Italy In Literature

Aspettando Natale

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Aspettando Natale
published by Einaudi
(as seen on my iPad)

I find it difficult to read "Christmas stories" at any other time of the year than now, but this collection of stories published by Einaudi is one for any month of the year. Aspettando Natale is a collection of Christmas stories by Italian authors and published by Einaudi.

The authors range from Dino Buzzati to Cesare Zavattini, and their stories range from the humorous to the bizarre and some are even poignant and moving in their simplicity.

Many of the authors poke fun at Christmas, some even ridiculing it. For example, in Dino Buzzati's Una torta e una carezza, he shows a darker side of the holidays while the elderly, Signora Tata, works to bake her famous cake (one that even the spirits of the holidays wait each year for!) that her friends seem not to want anymore ("Be'...a me personalmente non mi serve. Vado a sciare io, il ventisei!"), but the arduous baker continues her work. I won't spoil the ending of this story for you -- needless to say Buzzati has an unexpected ending for the old woman -- a message that surely won't be lost on many readers!

Christmas stories such as these can be illuminating insights into Italian history and culture as well as an understanding of a tradition that is, while the same holiday for the most part here in the USA, is celebrated quite differently. Definitely a book worth reading this holiday season!

Purchasing links:
Available as an ebook via iTunes, ibs.it, and most other sites (bookrepublic.it, ultimabooks.it).

Or order it as a paperback from ibs.it.

Tiziano Ferro's new CD, "L'amore è una cosa semplice"

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 10:00:00 +0000

The fifth studio recording by the Italian pop singer, Tiziano Ferro, debuted at the end of November, entitled L'amore è una cosa semplice. His newest CD is a change of pace from his last recording -- the music is more subtle and soft. The lyrics, too, seem more poetic and heartfelt, and this is a departure from the music and sound of his previous albums. There's a definitely "bluesy" feel to most of the tracks on the CD, and the energy and pulse is mostly certainly "ramped down" from his previous CD's.

The first song released as a single, La differenza tra me e tre ("The difference between me and you") is the only song on the album that seems to depart from rest of the album, perhaps done for commercial reasons, and still retains the "pop" and "energetic" feel of many of his other songs done on his previous recordings (you can watch the video for the song above). It's a very poignant and touching song so have a listen (you can find the lyrics here).

Remember that listening to Italian music is a great way to build your vocabulary, and, in some cases, also help with pronunciation. That's how many immigrants to the US learned and learn English -- and the same works in reverse for those of us learning Italian!

Other CD's by Tiziano Ferro (in order from his earliest to latest CD's):

Rosso relativo
111 (mp3's for this album not available in the US iTunes store or on Amazon - the CD can be purchased here)
Nessuno è solo
Alla mia età

Like many of his previous albums, Ferro also released a Spanish version, El amor es una cosa sencilla.

Dacia Maraini's "Bagheria"

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:56:00 +0000

Villa Valguarnera, Bagheria

If you ever have the chance to go to Palermo, there's a wonderful town outside the city that you must make the effort to see: Bagheria. This lovely town is full of villas from the Baroque era, where the Sicilian elite built lavish homes away from the bustle of Palermo!

Dacia Maraini profiles this town in her book, Bagheria, a wonderful (autobiographical) novel about her experiences moving and living there after surviving for several years in a Japanese concentration camp. The novel is exquisite and is one of my favorite works by this author.

Villa Valguarnera, Bagheria: view of the
countryside

The settings in the book "dance" between Japan, Bagheria and other places of her childhood as Maraini connects them all in this wonderful account of her life and her interactions with various people and places. Maraini also shifts the "time" in the book - at some points talking about the past while exploring Bagheria in its present, providing a wonderful sense of nostalgia. Brutal in its honesty and starkly descriptive, this book explores several themes: family, corruption, love, sex, and, as man of her books do, the role of women and their suffering.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is Maraini's accounts of corruption and scandal in Bagheria. She discusses at length how building projects skirted the rules and destroyed the fabric and cohesion of the town, naming names and pointing the finger at the people, she believes, are guilty of "corrupting" Bagheria's "soul".

If you want to learn more about Bagheria, this is a wonderful book profiles the town, the villas and its history with amazing photography of the villas and the surrounding countryside as well as small chapters devoted to the history of each of the villas. Also, Giuseppe Tornatore's movie, Baaria, is also an excellent film that features profiles the town and its history (also available from ibs.it or via the iTunes store).

Purchasing suggestions:
The paperback copy of this book is available from several online bookstores. We recommend ibs.it, and the book can be found here.

Maraini's book is available as an ebook via iTunes (for use on your iOS device) or via ibs.it! If you have a question about what ebooks work on what device, drop me an email -- I might be able to help!

Il Maestro di Vigevano

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:52:00 +0000

Lucio Mastronardi (biography from Wikipedia) is an italian writer of the 60’s and 70’s. He was born in Vigevano, a small town in the county of Pavia and not far from Milano and famous for its grand and splendid piazza and for the large shoe manufacturing industry (one of the most important in the world), which sprung up just after the second world war.

Piazza del Duomo, Vigevano (Pavia), Italy
Photo by Luca Volpi (Goldmund100)

Vigevano not only is the setting of this trilogy of novels but also represents a symbol of provincial Italy during the postwar period. These novels center on small, inept men who seem incapable of living. When they try to mark a turning point in their lives, they always fail, and the repercussions are often catastrophic. Il calzolaio di Vigevano, the first of the triology, is written in the Vigevanese dialect and can be a very overwhelming to read (even for Italians!). The style is wonderfully rhythmical, and there are many plays on words which makes the reading endearing and fun.
The first novel tells the rise and the fall of Mario Sala, also known as “Micca”, a gifted and clever shoemaker who will first become a successful entrepreneur but soon succumbs to his failures.

Il Maestro di Vigevano, the second word of the trilogy, is widely regarded as the best of the three. The work has a very dramatic and intense story, full of a bitter and cruel sarcasm on the whole of society. No institution is safe from Mastronardi's criticisms, not even school or the Church. Antonio Mombelli is the protagonist Il maestro di Vigevano who is held captive by his wife’s ambition. She is a sort of a provincial Madame Bovary, intensely attached to money and status. She forces her husband, Antonio, to give up his career at school so that he might open a small shoemaking factory. (NB: A film of the same name was directed ty Elio Petri and featured the inimitable, Alberto Sordi, in the lead. However the book has an ending that is more morbid and darker than the film!)

The final work of the triology, Il meridionale di Vigevano, tells the story of a humble businessman of Southern origins who finds himself immersed in the petty racist world of Pavian surroundings. His story is not told with sentimentality but with a detachment that accents the mentality and prejudices of the Vigevanese populace, who nurture and despise the many Southerns who have fled their homes for the more prosperous north.

