Category Archives: All

Last Sunday, I took a rare outing beyond Rome, fifteen miles southeast to Ariccia, a historic small town in the Alban Hills, close to the picturesque volcanic lakes of Albano and Nemi. Contiguous to the larger Albano Laziale and a … Continue reading →

Over the years, there have been periods in my life when I’ve grown tired of reading, shocking as it may sound. I can’t find anything I want to read, and a lot on offer frankly bores me. When I lived … Continue reading →

There’s something about James Joyce. Once you get into him, he becomes addictive, grabs you, inspires in you some obsessive devotion, a kind of fanaticism dedicated to the man and his works, a worship. When F. Scott Fitzgerald first met … Continue reading →

Three years ago, on New Year’s Day 2023, I published a blog post about the avant-garde movement DADA and what it might mean for us today. It struck me that the essay is worth another airing, so please forgive the … Continue reading →

I don’t usually get invited to these things. I’m standing in the delightful grounds of Rome’s Villa Wolkonsky, the British Ambassador’s residence, a stone’s throw away from the Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano, full of imposter syndrome. It’s a gorgeous … Continue reading →

Almost two-centuries after its opening night, Gogol’s five-act satirical play, The Government Inspector, continues to create a stir each time it airs anew, seemingly no matter where. Maybe because corruption and self-serving double-talk aren’t just familiar features of nineteenth-century Russia … Continue reading →

Gogol was passionate about food, reached obsessive proportions with it—in the portion sizes he consumed, in the elaborate descriptions around the dinner table in his stories. Zolotarev speaks of Gogol’s “stupendous appetite.” He and Gogol dined together often in Rome, … Continue reading →

A fifteen-minute stroll from Caffè Greco, west toward the Tiber, north in the direction of Piazza del Popolo, takes you to Via di Ripetta, which I head up, a narrow corridor running parallel to the river. I pass the Mansoleum … Continue reading →