There are machines that become famous because they work perfectly. Others become famous because they win wars, races or records. And then, every so often, there is a machine that becomes unforgettable precisely because it fails. Not because it was…
There are people who become famous because they spend their lives trying to be famous. And then there are people like Sora Lella, who seemed to become famous almost by accident, as though Rome itself had suddenly looked around the…
A nostalgic story of Italian elegance, lakeside mornings, Mediterranean summers and the boat that became a dream There was a time when luxury did not need to shout. It arrived quietly at the end of a wooden pier. You heard…
The Fiat 900T, the shopkeepers of old Italy, and the narrow streets where an entire country earned its living There was a time in Italy when the day began with the metallic sound of a shop shutter rising. It was…
Mario Cipolla, the Iso Isetta and the courage to start when almost everyone expected you to fail The essential facts in this story are real: car number 2100 was an Italian Iso Isetta driven by Mario Cipolla with L. Brioschi…
Italy, August 1963 In August 1963, Giulio Bardi did something that every mechanic in Milan considered either magnificent or idiotic: he attached a caravan to a Ferrari and told his wife they were going on holiday. Claudia stared at the…
The Lost Italian Ritual of Families, Blankets, Small Cars and Long Afternoons in the Sun There was a time in Italy when happiness did not need to be booked, reserved or photographed. It did not require a hotel, a restaurant,…
A nostalgic journey through the Italy of stations, departures, reunions and the legendary FS E.646 There was a time when travelling by train was not simply a way of getting from one place to another. It was an event. The…
Bicycle Thieves: Vittorio De Sica and the Rome That Could Not Afford to Dream A spoiler-free Great Italian Films story 1948 | Directed by Vittorio De Sica | Written with Cesare Zavattini | Starring Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola and Lianella…
Life Is Beautiful: Love, Laughter and the Fragile Light of an Italian Family A spoiler-free Great Italian Films story 1997 | Directed by Roberto Benigni | Screenplay by Roberto Benigni and Vincenzo Cerami | Music by Nicola Piovani La Vita…