Everything concerning Italy, the “Bel Paese”. For many homeland of culture and art.
At long last, Italy decided to build a structure linking Sicily and the mainland. It will be a continental shift and a massive cultural change for Western civilization, provided Italian politics gets its act together. This is not a bridge; it is the end of one myth and perhaps the origin of another. Western civilization […]
The core issue in recent Italy-Libya events is that Italy’s real influence in the country is minimal, despite Rome’s huge strategic interests (energy and migrants). Schoolbooks tell the story: during the Renaissance, when independent city-states relied on mercenaries, the warlords ended up taking over the cities themselves. Thus, the towns lost—at the hands of hired […]
The Premier’s fortuna is that no one else is eager to move on to rearmament, the big transatlantic agenda. But this also makes the Belpaese small and ultimately a burden for the allies. The ancient Roman notion of fortuna was a mix of skill and fate—the ability to take advantage of what chance had bestowed. Ancient China […]
China might need a new Grand Strategy for the first time since the 3rd century BC unification, but it is quite elusive. Italy has parallel issues, and there could be lessons to be learned there. “Here begins our tale. The Empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been. In […]
There are both trivial motives of political opportunism and deeper reasons concerning the Church’s “mission” for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to pay close attention to the warnings of CEI (Italian Bishops’ Conference) president, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, regarding the controversial bill of “differentiated autonomy.” The bill devolves significant central powers to the regions, strengthening existing centrifugal […]
Italy was neither born one, nor does it have a deep-rooted tradition of political unity. For example, Siena fought Florence for centuries, and within Siena itself, there are still centuries-old rivalries between the districts, the contrade. The nation was forged through the gradual patching and soothing of the rifts created by a political merger, which […]
He was the idol of many men and women. He had it all—the money, the power, the girls, the friends. The money: He was one of the richest men in the world, coming from nothing. The power: He was the most potent Italian politician in two decades. He dominated national politics and its culture. He […]
