Articles by: Gerardo Papalia

Just over a year ago, in an article in 'Arena Magazine' following the Italian elections, I expressed my fears that Italy's new coalition government could push the country to the far right. In the aftermath of the European elections it appears that this feared outcome has materialised.

In February 2018 a satirical film released in Italy entitled I'm Back used an actor dressed as Benito Mussolini to portray the return of the dictator to contemporary Italy. In some 'documentary' scenes the imitation Mussolini rides between Rome's ancient and modern monuments on the back of a Vespa. Apparently unwitting bystanders greet him with mixed responses. Some take selfies with him, others give the Fascist salute, still others protest, but there are also those…

Those who have heard of Pier Paolo Pasolini in the English-speaking world are most likely to know of him as a director of controversial films. However, Pasolini, who was born in Bologna in 1922 and murdered on the outskirts of Rome in 1975, started his creative life as a writer of poetry and prose. His work often reflected a struggle to reconcile his contradictions: he was gay and yet he proclaimed his faithfulness to Catholic…