Amid what he called the increasing animosity among world cultures, Italian journalist Beppe Severgnini on Friday called for renewed investment in European-American relations.
"The cultures that work [well] together are often the ones that are different," Severgnini said. "It is reclusion that makes people aggressive, intolerant."
Speaking before a bilingual audience in the Chemistry Building, the much-acclaimed social critic charmed students, faculty and Philadelphia residents with his satirical look at American and Italian cultural differences.
He read from a list of "50 reasons why Italians like America."
"You think you're so logical," he teased, "but you park on your driveways and drive on your parkways."
On leaving gratuity for waiters at restaurants, Severgnini said that Italian tourists "tend to forget them, but you tend to remind us."
His comments even ventured into the strange world of dating. "When I was studying at the University of Pavia, we had 'sex.' They told me at Princeton that they have 'friends with benefits.'"
The event was co-sponsored by Penn's Center for Italian Studies and the Italian Consulate General in Philadelphia. It was part of the consulate's annual "Week of the Italian Language and Culture," during which eminent Italian speakers travel to various universities in the tri-state area.
Severgnini is a columnist for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, was a correspondent for The Economist magazine from 1996 to 2003 and has authored numerous books about Italian and American culture. His latest work, Ciao, America!, became a bestseller in the United States upon its publication in 2002.
Attendees said they were impressed with the presentation.
Jeff Gerecht, a former Penn graduate student in physics who has traveled to Italy, dubbed himself a fan of Severgnini's work. "I love getting foreign perspectives on America. He's very good at providing that."
A number of Penn's undergraduate Italian language students came to the lecture to listen and learn from a native speaker of Italian. Several rose during the event to ask questions in Italian.
College sophomores Pamela Gussow and Carolyn Schogol said they had read some of Severgnini's articles in their Italian classes and were hoping to gain from his fluency in Italian.
"It's always better to hear native speakers," Schogol said. "It helps."
Following the presentation, Severgnini himself commented on the changes the United States has gone through since his first visit decades ago.
America's times and goals are different today, he said, but its "passion is the same."
He said that his hope was to pass this attitude to students overwhelmed by the daunting task of learning about another culture.
"In them," he confided, "I can see myself."
