Animals and Monuments. In these times of Covid-19, animals unconsciously and heroically get their revenge on the human race.

Posted on May 8, 2020 by Staff

 Strange title. What do monuments have to do with animals? Well, they do, they certainly do. But first allow me to say this: Now more than ever, confined to our homes due to the pandemic, trying to satisfy our eyes and spirit with images thanks to our smart devices, we are seeing that Nature is reclaiming its space and animals are resuming their innate behavior within that space. Photos of ducks walking neatly in single file on crosswalks, safe and sound, deer crouching in the middle of freeways, wolves that venture near populated areas more than ever before. And the list goes on. And as if that weren’t enough, Spring comes along and decides to give us an abundance of days with clear blue skies. Bees, butterflies, and swallows, swoop, swirl, and do fanciful acrobatics in the sky. They...

Taking a stroll in Lucca with Maria Luisa Borbone

Posted on March 28, 2018 by admin

One of the best descriptions of Maria Luisa Borbone [Bourbon], who was the Infanta of Spain, Queen of Etruria, and reigning Duchess of Lucca, that I have ever read, was written by Mario Tobino (writer, poet, psychiatrist, born in Viareggio, province of Lucca, in 1910) and can be found in his collection of short stories entitled “Sulla spiaggia e al di là del molo”. I don’t know whether it’s the best description because, if my memory doesn’t fail me, most written accounts usually depict Maria Luisa’s more conservative aspects: her excessive religiousness, her absolutism, reactionism, and devotion to church and family. Nonetheless, she brought to fruition many of the ideas and projects of her predecessor, Elisa Bonaparte, with an enlightened spirit despite the fact that she was more of a reviver/restorer. No mean feat. Some of her accomplishments: schools...