From a linguistic point of the view, the novels might seem difficult for the non-Italian reader who may have little knowledge of the Lombardian dialects. However, it would not be difficult to use a glossary while reading the book which is full of musical prose and a book that is never trite or trivial. This edition also includes essays by Italo Calvino and others which analyze the style of the writing and the themes of the work.

Purchase suggestions:
If you prefer a print copy, you can order one here from ibs.it -- it includes all three books in one volume and was the book referenced in this review. As of the writing of this review, no ebook version seems to be available from sites I searched.

by Marcello Gammella

Ebook Readers

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:21:00 +0000

In my last post about ebooks, I talked about the why and the how.

In this post, I want to talk about what kind of ereaders there are and my personal opinion of each one. So here goes:

iPad: I love the iPad as an ereader. You can download the Kindle and Nook applications to the device to access those purcases or use the iBookstore to read books that you've purchased from Apple or non-DRM type books that you have purchased elsewhere. I have purchased ebooks from ibs.it, Bookrepublic.it and ultimabooks.it, and all of those ebooks worked great on the iPad. It does a good job at handling many different kinds of ebook types. I even enjoy reading pdf files on the iPad. I haven't had a problem with formating yet. Drawbacks: the device is expensive. The cheapest iPad is $499, but it is also an excellent web browser, great for email as well as gaming and other apps. Also, battery life is not nearly as good as the Kindle or Nook (I find if I used the iPad a lot, it does need to be charged at least once a day).
iPod Touch/iPhone and Android phones: many of the same apps for the iPhone/iPod Touch and Android devices that you might use on the iPad work on the iOS powered devices and the Android phones. Phones are great when you're on the go. Drawbacks: the small screen be frustrating to read on, especially long books, books with lots of images, and pdf's. Definitely a last resort for me, but others might feel differently.
Kindle: Amazon.com's ereader. I think that the Kindle is a wonderful device. The e-ink screen is amazing and is easy to read. I haven't tested out the new tablet that they have developed, but I have used several versions of the Kindle. All work great, and it is easy to get books onto the device if you buy them from Amazon. I haven't had a lot of luck putting non-Amazon content onto the devices, but I haven't tried it all that many times. More and more stores are carrying the mobi format which has the best compatibility for the Kindle. The Kindle also has 3G access that is free (at the time I am writing this) which makes adding books to the device a snap when you're traveling. Drawbacks: not sure how many Italian books Amazon offers, and you're sort of tethered to this one store for your books unless you have the patience to figure out how to get other content on the device. The amazing battery life and the fact that many libraries now let you check out books onto your Kindle makes this device hugely versatile.
Nook: The first generation Nooks were so slow, but I recently played with the Nook color and the smaller version, the Nook Simple Touch Reader. I actually preferred the simple touch reader over the color Nook, but both devices were a huge improvement over the first Nook that they released. The new version has expandable memory, so I am sure that makes getting your own files and other ebooks onto the device a snap. Since Barnes and Noble has so many brick and mortar stores all over the USA (and perhaps in Canada, too?), you can make use of free wi-fi to add content to your device. The Nook color has expanded capabilities, can play media, and has the nice crisp color screen. Drawbacks: Like the Kindle, the Nook works best with Barnes and Noble. Not sure what kind of Italian offerings their store has either, however the Nook seems more open to other file formats besides its own. Battery life, I felt, was slightly better than the Kindle, although not enough to sway me either way.
Sony ereader: Recently played with the latest wi-fi version...not sure what I thought of it. The stylus was a bit tedius, and the touch screen seemed overly sensitive. It didn't seem intuitive to use, although it seemed to work very seemlessly with DRM content that seems to be difficult to do with other ereaders. However, it was easy to read text. Drawbacks: I didn't like the interface...it didn't seem intuitive, but I got used to it. The screen seemed smaller than I expected, but it was pleasant enough to use.

Do you have an ereader? Do you love/hate ebooks? In my last post, as I said, buying Italian ebooks can be a cheaper alternative, especially when shipping costs can add a few dollars to the cost of a real book. Share your thoughts -- would love to hear from you.

NB: All opinions expressed are my own. I do own an iPad (which I purchased for myself). None of the ereader providers mentioned above paid for or sponsored this post.

Italian ebooks

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Electronic books are the wave of the future. With the advent of the iPad/iPhone, Kindle, Nook and many other devices, reading ebooks has become a convenient way to take books with you on the go. I myself love reading ebooks on my iPad -- the screen is easy to read, I mark my last page read, and be connected to the internet at the same time in case I need to look up a word or phrase in Italian that I do not understand.

Reading books in Italian is a great way to build your vocabulary. It is how we build our vocabulary in our own language and helps us to understand unknown words and expressions using context clues. This can only be learnt by reading (also by listening, too), and it is important to practice mastering context clues. Reading is also good for the brain -- many a study has indicated that it is possible that keeping the brain active and vital helps us live longer and stave off dementia and other brain wasting diseases.

I am sure that there are many of you who may scoff at ebooks. I will be the first to admit that I prefer a real book over an electronic one, but there's one reason why they are useful. Living in the US, it's not easy to get Italian books economically. Shipping charges can be high, and it can defeat the purpose of purchasing them, especially when the shipping costs are two times more than the price of the book itself. Ebooks are a great way to keep reading and saving a bit of money, too!

File format types
There are three kinds of ebook file formats*: epub (with or without DRM -- digital rights management), pdf files and mobi. Epub files without DRM can be read on the PC and most any ereader device and opened in the iBookstore app on the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch. Kindle users can have their files converted by Amazon (generally for a small fee), or they can purchase mobi files that can be placed on the device. Many Italian ebook vendors supply titles in both formats.

Where to go to get ebooks?
The iBookstore via iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch has a decent selection. Their Italian selections are always growing, and this is a great place to start for those of you who have iOS devices. And yes, you can even read Adobe DRM titles, too by downloading the app, Bluefire Reader. This app allows you to connect to your Adobe ID (go to adobe.com for more info) to the app so that titles which have this digital protection can be accessed. Adobe PDF's can also be read via the iBookstore, too.

You can also purchase ebooks from Internet Bookshop Italia, generally as epub with/without DRM or straight pdf files.

Two other useful sites are Bookrepublic.it and Ultimabooks.it. Both sell books in various file formats but require that the user physically load the ebooks on their own devices.

The future
In future posts, we will list purchase locations for titles that we review and will provide links for the physical book as well as places for the ebook. Do you read ebooks? Have an ebook reader? Do you prefer to read the real book or read on your PC? I don't have a Kindle so I cannot experiment at this time. Personally, I find the iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch offer the best experience for reading ebooks -- although these devices tend to be pricey. All of the web sites mentioned in this post have extensive help sections. If you have a question about putting an ebook on your device or general questions, feel free to leave a comment or send an email, and I will do my best to respond and help!

