Letter from the editors
Ciao a tutti!
At this obviously very tough time for us all, we are proud to present the next issue of La Civetta and hope that it is a welcome distraction for you all. After much consideration, we ultimately chose for this edition to have two equally important central themes - The Church and the Climate.
Given that the institution plays such a huge and important role in Italian culture, we initially decided that this issue of La Civetta should focus on the influence of the Catholic Church in Italy. Regardless of how you may view it, it is hard to ignore that the impact of Catholicism is ingrained in the Italian way of living, and this is reflected in how it appears in every section of this edition of the magazine. While Lotte’s article on Pope Francis insists that the political role of the Church is changing in Italy, Pip and Sav show us how it continues to touch every aspect of life there, from fashion to sport respectively and even further still into the Art and Culture section.
Upon the sudden announcement of Greta Thunberg’s trip to Bristol, however, we also began thinking about the climate. As Lia underlines in her account of the young activist’s visit, we were lucky enough to experience a Friday for Future firsthand and see how Greta’s work is changing the world. Having already been writing an article about the movement of Le Sardine in Italy, Anna began thinking about how this new climate-conscious mentality is having an impact in Italy in particular, and as a result of this, we decided that it would be important to explore this theme too. This discovery allowed us to realise how dynamic and rewarding the work that we put into La Civetta can be, as we had to work together to make changes to an issue that was already well into production, and try our best to ensure that both of these themes are reflected equally in its contents.
Outside of this, we are also thrilled to present a range of engaging articles about the other aspects of Italian culture as our readership has come to expect. In this issue, you can find a fascinating interview about Oral History with Professor Alessandro Portelli, a rundown of this year’s Sanremo song contest and a beautiful piece about life in Calabria to name but a few. There truly is something for us all to enjoy!
We feel that it would be undutiful as the editors of a magazine about Italian culture to ignore the context in which this issue is released. Having known neither when the virus would start spreading through Europe as it had begun to do in East Asia, nor the magnitude with which it would inevitably do so, Italy quickly became the epicentre of the outbreak and we must consider that the immense and unprecedented pain and confusion experienced there has allowed us all to learn and become prepared. It is so important that we do not take this for granted.
Both of our chosen themes are super important given the current situation in Italy. Up and down the peninsula Catholic priests are trying tirelessly to unify a people who are physically separated by the circumstances in which they find themselves and trying to instil in them a little light of hope. Stuck indoors, we must also look at the positives that this change of pace has offered us, such as the rare opportunity to consider how grateful we should all be for the life we will continue to live in a world which we must truly start to protect.
Finally, we would like to take the opportunity to wish everyone a safe and Happy Easter, surrounded by those you care about the most, and we hope to see you all back in Bristol soon.
Take care,
Oli, Lia, Eleri and Anna