The Italian view of the European continent is alternately ignorant and harsh, with Eastern Europe dismissed as dominated by ‘porn stars’ (Hungary; no doubt a reference to La Cicciolina), ‘thieves’ (Romania), ‘babysitters’ (Bulgaria), ‘women with braided hair’ (Ukraine) and ‘Other Slavs’ (Slovakia). Other latin countries are merely seen as extensions of Italy (France is the ‘Bruni Empire’, Spain is full of ‘Italian dialects’) or of other countries (Portugal is ‘Brazil’). The British Islands are reduced to popular sports (‘Rugby’ for Ireland and ‘Wembley Stadium’, the home of soccer, for the UK). Switzerland is the land of ‘(cuckoo) clocks’, while the Germans pay for their reputation as hard workers with the put-down ‘clock addicts’. Poland still is the land of Karol Woytila, the previous Pope, while Russia, again, is nothing more but a source of natural gas. Turkey is the land not of guest workers but of belly dancers.

Just like Germany, Italy itself is also split in two, also reflecting a dichotomy between a richer half (in this case the north) and a poorer half (the south, labelled ‘Ethiopia’ – Sicily is even called ‘Somalia’).

Compliments of Frank Jacobs on October 5, 2010