Apulian Days
One father’s war
In the latter years of World War II, the father of columnist Aldo Magagnino was "drafted" into an odyssey he could never have predicted.
And the rabbi came
Toward the end of June 1990, I drove to the top of the Serra di Spigolizzi, in Salento, to visit two dear friends, the Flemish sculptor Norman Mommens and his [...]
A galaxy far, far away
July was the month. I used to wait for it, yearn for it, dream and daydream of it. July was the time of real vacation, the heart of any school’s [...]
“On the left, over the sea…”
Now, I know you’ll never believe it. And I can't blame you if you don’t. I can hardly believe it myself all these years later. Yes, I had a close [...]
Faking it with glee
The spreading of manipulated information has been a constant throughout most of human history. Now, however, in the social media era, it appears to have reached its zenith. Consciously or [...]
Into the soul of the deep south
Italy is the country, as someone used to say, of one thousand belfries, where “belfry” stands for home town. In fact, there are about 8,000 cities, towns, and villages scattered [...]
No place left but up
Reading some of the international press coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, one can come across any number of diverging opinions. Some authors and columnists disagree with the virus containment measures [...]
Rx. for pandemic patience: Cook, eat, read
In times of crisis people have always been able to find unexpected solutions. In the past, and especially here, in southern Apulia, the solutions were ready at hand, since crisis [...]
And what shall they do?
It is difficult to say what will change in Britain and Europe after Brexit. It is to be expected that both the British economy and those of European Union member [...]
Once upon a cuckoo’s nest
So this was London, Victoria Station. A cacophony of sounds and noises and voices, voices of crowds, voices streaming out of loudspeakers, announcing departures and arrivals, requesting attention, giving instructions. [...]
Coming of age, in English
New columnist Aldo Magagnino recalls stumbling on, and learning, a tongue from a distant land.
Author
Aldo Magagnino was born in Alezio (Apulia). After a career as a teacher of English he now works fulltime as a literary translator. He now lives in the Apulian town of Presicce, a few miles from Santa Maria di Leuca, land’s end of the Italian boot, with his wife, two dogs and a variable number of cats.