This picture is taken from our living room balcony. It captures the reality of living in Italy. Turn right and you will end up at the fencing complex. Go straight and you will end up at the very same fencing complex. Complex. Like so many things in Italy - there are many different ways of accomplishing a single task.
Both Barzini and Severgnini refer to the contradictory nature of Italy. Tim Parks, a British author, does a great job of creating tension in his stories that put a skin on this concept. We live in a land of contradictions. (Check out this post about some examples of contradiction in the city of Verona.) Just this morning, Jen was pointing out how contradictory it is that Italy's military is so small when it's renown for its military machine's place in history during the time of the Roman Empire.
No deep application here - just pointing out that it has often been tough to learn to live with the greyness of living the 'missionary life' in a land that is so very grey. Turn right, go straight, enjoy the ride, you will get there eventually. Think there are any applications here for Italians' spiritual lives?
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