Nissar's Bologna Blog

Vesuvius, Pompeii and Herculaneum: The Wrath of the Gods

This one is for my parents. When I was a tiny tot my parents had a book on their shelf called ``Gods, Graves and Scholars`` and it was about major archaeological discoveries. The first part of the book was about the volcano Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. I was too young to read so my mother described to me what happened. I was also too young to understand the concept of a year, much less two thousand times that number. But staring at the photographs in that book I understood that a little while before there were radios, buses, planes and Dad’s Lambretta scooter, molten rock had poured down on the people of these cities.

Those tales and that book, which I still have, laid the foundation of my interest in history and they are what brought Ariba and me to the foot of Mount Vesuvius a few days ago. We were here to climb up to the cone of this sleeping giant – Vesuvius is still active though it has been quiet for the last 66 odd years - and explore the cities it ruined in 79 A.D.

Other than the path of destruction created by the lava flow the lower reaches are covered by dense forest. A motor-able road climbs up the side and at this time of the year wild flowers provide a riot of colour and fill the air with their scent. From some angles a neighbouring mountain has the most interesting shape. It looks like the profile of a reclining man, complete with deep set eyes, an aquiline nose and prominent chin. (Photos 1 and 2).

The parking lot is about a kilometre from the summit and the vertical height to be covered is only 134 mts. (340 feet). But at 35 Celsius (100 Fahrenheit) the heat was killing and the loose gravel like bits of lava under foot made walking very difficult and rather dusty. Here the land is barren. But pausing for breath now and again you can see life creeping back. Half a century after the last eruption large chunks of solidified lava are covered with lichen - usually the first sign of life after a volcanic eruption. Here and there small shrubs have begun to appear and there are some small, stray bushes of jasmine – evidence that bees and butterflies are at work. (Photos 3, 4 and 5). No idea how long all this will last. Vesuvius has erupted 50 times since 79 A.D. and today 3 million Italians live in its shadow.

The caldera is about 300 feet deep (Photos 6 ad 7). While we climbed we had seen clouds rapidly rising up from the valley below. Now as we stood and stared in sheer wonderment at this lunar landscape, we saw an interesting phenomenon. The clouds rising up the mountain side were then billowing straight into the caldera – almost as if they were being poured in by an unseen hand. Half way down into the caldera, they disappeared. Back home watching TV every evening, I am used to hearing the pretty newsreader talk of cold fronts, warm fronts, high and low pressure ridges and such like. Right there, on the rim of the crater, the computer graphics were replaced by live action – evidence of the warm temperature in the lower reaches of the caldera (Photos 8 and 9).

Our next stops were Herculaneum and Pompeii, the two towns destroyed by the eruption of 79 A.D. Herculaneum was the rich man’s playground. Close to the sea, its residents took shelter in caves on the waterfront but to no avail. The lava that burnt them to death also cooled instantly resulting in plaster-like casts of the victims which then lay covered in ash for 2,000 years. Archaeologists apparently found bodies huddled together in death, mothers with their arms wrapped around their children in a futile effort to protect their offspring. Nature spared no one. At Pompeii we saw the remains of 2 of its citizens. There was no signage in English to provide any detailed explanation. The photos are attached. Their expressions speak for themselves. (Photos 10 and 11).

Unlike the chaotically curving and winding streets we saw all over Italy, 2,000 year old Pompeii has a meticulously laid out grid of streets and avenues. Very North American. (Photo 12 and 13) At every alternate intersection there was an outlet for spring water, most now serviced by a municipal tap. (Photo 14) It was traditional to eat the mid-day meal away from home and eateries are scattered all across the city. Large earthen pots were built into the counter and the counter tops were of polished marble. A few still exist though I could not ascertain if they were found intact or have been restored. (Photos 15 and 16)

At one of the houses closed off for restoration, the workers had left the barrier unlocked. We simply HAD to trespass. Under a covered porch there was a horse cart. (Photo 17) In a room deep inside was a neat stack of 3 foot tall amphorae. (Photo 18) Some were broken others still intact. The food grains stored in them have long turned to dust. Yet 2,000 years later they still stood where the lady of the house had arranged them, just like the containers in our own kitchen pantry. How fickle life can be.

Pompeii and Herculaneum are not exactly at the base of Vesuvius but at a distance of a few miles. Yet so ferocious was the explosion that the citizens had no time to escape. 2 millennia later the giant still looms over the remains of the civilization it destroyed (Photo 19) I have attached a few more photographs (20 to 25) of the homes. Some are ruined beyond repair, others look as if they have been recently vacated and are waiting for the next resident who never did move in.

Driven by some strange logic that no one but a bureaucrat can explain, one of the most meticulously restored establishments in Pompeii is the city’s largest whorehouse. Double storied, it had 10 bedrooms on each floor and a bathroom. There is ancient graffiti on the walls. Some of it is in praise of the young ladies who plied their trade here (a few of them were apparently Chinese or Asian imports). Other graffiti artists have cursed the place for giving them a deadly disease or two. The beds were made of masonry and presumably had mattresses (Photo 26 and 27). The walls carried pornographic Greek art which was meant to either excite or educate or both. Several of the panels are still there. There are extremely graphic. (Photos NOT attached).

