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Beware of My Dreaded Lasagne Stare

Unbeknown to me, my withering lasagne stare sent nonno – granddad – scurrying for home in Genoa. The next time round, I finished him off with asparagus. This is what I was informed by my Italian other half who recounted a recent telephone conversation with her father – nonno to our son. Apparently, when he […]

Fireworks in Italy Kill Humans and Animals

When Italy sees in the New Year, some if the nation’s population never see the new year they were celebrating.  Hundreds of Italians are injured by fireworks. Animals die in droves. This year was different though. Italy’s steps to reduce the nation’s New Year’s firework addiction appear to be having an effect. Although two people did lose […]

Eros Ramazzotti – Un Angelo Disteso Al Sole

This track Un Angelo Disteso Al Sole – An Angel Lying in the Sun – by Italian pop star Eros Ramazzotti is doing well in Italy’s charts at the moment. Un Angelo Disteso Al Sole is the highest placed Italian song in MTV Italy’s current Hit List Italia. Ramazzotti’s brand of pop ballads tend to […]

What Have Italy and Egypt Got in Common?

Both nations share the same assets: Brilliant people, and both suffer from the same problem: a rotten system. “Brilliant people, rotten system,” was the poignant observation of Ben Wedeman, CNN’s senior correspondent in Cairo, Egypt via Twitter. I have to say I wholeheartedly agree with Wedeman’s observations so far as it applies to Italy – very […]

Tipping in Italy – Basically, Don’t Bother

Of all the Italy travel tips you are likely to hear, this one on tipping in Italy may well save you money and could even prevent you from offending the locals. First off, you should know that Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg did not leave a tip after having a meal in a Rome restaurant, and […]

Arriving in Florence

The first article by Italy Chronicles Florence-based intern, journalism student, Diana Besser from Chicago, on her initial impressions of Florence, one of Italy’s most famous cities and how its citizens react to Americans. When I first arrived in Florence about a week ago I did not know what to exactly expect. Why Florence? I initially […]

Sicily is Mafia

Actually, it isn’t, but that is the stereotype which affects Italy’s southern island.  Some would blame the Godfather movies for engraving this image on Sicily. It is true that organized crime is a problem in Sicily, but that does not make all Sicilians criminals.  The problem for Sicilians is that the criminals which inhabit their […]

England is Sixty Years Behind Italy, and Suppresses Underwear!

Perusing Italy’s press as I often do, I came across a letter on the website of the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero which caught my eye because the title was “Osservazioni dall’Inghilterra” – in English: “Observations from England“. Ah, I thought, this will be interesting – the opinion of an Italian on my green and wet […]

CapoSud Magazine – Raising Cultural Awareness in Italy

In that land of contrasts which is Italy, at one end of the spectrum, we have the Lega Nord which has been labelled as being xenophobic, right wing, and racist, and despite attempts to water down this impression, most probably is, and then we have socially aware politicians, such as Nichi Vendola, the president of the southern Italian region of Apulia, who are genuinely working to make the world a better place.