[ugosanchezo]

It just funny that some lament the loss of Little Italy (for instance) but then champion cultural diversity.

Why is that?

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There was a wonderful area of Florence, the San Lorenzo district that up until just a few years ago was filled with old and dependable tuscan trattorie, all kinds of great food stores selling local products, tradition craftsman studios and shops etc. selling things Florence has always been famous for: leather goods, ceramics, fine linens etc. The area was just so .... Florentine.

Today the area is a mix of races and lanquages... lots of Chinese take-out, Chinese-made discount clothing stores, kebab, Pakistani owned grocery, stores selling exotic food, a few African shops selling food and gift items ... and on and on. Most of those quintessentially Florentine businesses have left.

For me ... the area is now the height of banality. It was interesting before... now it is a scene we see everywhere.

Cutural diversity is often overrated. What I love most about my town is that it is still so Italian, so Tuscan... and City Hall has even taken measure to block ethnic restaurants, Chinese take-out, Kebab places and so forth in the center of town.

I love big cities with their mix of everthing.... but my town is still an enclave that celebrates it's specific culture.

Nothing wrong with that.

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