Born in #ancientRome, claimed by the #Vatican, hijacked by #Fascists — #Ferragosto (#Italy’s Aug 15 national beach holiday) has been around for 2,000+ years.
Once, it helped a guy steal the Mona Lisa. Read all about it here:
www.italiandispatch.com/p/the-ferrag...
A viral speech. A lucky break. A decade-long grind.
The story of how #GiorgiaMeloni went from political fringe to running #Italy -- and why she’s still dancing between extremes.
New in The Italian Dispatch: www.italiandispatch.com/p/io-sono-gi...
#ItalianPolitics #BrothersOfItaly #WorldNews
Procida felt on the verge of being a little too crowded, too touristy when I arrived over the weekend. But by Monday morning it’d redeemed itself — with silence, stillness, and this view.
My 1st night in #Procida and island authorities welcomed me personally with a special concert of traditional Neapolitan music at #CasaleVascello! Here's a 20-second sample:
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By complete coincidence, the date was also #EuropeanMusicDay, #WorldMusicDay, and the #SummerSolstice. #ItalianDispatch
It wasn't that long ago that Italy was the world's largest producer of bad wine. Now its wines are on par with the world's best. How'd that happen?
Read about it via the link, and subscribe to receive my weekly essays on Italian culture and history.
www.italiandispatch.com/p/the-wine-l...
Italy’s Genius Paradox
The latest from my newsletter, The Italian Dispatch
When the pope comes to your neighborhood in #Rome, you stop what you’re doing to make him feel welcome.
The second photo shows both St. Peter (the statue) and #PopeLeoXIV — the first and most recent popes.
Subscribe to www.ItalianDispatch.com for smart, un-romanticized, weekly insights into one of the world's most beautiful and perplexing countries. #ItalianDispatch #TheItalianDispatch
Most of us have let our natural sense of direction atrophy because we rely on our phones. How many other skills will atrophy with the AI generation?
The same fifth-century church figure inspired both Pope Leo XIV and Vice-President JD Vance. How is that even possible?
Read my Substack post about how St. Augustine is as relevant as ever: www.italiandispatch.com/p/ordering-l...
Click below to see what passes for "adult comment" ...
New #PopeXIV's first full day, his theology comes into focus, and life around #StPeter's returns to normal. My take on the day AFTER the day the American-Peruvian pontiff was first introduced, for the #WashingtonTimes
: authory.com/app/content/... #Conclave2025
This photo isn’t from the current papal #conclave (which start today), but from the one that elected #PopeFrancis a dozen years ago. But it still remains one of my favorite images I’ve taken in Italy.
#Rome doesn’t change quickly. But now and then you can feel it holding its breath. #Conclave2025
The #Papacy in a #Partisan Age": my new post on
#Substack. Please take a look, and if you find it informative subscribe to the newsletter.
www.italiandispatch.com/p/the-papacy...
Even after his death, #PopeFrancis brought unlikely people together. Here we see #DonaldTrump and #Ukraine's #VolodymyrZelenskyy and then both with France's #EmmanuelMacron and the U.K.'s #KeirStarmer in St. Peter's before the pontiff's funeral.
Catholic VP #JDVance has clashed with @pontifexes.bsky.social on big issues, and yet Vance was in #Rome for #Easter. What would the #Vatican do? In the end, #PopeFrancis and Vance met for a few brief minutes and Francis hardly spoke. Read my #WashTimes story: www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/ap...
Of all the #JDVance graffiti I saw in #Rome during his three-day visit that ended today, this one on the #Tiber River made me laugh most: "JD Vance, world's worst drag queen" -- a nod to the vice-president's alleged use of eyeliner (see www.youtube.com/shorts/-E1fO...)
#DonaldTrump accepted Italian PM #GiorgiaMeloni's invitation to come to #Rome to discuss his tariff policy toward the European Union. Meloni parrots #MAGA: "Make the West Great Again."
Get it? The Neanderthals are in charge.
(From the hilarious #PaulNoth in today's @newyorker.com )
Then they came for the journalists. We don't know what happened after that.
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#PressFreedom #FirstAmendment #Journalism #FourthEstate