The Amalfi Coast: Maritime Power, Pirate’s Pick and now Tourist’s Paradise

Friends in Vancouver had told me that communication would not be a problem in Italy – we would always find people who spoke English. Obviously, none of these well meaning friends have been to Salerno. To be more precise, its train stazione. At 4 in the morning.

When the overnight train from Florence dropped us it was still dark. No one I spoke with had the faintest idea what a “ferry terminal” is and my little Italian phrase book was of no help either. So after being directed to a hotel, a taxi stand and bus stop (in that order) by polite people trying to help, quite by accident we found ourselves on the water front.

Dawn’s early light saw us sitting on a bench with the first boat to Positano still 3 hours away. Plenty of time to see a sleepy town come to life and compose some observations for this blog. The history of this region is quite interesting. On the Mediterranean coast, Salerno is a little east of Amalfi. A thousand years ago, the Republic of Amalfi was a maritime power in the same league as Venice. In fact it laid down the maritime law that was accepted as code of conduct in the Mediterranean. I believe Salerno was an integral part of that republic.

Around the 13th century Amalfi became the favourite hunting ground for Saracen (Turkish) pirates. This must have necessitated the construction of fortifications and observation posts. The ruins of these can still be seen along the coast line, sailing towards Amalfi itself and then on to our destination – Positano. (Photos 1, 2 and 3). The incessant pirate raids eventually led to Amalfi’s downfall. The Salerno waterfront today consists of a line of hotels and a large marina. (Photo 4)

I have not been able to research this but I wonder of the former rulers of the Amalfi republic were Spaniards. After all Spain did rule southern Italy until 1860. I say this because there seems to be no lingering allergy to the word Saracen. During our exploration of the coast we saw at least 2 restaurants that incorporated the term in their name. Wonder if it could have something to do with the concept that “my enemy`s enemy is my friend“.

As we waited for the ferry we periodically saw people going past us with towels and beach gear. We were a little puzzled as there was no beach in sight. The little ferry wharf is on the leeward side of an artificial reef that has been created by piling up large boulders. It was only on setting off in the ferry that we realized all of them were swimming and sun bathing on the very same rocks. It all looked quite slippery and precarious especially since without exception, they were all on the wrong side of eighty! Sailing along the coast we saw a bunch of homes perched atop a cave. (Photo 5) Wonder what our municipal guys would have to say to that development permit request.

Approaching Positano by sea, I quickly realized that it has two types of tourists. There are these huge yachts anchored off shore with sailors in smart, white uniforms transporting their masters to shore in their personal speed boats. And then there is us. The socialist in me cannot help but grin at the thought that the modern aristocrat and I are both enjoying the same view – and I am doing so at a fraction of the cost.

Positano is not paradise but it comes pretty darn close. The entire town sits perched on a cliff side. (Photos 6 and 7) There is one road that loops around a part of the town and also provides a road link to the outside world. Traffic moves one way only so if you miss your destination, which is very easy, you have to go all the way around and come back. Mini buses, cars, small transporters, motorbikes and scooters hurtle through down those hairpin bends without putting undue strain on the brake pads. Pedestrians have to walk in a single file. Nobody seems to mind.

The rest of the “streets” are narrow alley ways, the steepness of which is occasionally interrupted by even steeper flights of stairs. Everyone knows everybody else. The lady at the tourist office knew our pensione owner, Carlo. Carlo’s sister runs the best seafood restaurant in town. Her son is a good friend of the only gas station guy who parks cars for the little car rental place which only rents out Smartcars.

Seen from any angle the town looks like a picture postcard. Canopies of flowers cover parts of the “streets” from the blazing heat of the sun. (Photo 8) The region is famous for its lemons and some of these grow larger than our naval oranges (photo 9). There is a small, crowded beach and the ratio of shops and restaurants per tourist looks like about 10:1. Shops that are not in the microscopic bikini trade sell ceramics. (Photo 10 attached - ceramics not bikinis). There was also one cobbler/shoe shop guy who had a pile of soles on one side and a bigger pile of uppers on the other. Women could pick the upper of their choice, he measured them for a perfect fit and while they waited he put the pairs of sandals together. He would not let me take a photograph. Probably thought I might steal his brilliant idea and set up a franchise chain.

Florence, Siena and San Gimignano: Running Out Of Superlatives

For someone totally illiterate in the arts as me, the sheer volume of magnificent work by Michelangelo, Botticelli, Ghiberti, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, etc. is overwhelming. After 3 days in the museums, churches, baptisteries and cathedrals, we have seen the Madonna and Child from every conceivable angle and through the imagination of every great Renaissance painter and sculptor and every wanna-be -Michelangelo with water colours in the piazzas outside.

