Passion of Italians

PASSION: A strong liking, desire for or devotion to some activity, object or concept

During high school I was always told to avoid starting off an essay with a dictionary definition. First of all, this can hardly be considered an essay, and secondly, I think that the incompleteness of Merriam-Webster’s definition of “passion” provides a fitting context to illustrate the real “passion” I have seen exemplified by Italians in my first month in Florence.

…for one another

My first Friday in Florence was spent at Pangoro Firenze, a small pub Oltarno, watching Giacomo, one of the CET Italian roommates sing. My apartment mates and I were among the first people there and were blown away by the crowd that had gathered by the end of the night. Giacomo played Beatles covers (which everyone sang along to), American pop classics (Stacy’s Mom was quite the hit) and to our delight, some Italian ballads during which we observed the Italians harmonizing with gusto. A friend of Giacomo’s even hopped up on stage with him for a few of the songs! The amount of support exemplified by Giacomo’s friends was astounding and the dynamic between performer and audience was enlivening.

…for their history

During a weekend in Milan, I unexpectedly bore witness to the passion that Italians have for their history. At Basilica Sant’ Ambrogio, a church a bit off the beaten path, I wandered around searching for the uncorrupted body of Saint Ambrose that I had read about. When I fortunately ventured down to a small chapel underneath the altar, I found the body of Saint Ambrose adorned in gilded garments. Though the chapel was quaint, I was not alone. A man with rather torn clothes knelt in the presence of the saint and held a crumpled scrap of paper in his hands as he recited prayers in Italian under his breath. With tears in his eyes, this man was deeply moved as he payed homage to the fourth century bishop of Milan. This outpouring of emotion was completely authentic and representative of the unadulterated passion exemplified by Italians I have as of yet encountered.

…for us!

For some odd reason, and to my surprise, Italians are curious about and intrigued by American students. CET arranges certain activities for us throughout the semester, one of the most recent being a cooking class at InTavola. With the help of the staff, we prepared a delicious eggplant appetizer, homemade pasta main course and a sinful tiramisu. During the whole preparation, we attempted to converse in Italian. Though I am far from being fluent in Italian, humor hardly needs translation. Fabrizio, our instructor, continuously teased Brian throughout the cooking process, since he originally stood out as the ‘Celiaco’ (Celiac). All the teasing, of course, was good-natured jesting, and any slip-up one of us made was inadvertently blamed on ‘Brrrrrian’. Fabrizio and his staff seemed thrilled to share their culinary culture with us and were pleased with our willingness to learn with a positive attitude.

I finally grasp why a dictionary definition is an inappropriate way to start a piece of writing. The word one seeks to define cannot be condensed into a single sentence or string of words. “A strong liking, desire for or devotion to some activity, object or concept” cannot possibly convey the raucous applause Giacomo’s friends showed towards his performance, the humbling sight of the kneeling pilgrim, nor the jest with which Fabrizio teased our cooking group. I look forward to the opportunity to continue living in and learning from a culture of people whose actions embody the essence of passion.

Sarah Greenlee, Vanderbilt University

CET Florence Student Correspondent, Spring '12