As a boy in Geneva, I was drawn to Italy whenever opportunity presented itself, the Italian border being only 50 or so miles away as the crow flies. Until 1965, however, when the Mont-Blanc tunnel opened, the nearest point of access by rail was via Brig and the Simplon Pass about 130 miles down the Rhone valley, descending into Italy at Domodossola, a small border city of which I have fond memories and whose train station (above) was my first sight of Il Bel Paese on many occasions. In fact, I have fond memories of the whole country, which I've traveled from that northernmost point around Domodossola as far south as Brindisi. Most recently, I spent two weeks in Rome in 2005, coincident with the death of Pope John Paul II. Anyway, this year marks the 150th anniversary of Italian unification; despite the ongoing buffoonery of Berlusconi--Italy has, after all, seen its fair share of buffoons of varying degrees of nastiness over the past 2000+ years, from Caligulato Mussolini, and never mind Silvio--and the strain of economic slowdown, I tip my hat to the magnificence of the country, its versatility, its genius, and its unparalleled beauty. Viva l'Italia!
