The Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein left us a dictum which should be distilled generously: “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof we must remain silent” . If by “speaking” we mean “explaining”, point-by-point, would anyone be able to explain what Amazon is today? Yesterday it sold books, today it’s a shopping basket overflowing with everything under the … Read more
20 November 1959 is the date when the UN General Assembly adopted the “Declaration of the Rights of the Child” which was later enshrined in the “Convention” signed by 196 countries. Fifty-four articles from which four fundamental principles stand out: the right to non-discrimination (art.2), the respect of the best interests of the child (art.3), … Read more
The inauguration of a museum doesn’t just bespeak paintings, sculptures and prints; it’s always a political event that tells us something about the times. Today, the Louvre brand exports its artefacts in excess to whoever can afford to rent them (see the homonymous museum in Abu Dhabi). In 1819, the Prado was being inaugurated during … Read more
The Teddy Bear is the toy of toys, the one that sits under the Christmas Tree and with which children cuddle up for comfort when the lights are switched off. It gets its name, however, from an inveterate hunter: former United States President Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt. The story goes that during a hunting trip in … Read more
The story of the Suez Canal isn’t actually modern history. The Romans themselves had tried with determination to facilitate transportation across the Mediterranean. Pity, though, that the isthmus they built wasn’t as determined as them and silted up during the Byzantine Empire. In later times, Napoleon also became obsessed by the Canal idea, but was … Read more
The word “diet” comes from the Greek and can be translated as “a way of life” and there’s no doubt that the Mediterranean one is a series of one-way streets that all meet up at what is, according to UNESCO, “the foundation of the cultural identity and continuity of communities”: mealtime. To better grasp this … Read more
Friulan is one of the few Italian dialects to enjoy the status of ‘language’, and if there’s one word that’s banished from a Friulan dictionary, that word is “Tocai”, a wine which used to represent an entire community. At the origin of the word’s forced withdrawal is its assonance with the name of a Hungarian … Read more
Apparently, when Monet’s “Water Lilies” were displayed at the Orangerie in Paris, only lovers in search of a secluded place for their rendezvous flocked to the exhibition. The artist died a year before seeing the paintings installed, thereby probably saving himself the disappointment of also seeing them unappreciated. And yet he had spent a lot … Read more
“Make kindness the norm” is today’s slogan. An objective that can be best achieved by random acts of daily kindness until, good deed after good deed, we find ourselves steeped in it. It’s only then that we’ll be able to spread our surplus positive spirit around. In the meantime, all we need to do is … Read more
We don’t often think of it, but automobile designs influence the way we see the life of a city. The T1 Volkswagen camper is a point in case, the concept of which is credited to a Dutch importer of Volkswagen “Beetles”. It’s a known-fact that anything destined to become iconic has to be characterised by … Read more