(This blog was delayed because of lousy connectivity at Positano, our next halt after Florence. We are now in Rome. It will take me a couple of days to catch up.)

A word of caution - if you are looking for a report that is even remotely educated, this blog is not for you; some of the observations will probably make any self-respecting art critic turn several shades of purple. First, Botticelli. His real name was Sandro Filipepi. (No idea how he acquired the nick name which means Little Barrels. May be he had the habit of carrying around the medieval equivalent of a hip flask). Anyone who has seen Alfred Hitchcock movies knows that old Alfie liked to add a walk-on part for himself, usually in the background of a crucial scene. He did not invent that concept. The character at the extreme right of Adoration of the Magi is Botticelli himself. Come to think of it he does look a little tipsy.

Botticelli`s portrayals of the baby Jesus are the cutest. His Jesus is chubby, has fat little fingers and toes and in general looks like the little smiley kids you want to pick up and play with. Even an art-moron like me cannot help marvel at the Birth of Venus, with Venus standing in a half opened shell and the two winds Zephyr and Aura blowing her towards the Isle of Cyprus.

Caravaggio was a painter whose name meant nothing to me until we saw his work on display at the Uffizi. His 400 year old Head of Medusa looks like a digital photograph taken just the other day. The venom n her eyes is real, the bared teeth are vicious and the snake/hair is sheer poison – in fact, she is everything a married guy’s wife looks like when she is pissed because he did something he was not supposed to and knew it – but went ahead and did it anyway. Michelangelo’s David is the best sculpture I have ever seen. Probably 9-10 feet tall, perfectly proportioned, he has hair like I used to have and abs like I always wanted. Generally speaking he is well endowed in every conceivable way. Amazing physical details, like the veins on the back of David’s hands, are a testimony to the talent of the most amazing sculptor the western world has ever produced.

Photography is not permitted within the museums but in the Piazza della Signorina not far away are copies of David and several other masterpieces. Particularly interesting is a work titled Rape of the Sabines. It depicts an older man vanquished in battle by a younger one who holds a woman rather viciously in his grip. Most sculptures can be admired from up front. This is the first one I know of that creates an urge to walk around it – and if you do you will see a work of absolute perfection and proportion. (See photos 1, 2 and 3 attached).

Sometime around 1500 A.D. a zealous monk called Savonarola tried to stand up to the powerful Medici family, then rulers of Florence. He and two followers were hanged in this piazza and their bodies were then set on fire. A metal plate marks the spot. I believe this piece of local history is the root of a term later borrowed by Hollywood - Bonfire of the Vanities. Art night the piazza came alive with street performers, mimes and musicians. A band had been allowed t set up stage between the statues and the effect was magical (photo 4 attached)

Sometimes it is good to lose a war. Just ask the Onyx guy who lost Canadian Airways to Air Canada a few years ago. In this case, it was Siena losing to Florence when Italian principalities fought it out for power and influence in the Middle Ages. Florence grew into a major commercial hub. That growth has continued today so that outside the cultural core, you see a bustling city of 400,000, lots of industrial activity, cranes, traffic jams – the works.

In comparison, Siena remained a medieval back water. As a result, we got to visit a town that, for the most part, is locked in time. The buildings on the main thoroughfares are mansions of the wealthy from a time gone by. One had expected to see a medieval aristocrat in jewellery studded regalia walk down the steps with his minions in tow. We trespassed onto the entrance portals of some of these to peep into the central courtyard and admire the atrium style hallways. The buildings have been divided into apartments but the essential character has been retained. The result is an interesting mix of old and new. Massive wooden front doors still bear the heavy cast iron bolts but these are and now no longer used. Instead they share the space with electronic buzzers and remotely operated door latches. The solid and ornate marble staircases have ceded their vertical open shaft in the centre to a state of the art elevator. Looking up, an open window reveals an astonishingly beautiful mural on the ceiling. The sounds emanating from the same room were those of a World Cup match on TV. (photos 5, 6 and 7 attached)

Siena still retains its ancient city wall. Wandering away from the tourist filled centre, we saw narrow winding streets of paving stone occupied by ordinary citizens going about the daily routine of life – a routine that has probably not changed much over the centuries.

Moving on from Siena, we abandoned the highway for a quiet drive through the Tuscan countryside to an even smaller town called San Gimignano. Founded y the Etruscans around 250 B.C., few tourists ever find this place, so if anything it is even more lost in time than Siena. (Photos 8, 9, 10 and 11 attached). The entire population still lives within the city walls, the dwellings are smaller and the little pizza shop had the best pizza in Italy.

The other Venice: City of Bells, Boxers and Bare Breasts

For the last several years Ariba has been accusing me of being deaf – or at least suffering from chronic selective hearing. I now I have a perfect excuse. Yesterday we were in the clock tower in Venice admiring a bird’s eye, 360 degree view of this picture postcard city, when without as much as by-your-leave, 2 of the 4 bells overhead began to oscillate. Slowly at first and then faster and faster until the gong|striker|whatchamacallit made contact with the bell itself.

