When I moved to Italy many moons ago (1993), it took me some time to adjust to the different attitudes towards dressing. First and foremost, Italians are extremely fashion conscious. It makes sense given that fashion is a huge industry in Italy. Armani, Gucci, Versace, Fendi, Valentino are all household names. Many Italians also regularly …
A new exhibit in Rome looks at the women of Italy over the last 150 years. I stopped by to get some inspiration for my blog today and found a trove of women that I would like to write more about. One of the first sights in the exhibit was discouraging but serves to show …
Dear Blog Readers– Just a short post to follow up on my last one, Patting the Bunny. I decided I better fulfill my promise to vist the two homeless women I had mentioned. This morning I went to Largo Torre Argentina and the singing African woman who is usually begging for money near the tram …
The most ruthless of Italy’s Mafia groups the “Ndrangheta” is heading north from its traditional stronghold in Calabria, the toe of the boot of Italy, and seeping into Italy’s wealthy northern cities. There is one woman who is holding them back. She’s a fearless red-head named Ilda Boccassini, the Tiger Mamma. Ilda Boccassini is a …
It is not just long, luscious, hairless legs that are required in Italy, women are expected to have perky, plump breasts. The Italian ideal is more or less the Sophia Loren look (another blog post on her coming soon). I never could cut it. As a working Mamma, I have always found it hard just …
A recent television interview with an Italian escort who allegedly spent the night with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi reveals an unusual idea of how to be successful, “walk on cadavers and sell your mother.” Her comments are interesting because they reveal an attitude towards life I’ve never heard before in Italy.” But first a …
The summer in Italy is a particularly trying time for a woman, especially in the sunny South. Rome is boiling hot in July and August, and Romans clear out of the city, heading for the mountains or beaches, leaving the tourists to swelter as they plod from the Coliseum to St. Peter’s Square. Anyone who …