Italiancattedrale nel deserto
Meaning: A large industrial facility built in a remote, poorly-connected region that produces little of public value and exists mainly to provide jobs.
Literally: Cathedral in the desert
Example: “Quello stabilimento vuoto è una cattedrale nel deserto.” — That empty plant is a white elephant.
English equivalent: A white elephant
Equivalents in other languages
English: white elephant
French: Entretenir une danseuse Literally: To keep a dancer
Origin: A term from postwar Italian economics: large, costly industrial plants, usually state-funded, built in poor areas of the South without the roads, services and local industry needed to make them work. Like a cathedral in a desert, each was impressive and isolated. The phrase is sometimes credited to the priest and politician Luigi Sturzo, but the attribution is unconfirmed.
More Italian idioms
- Il bue che dice cornuto all'asino Said when someone accuses another of a fault that is really their own.
- Il gioco non vale la candela The effort or risk is out of proportion to what you'd gain.
- In bocca al lupo Good luck! (replied with 'Crepi!' — may it die).
- Non tutte le ciambelle riescono col buco Things don't always go as planned.
- Avere le braccine corte To be stingy; to never reach for the check.
- Cadere a fagiolo To arrive at exactly the perfect moment.
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