Some religions say that on Judgement Day a loud bell will awaken the dead souls from their sleep. I now know what that is going to sound like. The bells were no more than 6 feet above us. Made of heavy duty cast iron, each of them is about 5 feet in height; the whatchamacallit is a little longer than that. Together they surely weigh a few hundred kilos if not a ton. Together with the massive pulley-like wheel that turns back and forth to give the bell its oscillatory movement, the entire contraption is about 8-10 feet in height.

The audio-visual impact is hard to describe. The ear splitting sound consumes your senses. As if that is not enough you have these massive behemoths moving back and forth at perhaps 1 oscillation every second. The combined impact is a complete suspension of the sense of space and time. I was transfixed for several moments before I turned my camera overhead and started taking photographs (Photos attached. Photos are attached to the blog in order of their reference here). Unfortunately the motion was so rapid and so close that I could not get any great shots. In any case photos cannot do justice to the experience. For

those of you who have not been here, Venice is everything you have read about, heard about and imagined. And more. In the morning the Grand Canal is like a busy street – water buses, water taxis, refrigerated boats delivering fish and meats to the hundreds of restaurants, assorted cargo boats complete with cranes to hoist their loads on to dry land, garbage collection boats, cops on the beat – the usual hustle and bustle of city life.

The Grand Canal itself is a picturesque tourist trap. (Photo attached) As it snakes through the city, hundreds of little canals some grandiosely called Rios radiate outwards, sometimes meeting up with each other, sometimes reconnecting with another bend in the Grand Canal and some ending up as cul-de-sacs. (Photos attached). Some are marked “no entry” while others have speed limits. Throughout all this is a maze of "streets". We walked for hours, always totally lost, yet always sure of finding our way out when we wanted to. I estimate that the narrowest one that we walked through was no more than 3 feet wide. The wider ones were about 8 feet and a couple of busy ones near the famous Rialto Bridge (photo attached) were a little more than that.

Walking along, every 50-75 yards you encounter a little bridge. Most are old – we just saw 2 newer looking ones. Some have interesting histories. One called "Pont dei Pugni" has no parapet on the sides. In the good old days, this was the arena on which members of feuding families literally thrashed out solutions to their problems. It is not particularly wide and I am sure most bouts ended in the water. They say travel is very educational. I now know why boxers are referred to as pugilists.

Another bridge with a bit of history attached is called "Ponte delle Tette". Sometime in the 1400s, the City Fathers decided that sodomy was becoming too rampant. In an attempt to curtail what was deemed to be immoral, they encouraged the prostitutes who plied their trade near this bridge, to "display their wares" from the windows nearby. I now know the root of a well known slang word as well. Photographs are attached.

It was dark, unlit and deserted when we got there. As I walked around taking photographs, a pot bellied, elderly gentleman clad in an undershirt and undies suddenly opened the ground floor window behind me. He had no idea we were visualizing the history of his neighbourhood and so could not understand why Ariba and I collapsed laughing.

The Venetian monuments are truly outstanding. At one time the city was ruled by a `Doge`. The Doge`s palace has a priceless collection of statues, massive oil paintings, exquisite frescoes on the ceilings, suits of armour and heavy swords that would give me carpel tunnel syndrome in a week. The breathtaking sight was that of the staircase. Called the Ca’ d’Oro the frescoes on the ceiling are painted with real gold. (Photo attached)

The Basilica is most interesting. While firmly steeped in the Roman Catholic tradition the murals and frescoes are most definitely Byzantine. In fact the rich gold paint and the images of a seated Jesus Christ wearing a robe and surrounded by his followers or with Mary are almost identical to those we saw in Istanbul a few months ago. Even the expression on his face, seeming to glance slightly to the side, is the same.

As I write this blog we are speeding through the Italian countryside on our way to Florence. This is our first experience of a high speed train. The speed is about 200 miles an hour (320 kmph). I wish I could open a window and feel the wind in my face. Another time, not very long ago, I would have said hair....

Children of a Dream

Professors Stefano and Vera Zamagni laid out a lavish feast for us on Tuesday. Their summer home is in a small village in the mountains overlooking Bologna. A short distance as the crow flies; the bus required an hour to negotiate the steep switchbacks. I have attached some photographs of the stunning vistas as well as a group photo of the Zamagnis and our project co-ordinators Elvi and Giovanni. Giovanni`s demeanour and body language has me convinced that he is related to Roberto Benini.

During the day we visited the Federazione Banchi di Credit Co-operativo Emilia Romagna (BCC in English and B Chi Chi in Italian). The B Chi Chi comprises 22 autonomous banks, some of which are very small. The combined work force is 3,000. Co-operative Banks are more or less the same as Credit Unions. There is one interesting difference – it is not obligatory for a client to be a member of the Bank. However in order to continue to be recognized as a Co-op Bank at least 51% of the clients have to be members. As a result, over the years, some intuitions have lost that status and continue to exist as regular banks.

