Law and Disorder
Plus, Punk Fashion and Måneskin team up with Tom Morello
Back in October 2022, Georgia Meloni’s government announced a series of dramatic measures that were supposed to shake up Italy’s political system. Within a couple of weeks of taking power, lawmakers cobbled together new dramatic legislation to criminalize raves, “block” refugees at sea, and enable small shops to decline card payments. Well, a few months in, the coalition is learning that it cannot really fulfil any of those commitments. Over the past weeks Meloni has been forced to announce a series of u-turns on just about all of the above measures: re-writing her law on mass gatherings and re-regulating everything from migration quotas to cash-based accounting in line with EU legislation. Some are enjoying the apparent revelation that the new PM is “just like the others.” Personally, I don’t think she is. Or not exactly. Fratelli d’Italia’s courting of far-right groups represents a serious threat to democracy, and as and when Meloni’s popularity starts to peak there’s still a real risk she’ll push hard on social issues, most likely by attacking abortion rights. Nevertheless, that said, it’s hard not to agree with at least some of this recent editorial in L’Espresso: “months ago we were all afraid of a new March on Rome. What we got was a government of backtrackers […] more than a neo-fascist danger, the new rulers’ danger is their opportunism and indecisiveness.” Ignazio La Russa, President of the Italian Senate, seemed to perfectly embody the implications of this truth during a speaking engagement in Lombardy on Monday during which he proceeded to (un-ironically) mansplain how to cook pasta alla norma. This is Italy. A political event. In winter 2023. Mamma mia ragazzi.
The biggest, more substantive, news of the week concerns some apparent progress in the struggle against the mafia. On Monday, law enforcement in Palermo succeeded in tracking down and arresting Matteo Messina Denaro, one of Cosa Nostra’s most powerful and notorious bosses who’s been in hiding for 30 years. Denaro is a real bastard. In the 1990s, as “second in command” to Toto Riina he helped mastermind a series of terrorist attacks across the peninsula including those at the Uffizi and via Palestro in Milano which claimed 10 lives. “I’ve filled a cemetery all on my own,” he once boasted. The circumstances around the mobster’s arrest are film-worthy indeed. A few months ago, officers apparently received a tip off that Denaro was undergoing cancer treatment under a false name at a suburban hospital near the Sicilian capital. Following an investigation involving biometrics, fake IDs and wire-taps, the caribinieri eventually ambushed him, after a chemotherapy session, grabbing him by the wrists and loading him into an armored vehicle [the somewhat surreal video below shows bystanders and masked military police fist-bumping one another shortly after the historic arrest.] Yes, Cosa Nostra will no doubt regroup soon enough, but this is a setback; and if Denaro decides to collaborate it could even prove a major blow for organized crime in Italy and beyond. If you’re interested in the process that led to the arrest, The Local IT has more details.
From Pitti Uomo in Florence to Men’s Fashion Week in Milan, January 2023 has been all about AW23 collections. It’s always a funny time of year. The glamour world is out in force with Prada, Armani, Gucci, Fendi et al capturing headlines for their sometimes beautiful and artistic but all too often prohibitively expensive and poorly-made garments. This is a time when the dynamics of the industry are at their most nakedly grotesque, but it’s also a time when designers tend to question some of the industry’s (many) bad practices. I am by no means a fashion journalist but scrolling through the pictures I did pause at this year’s Simon Cracker collection by Simone Botte and Filippo Biraghi (a duo who until a few months ago were threatening to leave the business altogether due to issues of sexism, inequalities and waste.) Instead, the pair settled on “BUT NO”, an “upcycled” collection created in collaboration with Gaia Segattini and Jamie Reid (the Sex Pistols’ art director) which, as you’d expect with those figures, owes its debt to punk culture of the 70s-90s. The theme is “productive anger” as manifest in “tailored clothes encrusted with silicone that cracks if worn”, “coats made from handmade blankets” and “knitwear made of leftover yarn swatches.” Vivianne Westwood would probably have loved this stuff - and whatever you think personally there’s no denying it’s more exciting and stimulating than most of the usual luxury brand detritus. Check out these images at I-D Magazine for a taster of the aesthetic.
Arts and culture: Big Town Gossip
Tuesday marked the first major literature release of 2023 as far as translations from Italian go. Alba de Céspedes’s Foribidden Notebook is a self-described ‘classic domestic novel’ set in a working class suburb of Rome in the years immediately after the Second World War. There is something akin to Ettore Scola’s A Special Day (1977) going on here, thematically at least. The plot follows a dissatisfied lower middle class housewife who begins writing a secret diary in which she relentlessly rips apart the hypocritical delusions of her peers while probing the sexual and romantic frustrations of existing, as a woman, in a collapsing still-somewhat-fascist world. This edition, in a new translation by Anne Goldstein, with an introduction by Jhumpa Lahiri, is being heavily marketed at fans of Natalia Ginzburg and Elena Ferrante. And while the comparisons seem vulgar and reductive for all parties I do get that to some degree. One only hopes this release will stand the test of time on its own feet and enable readers around the world to finally become acquainted with Céspedes on the basis of her own unique talent. Order here, though Astra House.
Maneskin, the Sanremo-Eurovision-winning pop rock group and the first Italian band to make a real impression outside the country in decades are starting off the New Year with a bang which - perhaps - suggests their relentless energy and marketing prowess may continue to live on to some extent in 2023. Over the weekend the band dropped a surprise new single called Gossip which (like everything the band does) set parts of the internet alight. Hardcore fans have been busy debating, among other things, whether the new, more polished, Paramore-esque sound is a step forward for the band or an all-too-squeaky-clean-a-departure from their grungier origins. Personally, I’m not that interested in the polemics. Maneskin are OK, sure, but they’ve always suffered from being overhyped. As for this song, in substance, it’s basically a Panic at the Disco! throwback tune with a just-about-passable (though rather random) guitar solo from RATM’s Tom Morello. Yes, it’s all a bit shallow. But who really cares? Maneskin have always been about fun over substance. And it’s also fun! Love them or hate them, this emo nostalgist - for one - will be listening to the full album, Rush, when it drops on Spotify tomorrow. In the meantime here’s the new video [warning: NSFW].
Recipe of the week: Castelfranco, blood orange, pomegranate, mint and ubriaco salad
It’s a few years now since the Italian-born London-based chef Tim Siadatan released a cookbook about his life’s work at the restaurant Trullo, but it’s still one of my absolute favorites. This week I want to stick with the citrus theme to share this excellent side dish of what is, in-essence, a next level take on radicchio, fennel and orange salad. As with last week’s recipe don’t worry if you can’t get all the elements here. Normal oranges, and a decent radicchio will do you fine. Nevertheless, at the same time, given the simplicity, this dish does depend on quality raw ingredients. Definitely head to the market if you want to rustle this one up. And follow Siadatan’s instructions to the letter. It’s the little things that make this such a joy to eat: the chopping, the precise balance of the dressing. You could serve this with any kind of secondo you want: some steamed fish, involtini, a vegetarian meatball, baked mushrooms, whatever. Personally I think the salad pairs particularly well with a bit of boiled crab, spread over toasted bread with garlic aioli. Not one for everyday cooking, I know. But - personally - this is my perfect Saturday brunch on a dreary winter morning. Here’s the link.
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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