Italy

A family wanted to live with only solar panels, well water and a garden. Until Italy took away her children

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High in a forest in Abruzzo, Italy, a stone house now stands silent. Until just a few weeks ago, that place was the self-sufficient refuge of Nathan Trevallion, Catherine Birmingham and their three children. But a few days ago, a judge decided to remove them of family custody for living disconnected from the grid, without schooling and in an environment that he considered unhealthy. The resolution started a fire political and social in Italy. What for the family was a self-sufficient life project—solar panels, well water, compostable toilet, garden—has become a court case with enormous international repercussions. The story, however, goes beyond an Italian court order. It is the symptom of something bigger: a growing movement in Europe—and also in Spain—of families and communities seeking to get out of the urban grind, disconnect from the electrical grid and live self-sufficiently. How far does the freedom to choose that lifestyle go? And where does the State’s intervention begin, especially when minors are involved? The case that divided Italy. The family, of Australian and British origin, had been living in a forest in Palmoli since 2021. The house was precarious but, according to themenough: electricity with solar panels, well water and an outdoor composting area as a toilet. In autumn 2024, all were hospitalized due to accidental mushroom poisoning. That episode set off alarm bells for social services. According to Corriere della Seraa technical report described the home as “ruin” and “without adequate conditions for minors.” That’s when social services intervened. The lack of schooling of the minors, the absence of pediatric follow-up and the almost total isolation in which the family lived set off all the alarms. Following these reports, a court in L’Aquila ordered in November the withdrawal of parental authority and the transfer of the children to a center, where the mother could stay next to them. The decision has caused a real political earthquakewhere political leaders and several judicial associations denounced pressure from the Government. At the same time, more than 150,000 people signed online petitions demanding that minors return to their parents. Off-grid: from bucolic dream to global phenomenon. To understand the background, just open Instagram. As Ethic magazine explainsit is enough for the algorithm to detect a certain interest in self-sufficiency to fill the feed of videos of families drying their own food, women showing their renovated campers or couples who live half a year off what they grow and collect. life off-grid or “self-sufficient” has become an aesthetic, philosophy and even aspiration for emotional disconnection. But it is also political. The same medium reminds that a small part of the movement arises from groups “sovereign citizen“who reject the authority of the State. They are a minority, but they exist. The majority, on the other hand, opts for the off-grid for reasons of sustainability, teleworking, search for autonomy or reaction to the climate crisis. Also out of fear: there are communities —like the ecovillage of Tamera, in Portugal— that are preparing for a possible collapse of the current model. In Sweden and Finland, the governments have released official guides to prepare for extreme scenarios. Spain is not far behind. The movement off-grid It has also taken root. It is no longer a thing of hippie ecovillages of the 90s: today it is embraced by engineers, teleworkers, urban families suffocated by the cost of living and foreigners from northern Europe who seek autonomy and nature. In the Karrantza valley (Bizkaia), for example, a family left town to produce their own energy and grow their food, a model that is repeated in the Basque Country, Cantabria or the interior of Spain, where many opt for hybrid solutions—solar panels, wood stoves and water recovery—combined with public school and community life. At the same time, ecovillages such as Matavenero, Lakabe or Arterra Bizimodu, according to elDiario.esconsolidate rural repopulation based on sustainability and self-management. And adding to this trend is the arrival of new off-griders foreigners. As Euroweekly points outmore and more British, German or Dutch families buy farmhouses in Catalonia, the Alpujarra or Castellón to disconnect from the grid. Some stories border on the epic: an English couple built their life from scratch with yurts, dry toilets and rain catchers. What they are looking for – a lower cost of living, teleworking, autonomy or simply another way of living – comes with a price: living with wild boars, storms and no less bureaucracy. But legally how is the matter? The contrast with Italy becomes evident when Spanish regulations are analyzed. In energy matters, the framework is clear: Royal Decree 244/2019 It allows self-consumption and does not require contracting electricity supply. Living with isolated solar panels, batteries or small generators is perfectly legal as long as the installation meets safety standards and is carried out by a licensed professional. Legalization is not strictly mandatory, but it is advisable to access public aid, obtain certificates or take out specific insurance. Something similar happens with water. The Water Law establishes that groundwater is public domainso any well—with few exceptions—must have authorization from the corresponding Hydrographic Confederation. Drilling without a permit or extracting water from a protected aquifer can lead to significant penalties. In other words, you can live with your own well, but the collection must be regularized. The point that makes the difference. When it comes to housing, living in a remote area is not illegal as long as the construction has the necessary documentation: license, occupancy certificate and minimum health and safety conditions. But if minors live in that environment and the house presents risks to their well-being, authorities can intervene. However, the determining point is in education as in Italy. Unlike other European countries, Spain required by law that all minors between 6 and 16 years old are educated in recognized centers. He homeschooling is not regulated and, in practice, it is considered illegal. A family that decided to educate their children exclusively at home would face truancy proceedings, visits from social services and even judicial measures in serious … Read more

Italy has been importing its famous “Italian” tomato paste from China for years. And now China has a problem

