ITALY’S SECRET PLACES
Italy is full of marvels hidden in plain sight. Beautiful and Inspiring… Funny and Disconcerting… Glorious and Silly… Every moment brings shocks of recognition, as we watch familiar pieces come together and break apart—hurtling between the present and the past.
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DECONSTRUCTING ARNOLFO'S TOWER: A Florentine Icon Reimagined
So, you want to build a tower?
There's that one in Florence, you know...
Italy/Not Italy
CALCIO STORICO = HISTORIC FOOTBALL: Ritual, Rivalry and What Else?
Florence's famous football in Renaissance guise...
NO! They are not "doing it for the tourists"!
Mysteries of Florence
Sports (Florence)
MORE MEDICI?! Family Myth and a Contested Legacy in Modern Florence
In Florence, the Medici follow you wherever you go.
Thereby hangs many a tale...
Medici
WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 1: It all begins with a statue...
The history and origin of Columbus Day, the most controversial of American national holidays. People disagree —often violently —about its past and present meaning.
Here are the facts of the matter, neglected for a very long time. Make of them what you will!
(1) PHILADELPHIA 1876
La Merica
Christopher Columbus
WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 2: Columbus Day and Emerging Italian-American Identity
The history and origin of Columbus Day, the most controversial of American national holidays. People disagree—often violently—about its past and present meaning.
Here are the facts of the matter, neglected for a very long time. Make of them what you will!
(2) NEW ORLEANS 1891—AND AFTER
La Merica
Christopher Columbus
WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 3: Contested Symbols and a Contested Legacy
The history and origin of Columbus Day, the most controversial of American national holidays. People disagree—often violently—about its past and present meaning.
Here are the facts of the matter, neglected for a very long time. Make of them what you will!
(3) ITALIAN COLUMBUS DAY VS. AMERICAN COLUMBUS DAY
La Merica
Christopher Columbus
WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 4: Rewriting History in Blood
The history and origin of Columbus Day, the most controversial of American national holidays. People disagree—often violently—about its past and present meaning.
Here are the facts of the matter, neglected for a very long time. Make of them what you will!
(4) CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AGAINST THE WORLD
La Merica
Christopher Columbus
MEDICI SYNDROME: Their Coat of Arms is only the beginning...
MEDICI SYNDROME (a specialized strain of STENDAHL SYNDROME) is characterized by blinding flashes of Cosmic Angst induced by too much of a cultural good thing.
Most outbreaks occur within a few hundred yards of the Arno River.
Medici
PUNKED BY A MIME ARTIST: Close Encounters With Florentine Street Performers
Mysteries of Florence
WHO CAME FIRST? Jews, Etruscans, Romans...
In Cerveteri, a search for ancient origins and more by way of Giorgio Bassani.
(1) THE MYSTERIOUS ETRUSCANS
(2) ETRUSCAN CITY OF THE DEAD
Etruscans
Chosen People
MICHELANGELO'S DAVID: 5 Degrees of Separation on the Ground in Florence
From the Accademia Gallery to Trippa alla fiorentina to Intimate Apparel...
Michelangelo's David
Michelangelo’s David: 9 Degrees of Separation in Florence
Michelangelo Fusion in Piazza della Signoria.
Michelangelo's David
David (6 Degrees of Separation) – Florence Connections
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery?
Michelangelo's David
Garibaldi & Goldberg in Sicily: Jewish View of Risorgimento Part 5
It all began with my discovery of a fellow Goldberg (Antonio by name) amidst the mythic Mille di Garibaldi—the thousand or so patriots who accompanied the "Hero of the Two Worlds" on his 1860 invasion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Before I knew it, I was spiraling through the turbulent world of the Italian Risorgimento, in search of Jews who played notable roles in the process of national unification.
(12) VA PENSIERO and VIVA V.E.R.D.I.
(13) WHAT'S IN A NAME ("Goldberg", for example)?
Jews in the Risorgimento
Garibaldi & Goldberg in Sicily: A Jewish View of Risorgimento
It all began with my discovery of a fellow Goldberg (Antonio by name) amidst the mythic Mille di Garibaldi—the thousand or so patriots who accompanied the "Hero of the Two Worlds" on his 1860 invasion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Before I knew it, I was spiraling through the turbulent world of the Italian Risorgimento, in search of Jews who played notable roles in the process of national unification.
