2008 | i-ITALY

Minestrone

Benvenuti to Minestrone. Like that Italian “big soup,” my blog will be a blend of various ingredients – in this case, my musings on culture, politics, media, and social trends. I hope you like the taste.

November 15, 2008

Roy Paci's Sicilian Bestiary

George De Stefano

Paci and Aretuska

BESTiario Siciliano captures ten years of the genre-blending music of Paci and his band Aretuska

November 11, 2008

Addio, Mama Africa

George De Stefano

Miriam Makeba

South African singer and anti-apartheid icon Miriam Makeba died shortly after her concert at Castel Volturno, near Naples. Her final performance was dedicated to the fight against...

November 8, 2008

Obamamania: A Dissent

George De Stefano

Obama's pick of Clinton attack dog Rahm Emanuel as his chief of staff is not an encouraging sign

I voted for him and I'm glad he won. But let's not get carried away, OK?

November 8, 2008

"Siamo Tutti Abbronzati"

George De Stefano

Him, rocking that blackshirt

Italians are embarrassed and outraged by Berlusconi's Obama gaffe. But maybe a blackface protest isn't a great idea.

November 4, 2008

Sicily, Image and Reality

George De Stefano

Getty Images

Change agents: Sicily's Rita Borsellino meets Fabio Messina, a Palermo anti-Mafia merchant

The recent New York visit by the island’s labor minister prompts some not so sunny thoughts

October 26, 2008

A Rap for Saviano

George De Stefano

Neapolitan rapper Luca "Lucariello" Caiazzo and Roberto Saviano collaborated on "Cappotto di Legno," a rap that gets inside the head of a young camorrista

October 22, 2008