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The powerful tomato sector Chinese faces turbulence. After achieving a prominent position in the global market and becoming the largest tomato orchard in the world, the Asian giant has encountered a drop in sales in a strategic market: the European market. More specifically in Italy, where the demand for vegetables from Xinjiang has deflated at the stroke of controversies. The data is quite eloquent. Only during the third quarter of 2025 did sales of Chinese tomato paste in Italy decrease about 80%. Tomato ‘made in China’? It comes with taking a look at the maps from World Population Review to understand the enormous weight that China has achieved in the world tomato market. According to its latest data, in 2023 the nation produced about 70.1 million tons. This places it considerably above India, which occupies second place with 20.4 million tons, Turkey (13.3 million), the US (12.4 million) or Egypt (6.2 million), which complete the ‘TOP 5’. Also from Spain, which occupies ninth place, with nearly four million. Extremaduran farmers warned about the growing threat from China a few months ago, who recognize that the competition exerted by the Asian tomato is already their “biggest problem”. It’s not just that China harvests tons and tons of vegetables, it’s that it does so at such low costs that they make its tomato paste (a fundamental product for the food industry) unbeatable. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Is he that attractive? Yes. And it is not something that is observed only in Extremadura. Just a year ago Francesco Mutti, CEO of the sauce manufacturer that bears his last name, recognized that much of the cheap tomato paste coming from China is produced in the Xinjiang region with “very, very low labor costs.” something similar they slid in 2016 from Las Marismas (Andalusia): “They ask us for European quality at the price of Chinese tomatoes, something impossible taking into account the costs.” In practice this means that China exports every year tons and tons of tomato to the European market, which in turn generates a lucrative business. OEC calculate That last year the Asian giant exported processed tomatoes worth 1.21 billion dollars. If we look at its main destinations, Italy occupied a priority place, with a value of 83.8 million dollars. And what has happened? That although China is a gigantic exporter and has managed to differentiate itself in prices, its product has been compromised by an unexpected factor?: controversy. I told it a few days ago Financial Times. News about the use of forced labor in Xinjiang (a region that has attracted attention of the UN for alleged human rights violations against the Uyghur minority) and the lack of clarity The labeling with which some Italian companies identify the origin of their products has conditioned Chinese pasta exports, in which large state companies play a crucial role. Result? Against this backdrop, to which is added the campaign of the Italian agricultural association Coldiretti, China has encountered a problem: a ‘pinch’ in exports that has left it with a huge stock of processed tomatoes. Financial Times assuresciting data from the platform Tomato News, that the Asian giant has a reserve of between 600,000 and 700,000 tons of tomato paste. To understand its scope, it is equivalent to six months of exports. Has demand dropped that much? Yes. The data shows that the Western market seems to want to move away from the doubts that shadow the Chinese product. In general, Chinese tomato paste exports decreased by 9% year-on-year during the third quarter of 2025, but if we focus specifically on sales to Western EU countries, that percentage rises to 67%. In the specific case of Italy, purchases plummeted by 76%. “It is clear that Europe has become a difficult place to export,” recognize to Financial Times Martin Stilwell, head of Tomate News, the source of the data. Do we handle more data? Yes. There are two other reveals. The first has to do with the value of processed tomato exports to Italy. If between January and September 2024, Chinese customs recorded about 75 million dollars, this year, during the same period, it did not even reach 13. The other data has to do with the volume of fresh tomato processed to turn it into pasta: 4.8 million tons in 2021, 11 million in 2024 and 3.7 this year (estimate). For Stilwell, the reading is clear: faced with the difficulties of selling, China chooses to cut expenses instead of increasing its stock. What does China say? That accusations about the use of forced labor in Xinjuang are “a lie” created and propagated by “anti-Chinese forces” to harm the country. The truth is that years ago the US decided to turn its back on imports of tomato paste from that region of the Asian giant and in the case of Italy they weigh somewhat more than the suspicions of the UN. In 2021 the Caribineri ‘hunted’ a company that labeled its canned tomato as “100% Italian” when in reality it included product from China. “If we assume that Italy has 80 companies related to tomato processing, three, four or five have committed dishonest practices,” Mutti assureswho regrets the damage this does to the reputation of the Italian sector. Images | Tom Hermans (Unsplash) and Arthur Wang (Unsplash) In Xataka | Four nations are fighting over a fruit that smells like rotten eggs. China has turned it into its gastronomic phenomenon

The “foodies” have turned the historic centers of Italy into hell, so the cities are getting serious

