Why Do Fascists Love Dante?
Italy’s far right has misguidedly claimed the medieval poet as one of its own for more than a century.
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Hulton Archive / Getty; Print Collector / Getty; Stefano Guidi / Getty; The Atlantic The Politics of Pinocchio
With two new adaptations of the classic Italian tale, it’s time to return to the source: a very unusual and dark novel.
Fritz Kredel / Getty Mussolini Speaks, and Tells Us How Democracy Dies
A new novel about the rise of fascism, written from Il Duce’s perspective, has lessons for our fragile political system.
Adam Maida / The Atlantic; Getty The Jewish Opera Italy Couldn’t Bear to Hear
It was canceled 80 years ago due to anti-Semitic laws. Now, it’s finally going mainstream—but so is the fascist ideology that blocked it in the first place.
Alessandro Garofalo / Reuters Why Some Catholics Defend the Kidnapping of a Jewish Boy
It’s not about the Church’s relationship with Jews. It’s about the culture war inside the Church.
Catholic Populists Have to Respect the Pope, but They Love Trump
How will they square their religious obligations with their political desires as the U.S. president visits the Vatican?
Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters What Does It Mean to Be a ‘Secular Muslim’?
In Italy, some want the category recognized by the government. Others say it’s totally meaningless.
Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters When Left-Wing Feminists and Conservative Catholics Unite
In Europe, a reproductive rights issue yields an unlikely partnership.
Jean-Sebastian Evrard / AFP / Getty The Alt-Right's Intellectual Darling Hated Christianity
The Italian philosopher Julius Evola is an unlikely hero for defenders of the “Judeo-Christian West.”
Stefano Rellandini / Reuters The Town in Italy Where Most Women Are Barred From Inheriting Land
The commons outside of Cortina D’Ampezzo are governed by a medieval property-rights system that has almost completely disappeared from the rest of Europe.
Consorzio di Promozione Turistica di Cortina d’Ampezzo
