EDITOR'S LETTER
Ciao a tutti!
It’s hard to believe that I’m already writing the parting words, attempting to sum up the first full year of La Civetta. Our summer issue – the third and final one of the year – is here, after which I will be stepping down to embark on my year abroad and letting someone else take the magazine forward.
One of our main challenges as a magazine this year was to lay down foundations for future years and to get our name out around the university, and all the indications are that we’ve succeeded. Around 200 people from across the university attended the talk we co-organised with the International Affairs Society and the Italian Department by Professor John Dickie. Our first two issues have both reached over 600 people across five continents. We’ve got over 1,000 followers on Twitter and almost 200 “likes” on Facebook. Around a quarter of the students in the department this year contributed to the magazine in some way.
More than the numbers though, it has been the enthusiasm and willingness of all the contributors which has been great to see, with people really wanting to talk about the things that make Italy special for them. This magazine provides the space, and they’ve done a brilliant job of filling it. In this issue, we’re taking you around our favourite food markets, looking forward to the Milan Expo, comparing Sicily and Sardinia, discussing work as an Italian-English interpreter with a University of Bristol alumna, and much more.
It’s important for me to thank the staff of the Italian department for their help and collaboration with this project. They’ve given their time and advice willingly, whilst giving us the space to flourish as an almost unique, purely student-led initiative. I hope they, and you, feel the end result has been worth it. I certainly do, and I look forward to seeing La Civetta continue to grow and flourish. Thank you also to Bethany Jenkin for designing the beautiful front cover, and to Julia Webster and Lottie Baring for the design and layout of the magazine, which is, as ever, amazing.
Wherever you are in the world, on behalf of the staff of La Civetta, I wish you all a bright, beautiful and enjoyable summer. Thank you once again for your support of the magazine this year.
Sahar Zivan
Issue Five - Summer 2015