Tim Parks’ Italian Ways is an entertaining and unique depiction of contemporary Italy, which embodies a modern-day Italian interpretation of John Steinbeck’s classic Travels With Charley. Throughout a series of personal vignettes, Parks details his countless journeys on Italy’s trains over the course of several years, starting from Milan in the north and finishing in Lecce in the south. In essence, Parks’ encounters with locals and travails navigating the train system represent a microcosm of all that is dysfunctional, yet charming, about Italy and the “Italian way” of doing things.
In many ways, his stories are eerily reminiscent of pre-1991 India – before the market opened up and the free market took hold. There are several key themes and takeaways that can be gleaned from this book, all of which are important for anyone that either plans to visit Italy or conduct business with Italians. First and foremost, one needs to understand that in Italy, mismanagement (especially by TrenItalia, the manager of Italy’s government-run train systems) is commonplace, and in order to effectively manage the chaos and successfully work with Italians in general, a lot of patience is needed. Also, while Italians are extremely proud of their history and their illustrious past, in general they are not the most ambitious or avant-garde.
Parks goes into extensive detail about the level of mismanagement that occurs within the government-run train systems, even noting how the system can often operate contrary to the basic principles of supply and demand. For example, to encourage mass ridership and to enable people of different socio-economic strata to be able to ride trains, the Italian train system has several classes of trains. To ensure access for those that could not otherwise afford it, the slower, regional trains are government-subsidized. At the same time, to cover that subsidy and to “encourage” more affluent people to pay the significantly higher fares for the slightly faster trains, the slower regional trains “tend to disappear” for certain periods of the day. Instead of having one type of train with several defined classes and rate tiers that regularly appears on schedule, TrenItalia has found a creatively inefficient way of making riders’ lives more difficult and confusing. Other examples of mismanagement by TrenItalia include the level of difficulty in locating ticket validation meters and being unable to find the right counter to purchase the appropriate ticket without having to ask many people. Parks also notes that while Italians are great at creating a new building structures (a good example is the august Milano Centrale train station)and putting on the initial splash with a magnificent opening night, they are not good at routine maintenance – which explains why much of Italy’s infrastructure (especially in the South) is in poor shape. As Parks points out in another example, instead of replacing a worn-out train seat, TrenItalia will simply sew cloths over the major tears. In a nutshell, mismanagement and dereliction, especially after the initial high-profile glossy show, is commonplace in Italy.
Another key lesson learnt is that a lot of patience is needed in navigating Italy. Parks hilariously details his travails after his bag was stolen at the Milano Centrale train station, and figuring no one would want copies of his students’ theses, went through a plethora of station officials and several departments in a fruitless search to locate his missing bag. This frustrating, yet hilarious, situation personally reminds me of a time when I spent almost 45 minutes waiting for my bags at the designated baggage claim carousel at Rome’s airport. After my bags failed to show, I spoke to nearly six officials to locate my bags before they ultimately realized that the bags from my flight had been routed to another carousel without telling anyone. In short, perseverance will enable one to be successful in Italy.
Another salient lesson is that while Italians are very proud of their past (and it is advised for visitors to become familiar with Italy’s celebrated past), they are in many ways so fixated on it that they have not figured out how to get out of their current socio-economic rut and move forward. Italy is one of the world’s most-visited tourist destinations, with tourists from all over the world coming to see its striking, historical places, ranging from Venice’s Grand Canal to Florence’s Ponte Vecchio. Italians love showing off their august buildings like St. Peter’s Basilica and Duomo di Firenze. Even many of their train names are historical in nature (i.e., Michelangelo). Prior to a visit to Italy, it might be helpful to brush up on Italy’s history and great achievements, such as the invention of double-entry bookkeeping by the Medici family or the fact that Christopher Columbus was originally from Genoa.
Yet, while Italy is able to draw hordes of tourists to see its glorious past, it does not focus so much on the future. Many Italian companies such as Fiat currently have difficulty doing business in Italy because of the antiquated pro-union legislation that exists. Another example is the Italian airline, Alitalia. In the mid-to-late 2000’s, as Alitalia was on the brink of bankruptcy, while many foreign companies offered to purchase and restructure it, the Italian government stymied all foreign-based acquisition attempts. Their rationale was based on two key factors: firstly, as the national airline, Alitalia was seen as a national symbol that could not be sold to a “foreign entity,” and secondly, any foreign company would restructure Alitalia and reduce a lot of the redundant labor force. In the end, the Italian government found some local Italian investors to keep the airline afloat, and today, Alitalia is still financially precarious. While Italians should continue to encourage global visitors to see its treasured past, they need to focus on how they can increase commerce by encouraging the government to adopt more business-friendly legislation.
Tim Parks’ Italian Ways is a humorous book, which characterizes Italy’s train system as a representation of Italy itself. Even though the train system is dysfunctional, mismanaged and in need of a serious overhaul, it somehow seems to work. The same can be said for Italy on a grander scale. This book definitely provided valuable insights about Italian habits. On a more personal level, it also brought back some interesting memories of similar events and problems I experienced during my journey across Italy in the summer of 2007 (I, too, was accosted by Albanian beggars at several train stations, and was scared for dear life when taking a couple of dilapidated buses on the scary highway along the Amalfi Coast). I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about modern Italian culture, visiting Italy, or doing business there.
