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Russian minister cancels Italy visit after protest

A university in Venice on Wednesday said Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky had cancelled a planned visit to collect an award following a protest by students and professors over his nationalist views.

Published: 14 May 2014 16:29 CEST

Russian minister cancels Italy visit after protest

Russian Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky cancelled a visit to a university in Venice after a protest by students and professors over his nationalist views. Photo: Wikipedia

"The minister cancelled his visit. The ceremony has been postponed indefinitely," said Federica Scotellaro, a spokeswoman for Ca' Foscari University.

"We are not denying him the award," she said.

Medinsky had been due to receive the award on Monday, but a petition signed by 100 lecturers complained about comments made by the minister about Russian culture.

Alessandro Casellato, a member of the university's Academic Senate, was quoted by the local Venice daily Il Gazzettino as saying that the minister was "controversial because of his political positions".

Medinsky last month portrayed contemporary European culture as depraved, saying: "Perhaps Russia will be the last keeper of European culture, Christian values and truly European civilization."

Russia "is forced to culturally protect itself," he said.

The Kremlin is preparing a new culture policy for Russia focusing on its distinctive civilization and traditional values, which observers say has political ends amid Moscow's standoff with the West over Ukraine.

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La Bella Vita: Italian trains, book fairs and perfecting your pizza order

La Bella Vita is our regular look at the real culture of Italy – from language to cuisine, manners to art. This new newsletter will be published weekly and you can receive it directly to your inbox, by going to newsletter preferences in ‘My Account’ or follow the instructions in the newsletter box below.

I don’t know about you, but I’m really not a big fan of dubbing: the ubiquitous Italian film voiceover which gives famous Hollywood actors voices nothing like their own and leaves their lips moving out of sync with their speech. Some people say they like dubbing as it gives them a chance to practise Italian listening skills, others say they’d rather watch Italian-made films for that purpose. Personally I think it renders films unwatchable even if you speak Italian well, since the effect is so distracting and unsettling.

Either way, you don’t get much choice at the cinema. Almost all foreign-language films are still dubbed in Italy – a practice which began in the early 20th century amid widespread illiteracy and was enthusiastically embraced by Fascist propagandists in the 1930s. It’s not clear why these voiceovers are still so popular in Italy today, but if you’re anything like me you may be pleased to know that there are, at least sometimes, alternatives. We looked at where and how you can watch films in English or other languages in Italy:

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Lazio is overlooked by most visitors in favour of its northern neighbours Tuscany and Umbria – which means many places here are often lesser known and unlikely to be crowded. We couldn’t fit all of our favourite spots onto one list, so we’ve concentrated on the northern and western areas, but please feel free to add any of your own suggestions in the comments section at the bottom of this article.

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And everyone knows how to order a pizza… right? In Italy you might find this can be a slightly more complex process than expected, particularly if you venture far from the tourist trail.

Do you know your rossa from your bianca? What about the different types of impasto? Then there’s the toppings loved in Italy – but not so much elsewhere. Here are a few things to be aware of if you want to navigate the pizzeria menu like you’ve lived in Naples all your life.

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Is there an aspect of the Italian way of life you’d like to see us write more about on The Local? Please email me at [email protected]

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