Word: lire
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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...relieve Italy's drought. Superstitious Communists carried defiant signs: "Is it raining? Will it rain? Certainly not until after the Feast of Unita!" They were right; soon a hot sun enveloped the crowds as they watched bicycle races and boxing matches, played roulette, danced, drank, threw baseballs (50 lire for three shots) at caricatures of priests and bishops and of Premier Alcide de Gasperi and tough Interior Minister Mario Scelba, who was by far the most popular target...
There were other attractions. For 25 lire, Communists could measure their strength by pulling a huge sickle which-when pulled hard enough-brought a huge hammer crashing down on the head of a fat capitalist dummy in frock coat and top hat. For less athletic comrades, Unità made its points more subtly, in exhibits of socio-political art and Russian literature. An elderly Russian woman in a lacy Ukrainian peasant blouse stood by the book exhibit. A young associate explained: "Mrs. Jakobs is here on purpose to translate the Russian writings into Italian for the comrades. If a comrade...
...seats for 4,000 people at long tables which were piled high with roast chickens, rolls, and flasks of Chianti. In an open-air kitchen, three cauldrons five feet tall steamed with a never-ending supply of spaghetti. Enthusiastic eaters hacked their way through mountains of food at 450 lire (75?) a meal. After lunch, many stretched out under the shady trees, took off their shoes, spread a copy of Unita over their eyes, and slept...
...smugly on Russia's possession of the atomic bomb. After the boss's speech, the carnival ended in a burst of fireworks, followed by glowing reports from the party treasury that the Florence carnival had boosted the total sum collected for the Communist press beyond 300 million lire (slightly less than half a million dollars...
Hunch-players in Italy's weekly lottery often consult a handy handbook called the cabala which gives the magic numbers associated with certain objects and events. In Naples last week bettors staked nearly half a million lire on a combination 16 (funeral), 22 (flags), 81 (flowers) and 38 (beatings). The hunch-players were impelled toward this combination by events that followed the death of one Angelo Cicatiello, an obscure and contented man in life...