Letter From the Editor -- Authenticity

Authenticity. Recently there has been a thread about authenticity on the SlowTravel Web site’s Italy forum. The question asked was "What is "authentic" in Italy?," and the ensuing discussion went on for some days and became rather passionate at times. You can read my responses, as well as the entire discussion, if you’re so inclined, here. Some seemed to be looking for glimpses of an idealized Italy they knew from movies, literature, or old family lore. Some looked back at the traditions of the previous generations as more authentic than modern ones. Some believed it to be only picturesque old towns and cathedrals, art and statues, outdoor weekly markets and local vendors, but certainly not a new apartment block or a shopping mall or a supermarket. Some were looking for places untouched by tourists.

In following the discussion I thought not only to what I considered authentically Italian, but in particular, what is authentic in terms of Stresa. I look at this spectacular little city on the lake, with its jaw-dropping views of water, mountains, and islands. Those are authentic. That’s as authentic it gets, and maybe that’s why so many tourists come here. They come in waves, the tourists, like the ebb and flow of the water in Lago Maggiore. But behind the tourists there are also the Stresiani. There are their beautiful old churches, and statues, art, and gardens. There are families and normal, everyday life in a small place where everyone knows everyone else. All this coexists in a city that is dependent upon, and exists for, its tourists. Stresa is not a place to go to avoid tourists. But it’s a great place to come to and discover for yourself why all these tourists want to come here. That’s Stresa. I embrace it for what it is, as it is, and I hope you’ll come here and do the same.