I’ve recently been reading Beppe Severgnini’s second book on the English language: L’inglese nuove lezioni semiserie.
Many of his observations on how Italians use English are not only funny but also very accurate, one of them being the Italian language obsession with the acronym ‘VIP’ said as if it were a one-syllable word (vip).
If I had only seen it in the book I might not have paid much attention, but yesterday I was reminded of the elevation of many Italian celebrities to ‘VIP’ status by the Italian press itself.
The gossip is the possible liaison between world champion golfer Tiger Woods and Italian showgirl and former Big Brother star, Cristina del Basso.
The showgirl got herself where she is not by virtue of her own VIP status but that of her boobs, having the largest breasts on Italian television (until Francesca Cipriani turned up on telly).
While del Basso has denied the Woods connection, the Italian television tabloid service Studio Aperto had already defined her a ‘VIP’.
We’re not sure if Cristina earned the status before for having revealed her love life with Fabrizio Politi, or if it’s directly linked to the rumours of the dalliance with an international sports star.
If there’s nothing the Italians like better it’s a local girl in bed with someone famous, possibly American (take Elisabetta Canalis as an example).
In any case, it seems del Basso should have her celebrity status on cheap television shows all wrapped up after this kind of rumour.
