"Good souls hiding in the fog..." a Milan Travel Page by ARoman

The fog was the most famous characteristic for Milan in the past years, and even if now it happens less often, for Italians the town remains associated with the fog. Moreover, especially compared to other more tourist Italian towns, the city is also somehow ugly, hidden there and with few concentrated monuments. That contributed to give to Milan its kind of permanent sad atmosphere.

With a strong Austrian heritage because of the long occupation, it found its sense in working harder and dedicate itself to produce, and it became famous in this way. The people seems walking head-down, fast and always going somewhere to do something. They don't laugh too often, don't look and don't stroll around like in Rome, for example, don't seem too social and friendly to foreigners. At national level, it is always seen as the town against Rome and there is always a subtle fight, as they call themselves the moral and working capital of Italy. Somehow meaning that Rome is immoral and not working, as the separatist and somehow racist local movement strongly suggests.

But what I discovered is that all that it is only the surface. Trying to overcome my stereotypes, I started to know people one by one, to discuss and share thoughts with them, to get them out of their holes where maybe I put them myself in my narrow mind. And I found that most of them feel in reality foreigner, and that they are good people, serious but positive and honest, in average very well prepared and conscious of life and world. I felt that consciousness stronger than in my original town Rome, for example. Lately there were peace flags everywhere, entire buildings covered, many persons going to manifestations, here was the core of the no-global Italian movements and not only of the institutional power of the present Government or the racist Lega.

I felt the title sentence was a nice way to say all that. Now that I am leaving, I realize I will miss my friends in Milan, back to the sunny and noisy Rome. Thanks Milan, for all.