[Idyllchat] Angiolino-Mice? Mosquitos?

[Jerry Clancy]

Well, Jan, I have to say that the amorous Italian mosquitos tend to 
prefer nibbling on your neck and whispering (some say buzz) in your 
ear rather than biting you on the arm or leg. And the mice, well, 
they won't even get near American cheese, far preferring to ciao down 
on Fontina or Provolone, so avoid carrying those. Their squeak, 
though, has a charming Italian lilt. Late at night, near restaurants, 
you can often catch them in chorus. And it looks like you've hit the 
timing just right to catch the harvest of the spaghetti trees.

Ah, but then I suppose you were serious. Yes, mosquitos exist in 
Italy and few villas, at least in my experience, have screens on 
their windows. However, around the time you are going I would expect 
the problem to be more minimal. In general, though, I've never found 
them to be a serious problem there (in, like, a dozen trips). Maybe 
they don't like grapes. Historically, the Maremma, an area directly 
west of Montalcino to the coast and the region southwest of it, given 
to more swampy areas, used to be called the "mosquito capital of 
Italy." Now, however, it is fast becoming noted for its very good 
wines as it tries to emulate the success of the Brunello region which 
you are visiting. Mosquitos are down, apparently proving my point 
that they hate grapes.

Actually, never saw a mouse in Italy. But, then, I wasn't looking for 
them and have studiously avoided Naples. But I'm told that there were 
once a lot of rats (mostly named Coreleone) in Sicily.

As for safety, well, Italy is a very safe place once you remove the 
roads. (Just kidding. Tuscany is very safe and easy driving. Just 
ignore the tailgaters -- it's part of the Italian gene pool.) Just 
follow reasonable guidelines protecting personal property on you 
while touring the large cities, as apparently a small but 
statistically significant number of Italians also got the pickpocket gene.

You're gonna love it.

Jerry


At 05:13 PM 4/16/2007, you wrote:

>Hello,
>Planning the South Tuscany Tour 9/26 through 10/10.
>Everything you all say sounds wonderful.  What wasn't so 
>great?  What about Mice/Mosquitos/Safety?
>Thanks,
>Jan B.