Life Is Too Short For Not Living in Italy

iCub, a child-like humanoid designed by the RobotCub Consortium, taken at VVV 2010

Italy is generally a beautiful country with lots of promises and attractions. Many people from across the world know Italy for its exquisite recipes and romance. The wine, the food and coffee is just out of this world. Even the simple act of walking in this part of the world has a way of cooking up ideas with wishes that this feeling should last forever. If you are considering moving to Italy, it just might be the best move ever. Here are a few advantages of moving to Italy to psych you up.

Inspired by this Ted talk by La Stampa multilingual journalist Ioanna Merope Ippiotis we decided to write our own version on why is better to live in Italy than the Us, and the UK.

1. Networking

Italy has relatively fewer opportunities compared to UK and US. For this reason, Italians have perfected the art of networking, and they spend a lot of time trying to make connections with likeminded people. Whatever your reason for moving to Italy, you will need to stay open minded and interactive to build a supportive network around you.

For starters, and if you can afford it, consider working for little or no compensation at first while targeting to meet new people who will potentially open new doors for you. The best part is you won’t have trouble making networks because this is what Italians do best; they are best at personal relations. Sending cold letters to potential employers doesn’t work well here; Italians prefer networking as their first method of finding a job.

Although there is a partial believe that it’s not what you know, but who you know, you can easily turn this around to your advantage through your networking or marketing skills. There are lots of professional networking platforms and organizations such as Ecademy.com, the American Women’s Association of Rome, Benvenuto Club of Milan, among others. Depending in your interests and location, you should find some if these groups and join. Once your face becomes familiar, people will start to trust you and it will be easier to land jobs and business deals.

 

2. Mark Zuckerberg watch this space.

For many Italy is a paternalistic society lacking of innovation, constantly stuck in cycles of recession or low economic growth. But it is often this lack of opporunities that generates the most creative ideas. As we seen worldwide after the 2008 financial crisis, there is a new wave of innovations, and Italy is not immune to that. From Arduino to the Reggio Emilia food innovation programme , Italy innovation spans from 3d printing technology such as the delta wasp project  to intelligent robots such as the ICub created by the Italian technology institute.

Italy was alredy an innovator in the 60s,70s with many fields such as cinema, design, and fashion, and it is doing it again now. So why only look at the US, and UK for jobs or investment opportunities?

3. Cheaper cost of living

The general cost of living can greatly fluctuate depending on whether you plan to live in the north or south. The northern part of Italy tends to be wealthier compared to the south, for this reason, prices in major cities such as Rome and Milan are considerably higher than in the rural areas. In between, there are medium cities and cultural lifestyles that offer a bit of both. In other words, this country has something for everyone.

You will, however, be pleasantly surprised to note that the cost of living in Italy is generally low compared to most cities in UK and US. Whatever your preferences and tastes, the cost of living in Italy is not a high as many people may expect. Many people who come as tourists leave with the impression that Italy is an expensive country to live in. However, if you keep off tourist hot spots, you will not have to spend a fortune to enjoy life here.

Again, the cost of living will depend on where you choose to settle and your lifestyle. Real estate and accommodation will probably be your biggest expense, so by avoiding major cities and choosing small to medium towns, you can save quite a lot. Other living expenses such as food, fuel, and health are fairly consistent across the country. On a wider scale, we can say that the country has a relatively stable economy, salaries are generally reasonable and standard of living is high compared to other EU countries.

If you want to compare the cost of living of your country with Italy try to have a go on this site.

4. Less violence

Most Italian cities are reasonably safe, and security should not be on your list of concerns. However, as an extra layer of security, always get to know your neighbors. Italians look after their own, so the more people you know the safer you will stay. When it comes to moving around cities, especially at night, there are a few neighborhoods that are best left alone. There are a few cases of petty crime in some Italian cities and you can easily fall prey to pickpockets especially if you don’t speak Italian.

Again, as I have mentioned, security is not a major issue here in Italy. Additionally, there is no binge drinking culture that are known to cause violence and personal security issues in cities in the US and UK. 

Also so far Italy has been spared by terrorist attacks that are plaguing countries like the UK and France. Amongst other reasons experts claims that  migrants are less likely to live in ghettos in Italy than in other countries, this leads to a drecreased marginalisation and better integrations, therefore a less violent society with lower inequalities.

