Saturday,
November 11,
The
ANNOTICO Report
Aviano
Air Base is located in the northeastern part of
There has been an airport
facility in Aviano since 1911. There has been
an American presence in Aviano since 1945.
One
wonders whether the lack of interaction between the US
Air Force Personnel and Family and the Italian towns people is due
to the Americans spending their sight seeing in more "culturally rich
sites" in Italy, or the Americans have a MacDonald Cultural mentality and
are willing to be insulated, or whether the townspeople need to make a greater
effort to welcoming the Americans to their events.
Americans
not bad neighbors, Aviano area mayors say
Stars
and Stripes
European edition
By Kent
Harris
Saturday, November 11, 2006
AVIANO AIR BASE,
Thats the kind of question
some Italians pose when the question of the Air Forces premier air base
south of the
But ask the mayors of
three communities surrounding the base about how they feel about their American
neighbors, and there are few negatives.
In fact, Riccardo Berto, the mayor of Aviano, and
Giovanni Baviera, the mayor of Fontanafredda,
both say theyd like to see more American interaction in their communities.
They say Americans carry the reputation of working, shopping, eating and
spending most of their time on base. And only sleeping in the homes they rent
from Italian landlords.
Baviera said Thursday that hed like
Americans to participate in local festivals and shop at local businesses more.
He said he thinks the base needs to do a better job of letting Americans know
about activities they could enjoy locally.
He said his relationship
with Brig. Gen. Robert Yates, the 31st Fighter Wing commander, is very good and
that the base has responded with volunteers to work on several projects in his
community. But he said hed like to see airmen and their families get to
know the local community better.
Both Berto
and Baviera, who come from conservative political
parties historically friendly to the
The base also employs
hundreds of Italian nationals.
Renzo Liva,
the mayor of Roveredo in Piano, comes from the
leftist Labor Party. Some members of the countrys center-left coalition
want the American military out of
He said communication is
always a factor, whether trying to explain garbage collection policies or just
interact. Americans generally dont pay taxes to maintain local roads and
infrastructure either.
But he shakes his head
when asked if hed like to see the base close.
Its not the
worst neighbor you could have, he said, smiling.
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