The big - indeed unavoidable - story in Italy this week concerns the ever-controversial topic of TV news. This Sunday, on 1 May, the channel Tg4 broadcast a political debate about the war in Ukraine during which the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov was invited to speak. Predictably, Lavrov used the opportunity to deny the atrocities taking place. Less predictably, when asked to justify his oft-repeated claim that Zelensky is a Nazi, he offered-up an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory suggesting that Hitler was actually of Jewish origins. Tg4 have stated that they invited Lavrov on air to show “all sides of the story”. Critics, and there are many of them, have decried the editorial decision as “abhorrent” and “offensive.” Prominent public figures are now boycotting the station in protest. This is understandable, but it’s worth pointing out the problem hardly stops with Tg4. According to a recent study by the European Commission, Italian TV gives more airspace to pro-Russian views than that of any other European country. Some MEPs have even gone so far as to label the national TV “a security threat” to the bloc by actively undermining a common agenda on sanctions and foreign policy. Surely, given the gravity of this war, more action is required than a few celebrity walk-outs?
A couple of weeks ago the Rome based documentary photographer Marco Sconocchia published a magnificent series of images about the travelling communities living along the river Tiber. His shots give some insight into a reality that I’d hasten to bet few readers here have ever taken the time to contemplate. Rome is a poor city, poorer than many realise given the majesty of the baroque architecture, the political powerhouses and of course the presence of the Vatican. Here Sconocchia documents the lives of some of the capital’s most vulnerable people, from those pitching tents on the banks of Trastevere to those living in caravan parks in suburbs like Tor de Valle. Projects like this always run a risk of “othering”, but I think Sconocchia does a great job capturing the complexity of his subjects while avoiding obvious cliches. Check out his portfolio here.
Image: Marco Sconocchia. All rights reserved.
Robert Kaplan, the American writer and ‘foreign policy consultant’ best known as the author of Balkan Ghosts (1993) has a new book out this week called Adriatic(2022) in which he returns to central and eastern Europe after a break of twenty-years to see how the region has changed. This time Kaplan starts his journey a little further west, in Italy. Large sections of the narrative are - apparently - dedicated to long exposition about the historic links between cities like Rimini, Venice, Ravenna and Treiste and their Balkan counterparts such as Pula, Dubrovnik, Tirana and Vlore. Unfortunately, reviews have been lukewarm so far. While critics report that Kaplan’s style is as eloquent as ever, many seem to have found his political conclusions somewhat superficial. Publishers Weekly, to take just one example, labelled this release “more diverting than essential” and this does indeed seem indicative of the general response. As a fan of miscellaneous non-fiction that merges history, anthropology, travelogue and art criticism, however, I’ll be giving it a go regardless. Pick up a copy from Random House if this is up your street.
Arts and culture: wanderings in North East Italy
NOT magazine’s fortnightly newsletter ‘Medusa’ has been running since 2017 with a very particular remit: to cover “climate and cultural changes, new discoveries and old ideas.” Well, this week’s edition is the apotheosis of that editorial philosophy and I highly recommend you read it. Matteo De Giuli, one of the main authors, has written a magnificent little essay about the beauty but most of all ugliness of Trieste. It’s a psychogeographic reflection on urban space and ecological devastation; a meditation on the awkward architectural collision between Habsburgian palaces and uninspiring modernist towers that cannot even be redeemed by ironic, postmodern celebration of brutalism. They are simply ugly. If you read Italian you should subscribe for Medusa’s substack updates which go out by email for free every other Wednesday. If you don’t, I’ve translated a wee taster below to give a little flavour of the piece. Here’s the link.
“Trieste is enchanting of course; it’s a jewel, one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. But like every other place in the world Trieste is also full of ugly buildings. There are entire neighbourhoods built without any coherence, strips of countryside humiliated by speculation, ugly buildings of such anonymous ugliness that they cannot be redeemed even by the charm of ugliness. What I'm trying to say is Trieste is also a modern city…”
Image: Matteo De Giuli. All rights reserved
It’s the moment Stanley Tucci lovers have all been waiting for. Season two of ‘Searching for Italy’, which was due to air in March but was delayed due to the war in Ukraine, has begun its series run on CNN. This time round ‘the Tooch’ is exploring four locations: Veneto, Piemonte, Umbria and London (!) though two more episodes are rumoured to air on top of these (Val D’Aosta and Puglia are the top candidates through the grapevine). If you’re reading this from the U.S. you can enjoy the series on Sundays at 9pm. If you’re based anywhere else in the world you’ll have to settle for pay per view options – like Direct TV – or, for those inclined, the murky world of torrents. There aren’t many clips on YouTube yet, but I did manage to dig up this preview of the Turin episode which looks a lot of fun. The series will also be available on BBC iPlayer later this year if you can access that platform and are willing to wait that long…
Recipe of the week: griddled sirloin with borlotti, tomatoes and salsa verde
I don’t tend to cook beef that often for reasons I think are pretty obvious. When I do, a few times a year, I want it to be very good indeed. Well, this recipe from Theo Randall did not disappoint when I rustled it up last weekend, and I wanted to share it here for the meat eaters among you. The base for this dish is the humble borlotti bean. Alone, these legumes can be a little bland, but tossed with oil, garlic and cooking juices they form the perfect, earthy, base for a steak. Personally, I chose a kilo of Chianina T-bone from my local butcher and cooked it for three and half minutes on each side as instructed. I then sliced it up into 1cm strips and served it on top of the beans with some roasted tomatoes, rocket and Randall’s salsa verde for added zing. It was perfect. So if you’re a carnivore looking to indulge, this is one to bookmark. For everyone else: I adapted the recipe from Randall’s Italian Deli Cookbook which is a great resource for home chefs, and has some strong vegetarian offerings too. Highly recommended.
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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