#◟ ⋆ writing : › giovanni rossi !

[mkumine]

a starter for @nosaintz 。 based on this.

this wouldn't be the first time giovanni had been with an employer, sneaking off after his supposed shift. the man had a collection of videos on his phone as proof if anyone needed it — from lonely wives to rebellious daughters, all eager and so willing to do whatever it took to create a spark back in their lives, or leave a lasting memory that could keep them going in their monotonous, dreadful lives. often times, giovanni would feed them words of hope and other times, meaningless words of desire just so it would feed their egos. besides, servicing them offered additional larger tips for him. who was he to deny them of it? this time might've been different though, but it was too soon to tell. "holy shit." he would say as he reaches out for her, his thicker digits grabbing onto her chin. his thumb grazing against that pouting plump lip of hers, all the while a smirk dancing along his lips. "you were made for the camera. you're like a natural on it." there he goes again, whispering praises to feed their lonely souls, promises of what attention from him they sought out for. "wanna show the camera what you can do with that mouth of yours?"

[astorythatwritesitself]

Re-intro time? Re-intro time

About Me & This Blog:

• Paine. Queer, 30, any pronouns. I follow back from dr-paine; and you'll never guess what my AO3 username is.

• Writing for 20+ years in some capacity

• Genre of choice is Fantasy. (High, low, slice of life or ungodly horror, mixed with sci-fi or the most classic Medieval sword and sorcery bullshit, I just need a touch, even if only implied, of magic.) I don't delve much into NSFW but it may come up; in any case: please only follow if you're 18+, and treat this blog with the mindset of 'creator chose not to use archive warnings'.

• I crave interaction, especially via tag/ask games - seriously. I reblog a lot of them. Do Not Hesitate. (And I always try to send an ask if you reblog any from me!)

• Hobbyist writer - I'm not aiming to be published, but I do want to improve my skills and eventually like... 'win a NaNo' in the sense of writing a complete, longform story one of these days. But also having fun is a priority, and ADHD + work is a cruel mistress, so I'll jump between WIPs on a whim, or just. Drop shit for months on end lol.

Vague List of Active Projects

While I have a ton of ideas, these are the ones that actually have like... any sort of substance to them, whether it's actual words or just a solid outline + desire to work on it. Each will eventually get a dedicated links/resource post, but for now, here's the basics!

Relentless As The Tide

(Mass Effect fics (roughly) following canon events/characters)

Adrian Shepard has been primed for heroism her entire life. Her first chance ended in a tragedy, one neither she nor the Alliance has ever properly owned up to. Saren's betrayal and the beacon's vision offer her the chance to atone for her failure at Akuze, and she'll do everything in her power to do so - even (and especially) if it kills her in the process.

Or so she believes - but uncovering the truth means looking for allies, and the more she gathers, the harder it becomes to believe that her death should - or can - be the end; and that perhaps heroism is just a means of distraction from confronting her own demons.

Unnamed Pokemon Project

(Loose follow through/retelling of Pokemon: Soul Silver)

Giovanni Rossi, former leader of the Viridian City pokemon gym, has confessed to heading the infamous Rocket organization, whose poaching and illegal trade has devestated the Kanto ecosystem for the past twenty years. However, he claims it was all for a good cause - just prior to founding Rocket, Giovanni had been part of a team trying to create artificial pokemon... and their most viable subject escaped. Rocket existed for the sake of tracking down and eventually overpowering this creature, but now... well, he wishes those in the Kanto and Johto regions the best of luck.

Following a break in at the New Bark Town lab, an assistant to Professor Elm - a reclusive young man named Linden - tracks down the suspect, only to find it's none other than Silver Rossi, Giovanni's own son. The boy claims he wants to take down the creature his father helped create and clear his own name from the scandal... and Linden has reasons of his own that make him want to see how things play out, even if it means he must shadow Silver's journey by embarking on one of his own.