Il Riposo della Polpetta by Massimo Montanari

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:57:00 +0000

Il Riposo della Polpetta is a collection of short articles published in magazines such as Consumatori (a magazine of the Coop members) and in the Sundays pages of Italian newspaper, La Repubblica. Written by Massimo Montanari, this collection of articles are reflections on simple things in life (at face value somewhat banal) which reveal significant and meaningful fragments of our history and culture. By reading the book we can discover what is hiding behind daily (and often simple) gestures related to our culinary and eating habits. The author succeeds in answering questions, such as: What are the factors that often condition our eating habits? Why do we always need to have our refrigerator well stocked? What is the symbolism behind the barbecue and why is it so popular? Why is bread the symbol of our civilization?

The author strives to tell us how social conditions influence and often accompany changes in our food habits. For example, Montanari talks about the death of Pope Paolo II after he had eaten some melons. He also talks of the origins of macaroni and French fries as well as a short and factual history of bread, of its uses and of its variations throughout the centuries.

Even the last American election features in this book, as Montanari discusses how McCain wanted to have a large barbecue in the White House Garden and how Obama affirmed his love for salads of arugula and parmesan. Michelle Obama’s work to foster healthy eating and by growing fresh vegetables in the White House Garden is also discussed in the book. This part of the book echoes how the political fight over the White House was also “fought” on the culinary level: a collision between tradition and innovation, a carnivorous society linked to the past as well as a society that looks ahead.

Anyone interested in the history of food will find this collection of stories interesting and notable and not too difficult for the student of Italian. The style is an approachable one, and the author writes for a general audience.

Marcello Gammella

Subsonica's Eden

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:05:00 +0000

Subsonica is a music group from Torino that was formed in 1996 through a union of some exponents of the Torinese alternative music scene: Max Casacci, Boosta, Samuel, Ninja and Pierfunk. Their music is not easily labeled, but it is essentially a form of pop music but "contaminated" by electronic, dance, rock, reggae, dub and acoustic influences. They are an extremely eclectic group, and their melodic abilities are extraordinarily remarkable.

Two of their best releases, in my opinion, are Microchip Emozionale and Amorematico. The first is really the most perfect: rock, dance and electronic unite to perfection. Their musical inspiration is at its peak, and this can be seen in their splendid ballad, "Tutti i miei sbagli", a hallmark of their musical output. Electronic and rythmic along with an orchestral backing a listenable motif sung with great emphasis by Samel. Everything is supported by a simple and suggestive text on the destructive effects of love.

"Discoteca Labirinto", "Colpa di pistola", and "Aurora Sogna" are tracks that leave their mark. The last song, "Aurora Sogna" is a "biography" of adolscent unhappiness with a "disco-like" feel that is rarely so engrossing and never so ardent. "Amorematico" is, instead, musically more dark and atmospheric, and it has a more experimental musical bent with its sound choices and structures of the songs. This is evidenced by the dance melody of "Nuvole Rapide", the rarified atmosphere of "Dentro i miei vuoti" and with the 'breezy' and vaguely retro melodies of the 1980's funk as seen in "Nuova Ossessione".

Subsonica's Eden is the sixth disc in their sixteen year career as a group and differs from its darker predecessor, L'Eclissi. On this disc, the songs makes use of more successive pop themes and sounds. The title track of the CD, "Eden", has a Radiohead-esq feel to it, fragmented rhythms, psychodelic moods from the guitar, along with a sinuous song that creates an almost sensuale melody. This track is a great start to the disc! The second track on the disc, "Serpente", has a submissive start, almost uncertain but then transforming into a more refined melody accompanied by a dubbed rhythm a dark and repetitive cut. "Benzina Ogoshi" has a frenetic rhythm and a song with ironic lyrics, taking its cue from the most common criticisms from fans and journalists. The track is swinging and exhilarating and full of energy that, surely if performed live, would have a huge impact on the audience. The disc also features many references to the much loved 80's as seen in the track "Sul Sole" that re-echoes "The Head on the Door" by The Cure while "La funzione" is a tribute to the electro-pop of the 1980's with Subsonica's collaboration with the i Righeira, known for the hit songs "Vamos a la playa" and "Non tengo dinero".

The first single and video from the disc is the song, "Istrice", which is perhaps the best track of them all. Light touches on the piano and guitar coupled with an orchestral introduction, give way to a mid-tempo ballad that describe very well a sense of nostalgia towards the past or someone from the past ("Chi ci ricorderà?/ Chi ti farà ridere?/ Per chi ti smarrirai?/ Chi userà lo sguardo tuo?/ Chi lo fa al posto mio?/ Io dove sarò?"). The track is worthy of being "stuck in your head" -- just try to listen to it and see if you can't stop yourself from humming it. Better yet, perhaps your state of mind, too, will be just a bit more nostalgic for it.

If you prefer the CD, you can purchase it from ibs.it or your favorite store!

written by Marcello Gammella

Trame : a contemporary Italian reader

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:17:00 +0000

Each week I receive emails asking me if I know of any useful resources for intermediate and advanced students looking to improve their Italian further. When you're at this stage, it is often difficult to find good resources that are challenging enough or resources that are not overly complicated or complex.

An excellent resource (although somewhat pricey) is Yale University Press's Trame : A Contemporary Italian Reader. I like this book very much because it provides 33 short readings from contemporary authors. Each chapter features a snippet from a particular novel or work by some excellent Italian writers: Niccolo Ammaniti, Stefano Benni, Umberto Eco, Melania Mazzucco, Roberto Saviano among many others. After each reading is a section for testing your reading comprehension, questions that help you analyze the readings, questions to help you practice your writing as well as a section called "Internet" that invites you to use the web to learn more about themes and topics presented in the readings.

Each chapter features a list of vocabulary with definitions of Italian. This can help you think in Italian instead of relying too heavily on a bilingual dictionary. There are preliminary questions that prepare you for the reading, a short biography of the author, and exercises -- for example, there are some that help you use context clues to help in indentifying the meaning of certain words from the passages while others tell you to identify the word that doesn't fit with the rest.

I like this book because it profiles contemporary Italian works. Many of these writers provide a window into modern Italy that standard textbooks ignore or have no space for. Italy is a complex and interesting country that is more than Dante, Italian Renaissance and Mussolini. There are many facets to this beautiful country, and this book will help you learn and discover Italy through its contemporary literary output!

The book can be purchased from Amazon.com (or your favorite bookstore) or from the publisher directly.

Palermo, la città ritrovata : itinerari entro le mura

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:47:00 +0000

Palermo: Chiesa di San Cataldo

Adriana Chirco's two volume set, Palermo, la città ritrovata, is an excellent profile on the city of Palermo. Designed an uber-guidebook and published by Dario Flaccovio Editore, these two volumes highlight the wonderful artistic, archaeological and architectural heritage of the city of Palermo. The author, a native who was born in lives in Palermo, is also an architect and has a keen understanding of Palermo's urban space, its artistic and architectural heritage as well as general architectural principles. Her expertise and understanding translates into an easy to read guide to the city that goes beyond your typical guidebook!

