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An Italian's Response: Italy not quite like letter claimed

Originally from the Iron Range, I have been living in Italy for more than 19 years and have dual Italian and American citizenship. I am back in Minnesota visiting my folks, and my ever-attentive mother cut out a Sept. 24 letter from the News Trib...

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Denfeld’s 1947 boys basketball team is the only Denfeld basketball team to win a state title. The team’s head coach was Lloyd Holm. Team members were Rudy Monson, Larry Tessier, Paul Nace, Kenneth Sunnarborg, Eugene Norlander, Howard Tucker, Tony Skull, Jerry Walczak, Bruce Budge, Keith Stolen and student manager Bob Scott.

Originally from the Iron Range, I have been living in Italy for more than 19 years and have dual Italian and American citizenship. I am back in Minnesota visiting my folks, and my ever-attentive mother cut out a Sept. 24 letter from the News Tribune, " On infrastructure, Duluth can learn from Italy ." The letter contained the observations of a Duluth business leader upon his return from a trip to Italy.

While I appreciated the appreciation expressed in the letter for the state of Italian roads and so forth, I would like to offer a few remarks.

First, I know of no roads in Italy - except perhaps those dug up and located in protected areas such as at the Roman Forum or in pedestrian-only areas found in many historic centers - to be more than a few years old, as the letter stated. This means they are constantly being re-asphalted (more so than the roads in the United States because of the heavy traffic both in terms of sheer volume and the numbers of semi trucks, much of the truck traffic to and from eastern Europe).

The cobblestone streets, which we have in the medieval part of my town, Vittorio Veneto, also are dug up and replaced every three to seven years, depending on traffic.

The money to pay for all this comes from the semi-privatized Autostrada (highway) system, which is heavily tolled. It also comes from higher annual car license fees that are based on horsepower, and much higher gasoline taxes. Italy has the highest gasoline taxes in Europe, which is why gas costs three times more there than in the U.S.

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Also, let's not forget the challenges northern Minnesota has with its roads, including the use of road salt in winter and the damage caused by freeze-thaw cycles.

The letter writer said he noticed fewer cigarette butts in Italy. I'm not sure about that, but I will challenge anyone to go to a beach on the Adriatic and try and build a sand castle without finding not one but several butts.

The water in Italy is generally clean, especially so in the north and through the Apennine Mountains areas of central Italy. Nonetheless, the majority of Italians consume bottled water at home.

Recycling is, as the letter mentioned, more advanced, which is a good thing. However, bigger cities, especially in the south - think Rome and Naples - are challenged with waste-disposal problems caused by mafia control and union strikes.

I love living in Italy and welcome all to come and visit the "Bel Paese." Enjoy its wonders of history, cuisine, wine, and geographic beauty: the Dolomite Mountains, the clear waters of Sardinia, and the quaint villages of Sicily and Puglia. Most of all, come and enjoy the amazing people.

Ciao e Viva l'Italia!

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Darren Maturi

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Darren Maturi of Vittorio Veneto, Italy, grew up on the Iron Range, was graduated from Virginia High School in 1985 and from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989. He currently is an airline captain for Cathay Pacific Airlines. He flies the Boeing 747.

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