Unnamed OC Project

(Original fantasy work)

In a world of faded magic, Elora Ryba cares little for talk of soon-to-come saviors or the sightings of dragons. No, she has other things on her mind - return to the town she was forced to leave over ten years ago, and steal its most precious treasure. And, ideally, marry her, as Elora promised that night she was forced to flee.

Which is why Elora's spent the past month searching for a priest corrupt enough to join a pirate's crew, but not corrupt (or worse, moral) enough to turn her in, and she thinks she's finally found one.

And the big list of fandoms/shit I like!

[docrotten]

CANNIBAL FEROX (1981) – Episode 271 – Decades of Horror 1980s

“No! Stop! That meat might be Rudy!” You finally gave up on the cannibals-are-a-myth idea, aye? Join your faithful Grue Crew – Crystal Cleveland, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they feast on their second Italian cannibal film. This time, it’s Umberto Lenzi’s Cannibal Ferox (1981).

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 271 – Cannibal Ferox (1981)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! Click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Gruesome Magazine is partnering with the WICKED HORROR TV CHANNEL (https://wickedhorrortv.com/) which now includes video episodes of Decades of Horror 1980s and is available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, and its online website across all OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.

Synopsis: Three friends set out to disprove cannibalism on a trip to the Amazonian jungle, where they meet two men trying to escape a vicious cannibal tribe.

Written & Directed by: Umberto Lenzi

Special Effects by: Gino De Rossi

Selected Cast:

Giovanni Lombardo Radice as Mike Logan (credited as John Morghen)

Lorraine De Selle as Gloria Davis

Danilo Mattei as Rudy Davis (credited as Bryan Redford)

Zora Kerova as Pat Johnson (credited as Zora Kerowa)

Walter Lucchini as Joe Costolani (credited as Walter Lloyd)

Fiamma Maglione as Myrna Stenn (credited as Meg Fleming)

Robert Kerman as Lt. Rizzo

John Bartha as Mafioso

Venantino Venantini as Sgt. Ross

Miguel Ángel Rincón as Juanito (credited as ‘El Indio’ Rincon)

Giovanni Bergamini as Clerk (uncredited)

Riccardo Petrazzi as Hunter (uncredited)

Perry Pirkanen as Paul (uncredited)

Dominic Raacke as Tim Barrett (uncredited)

Jake Teague as Professor (uncredited)

First, Decades of Horror 1980s covered Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibal Holocaust (1980) in episode 176. Now comes Umberto Lenzi’s Cannibal Ferox (1981)! The 31 countries that initially banned the film can’t all be wrong. It even comes with its very own pre-movie warning, and The Last Drive-In host, Joe Bob Briggs, gave it a “98 on the vomit meter.” By the way, “ferox” is Latin for cruel or ferocious. They’re not lying. But what will the Grue Crew think of this cannibal exploitation horror film? You can bet they’ll have plenty to say. They also play catchup on Grue Believer feedback. Enjoy their talkabout!

At the time of this writing, Cannibal Ferox (1981) is available to stream from Tubi, Kanopy, and AMC+. It is also available on physical media as a deluxe 3-disc set (2 Blu-ray + CD soundtrack) from Grindhouse Releasing. 

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Crystal, will be The Gate (1981). Kids, absent parents, a mysterious hole in the backyard, a demon horde, stop-motion animation, forced perspective, and… well, let’s just say, shenanigans ensue!

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans – so leave them a message or comment on the Gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the Gruesome Magazine website, or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com.

Check out this episode!

[thedevilsruby]

Foe of the Guide (multi-chapter Clierra fic)

Sierra Rossi's parents died in front of her because of Giovanni Pasini and his family's invention, the Guide. Oppressed by years by corruption and greed, she comes of age to fight against those who have wronged the world she lives in. She just didn't expect to fall in love along the way.

Chapter Four: Almost Caught

Sierra walked in the city, trying not to make it too obvious she was watching the drone that flew over head like a wild Yanma.

"So far so good." She whispered.

"The visuals are so clear." Spark said in awe in the earpiece Sierra wore. "You did great, babe."