 

4. Weather and foods

It’s globally known that Italians take their foods really seriously. The quality of food you get in any restaurant or supermarket will normally be superior to what you can expect in the US. While you have to really search for good food in the US and UK, you have to equally search for bad food in Italy. Generally, the Italians have the best supermarkets. And even the smallest food stores in the smallest towns have a great spread of vegetables, fruits, cheese, and meat.

The strict food laws here prevent excessive use of chemical pesticides, colorings or preservatives. This makes their food quality and safety exceptional. When it comes to their restaurants, you will love the locally grown, fresh foods that making eating here such as delightful experience. The convenience of frozen pizzas and fast food are rare here, and dinner actually lasts for hours.

While many visitors imagine that the weather in Italy is dry and sunny throughout, the climate here actually varies based on location. If you are planning to settle in Milan for instance, you will have an entirely different weather calendar compared to someone living in Palermo. Generally, there are not torturing extremities that can make life unbearable or uncomfortable during your stay here.

 

5. Surroundings and moving around

No matter where you decide to settle in Italy, you will always be surrounded by incredibly rich natural beauty and heritage. After a while, you will absorb in the culture and rich history and start to appreciate your beautiful environment. With time, you will never want to step on a treadmill as there is always plenty to see when you walk around. It’s surprisingly quite easy to move around as most cities and towns are well connected. Additionally, major cities are never far away from the mountains and sea and you can enjoy the view as you speed past in the high-speed trains.

 

6. You will Live longer

Seriously, though, remember when I said Italians take their foods seriously? Aside from strict food regulations, locally grown fresh foods and minimal junk and fast foods, the Mediterranean diet seems to have taken this country by storm in the last two decades.

For starters, the Mediterranean diet essentially incorporates all the basics of healthy eating. Most of these diets include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, and limit unhealthy fats. So if you want to live a few more years in better health and fewer medications, please carry on with your relocation to Italy.

 

How TTIP Will Damage Italian PDO Products

Imitation products and fakes weight down on Italy’s possibility to export its products. As the USA don’t want PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) laws to be involved, the delicate matter of Free Trade agreements is being discussed.

Between full-on fake products and the phenomenon known as “Italian sounding” (where products or brands are named to resemble Italian products while not being such) the most recent estimates have counted an earning loss equal to 60 billion euros for our agro industrial business for what concerns missed exportations, which is about twice as much as our current exportation to the rest of the world.
TTIP protest in Brighton - 12/07/2014
The main concern is protecting the uniqueness of our PGI productions and the growth, value and potential of our products with a Registered Designation of Origin, and in order to do so we have to resort to legal action for fakes and frauds (if they are discovered, especially abroad) but also to legislation between countries and complex business agreements, such as the one that is long being discussed between Europe and the USA, the dreaded TTIP (Transatlantic Treaty of International Partnership).
This treaty should create a free exchange zone between UE countries and the United States, and the matter of protecting European geographic designations of origin is one of the chapters included in the document.
The problem lays in the fact that the USA don’t understand and don’t intend to safeguard designations such as “DOP” and “IGP” (Designation of Origin and Protected Geographical Indication) because the only products they value are commercially registered brands, property of private companies.

The USA Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has explicitly admitted that the USA main concern is that protecting European designations of origin would damage certain star-spangled productions, now long on the market (such as “Parmesan” or “Wisconsin’s Asiago cheese”). These productions take part in the “Italian sounding” phenomenon, which tricks the consumer into thinking the product is originally Italian when it has nothing to do with the country, both in origin, taste and quality.
The American “Consortium for common food names” is a powerful lobby, for the most part made of 2nd, 3rd generation Italian-Americans producers that are keen on protecting their own businesses. According to European laws, a cheese can be sold as Parmigiano Reggiano or vinegar as Aceto Balsamico di Modena only so long as it has the trademark attesting its origin, else it must be recalled, and this makes the clash with USA dupes all the more radical.

Negotiations will continue, some say it will come to terms by the end of 2016, or with the next President succeeding Obama. Our producers are giving their undivided attention to the matter but, as a part of UE committees, the protection of DOP and IGP trademarks is a priority only for Italy and few more countries.
The best chance to push the negotiations forward would be to press on the matter of openness with the consumers, a matter that the USA cares a lot about. Guaranteeing that fully transparent information is provided to the consumers would allow original productions to be told apart from dupes and fakes.

