A Detour Into Italian Culture

I know, I know....this is a cycling journal. But, there may be times when I just have to take a detour into Italian culture.

With credit to the New York Times:

"ROME, Jan. 31 — “Dear Editor,” began a letter published Wednesday on the front page of La Repubblica, the newspaper that Silvio Berlusconi hates most. The scalding letter demanded an apology from Mr. Berlusconi for flirting publicly — and it was signed by his wife.....

It turns out that the 70-year-old former prime minister, whose own heart now beats with a pacemaker, attended an awards ceremony last week and was overly friendly with two young and beautiful guests.
“If I weren’t already married, I would marry you right now,” he told one, according to Italian news media accounts. To another, he said, “With you I would go anywhere.”
“These are statements I consider damaging to my dignity,” wrote Veronica Lario, 50, who has been with Mr. Berlusconi for 27 years. His remarks could not be “reduced to jokes,” she said. “To my husband and to the public man, I therefore ask for a public apology, not having received one privately.”

Beppe Severgnini, one of the most discerning commentators on Italian mores, quickly churned out a column for Corriere della Sera summing up its import.
“The man is a walking oxymoron, but it has not stopped him from working his way up,” he wrote. “Why? Simple: because he embodies the Italian dream of being everything, of pleasing everyone (and indulging himself in everything), without giving up anything.”

Off to the gym now; cold, foggy and damp today, and I have a sore throat from yesterday's ride.