“I think she is going to be wearing baby blue,” said AP Television cameraman Gianfranco Stara said to me as he stood at the door of Piazza Grazioli 5 outside the AP offices in Rome waiting for a taxi to arrive. He was heading to Rome’s Quirinale Palace to cover yesterday’s visit of Queen Elizabeth […]
Dear Blog Readers — I was sitting at on the grass at the park yesterday in Rome, enjoying a gorgeous spring afternoon between the small white daisies popping up around me and the giant Roman pines looming overhead. My daughter was playing nearby with our dog and I was flipping through some magazines when I
President Obama in Rome Read More »
The relationship between the Catholic Church and the Mafia is so convoluted, fraught with stereo-types, and misperceptions that it is hard to figure out what is the truth. Films like “The Godfather” reinforce the image of a Catholic Church that has provided collaboration and support for the Mafia, Mafia bosses who baptize their children in
The Catholic Church and the Mafia Read More »
Today — one year after he was elected Pope — Pope Francis is on a spiritual retreat with bishops and cardinals. Showing his usual simplicity he took the bus and sat in the middle of the pack. One year ago on March 13, 2013, I stood with AP Television cameraman Paolo Lucariello near the obelisk
One Year Following Pope Francis Read More »
Dear Blog Readers, Today is March 8th, International Women’s Day, and I have been inspired by this article “Five of Italy’s Most Influential Women” from www.ItalyMagazine.com to do a blog post reminding you of some of the interesting Italian women — past and present– who I have written about in this blog, and some of
Happy International Women’s Day Read More »
Jagjit with his bushy white moustache and large green turban cheerfully organizes a pile of lettuce on his vegetable stand at the sprawling Piazza Vittorio marketplace in Rome as he explains to me that he came to Italy from Punjab state in India 20 years ago. Not far from Jagjit, Diana from Ecuador is selling
The Changing Colors of Italy Read More »
It has been a whirlwind week in Rome and at the Vatican. On one side of the Tiber River a Prime Minister was abruptly shoved out off office and another one stepped in, Italy now has its youngest Prime Minister ever, 39 year-old Matteo Renzi. Renzi’s cabinet is also strikingly young and of the total
A Whirlwind Week in Rome and at the Vatican Read More »
Jane Hartney has finally put down her camera. The world’s best camerawoman in her typical laconic style put it simply in an interview with me, “I feel like I am done with this chapter of my life.” Interviewing the best camerawoman in the world, a woman who has covered wars in the Middle East, Africa
Take Two Hartney: The World’s Best Camerawoman Read More »