Visiting monuments or going to clubs?

In 2019, I posted about how I believed Italian schools needed to adapt, including the teaching style.History was one of the subjects I thought about. To cut a long story short, I hoped for a methodology that would focus on comprehending historical processes in order to understand the modern world rather than on the tedious … Continue reading Visiting monuments or going to clubs?

The End of History Was Fake News

"The End of History and the Last Man" is a 1992 book of political philosophy by American political scientist Francis Fukuyama which argues that with the ascendancy of Western liberal democracy—which occurred after the Cold War (1945–1991) and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991)—humanity has reached "not just … the passing of a particular … Continue reading The End of History Was Fake News

Living the Cozy, Comfortable Decline of Europe

How distant it seems the time when the Italian Renaissance maestros set the standards by which any artist would have been measured since then. When the French revolutionaries established the principles on which modern republics and liberal democracies are rooted. When the British built enduring physical and cultural infrastructures all over the lands of their … Continue reading Living the Cozy, Comfortable Decline of Europe

Saudade and Identity

Saudade is a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves.source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudade Portuguese is a language known for its intrinsic musicality (Important update: my friend Matteo pointed out to me that this it true for Brazilian variant only). When you listen to a person speaking … Continue reading Saudade and Identity

Italienischer Militärinternierter (Italian Military Internee) — Part II

On September 1st, I received a message from Paul[1], an Italian-Canadian man who came across my blog while googling around to search for information about the history of his father. During his research, Paul found my article about the imprisonment of my maternal grandfather in the middle of WWII. Like my grandfather, Paul's father was … Continue reading Italienischer Militärinternierter (Italian Military Internee) — Part II

An Imaginary Trip to the USA — Chapter I: Introduction

Throughout the years, I have had the chance to meet several American people in person or online, with whom I have had numerous conversations. Often, we have talked about our respective countries because this has been one of the topics we have been interested in. We have usually asked each other a lot of questions … Continue reading An Imaginary Trip to the USA — Chapter I: Introduction

Fascism Disguised as Oligarchic Democracy

At the beginning of May, I attended a conference in the wonderful town of Sacile. It was hosted by Professor Antonio Soligon, a retired teacher and writer who loves the city of Venice intensely. He talked about the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, a historical building that the oma.eu website describes like this: First constructed in 1228, … Continue reading Fascism Disguised as Oligarchic Democracy

Bloodied Sands

In 2014, I visited France and, during my brief stay in Paris, I took a 1-day tour in Normandy. The strict schedule consisted of several visits to places related to one of the greatest military operations in the history of mankind, D-Day. Normandy is a unique place. Its natural characteristics—rainy weather, peaceful seas, lavender fields, … Continue reading Bloodied Sands

Roots — Part I

Several years ago, a friend of mine lent me a book on the history of my paternal grandfather's and my father's hometown. This small village, where I lived for most of my life,  was founded in the Middle Ages and has witnessed many historical events, such as the war European principalities and city-states fought against … Continue reading Roots — Part I

Italienischer Militärinternierter (Italian Military Internee)

In the spring of 2015, my cousin's wife accidentally found in an old chest of drawers some things which belonged to my maternal grandfather. These items refer to the period of time in which he fought in the World War II. The following image, for example, shows the document with which the Italian government gave … Continue reading Italienischer Militärinternierter (Italian Military Internee)