Latest news with #Naples
Irish Times
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Forget the guide book: Immerse yourself in these location-based novels
ITALY I always like to match my reading to my trips. I'm back with Elena Ferrante for an upcoming holiday in Naples, and loving the simmer of Italian heat, culture and family life throughout the Neapolitan Novels. As a long-term EM Forster fan, I'd say that A Room with a View is perfect for gorgeous first impressions on Florence, mixed with depth, humour and clandestine love. Elizabeth Bowen 's Italian stories, scattered through the Collected Stories, are divine, full of boating on lakes and individualistic characters rubbing along badly. One of my favourite Bowen novels, The Hotel, is set on the Italian Riviera, and features her usual collection of snobs, maverick young ladies, odd encounters and stunning descriptions. Sharper than Forster, she conjures the light and leisure of Italian holidays perfectly. Nuala O'Connor Nuala O'Connor's latest novel is Seaborne (New Island) An exceptional memoir of a year in Rome is André Aciman 's My Roman Year. In 1966, teenager André was a refugee from Alexandria, a victim of President Nasser's campaign to 'Arabise' Egypt. He hates Rome initially, but gradually falls in love with the city, first with the historical centre, but also with the less picturesque parts – and with various Romans. With André you cycle around the city, you gasp at the sudden dramatic appearance of the Colosseum in the bus window, you savour the smell of bergamot. Even if you're not in the eternal city. But it would be wonderful to read it while there. Heading to Trieste? Nothing is better than Jan Morris 's Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere. All her travel books are brilliant. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne Éilís Ní Dhuibhne's latest book is Selected Stories (Blackstaff Press) READ MORE UNITED STATES Music-loving visitors to the United States will enjoy Imani Perry 's Black in Blues, a remarkably beautiful book exploring black culture from Thelonius Monk to Toni Morrison. Bob Dylan 's Chronicles: Volume One is not only the best book about Bob Dylan, it is the best book about New York. Other masterful evocations of the Apple include Frank O'Hara 's Lunch Poems and Patti Smith 's Just Kids. The United States' greatest wordsmiths have been songwriters, and most had immigrant roots. As your flight crosses the Atlantic, it would be lovely to listen to Van Morrison 's stunning new album, Remembering Now, a moving and thrilling memoir that unfurls into glorious life the soul, blues, jazz and gospel that have been the United States' richest artistic gifts, the soundtrack of its better angels. Joseph O'Connor Joseph O'Connor's latest novel is The Ghosts of Rome (Harvill Secker) NETHERLANDS I became a fan of Gerbrand Bakker when I read The Twin about 10 years ago. His new novel The Hairdresser's Son (also translated by David Colmer) examines loneliness and grief as quiet-living Simon puzzles over the long-standing mystery of his father's disappearance. William Golding's The Lord of the Flies regularly appears on '100 best books' lists, and for its 70th anniversary, in 2024, the Dutch illustrator and author Aimée de Jongh reimagined it as a beautiful and evocative graphic novel. De Jongh's version celebrates the original text yet is also entirely original and fresh. Set in the Dutch countryside in 1961, Yael van der Wouden 's Women's Prize-winning debut, The Safekeep , is both a psychological thriller and love story, a marvellously unsettling portrait of desire, possessiveness and the creep of obsession. Henrietta McKervey Henrietta McKervey's latest novel is A Talented Man (Hachette Books Ireland) FRANCE The writing of the Nobel laureate Annie Ernaux tracks her experiences as a working-class woman and offers a more prosaic version of France than we are used to. Try Happening to begin with. Leila Slimani 's Goncourt-winning Lullaby was a shocking novel about a nanny who kills the children in her care, but it also examines the Parisian bourgeoisie, class divisions and the dilemma of domestic labour in the age of equality. Hervé Le Tellier 's The Anomaly is a mind-bending speculative mystery that sees a planeful of people duplicated during a storm. Le Tellier explores the different paths the duplicate characters' lives take, and what it might mean. This too won the Prix Goncourt. Finally, the crime writer Clémence Michallon 's The Quiet Tenant is a psychological thriller about a woman held captive by a serial killer. Edel Coffey Edel Coffey's latest novel is In Her Place (Sphere) PORTUGAL José Saramago 's career can be roughly divided into pre-Nobel, when his novels intimately examined Portuguese history, and post-Nobel, when they evolved into less geographically specific parables. His sole work of nonfiction, Journey to Portugal, translated by Amanda Hopkinson and Nick Caistor, is a fine meditative travelogue set in post-Salazar Portugal in 