News to fall in love with Milan, writing about fashion, Masterchef and houses for tram drivers
In Milan, in the March gardens, with the trees still bare, there is still a hint of spring in the air. And the streets are crowded with fashionistas for the women’s fashion shows of the next fall/winter collections (it seems that chocolate brown and high-waisted pencil skirts will be very popular, but a difficult choice if you’re not tall and thin). In order to counterbalance the perceived frivolity of the fashion world, Milano MuseoCity has launched 140 events in museums and historic buildings to showcase great works of art, as well as the collections of archives and corporate museums: a whole week of art, science, technology, design, ‘savoir-faire and know-how’. This is Milan: beauty and polytechnic culture, a thousand sparkling lights and the solidity of knowledge.
You can get an idea of Milan by leafing through the pages of the daily newspapers, which speak of a metropolis that everyone studies with obsessive attention, and that the Milanese themselves observe with a particular self-critical tendency (“Milanese are made” by demanding paths of inclusion and integration, guided by the tradition of work rules and civic and civil virtues, even if they are in a bit of a crisis today). And while there are those who write books entitled “Against Milan”, deploring its illustrious decline, there is a lively debate in the political and economic world, in civil society and in cultural circles (the “Grande Milano” Centre of Studies is an exemplary testimony) about what is to be done, in terms of government policies and social choices, so that Milan remains “the place to be”, despite a world of increasing conflicts and turbulent changes.
Without illusions or rhetoric. But, if anything, with the deep conviction that a metropolis is the perfect place for complexity and, why not, contradiction. Take note of the words of the great American poet, Walt Whitman: “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)” Milan is, indeed, a city of multitudes.
So what are the newspapers talking about? A Milanese woman from a Chinese family, Anna Ylan Zhang, who won Masterchef. She is unemployed, can cook very well, has the temperament of someone who can withstand tough competition (and is often emotional) and eventually succeeds. Everything about her is very Milanese (she was born in via Sarpi).
Reading the “Corriere della Sera”, you discover that in Via Palestro, a street in the centre of the city, cars belonging to members of a luxurious private club are double-parked or parked on the pavement, while a liveried doorman turns away ordinary motorists. Is this a confirmation of the drift towards “the city of the rich”? Perhaps we shouldn’t generalise about a single case of privilege. Reading on, we discover that “an overwhelming wave of Roman restaurants” is on the rise, as “all the most prestigious trattorias in the capital have opened here: it’s the new Milanese fashion”. “Gricia” and “carbonara” next to ossobuco and saffron coloured risotto: Milan is very inclusive, isn’t it?
We read in “la Repubblica” that the Archbishop of Milan, Mario Delpini, reiterated that “the city is not just the market and production”, that “loneliness is an epidemic” and that “Milan will be saved if there is trust”, that is, if humanity, solidarity and a spirit of welcome (not just for the beautiful models, the young people from wealthy families from all over the world and the generous use of guanciale in the kitchen) are not lost. Delpini is absolutely right.
The problem of expensive housing must be tackled as a matter of urgency, given the sharp rise in property prices and rents, which is driving away students, but also young professors, middle-class families and the young men and women of the “creative and intellectual classes”, those who have always been the vital energy of a “rising city”, of an expanding urban culture. Those who govern the city know this. And they are taking action.
An example? Again by reading the newspapers (it’s one’s civil duty to do so, we must have a deep interest in understanding where we live and how to be a good citizen: good information is essential, unlike the vulgarity and approximations so prevalent on social media)… Again in the newspapers, we can read about how the ATM is developing a plan for low-rent housing to recruit tram drivers. A good move, a smart direction for public and private institutions to follow.
The news also reports of “dark” events that create social alarm. But a closer look confirms that Milan, although marked by widespread petty crime, like all big cities, is not the Gotham City that so many like to conjure up, creating a climate of fear.
The news is always reporting that Lombardy’s health service is losing ground in certain ministerial rankings (but if you read on, you will see that the quality of care, in both public and private facilities, remains very high and is attractive to thousands of patients who come here from the rest of Italy). There is always “some good to come out”, as Giangiacomo Schiavi rightly comments in the “Corriere”.
We also read that Milan and Palermo, under the impetus of their two mayors, Beppe Sala and Roberto Lagalla, are planning joint programmes in the fields of culture, quality education, the environment, new technologies and the European development of the Mediterranean area, which could create “laboratories of frontier spirit and creativity” in the two cities”. And from a fundamental choice for “legality”.
These are just some snippets of the news. What do they tell us? That Milan, like every metropolis, must be understood with attention and respect, without making sweeping generalisations. And that the key to interpretation is the analysis of complexity. There are problems and solutions.
Indeed, a metropolis like Milan cannot live without the market, private enterprise, growth and incentives for success. But it cannot, of course, be left to the dominance of market logic. There is a need for good governance, national and regional and quality public administration. This must combine values and interests, both general and specific. As, moreover, the history of its mayors has shown it can do (and whose lesson should be reconsidered and reflected upon today). As its entrepreneurial classes and business associations have demonstrated, it shows how public and civic values can be nurtured even in the business world.
In short, a more productive economy (the word “productive” is essential, without getting caught up in “earning”). And better public administration. In a synergy of choices and projects that, as always, bring together market and welfare, competitiveness and social inclusion. A difficult synergy to maintain, however, when citizens read the news again and discover that the government continues to cut the funds available to local authorities for services and investment. Doing things on the cheap is not a good habit nor an effective democratic service to citizens. Not in Milan or anywhere else.
