It is ironic that just as Italians has wakened from their winter enchantment, and have suddenly remembered - they are Italian.
That while they lounge at the pavement cafe tables, take their toddlers to the park over-populated with kids, sporting their immaculate summer-wear, attend the innumerable Summer festivals breaking out, with brass bands....
A predator has just begun to stalk this land, an enemy so invincible, people state with profound bitterness that it is keeping them in their houses.
It is a small enough enemy - The Tiger Mosquito, that first arrived in Genoa from south-east Asia, appears at the start of June, is silent, incredibly persistent, and unlike most of its species, which cling to shadows or emerge only at dusk, the tiger is around all day long.
Not only does it threaten the Italian Way of Life, but Italy's tourism industry, and is a species that is an effective transmitter of disease.
Yet, although the Tiger Mosquito also invaded America's southern states, a judicious campaign of civic spraying and public mobilization, has completely eliminated the pest.
It grieves me to repeat the response of
local Tiger hunters: "It would never work in Italy." adding that "as in
the matter of paying taxes, or observing road signs, Italians never do
anything they are told to - it would be enough for the government to order
everyone to spray their gardens for most people to decide to do nothing
of the kind."
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ITALY'S UNWELCOME SUMMER VISITORS
BBC News
By Martin Buckley
BBC correspondent in Italy
Sunday, 13 June, 2004
>From the peaks of the Alps in the north to the arid plains of the Mezzogiorno in the south, the daily life of Italians is said to be under threat from an invader from South-East Asia.
...As a recent arrival in this small town, I have to take the locals' word for it that summer came late this year.
They blame global warming for the snow blizzards in March and monsoon-like rainfall well into May.
Summer awakening
But now that the sun shines every day, something has changed in the people of this town.
It is as though they have suddenly remembered - they are Italian.
In winter you could walk past a 10-storey block of flats at 8pm and know that 40 families were at home, yet eerily, not see a solitary chink of light behind the closed shutters.
Three doors from me, there is a man I used to see pottering in his garden every day until about mid-October.
Then, he vanished. For a while, I thought perhaps he had died.
For the last month I have seen him again every day.
So the populace has wakened from its winter enchantment.
At last, people can lounge at the pavement cafe tables that have appeared absolutely everywhere. They can eat ice cream every day.
Summer festivals are breaking out, with brass bands and teams of brightly-dressed eight-year-old girls solemnly recreating dance routines from the TV variety shows.
In the park at the end of the road, through winter we were the only people who took our toddler to the swings on crisp mornings.
Now, it is abruptly over-populated with kids, their parents sporting immaculate summer-wear.
Insect invader
So it is ironic, with all this reclaiming of the outdoors, that a predator has just begun to stalk this land, an enemy so invincible, people tell me with profound bitterness that it is keeping them in their houses.
It is a small enough enemy - an insect that first arrived in Genoa from south-east Asia in a consignment of second-hand car tyres.
And it is easy to recognize: it has strong white stripes across its body.
The tiger mosquito, which appears at the start of June, is silent, incredibly persistent, and unlike most of its species, which cling to shadows or emerge only at dusk, the tiger is around all day long.
We arrived here last autumn amid an infestation of them.
Our house had a wild, overgrown garden, and tigers hovered everywhere in venomous clouds, and though we plastered on repellant, and walked around with cans of fly-spray in one hand, we spent the autumn covered in bites.
The tiger mosquito is bad news for Italy's tourism industry, and incidentally, it is a species that is an effective transmitter of disease.
This region of the north, the vast flood plain around the River Po, has much reclaimed land - prime, moist, farmland where water sits in irrigation channels all year long.
The tiger mosquitoes love it.
Towns have set up teams to fight the infestation - but everybody seems to agree that the tiger mosquito is here to stay.
Tigers have also invaded America's southern states.
Surfing the internet, I came across the website of an American town that, by a judicious campaign of civic spraying and public mobilization, has completely eliminated the pest.
Breeding ground
I had this in mind when, last week, our local team of tiger hunters arrived on my front door step.
The man and woman, very friendly, wandered round my garden for half an hour explaining that standing water of any kind - and even damp grass - is enough for the mosquitoes to breed.
"So what's the town doing to eliminate them?" I asked.
They gave exagerrated, Italian shrugs. "There's very little we can do," they replied.
So I mentioned the town I had read about where the tiger mosquito has been eliminated.
"Oh, but that's America," they told me, "it would never work in Italy."
"But why ever not?" I asked.
"Oh because we're not well enough organised," they said, as though Italy was some banana republic that could only dream about north American efficiency.
Seeing the confusion on my face, they added that as in the matter of paying taxes, or observing road signs, Italians never do anything they are told to - it would be enough for the government to order everyone to spray their gardens for most people to decide to do nothing of the kind.
They gave another resigned shrug, and wished me a very good day.
Last Sunday, the first tiger mosquito appeared - silent and stealthy - as I was drinking a coffee on the front porch at 11am.
It is going to be a long summer.
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2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/3793849.stm