1979. The other giant of contemporary Portuguese literature is António Lobo Antunes . A trained psychiatrist who spent three years as an army medic in the colonial war in Angola, Lobo Antunes is one of literature's greatest living stylists, a radiographer of late-20th century Portugal, especially the messy reflux of decolonisation. A good starting point is his 1988 novel, The Return of the Caravels, translated by Gregory Rabassa. Fernando Pessoa 's 'autobiography without facts', The Book of Disquiet, translated by Richard Zenith, might be a hackneyed suggestion, but few books capture the essence of a city for a visitor so well as it does of Lisbon. Oliver Farry Oliver Farry is a foreign correspondent and book reviewer CROATIA I firmly believe that, had she not died in 2018, Dasa Drndic would feature in the Nobel conversation today. Monumental novels such as Trieste (translated by Ellen Elias Bursac), Belladonna and EEG (translated by Celia Hawkesworth) encapsulate so much about personal and European history in the 20th century and resonate loudly today. Exciting younger writers have also broken through. Tea Tulic 's debut novel, Hair Everywhere, translated by Coral Petkovich, is surprising and tender in depicting a family upended by cancer. Olja Savicevic has had two excellent novels translated into English: Farewell, Cowboy and Singer in the Night (both translated by Celia Hawkesworth). Those looking to lose themselves in an epic historical family saga should certainly look out for The Brass Age by Slobodan Snajder (also translated by Celia Hawkesworth). Rónán Hession Rónán Hession's latest novel is Ghost Mountain (Bluemoose) SPAIN Spain is associated with light, colour and the pleasures of the palate. It is also a country that suffered a devastating civil war in the 20th century and decades of dictatorship. The tensions and legacies from that period are still present in contemporary Spanish society. Javier Marías , who died in 2022, was one of the most perceptive and able chroniclers of the deep divisions in Spain that resulted from the brutal repression and all-pervasive surveillance of the fascist years. In novels such as The Infatuations (2013), Thus Bad Begins (2016), Berta Isla (2018) and Tomás Nevinson (2021), Marías offers a forensic exploration of how a society is indelibly marked by political violence and by the consequent temptations of compliance and betrayal. One of the enduring delights of Marías's writing is his utterly distinctive voice, which at once draws the reader into his sensitive and richly detailed description of his home country. Michael Cronin Michael Cronin is professor of French at Trinity College Dublin For Lanzarote, you could do much worse than grab Margaret Drabble 's The Dark Flood Rises, which is largely set on that island. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne GREECE I recently researched a novel set in Greece that I didn't write, so I have ideas, with the caveat that these are anglophone books about living in Greece rather than Greek literature in translation. Sofka Zinovieff 's Eurydice Street is an attentive, observant account of moving to Athens with a young family. Charmian Clift 's two memoirs, Mermaid Singing and Peel Me a Lotus, will take you to Hydra in the 1960s with Leonard Cohen passing through. Patrick Leigh Fermor 's Letters invite you to a bohemian English villa, under construction and then hosting European artists and writers, in postwar Kardamyli. And of course there are the Durrell brothers – Lawrence for preference. Sarah Moss Sarah Moss's latest novel is Ripeness (Picador) MALTA Brian Blouet 's The Story of Malta (Ninth Edition), first published in 1967, remains the best introduction to the intriguing history of this country, from the wonders of its neolithic temples to its successive colonisation by different groups, most famously the Knights of St John, who defended it from the Ottomans in a famous 1565 siege. Blouet, coincidentally a neighbour of mine when I was growing up, first came to Malta as an RAF pilot in the 1950s, when it was still part of the British Empire. Malta might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of queer history, but Beloved Malta: Stories of Sexual and Gender Identity offers a riveting alternative history of the country that is ironically enabled by the immaculate records kept by the Knights of St John. Today Malta is one of the most LGBTQ-friendly countries in the world despite the persistent influence of the Catholic Church. Daniel Geary Daniel Geary is professor of American history at Trinity College Dublin MEXICO I loved You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue , translated by Natasha Wimmer. It's zippy and humid, which makes it ideal for when the sun is getting to you. The twists and turns of its paragraphs and sentences mimic not just the palaces where its characters – Cortés, Moctezuma and a cohort of conquistadores having a bad trip – find themselves lost but also the dreamy unfurling of the alternative history that it narrates. I won't spoil what happens, but if you read it on holidays in Mexico you'll look up from the end of it with a heartbroken ache at what you see around you. 