Perhaps guidebook is a misnomer since the book has no tourist information, such as hotel and restaurants. It functions as a guide to the many monuments and places that you are bound to encounter as you head through the city. Palermo, if you've ever visited it, often confuses visitors to the city because it seemingly lacks what you might expect if you visited Rome or Florence. Don't be fooled - Palermo has much to offer! It only involves working a little harder to discover its potential, its beauty and its charm. Chirco helps the reader to create order out of Palermo's disorder, providing a "plan of attack" in "conquering" the city as a tourist and visitor.

Each chapter is subdivided into several walking tours that are take one through the various streets and alleyways of the city. The guidebook is easy to use but might be helpful to pair with a map of the city (the best maps can be found from the tourist information points located throughout the city). My favorite chapter is #22 which features a tour of the monuments by the Baroque stuccoist, Giacomo Serpotta!

Regardless of how you use the book, it is a great title for learning more about the urban spaces in the city of Palermo!

The first volume, Entre le mura, is available from ibs.it. The second volume, Fuori le mura, is avaible directly from the publisher.

You can also read more about Palermo by visiting Nello's Italy -- check out my contribution on Palermo!

Roberto Saviano: Vieni via con me

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Roberto Saviano's new book, Vieni via con me, is a collection of short essays about today's Italy. Vieni via con me was shown on the television channel, Rai 3, where Saviano spoke to the audience about problems in Italian politics, society and culture and featured many prominent guests from political and cultural circles as well as individuals affected by these problems. The show aired on Rai 3 for four consecutive Mondays in the month of November 2010 and received an amazing response in terms of viewership and content. For those of you who might have trouble following along all four episodes of this series, now the book is available to read at your leisure.

Each of the essays discuss various topics about modern Italy and addresses important social/political issues in Italy: euthanasia, mudslinging, lack of national unity in Italy, the mafia in Italy, the earthquake in L'Aquila, the trash problem among others. Saviano's journalistic style is a combination of reporting and storytelling that works well in this short collection of essays. His particular strength, as demonstrated in the chapters on the L'Aquila earthquake and the Piero and Mina Welby, is the personal element that he brings to the stories. People he describes leap off the pages as people and are not simply reduced to facts or figures and neither are they simply victims or pawns. There's a level of empathy that is astounding and tangible in how he describes and narrates to us how the lives of these men and women are touched by these serious problems in Italy.

This book is a great companion to the four televised episodes or simply an excellent way to learn more about the problems in Italian society in the 21st century!

Italy's bridge to nowhere? Antonio Mazzeo's "I padrini del ponte"

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:35:00 +0000

It's not often that I read a book and am totally floored by what I read, but this book by Antonio Mazzeo surprised me and startled me. The topic of the book, I padrini del ponte, is about the "cast of characters", i padrini or "godfathers", involved in the construction and planning of Italy's "bridge to nowhere" that hopes to span the Straits of Messina between Sicily and the mainland. Bridges to "nowhere" have been hot topics not only in the United States, but it's also an Italian issue, too.

While the bridge certainly goes somewhere, it's not the destination of the bridge that is going "nowhere" but the project itself. The construction of the bridge has been deemed unfeasible by scientists and architects, and the obvious benefits of building the bridge are almost zero for the economics of the south and mainly seek to further mafia businesses interests in the south of Italy (as well as other parts of Italy and even mafia businesses elsewhere around the world). as well as lining the pockets of some powerful people, Italian politicians included! Why anyone would want to bridge in one of the most geophysically unstable places in all the word is a mystery that boggles the minds of many.

Ironically, the author refers to the bridge many times throughout the book as Scylla and Charybdis, the mythological monsters that tormented sailors for centuries and which the author postulates has now been resurrected by this bridge project, a "monster" that, along with the mafia, seeks to wreak havoc on Italy once again! This "monste"r is now poised to escape from the annals of lore into the real world, most certainly causing more harm than good.

Seen by some as a way of reinvigorating Sicily's economy and that of the south of Italy, this project, as Mazzeo conveys, would more than certainly do more harm than good. In his book, Mazzeo demonstrates just how involved the various Italian mafias (as well as those outside Italy) with the planning and eventual construction of this bridge. The fact that this project not only involves some of the most powerful people in Italy should cause alarm bells to ring! What really struck me is how far flung geographically this project has become, spanning oceans all the way to the United States and especially Canada, where the bridge's principal planner is from and where much of the logistics and planning have taken place. First chapters of the book do an excellent job at setting the stage as well as the history of the project. (As an aside, the connection to Canada really surprised me, and it just goes to show that the mafia is not just an Italian phenomenon but a worldwide problem that spans borders and oceans...something to think about!)

The book is a dizzying array of names of those involved in seeing this project to fruition. At times, the book introduces so many different people that it seems inconceivable that the author could have even written the book. I found myself often unable to know just who was who. While I found it frustrating, perhaps it is this frustration which the author seeks to convey to his audience. As the author says, in quoting captured Cosa Nostra boss, Bernardo Provenzano, "Minchia, se fanno 'u ponte ce ne sarà per tutti!!!" (p. 117*) While I didn't know many of the names of the people profiled in the book, an Italian might better understand the "cast of characters" involved. I found myself hitting up Google and Wikipedia, trying to find articles, new stories, online profiles and other information. I certainly learned a lot reading this book: far more than I bargained for.

Umberto Santino's preface, Il ponte e le mafie: uno spaccato di capitalismo reale, is one of the best features of this book. Santino is a leading expert on the mafia and organized crime, and he writes in a very approachable and concise way but also in a way that makes you stand up and "listen" to what he has to say. In his preface, Santino presents to the reader a clear picture of the situation involving this bridge -- he does not mince words, describing to the reader that the mafias of today are more than their cinematic portrayals ever were, becoming "smarter" and more "careful" in their modus operandi! Santino compares the bridge project to the pyramids of Egypt, where the pharaohs of old sought to immortalize their legacy, and Santino wastes no time in making this connection with Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's colorful and often gaffe-prone Prime Minister.

While some of those involved have been arrested, the author's detailed analysis shows that even when one person is arrested, there will most certainly be others to take their place, and, should the project continue to go forward, one will always wonder to what extent the mafias involvement played and just how much would these mafia groups gain.

The bridge was also the topic of La7, Exit, last year:
http://www.la7.it/blog/post_dettaglio.asp?id=3270&idblog=ILARIA_DAMICO_-_Exit_15

NB: I updated this post to make it more readable and to link to this site, No Ponte: http://www.noponte.it/

*The author takes this Provenzano quote from Salvatore Cancemi's, "Riina mi fece i nome di...Confessioni di un ex boss della cupola" from Massari Editore, 2002, p. 36.