"Thank you, Spark." Blanche replied. Sierra smiled, she knew Blanche would be blushing lightly at his compliment.

"Just keep casual, Sierra, everything's been smooth sailing so far." Willow said.

"I'm trying, I just hope no one wonders why I'm wandering aimlessly and watching a Yanma." Sierra replied, eyeing her surroundings to make sure no one looked at her funny.

"Just say it's your buddy pokemon, stick to the plan." Candela said.

"Yeah yeah, got it." Sierra said, rolling her eyes. "What's it's name again, Blanche?"

"Kaito, it's Japanese and means fly, ocean, soar-"

"Yeah, Kaito, got it." Sierra interrupted, earning a scoff from the white haired genius.

Sierra watched Kaito fly around, tilting it's head now and then. It looked a little too stiff to be realistic, but other than that, it looked believable.

"Hey, Sierra!"

Sierra froze as her name was called, causing Kaito to stop midflight. She turns and sees Cliff running up to her.

"Hey again!" He grins at her. "Where you off to today?"

Sierra feels Butterfree in her stomach as he smiles at her. She pushed them down in favor of clearing her throat. "Cliff, nice to see you again."

"You know a guard?" Candela gasps. "Why didn't you tell us?!"

Sierra bites her lip to refrain from telling Candela to shut her mouth. "I was just on a walk, no point in staying in when it's so nice."

"Oh, definitely." Cliff smiles. "Take advantage of the sunshine. Oh who's this?" He looks over her shoulder.

"What?" Sierra asks, before whirling around and jumping at the sight of the Yanma drone behind her. "OH!" She yelps. "Oh sorry, this is uh...Kaito. My Yanma." She forces a smile.

"Kaito huh? He's cute!" Cliff grins, reaching to pet him.

Panic overtaking her, she grabs his hand. "DON'T!" She squeals.

"I've never heard your voice go that high." Blanche says, amused. Sierra quietly growls.

Seeing Cliff's confused face, Sierra blinks back into reality. She's still holding Cliff's hand. "I...I mean, don't...his previous trainer was an awful man who mistreated him badly and I rescued him a year ago. He's been afraid of men touching him ever since."

"Oh, sorry." Cliff apologized, pulling his hand away.

Sierra couldn't figure out why she didn't want him to.

"I-It's fine, you didn't know." Sierra says, trying to steady her breath and pounding heart. "I'm trying to get him over it though, I think he'll be fine in the future."

Cliff nods, before an alert on his watch goes off. "Shoot, fight on Primeape Avenue. Gotta go, have a good day Sierra!" and with that, Cliff zooms off.

"Y-You too." Sierra says a little too quietly, holding the hand that help Cliff's.

She watches him run, admiring his firm ass.

"You like him don't you?" Spark teases, the Yanma's eyes now aimed at her.

Sierra glares at it with a flustered blush. "Shut up, Spark!"

-

So sorry this too so long! I've been busy, I graduated college as Valedictorian, I found a job shortly after, it's been crazy! I'll try to write more often, promise!

[crimsoncityhq]

Welcome, one and all, to the Chicago Day of Giving, hosted by the ever benevolent Washington family. Treat yourself to a night of luxury with wine tastings, an art and people auction, gift bags, photo booths, dancing, and, of course, a four-course meal catered by Alinea on North Halsted. Naturally, this night is all about giving, so feel free to offer donations online or at the door. As for the dress code, this is a black tie only event, so don your most expensive gowns and that suit you’ve been saving for a special occasion. Let’s make sure tonight will be a night to remember !

( Feel free to create a moodboard for your character’s outfit and post it on the dash, as well as the gala chat on Discord. )

It’s time to be an upstanding citizen by providing support for your city, and the Vasiles, Fausts, and O’Sheas all have some standing up to do. Each family has contributed a hefty donation in hopes of turning the Washingtons to their favor so they may be de-demonized in the crimson city. It’s time to play well with others. Your characters will be free to roam where they please until 10 p.m. EST, when it’s time to settle down for dinner. During dinner, characters will be randomly assigned a seat at a table that could be packed with enemies. Keep smiling, though, the cameras are watching.