'Plot twist' doesn't cover it: it's more enigmatic than that – a wrenching of the mood, maybe. Really quite something. Might ruin the holiday, albeit in a fruitful way. Tim MacGabhann Tim MacGabhann's latest book is The Black Pool: A Memoir of Forgetting (Sceptre) AUSTRALIA In case we begin to believe that Australia is a country with a few big cities let us remind ourselves that it is a continent only slightly smaller than Europe, so clearly a few books won't cover it. But it is far away, so if you're undergoing the journey, you can read many books. I'd suggest The Fatal Shore by Robert Hughes for a drenching in essential history, and True Stories, or Everywhere I Look, by Helen Garner , one of Australia's great essayists – and there are many. I've said before that her work is put together with sentences that begin on the low ground but rise into expressions of joy, marvellous pictures as clear as a well-dusted photo album. I'd pack any anthology of short stories, because they have the capacity to illuminate in shades; be sure they include some of the more modern work, including those of First Nations voices. In fact, sorting books for the journey – did I say long journey? – is part of the pleasure. Include some poetry; that's for somewhere over the ocean spread, when you've asked yourself 'Why am I here?' while realising that, all things considered, it does make sense to travel to Australia by ship. You could then have Jon Cleary for dessert. Although not considered a literary gem, his Scobie Malone thrillers give a well-crafted glimpse into suburban Australian life, its concerns and foibles. Evelyn Conlon Evelyn Conlon's latest book is After the Train: Irishwomen United and a Network of Change (UCD Press), edited with Rebecca Pelan BULGARIA Usually when I visit a country I like to read some of its classic works. If you're heading to the Black Sea, why not read Ivan Vazov 's Under the Yoke, a passionate, rather sentimental novel about the Bulgarian fight for freedom in the late 19th century? You'll get it on your ereader. And the contemporary writer Georgi Gospodinov 's The Physics of Sorrow will give you an insight into more recent times in that intriguing country. Éilís Ní Dhuibhne TURKEY 'From a very young age, I suspected there was more to my world than I could see: somewhere in the streets of Istanbul, in a house resembling ours, there lived another Orhan so much like me that he could pass for my twin, even my double.' So begins Orhan Pamuk 's Istanbul: Memories and the City, translated by Maureen Freely, an enchanting memoir that's both scholarly and confessional. Drawing on a broad range of writers, from Baudelaire to Resat Ekrem Kocu, Pamuk evokes the city's complex history and politics, its derelict grandeur and collective melancholy – hüzün – weaving in his own coming-of-age story amid Istanbul's post-imperial decay. Ruby Eastwood Ruby Eastwood is a postgraduate student at Trinity College Dublin and a book reviewer
Fox News
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Whoopi Goldberg announces 'crazy' new role in Italian soap opera
Actress and "The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg declared in a social media video Friday that she is joining the cast of Italian soap opera "Un Posto Al Sole." "I just wanted to stop in to say how happy I am to be joining the cast of 'Un Posto Al Sole,'" she said in a viral video shared on Instagram, with what appears to be the Italian coastline behind her. "They know it's a crazy idea, I know it's a crazy idea, but what a wonderful thing to do. So I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited." "I know my Italian is not perfect," she added, "But we've worked it out." The video was shared on the official Instagram of Fremantle Italia, which is the production and distribution company behind "Un Posto Al Sole." The soap opera has been in syndication for decades, having first debuted in 1996. The Internet Movie Database describes the show as one where "The daily events of the inhabitants of the 'Palladini Palace' are intertwined with each other between love stories and deceptions, and the splendid Gulf of Naples as a background." The production company offered further details about how she will take part in their show, writing, "A surprise is coming to #UnPostoAlSole: [Whoopi Goldberg] joins the cast!Her character will be part of a special storyline and will appear in multiple episodes in 2026." Goldberg has frequently made headlines with her controversial political hot-takes on ABC's "The View," such as when she compared living in the U.S. to Iran last week, but she initially rose to fame as an entertainer, and has won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. She also branched out to comic books in 2023, where she co-wrote a comic book about a menopausal Black superhero grandmother.
