Rome

: Recently, I bumped into a former neighbor in Rome who, with her sisters, runs an historic pasticceria or patisserie in the north of the city, according to Deutsche Welle. She told me she was off to Greece for a short vacation, then back in Rome to work for the rest of the summer. While the chorus of voices announcing doom - and investors betting against a turnaround - have largely dimmed, today, the eurozone third-biggest economy is still hunkered down, unsure of its future. A few years ago, she explained, the family ended the decades-long, sacrosanct Roman tradition of closing shop for the month of August. "People just don't go away in the summer anymore," Cinzia said, "and with the economic crisis we can't afford to lose customers by closing even for a week." Gone are the days when the pasticceria thrived thanks to a set of loyal customers spending freely on pastries and cakes for every special occasion. "With the recession, we've had to work hard to expand our customer base because everyone is very, very careful about how much they spend, selecting a few special items and making the rest at home." Shops and businesses are feeling the economic squeeze The new normal Like many Italians, Cinzia has adapted to the times and in her case, has weathered the downturn without laying off workers. This is despite the faint signs Italy recently has shown of economic improvement. Also like many Italians, she sees the changes not as a temporary set back, but as the new normal. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.