(9) PAPAL FALLIBILITY
(10) MORE MORTARA: The Pope and His Inquisitors Go to Cincinnati
(11) MORE PAPAL FALLIBILITY
Jews in the Risorgimento
GARIBALDI AND GOLDBERG LAND IN SICILY: A Jewish View of the Italian Risorgimento - Part 3
It all began with my discovery of a fellow Goldberg (Antonio by name) amidst the mythic Mille di Garibaldi—the thousand or so patriots who accompanied the "Hero of the Two Worlds" on his 1860 invasion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Before I knew it, I was spiraling through the turbulent world of the Italian Risorgimento, in search of Jews who played notable roles in the process of national unification.
(6) THE JEWISH QUESTION
(7) THE JEWISH QUESTION vs. THE ROMAN QUESTION
(8) MORTARA BEGINS
Jews in the Risorgimento
Garibaldi & Goldberg in Sicily: A Jewish View – Part 2
It all began with my discovery of a fellow Goldberg (Antonio by name) amidst the mythic Mille di Garibaldi—the thousand or so patriots who accompanied the "Hero of the Two Worlds" on his 1860 invasion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Before I knew it, I was spiraling through the turbulent world of the Italian Risorgimento, in search of Jews who played notable roles in the process of national unification.
(3) GARIBALDI'S SEVEN: Eugenio Ravà
(4 ) GARIBALDI'S SEVEN: Riccardo Luzzatto (and family)
(5) GARIBALDI'S SEVEN: Francesco Grandi (and Luigi Grandi / Tobia Ariento)
Jews in the Risorgimento
Garibaldi & Goldberg in Sicily: A Jewish View of the Risorgimento
It all began with my discovery of a fellow Goldberg (Antonio by name) amidst the mythic Mille di Garibaldi—the thousand or so patriots who accompanied the "Hero of the Two Worlds" on his 1860 invasion of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Before I knew it, I was spiraling through the turbulent world of the Italian Risorgimento, in search of Jews who played notable roles in the process of national unification.
( 1 ) "GOLDBERG, MEET GARIBALDI!"
( 2 ) GARIBALDI'S SEVEN: Giacomo Alpron, Donato Colombo, Angelo Donati, Giulio Rovighi
Jews in the Risorgimento
The Discreet Charm of Waiting in Line – Italy Covid Moments
Florentines normally hate waiting in line!
But there was nothing normal about the age of COVID...
<WORK IN PROGRESS!>
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Going to the Indian 3 – Cascine History, Indiano Myth & Local Memory
In 1870, the Seventh Maharajah of Kohlapoor died in Florence at the age of twenty and a grand Hindu funeral was performed in the Cascine, the city’s chief public park.
A lavish monument was erected at the site of the cremation, then Florentine culture and custom kicked in— assuring “The Indian" a unique place in the local consciousness.
(9) THE BEAUTIFUL GAME
(10) MORE SPORTS
(11) "GO THROW MYSELF OFF THE INDIAN"
(12) THE INDIAN COMES HOME
Sports (Florence)
Going to the Indian
The Indian of Cascine: History, Myth & Modern Florence
In 1870, the Seventh Maharajah of Kohlapoor died in Florence at the age of twenty and a grand Hindu funeral was performed in the Cascine, the city’s chief public park.
A lavish monument was erected at the site of the cremation, then Florentine culture and custom kicked in— assuring “The Indian" a unique place in the local consciousness.
(5) CRICKETS vs FIREFLIES
(6) LUCCIOLE, LUCCIOLI, LUCCIOLX
(7) BATWOMAN IN THE CASCINE
(8) VITTORIO EMANUELE II PLUS HITLER AND MUSSSOLINI
Mussolini
Going to the Indian
Going to the Indian – Florence’s Grillo Festival & Local Folklore
In 1870, the Seventh Maharajah of Kohlapoor died in Florence at the age of twenty and a grand Hindu funeral was performed in the Cascine, the city’s chief public park.
A lavish monument was erected at the site of the cremation, then Florentine culture and custom kicked in— assuring “The Indian" a unique place in the local consciousness.
(1) WHO WAS "THE INDIAN"?
(2) LE CASCINE: FROM MEDICI FARMLAND TO PUBLIC PARK
(3) CRICKETS IN THE CASCINE
(4) CRICKETS vs CAMELS
Going to the Indian
Santissima Annunziata: COVID Chair Art & Florence Reflections
Florence was coming back to life after an excruciating COVID lockdown and I was leaving my adopted hometown, more or less forever.
Mysteries of Florence
Plague Diary
GUGLIELMO MARCONI: Science, Fascism, Antisemitism and What Else?
