Paintings by Giovanni Segantini

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Giovanni Segantini was a19th century Italian painter. He was born in Austria and had a difficult childhood after his parents died. He was shuffled between relatives and spent time in reformatories. In fact, it was chaplain at the reformatory who noticed Segantini's artist skills and encouraged him to pursue them. He eventually moved to Italy, which he considered his home, and later to Switzerland. 

He painted rural and Alpine scenes. He was quite successful during his life.

Portrait of Giovanni Segantini
by Luigi Gallina

Street food in Italy

As you might image, Italy appears to have some very good street food offerings. Above we have sausages, beef, pork and other substantial dishes. Below we have sweeter treats. Naturally, while wandering around and munching on your food you'll want some entertainment, so we end with a video of a rather unique busker drumming on some pipes.

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Sword and sandals

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In the mid 20th Century Hollywood was producing successful movies such as Spartacus and Ben-Hur. In the 1950s and 60s the Italian film industry responded by producing their own historical/mythical themed movies. These films are known as sword and sandal films. They were low budget, focusing not on lavish sets, but rather featuring muscular men (most of the leads were body builders). In addition, they showcased buxom young ladies, both as heroines in need of saving and Eeeeevil vixens up to no good. They also featured sword fighting, manly grunting and dancing girls galore. 

Back in the day, when there were only broadcast channels on TV, they would be shown on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. They were a chore to watch. The plots were ludicrous, the special effects were cheesy, and the acting was bad. The inept acting was made worse by the awful dubbing they did for English speaking audiences. 

These images, and those after the jump, are posters for some of these films. They are from 100 Years of Movie Posters post Italian Epics. There are more examples at that link.  

Did I mention they rust?

If I don't get a Bristol, I was thinking of one of these. A 1962 Alfa Giulia Berlina 1600. Cheaper than the Bristol (initial capital costs only, he was careful to add) and more available in the US, at least theoretically. There supposedly is a dentist on Mercer Island just outside Seattle with a barn full of these and other postwar Alfa Romeos.

What began as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili has a glorious history, one of invention or early adoption of those technical innovations – like overhead cams, aluminum heads, fuel injection – that would one day be standard on most vehicles. There is a famous and almost certainly apocryphal story that Henry Ford would doff his cap whenever an Alfa drove by. In pre-WWII years, they could be surprisingly big. After WWII, all that changed. Smaller, lighter, monocoque bodies, more economical. But the quality of the steel was often not the best and the rear wheel arches and rocker panels lasted about as long as a typical mid-60s Italian government. Same with the A and B pillars and the cowling. Same with the heater blower motor. But when everything is running right, you can pretend you are Tazio Nuvolari or Juan Manuel Fangio as you drive to the Post Office and the supermarket. And the cute girl is included with the car, or so I'm told.

Image: Museo Storico Alfa Romeo.