White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army now a European soccer anthem
Five years since its 2003 release, The White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army has found a place among those big, blaring European soccer anthems.
Like tiny scooters and the renaissance, this trend began in Italy. Despite Seven Nation Army not being particularly well-known (some called it simply the “po po po po po pooo pooo song”) it became the anthem of the Italians’ world cup win in 2006. A version - with fans singing the chorus - even got to No 1 in the country and Jack White was moved to comment on the matter. “Nothing is more beautiful in music than when people embrace a melody and allow it to enter the pantheon of folk music,” he said, though this process may have passed fans of the Azzurri by.
It has since been adopted by Liverpool fans for their player Javier Mascherano (sing his name to the beat and you’ve pretty much got it) and this year it’s an anthem for everybody.
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Italy’s slow city movement
Small cities across Italy aspire to be granted cittáslow status:
To a certain extent, a “slow city” tries to preserve the civic structures from medieval or Renaissance times, while at the same time incorporating the most recent scientific findings of ecology and sustainability. Even modern technology is allowed if it helps to meet the city’s goals. For example, Cimicchi is hoping to install electronically controlled access gates in Orvieto, which would grant entrance exclusively to city residents. Pisa already has a similar system: If the camera catches you letting the parking meter run out — whether it’s for a single minute or an entire day — you can expect to receive a parking ticket.
Last year USA Today profiled Virginia’s own cittáslow, the town of Floyd (population 434).