“We are children of a dream”, explained the chairman. When the system was established in the late 1800s, economists were convinced that it would soon be dead, crushed by a combination of debt load and inflated egos. Nothing of that sort happened. There have been a few mergers over the years but in general the focus has been on remaining small and yet profitable.

Seems to have worked. Traditionally non performing loans have been around 2.5%. This rose to 3.4% during the economic crisis. Corresponding numbers for the other FIs in the same market are 5% and 6.1%.

They did not deny credit during the crisis and yet defaults have remained low. The trick has been in knowing the member and in this, being small has helped. As the chairman explained, they know not just the clients but their families. In some cases the relationships go back a few generations on either side of the table.

"We are financing the reputations of these people. In the areas of personal banking, quantitative analysis is not that important", he continued. "In this business if you want to make a difference you have to work not just with your head and your hands but also with your heart".

On Wednesday we had our last site visit. CAMST is a gigantic food cooperative. Started in 1845 by a group of 16 cooks, waiters and bartenders, it supplies food to schools, hospitals, businesses, restaurant chains through distribution centres, catering and banquet services and it runs a chain of restaurants.

Here are some of the numbers: 2008 Revenue €936 Million, 10,000 employees including 1,000 cooks. They serve about 100,000 meals a day and were the food suppliers for the winter Olympics in Turin in 2006.

The first four articles of its charter sum up the organization‘s raison d’être: To take care of workers, use its profits wisely, meet the needs of clients and collaborate with other co-operatives which function along side.

We were guests at their restaurant. I ate like a pig: an awesome bowl of salad, a chicken breast in some kind of fantastic sauce, a plate of spaghetti and a cappuccino. I skipped the gelato but had a bowl of fruit. If I had to pay for the meal it would have cost me a little less than 10 bucks.

So this brings the official study tour to a close. Ariba is here and we are now on holiday until the 11th. This blog is being written from Venice. I will continue to provide some updates for those interested.

Over the last few days many people have written very positive emails. Thank you all for the encouragement and support.

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Making A Difference, Quietly

I now have a tan on my brown, bald head. Never did occur to me that it could happen. But the sun was merciless today andsimultaneously  sapped the energy while giving me that tan. So today`s blog is going to be short. I think. I need to get some sleep. 

We visited another consortium and 2 amazing co-ops today. My caption to today`s blog refers to the first. It is called Giovani Rilegatori Social Co-op. Rilegatori means Young Binders. 25 years old, Rilegatori has four business divisions. Its social purpose is to work with disadvantaged people. At least 50% of the workers have physical or mental disabilities, are recovering from drug addictions, etc. The first division, binding, does precisely that. As we watched, the team steadily worked their way through a pile of manuscripts. The next division, assembly, is where big businesses send minor parts for assembly. Today some of the staff was snapping together plastic components for Citroen door handles. The warehousing division is an amazing success story. Started just a couple of years ago, this is the first document warehousing facility in the area (like Iron Mountain). They also scan and back up each document. The 9,000 sq. Mt. Facility is full and they are looking for more space. The last division is a copy center like Kinko’s or Mail Boxes. You are probably getting sick of my saying this but yes they run at a profit ad get no donations or grants.

They have a Manager of Social Responsibility who ranks higher than the Director of the operations and reports directly the Board. The thing that strikes you straight away is the quiet, self assured-ness of the whole operation. And the genuine affection the Director and his senior staff have for those at work, some of whom react like children in his presence. “Nobody is assisted”, he says. “Each does what he or she can”. Another small phrase from him, said in a very positive sense, left a deep impression on all of us. “We recycle human beings”, he said.

A massive pasta lunch was followed by a visit to a massive business cooperative. 3Elle is a 108 year old furniture manufacturing co-op. In the 1940s they shifted from kitchen furniture to doors and windows. I’ve spent the last half hour interpreting the contents of their Italian Language financial statement and have it figured out. The annual revenue was €74 Million and the Net Income was in excess of €3.5 Million. Membership requires 5 years of steady employment with a clean employment record, demonstrated commitment to the co-operative principles and an investment of €46,000. Deserving candidates get financial assistance if required. About 10% of those who apply are selected for membership every year; the others have to try harder next year. To date, no one has quit because he was rejected.

95% of the production is consumed in Italy and 3Elle is one of the country’s top three door manufacturer’s. They fend off competition from the Eurozone by producing quality products. I believe them. I saw it.

