{"id":673,"date":"2013-02-12T06:37:42","date_gmt":"2013-02-12T05:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rickzullo.com\/?p=673"},"modified":"2017-06-22T17:00:36","modified_gmt":"2017-06-22T15:00:36","slug":"the-italian-post-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/the-italian-post-office\/","title":{"rendered":"The Italian Post Office"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, \u201cA long history of organized postal systems in Italy began with the cursus publicus<\/i> of the Romans.\u201d We know from the writings of Procopius that through a series of stations, a relay system was developed that greatly increased the speed of long distance communication in ancient Rome. Each station maintained a generous supply of strong men and fresh horses which were able to travel the same distance in a single day that one lone rider could travel in ten.<\/p>\n

However, as anyone living in Italy\u00a0today can tell you, it seems that the Italian postal service has since returned to the lone rider system, hence ensuring that your electric bill is already ten days past due when it eventually arrives in your mailbox.<\/p>\n

The Italian Post Office<\/h2>\n
\"the
350 Lire Stamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ufficio Postale<\/i> is a place where you go to accomplish all sorts of daily tasks.\u00a0 There is an incongruous array of services that confounds the uninitiated American who had always believed that a post office was a place from which to send packages.\u00a0 And paradoxically, the one thing that you often cannot do at an Italian post office is buy stamps.<\/p>\n

When you enter through the front door, the first object that greets you is that little yellow machine which dispenses numbered tickets meant to keep the order. (Ha!) You have four or five options represented by buttons with various symbols indicating the available services\u2014and you must select the correct one or else you may find that\u00a0you’ve\u00a0waited a long time only to start over again.<\/p>\n

In any case, your number is irrelevant in many post offices, as the citizens of some towns have yet to appreciate the social benefits of adhering to the rule of \u201cfirst come, first served.\u201d\u00a0 There is jostling and angry looks and all manner of gamesmanship which supersedes the little scraps of paper which are viewed as a senseless attempt to impose order where order is unnecessary. \u00a0Why mess with tradition, after all?<\/p>\n

\"The
La solita folla<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You may get angry with this attitude and be tempted to take it out on the postal employee who is talking on her cellphone behind the glass. However, this will do you absolutely no good.\u00a0 She has a very secure job and has no qualms about telling you precisely where you can put that package you wanted to send. \u00a0Congratulations; now you can go back and take a new number.\u00a0 But at this point, I would advise you to try your luck at another post office\u2014obviously, hai fatto una brutta figura<\/i> (you have made yourself look bad) and your chance of success in this particular filiale <\/i>(branch) are now next to zero.<\/p>\n

So beyond mailing a letter, what else can you do at the Italian post office?\u00a0 Among other things, you can pay certain bills (assuming that they have arrived in your mailbox\u2014can you appreciate the irony here?).\u00a0 If you\u2019re retired, you can collect your pension check.\u00a0 You can renew your passport or buy health insurance.\u00a0 The list goes on.\u00a0 They offer banking services which are famously inexpensive and infamously erratic.\u00a0 There\u2019s shopping to be had; books, CDs, t-shirts, and even cell phones. But again, often there are no stamps.<\/p>\n

Adopt a friendly attitude<\/h2>\n

For the foreigner, the most important service is the Sportello Amico<\/i>, where you can apply for your Permesso di Soggiorno<\/i><\/a> (otherwise known as the\u00a0Holy Grail\u00a0mentioned in a previous post).\u00a0 While the word amico<\/i> literally means \u201cfriend,\u201d I\u00a0wouldn’t\u00a0count on creating any lasting bonds with the random postal service employee. You are merely a gnat buzzing around their head who is keeping them from their next coffee break.\u00a0 The best approach is to be polite but insistent.\u00a0 Don\u2019t raise your voice, but don\u2019t back down either.\u00a0 If you blink, you\u2019re done\u2014just go home.\u00a0 BUT, the chances are that if you persist long enough while maintaining your politeness through clenched teeth, they\u2019ll give into your request just to make you go away.<\/p>\n

You should apply this same attitude when dealing with any public agency. The first phrase out of their mouth is always, \u201cNo, it\u2019s not possible.\u201d This is the automated response that\u00a0they’ve\u00a0been reciting since birth. They know that 90% of foreigners will take this as the final word and just walk away. But as it turns out, \u201cit\u2019s not possible\u201d is only the opening salvo; an invitation to verbally spar.<\/p>\n

\"\"
A scene from Dante’s Inferno by Botticelli<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Italians seem to gain some sort of pleasure out of these exchanges, but are often \u201cdisappointed\u201d by an American\u2019s reluctance to engage.\u00a0 If you\u2019re staying in Italy for the long run, you need to unlearn this tendency, as it will only lead to endless frustration.\u00a0 You\u2019re in their country, so it\u2019s incumbent upon you to learn their ways. We come from a country where everything<\/i> is possible, so \u201cit\u2019s not possible\u201d sounds like a truly hopeless situation and the perfect moment for a hasty retreat.\u00a0 In Italy, it\u2019s merely the next phrase after, \u201cbuongiorno<\/i>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the Gates of Hell<\/h2>\n

In this post\u00a0I’ve\u00a0attempted to impart a bit of my hard-earned wisdom to you, my kind readers.\u00a0 And these little pearls are valuable, no doubt.\u00a0 But the best advice that I can give you is precisely this: enter this den of chaos only when absolutely necessary.\u00a0 Remember the words of the great Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, \u201cAbandon all hope, ye who enter here.\u201d\u00a0 Dante placed this warning above the Gates of Hell, but it\u2019s no less fitting at the Italian post office.\u00a0 So buy your stamps at the tobacco shop\u2014and make friends elsewhere, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, \u201cA long history of organized postal systems in Italy began with the cursus publicus of the Romans.\u201d We know from the writings of Procopius that through a series of stations, a relay system was developed that greatly increased the speed of long distance communication in ancient Rome. Each station maintained a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,6,4],"tags":[380,52,28,15,60,86,14,492],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673"}],"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=673"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/673\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}