The Chameleon
Plus, memes of the year and Alice Rohrwacher’s best film yet
Georgia Meloni is the most powerful politician in Europe right now. This, at least, is the view of POLITICO magazine who this week awarded the Italian PM the top slot in their annual “class of 2024 doers” list. In a short feature explaining the rationale behind the ranking, the judges refer to Meloni as “the chameleon” citing her apparently successful transformation from a far-right firebrand into a ‘trustworthy’ centre-right, pro-Atlanticist, pro-NATO member of the establishment. It’s true, to some extent, that Meloni has altered her political style. Of course she has. Governing a country is, after all, an entirely different task than running a (populist) campaign. Still, while the article does provide an unusually clear month by month overview of Meloni’s time in office so far, the judges have also let her off the hook a little too easily. In a paragraph beginning “it hasn’t all been smooth sailing”, for example, the magazine limits itself to the example of last month’s prank call where two Russian comics duped the PM into revealing foreign policy insights. That’s it. There’s no mention of Meloni’s cuts to public services, her tax breaks for the rich, her acceleration of privatisation, the strikes that are grinding the country, regularly, to a halt. No mention either of the discontent in her own ranks, the clownish bafoonery, incompetence and corruption of her cohort. This is, in other words, a highly selective interpretation of the actual situation on the ground here. But I wanted to flag it nevertheless as a revealing indicator of Italy’s changing status, and increasing importance, on the international stage. As the judges conclude: “With voters around the EU heading to the ballots in June and Meloni’s Brothers of Italy looking stronger than ever, it’s no secret that the center-right European People’s Party has been courting the Italian leader — perhaps with an eye on a post-election tie-up that could redraw the European political landscape.”
The small Municipality of Ladispoli found itself at the centre of intense public debate this week regarding the local government’s choice of entertainment for next month’s New Year’s Eve concert. Emis Killa, the rapper, was due to headline the prime-time slot during the Capodanno celebrations. This was, to be fair, a somewhat dubious proposition considering that his lyrics include lines such as “I'd rather know you're dead than with someone else. I'm coming to shoot you […] I want to see life escape from your eyes.” Killa has defended his work, arguing he was aiming to “highlight the sickness of those who kill” as a way of “raising awareness and denouncing femicide.” Nevertheless, on the back of last week’s large scale feminist mobilisations, civil society groups, parties and associations have rejected this explanation - arguing, with some validity, that “the money would be better allocated to other artists, capable of really questioning the patriarchal norms that cause such tragic consequences." The mayor of Ladispoli, Alessandro Grando, removed Killa from the bill yesterday morning. But there’s clearly a far bigger and more important conversation to be had here about artistic freedom, the ethics (and possible limits) of performative violence, and the relationship between art and politics itself.
This one’s for all you meme-lovers out there: last weekend in Turin, Italy’s most irreverent, anarchic and in many cases hilarious content-producers gathered to participate in the second annual “Memissima festival.” The three-day conference, sponsored by the Fondazione CRT, was comprised of book presentations, lectures and panel debates about “digital viral communications”. As per tradition the proceedings concluded with a tongue in cheek award show (with prizes given out for the best political memes, tourism memes, sport memes and so on.) This year, the ‘winner’ of the most prestigious award, the ‘most memed’ personality of the year, was Gerry Scotti, the TV presenter. If you don’t live in Italy: Scotti is an everyman Italian. A bullshitting, constantly gesticulating, slightly-sleazy, but still fairly affable raconteur (and at the same time a low key national embarrassment). Throughout 2023 memers have been using photoshop, deepfakes and other tools to transplant Scotti into films, political speeches and so on; the joke, essentially, being that he captures the “Italian spirit” in its most cringeworthy stereotypical form. If you have no idea what I’m on about you’ll find some good examples on Memissima’s social media accounts (worth bookmarking, anyway, to keep abreast of the latest trends in Italian online comedic chaos.) Wired magazine also has a good summary of the best memes, from all categories, here.
Arts and culture: the Guardians of Italian Cinema
Alice Rohrwacher’s new film ‘La Chimera’ was released this week in Italian cinemas and it’s already getting rave reviews from international critics. Set in 1980s Tuscany, the film follows a ragtag band of outcasts who – finding themselves adrift in Italy’s post-industrial society – take to the countryside to plunder the nation’s historical artefacts. If you’re familiar with Rohrwacher’s work you’ll recognise a clear link with the poetic universe the director so powerfully established in her last major feature ‘Happy as Lazzaro’ (2018). Rohrwacher is, after all, a kind of cinematic magician. Her on screen worlds are mysterious, enigmatic and heavily stylised. Magical, yes, but not in a magic realist sense. In one memorable scene from the latest film, Arthur, our protagonist, impresses some potential followers using a dowling rod to locate lost Etruscan treasure. As he proceeds with the arcane ritual, one observer turns to the camera to announce that “she loves the Etruscans for their sensitivity”, and that, “if the Romans hadn’t killed them off, they might have saved Italy from its machismo.” My verdict? Rohrwacher’s done it again. ‘La Chimera’ is an ingenious work that will only reinforce her status as the country’s finest living director. If you watch just one Italian film from 2023, this should be it.
Sticking with films for a moment: after months of silence the ever-divisive Paolo Sorrentino has finally opened-up about his latest project. This week the photographer Greg Williams posted some “stolen photos” from the set of the director’s forthcoming film - the working title of which is ‘Partenope’. The images were accompanied by a somewhat cryptic statement on the part of the director who described the project as “a film about Naples” but “freed from myth and siren songs.” Apparently, from what I’ve managed to clunkily translate, the film will be a meditation on the city’s “entire long repertoire of existence… carefreeness, slights of hand, classic beauty and inexorable change.” It will also be a romantic film about “useless and impossible crushes, doomed flirtations and the dizziness of love at first sight, the nights of Capri, flashes of happiness and persistent pain, real fathers and invented ones, the end of things, new beginnings.” Quite how any of this meandering ramble will work onscreen is anyone’s guess. But the premise, at least, seems rather more interesting than some of the director’s recent output. The cast is almost entirely Italian, but I was intrigued to see Gary Oldman has a leading role playing what appears to be some kind of Marcello Mastroianni-esque pimped-up businessman. The release date, as things stand, is scheduled for Q2 2024. So watch this space.
Recipe: Artichoke Risotto with Capocollo and Pecorino
Risotto is always a bit of a risky dish. A lot of the time if the rice is wrong, or the stock is unbalanced, or the combination of elements is just uninteresting, you’ll end up with a splodge of heavy, hard to digest, uninspiring goo. Approached with love, creativity and top quality ingredients, however, this one-time-peasant fare can be levelled-up into a relatively simple “fine dining” experience that’s entirely realisable in a home kitchen. This recipe by Milan-born Giorgia Eugenia Goggi – head chef at the Masseria Moroseta in Puglia – is one to convince the naysayers. The base is a thick, slightly bitter artichoke pesto, mixed with potato for added creaminess. Goggi then adds lemon juice for sourness, cured pork for saltiness and a little pecorino to boost the umami. The result is heavy, sure, but well-balanced and not at all cloying. Serve in small portions as an entrée to roasted meats and/or vegetable dishes as the nights draw in. Sará una bomba, I promise. 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.
If you enjoyed this newsletter I hope you’ll consider becoming a supporter for EUR 5.00 per month (the price of a weekly catch-up over an espresso). Alternatively, if you’d like to send a one-off something, you can do so via PayPal using this link. No worries if you can’t chip-in or don’t feel like doing so, but please do consider forwarding this to a friend or two. It’s a big help.