In the photo: A Sicilian policeman entertains migrant children in Lampedusa. "Making someone smile doesn't cost anything," he said. "And these children are only asking to be able to smile."
Spirituality, family, love and altruism are the most important values to Italians, according to the latest study by Censis (Center for Social Investment Studies) released last week, titled “Italian Values in 2013: The Pendulum Returns.”
Censis asked respondents what energize and thrill them the most: 59% said spirituality, 46.2% said family, 36.9% said being in love, and 29.5% said helping those in need. Materialistic values came after, such as making money (26.6%) and going to the gym (16%).
In a series of questions exploring altruism, 40% of respondents said they are willing to visit the sick, 36% said they are prepared to give a hand in natural disasters, 37% said they are willing to help maintain schools, and 34% said they would help clean up beaches and forests.
Another part of the research tried to analyze how Italians feel about the current situation and the future; surprisingly, while definitely worried (85%) and indignant (71%) about the recession, unemployment, tax hikes and austerity, only 26.5% said they are frustrated and 13% identified as desperate. 67% said they feel they are not represented in politics, and 46%, said they want to do something to change the situation but don't know what to do.
The results, according to Censis, indicate that the crisis of moral values hitting Italy in the last decades – selfishness, negligence, a passive attitude, excessive materialism - may be reaching the end and renewed energies may start to reverse the trend.
