ince I arrived in Italy, the number of homegrown things I can’t do without, replace or substitute has shrunk. Fresh cranberries actually appear in season and Ikea’s lingonberry jam can pass as cranberry jelly. Skype has made calling home cheap. Amazon keeps my bookshelf (too) filled. But one thing I do miss and it isn’t “coming soon” is a real American public library. I mean … Continue reading Collection of Hope

Did you ever wonder why friendships with the other sex were tricky? Or why even an intelligent woman might feel inexplicably prone to acts of incompetence in the presence of an interesting man? Or why groups of women dedicate huge amounts of time to examining their friends’ partners? What is gossip for and is jealously necessary? Is rape inevitable? What are the origins of war … Continue reading The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating

Two items in the Milan section of Corriere della Sera recently caught my eye. The first announced the closure of the Marisa stores on Via Sant’Andrea and the second the comune’s decision to remove the rounded concrete pylons, known as panettoni that — in the name of traffic control — lurk stealthily below sight lines to the chagrin of inattentive or inexperienced motorists. Usually news items in my column illustrate broader messages … Continue reading Milan Quiz

Call this one a wasted opportunity. All the ingredients are there: the author’s difficult relationship with a polymath father who loves firearms, parental conflict, the mystery of her father’s apparently secret second life as an American spy during World War II and the de-Nazification period, unknown chapters of American espionage. The writing is journalese and the sentiment, like any sentiment that is poorly written, is … Continue reading My Father’s Secret War

Since brainpower does for me what the new 007’s pecs do for more normal women, an article in the Economist some time ago caught my eye (“The Brain Business,” October 12, 2006). It discussed a policy brief on the “use and abuse” of Europe’s brainpower published by a Brussels-based think tank called The Lisbon Council. Inspired by The Economist‘s report and its startling news about Italy, I … Continue reading The Human Factor

The sequel to at least two other books, this one finds author dashing about Umbria looking for the home of her dreams or up to her arms in flour or shopping in Florence. While the writing occasionally made this reviewer envious and while this reviewer happily, as an American woman, roots for the tough little lady who makes a life on her own terms and … Continue reading The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria

It would be hard to imagine a better book on the subject than this one. The writing is orderly and correct, concise and colorful; rare enough for an Anglophone academic, miraculous for an Italian one. Astarita does both “traditional”— dates and battles — and “popular” history. He untangles dynasties and alliances (the Two Sicilies, Wars of the Spanish Succession anyone?) and illustrates popular music, theater, … Continue reading Between Salt Water and Holy Water: A History of Southern Italy

It must be clear — perhaps too clear — to readers of this column that I have a crusade about stereotypes in writing on Italy and Italians. So I was happy that one of the nicest things in life — a book recommendation from a reliable friend — also brought me an odd ally; Florentine writer Tommaso Landolfi. My friend was on a Landolfi binge, … Continue reading Landolfi’s Method

oday it rained. There was a transport strike. A car running a red light sprayed me. At school, parents terrified that their children might get wet, blocked traffic with Cayennes and BMW X5s parked three deep. A phone “disappeared” at rugby practice. Normally this magazine’s lead time does not permit me to vent about situations that will be old news by press time. But since … Continue reading My Favorite Things

I recently grumbled to a friend that in three weeks in the U.S. I had taken six flights and been “randomly” selected for extra searching four times. “Try six out of six,” was the rejoinder. A Muslim-sounding name and Indian roots trumped an Oshkosh upbringing and Princeton education, and tainted forever his definition of “random.” This sad fact of my friend’s life, whose implications must … Continue reading At Face Value