The war in Ukraine continues to dominate news in Italy, with stories on everything from arms exports to culture boycotts on the front-pages of all the major papers. While the scale and complexity of this topic (far) exceeds the scope of this newsletter, I thought it would be worth a quick round up of how the government plans to act in the months ahead. This week Luigi Di Maio confirmed the ministry of foreign affairs will support a third EU package of sanctions that will target hundreds more banks and billionaires. More significantly he also outlined a plan to reduce Italy’s reliance on Russian gas and oil, by redoubling bonds with Algeria and Qatar and increasing imports via the trans-Adriatic pipeline from Azerbaijan. This might sound sensible enough, but many are concerned such a policy would derail the already-somewhat-dubious plans to green the economy. Confindustria, the Italian industrial confederation, are leading the call for an accelerated transition towards renewables; and one can only hope Draghi takes heed of their proposals. Parallel to this, and no less important, the Italian state has said it will continue to strip oligarchs of their assets. Port authorities in Marina di Carrara have just impounded a €700m superyacht called Scheherazade which some have speculated may even belong to Putin himself. The full story is available at the New York Times, including an intriguing anecdote from local residents who claim the docked ship has now been placed inside a vast metal box; presumably to shield it from public view.
You’ve probably seen the above footage already, but if not it’s well worth checking out: on Tuesday Matteo Salvini, head of the Lega, was in the Polish town of Przemyśl as part of a tour aimed to demonstrate his solidarity with refugees from Ukraine. Well, on this occasion, the move backfired to say the least. Wojciech Bakun, the town’s mayor is clearly not a fan of Italy’s most notorious far right leader. On his arrival, the politician openly called out Salvini’s links with Russia, asking him to explicitly denounce Putin who he has referred to on more than one occasion as a “friend”. Things got to the point that Bakun even resorted to brandishing a T-shirt with Putin’s face and the words ‘Army of Russia’ on it, daring the Italian politician to put it on and go back to the border (Salvini had posed with a similar model during a recent trip to Red Square). The Lega-leader tried to save face - stuttering an objection in broken English - but it was an embarrassing display that even his most ardent supporters have struggled to shrug-off. It’s worth noting that 25,000 refugees have arrived safely in Italy since the start of the invasion; this is good news, of course, but it does leave a bitter taste given the ongoing nightmare African and Middle-Eastern people continue to face in pursuing their equally-valid requests for asylum.
On Tuesday the feminist and trans-feminist collective ‘non una di meno’ organised a series of initiatives to mark International Women’s Day. Demonstrations and flash mobs took place in over 30 cities across the peninsula calling for the right to abortion and to euthanasia among other things. Given the situation in Ukraine, the movement also mobilised to support the new influx of refugees and to call for peace [click here to see their latest ITA publications]. ‘Non una di meno’ mainly works to document and legally contest violence against women by collating open access data on attacks and murders motivated by sexism, homophobia and transphobia. On 8 March the movement re-launched a new version of their website, with updated figures which make for grim reading. This year the number of femicides stands at 15. In 2021 the total was 115.
Arts and culture: From Puglia to the Po
A couple of weeks ago Mack editions published a new collection of previously unreleased shots by the Italian photographer Luigi Ghirri entitled Puglia. Tra Albe e Tramonti. The bilingual book gathers together Ghirri’s personal research in Italy’s south eastern region, including draft studies and experimental snaps. The pieces were first displayed together last year as part of a retrospective in Polignano a Mare and they are comprised predominantly of still-life landscapes depicting urban street scenes and small everyday encounters. I’m tempted to rhapsodize here about light and shadow, chiaroscuro, hedonism and hardship, traditional architecture and neon saint shrines, but in this instance the images probably speak better for themselves. You can scroll through some of them here.
The UK publisher Head of Zeus has just revealed the cover and blurb for Tobias Jones’s new book and it all looks brilliant. The Po: An Elegy for Italy's Longest River promises “a captivating journey along the iconic river and through Italian history, society and culture” taking in “battles, crimes, characters, cuisines, histories, industries and inventions. [Jones] visits towns made famous for their sporting legacy, birthplaces of the greatest Italian writers and composers and rediscovers Italy's unusual industries and agricultures; from the marble mines of Paesana that provided the raw materials for the Renaissance to the paddy fields of risotto rice at Chivasso.” I had the great pleasure of dining with Jones at his house in Parma last year where he told me a little about the research, his growing interest in local legends and his latest ecological revelations and anxieties. I can’t wait for this one. The book’s out in July and it’s available to pre-order now.
Recipe of the week: tajarin con carciofi
This dish is synonymous with March to my mind: tagliolini with thinly sliced baby artichokes, all tossed in an unctuous buttery sauce and topped with lemon and parmesan. It’s the pure flavour of early spring: full of excitement and zing at a time when so much produce is just… well… pretty dull. Pasta and carciofi isn’t specific to any particular region. It’s probably a little more common in Tuscany and central Italy than anywhere else; though I know the Pugliesi also cook it a lot. This version, by Tim Siadatan in Trullo, uses homemade fresh egg pasta dough, and some extra dairy, which makes it a little more refined than what you’d typically get in a trattoria. Follow his instructions for a perfect, silky smooth result. Otherwise, this works fine with dried pasta too. Just make sure to slice the artichokes very thinly so they soften properly and loose any residual stringiness and/or bitterness. A little technique goes a long way here.
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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