The little (vending) machines

The only vending machines that are part of my life in California are the ones for BART tickets and parking spaces. Otherwise I associate them with bottles of water and stale candy bars, conveniences I've turned to only under desperate circumstances, such as being stuck in an airport or a hospital waiting room at two in the morning. 

Here in Italy, though, vending machines are ubiquitous. I'm sure a big reason is that, with stores and bars often closed in the middle of the day, on Sundays, and on Thursday afternoons, the machines are the only way to provide 24-hour access to the things people need.  

A case in point are machines selling cigarettes. Here's one that also sells lottery tickets. To buy either you have to insert an identity card or other documentation to prove that you're 18 or older. I was surprised to see that prices are almost half what they are in California.

Equally thick on the ground are machines that sell espresso and other coffee drinks. Apparently Italians need to be able to reup their caffeine intake anywhere, anytime.  

This one, a few blocks from us, grinds beans to order. I'm too loyal to my local bars to try it, but my price-conscious husband pointed out that the machine's cappuccino is less than a third the price the bars charge. (Maybe the machine saves money by leaving out that second p.)

Here's another machine a few blocks in the other direction, a marvel of ingenuity capable of serving up anything from decaf espresso to tea with lemon to hot chocolate. Note that you can get a little or a lot of sugar or just an empty cup. As the Italian TV chef Giorgione likes to say, Che meraviglia! 

I was surprised to see all the coffee drinks with ginseng, since I hadn't heard of this off-putting combination before. Maybe people only drink it out of machines. The website of one purveyor of such beverages, boasting that ginseng "has invigorating and energizing effects" and "is a natural aphrodisiac," describes the taste as a bit spicy, bitter at first with a sweet aftertaste, adding, "Some say it reminds them of toffee." No wonder, since these drinks contain minimal amounts of ginseng but lots of sugar and fat. 

The Fidenza government has its own vending machines. On a corner on the outskirts I spotted these. 

The box on the right provides the town sanitation service's color-coded bags for recyclables and garbage. The pink structure on the left dispenses water, still or sparkling; you have to bring your own bottles. Both offer their wares for free--ah, social democracy!--to those who have the right kind of identification card. As nonresidents we, sadly, do not. 

Recent additions to the local vending scene are little open-air alcoves on the street containing machines that sell everything from condoms to tomato sauce. Pam says these places only began appearing in Fidenza in the past five to ten years, and that they're referred to as "macchinette," little machines. The one we're most familiar with is a few blocks from us. It houses several vending machines that sell not only coffee drinks but an extensive array of sodas, juices, cookies, chips, and other impulse buys. (The red door is purely decorative.)

Coffee was what these two ladies were here for.  

What brings us there several times a week is the machine that sells bottles of milk. Pam swears it's fresher than what's in the supermarket, and it's also 30 cents cheaper.

The same machine also sells yogurt and kefir in several flavors, and at various times butter, grating cheese, tomato sauce, dry salami, rice, ground coffee, cream, and tiramisu. You could survive for quite a while just on what you can buy from this little automat.

In addition to what they sell, these little stalls also offer young men (it always seems to be men) a place to hang out late at night when the bars are closed, the weather's damp, and they're not ready to go back home to their parents. The machine we go to used to sell beer as well as soft drinks, but that's no longer true. Pam says that the young fellows would hang out there into the wee hours, drink, and get increasingly raucous. The neighbors are probably grateful the beer is gone.

Young males are no doubt the target audience for another convenience some of these machines offer, tucked in among the snacks: preservativi, that is, condoms. Good to have them handy if you've been drinking a lot of ginseng espresso.

This machine, down at the other end of town, provides three brands, including a "preservativi ritardanti" for "the joy of taking your time. "

Apparently some are impatient, though, or perhaps bursting with too much ginseng energy. A sign on the same machine begs, "Please don't kick the dispenser."