciate just how badly he wants Italy to be its best self.\u00a0 Like me and many others, he sees Italy\u2019s enormous potential and it frustrates him to see it all go to waste.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>\u00a0I suppose I should offer a more complete introduction.\u00a0 Alex Roe is an English teacher, media consultant, trainer, translator, blogger, webmaster, amateur photographer and all round technology buff.\u00a0 During his 20 years in Italy, he has acquired an Italian \u201cother half,\u201d Cristina, and their union has produced a son and a Manchester terrier.<\/p>\n

Through the years, his website has evolved and is now more a magazine than a blog.\u00a0 Italy Chronicles<\/a> covers, amongst many other topics, Italian news in English, and has become an ever growing source of news, analysis and information on many aspects of Italy attracting visitors such as universities, businesses, governments and even the CIA.<\/p>\n

You will find everything there: from news and politics to Prosecco, from bunga bunga and Berlusconi to pictures of Italy\u2019s beautiful landscapes and buildings, as well as tips on good Italian wines to try.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Eating in Eataly<\/h2>\n

So there we were, an American and an Englishman surrounded by the very best of Italian products in an environment that, honestly, seemed more like an amusement park than a grocery market\/restaurant.\u00a0 Sure, there was a dizzying array of prosciutto, cheeses, pastas, wines, artisanal beers, and even household products.\u00a0 But there was also a rock band playing 80’s tunes translated into Italian, flashing lights, a twisting network of escalators in every direction, like some slow-speed roller coaster for shoppers.<\/p>\n

The question became, \u201cIs this the way out for Italy economically?\u00a0 To become a cleaned-up, sterilized version of itself?\u201d\u00a0 After all, Eataly is brand new to its namesake country. \u00a0The business found success abroad first, and then was brought back \u201chome.\u201d\u00a0 The result is something conspicuously less \u201cItalian,\u201d yet unquestionably a winning formula.<\/p>\n

The balance is a tricky one.\u00a0 How does Italy move forward, grow its economy, and provide a higher standard of living for its citizens without giving up the identity that made it so well-loved in the first place?\u00a0 If, by some miracle, Italy suddenly became organized, regimented, and \u201cby the book,\u201d then perhaps it wouldn’t be Italy anymore.\u00a0 It would be, well\u2026Germany.<\/p>\n

Alex certainly has a better sense of these topics than I do.\u00a0 For a deeper discussion of these subjects consult his website.\u00a0 And if you are really serious about understanding the real modern Italy, beyond the fantasies that we all like to hang onto, then consider becoming a member of his site.\u00a0 But this is the challenge for Italy today: to maximize the potential of its incredible resources, while slowing casting off the old mentality of nepotismo, furbizia, and to some degree, campanilismo.<\/p>\n

Thanks again to Alex Roe for taking time to discuss the many joys and woes of both Italy, and\u2026Eataly.\u00a0 Ciao!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wrote in my pre-trip post that I\u2019m going to be seeking out \u201cstories.\u201d\u00a0 More specifically, the stories that interest me involve people who are doing their best to make Italy a better place in their own way.\u00a0 The sort of folks that strive to celebrate all the things that made the \u201cOld Italy\u201d so […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[169,211,9,8],"tags":[384,214,496,61,215,212,77,63],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2904"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2904\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}