Vogue
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Vogue
Maison Francesco Scognamiglio Fall 2025 Couture Collection
On the occasion of his 50th birthday, Francesco Scognamiglio decided to celebrate the return of his brand, Maison Francesco Scognamiglio, with a special event called The Renaissance on a panoramic terrace at Palazzo Reale, in Naples. After a long hiatus—and the recent reacquisition of his own label—he came back with 15 couture looks that quintessentially represented his aesthetic. This fall 2025 collection took inspiration from the mythological faun of Pompeii, linked to the historical Italian city—and Scognamiglio's hometown—destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. This creature, a symbol of ephebic beauty, was one of the main references for the designer, who reflected on the concept of beauty itself to propose what he defined as a 'new romanticism,' resulting in fluid, delicate silhouettes. The first look was the main focus of the collection, as confirmed by the designer, a representation of this fragile beauty. A well-tailored suit—proof of his expertise in Neapolitan tailoring—was sleek with wide lapels, geometrically interrupted on the shoulders, and paired with a white smoking shirt and a bow tie. But Scognamiglio's couture is about rich decorations: Vaporous feathers in pale pastels were theatrically applied on sheer gem-encrusted gowns, and also used to create boleros and sculptural headpieces. Some of the long dresses recalled the elegance of the 1930s with elongated silhouettes in semi-transparent organza and georgette, cascading volants, and matching vintage-inspired faux fur stoles. Corsetry had a big role, with intricate embellishments that recalled ancient bas-reliefs on nude or black tones to create soft or hard contrasts. A similar decoration was used for a long-sleeved dazzling mini dress, again reminiscent of Roman architectural details. Among the proposals, one identified by Scognamiglio as 'pretty special' to him was the white oversized faux fur coat on which an enormous silver rose was applied, as another touch of his baroque-like maximalism.
Wall Street Journal
21 hours ago
- General
- Wall Street Journal
‘The Buried City' Review: Pompeii on Display
After lying inert beneath volcanic ash for nearly 17 centuries, the Roman city of Pompeii, near Naples, is today a site of continuous change. New discoveries emerge constantly, even as conservators struggle to protect what's been found from damage by weather, looters and crowds. Articles and books about these findings have steadily appeared as excavations expand into parts of the town that remain buried. In 2021 Gabriel Zuchtriegel, a German classicist then in his late 30s, was given the enormous task of directing this dynamic site. His youth and non-Italian origins made him a controversial choice; some scholars signed a petition of protest or resigned from the academic advisory board in an effort to stop the appointment. In 'The Buried City,' a meditation on both the ruins of Pompeii and his life as a pioneering archaeologist, Mr. Zuchtriegel shows that his selection was an inspired choice. Whether exploring the circumstances that led him to choose his career or depicting a bustling town of the high Roman Empire, he speaks with passion, wonder and deep humanity. 'Pompeii is like a rip in the screen, through which we have the opportunity to take a peek behind the official version of history,' writes Mr. Zuchtriegel. He describes in vivid detail his 2021 discovery of a small room containing the remains of three beds and other quotidian objects. Perhaps it was the dwelling, as well as the workspace, of slaves. A newspaper described the discovery as 'the rarity of the everyday,' and Mr. Zuchtriegel takes the phrase as a rallying cry. 'The 'rarity of the everyday' could also be the title for my personal access to archaeology and Pompeii,' he writes. 'What we found here was different, precisely because it wasn't a temple, grave or palace,' says Mr. Zuchtriegel, just some 50 square feet 'of everyday hardship.' He recounts how he noticed a nail on the wall for hanging an oil lamp and, beneath it, a white painted rectangle designed to reflect the lamplight and increase illumination. Moved by this simple effort to lighten a dark existence, he ponders how the room's occupants, who no doubt lacked paint and brushes, got that rectangle made. It's one of many instances where he reimagines the lives of Rome's downtrodden.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
La Dolce Vita! Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's VERY Italian €1,000-a-head wedding menu is revealed with guests set to tuck into dishes beloved by celebrities - and cooked by a Michelin star chef