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Italy is at war. In a not so particular one that it shares with other countries and cities: the battle to stop mass tourism. He is trying with all his might through higher rates, entrance fees that they folded After initial success, a veto key boxes and even taxes on tourist dogs. Now, several cities have agreed on one thing: stop the ‘foodies’. As? Prohibiting the opening of new restaurants in historic centers. In short. Going through the historic center of any Italian city is like entering a culinary amusement park. There is not only restaurants wherever you lookbut these constitute a fair in which eye-catching posters appealing to tradition and artisans who prepare fresh pasta in front of the windows of the premises, like circus animals, are a constant. Now, cities like Rome, Turin, Florence, Palermo and Bologna have launched restrictions when opening new restaurants in their historic centers. Displacing the population. Although Italians love their traditional cuisine as much as anyone, they are getting tired of their city centers becoming theme parks. There are especially bleeding streets, like Via Maqueda in Palermo or Via del Pellegrino in Rome (to a lesser extent), which are basically a succession of premises. As he comments The New York Timeshundreds of new restaurants have opened over the last decade in just a few streets of those tourist spots, establishments that dress in tradition, but are not and displace the local population far from their homes. It is something that is seen in many other cities in the world in which the tourism is doing that the price of land rises in very specific points, also that of rents, and the locals see how traditional businesses disappear while others linked to that consumerism flourish. “We must protect the center”. In the case of Italy, the aim is to fight against gastronomic gentrification, which is replacing historical markets and local stores with businesses aimed at mass tourists, and they also want to protect the authenticity and daily life of citizens. But we also want to preserve tradition and diversity compared to more homogeneous or franchised models. Luisa Guidone, Councilor for Commerce of Bologna, comment that “the center must be protected, maintaining the mix of existing stores that allow citizens to have their daily experience when shopping.” Everyone makes their war. As we say, the prohibition or limitation on opening premises is not part of a national initiative, but rather of each municipality. In Palermo, new restaurant licenses have been expressly prohibited in emblematic areas such as Via Maqueda. In Florence, no new openings of bars, restaurants or any food establishments in more than 50 streets in the center and some peripheral ones. In the aforementioned Bologna, until June 2028, new projects aimed at commercial activities that want to open in the historic center and in Rome or Turin will be carefully studied. more of the same (especially around the Vatican). Then, there are exceptions. For example, Florence allows you to open establishments such as art galleries, bookstores or crafts, anyone that is not focused on mass hospitality. Not just food. But this goes beyond gastronomic gentrification. In it Corriete di Bologna we can read that the restrictions They imply that, until 2028, it will be prohibited to open new money exchange stores, call centers (which are telephone centers, Internet connection points and money transfer points) in the historic center, as well as “buy gold” or automatic cash machines.slot machine‘. Debate. Now, promoting something like this is complicated when tourism represents almost 12% of the Italian economy and the gastronomic tourism It is an important source of income. In fact, in the NYP article they include statements from tourists who only want to eat. Also those responsible for FIPE, the Italian Federation of Food and Tourism Companies, who point out that “sometimes, the Coliseum is an excuse for an American among a cacio e pepe and one amatriciana“In addition, it is criticized that each city is waging war on its own and there is no law promoted at the national level. In any case, as we said at the beginning, it is evident that Italy has a problem with this mass tourism that is displacing the population that really lives in those cities. Traditional businesses have closed or have been converted, going from selling useful foods for citizens to traditional dishes wrapped in a striking way for tourists. And finding the balance seems tremendously complicated. Images | Anna Church, Maxime Steckle, Matej Buchla In Xataka | “Fodechinchos free”: in a bar in Galicia, tourismphobia is being redirected against Spaniards from other regions

Spain always longed for the US to look at it like Italy and France. Now that desire is becoming dangerously

