I’ve been hard at work over the past few days putting the final touches on a long essay about the rise and rise of the Italian far-right. I’ll be honest, it’s depressing stuff - but I’m looking forward regardless to sharing some ideas about what I think democrats could reasonably do in the months ahead to resist Italy’s most egregious neo-fascist tendencies and regain influence inside and outside of parliament. In the meantime, while I mull over some edits, I thought I’d share a few links I’ve found thought-provoking over the past week or so. This piece by David Broder in the New York Times, for example, offers a particularly eloquent account of the real threat Georgia Meloni and Fratelli d’Italia pose to the country and an important wake-up call for anyone downplaying the dangers inherent in their worldview. It’s been doing the rounds on the Italian internet too, and it’s easy to see why. Hannah Roberts, meanwhile, has published what is to my mind the definitive account of how the Draghi administration actually collapsed. Honing in on a secret lunch at one of Berlusconi’s luxury villas in the Roman suburbs she offers a candid account of how ‘Il Cavaliere’ himself played an instrumental role in orchestrating the coup from his usual place in the shadows. Hers is a must-read that rightly points the finger at a man who, remarkably, has got off scot-free in most Anglophone reporting. Finally, if you’re looking for a more general explanation regarding the the lay of the land, the Guardian’s most recent podcast with Rome correspondent Angela Giuffrida is well-worth a listen. There’s nothing groundbreaking here to be totally honest, but as a barebones summary of how exactly Italy has got into this mess, it’s one of the clearest and least hyperbolic accounts I’ve encountered so far. So buon ascolto.
The question of migration in the Central Mediterranean has been out of the news for a while now but – of course – the issue has never gone away. In fact, over the past month arrivals into southern Italy have been increasing sharply as people seek to take advantage of favourable weather conditions to cross the sea from Libya to Sicily by boat. This week alone the German NGO Sea-Watch, the Norwegian-owned Ocean Viking and the Italian coastguard have rescued over 1200 people between them. The situation on land, meanwhile, is pretty dire. Reception centres on the island of Lampedusa, for example, are reportedly 500% over capacity and migrants are being forced to sleep on the street. Elsewhere, on the peninsula, local governments are refusing to accept refugees into their communities without guarantees of extra financial support from the government in Rome. Politically, this situation requires principled, humane leadership. Unfortunately, that is now more lacking than ever and - worse still - we now face the very real prospect of Matteo Salvini, a man currently on trial for kidnapping migrants, returning to the role of Minister of the Interior following the September vote... Honestly, I’m lost for words. I mean, what else can one say but ‘God help us all’?

Italy’s politicians may be in full campaign mode, but the Draghi government is still, effectively, in place until 25 September with a mandate to implement its final reforms. One of the administration’s key tasks during this interim period will be to contain the cost of living crisis. Inflation is now over the 8% mark and the price of basic foodstuffs – as you may have noticed if you live here – is rising fast. Well, in a small nugget of enlightened policy, the Finance Ministry announced this week that it will be implementing a tax cut on the sale of essential goods in order to protect consumers from the brunt of the crisis. Starting from next month, pasta, bread, fruit and vegetables will therefore be excluded from VAT entirely, and meat and fish will see reductions from 10% to 5%. While it remains to be seen what impact this will actually have on supermarket prices - especially given rising energy costs - this is, I think, a wise move by the outgoing administration and a welcome stop-gap ahead of what promises to be a challenging autumn.
Arts and culture: the essence of obsession
The Guardian published a feature this week about one of my favourite photographers Ferdinando Scianna who has, apparently, decided to retire from the business. The 79-year-old Sicilian began his career shooting street scenes and religious ceremonies across the island. His big break, however, came in 1987 when Dolce & Gabbana hired him to take the photos for their spring catalogue. The resulting images, of Dutch model Marpessa Hennink framed against the chiaroscuro interiors of various decadent palazzi, catapulted the photographer to international fame - and for good reason, they’re extraordinary [scroll down here for some of the highlights]. In this end-of-career interview Scianna offers a wry retrospective of his life and work, from his experience shooting profiles of writers such as Leonardo Sciascia and Jorge Luis Borges to his half-arsed forays into the world of photojournalism. Personally, I was most struck by Scianna’s cutting assessment of our contemporary, image-saturated culture; or as he put it in typically cantankerous fashion: “I don’t think I can change the world with my photographs, but I do believe that a bad picture can make it worse […] we have too many images. If you eat caviar every day, eventually you will want pasta e fagioli.” Click here to read the full interview.
The author Erri de Luca’s 2019 novel Impossible has just been released in English translation by N.S. Thompson and I have to say it sounds intriguing. This time round the plot follows an anonymous ‘ex militant’ communist, who is serving time in solitary confinement having been accused of killing a man – an “acquaintance” – during a hiking trip in the Dolomites. Through a series of exchanges with a mysterious magistrate the accused man fights to demonstrate his innocence while also, inevitably, confronting his own emotional issues, romantic woes and complex psychological relationship with the justice system. I’ll admit, I’ve only read one of De Luca’s novels, I pesci non chiudono gli occhi, and I found it a little heavy handed, melodramatic even. Nevertheless, this well-reviewed Camus-esque foray into existentialist drama is - on paper - absolutely up my street so, with an open-mind, I’m ready to give him another chance.
Recipe of the week: pork stuffed with herbs and a borlotti and tomato salad
Now this is exquisite: an easily prepared herbaceous meat-treat with a light, summery salad to go alongside. Apparently, the dish is a staple of Anna Tasca Lanza’s cooking school in Sicily, but the version I made the other day was adapted from Rachel Roddy’s version in the Guardian [available here]. Yes, there’s something a little odd about poking a hole in a pork loin with a wooden spoon and then stuffing the joint. But don’t let that put you off. The process is not, as I discovered, anything like as faffy as it sounds, and the technique does indeed allow the rosemary, sage, oregano and mint to permeate through the meat in an extremely satisfying, and uniform, manner. One note: I used a small-ish 700g cut of pork [arista] and found the cooking time was about 45/50 minutes [plus resting] at an oven temperature of 180 degrees Celcius. So make of that what you will. Overall this made a delicious midweek dinner with the added bonus that there was plenty left-over for sandwiches the following day.
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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