½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

What an awful combination! And anyone drinking a cappuccino after 11:00 am, should be expelled from the country. On the other hand, cappuccino and a sfoglia at 10:00 am... divine!

Not from your area; however, there has been big increases this year. The difference you have to pay sounds right. Next year there may be some changes as it is supposed that taxes are going ti be calculated on habitable area.

Oleanders are very hardy; however, avoid transplanting if there is the possibility of frost. In any case, trim the top, as it would help. Last October, while visiting Paestum, we were able to admire an oleander which was like a tree, about 3 metres tall. I could not believe it was an Oleander until I checked it. They do very well in most parts of Italy. Careful with children and pets as they are toxic.

I do not think that nowadays, a large number of MPs is needed; however, I do agree with you in that they cannot lead a "double life". They are paid to do their jobs as politicians and they should devote to this full time... or they should be "honorary" members of Congress. To be able to keep private jobs, fosters the traffic of influences and promotes corruption.  Yes, I know that the ½ûÂþÌìÌà Constitution is difficult to reform; however, I do not think that it is impossible. And it is something that should be tackled.

Not the best time of the year and it all depends on the soil, location, weather. Some plants that could do well would be phlox, acanthus, asters, lupins , pansies, cyclamens, even some types of geraniums. I wwould advise you to look at what other neighbours grow and also find a good nursery in your area. They always give good advice.

Ram, as you said, Nazism is a form of Fascism, but there has always been differences between the two. They tended tonalign themselves more at the time of WW2. The ½ûÂþÌìÌà Constitution was born in 1948 and has been amended 14 times; however, I understand that it is very difficult to amend , or to get the necessary consensus to do it. This is even more difficult because of the huge number of members of Parliament that Italy has. Lower house: 630 deputies and add to that some 350 senators. All that for a population of 62,000,000!!!  The USA , with a population of 312,000,000 has less than 5000 members for the Lower House! Italy is over governed; however we seem to have that problem in many other EU countries. A dictator? I do not like that word. Perhaps a technocrat like Monti seems to be a better solution. In any case, there will always be a small group of nostalgics who would idealise the past.  

Life in the post-war years was extremely difficult in Italy. Many ½ûÂþÌìÌÃs had to emigrate in order to survive. Many ended up in Argentina or Australia and it was not for political reasons. They had nothing to eat in Italy. A tragedy!

A pleasure, Debra. You know how much I admire your work promoting and maintaining the area. And Mark, if you can't find Debra's place, ask around. Everybody knows her. We shall also be there around Aprilil-May. Send us a PM, as our place is not as visible as Debra's.

On the other hand, right in the centre of Bagni di Lucca, at the side of the Circolo dei Forestieri, there is a big marble inscription that conmemorates the fact that it was there that partsans, led by a local hero whose name I cannot remember, joined the Allied Forces, led mainly by Brazilians (yes, Brazilians, they played an important role in the liberation of the area and their forces were called "the smoking cobras", do a little search and you will find plenty of information on Google) to liberate ITaly from the Nazi/Fascist armies.  In my opinion, Italy was -and still is - highly divided on the issue. The same happens with Monarchy against Republic, and we may remember that the Referendum on the issue gave a very narrow victory to the Republicans As I said, a charismatic leader may have quite an impact.. 

I think that there are quite a few "nostalgics" of the old regime, the "Italia irredenta", the glories of the Roman Empire that they wanted to emulate...You can find the Duce's memorabilia very easily. As for their political strength, I do not think that they could represent a danger right now; however, if the other political parties do not deliver the goods and continue to be highly divided, they could come back. They only need a charismatic leader or too much despair. Look at Peronism in Argentina... Peron's inspiration was Mussolini and Peron has been dead for many years, but populism is alive and can be used. History confirms this.