The Italian Tv program “Vieni via con me” (“Come away with me”) on channel Rai 3 has unfortunately come to an end. Four installments were planned and four extremely successful installments have been then released.

The format of the program was made up of lists read by common or famous people, in any case significant for that list. For example the list of things that Piero Grasso, national procurator against mafia, needs to fight against mafia or Mina Welbi, wife of the first man who after many years of disease publicly decided for euthanasia, though in Italy it is unfortunately still illegal, read the last words of her husband Piergiorgio.
In addition, Roberto Saviano, author of the famous internationally acknowledged book against mafia “Gomorra”, gives speeches about Italian current affairs extremely hot topics. Finally the two announcers Fabio Fazio and Roberto Saviano read the lists of reasons to stay in Italy and to go away from Italy.

“Vieni via con me” results to be the most watched Tv program on channel Rai 3 in the latest ten years and it reached a peak of over nine million spectators during the show of a guest, the famous comic actor Roberto Benigni.

The announcer Fabio Fazio declared that a reformist television is the most frightening television ever.
That was considered the only reason for not prolonging such a successful TV program.

Italian television went through a dark time in the latest years: realities, school of dance, half or fully naked women, fake television news and so on. That coincided with my move abroad and it made me stop watching Italian television (made exception of an independent program called Report) and start watching a world of foreigner television programs. Even the Swiss television, which is a little boring to be honest, looked to me more ethical and interesting. At least I could finally watch cultural tv programs.

Recently the Italian government got the attention of the foreigner press because of some scandals implying sex, escorts, minors and prisons. The several trials against the Italian Prime Minister have never been so interesting, also because of the immunity he enjoys and the various new laws created for his own concern and sake.

I must confess, I have also restarted constantly reading online Italian journals and someday I happened to watch at some videos on Youtube where Roberto Benigni performed a 45 minutes fantastic show ironizing about the whole Current Italian political drama. So I looked for other pieces of this tv program and I happened to see Roberto Saviano, the author of the book Gomorra, under sentence of death by mafia because of his book about the criminal organization. What was he doing there? Where were their bodyguards? Actually, everyone was there and he performed a long show explaining who really was Antonio Falcone, a judge killed by mafia when I was sixteen. I was camping at the time and I started thinking I should move from the South of Italy. After some years I moved away from South and after a decade from Italy.

This week I couldn’t wait to watch the program called “Vieni via con me” (come away with me) on channel Rai 3, Roberto Saviano had more space and he talked about hot topics beyond mafia which have not found any solution in Italy, for example euthanasia. I love the format: many guests, normal people, politicians, singers, comics, show people, actors and so on reading lists of whatever significant kind or performing shows.

I just wondered if the Italian government is really breaking down this time because it surprisingly allows such a great tv program.

The famous Italian Newspaper Repubblica posed 10 questions to Silvio Berlusconi about his relationship with a teenager. He decided not to answer.
It could be  weird behavior on the part of the Italian First Minister, though acceptable. What has been unacceptable is Berlusconi’s decision to sue Repubblica because of those 10 unanswered questions.

Reuters Memorial Lecture 2009
Monday 23 November, 17.30–19.00
“Newspapers and Democracy in the Internet Era: the Italian Case” by Carlo De Benedetti
Chairman, Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso / La Repubblica

Introduced by the Chancellor of the University, The Rt Hon Lord Patten of Barnes, CH
followed by a panel discussion with
John Lloyd (Director of Journalism at the Reuters Institute & Contributing Editor, Financial Times)
Timothy Garton Ash (Professor of European Studies & Isaiah Berlin Professorial Fellow, St Antony’s College)
Paolo Mancini (Monte dei Paschi Visiting Fellow at St Antony’s College & Professor, Dipartimento Istituzioni e Società, Università di Perugia)
Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre, St Anne’s College