Cheerful stories from everyday Italian life. Enough of an Italian to be familiar with the habits of her compatriots, and sufficiently foreign to recognize shortcomings, contradictions, and exaggerations, and to be able to laugh about them: Valeria Vairo lives in Germany and has learned that distance sharpens the perspective. With a lightly sharpened pen, she tells small stories from daily life that revolve around family and rituals, women and men, religion and superstition. The result is a subjective portrait of Italian society, where one can find some beloved stereotypes, but also much that is surprising. Yet, in the sometimes chaotic but often incredibly creative way of dealing with the challenges of everyday life, the full charm of Italian art of living is revealed. Texts for advanced readers.