Laurea

Walking down the streets of a northern Italian town, it is not out of the ordinary to stumble across a half-naked person being serenaded by a small group of close friends and family members. This common occurrence is a typical graduation ceremony which takes place when a student has completed the equivalent of a Master’s degree in America. The Italian’s refer to this as the Laurea. The name comes from the Laurea which used to be the highest degree one could achieve in Italy. It included four to six years of coursework and the completion of a thesis. These celebrations now occur once the student has completed their final exam and walked out of the classroom door for the last time. This celebration represents more than just the completion of schoolwork. The amount of work that friends and family put into the traditions, as well as the experiences they share with the new graduate, all represent the personal relationships and accomplishments of the former student.. Each individual’s celebration is unique, but they each fulfill certain aspects and customs.

The most crucial element of this Italian custom is the scroll, or il papiro in Italian. For each graduate, a three foot by five foot poster is created to be read and displayed throughout their university and their hometown. Each papiro contains a rhyming narrative which describes the graduate’s life. It normally begins with birth and contains childhood memories, embarrassing moments, and any other bits of information the creator desires to include. The papiro also displays some sort of picture whether it is a photograph or a caricature. Commonly the body is an illustration while the head is sometimes a genuine photograph. The purpose of the drawing is to give a humorous or embarrassing representation to the individual. Bodies are often drawn in an exaggerated sexual style containing overly emphasized body parts, risqué clothing, and bodily fluids among other things. Once these scrolls are created they are displayed on a wall at the university, a copy is often taken home to be hung by the parents in their home or perhaps a family business, and another copy is saved for the celebration.

Upon completion of the exam, the graduate is met by fellow classmates, friends, and family, and is given an interesting appearance. An essay entitled Literacy Practice in the Piazza: An Analysis of Italian Graduation Scrolls explains that, “graduates are then stripped to either a bathing suit or underwear and put in various costumes such as cross-gender clothing, garbage bags, and animal suits” (Molè, Texas Linguistic Forum, 2004). In addition to the clothing, students are adorned with duct tape, eggs, face paint, or other substances. The final piece of the puzzle is to be crowned with a laurel wreath, the general symbol for graduation, complete with a red bow. Once in costume, the graduate is presented with their scroll.

The next step is the reading of the scroll. Walking around Padua and Venice I have seen this done several times. In the majority of instances the graduate stands on top of a park bench, a bridge, or another elevated surface and reads aloud the narrative created for them. According to Molè again, the scrolls are written in a mixture of standard Italian and the Veneto dialect. Because of this, it is often difficult for the graduate to audibly read the papiro. While commonly spoken, the dialect is not often written. Throughout schooling the students are taught to read and write in the classic Italian. The tradition is that when a word is mispronounced or stumbled upon it is suggested that the reader take a drink of wine. In many instances, the graduate is quite intoxicated by the end of the narrative. After the reading of the scroll the graduate may be asked to complete other tasks, which are chosen by the friends and family involved, and are often absurd tasks such as pouring milk on themselves.

Throughout the celebration and after the other traditions have taken place, a common song is sung numerous times while the graduate walks through a town center, down a street, or into a highly public area. The words to the song are as follows: “Dottore, dottore, dottore nel buso del cul, vaffancul, vaffancul”. Translated, this expression is incredibly vulgar and in instances other than graduation, the expressions used would not be socially acceptable. However, the tune is rather catchy, and can stick in your head for several hours. The simple fact that the majority of these traditions occur speaks a great deal about the Italian culture in general. Any given day in Italy, I can be made aware of just how relaxed the Italian way of life is. Whether it be the break in the middle of the day when shops close so that the workers have an opportunity to rest at home, the lack of pressure waiters put on customers to leave, or the simple lack of promptness Italians have when meeting up with one another, the culture is easy going. Quite possibly the Laurea only occurs in northern Italy because it is one location where the culture allows for the occasional immodest clothing and vulgar tunes.

After all festivities, the graduate returns to their normal clothing and often enjoys the company of their friends and family at a local caffè or restaurant. Confetti is often thrown and a graduation gift of wrapped almonds is sometimes passed out as a parting gift to guests.

While many cultures partake in graduation celebrations, the Italian festivities are outrageous and extremely public. The whole concept is similar to the Venetian Carnevale which Casanova mentions in his memoirs. “It was during the Carnival of 1745, after midnight; we were, all the eight of us, rambling about together with our masks on, in quest of some new sort of mischief to amuse us.” Casanova associates this idea of tomfoolery with Carnevale. Carnevale is also commonly associated with the ability to escape reality and create a temporary identity. In the same way, the Laurea allows the student to be temporarily out of character in order to celebrate their liberation from schooling. It is a chance for chaos to ensue in a controlled situation and amount of time. The most rebellious and rambunctious Carnevale attendees are those who tend to be the more conservative ones, so it should be no surprise that the students earning some of the highest degrees are the same half naked students stumbling down the streets of northern Italy.