Part one of the Chicago Day of Giving starts now and ends on Wednesday at midnight EST. Challenge yourself to write with everyone at your table, and let’s spread the love a little bit ! You know, before...never mind.

Under the cut, you’ll find your groupings for dinner. Reminder, dinner starts at 10 p.m. EST tonight and will end at midnight on Wednesday, May 27th, at 11:59PM EST.

TABLE 1 — Audric Noire, Christian Yi, Fletcher Hargrave,  Rosalie 'Rosie' Halliday, Jacob ‘Thorne’ Louthorne

TABLE 2 — Andrea Reed, Christopher 'Chris' Evans, Griffin Dyer,  Kitty O’Shea, Xavier Harris

TABLE 3 — Alon McCarthy, Daniel Adler, Gerald O’Shea, Nova Devereaux, Rosalia Leon

TABLE 4 — Allegra Cooper, Darren Murphy, Joel Maddison, Orion Anderson, Shawn Morgan

TABLE 5 — Asher Vasile, Esmeray Demir, Hana Faust, Koa Naihe, Sebastian Hargrave

TABLE 6 — Adrian Brooks, Davut Demir, Juliet Leon, Levi Bohan, Roman Guerra

TABLE 7 — Audrey Rousseau, Celeste Leon, Irina Koshkin, Oliver Faust, Zedekiah Vasile

TABLE 8 — Amelia O’Shea, Effie Faust, Grayson Beckett, Ophelia O’Shea, Veronica Pierce

TABLE 9 — Angelique Calore, Edith Cohen, Hayden Dixon, Kian Hannigan, Peyton Bridges

TABLE 10 — Angelo Madden, Clara Davila, Isaak Peters, Tia Valentine, Tyson Kane, Milena Washington

TABLE 11 — August Brooks, Calliope Lane, Ingrid Vasile, Logan Washington, Travis Vasile

TABLE 12 — Autumn Dawson, Cecilia 'Cee' Cavendish, Igor Vasile, Milo Arrington, Teagan Michaels

TABLE 13 — Amara Ricci, Eli Vogel, Evelyn "Eevee" Navarro, Katarina Vasile, Summer Moore

TABLE 14 — Caleb Duval, Eva Clarke, Faith Williams, Leslie Adal Galahad, Richie O’Shea,

TABLE 15 — Calhoun O'Farrell, Erin Cerci, Gemma Faust, Nathan Anderson, Sasha Vasile

TABLE 16 — Asli Demur, Charlotte O'Day, Gabriel Hill, Maisie Kane,  Samuel O’Shea

TABLE 17 — Arielle Hernandez, Diamond Washington, Holden Mercer, Penelope 'Poppy' Levenberg, Ren Daae, 

TABLE 18 — Blair Faust, Edgar Ortega, Giovanni Rossi, Mikhail Morosov, Vivian Sinclair

TABLE 19 — Brayden Adler, Darcy Faust, Evvie Martin, Liam O’Shea, Sawyer Nichols, Maggie Lee

TABLE 20 — Blake Faust, Evander 'Evan' Montague, Henry Davis, Mathias Attano, Wynter Ellis

TABLE 21 — Barnaby Eaton, Rylin Dixon, Harley Kincaid, Maeve O’Connell, Teddy Cohen

TABLE 22 — Alexander Washington, Dawn Montgomery, Isabella Rossi, Lev Vasile, Andromeda O’Shea

TABLE 23 — Andrew Whitmore, David Sharpe, Jace Dubois, Lenny Navarro, Rahi Kumar

TABLE 24 — Abel McCoy, Dominic Murphy, Julianne Hellthorpe, Katia Vasile, Sloan Washington, Wesley ‘Wes’ Ahn

TABLE 25 — Aurora O’Shea, Caroline Shepherd, Jesse Valencia, Titus Lei, Zoe Washington

