The call of the Sistine Chapel often lets modern gems slip away. Don't let it happen.
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Fortapàsc
Marco Risi's biopic about a journalist slain by the Camorra is lean and strong.
No more ringhiere
Milan ancient and vivid L'Isola neighborhood is gradually being made to disappear.
Bards in a box
Talk show critics of Silvio Berlusconi not only report the weather, they're the forecast.
I Was an Elephant Salesman
Pap Khouma's 1980s immigrant saga has its roots in a gentler, softer Italy, now long-gone.
Prova d’Orchestra (Orchestra Rehearsal)
Fellini's forgotten morality play about Italian chaos hasn't lost an ounce of relevance.
Yesterday and today
A first trip to Pompeii makes the world seem all the more like a spinning wheel.
No más
Chile's rescued miners are a gross national sales pitch, a sign of the times.
Ear of the eavesdropper
Blasphemy is a matter of opinion, except where it's painfully illegal.
What cooks need
Equipping your kitchen with implements of mass delight isn't that hard.
Sam’s disappointment
What did Mark Twain think of Rome? "One charm of travel," he wrote, "dies here."
My favorite fallacies
Italian cooking has all kinds of ins and outs, but American misconceptions abound.