Dear Blog Readers, Just a quick follow up to the “Tired Pope Post” yesterday. Last night I covered the Via Crucis at the Colosseum. As I mentioned yesterday, it is one of my favorite events on the Vatican calendar because of the intermingling of the violent history of the Colosseum with gladiators battling to the […]
Darkness, Despair and Light at the Via Crucis in Rome Read More »
Dear Blog Readers – Pope Francis is neck deep in Easter Week celebrations and I have the distinct feeling he is tired. He said it himself Thursday morning in the Chrism Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Chrism Mass is the annual Mass held on the morning of Holy Thursday during which the Pope blesses
Is Pope Francis Tired? Read More »
Dear Blog Readers, I am in the city of Padua in northern Italy where today I was covering the trial of the couchsurfing policeman, Dino Maglio. In the first day of the fast-track trial, the prosecutor asked for Maglio to be sent to prison for 7 years and 4 months for drugging and raping a
Italy’s Couchsurfing Policeman Read More »
Dear Blog Readers – With fears of terrorists hopping on boats and crossing the Mediterranean, suddenly Italy – which has been pulling migrants out of the sea by the thousands over the past year – is witnessing a strong backlash against migrants. This weekend the leader of the right-wing anti-Euro, anti-Migrant Northern League led a
Rome has been in a Bond tizzy this past week as the cast and crew of the latest Bond movie “Spectre” have descended on the Eternal city. We’ve had a silver Aston Martin with license plate DB10 AGB bouncing over the cobblestones and racing up the steep embankment wall of the Tiber River chased by
Cobblestones, Car Chases and a Bond Woman Read More »
Once upon a time there was a bizarre lady living in Venice who wore her pet boa constrictor around her neck, walked her cheetahs on a leash in St. Mark’s Square with her Nubian servant Garbi following behind holding a peacock feather parasol over her head. She was the Marquise Luisa Casati, a flamboyant, extravagant
The Outrageous, Divine Marquise Read More »
Dear Blog Readers, Last week I went for four days to Venice to cover the official launch of the Carnival season. For Venetians the Carnival season opens on January 7th after the Feast of the Epiphany. But the official launch of Carnival festivities begins with the Flight of the Angel when a beautiful, young woman
Sumptuous Balls and Flying Angels Read More »
The Vatican Pontifical Council of Culture is holding a plenary this week on “Women’s Cultures: Equality and Difference”. Unfortunately, in its first step on the project the Vatican tripped and fell flat on its face. They issued a video calling for contributions from women starring an Italian TV actress, Nancy Brilli, who looked like she
Vatican & Women: Priests and Plastic Surgery Read More »