Stop Eating Christmas Cookies

could have been worse for Mario Pirani - Mondadori - 2010

There are times when I do not like fiction and I like to shrink in works of fiction or biography. This Mario Pirani, known Gornal Espresso Group is a full-bodied with a caption alluding autobiography, Half a century of reasonable illusions.

At the time of my childhood in Rome taxis were green lizard. As spacious lounges, also had two folding stools opposite the normal places. The meter, coupled out of the window of the driver, was then called chauffeur and wore a long beige apron, was in a black box with a red metal flag was lowered at the start of the race.

This incipit autobiography, developed since 1930, when the author had five years to 1986, through the Second World War, resistance , reconstruction, the political commitment in PCI, its release in 1961, working with Eni Mattei (at the time of the Algerian War), and then the next period of the ambiguous Cefis the head of ENI, the same commitment as the "Day "to the MEC (European Common Market), the adventure of the direction the newspaper" Globe ", a return to the drafting of the" Day "and calling for the nascent Scalfari" Republic ", still an adventure as editorial Director of the new "European" for Rizzoli and Tassan Din, caught in subversive plot of P2 and final return "home" that is, the drafting of the Republic, where even today, after 85 years, with an experience not common, writes interesting political and economic analysis.

Del dense volume, 420 pages full of characters and events in the history of Italy and the European Union, certainly I found most interesting during its period of communist militancy.

In September of 1945 is sent from the Federation of PCI in Naples, that the record:

I introduced myself to the provincial secretary, Salvatore Cacciapuoti, a rough character with a olive complexion and look bad, but had an extra derivatogli authorities not only by the discounted years in prison for his activism, but from a former factory worker and belong therefore to the class that we really authentically proclaimed representatives, despite the origins of the majority of managers were of a completely different extraction .... Cacciapuoti thought it well to allocate (then tried to save the hotel) with a companion who had a house large enough to offer hospitality. He made a phone call and then handed me a card with an address: Giorgio Napolitano, via Monte di Dio, in front of the Palazzo Serra di Cassano. "Go away, waiting for you," he added. I took a flight to truck that led me to Martyrs 'Square, a stone's throw away from Mount of God I rang the bell on the second floor and I opened a young man to be about my age (soon discovered that we were both born in 1925, twenty' years earlier), of medium height, a look intelligent and friendly, an innate kindness and unaffected, facilitated by a slow-spoken and warm, typical of the Neapolitan good race.

the impressive amount of great personalities from politics, culture, arts Pirani that he met in the course of his long very active and militant Communist and, later, of "ambassador" of ENI, and finally as a journalist said.

Another piece of the term "Neapolitan"

But in Naples I also first among all other knowledge (....) Giorgio Amendola who oversaw the party's fortunes in the South. Enjoyed great prestige and authority, which is strengthened by the considerable size, the expression that illuminated his face off, which followed one another, with equal credibility, a strict non-sectarian and non-compliant, but a genuine good nature, his deep voice powerful, orchestrated on bass, brass played with expression wise. The only thing a bit 'Stone was with the hair parted in the side and shiny hair and pulled by both sides, I do not know whether with water or grease. One feature will disappear in a few years when Giorgione cut crew cut and his big head appeared in all its majestic sculpture of a Roman emperor.

By Giorgio Amendola will be received by Benedetto Croce, who will submit an appeal to intellectuals for the sake of anti-Franco sentenced to death, receiving a polite refusal.

Following Pirani will address the organization of the Festival of Youth and Partisans of Peace , participating with hundreds of intellectuals, artists, musicians, Italian actors, the events in Prague, Paris, Vienna, Leningrad. The record of these journeys is passionate and funny.

In 1961, after having questioned the party line, Pirani leaves the PCI and accepts an offer made at the time by Mattei.

The following chapters reconstruct the political Eni Oil Algeria during the war of liberation, where Pirani was a kind of plenipotentiary of Matthew, but also gossip of colorful permanent European community in Algiers.

Overall a very interesting read, enjoyable and instructive , especially for the part about Italian politics of the time, and then ever.