Tomorrow we visit a local co-operative bank. Should be very interesting. I have a dozen questions for them. No blog tomorrow. We have been invited for dinner to Professor Zamagni‘s house. I shall write about the co-op bank later. -

Cinque Terra - Adventures in Legoland

There is only one word to describe a Fiat Panda. Tiny. It seats 4 and has room left over for very small luggage. In my case the 3 other seats were occupied by 3 hysterical women. Hysterical because as we were tearing down an Italian highway at 150 kms. per hour and assorted cars, trucks and motorbikes were merrily cutting into our path without indicating their hostile intentions; I made the mistake of telling them I had never driven a stick shift car in this part of the world. One took over the GPS, the other screamed every time another vehicle came close. The third, who is slightly younger than my son, but will probably make a very good mother one day, periodically checked if I needed water, if I'd like to eat something and once wanted to know if I needed to go to the washroom.

Three chaotic hours later we were parked off the road above Riomaggiore, the first of 5 villages that make up Cinque Terra (pronounced Chin-kway Tay-rah). I have not been able to find a way to attach captions to the photographs. They are therefore attached in order of the narrative below.

Seen from above the water is crystal clear and an amazing shade of blue (photo 1). The villages, nestled at the base of the steep slopes, look like something kids would make if given a thousand boxes of Lego and a free hand. Houses perched on top of the other, with 3-4 foot wide alleys and stairways creating meandering patterns while they all lead down to the sea, the entrance to one house doubling up as a veranda to the next. The villages have some kind of aesthetics commissioner who decides the colours of the houses. The result is so enchanting that even something as mundane as laundry hung out to dry, seems to add to the charm. (See photos 2, 3 and 4). Having said that, I did notice that many of the homes are beginning to take on a rundown look. May be a sign of the economy and its debilitating dependence on tourism. There are hardly any fishing boats in sight. I have not had a chance to study the economy but I wonder if commercial over fishing has killed the small boat owner’s business. The hill sides above Riomaggiore and the next village Monarola have been cut to create terraced vineyards. The grape vines also make an effective roof for carports. (see photos 5, 6 and 7). By the way, cars are only allowed up to the outskirts of each village and there is a narrow gauge train service. In the villages there is no option but to walk. On the shores of the Mediterranean, the 5 villages are very close to each other and you can see all of them from virtually any vantage point above Riomaggiore. I am not sure what has caused the rocks on the waterfront to erode the way they have, but there are deep vertical serrations running down the cliff sides. (See photo 8). While they are close together as the crow flies, the hike from Riomaggiore through Manarola, Corniglia and Vernazza to the last one – Monterosso is quite another matter. The first 2 legs are along the coast and easy. To get from Corniglia to Vernazza is a 1 and a half hour hike over the mountains. The last leg to Monterosso requires you to traverse 2-3 hills and takes 2 hours. The relentless mid-day sun beating down at more than 30 degrees C just about killed me but my masculine ego demanded that I had to keep up with these astonishingly fit friends even if they are half my age. The young mother hen described above took very good care of me though.

The mountainside above Corniglia is thick forest. There is a pleasant aroma which I think is pine. The guide books also refer to several other herbs and edibles about which I know very little since I only see them crushed and in bottles. The amazing sights were a thicket of bamboo and further up another one of 10 foot high cacti (see photos 8 and 9). No idea how or why these got here and how they are flourishing in this environment.

Despite the heat and the effort, the sheer beauty of the vistas made this trip worthwhile. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The final reward for all our troubles – a gorgeous sunset. Took it easy today (Sunday). Walked for a couple of hours through the streets, Dawdled in the archaeology museum and then finally climbed the 487 steps up the Tower of Asinelli – the highest structure in Bologna. Torre degli Asinelli is 334 feet tall. . My guide book says it is tilted 2.5 mts. I cannot see the tilt but it is definitely twisted towards the stop. Inside, engineers have used a system of braces that seems to hold it all together. The stairs are steep and narrow. About half way up is a marker that tells you that you are passing the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was built in the 12th century at a time when the region’s leading families built towers as status symbols. This is the tallest one still standing and it affords spectacular views of the medieval city and the hills beyond. A couple of shots are attached along with (for no particular reason), a mug shot of my friend Neptune. It's back to work tomorrow.

Umbrella Organizations

Maybe Neptune went fishing in the nude. I can find no other explanation for the statue in the Piazza del Nettuno. At the top of the fountain/sculpture/monument stands Neptune totally naked, Trident in hand, stomping on a dolphin. It gets weirder after that. At the next level below, there are four cherubs. Needless to add, all are naked and they hold dolphins in their hands which spew forth fountains of water from their mouths. Not sure if this means something or it is an early example of art for art`s sake. That however becomes irrelevant as we get to the lowest level. Here, arching backwards in a highly suggestive pose, are four sirens. Of course, they too are naked. Their modesty is protected by strategically placed pots. Rather pointless in my opinion because fountains of water stream from their breasts. The photographs are attached. Exotic, erotic, obscene or just plain weird – you decide.

