The Authentic Italy

Streets of Loano

(Canon P/Ilford Delta 400)

We live in a world of social media, where life can be presented however one wishes.  Digital technology and AI has recently taken things to the next level; we are bombarded with entirely fictitious places and people that don't exist in the 'real' World.  So where is the authentic?  Where is the genuine?  I found it in Italy.

For me, something becomes painfully inauthentic when it is a performance.  This is why I have no desire to go to Epcot in Walt Disney World (actually, anywhere in Disney World sounds like a nightmare to me). Epcot presents an interactive performance and says to you, "This is what life is like in Italy".  But, if you have never been to Italy, how would you really know?  You could look at pictures online I suppose, but that doesn't tell you what life in that place is really like.

Fiat 500 in Florence

(Canon F-1/Ilford HP5)

I have been to Italy twice traveling through Lombardy, Tuscany, Veneto, and Liguria.  Because my experience is limited, I can only tell you what the 'authentic Italy' means to me.  I see it as "La Dolce Vita": The Good Life.  Let me give you a few anecdotes...

Milan

(Canon F-1/Ilford HP5)

While walking back to our apartment one evening in Milan, I convinced Doina and Svetlana to follow me down a random alley that I felt "looked pretty".  The girls love pretty alleys, so it wasn't a tough sell.  At the very end of the path we found "Morgante Cocktail & Food".

Except for a local prostitute, the place was completely empty.  We spent hours sitting at the bar drinking locally made wines served to us by a charming Moldovan bartender while I tried to not get sucked into purchasing the services of the 'working girl' sitting next to me.  

That was authentic Italy.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence

(Canon F-1/Ilford HP5)

Like many cities in Italy, Florence is extremely "touristy".  But, that does not mean one cannot have an authentic experience.  Like many things in Italy, this one involved food...

Doina and I had been wandering the streets of Florence all morning.  We were heading to 'Piazalle Michelangelo' for the best views of Florence when we decided, as it was noon, that it was time for a drink!  On a corner heading up the Via dei Bastioni, there was a small little restaurant called "Spaccio Alimentare Firenze". In English this means 'Food Outlet Florence'.

Doina ordered wine and I, of course, had a Negroni.  Italian culture holds that, if you have a drink, you must also have food.  Thus, without any solicitation, the waitress presented us with a pizza and said "Compliments of the Chef".  I was expecting perhaps some popcorn, not a whole pizza!

A simple Margherita, I can say that this was easily the BEST pizza I have ever had in my life.  Words cannot describe how utterly  delicious it was, and all from a nondescript restaurant called "Food Outlet" on a random street in Florence.  

That was authentic Italy.

Water Taxi, Venice

(Canon F-1/Ilford HP5)

I think it is safe to say that Venice is the most 'tourist' city in the World. So much so that there is now a "tourist tax" on those who enter the city.  Personally, I think this tax is a good thing.  

When you go to Venice in season it is quite shocking to see millions of people trying to squeeze their way along Medieval streets built in a city originally meant to hold less than a thousand.  I went to Venice in February, which meant that I got to avoid most of the overbearing crowds.

The streets of Venice are truly labyrinthian, and because it is so easy to become lost, most people take water taxis and gondolas.  Gondolas are obviously mostly used by tourists, but romantic none the less.  

While crossing one of Venice's stunning bridges, I noticed a woman taking a 'selfie' on the other side.  I knew she was an "Instagram Model", we used to calls them 'Pro-Hoes', because she was wearing a shockingly short dress for February in northern Italy.

Two men piloting their gondolas saw her as well, and I kid you not, they were so distracted they crashed into each other.  Mayhem ensued as their VERY expensive looking gondolas sank to the bottom of the Adriatic Sea.  I left before they made it to shore and got into an argument with each other.

This must have been one of the most authentically Italian things ever...

Doina having a post race drink, Loano

(Canon P/ Kodak Tmax 400)

Loano, on the Italian Riviera, is a small town where you cannot get a cappuccino after 11am; REAL Italy.

I was there with Svetlanda and Doina because Doina was running in a marathon there.  What made Loano so authentic for me, though, was that there was a bloody Harry Potter festival going on!  And I must say, they did a good job.  The town was divided into sections and decorated to represent each "Hogwarts House".  The Slytherin section was jolly good fun!

I kept asking locals, trying to figure out what the connection was between the wizarding world of Harry Potter and Loano, Italy?  Was a scene filmed here?  Did one of the actors come from here?  Did Hagrid really enjoy Negronis?!  Nope, this small little seaside town in Italy just really liked Harry Potter.

That is what made it authentic Italy.

La Pigna, Sanremo

(Canon P/ Kodak Tmax 400)

I have one last tale to tell about the 'real' Italy.  

The three of us were on our way to Monaco and stopped in Sanremo for a spot of lunch.  Poor Doina had just run a marathon a few hours before, and was probably starving.  Food was a top priority!

We walked to the "La Pigna" area of the city.  It really is picturesque as it is the old fortified center, with winding and narrow streets on the hillside.  I managed to get some lovely photos there.  We found a gorgeous, tiny little restaurant on one of the backstreets and went in for a meal and drinks. 

In Italy, restaurants close from 13.00-14.00 (1pm-2pm) so that the owners can have lunch with all of their staff.  We walked into this place in Sanremo at 12.30 and they told us they were closing at 1pm and to come back after 2pm...

I had finally found it, authentic Italy: La Dolce Vita.  This restaurant, these people, valued having lunch with their workers more than making money.  In America, they would have seated us and served us some rushed food out of the kitchen.  But that day, they made a better decision.

They chose the good life.  And that is what made it authentic.

How can you find the 'authentic' whether it be in Italy, London, Berlin, or Saigon?

Actually being there.