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In the middle of the year the rumor of A boycott from Europe to the United States in one of its most profitable sectors: tourism. Among the cultivation broth there was talk of a political situation that had generated rejection, noticing even in reservation falls for summer (up to 25%). Interestingly, this does not happen, or remotely, in reverse. In fact, Americans like Spain so much that an avalanche of citizens is expected in the coming years. We talk about millions. The personal discovery. The truth is that the relationship between American travelers and Spain It is not understood only from statistics, but also of individual stories that have captured attention on social networks. In 2023, the Smith family, originally from Kansas, It was installed in Logroño After deciding to change life in full pandemic. Their Videos on Tiktok and Instagram, just like those of Morgana creator of Michigan transferred to Madrid, made visible the contrast between the American and Spanish lifestyle: the sociability of the dinners at ten o’clock at night, the peace of mind of having a public health system, the culture of sitting down to breakfast instead of eating fast or the naturalness that children’s parks are next to a bar. For millions of followers, their vision served as a country mirror that offered security, quality of life and a different sense of community, aroused renewed interest in experiencing Spain from within. The quantitative jump. That personal interest was later reflected in the numbers. In 2024, Spain received almost 94 million tourists International and broke all records, with a 12% increase in arrivals and 18.6% in spending only in the first seven months of the year. He CaixaBank report Research stressed a especially striking fact: the expense of the visitors of North America in August was 90% higher to 2019, which made the United States one of the most dynamic and lucrative markets. Reasons? The dollar strength And American economic growth explained part of the trend, which was consolidated in destinations such as Catalonia, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. Meanwhile, airlines and United Airlines took advantage of the juncture for multiply direct routes To Spain, opening connections with Mallorca, Málaga, Tenerife and Bilbao. The future projection. The euphoria was confirmed this September with the Publication of the report Portrait of American & Canadian International Travelers, commissioned by Turespaña. According to the study, 70%of Americans plan to visit Spain in the next three years, an even greater proportion among millennials (81%) and high -purchasing power travelers (76%). The figures draw a sustained growth panorama, with spending projections of more than $ 13,000 per traveler and a remarkable interest in authentic cultural experiences, gastronomy and nature. Madrid and Barcelona lead the desired list of destinations, followed by Valencia and Seville, while in the island Tenerife and Gran Canaria stand out, with an interest that exceeds 70%. Because. The big question. The reports indicate Key factors to explain this enthusiasm: security (91%), climate (87%) and cultural activities (87%) are decisive in choice. It also underlines greater sensitivity towards sustainability, With 84% Of the Americans willing to pay more for services responsible for the environment, a provision led by the younger generations. In addition, the Planning habits: The growing weight of online and social networks reviews Like Instagram or YouTubethe preference for multi -city itineraries (84%) and the expansion of the airbnb tourist accommodation market, which competes with traditional hotels and resorts. Spain in front of the competition. On the global board, Spain appears as a destination “balanced and versatile”capable of combining culture, gastronomy and nature in a unique offer. He Report places to the country ahead of France, Portugal or the United Kingdom in the North American market, and in a direct pulse with Italy and Greece for leadership in Mediterranean cultural experience. The data of 2024 and the first semester of 2025 They confirm it: The United States has become the fourth issuer market in total expenditure, with 9,014 million euros and more than 4.3 million visitors, a high -purchasing capacity tourist profile that stays eight days on average and spends more than 270 euros daily. From personal experience to the phenomenon. What started as a phenomenon of discovery staff (families and young people who shared in networks their astonishment from Spanish customs) has become a massive flow that BRAND EXPENSE REGRESS and Project millions of arrivals in the next three years. Spain has not only become a tourist destination of reference for Americans, but also a mirror of values ​​and lifestyles that contrast with those of their country of origin. Among the crowded terraces At midnight, the Mediterranean cuisinethe safety of cities or Public Healthan image is drawn that attracts both travelers in search of leisure and those who wish to rethink their entire life. The challenge, from now on, will be to manage this wave without being Dilute the quality of life That, paradoxically, it is The greatest attraction from Spain for those who discover it from afar. Image | Willian Justen de Vasconcellos In Xataka | Something strange is happening with tourism in Spain: the data is at maximum, the hoteliers insist that there is crisis In Xataka | Making tourism in Spain is getting so expensive that at this point in the year it is more profitable to travel to the Caribbean

Italy has found a disturbing way to end the tourist of its beaches: privatize them

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Summer on national beaches as a national concept we would say that it is in Danger of extinction In southern Europe. And not for the desire, but for the cost. If you start noticing a Run Run Among your acquaintances where talking about vacation on the coast seems little less than an urban legend for the exorbitant price, Italy has a message for navigators: they no longer give to hammocks and umbrellas. If touring homeland He was getting so expensive that he came out More profitable the Caribbeannow we have record. A beach banquet. Counted in a report The New York Times that, on the beaches of Apulia, especially in Bari, the time of lunch was always a Collective show Where entire families display tables, tablecloths and trays full of lasagers, rice with mussels, seafood pastes, fried sausages or raw octopus, keeping alive a custom that goes back to the rise of mass tourism in the postwar period. This practice, popularly known as Fagottari (Those who load with food packages), have their roots in the Italian working culture, when the beach holidays were the Unique accessible luxury and the shared banquet represented a community celebration. A tradition in crisis. Going to the beach in Italy has been a deeply rooted cultural ritual for decades, one marked by the custom of rent sun loungers, umbrellas and cabins in the so -called as stabilimenti Balnari They control much of the coast. However, this summer the influx has fallen between 15% and 25% compared to the previous year in private concessions, especially on working days, while on weekends the beaches continue to fill. The difference is also in consumption: those who come spend less on bars and restaurants, a reflection of generalized economic discomfort. The weight of inflation and prices. The most repeated explanation by business associations is the Loss of purchasing power in a context of inflation and increased cost of life. But this assistance crisis is also associated with the SUSTAINED UP of prices on private beaches, which have increased by 17% in four years. For example, the most extreme: rent two sun louges and an umbrella costs no less than 30 euros on the beaches of Lazio and up to 90 euros in fashion places like Gallipoli, in Puglia. The image of private beaches with rows of empty hammocks has become a symbol of disenchantment. The confrontation. There are more. Given that The Times underlined that in recent years, the rise of foreign tourism and the proliferation of the Stabilimenti Balnari They have been restricting the public space, making access and, in some cases, imposing rules that prohibit introducing food. Club owners allege the need to preserve the “decoration” and income of their bars, but neighbors denounce an attack on A basic rightbecause the law recognizes that Beaches are public And it cannot be forbidden to wear food. The conflict has reached political and legal dyes, with headlines that describe an authentic “Picnic Picnic War”, in which lawyers, consumer associations and even politicians They have intervened. The political and cultural debate. The Guardian told that the phenomenon has opened a deeper debate about the concentration of private management on the Italian coasts, which leaves little space to public beaches. Figures known as actor Alessandro Gassmann They have pointed out That the combination of “exaggerated” prices and economic difficulties is pushing the Italians towards the free beaches. Sector defenders claim that prices have not grown as much as they say and that They include services security and lifeguards, but consumer associations denounce that concessions have become A “black hole” For families finance. For the locals, the fact of having to hide or defend their fasteners represents a symbol of alienation and loss of identity. “Apulia is no longer ours”, Some regretremembering how free beaches have been absorbed by luxury resorts today. Citizen rebellion. Outrage has materialized In protests From Sicily to Liguria. In Lavinio, near Anzio, politician Matteo Hallissey (+Europe) was pushed when planting an umbrella to denounce illegal posters of “private beach”. In Mondello (Sicily), demonstrations made the authorities order to remove turniquetes that prevented access to sand. In Metaponto (Basilicata), the Police intervened to confiscate hundreds of sun loungers and umbrellas illegally. In Naples, activists protested against fenced sections In the spy of the monache, while in Marina di Pietrasanta (Toscana) They nailed umbrellas in the sand as a symbolic act of coastal reappropriation. These actions have visible a generalized discomfort: the feeling that the sea, collective heritage, has been usurped for private interests with the complicity of politicians fearful to face a powerful lobby. The lobby strength. The Stabilimenti sector constitutes a Economic framework Family and hereditary in many coastal regions, where businesses are transmitted from parents to children and generate fortunes linked to summer tourism. In locations such as Bacoli, near Naples, summer income can exceed 100,000 daily visitors. The power of this lobby has made successive governments, for two decades, have avoided Impose real limits to the privatization of the beaches. Faced with this inertia, some mayors, such as Josi Della Ragione in Bacoli, have promoted shock measures: decree that at least 50% From the coast it is freely accessible, knock down illegal constructions and remove equipment that blocks the passage. His determination has faced mafia interests and death threats, but symbolizes institutional resistance to the private appropriation of the sea. Mountain displacement. Thus, while private beaches lose customers, tourism is being redirected Towards the mountainwith special intensity In Los Dolomitaswhere some municipalities already alert risk of massification. The trend does not respond only to the economic factor: more and more Italians seek refuge in fresh altitudes to escape stifling summers, intensified by the climatic crisis. This tourist transfer symbolizes a cultural transformation into Italian summer vacations, in which The traditional model Private beach staggers in front of new social, economic and environmental realities. Perhaps for this reason, those shirts are, in words of manythe last thing left in some more and more privatized and … Read more