150 anni: Unification of Italy in song

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:24:00 +0000

March 17, 2011 is the anniversay of the Unification of Italy (and St. Patrick's Day, too), and the record label, Rhino, thought to celebrate the event by releasing a collection of some of the most representative songs from the history of Italian music: from the years of Mameli (the Italian national anthem) to folk ongs as well as the singers and performers of the 1960’s. The collection is entitled: 1861-2011 Viva l'Italia. La musica della nostra storia.

Many of these classics are pieces of classical or popular music reinterpreted slavishly. It is the with, for example, Giuseppe Verdi's “Va’ pensiero," performed by Albano or “O’ Sordato ‘nnamurato”, the classic Neapolitan song performed with great passion by Massimo Ranieri. The list of great successes of Italian music of the 50’s and 60’s dominates: the eternal "Nel blu dipinto di blu” by Domenic Modugno; “E se domani”; from the golden voice of Mina; and “Non ho l’età," the superb classic of Gigliola Cinquetto, to name a few.

Not much space is dedicated to the singers and groups of the 60’s: the covers of De Andrè (“Via del campo” with the heartfelt performance of Enzo Jannacci) o di Battisti (“Il mio canto libero” performed by Cristiano De Andrè). Even though there are so many absent pieces, the collection is a good compendium of Italian popular music, useful, more sol, to non-Italians who will, at the very least, get a taste of the melodic beauty that enlivens many of our Italian songs.

by Marcello Gammella

Ortese: Il mare non bagna Napoli

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Bay of Naples

Il mare non bagna Napoli, written by Anna Maria Ortese, was published in 1953 by Einaudi and included in their I gettoni series edited by Elio Vittorini. This work, which fiercely criticized Naples, won the prestigious Premio Viareggio. Ortese was describing a city that ran mechanically, almost apathetically, and one that seemed to move by inertia as well as the immobilization of the ruling and intellectual class within Naples at the time. These ineffectual ruling and intellectual classes reacted very badly to this attack and pushed Ortese into a sort of forced exile from the beloved city of Naple. This spurning did not diminish Ortese’s admiration of Naples and compelled her to write about the city again. She subsequently dedicated another book to it, entitled Il porto di Toledo.

The Naples of Ortese is still stunned by the war, which had only recently concluded, and is inhabited by incompetent people incapable of addressing the city’s difficulties. Families were living on the edge, drowning in their empty rituals of Christmas celebrations (Interno Familiare), childhoods marked by pain and desperation (Un paio di occhiali) and a lifeless intellectual class, without any stimulus that seemed oblivious to the decline of the city (Il silenzio della ragione).

It is a relevant book, that of Ortese’s, which, with grace and poetry, recounts to us short stories about the city and of the civilization that survives “involuntarily”, almost mechanically. Even the new generations seem not to have any hope. In the first story, Un paio di occhiali, the writer tells of the young Eugenia and of her happiness, owed to the fact that soon, finally, she will have a pair of glasses that will allow her to see the world and the beautify that surrounds her. But this “secret jubilation” that hides in the “modest voice of the child” transforms itself into a nightmare as she becomes aware of the reality that surrounds her. A reality that is not the bed of a roses she believes it to be. A city, that despite the apathy and the difficulties it faces, seems to find again, sometimes fleetingly, a feeble hope.

In the story, Oro a Forcella, where the flight of the brown butterfly “with its many strands of gold on its wings and torso” fills the tired and inflamed eyes of those who wait with wonder as they stand in line at the counter of the pawnshop, hoping to sell some old object of value in order to get themselves out of trouble. It seems but a momentary hope, a postponing of problems and suffering which very soon will come back, throwing the squalid and pitiable crowd into an environment of misery and discouragement.

While severely critical of Naples and its establishment, Ortese writes of a city that, despite its hardships, perseveres – like the young Eugenia, seemingly brutalized by reality but will, with hope and determination, overcome these obstacles to survive.

by Marcello Gammella

Understanding the use of punctuation in Italian

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:00:00 +0000

La punteggiatura corretta by Antonio Frescaroli (De Vecchi Editore)

The rules of punctuation in Italian differ from those of English. I notice it a lot when I read things written by non-native speakers. I also do not always use commas and other punctuation signs correctly, and it is, unfortunately, a topic that is not often addressed in grammar books for foreign speakers.

To improve your Italian even further, I would suggest that you check out Antonio Frescaroli's La punteggiatura corretta : come interessare, appasionare e convincere dando ritmo al testo. Frescaroli discusses all of the various punctuation marks: the comma (la virgola), period (il punto fermo), semi-colon (il punto e virgola), etc. With each chapter, he tells you when to use it and when not to use it and provides examples and other helpful advice.

Learning about punctuation can be helpful because it can help you to identify how words function in an Italian phrase. This can be important in understanding how the language functions, and, in many instances, could help you to improve your Italian.

It's a short book and makes an excellent desk reference. I think that even beginners would be able to understand the book and find it valuable, since the information is presented in tables, and the explanations that follow are not complex. He also identifies errors that are the most common (which can be helpful if you make that error as you will see immediately that you are doing something wrong).

The book is inexpensive, and I highly recommend it.

Dizionario degli errori e dei dubbi della lingua italiana by Barbara Colonna

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:48:00 +0000

Dizionario degli errori e dei dubbi della
lingua italiana by Barbara Colonna
(published by Newton Compton)

Buon Natale e Buone Feste a tutti! This will probably be the last post for 2010, and I would like to close the year with a review of Barbara Colonna's Dizionario degli errori e dei dubbi della lingua italiana published by Newton Compton. The author of this book has written an extremely valuable reference resource on the Italian language that is worthy of a place on your bookshelf!

I find this to be a very useful reference that is like a dictionary and is organized alphabetically (obviously). With each letter you'll find useful tidbits about common errors and other useful information about various words in the Italian language. I have been skimming the book all day looking for things that I didn't know, and I have found quite a few. Did you know that the superlative of magnifico is magnificentissimo? (p. 115) I'm sure I learned it at one point or perhaps I didn't -- regardless, it looked new to me!

Did you know that the word, tabu, has the accent on the first syllable and not the last as it does in English and defies the normal rules of pronunciation in Italian (that is, words ending in u usually have their syllable on the final vowel?) Or that many Italians commonly pronounce it as tabù instead of tàbu? Do you know what a parola tronca is? (It's a word that has its accent on the last syllable). (p. 175)

I think that non-native speakers (stranieri) would benefit from this book, even if it is in Italian, because it addresses certain topics and details that are often not taught in the classroom and shows readers where and how certain words entered Italian, pronunciation and usage tips. Throughout the book there are also "gray boxes" that identify various interesting notes on Italian words, usually with linguistic explanations about why various words are spelled or pronounced as they are. The last part of the book contains Modelli di coniugazione (pp. 209 - 294) of various irregular verbs with an accompanying list of derived verbs to help aid conjugation.