This is a translated adaptation of this original article

Save Parmesan Cheese From EU Bureaucrats

Slow Food, an international movement that strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine, has started a petition on change.org to stop the usage of powdered milk in the production of cheese and dairy products. The petition will back up the Italian law established in 1974 that bans the usage of powdered milk for yogurt, caciotta, robiola, mozzarella cheese and other dairy products. It’s a law that contributes to protect Italy’s heritage in the field of cheese production and dairy traditions.

4madonne

This law has been discusses starting from the decision of the European Commission, pressured by the Italian dairy industry itself, that has asked Italy to change 1974’s law by the end of July to guarantee free trade of goods. This action is an attempt, and not the first in its kind, to lower standards in the name of free market, at the expense of consumers and quality producers. The result of this change would increase quantity over quality, standardizing a product that is typical, unique and protected by definition. The production of regional cheeses is based upon the quality and origins of the milk used, enabling producers to use powdered milk would, for all intents and purposes, endanger DOP and IGP (protected geographical identity) products. Most of the consumers purchase products based on their price, and the usage of powdered milk would make the cost of production, and of sale, lower, along with its quality standards, thus making it less likely for consumers to rely on traditional and high quality dairy products.

Powdered milk poses no threats for the health of its consumers, but using it in the production of cheeses would only bring increased profits for the multinationals already involved in the dairy industry and a standardization of the product. The usage of powdered milk would also lead to a penalization of a high-quality product that should reflect the biodiversity of Italy and, along with it, it would also penalize local and family-owned businesses.

In this discussion, Slow Food claims that using powdered milk is the last attempt to lower and level the production of dairy products in favor of big companies that care more about profit than they do about biodiversity and quality. The petition was started by Slow Food in order to “mobilize the public opinion, and bring together consumers, shepherds, farmers, artisans and chefs to counter the latest attack made by European bureaucracy against quality production of made in Italy dairy products”.
The petition backs the Italian minister Martina, who fights to defend the Italian law on the subject and with it hundreds of small producers and the heritage of milks, techniques, traditions, professions and communities that make up the Italian dairy tradition.

The Italian dairy production is a vital aspect of Italian cuisine, and features as one of its most prominent and recognizable products Parmesan cheese, one of many cheeses that prides itself in its traditional and protected geographical origin of production.

 

EU Stops USA to Use the Name “Parmesan” For Fake Cheeses

According to The Guardian, during recent trade talks, the European Union stated the desire to ban European names used in the United States for cheese. Parmesan is one of the cheese’s mentioned during the talks. The EU believes that cheese made in the U.S. pale in comparison to the European varieties, hurt the identity of European cheeses, like parmesan, as well as reduce sales.

The EU argument on copied PDO products.

The EU argues that parmesan cheese should only come from Parma, Italy, and the ground cheese sold in green, cylinder containers in the U.S. is not, and should not be labeled carry the name parmesan. The problem for the U.S. is what would you call the block of cheese grated onto your favorite pasta? If it’s not parmesan; then what is it?

Parmesan
Kraft exploits the name Parmesan to market  a product that has nothing to do with Parmigiano Reggiano – Source

The U.S. are fighting back.

Needless to say, U.S. dairy producers are fighting the change, claiming it would greatly cut into the $4bn cheese industry, and cause confusion for cheese consumers. The cheese name change would not only affect parmesan, but other popular U.S. cheeses as well, including feta, asiago, Romano and muenster.

Kraft, and other large cheese producers in the U.S. claim that while it was Europeans who originally brought parmesan and other cheeses to the U.S., it was, and is, the U.S. produces that have made these cheese profitable and popular. They also argue that cheese parmesan and other cheese names have always been considered generic names in the U.S.

What this name change comes down to is mass confusion by consumers in America, as well as loss in sales and jobs. Errico Auricchio, president of BelGioioso Cheese Inc in Green Bay Wisconsin suggested, “I can’t believe it’s not parmesan,” as an alternative name in jest.

