What is funny about bureaucracy in Italy? Actually nothing. But, if you are a philosopher you could find something hilarious. “The world is a tragedy for those who feel, but a comedy for those who think” said Horace Walpole.

Bureaucracy in Italy is tremendously obscure, full of uselessnesses. A dynamo for the anxiety (wich indeed is very high among italians!). Today I had to fill some modules to make a professional qualification. A Dante’s purgatory.

First of all, you have to find your old registration number to the university. Vanished. You could find it on the website of your university, but, of course you need your code to access to the site (not my usual password, but a totally random generated number. Very easy to remember for those who do not have a real life). If you need assistance you can go to the university and ask to some office to give you the registration number (“please! I need it!” Of course you have to make some tragical move to attract the attention). Ok now you have your number, you can access the online part of the modules you need to fill. So easy? Of course no! In Italy things are strange. You have to fill even a sheet. Moreover you have to write down a request in Caravaggio style, with unusual words and old flourish sentences and take with you a great numbers os sheets, certificates and many other funny stuff. Of course the office of interest opens on mon-wed-fri from 8 to 12 am, and tue-thu from 3 to 6 pm. You reach the building, reach the floor and finally the office. A 20 persons queue stands before the employee. Just one employee, of course. You wait about 20 minutes, 25, 30. Then you face him. You hand in all your papyri and wait with christian hope. The employee looks at you, looks at the sheets and then at you again and says: what are all these things for? You answer. It’s no use, he says, just fill this sheet and everything will be ok, i guess.

That’s why italy is so relaxing and so complicated at the same time.