Resources such as this book help us to unlearn and refine our Italian. As we learn Italian from others, it is only natural that we pick up on their mistakes. No teacher/instructor is perfect, and this book will certainly help us to improve our understanding this magnificent language.

Preposizione italiane | Italian Prepositions

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 11:28:00 +0000

Having English as my native language, I take for granted my ability to use prepositions in English. Prepositions are very tricky, especially when they are merged with verbs since the use of one preposition over another can change the meaning of a phrase.

In Italian, prepositions are no less tricky, and it is by far (along with pronouns) the most difficult and hard to learn aspect of Italian grammar.

Luckily for us, Alma Edizioni has written a wonderful book entitled Preposizione italiane which can help us understand use Italian prepositions correctly. This small book is packed with a lot of great information and helpful exercises, and it is a must have for anyone who is serious about studying the Italian language. It is, in my opinion, one of the best books around for learning how to use prepositions and how they are used.

The book teaches the prepositions in a unique way that for many users may make understanding them easier to grasp. Each chapter addresses a particular function of a preposition instead of teaching each preposition individually.

For example, one of the chapters is entitled "Tempo" (Chapter 4) -- this chapter addresses all of the various prepositions and their uses within the theme of time -- years and dates of birth, the time of day, telling time, age, start and end times, etc. The prepositions in, da, a, tra/fra, etc. are all explained in the context of time. Subsequent chapters have a different theme that shows you how the various prepositions are used based on their function rather than studying each preposition individually and studying how they are used (as is common in many English language Italian grammar books).

Also helpful are the abundant examples and accompanying explanations that help with learning and understanding the material. While this book is written in Italian with Italian explanations, the examples are easy to follow and presented well enough that you should have little trouble following the material.

Answers are also included for the exercises at the back of the book along with summary tables of the various prepositions and how each is used. You can view the introduction and the table of contents on Alma's web site:

http://www.almaedizioni.it/ita/almacat/scheda.asp?PrdId=25

La Sicilia in cucina

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:04:00 +0000

Nothing I like more than great Italian recipes is reading about them!

One of my favorite authors about Sicilian cooking is Anna Tasca Lanza. Sadly, she passed away recently, and I first heard of her passing from the blog, South of Italy, while I was casually reading up on some of my favorite blogs (you can read an article in Giornale di Sicilia about Anna Tasca Lanza by clicking here).

I first saw this amazing cook on a Food Network show hosted by Tyler Florence many years ago. Tyler was profiling some Sicilian recipes, and he went to Sicily and met with Anna Tasca Lanza, She showed him (put him through his paces was more like it!) how to make involti di melanzane con capelli d'angelo (eggplant involtini with angel hair pasta -- click here for the recipe). After seeing her on the show, I wanted to learn more about her. I found myself moved and struck by her passion for cooking and the passion she showed while teaching others! On the internet I read that she operated a cooking school from her home in Sicily, just outside Palermo. Over the years I promised myself on my trips to Sicily that I would try to make a trip out there, but, unfortunately, it never happened.

Recently, a friend of mine asked me if I knew of any good books and recipes about Sicilian cooking, and it reminded me that Anna Tasca Lanza had written a book or two published in the United States. While English publications are hard to locate and are no longer in print, there are two books still available in Italian:

A few weeks ago, I purchased La Sicilia in cucina, and it is simply a stunning work. The recipes are well laid out, with full color pictures, excellent explanations and the recipes, while challenging and requiring some patience, are presented in a way that make them easy to approach. Even if your Italian is not perfect, you can still follow along. That's the beauty of cookbooks -- the international language of food is pretty much universal!

If you are looking for real Sicilian recipes, then you cannot go wrong with those two works by Anna Tasca Lanza!

Premio Strega 2010!

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:01:00 +0000

The 2010 Premio Strega has been awarded!

This year's winner is Antonio Pennacchi for his work, Canale Mussolini.

You can read the official press release by clicking here.

I ordered the book and hope to read it in the next couple of weeks! If you have read the book, leave a comment. I would like to know what you think. The book has received some less than favorable reviews from readers on IBS.it.

This literary prize is quite an honor and many of the great Italian authors (Morante, Ortese, Levi, Eco to name a few!) of the Novecento have won the prize.

For a list a past winners, visit the Premio's web page by clicking here.

The runner-ups for 2010 were:

Acciaio by Silvia Avallone
Hanno tutti ragione by Paolo Sorrentino
Sono comuni le cose degli amici by Matteo Nucci
Accanto alla tigre, Lorenzo Pavolini

"Once upon a time there was a wire-tap..."

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Wire-tapping (that is, intercepting phone calls and other communication) is always a contentious topic in Italy. In the USA, the laws about wire-taps and procuring them are complicated at best, but in Italy, it's a whole other ball game. This book by Antonio Ingroia, C'era una volta l'intercettazione: la giustizia e le bufale della politica, is a serious look at the history of wire-tapping in Italy, how it works, why it needs to be done, what purpose it serves and goes far to dismiss the luoghi comuni (stereotypes) that surround it.

Much of the fear, as the author points out, is a result of the media and the way that the Italian government perceives it (probably because so many members of it have been "tapped" over the years) and then communicates this perception to its constituents, creating an environment of fear and insecurity. The author, clearly a proponent of wire-tapping, states in his book that he see that it does a lot of good, that wire-tapping should continue, and that it is needed to help combat crime and corruption. The author cites several high profile and not so high profile examples of how wire-tapping has been used and is being used to help protect every day Italians as well as high profile individuals from harm's way.

Published by Nuovi Equlibri/Stampa Alternativa (this is a really cool publisher based in Viterbo that publishes books on different kinds of topics that some of the larger, more mainstream publishers seem to avoid as well as printing books on topics that often shunned), this interesting survey of wire-tapping, its history and its future was not a difficult read. The author writes in a very direct and approachable style, and I found myself unable to put the book down. It's interesting to read how wire-tapping has been used to stop assassinations, capture mafiosi as well as catch Italian politicians with their pants down, so to speak.

Primo Levi's "Se questo è un uomo"

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Reading Primo Levi's Se questo è un uomo, one is immediately struck by the high level of detail that Levi puts into this work. He describes his situation in such a way that is starkly scientific - detailing the plans and layouts of the concentration camp, their daily routine, as well as translating and chronicling things that were said.

And then there is another side to the work that is immediately touching and heart-wrenching. What struck me most was this. When we think of the Holocaust today, we have the benefit of history in helping us understand the horror that so many Jews and others considered "undesirable" faced at the hands of the disgusting Nazi and Fascist regimes in Italy and Germany at the time. In reading Levi's work, one is immediately faced with a sense of naivete that so many of these victims felt initially when first captured. When would they see their wives and children again? Why is no one telling them any information? When they ask for water and no one hears their pleas, is it because of a language barrier or is it because they are so hated by their captors?

