Blog archives for October, 2010

I’ve only spent a single day in Naples but it was quite an education. First of all I had no idea that Napoli has a significant hill. Not only that, but I rode a funicular railway up the hill and back. I didn’t know until looking for this funicular that there are actually 4 of […]

I have been fortunate to have visited Rome several times and even stayed there for one month once. I have always noticed that there seem to be a lot of cats around. This especially seems to be true around any of the ancient ruins, notably the Colliseum and the Roman Forum. It also turns out […]

I’m not sure how I started reading Italian mysteries. I think that I was given a Donna Leon book for Christmas by my mother-in-law who knows what a raving Italophile I am. Donna is an Italian by transplant not by birth. She has lived in Venice for many years and before almost stumbling into her […]

I have not paid much attention to Italian politics other than knowing that generally the governments have been unstable ever since Mussolini. Who can understand Italian politics anyway? It is especially difficult for an American since it is a parliamentary style of government which generally mystifies us from the start. Add to that the behind […]