Italian Rasta, MonBy Kailah Bharath
Alessandro Fusco is leaning over a railing surrounded by lavender flowers and clay-tile rooftops when he suddenly jumps, waving his arms in excitement. Wow! Take the picture. . . Come, come, come. A humming bird… please, please you see it? Stay here, it’s there. Phew! That was great! Fusco, 22, is about as unconventional as a Jamaican bobsled team. Read More
Does Catholicism Have a Prayer?By Robert Boag
As the priest sets the bread of the Eucharist on Carlos Mascio’s outstretched tongue, the sound of contemporary jazz blares from outside into the ancient walls of the San Francesco Church. It is Friday night and the daily Mass is far from the minds of most of the residents of Urbino. Just outside the church walls, hundreds of people are drinking and dancing as a few faithful Catholics stand in procession to take communion. Read More
Old Urbino Collects Its StoriesBy Cara Prodanovich
Lamberto Staccioli has a quiet way about him. His manner and dress give the word “gentleman” its oldest and best meaning. His soft words reverberate off the vaulted ceiling of his city’s ancient mausoleum as he describes its history. Read More
Around the World By BikeBy Jennifer Stafford
Keiichi Iwasaki went to college and then earned a master’s degree in Chemistry. Like many other young Japanese, he longed to see the world. But not in the usual way. “I thought that if I use airplane it’s too fast so I can’t see nothing,” he says in the broken English he learned growing up in his native Japan. “But bicycling is much better to see the world.” Read More
Fighting Kites in the Skies of UrbinoBy Gregory Wahler
Sirto Sorini, 78, and Mauro Patarchi, 44, huddle intently over a table filled with objects that resemble an arts and crafts project in the same manner two men in America might analyze the engine of a 1960’s muscle car. The pair makes gestures to each other as they speak rapidly and begin working with the materials in front of them. Read More
The Last Families of UrbinoBy Mojan Nourbakhsh
Antonio Bisciari looks over this famous Renaissance city that has been his family’s home for 150 years and sees what the tourists see: a picture-perfect postcard town of unforgettable beauty. But he also sees something else. Read More
Moving to Italy: Reality vs. DreamBy Matt Wettengel
In 2006 Carolyn Fichera wondered if her move to Italy wasn’t a big mistake. Her infant son was crying, her neighbors in Nicosia offered her only criticism for her American ways – and she missed some basics of life in the states. Like a clothes dryer, and a babysitter. Living in Sicily, it turned out, was a lot more challenging than just visiting there. Read More