Italy is going to build the suspension bridge with the largest opening in the world. And they will load it to NATO’s budgets

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The megaconstructions are the order of the day. We find each other Colossal projectssome that They make us crack an eyebrow thinking If necessary. However, few can boast of being the culmination of a work of centuries, or even millennia. Italy is close to getting it when approved A huge bridge that connect the continent with Sicily: the Messina bridge. The turn is that they have described it as something key to the NATO. So that? So that the bridge budget is included in the percentage of military spending that Italy must contribute. Historical dream. Sicily is a complicated territory. Isolated from the continent, it remains Italy and, although they have a very strong identity feelingthat isolation has led to some problems and difficulties throughout history. In it Roman empire I know proposed Unite the territory through the Strait of Messina with a peculiar plan: connect Calabria and Sicily using barges and barrels. It was ruled out for obvious reasons such as intense maritime traffic or its technical unfeasibility. In the Middle Ages, Charlemagne too study take actions to unite the territory and, in 1866, firmer plans were drawn to build a viaduct, but they were also discarded when considering that A tunnel would be more suitable. In whatever, it also ended in nothing and, during the following decades, the project of the bridge in the Strait was changing hands without success, maintaining the connection with the peninsula by ferry. Colossal. Throughout. Everything changed in 2023, when the new Giorgia Meloni government resurrected the plan. Contemplating an investment of more than 13,000 million euros, the bridge would mark a turning point in Italian, European and world architecture, depending on who we ask. The length will be about 3.7 kilometers with twin towers of 399 meters on both banks, a height of 72 meters above sea level so that large boats and capacity can pass and capacity to move A large number of vehicles. The three lanes in the direction offer a capacity for 6,000 vehicles per hour, and their two railways would allow a cadence of 200 trains per day. It is a transport barbarity to connect Sicily, but the only thing about this bridge will be the central opening: 3,300 meters that would set a new world record for a suspended vain. Necessary. The start of the works is scheduled for this same 2025 and its estimated completion by 2032. As we say, after many comings and goings, the project is already officially underwayas the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure of Italy, Matteo Salvini, advertisement Last Wednesday. Finally, the cost will be 13,500 million euros and, as we read in New York TimesItalian minister and vice president, he is “absolutely proud of work.” Stating that “it will be an unprecedented public works in the world.” The justification of the bridge, as we read in Financial Timescomes from the side of the revitalization of Sicily. With this volume moved from the continent, the economy of one of the poorest regions of Italy can be promoted, where unemployment practically double The national rate: 13% compared to 6.5% of the rest of the country. But … necessary? The question is why, if a bridge between both territories was so important, something had been done. And, above all, why firm projects such as 2011 threw himself by land, arguing concerns about his price, about 5,000 million euros at that time and, in addition, about his real need. And it wasn’t the first time: Silvio Berlusconi He already proposed This project in 2005 for about 3.9 billion euros. Criticism. Many. There are few detractors of the bridge. This “unprecedented work in the world” faces opposition, environmentalists and even nature itself. The opposition, as New York Times states, considers that it is “an economic and social catastrophe” by diverting funds from other projects more necessary to build “a cathedral in the desert.” The animalists lo consider A disaster for local flora and fauna, as well as for a bird’s migration route. And when we say he has against nature, it is because those critics too comment that the area is prone to earthquakes that could make the bridge collapse. Even the ‘thing nostra’, the Sicilian mafia, said Be against the bridge in 2023. It has a trick. If you have so much against, if it is not clear that you will revitalize Sicily after a mastodontic investment, why do you go ahead with the project? During the NATO summit in June, Meloni declared that, due to the convulsive moment that is lived in several parts of the world, “there are many threats and hostile actors operating on the southern flank of the Atlantic Alliance.” In addition, he commented that “Russia projects more and more His presence in the Mediterranean” And this bridge would be a key piece, according to the Italian government, “in the context of NATO defense and security, facilitating the movement of the Italian and international armed forces in a context in which the Mediterranean is a geopolitically sensitive area.” And the trick? Well, like other NATO allies, Italy has beenOppromeded to increase its annual expenditure in defense Up to 5% of its GDP during the next decade, including 1.5% for strategic infrastructure. If the bridge is 13,500 million euros and include it in their proposals for “strategic infrastructure”, they would already be hitting a good bite to that 5% They must invest. Instead of armament or other elements, in a new bridge. Germany goes behind. “The Mestina Strait Bridge constitutes a fundamental infrastructure in relation to military mobility, taking into account the presence of important NATO bases in southern Italy,” they said in a report prepared last April, but Italy seems to be the only ones that will try to ‘put’ a renewal of infrastructure in that 5% of NATO. Germany, in a recent reporthas included in these defense budgets other 1 billion euros for the maintenance of ‘autobahn’, Your highway system. Forcing the machine. Returning to the Italian Bridge, and … Read more

