Some years ago I went and saw the movie Derailed with my sister in a cinema in Italy. Derailed stars three famous actors in the main roles: an American (Jennifer Aniston), a British (Clive Owen), and a French (Vincent Cassel). I didn't particularly love the film: it was OK, but...

I was recently in Italy and a friend of mine introduced me to his friends: they smiled and, in turns, told me their names, hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks. Then we grabbed something to eat. While everybody was completely at ease, I found myself puzzled: the feeling...

The first time I realized that Italy was not only the place I was born and raised, but also one of the most beloved countries in the world for food, culture, art and fashion, was when I left. I knew Italy was beautiful (I have eyes...) but I never realized...

On March 8, Italian women receive branches of mimosa (a bush that blossoms at this time of year and has one of the most delicate and lovely perfumes I know). Is that a common tradition in other European countries as well? I don't know. It is not common in America,...

Last week I was in Los Angeles for the American Film Market and a friend of mine invited me to see a private screening of the new Danny Boyle movie, 127 Hours, starring James Franco. It turned out to be the L.A. premiere of the film with red carpet, stars,...

I recently re-watched the documentary "Man Of La Mancha" about the disastrous filming of Terry Gilliam's take on Don Quixote's story (a movie that has never been completed). In the documentary, the director of photography of the film (who is an Italian born and raised) commented on the series of...

I recently went to see Nine, the unnecessary musical adaptation of the brilliant Fellini's 8½. It is a waste of actors (they all seemed strangely embarrassed, except for Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard) and is made with Hollywood money, hence it is compelled to tell you what's good and bad...

The holiday season is upon us and I find myself in the uncomfortable position of being an Italian in NYC: my American friends expect me to add some European flavor to their presents and my Italian friends (whom I will meet during Christmas vacation) would love something from the big...

"God bless the milk your mother fed you at birth" was what a young man told me while passing by on a street in Rome. It was a beautiful summer day and that sentence was a joyful verse of poetry. I wasn't at all offended by it: it felt more...

Every year I go back to Italy to see my family in Bologna and my two best friends. One lives in Spain, the other one in Paris. After an 8-hour plane ride from the US, I generally don't take another plane, I drive to Barcelona. The trip is 11 hours,...

Once upon a time (my source indicates the end of the '90s), in a single medium-size clothing factory in Italy worked an average of 300 tailors.

Now in the entire region of Lombardy (whose main city is Milan, capital of Italian fashion) you can count only 400 of them...

How many times have you found yourself in a deserted Italian city between the hours of 1 and 4 pm? Store closed, silence all around, or maybe the vague noise of silverware coming from opened windows, in the summer... and Sunday? No way, you have to plan your grocery shopping...

I promised you a look into Italian habits. It will be the topic of my future posts: I don't write about Italian politics; but now I have to take a moment and comment on something that has been upsetting me for a week.

It was an unforgettable, wonderful night when...

Sometimes I wish I didn't come from such a recognizable country like Italy. I wish I were from one of those small central European countries like Liechtenstein. Nobody knows or thinks to know anything about Liechtenstein: if I introduced myself that way, I'd have a blank canvas to describe what...

Do you remember the beginning of the movie Pulp Fiction, when John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson talk about "those little differences" between the US and Europe? I don't know about the rest of Europe, but I was recently reminded about a difference between the US and Italy: we don't...

When you live away from your country, you start looking at it with different eyes. I lived my whole life in Italy and since moving to New York six years ago, I've learned new things about the place I thought I knew.

I made the most recent discovery while browsing...