Italy Goes to Germany
Euro 2024, Buchmesse, and more
On June 14, all eyes in Italy (and the ⚽-loving world) will be on Germany, host of the 2024 UEFA European Championship. While some Italy fans say that playing in Germany is good luck (the Azzurri won the 2006 World Cup there), many others are skeptical given the national team’s track record since winning the 2020 Euros.
Italy missed the 2022 World Cup, so expectations will be low (but ever-hopeful) when they defend their Euro title. And that’s exactly why you can’t count them out, despite a very tough first round in Group B. The Azzurri’s first three matches will be against Albania, Spain, and Croatia, and will take place in Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen, and Leipzig (Lipsia), respectively.
The Euros aren’t the only reason Italy lovers have Germany on their itineraries this year. From 16-20 October, Italy will be the Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Known in Italian as the Fiera del Libro di Francoforte, the 2024 Buchmesse’s host country showcase will feature approximately 100 Italian authors, ranging from Silvia Avallone to Sandro Veronesi. This year’s official Italy program has left out Roberto Saviano and Antonio Scurati, authors, respectively, of the bestselling books Gomorrah and M: Son of the Century. But Buchmesse Director and CEO Juergen Boos has said that both authors will be guests of the German publishers’ group. Spicy!
Here are some links to learn more about Euro 2024 and the Frankfurter Buchmesse:
Tickets to Italy’s group stage Euro 2024 matches are sold out but may be available on secondary ticketing sites. Check the Euro 2024 link above for additional info.
15 June, Italy vs. Albania (on Stubhub)
18 June, Spain vs. Italy (on Stubhub)
20 June, Croatia vs. Italy (on Stubhub)
Euro 2024: How to live stream every game online from anywhere -Tom’s Guide
Radici nel Futuro: Italy’s official website for the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair (includes list of all Italian authors participating in the event)
Saviano escluso dal programma italiano della Buchmesse 2024. Gli editori tedeschi: lo invitiamo noi. -Corriere della Sera
Like my New Orleans post, this is a crossover post that combines Italy and elsewhere. (Thanks to all of you who have subscribed since then!) In this installment, the “elsewhere” lens is on Germany not only because of upcoming events but also because it fits into my own story.
Perhaps Germany is on my mind because of my current life stage. Soon, my eldest son will graduate from a US high school, a milestone I never experienced. Instead of visiting college campuses and going to pep rallies during my senior year, I was living in Germany as an exchange student, taking classes at the gymnasium (German high school) and living with a local family. I also have some German heritage on both sides of my family, so it was a chance to get to know that part of the world.
It was a year of many ups and downs, but ultimately a formative one that would set me on the path that led me to many of the things I love now, including language learning, music, soccer, and travel. After my exchange year, I studied International Relations and German at university, got certified as a German translator, and interned as a research assistant at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
However, upon graduating from college, I went to Europe again, this time taking the train from Amsterdam to Milan so I could finally see Italy. I still remember being awake as the sun rose outside the train, stopped briefly near the Switzerland-Italy border for customs control. Italian voices began to replace German ones in the corridors as I peered out the window and I swear I saw a rainbow hovering above a waterfall tumbling over an alpine pass. Was Italy a utopia or was I dreaming?
I think you can probably figure out what happened after that. 🙂
I left my German life and language behind when I leapt into Italian. I fell headlong into my love for Italy, as if there wasn’t any room to think about other countries or languages. These two countries and peoples are often seen as polar opposites—rivals on the battlefield, in business, on the pitch, and in terms of disposition. But couldn’t I love both places? It didn’t have to be between one or the other, yet it felt necessary to choose. So, I peeled away from my German roots—radici, in Italiano—before I ever knew what they were or where to look for them.
Then, on a second visit to New Orleans, serendipity and inspiration. On my last day in town, in Bamboula’s for afternoon jazz, a man sat down next to me at the only free seat at the bar. I could hear a slight accent when he asked me if the seat was free, so I asked where he was from. Deutschland! I had already been thinking about Germany because 2024 is turning out to be a huge personal year for me—just like 1992 had been.
I found the nerve to speak German again after nearly 25 years of barely using it. Surprisingly, the words started to flow from some unknown well within me. We talked the rest of the time in a mixture of English and German and it left me determined to improve my language skills and learn more about the areas I have visited and the ones from which my ancestors came.
Upon returning home, I mapped out travel itineraries according to my family tree and reached out to former professors and colleagues with German backgrounds thinking they might be able to help me get back on track. Soon, random social and professional opportunities began to flow, too. Opening myself up was allowing more abundance to come in. When I took stock of everything and connected the dots with the Euro tournament and the Frankfurt Book Fair, it felt like a sign I couldn’t ignore.
I wish I could have had this epiphany about Germany a few years earlier so I could have planned to be there for Euro tournament fun. But I am really looking forward to exploring the country later this summer using my fascination with Ancient Rome to guide me on a few excursions. I was unfamiliar and uninterested with this history in my teens, but now I can’t get enough of it!
Cologne (Köln), known to the Romans as Colonia Agrippina, was my favorite city when I lived in Germany, so it will be at the top of my list for this visit. I also love hanging around old churches now, so I can’t wait to (finally) visit the Cologne Cathedral, the tallest twin-spired church in the world and the country’s most-visited landmark.
I’d like to see Trier, the UNESCO city with numerous points of interest, chief among them being the Porta Nigra, the best-preserved Roman gate north of the Alps. I may even revisit the Teutoburger Wald, the vast forest on the edge of the town where I spent my exchange year, which happens to be the site of one of the most significant military defeats in Roman history.
My renewed interest in Germany has also sparked my curiosity about places I’d like to explore in Italy. They include Trentino-Alto Adige (Südtirol, auf Deutsch), the German-speaking autonomous region in the Dolomites and Trieste, one of the most important seaports in Europe and part of the German-speaking Habsburgian monarchy for nearly 600 years.
One of my favorite places in Rome to walk to during my lunch break was the area around the former ancient Gardens of Sallust (Horti Sallustiani) complex. It was exactly here where Alaric and the Visigoths first breached the walls on August 24, 410, during the Sack of Rome. It was almost as if these ruins were here to remind me of that year when I lived in an area of Germany that the Romans couldn’t conquer. What a wild discovery.
If you are traveling to Germany to check out the Euros, Buchmesse, or anything else, but you also happen to be an Italophile like me, here are a few places to consider for your Roman-inspired Germany itinerary:
Trier and its Roman sites, including Porta Nigra
The Varus Battle in Osnabrücker Land - Museum and Park Kalkriese is a museum dedicated to the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.
Thanks - Grazie - Danke for going on another detour with me!
Until next time,
Melanie