FLORENCE — Ezra Pound lived a peripatetic existence, his homes are as numerous as the artistic careers he cultivated and nurtured. Born in Idaho, this expatriate patron of Modernist artists, as well as poet, critic, translator and editor lived the majority of his life in Europe, and about half in Italy. Ezra Pound, however, was never in Pisa. Ezra Pound was in an American prison camp 10 miles north of Pisa, locked in a 6 ft by 6 ft steel cage at age 60, awaiting trial for treason and, if convicted, death. This was 1945:
John Phillips
ROME — Prince Idriss al Senoussi, a great nephew of the last King of Libya and pretender to the quixotic Libyan throne, has taken time off from monitoring the turmoil in his north African homeland to attend a convivial carnival party thrown by Neapolitan hostess Guia Sospisiò, Il Messaggero reports.
7 Mar 2011
John Phillips
VATICAN CITY — As the Holy See prepares for the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI has indicated to Israeli diplomats that he does not intend to beatify controversial Pope Pius XII during his reign on St. Peter’s throne, a senior Israeli source has claimed.
3 Mar 2011
Alberto Mucci
ROME- The headquarters of the bridge-building Sant’Egido community in Trastevere has been the centre of an inter-cultural dialogue between Muslims and Christians.
3 Mar 2011
John Phillips
ROME – The sex scandals that have tainted the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, have created a major “image problem” for Italy that is scaring away foreign investors who otherwise would have created jobs on the peninsula, a senior Rome-based Western diplomat has cautioned.
25 Feb 2011
Alberto Mucci
ROME — Luci sull’Est (Light on the East), an Italian association of Catholic inspiration, has announced the completion on the site of a huge former Soviet Gulag of the cathedral of Karaganda in the heart of north-eastern Kazakhistan. The association, which mainly operates in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, stresses the importance of the climaxing of the new cathedral that is designed to be a symbol of religious freedom, not only for Christianity but for religion as a whole in the region.
24 Feb 2011
Philip Willan
Rome –The painters Botticelli and Raphael set the measure of female beauty during the Italian Renaissance and influenced western art for centuries to come. The perception of women in modern Italy has been to a large degree the work of one man — Silvio Berlusconi — and his handiwork is becoming a problem.
21 Feb 2011
Shelly Kittleson
ROME– Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak - a man who once served as the country’s air force commander and who just a few weeks ago was publicly announcing he was ‘’a military man who had served this country during war and peace” and that he would ‘’die on the soil of Egypt” - has been ousted by, or some would say has silently handed the reins to, the army.
17 Feb 2011
Alberto Mucci
ROME– Just after the closure of the successful Caravaggio exhibition held at the Scuderie del Quirinale that celebrated the 400th anniversary of the artist’s death, Rome will play host to another of Michelangelo Merisi’s exhibitions.
17 Feb 2011