In fair Verona
Plus, Naples in NYC and a podcast on Pico della Mirandola
A couple of weeks ago, Italy’s centre left was buoyed after a relatively good performance in the local elections. Well, supporters of the PD and associated parties now have even more cause for cautious optimism. During the runoffs which took place on 26 June progressive coalitions won 7 out of the 13 contests. This might not sound like much, but when you consider that the left was also able to gain four cities from conservative candidates - where the incumbents were the favourites - the picture gets more interesting. Take Verona, where Fratelli d’Italia has been governing for the past five years on an anti-abortion mandate. Their candidate was usurped last week by Damiano Tommasi, an ex football player who, just a few months ago, launched a political career as a green/liberal. This was a dramatic swing indeed and analysts have been offering all kinds of explanations as to how it was able to occur: from the bitter factional rivalry between Matteo Salvini and Georgia Meloni to a more general anxiety about democratic backsliding in the U.SA. The Secretary of the PD, Enrico Letta, for his part, has credited “young people, women and small party candidates” for the victories, adding that Verona offers “an important lesson for the next elections.” Who’d have thought it eh?
The author Edward Posnett published a beautifully written feature for Guardian Books last week about a small town in Tuscany, Pieve Santo Stefano, which has earned itself the reputation as being “Italy’s town of diaries.” The story began decades ago when a journalist Saverio Tutino purchased a small property to host his collection of personal notebooks. In a moment of democratic inspiration, however, Tutino decided to use this space not just as a storage unit but as a repository and library for biographical and autobiographical texts of any kind, written in Italian, by anyone, regardless of literary merit. “Within [the Pieve Santo Stegano collection]”, writes Posnett, “you will find the writings of Italian contadini (peasants), immigrants, aristocrats, criminals, factory workers, victims of violence, business executives, drug addicts, partisans, fascists, communists, the semi-illiterate, the over-educated and, yes, students nursing literary ambitions.” Fascinating right? If, like me, you’re interested in finding out more check out the full essay, as well as the foundation’s website which boasts extensive materials about the past and present of the initiative. I’m planning my visit already.
VICE magazine published an interesting [ITA] interview this week with Giuseppe Giammetta, a Matera born photographer now working out of Rome and New York. In the piece, Giammetta talks about his latest project ‘I figli di san gennaro’ which documents the Neapolitan community living in NYC’s Little Italy, and specifically their annual celebration of the patron saint. In reality the number of South Italians in New York has been declining steadily since the 1970s but, as Giammetta shows, a strong core still remain who, generations on, hold their roots close. Do read the interview if you’re an Italian speaker: it contains some genuinely fascinating, and intimate reflections on decades of migration. Otherwise just scroll through the images at this link for some extraordinary street scenes (that seem to have been teleported out of Naples itself). If you like what you see make sure to follow Giuseppe on Instagram too.
Arts and culture: experimenting with the apocalypse
The second season of philosopher Federico Campagna’s podcast Overmorrow’s Library has just launched in collaboration with the Centre d'Art Contemporain Genève and I couldn’t be more excited. This series will be exploring “world building, world ending and travel through worlds” through a number of short lectures and interviews with scholars and artists. The first episode is dedicated to the Renaissance thinker Pico della Mirandola’s ‘Heptaplus’; a regrettably under-studied text that in 1489 provided a convincing argument for universalist ethics and human rights as moral rebuttals to religious and ethnic sectarianism. Federico’s analysis is as thought-provoking as you’d expect and I think he does a great job situating Mirandola’s thinking within the larger political and historical realities of his age. So if you’re interested in Renaissance Italy, or philosophy, this is a must listen (and while I’m at it I can’t not make a plug for last season’s finale ft. DJ Francesco Fusaro on musical cosmologies from Ancient Greece to Aphex Twin which, yes, is just as mind-blowing as it sounds….)
STIR magazine published a nice little interview with the Italian illustrator Emiliano Ponzi this week, about his life, craft and – in particular - some beautiful posters he produced for last month’s Italian design week in Milan. The pieces in question, if you haven’t seen them, are a series of postcards “from the past to the future”, dedicated to the changing face of the Italian business capital over the years. Ponzi focuses his gaze on transformations in fashion, technology and architecture, bathing the metropolis in a distinctive, oneiric shade of red to communicate his vision. In the piece he provides a genuinely intimite insight into his process and method of creating digital images; emphasising the importance of emotion, warmth and sensitivity over pure technical precision. Even if illustration isn’t your thing I highly recommend checking out this link to feast your eyes on some of Ponzi’s best work, including NYRB covers, images for a Haruki Murakami story and MOMAs New York subway map to name just a few.
Recipe of the week: cipollate catanesi
With BBQ season now well underway I thought I’d take this opportunity to share a little ‘assemblage’ that packs a real unexpected flavour punch. Cipollate catanesi are basically spring onions, wrapped in pork, charred over coals for a couple of minutes, diced and served with lemon. As the name suggests, these little umami nuggets hail from the Sicilian city of Catania where they are – generally – eaten in the streets around the central market. Personally, though, I associate them more with Palermo’s bustling Vucciria and Ballaro neighbourhoods, where the plumes of chacoaly smoke seem always to be rising into the air. This is street food that no Sicilian would ever dream of calling street food. It’s a no frills beer snack, or appetiser, which just so happens to be exquisite. There’s no need for a recipe here, though Rachel Roddy has a few instructions if you’re curious. The only thing I’d emphasise myself is that is you really need to source fresh pancetta or thinly sliced-pork belly here. Cured meat or thicker cuts are too salty and wont provide the alchemical magic of texture and flavour that this perfect preparation so wonderfully exhibits.
About Me
My name is Jamie Mackay (@JacMackay) and I’m an author, editor and translator based in Florence. I’ve been writing about Italy for a decade for international media including The Guardian, The Economist, Frieze, and Art Review. I launched ‘The Week in Italy’ to share a more direct and regular overview of the debates and dilemmas, innovations and crises that sometimes pass under the radar of our overcrowded news feeds.
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