Publication day!
Plus, Berlusconi's legacy and Martin Eden
As many of you will know already this Tuesday marked the launch of The Invention of Sicily. It was a momentous occasion. It’s been a six year journey to get the book out, and it’s a huge relief to finally share it with the world. I’ve been overwhelmed by all your messages, support and general interest. Thank you all so much. The reviews have also started coming in. A few, like AirMail and The Economist, have presented it as a travel book, which was certainly part of what I was going for. Though I also hope it will provoke some reflection about the deeper themes that go beyond the island itself: modernity, nationalism, the construction of the west. For a taster you might want to read the intro which Verso has published on their blog, or the conclusion, about migration, which is available as an essay on LitHub. Personally the most exciting bit so far has been listening to the audiobook version for the first time. The fact the narrator, John Lee, sounds just like Mr Peterman from Seinfeld, was a pleasant and very welcome surprise, and I think offers some wonderful added value to the text itself. Download via audible here.
Obviously the main news in Italy this week has been the country’s success in the UEFA European Football Championship final. Rather than dwelling more on the well-earned victory, though, I want to recommend a couple of articles you may have missed amidst the sporting fray. The first is an interview between the author David Broder and Angelo D’Orsi, an academic historian, and a biographer of Antonio Gramsci, who is putting himself forward as an independent candidate to be mayor of Turin. I was really struck by this exchange. On a linguistic level, I have to say I find the reference points a little outmoded. The “optimism of the will” and “pessimism of the intellect” don’t give much hope of the electoral prospects ahead. Caveats aside, though, the interview is an insightful look at Turin’s past and present: the moral bankruptcy of the Five Star Movement, the problems of air pollution, the rise of the precarious workforce, and the challenge of speaking about social change in a time of widespread apathy. If you can get past the jargon, it’s well worth a read.
The FT ran an interesting feature last week about Silvio Berlusconi’s plans to secure his political legacy. The 84-year-old has been in poor health for a couple of years now, and has suffered serious heart problems as well as a vicious Covid infection (he recently boasted, with typical bravado, to have had “the largest viral load the doctors in Milan have ever encountered”). Now, confronted with his mortality, he’s scrambling to ensure his party and media empire live-on beyond his death. In the short term, Berlusconi’s goal is to ensure that Forza Italia has a leading role in shaping a future centre-right coalition in the model of the U.S. Republicans, and that his children’s inheritance is protected. The FT interviewees, though, are sceptical of the longer-term prospects. As Daniele Albertazzi, an academic at Birmingham University, puts it: “No one inside Forza Italia really believes that the party can exist in a meaningful way without Berlusconi […] If he named a successor he could have helped the party survive after him, but it remains entirely dependent on his personality and even his funding.”
Arts and culture: Jack London in Naples
Pietro Marcello's award-winning film adaptation of Martin Eden has just been released in international cinemas and is now available to view on streaming services. I haven’t seen it yet, but it is, by most accounts, a strong contender for Italian film of the year. The screenplay is adapted from the Jack London novel of the same name, which follows the life of a poor dockworker who, after falling in love with an educated bourgeois woman, develops the ambition to become a writer. Marcello has transplanted the action to Naples, and the whole thing is shot in soft focus, with saturated colours and 16mm celluloid for a classic effect. I’ve heard good things from friends who’ve seen it, and based on the trailer it certainly looks worth a watch.
I was introduced to a curious new audio project this week called Italia ’70 the sound of political dissent. The show, curated by Lorenzo Cibrario for Soho radio, explores the soundtracks to the so-called ‘years of lead’; the turbulent and unfortunately very violent decade(s) in Italian history which ran roughly from 1969-1984/5. The first episode focuses on Genoa, and explores the work of Ramasandiran Somusundaram and other members of the city’s prog rock and funk scene who provided a sonic backdrop to the climate of social struggle. It’s an original and engaging approach to a complex and poorly understood bit of history. The playlist is excellent too.
Recipe of the week: arancini di riso
I’m still working on the launch event for the Sicily book. To mark the occasion, though, I did enjoy a small arancini party with some friends. These balls of breaded, fried risotto have been popularized around the world over the past few years. I’ve eaten fancy versions with mixed multicoloured rices in London, and tiny, gourmet portions in Amsterdam. The best I’ve had, though, was a giant, greasy specimen consumed at 5am in the station bar in Palermo before catching a northbound train. Lesson? There’s no need for messing about here. Felicity Cloake has a good overview of the nuances in the Guardian, but really this is simple fare: just whip up some risotto, let it cool, roll into balls and fry away. They’re perfect for summer parties, preferably served with a negroni or similarly hefty cocktail to cut through the fat.
That’s it for this week - as ever I do hope you enjoyed this instalment. If you haven’t already, please do follow the ‘Week in Italy’ Facebook page, or my twitter, for a few extra links and easy-access to the substack archive. If this email was forwarded to you, or you’re accessing on the web and would like to receive further updates, you can subscribe using this link below. Thanks!
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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