More than traffic, lack of public spaces biggest downside in Bengaluru: Italy Consul General

Bengaluru, Jul 17 (PTI) For Alfonso Tagliaferri, Consul General of Italy, it's not the infamous Bengaluru traffic but the lack of public spaces that is the biggest downside to living in the city.

Tagliaferri, the first Consul General to be posted in Bengaluru, will be finishing his tenure in the IT hub this week.

"For an Italian, a 'piazza', or a square, is very important. It is what democracy is all about for me," Tagliaferri told PTI.

He recalled how when he was growing up, sometimes he would just go to the piazza with his friends and sit on the steps there, sometimes drinking beer, sometimes reading or sometimes just talking to others.

"And in that place, by chance, you encounter other people, and you create a community, and you discuss things. This is missing in Bengaluru, which is otherwise a welcoming city," said the Consul General.

The public spaces that Bengaluru offers are way too gentrified, pointed out Tagliaferri. Hanging out usually is a commercialised affair here, he said.

"It is too privatised. People take their car, go to a restaurant, experience that, and come back home," he added.

As for his biggest takeaway from Bengaluru, it is his realisation that when people are flexible, almost anything is possible.

"I arrived with a lot of ideas, and most of what I dreamed really became true. Sometimes, there is a little bit of an approximation to things. Not everything is done exactly in detail, like how we would do it in Europe. But many things in Europe would not even happen because people would be so engrossed with having it done perfectly. Here, there is this idea of, 'let's do it'," said the Consul General.

A law graduate, Tagliaferri said it did not take him long to realise that he was not cut out for being a lawyer.

"I tried being a journalist for some time, but eventually decided to write the exam and enter the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a diplomatic career," said the Consul General who will be going to Berlin, Germany, next.

"When I arrived in India, I didn't know what to expect. It was my first time here. I was in Kolkata for a few months before I moved to Bengaluru when the new Consulate General of Italy was opened here," said Tagliaferri, who has lived and worked in Chile, the Philippines and South Africa before landing in India.

Bengaluru, he said, became the perfect sounding board for his ideas.

"Here, I found a sense of possibility that is way beyond what you call jugaad. This enthusiasm made it possible for projects to happen. In the span of three years -- of which nearly a year and a half we didn't really have a team -- I was able to put together some 30-plus projects," said the Consul General.

His favourite, he added, was the one that showed Bengaluru, which is famous for being the home to ISRO, what Italy has achieved in its space programme.

"We organised a big show when the Science Gallery was opened in Bengaluru. Italy is a power in space: we were the third country in the world to send a satellite in space, after the US and USSR at the time. But not many people knew about it," said the Consul General. This was all possible because of the unique spirit that Bengaluru has, he added.

"Here, you plant five seeds and four plants grow strong and fast. And this is something that doesn't really happen in many places in the world," said the Consul General.

Now that he has to leave one of his favourite cities, Tagliaferri is ready with his wishlist for the city: more pavements -- so people can walk enjoying the "world-famous Bengaluru weather" -- and more places to chill without having to spend loads of money. And yes, traffic that is managed better. PTI JR KH