Gas chambers, mass executions...these were all things that at first almost didn't seem to occur to the captives who at first saw their condition as temporary. Levi states many times that most of the captured assumed that they would instantly be put to death, and the idea of being trapped in that "hell" (l'inferno) which, at times seems almost too soft of a word to describe the horrors and ordeals Levi and his fellow captives faced, seems inconceivable at first. This is where Levi's work stands out because as you read the book, you become a part of his consciousness and understanding. It is only when reality "sets in" does the book achieve an even greater power over the reader.

At time this book is a historian's dream, recounting in detail how rooms looked, what people said, detailed layouts of the camp, the tasks they did each day and many other day to day activities in the concentration camp. Levi describes these events in a very calculating and scientific way, intellectualizing his memories which, I believe, are meant to protect the reader from the obvious atrocities he encountered.

Like The Diary of Anne Frank, this book is moving, and Levi pushes and pulls the reader in and out of the narrative. But unlike Ms. Frank's diary, this book is written by an adult who, slowly but surely, begins to realize the horrors that he and his fellow captives face as their expectations and hope for a quick release by their Nazi captors is quickly extinguished as reality sets in that they are, indeed, facing the greatest struggle of their lives.

Cinema Spotlight: Vittorio De Sica's "Termini Station"

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:00:00 +0000

Strangely absent from many Italian DVD stores, this Neorealist film, Stazione Termini (or, the American title, Indiscretions of an American Wife) with an American cast, is a delightfully intriguing and compelling film that, in many ways, signals an end to the era of neorealism, culminating in film that has taken this style and taking it as far as it can now possibly go (for one thing, the use of professional actors -- Montgomery Clift and Jennifer Jones -- seems an antithesis of neorealism but, when coupled with the use of the "everyman" local of Termini Station as well as the "regular joes" that the characters deal with throughout the film, it seems to work).

As Mary Forbes, played by Jennifer Jones, wanders through Termini Station, she is clearly wrought with guilt with having cheated on her husband, and De Sica throws at the viewer powerful symbolism and subtle clues that reinforce the complex plot of the story that the viewer learns about as the story unfolds.

Mary Forbes (known as Maria by Montgomery Clift's character, Giovanni Doria) has gone to Rome to visit her sister, leaving her husband (who she describes as unable to find his socks in the morning and somewhat incapable in domestic matters) and her young daughter, Caroline, back in Philadelphia. While it is unknown how long Mary has been in Rome, you get the impression through interactions with her nephew and through her own remarks that is has at least been some weeks. While in Rome, Mary has met the professor, Giovanni Dorio, and the two have seemingly embarked on a passionate affair, which Mary's sister and nephew seem unaware.

As the movie opens, Mary is seen heading to Giovanni's apartment to tell him that she can no longer see him. She struggles at the door, her hand poised over the buzzer. Does she hesitate because she doesn't know her feelings? I would argue that she hesitates because she is unsure of her own resolve in saying no to the dashing Italian. In a panic, she flees the building. This opening scene (sadly cut out of the American cut of the film) sets the stage for Mary's torment and indecision. As she tries to get to the station, you feel at first that fate doesn't want her to leave Giovanni in this cruel way, but then, fortuitously, being unable to hail a cab on her own (as she speaks no Italian), the Termini station bus rocks up to her very location.

Mary then arrives at the station and decides that she must leave Rome. If her own resolve cannot save her marriage, then perhaps a distance of thousands of miles will. She decides to phone her nephew. As she waits for the phone, a gentleman, seeing her impatience, offers her the phone, even giving her the change to pay for the call. This clumsy man continuously drops his apples, nervous at Mary Jones's obviously beauty and refinement. He is interested in her, but, because of her anxiety and narrow focus on getting her nephew, Paul, to deliver her things, clearly a symbol of Eve and demonstrating Mary's lack of resolve in coping with the consequences of her adulterous actions.

The film is also beautifully mastered in the way that the story unfolds not only with the two main characters and the nephew, Paul, but also with the interludes and sidebars that Mary Forbes and the rest of the cast have with the other passengers in the station. One of the most notable encounters is when Mary Forbes helps the sick pregnant woman, her three children and her husband. The woman begs Mary to help her, and Mary encourages the woman's husband to go to the First Aid station for aid. This is a reminder to Mary about her own filial obligations to her own daughter back in America. As the woman recovers, she says to Mary "I pray to the Madonna for you," reminding Mary that she too can still be a good wife. As Mary leaves with Paul, the woman's husband tells Mary what a good wife his wife has been to him and to his family, and Mary finally realizes what she must do.

After having slapped Mary brutally in Termini Station (this is one of the best scenes in the film -- the way in which De Sica makes the slap reverberate throughout the station, diverting the attention of everyone to Mary and even summoning her nephew, Paul, back to her aid), Mary and Paul take refuge in a waiting area. Mary tells Paul to go home, and Mary waits for her train. Giovanni finally finds her on the opposite side of the station and begins to run towards her. Giovanni, fixated on reaching her, fails to see an oncoming train. As everyone on the tracks shouts to him to stop, he continues running towards her, barely avoiding being hit.

Mary's resolve has one again been dispatched, and she falls for her Italian lover, almost despondent at almost having lost him. The two then retreat to an abandoned train car but are caught when one of the station's workers spots them entering. He summons the police who arrest the two for indecent public behavior. Barely avoiding any serious charges, the commissioner finds it in his heart to let the two go, as long as Mary will leave Rome. It is at this point in the film that both Mary and Giovanni realize that their love can go no further. Mary is escorted onto the train by Giovanni, and their tearful good-bye is interrupted when the train, which begins to leave, forces Giovanni to escape the train. He jumps from the train and slightly injures himself. But this physical injury cannot make up for the emotional injury that has been caused by Mary's departure from Rome.

The film ends with Giovanni walking pathetically out of the station, still surrounded by the bustling and passengers in the station. The camera keeps him in view, not as the main scene itself, but only as just another passenger. The marvel in this film is how De Sica focuses the drama on these two lovers but does it in a way that does not shut out the environment in which the action takes place.

Sadly, there are two versions of the movie: the original by De Sica and the badly edited and soulless American version. The Criterion edition of the film includes both versions. I've seen this movie on TV several times, and the Italian version is one I've always seen. My review is of the highly superior Italian version because it stays close to artistic intent of the film, whereas the American version was created because of the movie's original poor response.

This film is certainly worth watching to see the neorealist artistry at work. While the story at time seems mundane, it's a movie that must be watched attentively and carefully in order to capture the moving and emotional nature of the story that is presented to us not only by the acting and dialogue of the main characters but also with the subtle symbolism and neorealist effects of De Sica.

