譯/田思怡
Two small towns in southeastern Tuscany, one famous for red wine, the other for truffles and organic grain, are considering a municipal marriage of convenience that could blur their cherished identities, separately formed over the centuries.
With a population of just 853, San Giovanni d'Asso can no longer deliver basic services to its citizens on a daily basis. Left with only three town officials to do the work, something as simple as getting an identity card drawn up and stamped requires making an appointment days in advance.
托斯卡尼東南部兩個小城，一個以紅酒聞名，另一個以松露和有機穀物著稱，兩城正在考慮基於互利而合併，可能使他們數世紀來各自形成且珍惜的認同意識變得模糊。
聖喬凡尼達索人口只有853人，無力再為鎮民提供日常的基本服務。鎮上只剩下3名官員在工作，像核發身分證並蓋好戳記這樣簡單的事，也需幾天前預約。
So the town's mayor, Fabio Braconi, picked up the phone back in 2014 and sought help from a neighbor, Montalcino, 10 miles to the south across rolling wheat fields.
Home to the famous Brunello red wine, Montalcino is more prosperous and considerably larger. But as its population of 5,070 declines, it is also likely to encounter trouble delivering municipal services.
因此，鎮長法比歐．布拉柯尼在2014年時拿起電話，向位在南邊10英里的鄰城蒙達奇諾鎮求助，兩城間隔了起伏的麥田。
蒙達奇諾鎮出產著名的布雷諾紅酒，比較繁榮，也大得多。但隨著鎮上的5070人口不斷下滑，也很可能碰上無法為鎮民提供服務的難題。
So San Giovanni d'Asso and Montalcino are considering an option for both to disappear legally by merging into one brand-new town.
It is a choice that towns across the country are facing. For years, Italy, made up of 8,000 tiny, medium and large towns, has been pushing its smallest communities to join forces.
因此，聖喬凡尼達索和蒙塔奇諾正考慮一個選項，兩城都合法消失，合併成一個嶄新的城市。
這是全國城鎮都面臨的選擇。多年來，由8000個小中大型城鎮組成的義大利一直在推動讓最小的一些社區合併。
To curb expenses, towns with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants have been required for years to share services with neighboring communities or to merge into one larger town, and they are limited in hiring new employees until they combine. To further encourage towns to merge or share services, the government of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi passed legislation in 2014 offering economic incentives and simplified hiring procedures for towns that do so.
為了節省開支，居民不到5000的城鎮多年來都被要求與鄰近的社區共享服務，或合併成較大的城鎮，而且在合併之前雇用新員工受到限制。
馬蒂歐．倫齊總理的政府為了進一步鼓勵城鎮合併或共享服務，於2014年立法提供經濟獎勵，並為照做的城鎮簡化雇用程序。
While such mergers hold the prospect of improved services, many communities also see them as a loss of local identity, a sentiment that is crucial to many Italians — especially in rural Tuscany, where the landscape sometimes still resembles that of the Middle Ages.
San Giovanni d'Asso had tried before to share a police force and public transportation with partner villages. When those arrangements lost their appeal for their partners and ended in 2014, the town found itself isolated, Braconi said, with a declining population and fewer municipal employees.
"We need to build the future here, or even our children will leave us," said Braconi, who has a daughter in her 20s. "We can't keep staring at our past."
雖然這樣的合併可望改進服務，但許多社區也認為會喪失地方認同感，這是許多義大利人十分看重的感情，特別是在托斯卡尼鄉間，當地的風景有時仍與中世紀相似。
聖喬凡尼達索過去曾嘗試與一些夥伴村莊共用警力和大眾運輸。巴拉柯尼說，當這些安排在2014年因為夥伴失去興趣而畫下句點，這個城鎮人口下滑，鎮公所人員更少，發覺自己很孤立。
巴拉柯尼說：「我們必須在這裡打造未來，否則連我們的子女都會離開我們。我們不能一直盯著過去。」他有個20來歲的女兒。
說文解字看新聞 文/田思怡
義大利人非常重視傳統，去到義大利彷彿走入中世紀，不論大城小鎮，景觀仍和中世紀差不多（The landscape still resembles that of the Middle Ages.）
位在義大利中部的托斯卡尼地區（Tuscany，義大利文為Toscana，因此也譯為托斯卡納），更是義大利文藝復興的發源地（the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance），首府佛羅倫斯（Florence）是文藝復興重鎮，歷史文化和藝術之豐富不在話下。
托斯卡尼的鄉間風景（rural landscapes）也舉世聞名，不僅有本文提到的「起伏的麥田」（rolling wheat fields），也有起伏的山丘（rolling hills），一點都不單調。
托斯卡尼盛產葡萄酒，最有名的是奇揚地葡萄酒（Chianti wine），本文提到的蒙達奇諾布雷諾紅酒（Brunello di Montalcino）也很出名。
因此，文化和物產豐富的托斯卡尼有很深的語言文化認同意識（has a strong linguistic and cultural identity），被視為「國中之國」（a nation within a nation），在地域認同感如此強烈的地區，小城想合併又怕喪失地方認同意識（local identity），也就不足為奇了。
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