Alessandro Manzoni’s Farewell to Como
It’s no accident that Italy used to be many countries, as we discovered on a recent road trip around northern Italy. Even that subset of …
Italian Literature
Behind the scenes interview: Juliet is dead: Romeo’s Lost Scene
In the video below, director filmmaker Rhianna Spooner and author/translator Michael Curtotti talk about Juliet is Dead: Romeo’s Lost Scene: the new release short film …
Juliet is dead! In world first, Australian team films lost historical Romeo scene.
Press Release: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has long entranced audiences worldwide, but what if there’s more to the story? In a groundbreaking first, an Australian …
The Infinite – Giacomo Leopardi
Sempre caro mi fu quest’ermo colle,e questa siepe, che da tanta partedell’ultimo orizzonte il guardo esclude. Ever dear to me has been this empty knoll, …
Othello and Desdemona: An Italian novella of murder and manipulation
Until you read the stories that Shakespeare read, it’s difficult to fully understand the plays he wrote. This is the tale of a particular story …
Romeo and Juliet Go Down to Egypt
As far as we know, the first recognisable version of Romeo and Juliet was written by Masuccio Salernitano, or, by his proper name: Tommaso Guardati. …
An Interview with Dr Francesco Ricatti: Matteo Bandello’s Romeo and Juliet
Recently, I was privileged to speak with Dr Francesco Ricatti, Associate Professor of Italian Studies at the Australian National University who kindly arranged the interview …
Matteo Bandello’s Forgotten Tale of the Tragic Lovers Romeo and Juliet
Sometimes, you just can’t believe what you turn up in history. If I told you a rather odd (and almost forgotten) bishop was the one …
It’s funny, but Shakespeare is teaching me Italian stories
It’s curious to find the heart of Italy in the soul of England, but so it is. For Shakespeare put it there. For years now, …