Factchecking: gender-based violence
Plus, ‘femminismo terrone’ and new music from Post-Nebbia
According to figures released this week by the grassroots organisation ‘Non una di meno’ 106 women have been killed in Italy so far in 2024 as a result of gender-based violence. It’s a year now since the murder of Giulia Cecchettin by her ex-boyfriend Filippo Turetta, and, sadly, as the numbers attest, the issue of femicide continues to plague Italian society. The country’s politicians seem to have retreated from any meaningful action. While successive governments have increased spending on “protecting women” from six to fifty seven million euros over the last decade, one has to wonder where exactly that money has gone. Italy still has some of the lowest number of women’s shelters and safe houses in Europe, and some of the most inadequate sex education. Media debates are still marred by sexist rhetoric, which, frequently, has a knock-on impact on judicial verdicts. Generally speaking, politicians only mention gender-based violence when it might help their campaigns. Some ministers, such as Giuseppe Valditara, are actively cultivating untruths. Last week, to take just one example, the education secretary gave a speech claiming that “illegal immigrants” were responsible for rising sexual crimes against women. Euronews, and other outlets, quickly published a fact-checking piece which, of course, proved this was nonsense. But the damage was already done; the lie entered the public imagination. Meanwhile, the real emergency continues. A recent report by Action Aid shows that 57% of Italian girls under 25 claim to be victims of sexual violence; a shocking statistic that certainly explains why tens of thousands took to the streets on 23 November to protest. Annalisa Camilli penned an eloquent op-ed about their arguments for Internazionale here (ITA only) and you can see images from the demonstrations over at Dinamo Press. Solidarity as ever with all who marched.
Sticking with the topic of women’s rights for a moment: I want to draw attention to a fine book about feminism in the Italian south which calls into question a lot of the stereotypes one might have about the prospects for social change in the Mediterranean. Claudia Fauzia and Valentina Amenta’s long essay Femminismo terrone. Per un’alleanza dei margini [southern feminism: for an alliance of the margins] (Oct 24, TLON) is an attempt to dispel readers of the lazy assumption that the South is “irremediably chauvinist” and “immune to any form of liberation.” By adopting a decolonial lens, the authors instead present Sicily, Calabria and Campania as “places of radical possibility,” home to “community spaces of resistance” with far more emancipatory potential than the capitalist saturated Northern regions. Fauzia and Amenta go as far as to call for “a cultural revolution” that could topple patriarchal norms but also, as they see it, and just as importantly, subvert the “North-South axis on which the hegemonic narrative is based.” For now the book itself is only available in Italian, though I’m told an ENG translation is also in the works. In the meantime, if you’re interested in finding out more you can check out this interview with Fauzia for Italy Segreta where she talks about the feminist organization Malafimmina and her ambitions for the future. Here’s the link.
Will you be in Tuscany any time over the next couple of weeks? If so, you might want to get yourself over to Lucca before Christmas to check out the city’s annual Photolux Festival which opened this week and which runs until 15 December. This year’s theme is il bel paese; a heavily ironized frame which invites the participants and audience alike to reflect on Italian identity in terms of extreme and contradictory poles: beauty and ugliness. Highlights include Massimo Mastrorillo’s ‘Omicidio bianco’ series, which documents workplace deaths in Italy, Gabriele Croppi’s ‘Metaphysical Italy’, which adopts a de Chirico like gaze to investigate the country’s changing urban landscape, and Sébastien Arrighi’s ‘Marmo Amore’, which explores the marble industry of the Apuan alps. If you can’t make it to Lucca, I highly recommend taking a quick 5-minute scroll though the website here which gives a good flavour of this year’s entries. Who knows? You may come away inspired.
Arts and culture: Black runs
I’ve got to admit, Forbes is not exactly my first port of call when looking for tips about Italian art. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised this week to come across a thoughtful piece in the luxury magazine by the journalist Stephan Rabimov dedicated to ‘7 Artists Redefining Italy’s Contemporary Art Scene,’ which I thought I’d share here. Yes, I know. This is a listicle. And Rabivo’s style is, at times, a little Chat-GPT-like. A few of the names will be familiar to readers already. Still, as a general introduction to the scene — and especially for anyone who wants to know a little more about Italian art beyond the Renaissance and Baroque and 20th Century classics — I think this is a well-considered overview. Rabimov focuses on the work of Irene Coppola, Silvia Rosi, Marta Roberti, Camilla Alberti, Sara Leghissa, Elena Mazzi, and Rosana Auqué among others; all figures that certainly deserve greater exposure. And while one would be tempted to include a few more sculptors – where, for example is Jago? – it’s encouraging to see an international publication such as Forbes providing such ample space to female Italian artists who are (perhaps) finally beginning to gain some recognition in a traditionally male-dominated sector. Bravo e brave.
The Venetian alternative rock band Post-Nebbia are back with a new record called Pista Nera this week, and I have to say this one absolutely slaps! The band has developed a unique signature sound over the years; a bizzare mash-up of psychedelia, punk, pop and funk inspired by the jagged guitar work of artists like Bloc Party, The Smile, Foals and Squid but topped off with synth heavy Italy-specific indie tropes of i Giornalisti, Subsonica and Calcutta et al. It’s the lyrics, though, that really set the band apart from the competition. Carlo Corbellini’s words are infused with wry, melancholic meditations on the “apocalyptic life of the pianura” which seem morbidly fitting for a world in crisis. I’m sure that Pista Nera will prove too depressing and ‘whiney’ for some tastes, but, in my humble opinion, this is one of the best albums to come out of the Italian alternative scene for a while [and Rolling Stone Magazine seems to agree.] So check out the single ‘Io non lo so’ below, stream the album on Spotify and, if you like what you hear, you can catch the band live on tour this winter at an indie venue near you.
Recipe of the week: canederli (in brodo)
With images of Christmas markets and the first snows starting to circulate on social media, I’ve found myself craving Alpine food. Canederli, also known in German as knödel, are a delicacy from the small villages around the ski slopes in the Dolomites and the perfect dish for this pre-festive season. Traditionally, these bready dumplings are prepared with onion, speck, cheese and sometimes chives. Generally, they’re then served floating in a light meat stock, though there are variations. In Friuli, for example, chefs like to prepare canederli with nettles and spinach, sometimes adding montasio and prosciutto to the broth. In Trento you’ll often find the dumplings fried in sage butter and topped with cheese right on the plate. There are vegetarian versions too, of course, which omit the meat entirely and are comprised, quite simply, of bread and greens. Whatever your personal preference, you’re going to need to get your proportions right. That’s why I’m sharing this link by ‘Great Italian Chefs’ as a basic guideline. This recipe will give you a foolproof guide to prepping your canederli mix, and from that point on you’ll be free to experiment according to your own tastes. So guten Appetit!
I’m Jamie Mackay, a UK-born, Italy-based writer, working at the interfaces of journalism, criticism, poetry, fiction, philosophy, travelogue and cultural-history. I set up ‘The Week in Italy’ to make a space to share a regular overview of the debates and dilemmas, innovations and crises that sometimes pass under the radar of our overcrowded news feeds, to explore politics, current affairs, books, arts and food. If you’re a regular reader, and you enjoy these updates, I hope you’ll consider becoming a supporter for EUR 5.00 per month. I like to think of it as a weekly catch-up chat over an espresso. Alternatively, if you’d like to send a one-off something, you can do so via PayPal using this link. Grazie!