Little Italy in Eritrea

Reuters is carrying an interesting little (alas, all too short) article on the lingering influence of Italian culture in Asmara, Eritrea. After being brutally “colonized” during the rule of Mussolini, the region that now includes both Ethiopia and Eritrea gained its freedom, only to fall into a civil war as Eritrea sought independence from its neighbor.

After chatting in Italian to an elderly gent in an immaculate dark suit and carrying a cane, wander off to an outside terrace and lunch on spaghetti alle vongole (spaghetti with clams).

A few hours later, drop into a peaceful gelateria with views over wooded hills for a delicious coffee ice cream.

A hill town in Tuscany? Or maybe the palms mark it as one of Sicily’s cities?

Far from it. This is Asmara, capital of Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. No wonder a few days there can leave a former correspondent in Italy somewhat confused. (Link)

Tomb raider (no, not Lara) reveals oldest-ever Italian paintings

The opening paragraph from Reuters says it all:

FORMELLO, Italy (Reuters) – Italy unveiled on Friday a new archaeological site that some experts say houses the oldest paintings in the history of Western civilization. (Link)

The man who lead authorities to the site is apparently a suspected tomb raider and performed the kind deed in hope of receiving some kind of plea bargain. The paintings are attributed to the Etruscans, an ancient people that lived in the peninsula before the Romans.

BMW and the Mille Miglia

Forbes.com has a nice story describing how Italy's Mille Miglia (thousand-mile) race has shaped the history of BMW. If anything else, it's great to know that people are still racing 1937 BMWs.

Another example of successful German-Italian collaboration also comes from the world of motoring: the relationship between BMW and Italy's Mille Miglia (Thousand Mile) endurance race. The event began in 1927 and is today a race of historic automobiles. In 1940, the BMW 328 Mille Miglia Touring Coupe won the race and set a record with an average speed of 103.6 mph. Drivers Giuliano Cané and Lucia Galliani won the 2006 Mille Miglia, which runs from Brescia to Rome and back again along a different route, in a 1937 BMW 328 MM. It was their sixth Mille Miglia victory in the last 10 years in a BMW 328.

BMW now has a concept car based on the 1940 328 and it is oh-so cool.

Link (English, w/ pics, via Wired.com)

Italy celebrates Liberation Day

On April 25th, 1945, the Nazi army left Milan after an uprising among the Italian resistance movement and a renewed Allied offensive. The date is a national holiday in Italy, and was celebrated today by thousands of people in the streets of Milan, including newly-elected prime minister Romano Prodi, who hoped that "spirit of April 25th will always be with us," and promised to "build a new Italy."

It is fitting that April 25th also marks the day (in 2005) when Italy returned the Obelisk of Axum, which it stole from Ethopia after invading the country in 1937 — a pointless and cowardly war that only served to pump up Mussolini's fascist regime.

Coincidentally, today also marks the birth of the Italian physicist and inventor Guglielmo Marconi, who was a key player in the invention of modern radio technology. 

500 year anniversary of Saint Peter’s Basilica

Five hundred years ago today Pope Julius II placed the first stone to what would eventually become the impressive Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome. The Basilica is considered by many Catholics to be one of the most sacred spots on earth, since it houses the burial place of the apostle Peter, and it is arguably the largest church in the world. The 500th anniversary will be celebrated on the 2nd of July with a concert featuring Antonio Pappalardo's composition "Petrus Eni" (meaning "Peter is within"–the inscription found in a tomb under the church, where Peter is said to be buried).

St. Peter's was begun in 1506 but not completed until 1626. The dome, which has a diameter of 140 feet and rises nearly 400 ft above the church floor, was designed by none other than Michelangelo himself (typical Renaissance man–their talents are enough to drive one to envy!).

Link (to Italian news story)