In June Pope Francis travelled to Calabria in the toe of the boot of Italy. Calabria is home to the powerful ‘Ndrangheta Mafia (see blog posts: “The Catholic Church and the Mafia” and “Mafia Claws Sinking into Weak Flesh“). There, speaking to hundreds of thousands of people, the Pope said, “The ‘Ndrangheta and this adoration …
Yesterday I went on a mission to find a teardrop. The teardrop of Anna Bianchini. I didn’t have to go very far, I have been working in the same building — Rome’s Palazzo Doria Pamphilj — with that teardrop for the past 20 years and only recently learned of it. So yesterday I was determined …
It is has been a torrid week in Italy with temperatures in Rome hitting 34 degrees Celsius (mid-nineties Fahrenheit). Many Italians — my husband Gustavo and my colleague Paolo included– hate air conditioning, so I sweat and suffer at home and at work. My computer was not happy with all the hot air either, getting …
Dear Blog Readers — Mozzarella Mamma is not moving fast enough and I missed the 24 hour news cycle on this one….so you have already probably heard about Italy’s now famous singing nun on the BBC, NPR or in The New York Times– the nun has even gone viral. Nevertheless, this little piece of cheerful …
Dear Blog Readers, I am back from a gruelling, stimulating, and thrilling three day trip to the Middle-East covering Pope Francis. I still have the adrenalin pumping through my system and I hope it lasts long enough to get me through this post. I am not sure whether you are all more interested in the …
Touching the Walls – Pope Francis in the Mideast Read More »
Dear Blog Readers — Tomorrow I am leaving on the Papal Plane (Volo Papale) for the Middle East and I can hardly wait. It is not as though I am going to be rubbing elbows with Pope Francis — he will sit up at the front with the Cardinals, Swiss Guards and some invited guests …
Ho un rapporto di amore-odio con Roma. Momenti di pura gioia capaci di precipitare nella più nera frustrazione. L’altro giorno sono rimasta bloccata nel traffico infernale del Muro Torto. I motorini sfrecciavano da ogni lato zigzagando fra le auto, una bionda sui trent’anni a bordo di una Smart continuava a strombazzare il clacson alle mie …
I have a love-hate relationship with Rome. Moments of sheer joy and exhilaration can slide into moments of excruciating frustration. The other day I was I blocked in traffic at rush hour on Rome’s nightmare Muro Torto — the curving road that runs along the winding, ancient city wall. Motorinos (mopeds) were buzzing around me …