If you can get a feel for the economy of a country in which you have just arrived from your taxi driver the Italian economy is not in a good place.
Luigi was late to pick us up. In fact he was a no-show.
It turns out he fell asleep in his car in the car park having started his working day at 5 am. Now it was 10 pm in Napoli airport.
He told us himself on the drive from Naples to Sorrento that he had not worked for two years due to Covid and was now trying to catch up.
He struck us a slightly manic, giving off the Travis Bickle vibe from the movie ‘Taxi’.
He told us, however, that he was fine, was wide awake and would not crash. He also told us the Italian economy was in bad shape.
This is not a scientific indicator, but Luigi’s circumstances are probably those of many individuals trying to recover from Covid 19 economic consequences.
And he had to be paid in cash.