New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-09-30

rEssrM1sT1c VIEW OF THE CoCN II
BY A NATIVE

NJ, ,-,u,-, uarns us at the outset o. the oii'
r,,1.v ~ writing OF italian life as "n"'e'
saws. NJ the great differences in the chai &c -
..o,,e IN different parts Of the country
livery community has its own pecuilari'ieS. -
., che main he distinguishes between me MI ="
- 81. South with no absolute Zine Of denlarca-
&C., The North is industrial. prosperous active
- ,-oy-essixe the South almost exclusively
agricultural and niserably poor; the Nor'h Is Or
veloning political education. the South Il dPd7
thefic in all things political Neallh' io'
education the North is acquiring; but the 7ou''
-osr,es no nrogrees and its ignorance is pro
verbal The South. too is the hotbed 81 pIis-
sndaee. the Camorra and the Malta Not"l'"-
.,.ndtrr all these differences there are ma
rfonal characteristics common to the who're
country. and M TiIlari is confident that they
are increasing in importance and making more
md more for national unity every year
All these differences must however. be CON
s+sntlv borne in mind in studying the nature
Of Italian life In addition 10 the larger us
tinctions there are innumerabie local JeSIou
One of the most characteristic is the hereol'S'S
rivalry between Siena and Florence
In siena the F1orentne is looked upon aIIn"s limos
foreigner: socially ne Is not Wt.i - -
and he is constantly reminded OF pass 49, ~
..-,egles between the two republics. Above an
the battle OF Montaperti, in which me oeleSe
defeated the Florentines in lot, ana LOT q IlIG
,-,en+ ohtajned the begernony Of all Tuscany. Is
9 fayorfte topic Of conversation Inc 'o7IIe9 I
are fond Of attributing any QlsadVaItase ,ba
or Imaginary under which they suffer 10 the
hostile and unfriendly attitude OF the loren
tines. on the other hand. the fIoren-
tines regard the Sienese with the naughty GIS
dain of inhabitants OF capllaI IoL - Ike
nighted provincial brethren. and as A RUE lthe
not the slightest interest in them or thelI a''el
Among the upper classes the sectional distinc-
tjons are marked The Lombard nonli''H oI
No--be-, italy takes the lead in the new indus
trial and commercial movement: the upper
classes Of Central Italy viii have naught 10 90
with commerce, are narrow minded ana con
servative and stay in their ancestral little to"hs
o,,ite removed from the main currents Of ltaIan
r,<e In the South the aristocrat is OF the 1euual
type with all its worst faults he ENJOY
rights and customs on his estate that are purely
feudal; he is usually ignorant, lazy ana CORRUPT
and spends much OF his time IN dissipation III
the great cities. AS rule the upper claSoeS
dislike business other than looking after lahoeo
n,onertv: and the education of both boys and
girls is such as to confirm them in TINS ten
dency In fact italian education is haphazaro
affair Children are INDUCED in every way. eN-
cent when they are punished with unnecessary
severity. They spend all their time with their
parents and are allowed to take part III con-
versations which they had much better not
hear and they grow UP with wrong IDEAS on
every subject They never boys and g1ris'
only babies or adults. at the age or fourteen
they are like little old men and women in their
conversation. while they are absolute babes
and continue TO be such for years, in all that
regards Independence and self-reliauce-
The mother hates all healthy discipline, and
wants her darlings never TO leave her apron
strings She does everything in her power 10
prevent them from entering a profession which
would ohlige them TO leave home The 'father,
TOO, has a rooted objection to his sons gong
away. and prefers TO ruin their careers and spol
all their prospects rather than allow them 10
do SO.
Even if they go TO boarding school they are
treated like pupils of a convent school, and
learn nothing Of life. The author makes the
stril~~e statement that there is no such thing
as -. Italian schoolboy.' No word in the Ian
-uage expresses the idea; he is either a child
student"
The future OF the Italian interior, as presented
hy Mr.. vtllarI is a cherries one. The sort Of
legend he speaks of. that Italy is e warm coun-
Try. leads to a provision for heating that is far
from ADEQUATE: for il is far colder in Italy for
a few months Of the year than il is in most
parts of England The bourgeois family lives IN
a fiat, or small ''villino,' whose decorations
are such as 10 make us shudder as Mr. Filiar1
describes them; and even the better houses are
not attractive Italians of the better class Ill
vide their lives equally between the city and the
country; and in the latter devote themselves 10
Couplete relaxation, wearing litlI 0ildppi'0'
clothes and DO little entertaining. But when
hospitality is offered. it is Of the most strenu-
Gus kind The Italian hosts would think them
selves rerniss If they left their guest alone for
even half an hour. In the towns social etl-
ouette is generally less rigid than in many other
countries, but the rule Of the visiting card Is
most rigidly enforced. The evening at home"
ss the most characteristic form Of Italian enter
tatnnlent: and the afternoon drive and the the
atre are essential forms Of amusement IN every
well 10 do family AS TO the religious life. Mr..
vfIlari believes that the majority of all the
upper classes and people of culture and prob
ably Of the whole population, free thinkers
not professed atheists. but merely outward OBJ
servers. Nothing surprises the average Ital
ian" we are told. more than the great hold
which religion has the civilized ma
tions Of the world The so-called ''clericals."
Including but a small number Of laymen are "A
infuitesinlal minority Of the people. There is A
considerable class of sincere worshippers. who
regularly follow the Churchs precepts. hut who
have no connection with its political aims; but
they are not majority of the population. And
the peasants and lower classes, especially Of the
South, are STEPPED IN superstition
Mr.. Vfllari gives chapters the army and
navy the civil service the farmers and the arti-
sans. local government and the administration
Of justice. literature art and music On the
whole his account Of life in Italy is not an in
spirins one A native Italian himself he does
not see the vivid color and picturesqueness that
foreign visitors are never weary of celebrating:
his eve is filed with some Of The more sorid
realities Of it. the narrowness. tho burdens. the
lack Of stimulating and uplifting elements in st.
We are constrained believe that far as II
goes IL is a true picture; but that it tells us
the whole story may well doubt II is well
however. 10 see below the surface. and Mr. VII
lari has furnished a wholesome ard corrective
tonic TO much that has been written about TtaI-
ian life