The first visit this morning was to Legacoop. Legacoop is an organization that has been set up to promote the values of cooperation and mutuality, They provide representation, assistance and protection to the member co-ops, assist in management of relations with the government, advice on legal issues, etc. 15,000 co-ops are members of Legacoop. These have a combined annual revenue of €58 Billion, employ 485,000 workers and have 9.5 million members. No point in boring you with details but our basic purpose here was to understand the functioning of the organization so that we can study the prospects of replicating it in our environment.

Next halt – Risanamento Housing Co-op. Social housing is an important part of Vancity`s strategy so we were all eager to see this success story ourselves. Everything about Risanmento is impressive starting with the gate to their office (photo attached).
The co-op is 126 years old. It started its life with a capital contribution of 50 cents. Today it owns 2,223 apartments in Bologna. They have 6,972 people on the waiting list. 2009 ``housing charges`` amounted to €17 million. EBITDA was €6 Million (35%) and the properties are collectively valued at approx €600 Million! The average rent for a downtown Bologna apartment is €361 per month. A corresponding private tenancy comes in at €1,800 per month. Yes you got that right. And they still made a net profit of almost €4 Million!

They are retrofitting old buildings to make them safe, build eco friendly new ones and give members choices of decor during construction.

And they serve great sandwiches.

We have the weekend free. A couple of us are going to drive down to Cinque Terra, a picturesque string of 5 villages on the Mediterranean Coast. I shall try to blog on my return, but we are going to hike the distances between the villages so it promises to be a long day. I forgot to attach some shots of the porticoes yesterday. Here they are now.

Of Videos, Porticos and Profit Making Social Co-ops

A slip up by me made me the butt of a whole lot of jokes by the team this morning. Yesterday 2 (female) colleagues and I had decided to do a joint video which we would post as the day’s blog entry. They then went off for dinner. So I slipped a note under one of the doors, suggesting that we get together on their return “to make the video”. Except that I slipped the note under the wrong door – that of a senior member of our Board of Directors. He was very amused. Walked in this morning while we were all at breakfast and wanted to know exactly what kind of fun we had been having after hours. For the next half hour the entire team created potential scenarios of the Director knocking at my door at 11 at night (with senior leaders chipping in as well).

I ran more than 5 kilometres this morning. There is something awe inspiring about running on sidewalks that are under vaulted porticos and periodically encountering a 12th century church or a tower, one of which is leaning. (Pisa’s tower is not the only one with a soft foundation). Bologna has 35 kilometres of these arcades and it is tempting to marvel at them as if they are a sign of some rich architectural tradition from the Renaissance. The truth is far more mundane. Home owners wanted to add rooms in the front of their upper floors during a period of economic boom a couple of hundred years ago. The City had no objection provided that the height of the portico was enough for a nobleman to ride his horse without hindrance! In fact the height in most cases is more than 25 feet. Most of the ceilings are very plain but a few have some impressive artwork. Not sure if it is new or simply well preserved.

We visited 2 fascinating for-profit co-ops today. The first, called SolCo Insieme is a consortium of 11 co-ops that undertake normal business activities while providing employment and assistance to people with developmental and other disadvantages. Among the business they run: 3 restaurants, 1 movie theatre, a theatre, beer manufacturing, janitorial services. At a minimum one third of the employees have to be disadvantaged. Those who are unable to work make little handicrafts with the help of volunteers. (photos attached)

The combined revenue in 2009 was €8.6 Million. They employed 346 workers. And each of them turned a profit despite tough market conditions. They run like typical businesses – they have budgets, strategic plans and accountability. There is ZERO charitable contribution their cash flow. The management is well experienced in management of social objectives and receive intensive training and support in business management (if there is a shortcoming). The key driver is the realization that in order to meet the social objectives, they have to ensure profitability. Sounds exactly what we aim for at Vancity.

The next visit was to the Manutencoop Group. Owned by members who contribute a minimum €7,000 IF selected to join, the Co-op Group owns the controlling share of a publicly traded company. The company in turn owns scores of business units. The focus is comprehensive facilities management for business. Services include property management, public services, health care, elevator maintenance, landscaping, HVAC maintenance, etc., etc., etc.

The co-op has 640 members, employs 16,000 workers and had 2009 revenues in the amount of €1.2 BILLION. It is the largest facilities management group in Italy and has doubled in size in the last 10 years. 58% of the employees and 6 out of 17 directors are women. Annual returns are in the 8.5% range and in addition there are a variety of bonuses and benefits. Factoid: Since 1995, all workers get a free PC if they have an email address so that management and workers can share ideas more efficiently.

These organizations prove that it can be done. A business model that reduces inequality and promotes fairness while defying the purely capitalist model can work and win.

Now for my chai story. A couple of days back I had this urge to have a good cup of chai (tea). I popped my head into a South Asian owned business to inquire about it. A client of theirs overheard me, insisted on taking me home and I sat and watched TV with his family while they made me a cup and tried to feed me all sorts of goodies. They wanted me to say for dinner but I did not. As I walked away marvelling once again at this typical South Asian hospitality, it struck me that we did not even exchange names.

