Bad Weather (Mal Tempo)
Monday, February 6th, 2012
I’ve read some stuff in the New York Times, my most regular source of news, about the appallingly bad weather in eastern Europe along with associated deaths. However there has been virtually no mention of the fact that the weather in Italy almost everywhere is very bad.  There has even been snow in Naples which is almost unheard of. Bologna has been especially hard hit with 70 centimeters (about 27 inches) of snow at last report and temperatures as low as -17 celsius (about 1 degree farenheit). In a city that usually get only a few inches of snow this has had quite an effect. A state of emergency has been declared for the area and the local authorities have requested help from the Italian Army to help out. The city has decreed that there will be fines of 100-500 euros for failure to clear the sidewalks of snow by the residents or owners of apartment buildings (I’m unclear on this point) or for shop owners who fail to spread salt outside their stores to minimize people falling due to ice. There have also been recent warnings about the danger of icicles or accumulated snow falling from eves and roofs. Rail service has been badly disrupted as has bus service although in general the airport has remained open.
I exchanged emails with my friend Paolo who said that he was taking it in stride but he and Cinzia had temporarily abandoned the country house and are living solely in the apartment in the city due to the snow and the extreme cold in the country. He commented that while driving is certainly a bit more hazardous he still does so and there are no restrictions except in the Appenine Mountains nearby. He also commented the the city is quite beautiful under it’s blanket of white and is wonderfully quiet.
Here are some great photos from Corriere della Sera – the Milan newspaper that always has a section on Bologna.
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- The caption was San Luca, so this group looks like they are preparing to ski down the road that parallels the porticos to San Luca – check my post on San Luca
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- Not ready to ride
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- The caption said post woman. The mail must go through in Italy too.
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- The caption said “daredevil” and I would have to agree, having once tried to ride a bicycle in the snow.
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- More bikes in hibernation.
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- One of the due torre – symbol of Bologna
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- Yes, there are snowmen in Italy too – even on balconies
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- A street near the center of town
Paolo sent me a photo of the door to his house in the country so I’ve just done an update to the post. Looks like he was busy with the shovel!
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- The door to Paolo’s house in the country – that’s a lot of shoveling!
You might be interested in a video of Bologna in the sn0w. It seems to be made up of interviews done at some point in time mixed in with current scenes of Bologna with this magnificent snowfall. It is, of course, all in Italian and unless you are reasonably advanced in the language can be a bit tedious. At the  -17:00 minute mark you will see Osteria del Sole, the oldest of it’s kind in Bologna – established in 1465. The few short scenes of the place  fills me with nostalgia since I have been there with friends to drink wine several times.