Details of the menu for tonight's post wedding dinner have emerged and it's strictly made in the south of Italy. Spaghetti, cheeses and desserts, all made from the Campania region around Naples will be served for the lucky 200 guests for an eye-watering €1,000-a-head. Michelin star chef Fabrizio Mellino of the restaurant 'Quattro Passi' in Nerano, in the province of Naples is said to have been hired for the catering. Among the main courses of the menu will his signature dish of spaghetti alla Nerano, a recipe based on fried courgettes and a smoked cheese called provolone, which is a traditional dish that the Mellino family has passed down for generations. Patisserie Minori Sal De Riso is providing mignon pastries, desserts in a glass and single portions of lemon and ricotta and pear. While for the all important wedding cake, which will be cut by the newlyweds, they have gone for famous French pastry chef Cédric Grolet, known for his theatrical creations. The scale of the nuptial do means it's been dubbed the 'wedding of a century' by some, with the 61-year-old Amazon founder - one of the world's richest men - and his bride-to-be, 55, having invited some 200 guests for a three-day celebration. However, despite the opulence and extravagance of the event, it has not been all smooth sailing so far, and the couple has already faced a number of issues. The scale of the nuptial do means it's been dubbed the 'wedding of a century' by some, with the 61-year-old Amazon founder - one of the world's richest men - and his bride-to-be, 55, having invited some 200 guests for a three-day celebration Many are unhappy about Bezos and Sanchez choosing Venice at the location for the wedding, and the run-up to the festivities has been beset by protests, carried out by anti-capitalist and environmental advocates. Tensions have been brewing over the past week as locals and protest groups object to the $46 million Venice nuptials due to fears it will 'take over the city'. The couple have already been forced to change one of the venues due to 'rising global tensions', but as news of protests continued to threaten the wedding, the couple still found themselves mired in controversy. Around 20 activists were seen on Thursday holding placards in St Mark's Square, the iconic heart of Venice, with some trying to climb a post. Elsewhere, there is a potential issue with the venue, which includes the fabulous 15th Century Madonna dell Orto church in Venice's quaint Cannargio district. The structure, however, is undergoing some maintenance; meaning that what guests will first see when they arrive is the historic bell tower covered in scaffolding. Ahead of the do, in preparation, security guards blocked off entrances to the closure where the party was set to be held. However, it is believed that the first thing guests would have seen upon arrival at the venue was the iconic bell tower covered in scaffolding. Bride-to-be Lauren Sanchez (pictured) cowered under an umbrella after a freak thunderstorm hit the couple's first pre-wedding party on Thursday Meanwhile, partygoers were hit by a freak thunderstorm last night leaving guests soaked and forced to cower under umbrellas. The couple's A-list guests like Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner were forced to take cover from the rain, forcing Thursday night's star-studded soiree into an early close. Bride-to-be Lauren was snapped surrounded by tuxedo-clad gentleman carrying blue umbrellas over her as she carefully stepped on to her awaiting boat. Another element of the nuptials that has come under scrutiny is the invitation sent out to guests. A copy of part of the material sent out by the couple had been obtained by ABC News, with some saying it looks like it could have been made by a 10-year-old. The document, which is decorated with whimsical cartoon images says: 'We're excited for you to join us! We have one early request: please, no gifts It also features what appear to be computer-generated designs of butterflies, doves, the Venice canals, gondolas, and feathers in purple, gray and pink-hues. One of the most unexpected stories that has gained headlines during the Bezos/Sanchez wedding celebrations was the split of Orlando Bloom and Katy Perry - who had reportedly been together for nine years. News of the pop princess and hunky actor's shock break-up came at the start of the Amazon billionaire's lavish three-day wedding celebrations. The headline-grabbing break-up comes after nine years together, six of which the now ex-couple - who share a four-year-old daughter together - spent engaged. This explains why 48-year-old Bloom attended the Bezos and Sanchez wedding without Perry, 40, and why he was seen appearing to wrap his arms around a mystery woman at a lavish pre-wedding party on Thursday. A source has told US weekly that the split was 'amicable'. 'Katy and Orlando have split but are amicable', said the source, adding that the break-up was so far 'not contentious'.