Starship already has its first client to go to Mars: the government of Italy

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The CEO of Spacex, Elon Musk, and the president of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, They became such good friends Last year that Musk had to Go out to deny That he had a romance with her. Then it was she who got into trouble with the rest of Europe for Consider Starlink as an option for Italian army communications. Finally, Italy will collaborate with Spacex differently. The first Starship ticket to Mars. The Italian Space Agency (ASI) has signed an unprecedented agreement with Spacex to transport scientific experiments developed by Italy in the first missions of the Gigantic Starship ship To Mars. The agreement, revealed by the President of the LI, Teodoro Valentewithout intervention by the European Space Agency, ensures a seat for Italy in the new space race towards Mars, this time with a strong commercial partner. Spacex president, Gwynne Shotwellhe described collaboration as a “unique agreement in its gender”, and promised that there would be others to come. The experiments. He ESPO He mentions, without going into details, three “Made in Italy” charges that will fly with Starship to Mars. The first is an experiment on the growth of plants that will investigate how to design future greenhouses and life support systems. The second and third are a weather station and a radiation sensor to thoroughly document the space climate during the interplanetary flight of six months to the red planet. Your goal is Improve the safety of future astronauts Let Mars fly. Six months of interplanetary trip. Starship is the highest and most powerful launch system in the world. Still in the development phase In Spacex facilities southeast Texasit consists of a propeller of more than 70 meters and a ship of more than 50 designed to fly to Mars and land on its surface after reposting in orbit. Elon Musk hopes to send The first five starship to Mars in 2026. Any delay would force flights to the next launch window, scheduled for 2028. All initial flights would be without crew until the system is already tested. With this agreement, Italy would have a preferential place in the first private rocket that aspires to reach Mars. Image | Spacex In Xataka | Elon Musk has revealed what Starship V3 will do: to “take all creatures” to Mars as an ark of Noah

In Italy, farmers are so fed up with tourists who are installing lathes in the mountains. Literally

