Banditismo e prepotenza

The parish journal of the village where I live has, in addition to the usual announcements of baptisms and communions, a section written by some local historians called "Banditismo e prepotenza" on the banks of the Adda. It has stories about arguments and murders in the 16th century and the efforts of Carlo Borromeo to create order. There is a statue of San Carlo in the centre of the village which last Christmas was adorned with a Santa Claus hat.
Despite San Carlo's efforts banditismo and prepotenza are alive and well at all levels of Italian life. Certain colleagues have taught me about it at university level and the newspapers write about it at much higher levels.
There is so much I could mention that in fact I have writer's block.
I have decided I  have said enough about such negative matters, so from now on I will write about mathematics and computer science, and enjoy the pleasures of Italian life, which are many.