History has given a free pass to Guglielmo Marconi, who was both a scientific genius and a Fascist ideologue. There are two stories to tell—first in Italy and then in America.
(1) THE VIEW FROM PIAZZA MARCONI (ROME)
(2) MARCONI, MUSSOLINI, JEWS
(3) DEATH AND AFTERLIFE
Mussolini
Chosen People
Plague Art in Italy – Death, Street Murals & Pandemic Imagery
In the time of COVID, nothing was normal, not even familiar street art. Every horseman heralded the Apocalypse and rainbows took on a desperate life of their own.
Mysteries of Florence
Plague Diary
David – 0 Degrees of Separation at Florence’s Accademia
Thank you, COVID?!
Michelangelo's David, plus space and silence, in Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia.
(1) THE GRIM REAPER COMES TO SELFIE HELL
(2) SPIRIT OF THE BUNKER
(3) AN INVITATION TO THE GALLERIA DELL'ACCADEMIA (not to be confused with "The David Museum")
Plague Diary
Michelangelo's David
David: 5 Degrees of Separation – Modern Echoes of Michelangelo’s Icon
It is almost too easy to crack wise about Michelangelo's David. But why not?!
Michelangelo's David
DWARF ENVY: Rampaging Garden Gnomes in Florence’s Oltrarno District. What’s the story?
Mysteries of Florence
COLUMBUS AND MARCONI: Italian Symbols Collide with American Reality
In 1930s America, Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radiotelegraph and Italo Balbo, "the Second Columbus" led a brilliantly orchestrated public relations campaign on behalf of Benito Mussolini's regime.
Americans—especially Italian-Americans—enthusiastically embraced the emblems of Fascist ideology until the Second World War intervened.
(1) THE VIEW FROM PLAZA MARCONI (PHILADELPHIA)
(2) MARCONI-MANIA vs. BALBO-MANIA
(3) ITALO BALBO AND THE COLUMBUS THING
(4) THE SECOND COLUMBUS CRASHES AND BURNS
La Merica
Mussolini
Christopher Columbus
THE SORDEVOLO PASSION: Jewish Infamy Takes Center Stage in the Foothills of the Alps
Every five years, the inhabitants of the tiny Piedmontese town of Sordevolo stage a compelling recreation of the last days of Christ— as imagined by Catholic believers.
(1) CHRIST-KILLERS, THEN AND NOW
(2) BEFORE YOUR VERY EYES
(3) CURTAIN CALLS
(4) UPDATES
Chosen People
ANNO FASCISTA = FASCIST YEAR: Florence’s Mussolini-era sewer caps. What's the story?
(1) THE STRANGE WORLD OF FASCIST SEWER CAPS
(2) WHO WAS GIOVANNI BERTA, BOY MARTYR FOR FASCISM?
(3) FONDERIA DELLE CURE GIOVANNI BERTA, IRONMONGER TO THE REGIME
Mussolini
Mysteries of Florence
Mussolini Rewrites History: Segesta & Calatafimi
In Sicily, Benito Mussolini invents the Fascist present by reinventing the ancient and more recent past.
(1) MEMORIAL STONE STYLE
(2) ANCIENT NOBILITY
(3) FOLLOW THE FASCES
(4) THERE WAS A CITY HERE...
Mussolini
Mythic Rome
E-42: Mussolini’s Lost Vision & Hidden Symbols in Rome
What if Mussolini threw a World's Fair and no one came? That is basically the story of the E.U.R. (Esposizione Universale Roma), one of the Eternal City's strangest and most intriguing districts.
(1) ESPOSIZIONE UNIVERSALE ROMA 1942
(2) ON THE GROUND IN E.42 TODAY
(3) A CALL FROM BEYOND?
Mythic Rome
Mussolini
Caesar Augustus in a Cage – Rome EUR’s Imperial Icon Reframed
Mussolini's Museum of Roman ... what exactly???
(1) CIVILITÀ
(2) THE AUGUSTUS THING
(3) IT'S ALL THERE...
(4) CAESAR WHO? (Part One)
(5) CAESAR WHO? (Part Two)
(6) "CAESAR WHO" UNCAGED
Mussolini
Mythic Rome
Mussolini Forum: Corpore Sano at the Foro Italico
In Rome, Strength through Joy... then and now.
Mussolini
Mythic Rome
Sports (not Florence)
Skating Over History – Mussolini’s Forum & Fascist Mosaics
Rome: Skateboard vs. Fasces in Mussolini's Foro Italico.
Mussolini
Mythic Rome
Sports (not Florence)