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There are many places where one would expect to find a lathe. In museums, airports, subway stations, libraries, gyms, bathrooms, stadiums … the list is long and wide. But where nobody would probably expect to see an access tourniquet is in The dolomitesthe steep mountains of the Italian Eastern Alps. After all, what does a metallic closure paint in the field? If that question is asked the farmers of Seda The answer is to remove tourists. That is why they have installed a lathe on a busy route in the area An unexpected landscape. Alps have accustomed us to postal landscapes, but not to what can be seen for weeks on one of its most popular paths, the SECEDA ODLE PANORAMIC ROUTEa mountain of the dolomitas located in Val Gardena. In addition to green slopes, steep summits and film sunset, from early July In the area there is a new element that alters the landscape: a metallic lathe, with its bars, its coin slot and A poster in which you can read “Input for the famous Ruta de las Rocas € 5”. And who put it there? A group of local farmers tired of seeing the continuous transfer of tourists in search of photos for Instagram or the best Selfie. The Telegraph Precise that the initiative started from four land owners that crosses the path. It is not just that the area receives thousands of visitors in high season (recently There was talk of 8,000 in a single day), which already exerts remarkable pressure in the environment, is that this influx, They denounce The owners of the plots, arrives accompanied by “damage” to their lands and garbage. “The authorities must understand that while the cable car operators receive large amounts of money due complaint Georg Rabanser, owner of one of the land that crosses the path. Hence the decision to install a lathe with a toll of five euros (children and locals are exempt) and a person who is responsible for controlling access and demanding the payment of the rate. A QUITA AND PUT TORN. The initiative of Italian farmers could stay there if it were not because the lathe unleashed a considerable controversy in the country. A few days after jumping the news, the device I was already canceledwith which the hikers rose again without problem (or tolls) to the Mirador de Odle. Was that the end of the story? No. Yesterday the newspaper Il post He informed that the lathe is again operation with its controversial rate. OBJECTIVE: launch a SOS. Its promoters decided to recover it to achieve what, They assureThey have always sought: to agit consciences between public administrations to seek solutions to the intense flow of tourists, “the abandoned paths and the meadows full of garbage.” “Ours has been a call for help. We expected a call from the provinces authorities. But nothing. We only read communicated in the press, rumors, nothing concrete.” “We have not even received warning letters, so we move on. The province must understand that, while the facilities (tourist) earn a lot concludes Rabanser. The debate, served. The debate of course is served. The owners of the plots through which the path passes allege that their lands suffer the avalanche of tourists, but the situation is much more complex. Italian law allows free access to environments such as Dolomitas, although in the country there are certain placeslike the popular Via dell´amorein Cinque Terre, which charge access rate. In the background there is an even broader debate and with implications that go beyond Seeda: if farmers are allowed to install lathes, the same will be allowed to the owners of other plots crossed by tourist paths? A lathe field? “I do not want the southern tyrol to become a territory of tourniquetes,” insists Carlo Alberto Zanella, from the Italian Alpine Club. “It is unthinkable that every owner of land crossed by routes begin to collect tolls for access.” Torns are not the only way to prevent tourists from damaging the environment. Moreover, the authorities have already hired more forestry to prevent visitors from leaving the trails or using drones. Images | Robert J. Heath (Flickr), Karen (Flickr) and The Zmora (Flickr) In Xataka | Everest has become a feces. Solution: That all mountaineers carry their own in bags

The world is full of retirees that monitor works on the street. In Italy they are professionalizing and signing them

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It doesn’t matter if we talk about Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Vigo, Miranda del Ebro or the distant Lombardy. Where there is a work, an open ditch, a mason with helmet and shovel, a gardener Prunessing the cypresses of the park or a gruist A retiree supervising. His figure is almost universal, such as curiosity or the innate impulse to give advice that no one has asked. Now in A small town From Italy they have had a peculiar idea: why not take advantage of all that wasted talent? That is why they have professionalized their UMARELL. Work, who has said work? When one approaches a work, a series of elements expect to be found: masons, concrete, scaffolding, cranes, excavators … For a long time to that extensive list of professionals and useful something else is added: retirees that follow each shovel, banish or hammer with the attention of an orchestra director. It occurs in almost any Spanish city, it doesn’t matter if it is large or small. And occurs in other countries, Like Italywhere they occurred to them that it may not be far -fetched to take advantage of that ancient talent. With you, the UMARELL. In Italy they even have a name for retirees who move from work by work examining and giving advice, usually early in the morning, after breakfast, and in groups. They call them UMARELLa term coined in 2005 For the writer Danilo Masottiwho created him rescuing a dialectal word from his hometown, Bologna: Umarèl (“Little man”). The idea liked and has become popular until it sneaks into the dictionary in 2021. Over the years the figure of the UMARELL He has penetrated the Italian popular culture. A while ago in the town of Pescara they decided to open Windows In the fences that cover their works so that the elderly can appear to them and in 2016, in a wink to their growing popularity, Burger King included them in An advertising poster. The palm is taken, however, the City Council of Bologna, which in 2018 was a step further and dedicated a placePiazetta Degli Umoulls. Why not take advantage of them? Thus, a few months ago Villasanta, a small town of 14,000 inhabitants From the Lombardy region, in northern Italy, he had an idea: why not take advantage of the curiosity, experience and time of the UMARELL? Moreover, why not professionalize them and ‘sign’ the best? For that purpose At the end of last year The City Council launched a call that closed in early April and allowed it to create a small eight patrol UMARELLsix of the Villanta Yos de Monza itself. At the service of the people. In the bars bars, anyone can comment. In the team of UMARELL of Villasanta no. People selected by the Consistory meet certain requirements: they are retired, have university degrees and accumulate work experience in technical sectors thanks to their old jobs in fields such as architecture, engineering and topography. The goal? That your indications are, above all, good indications. The service provides it for free, without charging, although being registered in the Civic Volunteer Registry are covered by insurance. By becoming UMARELL Professionals also assume certain responsibilities. The Guardian details That each of the eight retirees (seven men and a woman) has a part of the assigned town and the work is organized in shifts between two and three hours. When one is missing, he coordinates with his companions to cover the vacancy. But … what do they do? Basically they increase the number of eyes and ears that the City Council has to supervise certain municipal works and services. During their turn each UMARELL It is responsible for visiting public works, checking the status of the streets and sidewalks and ‘supervising’ the maintenance of green areas. And that among other tasks. In April Euronews pointed out that the first mission entrusted to them by the City Council was to carry out traffic surveys. Thanks to them, the City Council can have a more precise control of public works, cleaning the streets and parking, the care of parks and other green areas or if the lighting and the garbage collection service works correctly. “Above all you feel useful for society and for yourself: you are doing something valuable with your time instead of sitting in front of TV or complaining, as the real ones do UMARELL“, Explain to The Guardian Roberto Cremona, one of the eight retirees who patrol the streets (and the works) of the town. Images | Wikipedia (Wittylama) and Salvatore Capalbi (Flickr) In Xataka | If your dream is to retire at age 52 with 100% of the pension, Spain offers you a road: a high -risk job

