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A Sign of Changing Cultural Times in Milan

Chinese post office advert Milan

I saw this advert on a post office window in Milan, Italy, and thought it reflected how times are changing in Italy. The Chinese are now running all manner of businesses in Italy. In the Via Paolo Sarpi area of Milan, there are Chinese run electronics stores, electronics repair stores, jewellers, supermarkets, cake shops. wholesale […]

Italy – Land of Hope

italy-feature

Everybody in Italy is full of hope. Well, it is said hope springs eternal. Here’s a list of Italy’s hopeful and their hopes. It is not a short list. Hopefully, you’ll understand why. The Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi is hoping the EU will grant him flexibility. He’s also hoping the EU won’t get too sick of […]

The Testing Intestinal Troubles of Italian Women

I’ve never understood quite why, but Italian women do seem to suffer from terrible issues with their intestines. To help deal with these intestinal womanly woes, inventive Italy has several solutions, one of which is a type of yoghurt, but there are others. The wonder yoghurt promises the return of ‘regularity‘; in other words, after consuming it, […]

How Trustworthy Are Italians?

Italians are not trustworthy for the simple reason that they do not trust one another. This means you would be wise not to trust Italians. Italy’s official Statistics office, ISTAT, is a treasure trove of information on Italy. Amongst many other aspects of Italy, ISTAT also monitors levels of trust, and has been doing so since 2010. […]

Italian Women Making a Noise

It’s been a noisy week in Italy…what with doors banging on Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s ageing Lothario – no more,  manicured nails screeching across parliament in protest and lady senators decrying the end of democracy as we know it. This outpouring of female love for the man who once said he would defend women’s causes… but […]

All is Not What it Seems in Italy

All is a fairly innocuous looking word, it means, well, all. In Italian, the equivalent of “all” is “tutto”, but the Italian word does not mean the same as “all” in English. Surprised? I thought you might be, so I’ll explain. Let’s start with an example: Imagine there are 20 people in a room. 10 […]

Help The Doctor’s Daughter Save an Arts Center

Would you like the help the Doctor's Daughter?

The Doctor’s Daughter, La Figlia del Dottore, is an Italian band which is attempting to raise money to help save Turin’s Atelier Teatro Fisico arts center. The Atelier Teatro Fisico needs money to refurbish its accommodation so the arts center can continue its work. It will cost between €45.000-€50.000 ($59,000-65,000,00 dollars) to carry out the works, money which […]

Book Review: Italian Ways – Tim Parks Latest Attempt to Fathom Out Italy

Tim Parks, the author the best selling book Italian Neighbors has written a new book: Italian Ways: On and Off the Rails from Milan to Palermo. Being someone who, like Parks, lives in Italy and has more than a little experience of Italy’s railway system, I was curious to discover what Parks’ had to say about […]