Culture archives: Cultural Italian news in English

balsamic vinegar acetaia di giorgio Modena Image credit: Acetaia di Giorgio

Balsamic vinegar of Modena

September 6, 2026September 6, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

We look at the history of balsamic vinegar and how a centuries-old Este court tradition became one of Italy’s most fiercely protected culinary exports.

Maggie Gyllenhaal By Montclair Film - NEG_2969, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=111701620

Maggie Gyllenhaal calls lack of female directors up for award ‘systemic’

September 3, 2026September 3, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

The lack of female directors competing for the Golden Lion at this year’s Venice Film Festival reflects a wider “systemic problem”, jury president Maggie Gyllenhaal said as the world’s oldest film festival prepared to open on Wednesday.

Moretti’s “prodigal son” return leads Italian charge for Golden Lion

September 2, 2026September 2, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Five Italian films compete for the Golden Lion top prize at this year’s Venice Film Festival, running September 2–12. Nanni Moretti is back in competition after 37 years, alongside stories of love, ghosts and horror.

Cardinal Scipione Borghese By Ottavio Leoni - [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=101285191

On this day: birth of Cardinal Scipione Borghese, art collector

September 1, 2026September 2, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Cardinal Scipione Borghese, nephew of Pope Paul V, used his vast wealth and power to build one of history’s greatest art collections. He championed the young Bernini and recognised Caravaggio’s genius from the beginning.

On this day: Ugo Nespolo, artist, born

August 29, 2026August 29, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Painter, sculptor, filmmaker and writer, Ugo Nespolo, known for playful, ironic works blending Pop Art, collage and Italian avant-garde traditions was born on this day in 1941 in Mosso, near Biella in Piedmont.

Pierpaolo Battista to perform Elvish song at Tolkein Society Oxonmoot in September

Italian composer to perform Elvish work at Oxonmoot

August 29, 2026August 29, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Abruzzo-born musician Pierpaolo Battista set to present Quenya composition at Oxonmoot, the annual gathering for devotees of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Palazzo Strozzi in Florence to open a new courtyard bistro. Sailko, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Palazzo Strozzi to open new courtyard bistro

August 27, 2026August 27, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Tommaso Mazzanti is developing a standalone concept for Renaissance courtyard of Palazzo Strozzi, due to open at the end of September. The palazzo is pushing to become a meeting place beyond its exhibitions.

Antonello da Messina masterpieces stolen during Assumption festival

August 19, 2026August 19, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

Four works by Renaissance master Antonello da Messina have been stolen from a museum in his native Messina, Sicily, in a daring raid that police believe may have involved someone with inside knowledge.

basilica of Assisi, on part of the Il Cammino Francesco

Il Cammino di Francesco creates a single 1,500km route

August 3, 2026August 3, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

“Il Cammino di Francesco – Il Cammino della Luce” folds together scattered regional trails from six regions, all converging on Assisi, as the town prepares to mark eight centuries since the saint’s death.

Detail of the restored ceiling fresco Credit: Courtesy of the Archaeological Park of Pompeii

Pompeii restorers piece together painted ceiling

July 27, 2026July 27, 2026Deborah CaterLeave a Comment

More than a quarter of a vaulted dining room ceiling from the House with Bakery has been rebuilt from fragments found where it collapsed nearly 2,000 years ago. It reveals a richly decorated scene of Dionysus and Ariadne.