Reason #5380 to love Rome: Bernini’s home and studio

One of the (many) great things about living in Rome, Italy is keeping your eyes pealed for all the famous authors/composers/sculptors/artists who once called the Eternal City home. Not surprisingly, one such illustrious resident was the Roman sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). Although I knew Bernini lived and worked in Rome, I didn’t know where until I…

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Do you ever prefer the film to the book?

I know for bookworms like many of us, it seems almost sacrilege to say such a thing. But I find that sometimes it happens. It happened earlier this week when I saw the excellent Italian film Vergine giurata (Sworn Virgin). It’s based on a novel written in Italian by an Albanian author, Elvira Dones. I’ve traveled quite…

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Work-in-progress wants YOUR opinion

I was thrilled when my blogging buddy, the talented YA author Evelyne Holingue, tagged me for the Work-in-progress challenge. Through her blog post, I discovered that Evelyne is not only a prolific YA author, but she also writes essays on her experiences as a French woman living, working, and raising her children in her adoptive…

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Visiting coastal Latina, Italy

I’ve already written about the interesting (short) history of Latina, Italy. Once the breeding grounds of mosquitoes that carried malaria, those mosquitoes were the true cause of the so-called Roman Fever that was romanticized in 19th century literature. The swampland was drained under Mussolini, and Latina was founded as a model fascist city. I visited the…

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Celebrate women writers on International Women’s Day

Okay, okay, so officially International Women’s Day falls on 8 March, which is a Sunday this year. At my workplace, where we celebrate women’s achievements in projects in developing countries, we’ll be marking the day today. Since many observances will take place on Friday, it occurred to me – why not celebrate the entire weekend…

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