There is a way for a truck to go from Italy to Madrid without spending a diesel euro. Mounting it on a train

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From Italy to Madrid in truck but without stepping on the road. It is the concept of the railway highway that unites the transalpine country with the Spanish capital and that allows moving low -cost merchandise with a reduced impact on polluting emissions. A project that has already been tested in Spain but now seeks its extension even Portugal. From Italy to Madrid. That is the route that the trucks moved by Tramesaa company that keeps an exceptional service in our country alive. Specifically, to put in Madrid some trucks with origin in Italy that on the road have hundreds of kilometers but have not spent a drop of diesel. And it is that these trucks, as explained in The countryThey arrive at the Valencian port where they are collected by a huge crane that deposits them on a railway platform. The truck becomes a merchandise container that travels to Madrid railway. Already in the capital, return to the road to distribute the merchandise. What is a railway highway? This system is what is known as a railway highway. That is, the use of railways to transport trucks that, in normal circumstances, should travel on the road. A system that, currently, is only active between Madrid and Valencia but wants to project to reach Portugal. And makes sense? Yes, and a lot. First because it is a less polluting system. Adif calculates That using trucks as rail containers is almost five times less polluting than circulating along the road, which entails tire wear, brakes … and huge diesel consumption. But, above all, it is interesting for the transport company. And the train trip can be done with or without a cabin. Without it, driver expenses is minimized since trucks travel alone on the train. In this way, the driver handles a tractor head at the origin, deposits the trailer there and a second conductor, already at destination, collects the merchandise with a second tractor head. In this way, the number of hours at the wheel and the distance traveled is drastically reduced. The Spanish case. As we said, at the moment, the railway highway that connects the Valencian port with Madrid is the only one that is active. However, the system is not much less new. In the past we have already had similar attempts and, in fact, we must not retrieve far back in time. In 2019, Renfe merchandise and VIIA, SNCF subsidiary, launched a service with up to six trains by direction and week between Barcelona and Bettembourg (Luxembourg). The project was canceled shortly after with the crisis of Coronavirus and reactivated in 2022. However, ended up closing operations A few months later. In Trenvista They point out that this case is the last but not the only one we have had in our country. At the end of the 80s a railway highway between Madrid and Barcelona was also opened. However, an accident resulted in the closure of past two years. In Europe. Outside our country, the transport of goods using railways is not new either. VIIA, the company that wanted to exploit the connection between Barcelona and Luxembourg, Keep active Four lines that explode exclusively and four other lines in collaboration with other operators. Their business extends almost exclusively by France (they have one that ends in Italy) and most of them collect merchandise that arrives through the Eurotunnel, demonstrating the advantage of the system when combining large ports and cities with good rail connections. In fact, it was in France where a railway highway began for the first time in 1936. After World War II, services would continue to be expanded with the services with the Alpine railway highway which is the one that crosses between France and Italy (already near Turin). And in the future? At the moment it remains to be seen but from the institutions you are trying to close more projects. There are currently a total of 15 in progress that are in different phases. In service with metric width we have Valencia-Madrid and underway you are already working on: Algeciras-Zaragoza Zaragoza-Tarragona Huelva-Madrid-Zaragoza Seville-Madrid-Zaragoza Valencia-Badajoz-Contrancamento (Portugal) Madrid-Badajoz-Contrancamento-Suporto (Portugal) In study phase are: Tarragona-Barcelona Madrid-Valladolid-Burgos-Vitoria Murcia-Madrid Cádiz-Madrid Tamarite of Litera-Irún Zaragoza-Pamplona-Vitoria In addition, a standard width is already underway between Barcelona and Le Perthus (France) and the following lines are projected: Murcia-Le Perthus (France) Tarragona-Le Perthus (France) Vitoria-Irún Photo | Ministry of Transportation and Tramesa In Xataka | Two years after Renfe competition entered, the data indicate something: trains are cheaper than ever

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