PALERMO IN A JAM

Now it's official: every palermitano who drives - and that's most adults - spent 147 hours stuck in traffic during 2015. Thus the city earns the dubious honour of being the worst in Italy for traffic congestion, according to the TomTom Traffic Index. Rome comes second, Messina third, Naples fourth, Milan fifth and Catania sixth.

In the table for Europe, Palermo is fourth, after Łódź, Moscow and Bucharest and Rome is in ninth position.  

Mexico City "wins" first place for congestion in the world table and is followed by Bangkok, Łódź, Istanbul and Rio de Janeiro.  Rome is 15th, London 16th, Manchester 25th and Athens 29th.  

Dear old Cardiff, for those of you who are interested, has no world ranking - presumably because of its size - but was 121st in the "all cities" congestion index.

I'm sure you're wondering, as I am, what the palermitani do with all this time that they spend in traffic jams: Do they read their smartphones or newspapers?  Do they occasionally dart out of their stationary vehicles to consume a quick espresso? I rather think they watch each other and the world around them and indulge in the occasional good-natured shouting match. 

LIFE EXPECTANCY HIGHER IN SICILY

According to statistics released last week Sicilian women may now expect to live until they are 83 and men until  they are 78. This represents increases of 1.3% and 1.6% respectively as compared with 2004.

Circulatory disease is the main cause of death in Sicily for both sexes and the figure, at 43%, is higher than the national average. The second most common cause of death is cancer, presenting as breast cancer in women and colon or rectal cancer in men.

If I may make a totally personal and medically unfounded observation on this point, I have noticed quite a high instance of colonic illness even in my immediate circle and it is my theory that, despite the Arabic influences of their past, the fact that Sicilians have not adopted more of the spice cookery of the Mediterranean may play a part here.

However, there is hope for those who live in Ispica [a little town about 10 minutes from Modica]:

"Chi viene a Ispica compierà 100 anni - Those who come to Ispica will live to the age of 100."

I hope that residence is not a qualification and that my occasional visits will suffice.

ANOTHER YEAR AND SOME SHOCKING STATISTICS

Image: Wikimedia Commons via ECB

Statistics released today by Istat, the Italian National Statistics Office, show that 24.5% of Italians were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2010, a figure not much different from that for 2009. As usual, the situation is worse in the South, where 12.9% of families are suffering some form of deprivation, a figure which is double that for Central Italy and three times that for the North.  Family income is a stunning 25% lower in the South than in the rest of Italy whilst the percentage of Italian families in which the 18-59-year-olds work for less than one fifth of the year stands at 10.2, an increase of 1.4% as compared to 2009.

In 2010 16% of families were finding it impossible to manage on their monthly income and 8.9% had utility bill arrears. The number who had rent or mortgage arrears stands at 11.2%.  A worrying 31.3% of families had found themselves without the means to purchase necessary clothing during 2010 and 6.3% had been unable to purchase the food they needed at some point in the year. Also worryingly, 18.1% of families had experienced difficulty in paying medical expenses: Italy of course has a free health service but hospital appointments and tests carry a nominal charge for all but the poorest and there are prescription and some other charges.  The statistics also show that 11.5% of families had been unable to heat their homes adequately and you may be surprised to learn that most of these live in the South:  winter nights can be harsh here but the figures may also reflect the fact that families in the South are more likely to have elderly relatives living with them.

Sadly, it is Italy's young people who are most at risk of poverty and deprivation and again the figure is higher for the South.

Another year and another set of statistics, yes;  but behind each of these statistics there are human beings and stories of real suffering.  It is my earnest hope that politicians do not forget this and that everyone has a more prosperous 2012.

A FIRST FOR TRAPANI

Aeroporto di Trapani-Birgi
Image:  Wikimedia Commons

Sicily's Trapani-Birgi [Vincenzo Florio] Airport has this weekend been named the world's top airport for increased passenger use in the World Airport Traffic Report 2010 published by ACI  [Airports Council International]. It was ranked 406th airport overall in the study of data from 900 airports worldwide.

