Italians can brew a political tempest in the tiniest espresso cup:
> When the government proposed boosting the tax on the awnings of sidewalk cafés from 60∧ a square yard to $25, café owners threatened to strike, coffee lovers raised a howl, and the Confederation of Commerce and Tourism dispatched an official delegation to the Finance Minister, a Christian Democrat. Result: the tax on shade was raised to only $2.50.
> The cemetery in the town of Albiano Magra (pop. 1,500), 60 miles southeast of Genoa, was filled to capacity, and in order to make space the town fathers ordered...
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