(photo Getty Images)
In Milan, in the March gardens, with the trees still bare, there is still a hint of spring in the air. And the streets are crowded with fashionistas for the women’s fashion shows of the next fall/winter collections (it seems that chocolate brown and high-waisted pencil skirts will be very popular, but a difficult choice if you’re not tall and thin). In order to counterbalance the perceived frivolity of the fashion world, Milano MuseoCity has launched 140 events in museums and historic buildings to showcase great works of art, as well as the collections of archives and corporate museums: a whole week of art, science, technology, design, ‘savoir-faire and know-how’. This is Milan: beauty and polytechnic culture, a thousand sparkling lights and the solidity of knowledge.
You can get an idea of Milan by leafing through the pages of the daily newspapers, which speak of a metropolis that everyone studies with obsessive attention, and that the Milanese themselves observe with a particular self-critical tendency (“Milanese are made” by demanding paths of inclusion and integration, guided by the tradition of work rules and civic and civil virtues, even if they are in a bit of a crisis today). And while there are those who write books entitled “Against Milan”, deploring its illustrious decline, there is a lively debate in the political and economic world, in civil society and in cultural circles (the “Grande Milano” Centre of Studies is an exemplary testimony) about what is to be done, in terms of government policies and social choices, so that Milan remains “the place to be”, despite a world of increasing conflicts and turbulent changes.
Without illusions or rhetoric. But, if anything, with the deep conviction that a metropolis is the perfect place for complexity and, why not, contradiction. Take note of the words of the great American poet, Walt Whitman: “Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.)” Milan is, indeed, a city of multitudes.
So what are the newspapers talking about? A Milanese woman from a Chinese family, Anna Ylan Zhang, who won Masterchef. She is unemployed, can cook very well, has the temperament of someone who can withstand tough competition (and is often emotional) and eventually succeeds. Everything about her is very Milanese (she was born in via Sarpi).
Reading the “Corriere della Sera”, you discover that in Via Palestro, a street in the centre of the city, cars belonging to members of a luxurious private club are double-parked or parked on the pavement, while a liveried doorman turns away ordinary motorists. Is this a confirmation of the drift towards “the city of the rich”? Perhaps we shouldn’t generalise about a single case of privilege. Reading on, we discover that “an overwhelming wave of Roman restaurants” is on the rise, as “all the most prestigious trattorias in the capital have opened here: it’s the new Milanese fashion”. “Gricia” and “carbonara” next to ossobuco and saffron coloured risotto: Milan is very inclusive, isn’t it?
We read in “la Repubblica” that the Archbishop of Milan, Mario Delpini, reiterated that “the city is not just the market and production”, that “loneliness is an epidemic” and that “Milan will be saved if there is trust”, that is, if humanity, solidarity and a spirit of welcome (not just for the beautiful models, the young people from wealthy families from all over the world and the generous use of guanciale in the kitchen) are not lost. Delpini is absolutely right.
The problem of expensive housing must be tackled as a matter of urgency, given the sharp rise in property prices and rents, which is driving away students, but also young professors, middle-class families and the young men and women of the “creative and intellectual classes”, those who have always been the vital energy of a “rising city”, of an expanding urban culture. Those who govern the city know this. And they are taking action.
An example? Again by reading the newspapers (it’s one’s civil duty to do so, we must have a deep interest in understanding where we live and how to be a good citizen: good information is essential, unlike the vulgarity and approximations so prevalent on social media)… Again in the newspapers, we can read about how the ATM is developing a plan for low-rent housing to recruit tram drivers. A good move, a smart direction for public and private institutions to follow.
The news also reports of “dark” events that create social alarm. But a closer look confirms that Milan, although marked by widespread petty crime, like all big cities, is not the Gotham City that so many like to conjure up, creating a climate of fear.
The news is always reporting that Lombardy’s health service is losing ground in certain ministerial rankings (but if you read on, you will see that the quality of care, in both public and private facilities, remains very high and is attractive to thousands of patients who come here from the rest of Italy). There is always “some good to come out”, as Giangiacomo Schiavi rightly comments in the “Corriere”.
We also read that Milan and Palermo, under the impetus of their two mayors, Beppe Sala and Roberto Lagalla, are planning joint programmes in the fields of culture, quality education, the environment, new technologies and the European development of the Mediterranean area, which could create “laboratories of frontier spirit and creativity” in the two cities”. And from a fundamental choice for “legality”.
These are just some snippets of the news. What do they tell us? That Milan, like every metropolis, must be understood with attention and respect, without making sweeping generalisations. And that the key to interpretation is the analysis of complexity. There are problems and solutions.
Indeed, a metropolis like Milan cannot live without the market, private enterprise, growth and incentives for success. But it cannot, of course, be left to the dominance of market logic. There is a need for good governance, national and regional and quality public administration. This must combine values and interests, both general and specific. As, moreover, the history of its mayors has shown it can do (and whose lesson should be reconsidered and reflected upon today). As its entrepreneurial classes and business associations have demonstrated, it shows how public and civic values can be nurtured even in the business world.
In short, a more productive economy (the word “productive” is essential, without getting caught up in “earning”). And better public administration. In a synergy of choices and projects that, as always, bring together market and welfare, competitiveness and social inclusion. A difficult synergy to maintain, however, when citizens read the news again and discover that the government continues to cut the funds available to local authorities for services and investment. Doing things on the cheap is not a good habit nor an effective democratic service to citizens. Not in Milan or anywhere else.
(photo Getty Images)