Barbarossa (Redbeard), as the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick I, unsuccessfully fought the clans of northern Italy in the 12th century.
As an epic tale of derring-do and heroic defiance by Milanese rebels, the film's plot was seen by the Northern League ""which dreams of establishing a breakaway country in the north called Padania ", was produced as a "patriotic" film for Italians living north of Florence, and as a political party broadcast, has turned out a box-office disaster.
One Rome cinema-goer leaving Barbarossa said "With the swirling violins, the fighting and the constant cries for liberty, it's like spending two hours inside Umberto Bossi's brain."
Original article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/oct/18/italy-film-berlusconi-politics
Original article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
1 comments:
Gentlemen,
Umberto Bossi is a megalomaniac who receives far too much press for the actual impact he has on Italian socio-cultural and political issues. Surely he must know that Italy is deeply integrated into the EU/EC in every way and any political/constitutional legerdemain by the Northern League for independence would be well nigh impossible.
On a more scientific note, I, as a full professor of medicine and well versed in genetics, defy anybody to show me a genetic map that statistically (genetics has an important statistical component) differentiates "old-stock" Italians in Bologna from those in Bari. That there are linguistic and life style differences among populations living along Italy's north-south axis is obvious; so what? These variations exist in Great Britain, Germany, Belgium and other European countries.
Italy is not just a country; Italians represent a distinct nation with a mentality, culture, language, and approach to life that is remarkably unique among the cultures of the world.
Cheers
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