Word: figura
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...riots in Rosarno, which reportedly began after three Italian teenagers fired air rifles at two African immigrants, unsettled a nation that prides itself on its bella figura - the beautiful image. About 2,500 migrants live in the Rosarno valley in the southern Calabria region, moving with the seasonal agricultural jobs. Many have political asylum or are otherwise legally in Italy, but legal or not, the migrants are managed by a Mafia-run employment system, the caporalato, that operates like a 21st century chain gang. Saviano says that those who object to low wages or poor working conditions are simply eliminated...
...major key to Italian-American culture is something called 'bella figura,'" says Gardaphè. "It basically means, to put on a show so people don't know the real you. If you're poor, you make them think you're rich. If you're rich, you make them think you're poor." For an immigrant people emerging from a history of foreign conquerors and a lack of a nation-state (till 1870), says Gardaphè, "It's all about protection...
...Severgnini, a columnist for Corriere della Sera, is the author of La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
...controversy over Pluto's planetary status after all these years [Aug. 28]? To call it a planet, a watermelon or a beach ball changes nothing. It remains the same object it always was. John M. Reynolds Augusta, Georgia, U.S. Severgnini's Italia Beppe Severgnini's new book, Label-La Figura, provides a good way to understand Italy [Aug. 28]. He's the best person to describe the highs and the lows of our country. Most books on the subject drown readers in a sea of awful clichés. Since Severgnini has traveled all over the world, he can draw...
...still based, he pauses in his tour to point out the different shades of the cathedral's stonework: "It has taken seven centuries to produce this imperfection, which echoes the equally fascinating imperfection in our heads." But it's not merely a more optimistic spin that sets La Bella Figura apart. Rather, it's how intimately Severgnini discusses his countrymen - he makes you feel as if he's introducing you to old friends. Even though La Bella Figura poses as an introduction to the Italian mind, it's as much an introduction to the author, proving that he's just...