There are chilling moments in the life of any straniero when they realise that, with all the reflection, study, and will that certain ways of thinking, produced by local culture, tradition, and a very different history, will always be beyond them.

These are moments, more often than not, conjured up out of hot-air when politicos and pundits hold forth about national pride, the dangers of immigration, and security. Try as you may, you have to admit that not only can you not find a way into their viewpoint, but also that you really have no desire to.

More heart-warming are those moments when you can’t imagine how culture, tradition, and history combine to produce the following, but you’re delighted they have:

Bologna FC are, at the moment, competing in Serie A. Things are not going well. They’re on their third coach of the season, and are in the relegation zone. They lost an away match at the weekend by a brutal 4-1 scoreline. On facebook a number of friends discuss the situation. The final line of this footballing discussion:

“Taking refuge and solace in Gramscian quotations seems to me to be the last resort”