We had found time to visit Santo Stefano Church a few days back and I would like to describe it here for those interested. This is actually a collection of 4 churches which are attached to each other so you can pass from one to the other without stepping out. The oldest dates back to the pre-Christian era and is actually an old Temple of Isis which was converted to a church in the 5th century. It has an empty crypt. I am not sure if I am entirely right but I think it is supposed to signify the ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven.

Adjacent to this are 11th century Roman cloisters that are still in use. Today they house ordained priests from Africa. An observation that intrigued me but for which I do not have an explanation is the shape of the crucifix on the outside of the main church (Chiesa di Croccifiso). It has the regular sides of a “+”sign. Instead of the Roman Catholic cross which has the elongated vertical bar. Based on my limited knowledge of these matters I have always associated the “+” crucifix with the Eastern Orthodox or Greek church.

In the courtyard there is a basin in which Pontius Pilate allegedly washed his hands after condemning Christ to death. In fact it has been dated to the 8th century. The rest is marketing

Tune in tomorrow for a photo and description of a 500 year old statue of Neptune. I can`t decide if it is exotic or erotic.

For-Profit Cooperatives in Action

The 3 hour drive from Bologna to Trentino in Northern Italy today was a feast for the eyes. Old homes and businesses on the outskirts of this medieval town gave way to fields and vineyards. Periodically a fast flowing river or stream carrying snow melt from the Dolomites would appear nearby only to disappear from view a few hundred yards later. About an hour out of town the plains were replaced by gentle rolling hills dotted with little hamlets, churches and farmhouses. Finally we headed into the mountains and a landmark – a castle that used to belong to the Von Trapp family. So my humorous Sound of Music comment in yesterday’s blog almost came true! A photo is attached below.

Located close to the border with Austria, the Germanic influence is strong and visible. Signage is in 2 languages and the flower laden window boxes are a reminder of the fact that until the early 20th century this region was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Trentino is home to 600 co-operatives with 227,000 members (total population 500,000!). They are active in financial services, consumer goods, agriculture housing and social services. 70% of banking in Trentino is provided by Co-operative Banks. What an amazing success story right there.

Our first halt was to meet with the head of the European Research Institute on Cooperative and Social Enterprises ( www.euricse.eu ). EURICSE provides a platform and framework for research & development, education & training and consultancy, etc. to individuals and institutions globally. Some of the work is in partnership with UNDP. Here is a clear example of one of the co-operative principles at work – the secrets of your success are to be shared so that others can be successful too. This is in stark contrast to our world, where the lack of success for others is intrinsic to our own victories.

In the afternoon we were guests at the Federazione Trentina della Cooperizione. No prizes for guessing what that means in English. This umbrella organization provides governance, legal advice and other assistance to its members. One more amazing piece of geeky data and an astonishing related factoid: The cumulative capital in the cooperative movement in Trentino is €2.4 Billion. If a cooperative closes the capital remains in the community. Incidentally the word for capital is patrimony.

Once again we confronted the issue of a non homogenous society. Here again we find how the Italians are making it work. The society has 3 entrenched major linguistic groups plus 40,000 new immigrants who bring scores of new cultural, religious and ethnic variations to this formerly uniform social structure. Sure there is conflict but the approach is that the culture is enriched and the overall outcome is positive.

The President had some interesting info that caught our attention. Co-op Banks have traditionally loaned moneys based on relationship and not collateral. Their loan losses at 1.5% have traditionally been lower than those of their counterparts. Their lending increased during the recession when big banks were closing their doors. Sure, loan losses increased to 2.7%, however this was still lower than that of the big guys. More importantly,the president did not think that non-collateralized lending was to blame –in bad times challenged businesses will fail regardless of loan security structures. The validity of the approach is borne out by the fact that today even big banks are looking at relationship banking as the way of the future.

Last halt, the CAVIT Wine Co-op. CAVIT is a federation of 11 wine co-ops. They account for 65% of the wine produced in the region – mostly for export. I am not a drinker but Rob Malli told me that he has seen some of the brands in BC Liquor stores. The individual vintners bring crushed, fermenting grape juice to this multi-million-Euro, state-of-the-art facility. Here it is processed, finished, tested for quality, graded, bottled and stored. The cost savings to the members is enormous. In the attached photos you will see wooden barrels that have a 30,000 bottle capacity, 3-storey high stainless steel ...... containers (can’t think of the right word), wooden casks and wine tankers. Yes, you read that right. They look like our gas transporters but consumption of the contents will definitely not allow you to drive down he road in a straight line.

Everybody who says shopping n Europe is very expensive has obviously not visited small town Europe. Over the last few days, some of us have bought all season Tasmanian wool suits for €130, Italian leather shoes for €30 and beautiful ties for €5. The ladies have been out shopping too but I don't have specific details.

Tomorrow I shall share my chai drinking experience. Ciao.