“He’s trusted to repair some of the world’s most fabled — and expensive — instruments. How does John Becker manage to unlock the sound of a Stradivarius?”
Italy
Posted inEditor's Pick
There Is No Such Thing As Italian Food
“Italy’s cuisine has long been defined by foreign flavors. But with anti-immigration sentiment rising and the climate changing, will Italians continue to embrace new ingredients and ideas from abroad?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Unconcerned
On Venice, underwater: “It was like a game, a dream, a film. H imagined the city as a future dive site, and I agreed it would be stunning. But we were not the kind of people who would do this, become catastrophe tourists, I said. And yet there we were.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Farmer Trying to Save Italy’s Ancient Olive Trees
“A fast-spreading bacteria could cause an olive-oil apocalypse.”
Posted inNonfiction
Queens of Infamy: Lucrezia Borgia
History may have pigeonholed her as Renaissance Italy’s most notorious seductress, but it’s high time we give the Duchess of Ferrara a closer look.
Posted inCurrent Events, History, Quotes
‘Salvini’s Decree’ Evicts Italian Migrants from Temporary Shelter
Italy’s “Salvini Decree,” passed last November, has already altered life for many migrants to the country.
Posted inNonfiction
Queens of Infamy: The Rise of Catherine de’ Medici
Kings and popes thought she was their pawn. The Merchant’s Daughter begged to differ.
Posted inEditor's Pick
The Fish That Gave Too Much
The history of colatura — a fermented anchovy-based sauce produced in Italy — goes back millennia. Now, overfishing and rapidly warming waters threaten its future.
Posted inNonfiction
Queens of Infamy: Joanna of Naples
If you thought four (mostly) crappy husbands, vengeful Hungarian cousins, and the Black Death could cramp this queen’s style, think again.
Posted inBooks, Highlight, Profiles & Interviews, Quotes
The Whole World is Naples Now
Sprawling, crumbling, beautiful, rough — Elena Ferrante’s Naples shows us the world’s violent underbelly, with no pretense.