TABLE 26 — Avery Simmons, Constansia Fournier, Genevieve Bisset, Monika Adler, Vitomir Kipriyanov

TABLE 27 — Birdie Mendoza, Chaeyoung Moon,  Lorenzo Blackshaw, Zane Washington, Alaina Castillo

TABLE 28 — Blue Daniels, Cassandra Harris, Jackson Marston,  Marizia di Greco, Violet Madden

[the-golden-city]

I couldn’t sleep last night and because I’m insane I decided to write down every named character in Shoukoku no Altair that I could think of. After some revision I’ve come to a total of 220 individuals (although two particular names both belong to one person). You can find the complete alphabetical list below. How many do you recognise? If you can think of any I’ve missed, I’ll be impressed!

Also I didn’t include Burak Pasha because we only know his title, not his name.

Abbas

Abdül

Abel

Abiriga

Adán

Ahmet

Akbar

Alain

Alfred

Alois Reuss

Alonso

Alphonse

Al-Sakal

Amadeo Boccanegra

Anselm Tott

Anton Adam

Antonio Lucio

Apollodorus

Aquiles

Astolphe Camus

Augusto

Ayşe (Armut)

Azer (Hilâl)

Bahram

Balaban (Al-Kaplan)

Balş (Çöl)

Barbaros (Bayrakta)

Basil

Battista di Orsini

Bayram

Becker

Belén

Bernadette

Beyazit (Ulema)

Bilge

Blanca

Bonneau

Brigitta Grimaldi

Bruno

Bulut

Can

Carré

Carvajal

Casimir

Cassandra

Caterina

Caterina di Rossi

Cecilia Brega

Cem

Cemil (At-Nalı)

Christhard Bertz

Cırgal (Pota)

Coco

Colbert

Colette

Conrad

Constantinus

Corentin Pineau

Cornelia Nord

Coubertin

Cyrus

Daniel Bieger

Davud (Kundaracı)

Defter

Derecho

Dietrich Meissner

Dirk Wichter

Domas

Dominique Autun

Donatello d'Oria

Doruk (Tazı)

Edmond

Eldrhein

Eleonor

Elmer Schmidt

Elvan

Emilio

Emirhan (Direği)

Enis

Erbach

Eric Eisenstein

Erzsébet

Eugene Camus

Eustache

Fatma (Nilüfer)

Franz

Friedrich Meissner

Fuat (Falı)

Gerardo

Gertrud

Giacomo Loredan

Gianpaolo Cavallo

Gilbert Kirchel

Gilles Printemps

Gino Boccanegra

Giovanni di Orsini

Giulio

Glalat Bellrik

Göker

Goldbalt

Gottlieb Kreuzer

Grimm

Gunther

Gürsel

Gustav

Güvenç

Guy

Hakan

Halil (Şehir)

Haluk

Hasan

Haşim

Hassler

Herzog

Hüseyin

Hyacinthe

İbrahim (Şapka)

Idris

Ildebrando

İlkay (Deve)

İskender

İsmail (Silâh)

Izquierdo

Jacques Jourdain

Johan Frentzen

Julio

Jürgen

Kara-Sakal

Karl Meissner

Kasım

Kemal

Kevin

Khusraw

Klaus Altdorfer

Koran

Kuper

Kureyş

Kurt (Kurt)

Lancel

Lelederik

Lein

Leonardo

Lilli Kokoschka

Lorenzo Festa

Luca

Mahmut (Tuğril)

Marc

Marcantonio d'Este

Marco Quirini

Margit

Marianne

Marino

Mark Blumenthal

Marzio Bacci

Metin

Mina

Murat (Ikizler)

Mwanaidi

Nazar (Nargile)

Nicephorus

Nicolo

Nigrina

Niki

Noël

Nurcan (Şanslı)

Oliva

Orhan (Kılıç)

