published in 1914, already recommended travelling to Varese on the
Porto Ceresio railway,
which, in 1905,
had been taken over by the Ferrovia dello Stato (FS – State Railway company). The line was intended to be âchosen by the Ferrovia Nord railway company,
because the equipment (trains etc.)
was more comfortable and fasterâ, thanks to electrical power.
Gone was the smoking steam locomotive that blew ash and soot onto the spotless dresses of the Milanese ladies;
the people went to Central Station, outside the gate of Porta Venezia (now Piazza Repubblica) and looked for the platform for Varese, without getting too close to the panting black locomotives. And the number of journeys from Milan to the foothills of Varese (twenty trains a day, and more!) made the ride comfortable even for short stays.
SanPa, many voices to reconstruct the story of Vincenzo Muccioli and San Patrignano
Released a week ago, the Netflix docu-series is causing much discussion. It is a cross section that reconstructs the history of the community from its foundation in 1978 until Muccioli s death in 1995.
Carlo Gabardini, who produced it together with
Gianluca Neri and Paolo Bernardelli, sums up well what inspired SanPa, the Netflix series dedicated to the San Patrignano community. It is a theme that opens, and in some ways closes, the documentary that has at its centre the figure of
Vincenzo Muccioli.
THE HISTORY OF SANPA
It was in the 1970s that the spread of drugs began to be increasingly discussed in Italy. This was immediately done in sensationalist and accusatory tones. The first episode was a police action on a barge on the Tiber in Rome and caused a great clamour, as
Sciascia and the children: âcarusoâ yesterday, digital zombies today
Today is the centenary of the great Sicilian writerâs birth. His family history is strictly linked to the harsh reality of the sulphur mines, where his grandfather, his father and his brother worked.
Today is the centenary of Leonardo Sciasciaâs birth. He was born in Racalmuto, in the province of Agrigento, from Pasquale Sciascia, an employee, and Genoveffa Martorelli, a housewife.
Sciasciaâs history is rooted in sulphur. His grandfather, Leonardo ,was first a âCarusoâ, then foreman and administrator in the local mines; his father was the administrator of a sulphur mine in Ãssaro, along with his younger son, Leonardoâs brother, a mine expert (they both ended up tragically: young Giuseppe took his life; his father was in prison for attempted murder). âWithout the sulphur mine adventure, there wouldnât have been the writing adventure, of the storyte