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DEC. JAN. 2021 IX without any problems. Now, it is up to us teachers to make sure that the pupils respect the personal distance between themselves, the correct use of the mask, the disinfection of the kitchen utensils after use, and so on. These are all measures that go beyond school teaching and take valuable time away from the lesson. Even if with fewer pupils in the classroom, today everything is more tiring”. DAD OR DDI, BUT SCHOOL IS SOMETHING ELSE Distance learning, however, is conditioned by various components: social, logistical and technical. Factors which, since online lessons have become a major part of everyday school life, have heavily influenced the work of teachers, pupils, and the habits of families. Each in their own world, light years away from that unprecedented teaching method which, all to be explored, imposes new codes and new idioms such as platform, password, zoom, meet and so on. “Our school either out of foresight or luck,” says the coordinator of the Istituto Alberghiero valdostano Vallino, “already had an active digital system, and our pupils have had their own account on the Google platform for several years, in addition to the electronic register. Usually at the beginning of the first year, we train our pupils for a few hours to use the platform and this, during last spring’s lockdown, allowed us to leave immediately, one week before closing”. But this is not enough. In order for the online lessons to be accessible to all children, it is essential to evaluate the economy of the families involved. Not all of them have sufficient financial possibilities to provide their young people with the necessary tools to participate in distance learning. In this area, the diligence of the institutions and most schools has been fundamental. In order to meet the needs of families in need, they have made every effort to provide them with the necessary means to ensure that they can take lessons online. “Last year we did a questionnaire to detect critical IT issues,” says Vallino, “We drew up a ranking of young people who had particular problems related to connection or did not have extra tools other than the smartphone. Cross-referencing the individual economic situations of the families, we provided IT support to those who needed it: computers, webcams, headsets and telephone assistance through our IT technician”. TRAINING IN THE FIELD To complete the discussion on the educational panorama of hotel schools, it is impossible not to consider the external professional experiences of the students which during and at the end of the course are required to do, in the areas chosen by them, the internships which, unfortunately, at this particular moment are suspended. Before the lockdown, in January or November, young people took part in three or four internships, in companies, commercial events and parties. An extra opportunity for them to get noticed. “Last September in Lecce there was an important event, the last one for our students”, says Salvatore Fasano, Headmaster of the Istituto I.I.S.S., Presta-Columella Technical Institute for Agriculture and Hotel Management. “On this occasion, the students took care of the kitchen, the bar and the restaurant. Events that unfortunately cannot be repeated until the Covid19 emergency is over”. In order to fill this training gap, almost all the institutes linked to the food & beverage world have resorted to the external support of some experts and companies in the sector, using video conferences. “On the basis of our school’s contacts,” says director Andrea Vallino, “we have gathered the availability of great professionals of the calibre of Nicola Fabbri, CEO of Fabbri Sciroppi, Bruno Vanzan, world champion of Flair Bartending, former students who currently work in Singapore and London in hotels of the category and university professors of web marketing in Valle d’Aosta; with them, still today, we periodically schedule lessons by videoconference”. Another thorn in the side of most school heads is transport. On several occasions, school heads have raised the issue with the Government and the regions to which they belong about the danger of contagion that students, often crammed into public transport on their way to and from school. “Already during last summer there was a frequent discussion with the Ministry and the Region of Puglia,” says Headmaster, Prof. Fasano, “to strengthen the means and increase the number of runs but, to date, nothing concrete has been done; as a consequence, a 30% drop in the number of people present in our schools. Among the causes, the most widespread one is the fear of families sending their children to school”. The school in this particular moment needs energetic, reactive and sensitive professionals, capable of discovering and knowing the real needs of young people and renewing what has been for millennia the most important place for both education and training of our children. “Young people are the first ones who will be able to overcome this emergency, better than adults,” Fabrizia Ventura concludes, “because they have a greater capacity for reaction and action that only comes from the teacher’s ability to turn on the light bulb and teach them how to deal with this new ‘normality’, finally working on their future and, perhaps, eliminating many mistakes made to date. AT PAGE 24 COVER STORY Great beauty! A ‘marvellous’ place where cuisine and landscape mix in an explosion of flavours and smells accompanied by a breath-taking view. by Maria Elena Dipace “Wonderful!!! Marvellous location, directly on the sea. Finely furnished and with delicate colours. We ate very well. Highly qualified, attentive and courteous staff. Prices in the norm compared to the type of catering. Recommended”. Reading this review on Tripadvisor of the restaurant l’Aragosta da Cò di Porto Cesareo, the words of the wonderful song by Domenico Modugno immediately come to mind, who, probably, observing the crystal clear waters and the spectacle of nature in Polignano a Mare, his hometown, wrote the lyrics of the song, later reinterpreted by Negramaro, Meraviglioso. But what do Modugno, Negramaro and the restaurant L’Aragosta da Cò have in common? The ‘Pugliesità’. A region, Apulia, which has recently become a favourite destination for Italians (but also for many foreign stars) conquered by so much beauty: sea, countryside, landscapes, architecture, colours... and, above all, flavours. Cosimo Durante, owner together with his wife Tarin of the restaurant l’Aragosta da Cò di Porto Cesareo, knows something about this. A ‘marvellous’ place, right on the seashore, where to dream is simply to enjoy the masterpieces prepared by Cosimo’s skilful hands. Let’s start by telling us about your