Italy
A multiplicity of Italys
Towards the end of Dandelions, Thea Lenarduzzi’s imaginative and deeply affecting memoir, the author quotes her grandmother’s remark that there…
Europe’s new migrant crisis
Earlier this month I spent a week in Sicily, driving south from Palermo to Agrigento and then east to Syracuse…
Dark days in Hollywood
Summer is a time for blockbusters and Anthony Marra has delivered the goods with Mercury Pictures Presents, a sweeping book…
Roman myths
Ravenna, Italy The war in Ukraine has caused an unholy convergence of the left and right in Italy.…
My madeleine moments
I was reminded of the worst liquid that I have ever consumed. It was the last occasion on which I…
Super Tuscany
Amid the grandeur of old Edinburgh, in the lee of the castle, is one of the finest buildings in Scotland:…
The relentless march of Europe’s zombie centrists
Journalists rarely had it so easy as when it came to writing up the final result of the French presidential…
Women’s work
The inhabitants of Tuscany and Umbria can claim to be the most civilised beings on the planet, even exceeding the…
The pointless tyranny of Italy’s Covid pass
While most European countries, especially Britain, are relaxing their Covid restrictions, Italy which has the toughest of the lot, this…
Wolf at the door
Italy’s wolves are on the march
Mario Draghi and the murky quest to find Italy’s next president
In ancient Rome, a diviner called a haruspex would observe the entrails of sacrificed sheep and poultry, especially their livers,…
Bounce back
Can Berlusconi become Italy’s next president?
Europe gripped by a fifth wave
How quickly things change. Just a month ago many EU countries were being praised for keeping some Covid restrictions in…
Letter from Rome
‘Excommunication,’ reads a stone plaque on the wall of the church of St Theodore in Rome, ‘and a fine of…
Reports of the demise of Italian populism are greatly exaggerated
Britain’s newspapers have called the results of the local elections in Italy the death of populism. The Times, for example,…
Was the US involved in neo-fascist Italian terrorism?
Last month, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi promised to declassify government documents involving two organisations: Gladio, an anti-communist paramilitary group…
To the gentlemen of Verona
There was a marvellous general of yesteryear called George Burns. He had a good war and a splendid peace. He…
That’s amoral
Italy’s Covid certificate is dividing the country
Italy, the ‘far right’ and the muted opposition to vaccine passes
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna Here is your starter for ten. Which Italian political party believes that individual liberty is sacred? Answer:…
The Italians are deluding themselves about the English
Not content with winning Euro 2020, many Italians have spent the days since the final engaged in a febrile orgy…
Letter from Italy
Dante’s Beach, Ravenna My fiery Italian wife Carla is not just a passionate patriot but also a devout Catholic, and…
Will Italy’s Euro win lead to a baby boom?
Could Italy’s triumph on Sunday result not just in a trophy for the azzuri, but a baby boom for a…
England, Italy and the power of national pride
As an Englishman in enemy territory I am lucky that love is a more powerful emotion than patriotism otherwise after…
When thoughts turn to Venice
We were discussing travel, that forbidden delight now tantalisingly close. Where would be our first destination? Forswearing originality, I chose…
Europe’s reckless caution
The first smear campaign against AstraZeneca, when Emmanuel Macron falsely claimed at the start of the year that the jab…