This is indeed good news for the airport that is the "gateway to western Sicily" and it could certainly do with some for, being a civil airport that is sometimes used for military purposes, Trapani-Birgi has found itself involved in the Libyan crisis, with NATO planes having taken off from there on missions to the country. This has sadly caused a 50% decrease in the airport's civil traffic in 2011.

Salvatore Ombra, president of the airport's management company Airgest, is, however, optimistic:  he says that, provided the Italian government lifts limitations on the use of the airport for civil flights from October 1st, as promised, the airport's apron is reassigned to civil aircraft and that the government pays the airport the €10 million due to it in compensation for disruption to civil flights, Trapani-Birgi will again be able to operate at full capacity, maintaining current routes and introducing new ones.

Good luck, Trapani-Birgi!

SICILY HAS WORST YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Italy, according to figures released by the small business association Confartigianato, has the highest youth unemployment rate in Europe with 1,138,000 unemployed under the age of 25.  Of these, young adults under the age of 24 are the worst affected, with 29.6% being unemployed as compared with a European average of 21%.

Sicily is the largest and worst affected of the Italian regions, with 28% of adults under 35 being unemployed.  This compares with a national average of 15.9%. In Southern Italy as a whole 538,000 young people are unemployed. The rate in Campania is 27.6%, in Basilicata it is 26.7% and the rate in Sardinia is 25.2%.  Things are very different in the North, the rate in Trentino-Alto Adige being 5.7% and that in Lombardy being 9.3%.  The rate in the country's smallest region, the Valle d'Aosta, is 7.8%.

I feel sorry for young people in Sicily, who, as I've written  here, do not go around burning the businesses of people who might one day have employed them, loot shops or terrorise the good citizens of their cities.

The unemployment rate for adults in Italy is 23.2%.

SICILY TOP DESTINATION FOR ITALIANS

The recession has hit Italy hard and, according to a survey carried out for Fedalberghi, only 55% of the country's citizens will be going on holiday this year.  Of these, 13% will be visiting Sicily, 10.2% will be making their way to Sardinia, 9.7% to Calabria and 9.5% to Puglia. The  Veneto, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany are fifth, sixth and seventh on the list respectively. It seems that 70% of Italians prefer seaside holidays and most of them like to take these in the South.

Just 21% of Italians will be travelling abroad for holidays in 2011 and most said that they will be taking a shorter break away from home than usual.

Italy was the third or fifth most visited country in Europe in 2010, depending on which set of statistics you believe, but there is no doubt that the top European country for tourism remains France.

SOME INTERESTING STATISTICS

The Italian National Statistics Office, Istat, has published Noi Italia, a collection of one hundred up to date statistics which will help Italians and others to understand the country and I must say, some of these make very interesting reading:

With a population of 60,600,000, Italy saw a fall in both the number of births and deaths on its territory  last year, with the greater decrease being in the number of births, at an average of 1.4 children per woman.  The slight recovery in the birth rate seems to have ended and the number of people over 65 is now equivalent to 20.3% of the population. This year 2.8% of the population are over 85 and the number of centenarians has tripled since 2001, to 16,000.

Life expectancy in Italy is the third highest in Europe, with only Sweden and Spain doing better.  The national average is 79.1 years for men and 84.3 years for women.  There are some interesting regional variations, with men in the Marche living the longest [79.8 years] whilst the most long-lived women are those resident in Trento-Alto Adige [85.3 years].  The lowest life expectancy for both sexes is in the Campania region [77.5 years for men and 82.8 years for women] whilst the gap between male and female life expectancy is narrowest here in Sicily [77.5 years for men and 82.8 years for women]. 

The number of foreigners living in Italy is estimated at 4,563,000, an increase of 328,000 on the January 2009 figure.  Of these, Romanians comprise the largest community of 890,000 with Albanians, numbering 467,000,  comprising the second and the country's 432,000 Moroccans the third.  The Chinese form the largest Asiatic population within Italy  and Ukrainians form the fifth largest community.  Foreigners from other EU countries number 1.2 million. 

The regions of Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Lombardy and Veneto have the highest numbers of foreign residents while the South as a whole has fewer.  Sardinia, where foreigners make up only 2% of the population, has the fewest.  