If you want to learn more about De Sica and Neorealist cinema, here are some sources worth consulting:

Snyder, Stephen, and Howard Curle. Vittorio De Sica: Contemporary Perspectives. Toronto Italian studies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000.
Cardullo, Bert. Vittorio De Sica: Actor, Director, Auteur. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars, 2009.
Wagstaff, Christopher. Italian Neorealist Cinema: An Aesthetic Approach. Toronto Italian studies. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2007.
Moscati, Italo. Vittorio De Sica vitalità, passione e talento in un'Italia dolceamara. Roma: Ediesse, 2004.
De Santi, Gualtiero. Vittorio De Sica. Il Castoro cinema, 213. Milano: Il castoro, 2003.
De Sica, Vittorio. La porta del cielo: memorie 1901-1952. La memoria e l'immagine, 12. Cava de' Tirreni [Salerno]: Avagliano, 2004.

There is also more information here from TCM:

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=79211

Profondo Nero

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 23:55:00 +0000

If you enjoy mysteries and whodunits, Italian style, then you will certainly enjoying reading Profondo Nero: Mattei, De Mauro, Pasolini. Che cosa sapevano? Perché dovevano morire? (Profondo Nero: Mattei, De Mauro, Pasolini. What did they know? Why did they have to die?). Written by two prominent journalists, Giuseppe Lo Bianco and Sandra Rizza. This book looks at three murders that take place in a span of 25 years: Enrico Mattei, Mauro de Mauro and Pier Paolo Pasolini.

So what do these three men and their deaths (or murders!) have in common?

All of them are believed to have been killed to cover up some massive fraud or secret in Italy. The book looks at the evidence in each case and does it best to connect the dots to come up with the possible killer or the financier of the killings (I won't tell you who so as not to spoil the book!).

One of the most fascinating aspects of the book was how "innocuous" at first these crimes appear. Mattei died in a plane crash that was deemed an "accident" at first; Mauro de Mauro disappeared, believed to have been eliminated because of his writings about the mafia; and Pasolini was initially believed to have been killed by a young man that he picked up on the street who then tried to refuse his advances. Whoever orchestrated these killings, especially in the case of Mattei's death, did a good job at "covering up" any wrong-doing and doing their best to suppress any investigations.

For years, people have been trying hard to get these deaths investigated, especially the death of Pasolini, whose young killer is believed to have been paid or coerced to confess but who medical examiners believe would have been incapable of inflecting the kinds of wounds as well as orchestrating to the beating and robbing all on his own. This book examines evidence closely and attempts to fill in the gaps that have been left "blank" because of inaction and the passage of time. The authors chronicle the level of corruption that operated (and some might argue, still operates) in Italy.. In the case of the death of Mattei, the theories, ranging from being killed by his former partisan friends to a CIA hit, only help to add to the confusion and deepen the intrigue surrounding his death.

After each chapter are extensive footnotes, often times detailing interviews that were done at the time of the various investigations as well as follow-ups or expansions on certain arguments and themes. As you read the book, you will see how much effort went into writing this journalistic exposé. As I read this book, I simply couldn't put it down. If you enjoy conspiracy theories, unsolved killings or the police and investigative process in Italy, you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

Viaggio in Sicilia | by Guy de Maupassant

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:13:00 +0000

Over the past few months, I've been fascinated by a trend that I noticed -- why do so many authors, artists, musicians and others searching for inspiration always head to Italy? In this particular post, I'm going to look at the island of Sicily.

While technically not Italian literature, I was curious as to why so many authors and writers spent time in Sicily. I recently stumbled upon Guy de Maupassant's Sicily which was published in installments in Le Figaro and Gil Blas in 1885 and then again in 1886 in La nouvelle revue and as a chapter in La vie errante ("The Wandering Life") ( These writings describe Maupassant's travels to the island, his observations, and his reasons for going -- to see the splendid Venus of Syracuse, one of the masterworks of ancient scuplture.

Maupassant really captures the essence of Sicily, and it was ironic that many of his observations, at least of the buildings and monuments he visited, still ring true today. Maupassant also demonstrates how much Sicily has changed -- the thousands and thousands of orange and lemon groves have been replaced by urban sprawl as the island has changed and developed over the past 125 years.

Maupassant did much of his traveling by railroad and shows just how efficient and important rail was to Sicily. When Maupassat visited Sicily in 1885, the rail was a young 25 years old, but it enabled the author to see much of the island that might have been difficult to traverse by horse and carriage. Maupassant makes several observations about the crime and violence of the island but does his best to assure his readers that much of the danger is hype and fear. Maupassant's observations demonstrate how much the island had transformed itself in those two and a half decades.

Maupassant starts in Palermo and visits Catania, Syracuse and several other cities along the way, even making a trek to Mt. Etna to see one of Europe's most active volcanoes. He visits many ancient sites, recounts local anecdotes and describes many of the most important churches and buildings in Sicily, notably Cappella Palatina and the Duomo of Monreale (pictured).

Sources:

Maupassant, Guy de, and Robert W. Berger. Sicily. Italica historical travel guides. New York: Italica Press, 2007
This is an excellent English translation of Maupassant's writing. The introduction and notes are excellent and provide background to the context of Maupassant's writings as well as links to further reading.
Maupassant, Guy de. Viaggio in Sicilia. [Palermo]: Sigma, 1998.
One of several Italian translations.
Maupassant, Guy de. Cronaca d'un viaggio in Sicilia. Biblioteca storica del viaggio in Sicilia, 6. Palermo: EdiBiSi, 2000.

image credit: Duomo of Monreale, Sicily -- image of the apse mosaic. Photo owned by Keith Preble (info@ilgur.com)

A Look At The Past Decade

noreply@blogger.com (Keith) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 16:10:00 +0000

The end of the year is always a time for reflection, and the same holds true for the media. This year dozens of lists and articles that look back over the past ten years are in almost every newspaper, magazine and TV special. I ran across one of particular interest from Il Corriere della Sera – a look at the top ten most influential books in Italy over the past decade. It's no surprise that Roberto Saviano's Gomorra took the "top prize". It was such an influential work that really brought to light the mafia problem in Naples and Campania as well as the collusion between politics and organized crime (although, not the first writer to make such an accusation but the first in a long time to do, and to do so at such a global level, having also been made into a movie). A number of foreign writers also topped the list, not surprising J.K. Rowling for her books on Harry Potter and Dan Brown for his The Da Vinci Code.

Other Italian writers and works included the contentious and now deceased writer and journalist, Oriana Fallaci; Andrea Camilleri for his Il giro di boa, and De Cataldo's Romanzo Criminale which was also made into a film featuring Kim Rossi Stuart.

If there's a book that you read that was published in the last decade that should have been on the list, feel free to leave a comment. I'm sure that there might be others that have contributed just as much if not more than those on the list.