Appeal to Save the “Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani”

There have already been countless victims of this recession and, of course, the human cost is the aspect that quite rightly ought to (and does) attract most attention.  But as the ripples spread wider, the squeeze is starting to be felt in cultural terms as well.
The latest potential victim is the Italian Dictionary of National [...]

European Union Prize for Literature makes its debut

The first tranche of prize-winning authors was announced yesterday for the new EU Prize for Literature.  This year’s awards have been presented to 12 authors from Austria, Croatia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Sweden.
Another round will take place in 2010, with authors selected from Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Finland, [...]

Italy’s freedom of press: Umberto Eco on why saying ‘No’ matters

To put Berlusconi’s “posturing” and veiled threats against the Italian press in context (in particular his recent response that it was time to “shut the mouths” of those who spoke of “crisis here and crisis there”, and that companies should withdraw advertising from newspapers that spread gloom), I think this article is worth reproducing in [...]

Žižek gets better and better: Berlusconi in Tehran

Only a few days after watching Žižek (sorry, about the pronunciation … but as he himself said to an incredibly dumb US interviewer, he prefers it the “wrong way”, as it makes him paranoic if he hears said the right way!) on BBC’s excellent Terror: Robespierre and the French Revolution, the co-director of the International [...]

Well done, Sarah!

Sarah Brown – Gordon’s more formidable other half – is blogging from Italy while she and her husband attend the G8 summit in L’Aquila.
You can follow her blog here.
The photos above show the wives (unless any husbands are there too? Mr Merkel aka Joachim Sauer?) visiting the Quirinale – in the Salone dei Corrazzieri built [...]

Gallic humour or something more sinister?

Thanks to Giorgio and San Precario for this Youtube clip which follows on from yesterday’s post on Freedom of the Press in Italy.

A profile of Berlusconi: showman, shaman or worse?

On the eve of the G8 summit next week in L’Aquila – the city recently struck by a devastating earthquake – BBC Radio 4 chose Berlusconi as the subject of its weekly profile.  It’s worth listening to and produces quite a balanced picture (which might seem hard to achieve) although the conclusions are stark.
How can [...]

More on the Cappella Paolina

The chapel that for centuries was regarded as the “private” chapel of the popes and their household, or “famiglia”, has finally undergone a major restoration and will be opened by Pope Benedict XVI on 4 July.   “This chapel is the core of the Catholic Church’s identity, to an even greater extent than the Sistine Chapel”, [...]

Antonio Forcellino: Michelangelo. A Turbulent Life

When I recently met Antonio Forcellino in Rome he told me about this 3-part documentary. If you skip the toe-curlingly melodramatic intro to Chapter 1 – i.e. the first minute or so (just slide the cursor along to 1.15) – it paints a fascinating picture of the period. Then click on Chapters 2 and [...]

Cover story in Solander

This piece appeared as the cover story for the latest issue of Solander.
More than a Matter of Words: Lucinda Byatt looks at four Italian historical novels in translation
I’ve included the full article on a separate page (click to read it here)
Just to whet your appetite, the novels I’ve chosen are The Leopard,  The Name of [...]