MILAN BRIEFING January 2005

News this month

Silvio rides again

Silvio Berlusconi, the botoxed and perma-tanned Italian prime minister, enters 2005 an innocent man, mostly. On December 10th, three Milanese judges dropped three corruption charges against Mr Berlusconi and acquitted him of a fourth. He was found not guilty on one count of bribing judges in the 1980s (to prevent the sale of SME, a state-owned food company, to Carlo De Benedetti, a business rival). Two more counts of bribery were dropped due to lack of evidence. The judges also dismissed a bribery charge against Fininvest, one of Mr Berlusconi's companies, which allegedly supplied $434,404 to a Roman judge in 1991. In 2004, Cesare Previti, a former defence minister and friend of Mr Berlusconi's, was convicted of channelling that money from one of Mr Berlusconi's holding companies to the judge. In Mr Berlusconi's case, however, the judges decided that the statute of limitations had run out; though that statute normally lasts 15 years, Italian judges can summarily reduce it.

Mr Berlusconi's lawyers were jubilant as the verdict was read out by Francesco Castellano, the senior judge. But they nonetheless said they will appeal it and press for a complete declaration of innocence. The outcome was a blow to the centre-left opposition, led by Romano Prodi, a former EU president, who had hoped for some dirt on Mr Berlusconi before the 2006 elections. But they are not entirely at a loss: on December 11th a Sicilian court convicted Marcello Dell'Utri, a friend of Mr Berlusconi's and the creator of his Forza Italia party, of having ties to the Sicilian Mafia.

Chip and strip

It took almost seven years of study and preparation, but 2,700 Milanese 15-year-olds have finally received electronic identification cards. City officials decided that teens, already nimble with cell phones and portable video-game systems, should receive the new cards first. A further roll-out of 100,000 cards is planned for 2005; by 2010 officials hope to distribute them to everyone in Milan.

The city government began feasibility studies on electronic cards in 1997. The first such cards were distributed elsewhere in Italy in 2001 (Milan is the largest of ten test cities chosen by the Italian interior ministry). The new credit-card-sized IDs, outfitted with a microchip and magnetic strip, are said to be harder to counterfeit and easier to carry; the old brown-and-white paper cards are 11 by seven centimetres, making them awkward for many wallets. The new cards also hold the bearer's fingerprints and tax code, but omit marital status, which was once mandatory. Like the old ones they identify the bearer by height but not weight, and cost €5.42 ($7.09).

Barefoot in Milan

Passengers have been forced to pass barefoot through security checks at Milan's airports, causing significant delays, after two events in December worried airport authorities. In early December, a pistol made its way through security at Linate airport, which mainly serves domestic flights. The owner, who had forgotten it was in his carry-on bag, alerted security before boarding his flight. Later in the month, the Italian civil aviation authority recommended heightened security at both Linate and Malpensa, Milan's international airport. As a result, Malpensa's old metal detectors have been replaced by 40 new ones, and passengers have been removing their shoes.

Queues of up to 100 people plagued both airports from mid-December until January 6th, the end of Italy's holiday season. This is despite the teams of “facilitators” employed by SEA, the company that manages the airports, to help people out of their jewellery and shoes. Reactions of travellers ranged from annoyed to bemused. Officials are keen to avoid such gridlock during the Milano Moda Uomo men's clothing festival, which runs from January 16th to 20th, and the Macef Primavera gift fair, which runs from January 21st to 24th.

Old news

Age discrimination, or the perception of it, is on the rise across Italy, according to a study conducted by Milan's Bocconi University and Astra Demoskopea, a research institute.

Researchers found that 11.2% of the 14.2m people surveyed felt they had been victims of age discrimination; 24% said they had seen age discrimination at work; and 3.5% felt they had been fired because of their age. The study's head researcher said Italians were “witnessing an overt and covert move to get rid of managers nearing 50”. Once older workers are fired, their age keeps them from being hired elsewhere. This is the first study on age discrimination in Italy, which has a rising population of elderly citizens and a low birth rate.

Club transport

The number of Milanese using Radiobus, a night-time door-to-door bus service, more than doubled, to over 200,000 in 2004. Intended to help older residents get around without having to pay for taxis, Radiobus has instead become a favourite for Milan's clubbers. Riders call, e-mail or send a text up to three days in advance to book passage on the 15-passenger shuttles, which run from 8pm to 2am and cover a wider area of the city than regular buses. Tickets are a bargain at €3 on board or €2.50 if reserved in advance. Parents seem to consider it a safe way to allow teens to travel, and perhaps it teaches them responsibility, too: if Cinderella misses a ride she reserved, she is blacklisted and not allowed to book again.

Catch if you can
January 2005

Operatic highlights

Until January 30th 2005

Two Scala-related exhibitions opened this winter, in time for the re-opening of the city's famous opera house. The first, “Portraits of Elegance at La Scala” (until January 16th 2005), is a glamorous display of 300 photographs chronicling 20 years of opening nights. Images of Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, Maria Callas and others clad in sequins and furs are laid out to resemble a magazine in an appealing show at the Triennale.

A second exhibition, “La Scala e L’oriente 1778-2004” (until January 30th) pays homage to productions set in China, India, Russia and Japan, with costumes, sketches and sets. The display includes 70 art-deco set pieces created for a staging in 1926 of Puccini's “Turandot”. More modern offerings include sets by David Hockney and Franco Zeffirelli and costumes by Gianni Versace.

“Portraits of Elegance at La Scala”, La Triennale Di Milano, Viale Alemagna, 6. Open: Tues-Sun 10.30am-8.30pm. Tickets: €5. Tel: +39 (0)2 659-7728. “La Scala e L’oriente 1778-2004”, Palazzo Reale, Piazza Duomo 12. Tel: +39 (0)2 54914. Open: Tues-Wed, Fri-Sun 9.30am-8pm; Thurs & Sat 9.30am-10pm. Tickets: €9.