Shown as a percentage of the population as a whole, the number of foreign residents in Italy, at 6.5%, is strikingly similar to the UK total, at 6.6%.  Does this perhaps tell us something about the desirability of living in both countries?

A MINISTRY OF SINGLES?

The cause of single people is one close to my heart, for our contribution to society is rarely recognised and we do not feature on any government's list of priorities. I was therefore delighted to be able to write this article for Italy Magazine this week. Viva signor Lo Pilato!

The structure of the family is changing in Italy, albeit at a slower rate in the South. Between 1995 and 2000 the divorce rate soared by 74% and the number of separations by 57%. 200, 000 more people were living alone in Italy in 2000 than in 1995. According to Istat [the Italian Statistics Office] there were 5 million single people living in Italy in 2008, plus 2 million who were divorced, separated or widowed.

Now single people in Italy want their own ministry: this is the idea of Joe Lo Pilato, an agriturismo owner from Avellino, near Naples. Mr Pilato says that single people are discriminated against in every sector of life and especially when it comes to salaries, paying taxes and finding a home or job.

Mr Pilato has formed the “Sindacato dell’amore” or “Love Union” and it already has around 30,000 supporters in the Campania Region alone. The aim of the Union is to help all single people, whether they are alone by choice or not. Mr Lo Pilato has drafted a “Singles Charter” which he will soon present to the country’s political leaders. Among its demands are travel discounts and refuges for single mothers who find themselves in difficulty. Mr Lo Pilato also thinks that the government should help single people to meet others.

Mr Lo Pilato says that the movement had a helpline until recently but it has been closed down through lack of funding. The movement finances itself and is not linked to any political party.

The first “Singles Day” is scheduled to take place in Naples on 24th July.

WHAT 40 € WILL BUY

We have had our sun back today, along with a temperature of 22 C outside at lunchtime and so, for the first time in weeks, I felt like sauntering down to the location of "the best butcher in town": it is not far away, but it is an uphill walk back and that is not easy when you are carrying a lot of bags in inclement weather.

Here's what I got there for 40 € :

Back row, left to right: 6 super-sized lemons, 4 arancini [rice balls - all right, pyramids, then], 2 "thingies" [about which more below].

Middle row, left to right: 1 kilo small pears, 1 kilo lamb pieces on the bone, a large pack of basil.

Front row: 6 breaded veal escalopes and a pack of datterini tomatoes.

I have made arancini but in my opinion the experts can make them better and that is generally my philosophy about ready-prepared food: make what you know will turn out well at home but buy what can be prepared better professionally. I would guess that this is the philosophy of most Italians, too. Why make a mess egging and breading escalopes yourself if a butcher will do it freshly on the premises and make a neater job of it? Now, you may be wondering about the "thingies" at the back right of the first picture and so was I ! I asked the butcher if they had a name and he said they were "sort of polpettone" [big meatballs] of pork mince encased in very thin beef fillet. When I cook one I will let you know how it tastes!

I am out of touch with UK prices by now, but wherever you are, I would be interested to know whether you think this was a "good haul" for my 40 euros!

According to survey results published today, you can forget the sushi bars that have become popular all over Italy in recent years because pasta is still the number one food preference here. The percentage of those who eat meat often has increased by almost half since 2007 but strangely the popularity of pizza is decreasing. 77.7% of Italians taking part in the survey said they still buy local specialities, choosing cheeses, salami, oil, bread and wine, in that order. Consumption of liqueurs is down [but I don't think these statistics take into account those made at home, which reminds me, it's about time I got my own little distillery going again!] Wine production is lower than in 2007 because of climactic factors. Consumption of mozzarella di bufala is up in Italy, despite recent problems. Well done, the Italians, for supporting, on the whole, their own, beloved food produced in the time-honoured way.

By the way, I am still awaiting the plumber-electrician man - pazienza!

BLOGNOTE - STATS

My site meter is still stuck. I can't reinstall it /put on an updated one /put on another statistics counter because to do that you need a "layout" tab and I haven't got one! According to blogger help, to get it I have to upgrade my template and that involves losing most of what is in the sidebar. I'm scared I won't be able to reinsert the information! So I am sitting here procrastinating and trying to summon the courage to muck about with it...