Italian brothels were closed in 1958, but the sex trade persists.
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Dreaming of Waterland
Landlocked Milan has a liquid past — now, all it has to do is dig it up and use it.
Germination
The flu will tell you when it’s thirsty. Do not attempt to drown it on the advice of your local sorcerer.
Radio Days
I, Khrushchev, leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, negotiator of bedtime pacts, listened awestruck.
Hawkers
“I am classy, smart, sexy and ambitious... I love to travel internationally…”
Clever Old Men
Silvio Berlusconi is a very big chip off an old and sprawling block.
Ruta-Velt
First Rutelli, now Veltroni: Rome’s mayors seem poised to go 0-for-2000.
Privileged Duty
A son's looking ahead to school can make the Atlantic seem very wide.
Zia Maria’s dragons
A watercolor of recollections brings tales of wartime betrayal.
Promised land
Political promise has two sides. Barack Obama speaks to the second.
Snow
Did I know the song "When a Man Loves a Woman"? Corinne wanted to know.
No Exit
If you want an operative metaphor for Italian "malaise," try the door — if you can find it.