Local Culture:
Tuscans – Are they irreverent by nature … or by culture?

About Francesco Gronchi Location: Volterra, Italy Website: www.tuscantour.com Francesco Gronchi lives in Tuscany and comes from a long line of  armchair commentators and social activists. He graduated from the University of Siena with a degree in Political Science, focusing on the Italian partisan resistence to nazi-facism during WWII and has worked as a researcher for the University of Pisa at the American Military Archives on massacres of Italian civilians carried out by the German army during WWII. Francesco lived for a few years in Washington, DC, before being lured back to Tuscany by plentiful good wine, his family's homegrown olive oil, and being able to laugh with friends of opposing political views over a drink, among other things.

When people think about Tuscany, if they are not Italians, three things usually come to mind: the beautiful landscape, masterpieces of art and good wine.

When Italians think about Tuscany, another aspect that can be added to the list is the irreverence of Tuscany’s inhabitants, made all the more conspicuous by the strong Tuscan accent with which this irreverence is pronounced (even though the Tuscan “dialect” is actually proper Italian).

Tuscans seem to be completely immune to any form of “devotion,” whether they are faced with mere mortals, saints or even God himself. What does this mean? It means that a typical Tuscan will never ask a celebrity for an autograph, kneel before the pope or be ashamed of swearing in public. A Tuscan also will always try to treat whoever he encounters as his equal – no more and no less.

A great example of the “Tuscan irreverence” that I am talking about can be seen in Roberto Benigni, the actor and director made famous throughout the world by his film “Life is Beautiful,” but in Italy widely considered to be one of the funniest comics of the century and a sublime intellectual (an interesting pairing – perhaps only in Italy).

Benigni has never stopped himself from swearing in public or poking fun at and criticizing church, state, pope, politicians and public figures of any sort during his unfortunately rare appearances on television. His stinging jabs are done with such finesse and with such pleasurable humor that a miracle happens. No one ever gets angry or feels truly offended, not even the people who are the object of his satire.

Benigni gets away with it because he incarnates the true Tuscan spirit.

When Tuscans speak, they swear freely. In extreme cases, swear words become filler words, much as a politician says “uhm” or a teen-ager says “like.” My uncle, for example, is a true champion in this regard – he can sneak three swear words into a sentence of less than 15 words without anyone even realizing it.

If someone were to study this “phenomenon,” I am sure they would be struck by the artistry involved. Old school Tuscan construction workers are famed for the “moccoli” (as swear words are called in Tuscany) they invent, some of which even have a poetic ring to them.

But beware! Not everyone can get away with it. If someone from Milan were to try to imitate this Tuscan irreverence, he would be considered a vulgar buffoon.

This particular sense of humor of ours is profoundly linked to the history of Tuscany and, though it may seem odd to an outsider, also to our sense of pride. A typical Tuscan may recognize George Clooney on the street and she may be dying to get his autograph, but she will never ask for it – at most she might utter “buongiorno” under her breath as she walks by.

And the same would happen if she were to meet the Prince of Wales, President Obama or our Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. (Actually, with the political climate in Tuscany now, she probably might say something to Berlusconi, and it probably wouldn’t be that nice).

I think this indifference to celebrities and “important” people – and together with this indifference a sense of being able to dispense with the “niceties” – is linked to Tuscans’ historical identity. Just think about the fact that Tuscany has practically never been ruled by a king, a prince or any other sort of royalty, not even the Vatican (or “the Church”, as we call it).

Many of the most salient liberal and libertarian principles of the 19th and 20th centuries came from Tuscan thinkers. Even the ancient Etruscans who inhabited Tuscany more than 2,000 years ago scandalized the Romans by their libertarian and libertine ways, which is interesting considering how socially advanced the Romans themselves were in many ways.

Many old Tuscan fables start with “once upon a time there was a king” and this would be normal enough, if then, later in the same fable, many more kings didn’t start to appear. This shows us Tuscans, historically, didn’t have the slightest idea of what a king was – it just was never a part of their culture.

Consider who actually ruled Tuscany – the Medici family. This family started as wealthy merchants and bankers and went on to accumulate immense power and a dynasty without any connection to dukes, counts, kings or popes.

Of course, Tuscany is no fairy land where social stratification has been banished. It is just that we have a particular penchant to not fully bow down before our supposed superiors, to never be entirely submissive. I believe the reasons for this lie in the stratification of our past. I think we just don’t ever fully believe there is that much difference between us.

And that leads me to the other side of the coin of this irreverence - our cordiality and sincerity. Because just as a Tuscan will never courtesy before a queen, a true Tuscan will always welcome visitors to his land and treating them as equals. And by equal I mean with the same respect that he himself would want to be treated – no more, no less.