I recently participated in the “Se non ora quando?” rally in support of women’s dignity. “If not now, when,” was the question of the day, as in when will Italian women — and men — finally say “basta” to what journalist and politician Paolo Guzzanti calls the “mignottocrazia” (mignotta means tart, and not the dessert kind). Global media trot out a litany of rationalizations to explain … Continue reading Wanted: New Ideas

The themes of Montgomery’s novel are implicit in the title’s double meaning. There’s a love story — romance — as well as a novel of ideas and plot — romanzo, which means a novel in Italian. The romance is between Marsya and Marco. She’s a lovable but hare-brained British actress, a sometime language teacher and believer in creativity, synchronicity and spontaneity. She’s been seduced by Italy. … Continue reading Romanzo: Love and Corruption Italian Style

Though Amazon promotes Deborah Ball’s “House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival” under true crime and fashion writing, the categories of family saga and popular culture might better suit the more fascinating — and surprising — parts of this smoothly written book. Wall Street Journal writer Ball fleshes out the brilliant and short life of Gianni Versace and his family, particularly his … Continue reading House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival

While I was in the United States over the holidays, the wonders of the Web allowed me to follow political debates in my two homes. I juxtaposed commentary on the new “Tea Party” Congress with an essay in Corriere della Sera by columnist Ernesto Galli della Loggia, “Un disperato qualunquismo,” and the result was thought-provoking. Galli della Loggia’s theme was the extent of Italy’s degradation and hopelessness. … Continue reading The Fix

It was December 1968 and I was on waning side of childhood. Our Christmas tree was just up. Velvet curtains in our colonial house in a small Midwestern city defended our Williamsburg-yellow living room from winter cold and dark. Pine perfumed the air. Eggnog clung sweetly to the palate. While we sat in front of the fire, a woman sang on the Victrola: “Toy land, … Continue reading Emotional Iconography

With even longtime friends such as Italian newspaper Il Foglio suggesting it is time for Silvio Berlusconi to leave the banquet table, Italy may finally break off its 15-year co-dependent relationship with a narcissistic partner. Instead of focusing on the jockeying among the motley crew of Berlusconi successors, Italians would do better to study some popular books on narcissism. Authors such as Sandy Hotchkiss (“Why is it … Continue reading Therapy

Lately I have sympathized with whoever said, “Whenever I hear the word ‘culture’ I want to pull out my revolver.” Despite its sinister context — the phrase is usually attributed to Nazi propagandist Josef Goebbels — it expresses the sense of loss, disappointment and frustration that have accompanied too many recent encounters with books, art and theater. Too few things speak to me anymore. Culture … Continue reading Revolver

In the 1950s, American sociologist Edward Banfield coined the term “Amoral familism” to describe the social structure of southern Italian village in which family ties dominate and eventually strangle other socially useful institutions such as government and the rule of law. Director Paolo Virzì’s trite film gives Banfield’s term new meaning. Flashing back and forth between 1970s Livorno and today, it follows the family of … Continue reading La Prima Cosa Bella (The First Beautiful Thing)

The other day I met someone whose sister had become a Japanese citizen. This information unsettled me deeply. So deeply that even after several days, I was still disturbed by her renouncing American citizenship and taking a Japanese surname. The last bothered me so much that I checked it out. Although taking a Japanese name from an approved list is no longer required, Japan does … Continue reading Turning Japanese

This summer, my son worked with Libera, the anti-Mafia organization founded by Don Luigi Ciotti, an activist Catholic priest. Last summer, he spent 30 days in a canoe in Northern Saskatchewan. It seems that jousting with left-leaning, anti-American “no-globals,” bearded and aging sessantottini and priests while harvesting eggplant in Calabria was a bigger challenge than canoeing across the tundra. A recurring theme of conversation among the Libera … Continue reading Senso Civico