Pasta in Japan as good as Italy? You bet.
You can now find pasta pretty much anywhere you go. Part of the fun is discovering how people around the world have re-invented it. (In …
An Ode to the Stone Pine
It is that which is between the palaces, that gives Italy its true beauty. If you took away every change that human hands have wrought …
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, …
Dante under the Southern Cross: Australian Reflections on the 700th Anniversary of the Passing of Dante Alighieri
Does Dante Alighieri, an Italian poet who died more than 700 years ago, really have anything to do with gum trees and koala bears? It’s …
Shakespeare in Love: A Case of Cultural Appropriation?
Shakespeare didn’t write Romeo and Juliet. No! Wait, what? Shakespeare didn’t write Romeo and Juliet!?? That’s right. If the fact Shakespeare set the play in …
The Dragon the Witch and the Daughters by Luigi Capuana (English Edition)
From a master of Italian verismo comes a classic short story of the genre, but with a twist. As characters come into conflict with each other, and …
Rings of Power: true to Tolkien’s vision or ‘woke’ distortion?
Tolkien was an enormous part of my world when I grew up. I was and am a Tolkien nerd. But in those years, his works …
The Flag without a Country: the Origins of the Italian Flag
The red, white and green of the Italian flag is well-known as a symbol for Italy. The Margherita pizza celebrates its colours. Its colours are …