Inarea 
This cap has a name and surname, one that loves minute details, sleepless nights and drugs. Yet, today isn’t Sherlock Holmes Day. Let’s instead introduce Gilbert Keith Chesterton, just in case his name doesn’t ring a bell straight away: he was almost a contemporary of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and, like him, was born in … Read more
Porto Venere (which in Italian means “Port Venus”) is a pearl in the Ligurian Sea, bathed not only by the Goddess of Love after whom it is named, but also by the exhaustion of poet Lord Byron when he swam the stretch of sea separating it from the small coastal town of Lerici. Byron championed … Read more
Yesterday was International Holocaust Remembrance Day. And the fact that today is the day-after isn’t a good reason to forget everything. To switch our sensibilities on and off as if they were devices, to change our moods according to what happens to be on offer there, is one of the limitations of this day and … Read more
Florence is a shining city: one of its bridges is dedicated to goldsmiths and, traditionally, the feast day everyone looks forward to is St John’s Tide (24 June) when the Baptistery’s Silver Altar (which is kept under nitrogen for the rest of the year) is shown to worshippers. This treasure, which took more than a … Read more
In The Crown, Season 1, we see a very young Queen Elizabeth II receiving a meaningful lesson from her grandmother Queen Mary; her task as head of state is to do nothing and be impartial at all times. The monarch’s duty is to inspire unshakeable certainties: the less she does, the better. That is what … Read more
If we delve into the etymology of the word “Epiphany” we discover that it actually means “manifestation” (as well as “revelation” or “realization”) (1). In the Western Christian tradition, yesterday we commemorated the Magi’s adoration of Baby Jesus, the feast day also marking His first public appearance. As the Gospel According to St Matthew recounts, … Read more
As if we were catapulted into Hogwarts castle, let’s imagine entering a dark room and, candelabra in hand, illuminate all the scenes of this year one by one. Perhaps for some we deserve a slap (not a slap, not even Boniface VIII). But for others, we couldn’t help but give ourselves a caress. There will … Read more
In “The Jungle Book” Mowgli is saved by Kaa the snake who frees him from a tribe of apes by hypnotising them. Some specialists trace our ancestral fear of this reptile back to that felt by primates from whom, non-coincidentally, we are said to descend. The fact is that snakes do hypnotise us: it happened … Read more
The jazz musician Gil Evans used to say that all art should be an experiment, and that masterpieces were successful experiments. In 1839 Charles Goodyear accidentally dropped some India rubber (compounded with sulphur) onto a hot stove and discovered that this caused the rubber to vulcanize. After that moment, transport would never be the same … Read more
Luigi Meneghello is one of the least-known Italian writers, yet also one of the most brilliant of his times. He was born in a rural town in the Venetia region but moved to England after the War. There, far from his homeland, he devoted himself to Italian Studies and the teaching of Italian. This was … Read more
