History of an Italian city whose inhabitants love the "Great Britain"

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Rossi Thomson

If there had not been the sunny weather that had prevailed, I would have sworn I was in Britain. The shopping street was teeming with groundhogs, while the flags of the United Kingdom – known as the "Union Flags" – floated in the breeze, while the smell of cod floated in the air. air.

At the same time, two of the queens of Britain were nostalgic for their vision. A Queen Elizabeth II aboard a bright and shiny car. The other was Queen Victoria, who was wearing a black umbrella.

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It seemed to me then that the temporal and spatial context had been turned upside down to reunite two of Britain's most revered and revered queens in such an unexpected place. I was not in London, for example, but in a small town in northern Italy called Scio.

It was during the so-called British Scyo Day, a big festival dedicated to Britain, one of the weekends, and the inhabitants of "Scio" are themselves British.

Thus, these British characters from the past and the present are embellished and even print a newspaper whose main title, proudly this year, speaks of "the city with the most British character of Italy".

"Squee has always been nicknamed" Manchester Italy, "said Claudio Canova, 51, an expert in digital marketing, who conceived this idea six years ago.

The reason for the title of this Italian city in its industrial history was one day – like Manchester – an important center for the production of wool and textiles.

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Rossi Thomson

This is due to a Venetian aristocrat named Nicolo Tron, who imported from England new wool spinning and weaving techniques, which led to the creation of a large woolen factory in the Italian city of 1718.

Tron was a businessman and friend of the British mathematician Isaac Newton and former ambassador of the Republic of Venice to the court of King George I. Scio, the city located on the northern border of the former Italian Republic, had intention to bring British technology and knowledge to the city.

Skye has for centuries been a center for wool production, thanks to the abundant availability of raw materials and unskilled labor, as well as to the license obtained by the Republic of Venice in 1701 for the manufacture of high quality textiles independently of companies operating in Venice. . You hired nine English technicians, who moved, along with their families, to Squio to work in the factory opened by the man.

Several decades later, this aristocrat introduced another English invention in the industry known as Flying Shuttle, invented by mechanic John Kay, and made the weaving process much faster than before, thereby increasing productivity and reducing costs.

It was also possible that the shuttle operated mechanically, opening the way to automatic looms. The name "Skew" has quickly become synonymous with "high end fine textiles", which have been exported to various parts of Europe and to other parts of the continent.

In the 19th century, Francesco and Alessandro Rossi – a father and son – produced textiles at Squio to new heights. In 1862, a factory was built in the city, inspired by wool factories in Manchester and various parts of Britain.

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Rossi Thomson

This place became the largest factory ever built in Italy in the 19th century. It is now the proud symbol of the country's first industrial revolution. Although the factory is now closed forever, its 330-high building is testimony to the close relationship that Scio and Manchester have combined with textile technology over the centuries, though 2,000 kilometers separate them.

"If you add to that the climate and the personal character of the inhabitants, you will find that you are at the head of the most British city in Italy," said Mr. Kanova.

The "British Day of Sky" is the development of a festival called "Sky Life", the main theme being British rock music, as well as Kanova. "We have been organizing concerts since 2007 and we have had the opportunity to meet many legends of musicians," he said.

"I realized we were living in the most British city in Italy and that we had to do something to highlight these features," Kanova said. "Six years later, we believe we have achieved this goal.

Since the launch of the British Day of Scio, this day is becoming more popular and is held each year the second weekend of October under the theme "hot, humid, independent and authentic", which, according to Kanova , reflects the character of the city's population. .

Last year, the event attracted more than 30,000 people. It is dedicated each year to the honor of an artist or a British team. Among the teams honored by the festival in previous years were the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Oasis.

The event of 2018 was dedicated to English singer and songwriter Peter Gabriel, whom Kanova described as "one of the world's peace advocates," claiming he had an important message for all. .

He emphasizes that the criterion of selection of teams or artists honored is their social value. When I asked who would be the festival next year, I learned that the event would be dedicated to Alessandro Rossi, as 2019 would mark his 200th birthday.

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Rossi Thomson

In order to attend events myself, I arrived in Scio early in the afternoon of the British Day last October to find the huge buildings located in the downtown streets. At the same time, men and women paddled on the sidewalks, dressed in their best British uniforms.

The stores offered an abundant supply of British products, such as Union-painted cookie cans, British postage stamps and London Eye pamphlets, the famous tourist attraction in the heart of the capital, as well as postcards. of Queen Elizabeth II. And small flags bearing the faces of Prince Harry and his wife Megan and were overwhelmed by happiness.

In addition, famous British sites have been scattered throughout the Italian city and similar places have been restored. Local glaciers have placed large banners on their display cases to promote their products in English rather than in Italian.

The British Day of Scio attracts thousands of people dressed in British-style clothing or famous personalities such as Harry Potter, James Bond, Dr. Ho and Sherlock Holmes, who speak the language. English on the streets as if it was the normal thing, they enter the stores and ask for things in English, and greet people who say "hello," "welcome," and "hello" in English rather than 39. ;in Italian.

All this happens without ridicule or cynicism, but with a sincere and sincere expression of gratitude for Britain and for Scio's industrial past.

"What will happen to the" British Day of Scyo "after the departure of Britain from the EU?" Of course, "he replied," we will continue to Organize, with more determination in fact ".

I kept pressing him: "Will the British release change the nature of Sakio's feelings towards Britain?" "I think the British people only want to defend their state of economic (and) economic invasion, not just the rest of the world," he said. European citizens. "

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Rossi Thomson

Until now, Manchester has no knowledge of this annual event. Kanova plans to communicate soon with the authorities of the British city to establish a relationship based on the historical link that united them to Scio.

Later in the day, I went to the large terrace in front of San Pietro Cathedral in the city. From there, I could see the main square under the balcony, filled with hundreds of people waiting for the launch of the main paragraph of the festival, the procession of the British Day of Scyo.

After that, the atmosphere was fueled by the enthusiastic rendition of the song "Scotland of Courage". Nothing suggested that these musicians – dressed in Scottish skirts and skilfully playing their psalms – did not come from Scotland but from the nearby Italian city of Vicenza.

The next paragraph was a long procession of historic British avant-garde cars, brilliant, beautiful and in sight, presenting insights into the progress of automotive technology and its designs in Britain over the decades.

Suddenly, the crowd rushed to see something that was far from my eyes. After striving to see what they were looking for, an open-top car shone, surrounded by four bodyguards wearing bear fur hats. "She is the queen!"

In front of me, I looked like Queen Elizabeth II, twinkling patterns of the usual Queen and carried a bouquet of roses in the hand. This character has captured the admiration and admiration of the crowd that surrounds him, giving us from time to time one of his gestures, which represents his trademark.

In light of all this, it is worth recognizing the organizers of this event, who managed to ensure that a woman like me, of Bulgarian nationality and indifferent to all that is royal, feels her head move from his enthusiasm at the idea of ​​seeing the queen.

Although Italy does not lack festivals, it is much more efficient than its peers. The inhabitants of the city gathered some of the most important features of the British cultural system and managed to put it side by side in what appeared to be a puzzle to the British, whose components ended up making them proud. city ​​and their industrial history.

Most striking in this respect is the success of Scio's population in mastering the British humor that is described as difficult to understand. To illustrate this, just take a look at the newspaper published in the Italian city on the occasion of the "British Day", where he wrote in small red letters "The procession will unfold even though the weather is correct, "in a simulacrum of the particular character of the unstable climate in Britain.

You can read the original article on BBC Travel

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