Culture

There is an obscure story linking the name Antonio Salieri with La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy.  As the story goes, in 1776, when the old opera house had burned to the ground, a new one had to be …

Dear Readers, June jottings with an Italian connection:   Benevento (meaning Good Winds), a city of some 65,000 “abitanti” always triggers memories of  my father, Vincenzo, in his happy host role on Sunday afternoons offering “liquore” to his  visiting “paesani”. …

Tuscan people are usually amiable and friendly, but they can also be very competitive and mocking, especially when it comes to horse racing. In several small Italian towns, from northern to southern regions, the typical horse races known as Palio …

Unfortunately on June 24th Italy lost 1-0 to Uruguay in their Group D World Cup match. The defeat meant that Italy was eliminated from the 2014 World Cup tournament. Yet, besides the disappointment of the many Italians who were following …

The World Cup is like a woman. Valentina Losa, the head of the company that manufactures the World Cup trophy itself, explains in a Vanity Fair interview, “It’s loved, desired, and it travels. Every four years, it travels many kilometers …

There has been a great deal of talk about why Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia was defeated in a primary since he had little support from his own Republican Party. There is even speculation that his different viewpoints on …

Dear Readers, As the July 4th celebrations begin, let me refresh your memory and mine on the Declaration of Independence which began “When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands …

Italy is well known and highly appreciated all over the world for its rich culture, delicious food, and elegant creativity in different sectors, from fashion to design and automobiles. Most of our treasures can be simply tasted, admired, touched, or …

In 1954 a group of intellectuals and movie buffs decided to organize a film festival in one of the most beautiful regions of Italy, Sicily. Today after 60 years the Festival di Taormina (Taormina Film Fest) has just finished celebrating …

By some accounts, to say that Salieri and Mozart were professional rivals, is putting it mildly.  A rivalry between Mozart and Salieri was well known and is believed to have originated when Mozart applied to be the voice teacher of …