SCRIPT
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, wherever you may be, however you might be listening, welcome to another episode of What’s Up Tuscany, the daily podcast from L’Arno where you will find the most interesting, odd or funny stories of today, Wednesday February 17th 2021, as selected by our journalists. If you wish, please subscribe and share this podcast on social media, it would be a really kind gesture.

Let’s start with a story we read last night on Il Cuoio in Diretta. Around 7 PM a loud bang startled the people of Ponticelli, a small town in the municipality of Santa Maria a Monte. When someone tried to figure out what caused such a ruckus, the surprise: the foot overpass over a small channel had broken in two, dropping into the water below. The really odd thing is that the overpass hadn’t been opened to the public yet, despite the fact that construction had been proceeding, on and off, for several years. No one was injured, as the site was closed but a fair amount of egg on the faces of the local administration, that has spent 250 thousand euros so far on this project. Mayor Ilaria Parrella invites everyone not to jump to conclusions and to wait for the results of the internal inquiry she’s about to launch to figure out what happened and who is responsible for this accident. Spotlight, obviously, on the firms that were building the overpass and the public works supervisor. Now, accidents to bridges and other infrastructure isn’t unusual in Tuscany but a bridge that splits in half before being opened is something that we had never seen before.

Let’s move now to a substantial update on the story that has attracted the interest of many listeners, the Capraia Arsene Lupin. In the evening we read on Il Tirreno two in-depth stories that provide more details on this crime story that is quickly gaining traction outside of our region. The people of Capraia, with their typical dark humour, are not shy. Quote: “instead of checking if they had the virus, they should have checked if they know how to break intosafes before letting them in” end quote. The municipality of Capraia has put in place a check and trace system for anyone stepping into the small island to stop the spread of the COVID virus. The thief seems to be a local, something that doesn’t sit well with the residents. Quote “It’s better if he’s taken by the police, otherwise we’ll treat him like an octopus. We’ll snap his neck and throw him in the water” end quote. The youngster talking may not be serious but the owner of the local bar, whose safe has been emptied last Wednesday is heart-broken. Quote “they took 60 thousand Euros, those were my life savings” end quote. The neighbour upstairs says he heard nothing, despite being awake until 4 AM. Lupin always hits in the night between Wednesday and Thursday, maybe to catch the 5:45 ferry but people are unconvinced. Too many coincidences, too many details that only a resident would know. The house of the vice-mayor Fabio Mazzei was robbed last October, exactly when both him and his neighbour were not on the island. Cinzia Giusti, the first victim of the so-called “Lupin-Judas” is adamant. Quote: “He’s one of us. When I named names, a while ago, people went crazy. Better not talk about it” end quote. The 18th of December 2018, Cinzia went out early to walk his dog. Not more than 20 minutes, to the castle and back, as usual. Time that was sufficient for the thief to locate and empty the beauty case where she had stashed cash and jewelry, before bringing them to the police, as she was about to leave the island to visit her daughter. Total value, 150 thousand euros, but most of the pieces were one of a kind. Wedding rings, the medals of her father, who was an Army general, jewels that were in the family for generations. That day on the island there were only sixty people. Quote: “this makes you suspicious of everyone, to lose some friendships, as it happened to me. For two years people tried to avoid me, thinking I named them as possible suspects” end quote. A tiny community destroyed by suspicion and the fear that the “winter thief” might hit again.

First developments on another story we’ve been following in the last few days, the senior patients that were dismissed from the Leghorn hospital without clothes. Following the first accident on January 15th, some sanctions have been raised for the ambulance driver: seven days of suspension without pay, a pretty harsh penalty, as the law dictates a maximum of 10 days. The driver wasn’t himself responsible for the accident, but should have checked the patient more accurately when he stepped into his ambulance. The ambulance company, the Società Volontaria di Soccorso, was quick to let everyone know that no irregularities were found in the second accident that happened last Friday. Quote “The transfer was conducted according to existing procedures. We did not find any carelessness or lack of attention” end quote. Everything is fine and dandy, despite the fact that a clearly agitated 81 year old woman was dropped at her house without any clothes on. Good, not great. We’ll let you know when the results of the internal inquiry that the hospital is conducting right now are published. Hopefully they’ll take this story a bit more seriously...

Let’s close today’s episode with a rather singular story we read this morning on La Repubblica, a small town in the Mugello region stuck in the 80s. In Galliano, a sixteenth century town with 1500 inhabitants, 98% of the people only have a landline. No internet, no mobile network, an almost impossible anachronism these days. Barberino mayor’s irony is rather bitter. Quote “people in Galliano can only dream of the latest app. Connectivity is fundamental these days but they just don’t have it” end quote. In a land of mountains, hills and hidden valleys, the telephone lines haven’t been buried underground and therefore are vulnerable to the elements, as it happened recently. Now that distance learning and remote working is more and more fundamental, people living in mountainous areas are just left behind. In those towns that wouldn’t make enough money for broadband or mobile operators, people are stuck in the 80s, when you had to stand for hours next to your phone if you were waiting for an important call. In our hyper-connected world, where people would do just about anything not to receive 10 notifications a minute and enjoy some peace and quiet, people in Galliano are dreaming about the day when they will finally be able to enjoy the perks of today’s technology.

That was all for today, I’m your host Luca Bocci and I’ll see you tomorrow for another episode of What’s Up Tuscany, the daily podcast from L’Arno where you’ll find the news that, according to us, are well worth a second look. Thanks for listening and goodbye.

BACKGROUND MUSIC
Title: Seamonster (Argofox release)
Author: Inova
License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
Link: youtu.be/8kmZWGhumUE
https://soundcloud.com/argofox/inova-seamonster