Importing Parma Ham in the USA is Now Much Easier

The United States Department of Agriculture has announced that starting May 28th 2013, importers are free to import cured pork products from some regions of Italy. This is after a ban that lasted many years prompted by the fear that pork products from Italy could potentially contain swine vascular disease. The announcement was made after the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Unit completed an assessment in 4 main areas that produce cured pork products in Italy. Currently, the US imports an average of $90 million worth of some kinds of cold cut products from Italy and it is expected that once the ban is lifted, imports will increase by between $9 and $13 million.

salumi
Importing cured meats into USA now made easier

What has changed and what cured meats you can import to USA.

The areas that were cleared were all in the northern part of Italy and they include Lombardia, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto and Piemonte, Trento and Bolzano. These areas have not been able to export some pork products to the United States since the ‘70’s and this will be a big boost in trade for them. Although many people in both countries are looking forward to the lifting of the ban, some remain skeptical. They have two main areas of concern. The first is that although the Inspection Services say that Italian cold cuts can now be imported into the US, they have not specified exactly what standards producers are required to meet. The second area of concern is whether these products will be able to meet US importation guidelines when it comes to listeria, salmonella and ecoli. So far, only a few big producers in Northern Italy are able to meet these standards. And certification isn’t cheap either – to meet the guidelines, producers need to pay $100,000.

Some people are also worried that the vigorous standards required for importation of pork products like Parma ham and salami may also interfere in the quality of the products. This may be true because to meet the standards, Italian producers may have to slightly alter the way they have always made these products.

No More Smuggling

Other reactions were regarding the balance of trade; so long as Italians are able to export cold cuts into the US, they should also agree to import beef products. As of today, the US cannot export beef and other meat products into Italy. And of course American Italians had their say too; now, they will be able to enjoy pork products just like those that Italians in Italy are making. Now, they say, they no longer have to smuggle in salami for personal consumption.

Source of the news.

The Role of Emilia Delizia in importing cured meats into North America.

Our company built hundred of connections with local producers in the Parma/Modena/Bologna area. If you are interested in importing Parma Ham, Culatello, Salame di Felino and so on into the U.S. we are here to help. We can be your direct contact with the producers and also research to find the right product for your business. Please not hesitate to contact us for more information.

Food Piracy: The Phenomenon Of The Italian Sounding Food Products

Six millions euros per hour: that’s the amount of the made in Italy turnover loss – as reported by Confagricoltura – caused by the so-called “Italian sounding” whose images, names and colours imitate the Italian products, but actually having nothing to do with the original made in Italy quality, culture and traditions.

Parmesan
Kraft exploits the name Parmesan to market  a product that has nothing to do with Parmigiano Reggiano – Source

The phenomenon is well known as much as it is widespread, but it is rather impressive to read its evaluations and extent in black and white. Only EU considered, the match between fake Italian and real Italian sees the latter defeated 2-1: every two Italian products sold, only one is authentic.

“At the end of the year, the loss is over 54 billion euros, an amount greater than the real food piracy worth six billion euros” says Confagricoltura at Cibus Tour, highlighting that the trade of fake and imitations – in other words – all things pretending to be Italian, “are a loose cannon for the Italian alimentary export, this one representing the spearhead of the Italian export with an income of 28 billion euros in 2010.”

“While the food piracy – the real counterfeiting – is an illicit act punishable by law, the huge business of the Italian sounding plays in a grey area that can be fought only through international rules and agreements in order to assure a total transparency about raw materials and manufacturing process employed by traders.” claims the agricultural organization.

A legal action is urgently necessary, especially in those areas of great importance from the commercial point of view like the United States and Canada, where the Italian imitations outstrip the real Made in Italy ten-to-one – in North America there has been a refund of the defraud market quotas worth 24 billion euros, plus 3 billions of real counterfeit. Within the European border, which is supposed to be more protected, the gap is remarkable since, as mentioned above, it reaches 2-1.

The alimentary and agricultural percentage of the total national export amounts to 8% and it should also be considered that in the last few years its importance is strengthening and growing more and more in the total foreign sales volume, as compared with the negative trend of other economic sectors. If the Italian businesses want to remain competitive, they should reattain the grey area occupied by the Italian sounding.

“For this reason – says Confagri –, it is necessary to launch information and promotions campaigns so that foreign consumers can learn how to recognize a fake. Most importantly, at the WTO board the following subjects should be covered: the protection of the indication of geographical origin community system and definition of the standard productive process in social and environmental fields.”

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