Oscar Bernet

Osthoff

Otto Bernet

Paolo

Peyman

Phoenix

Piet Meissner

Pio Manfredi

Preuß

Rakhmonov

Randini di Fini

Regulus

Roni Boccanegra

Roxelana

Ryan Lowe

Salomon

Samuel

Şara

Saruca (Tesisat-Kapı)

Schübel

Seda

Selim (Yüz-Maske)

Selman

Serap

Siegfried Kaufmann

Şihabeddin (Fırça)

Silvestro Brega

Simon Blanchard

Soranzo

Süleyman (Kara-Kanat)

Taner

Theo Androsch

Thibault

Toygar

Tristan Barét

Tuncer (Ozan)

Ümit (Makas)

Uno

Urbano

Usman (Yıldırım)

Uzun (Yağ)

Valentín

Vasco

Victorino

Vincent

Virgilio Louis

Volker Winkelmann

Wilhelm Meissner

Xenon

Yixin Wang

Zağanos (Zehir)

Zeki (Mimar)

Zsigmond

[crimsxns-archived]

Last Week of Life

A letter penned by Giovanni Luca O’Shea - Rossi

Normally Gio was a rock. He experienced loss and tucked it away, letting it fade as time moved on. This time it was different. Fingers trembled as he went through the familiar motions of putting on his tie. It felt like he was going on a date as a teenager, unsure of what looped through where. Was his shirt too wrinkled? Did his pants fit just right? Instead of a first date it was his first time out without Sao. A Chicago Day of Giving they called it. There was always a sense of security when he could look out and see her there. His anchor amongst a mass of faces belonging to people he could give two fucks about. It was different now. She was in Ireland and he was here wearing the face of someone he did not know. “Fuck this.” he muttered before he sat down at their office desk. He pulled out a pen and paper and began writing.

Dear Sao, 

 I didn’t realize how lost I would feel. You leaving is part of it obviously but it’s so much more than that. I promised to love you until our end of days and beyond that. Which I meant to the fullest extent. We knew what was happening as we said I do. Yet we did it anyway because we would rather be married on two different continents than not be married at all. Once, I felt so certain about everything that would come along with marrying you. Your crazy family, the business that I’ve been tied into since I was a teen, the target that I would paint on my own back as soon as I took your family name.

I wasn’t ready to deal with this on my own. Things don’t go as we planned which I completely understand. Shit happens. It’s hard to admit this but I feel like I am not as strong as I’m supposed to be. You know how I’ve been at the university ever since I first joined the family. I joined a gang and enrolled in college at the same time. Fun right? Up until last week that has been my life. The gang and college. A balance of normalcy and chaos. It was who I am. Who I have been and who I worked so hard towards. Knowledge and teaching were the things that kept me grounded. My anchor in a world that could easily pull me under and turn me mad. I hated it most times but now I’m without it. I didn’t know how much I needed that balance until now.  

The day I quit my job, I felt as if I had drifted off a path. One that was parallel to your family. Still beside each other but never meeting. The day I married you, I stepped into the line. My life was no longer mine. It was an act of love and commitment. Not only to you but to the family that I considered my own since my twenties. The day I became the owner of Skyfall, I felt the blood-red target on my back seep deeper into my skin like the chi-rho symbol I wear with pride. The life I worked years towards had crumbled in a matter of days. I feel untethered. I don’t know whether to compare it to drowning or floating away. Right now I’d compare it to drowning. Saorise I cried when we married and when you left. Every day since then I feel my eyes sting because I feel ashamed. I’m supposed to be at my best. So why do I feel so fucking weak? People look to me as a rock. Someone who is stern and capable of great things. I have people that look to me as a parent and a brother. They need guidance when I can’t even find my own way. How am I supposed to be there when I can’t fucking get myself together? 

Jace of all people has been there. We’ve been talking. He’s not doing his best and neither am I. In a way I feel like fate has sent him my way. I’m starting to see him as a son which makes my days seem a bit brighter. I’m the one who got him into this. Now I think it’s my duty to try and keep him alive. Web MD is helping. Jace is helping me too. I think if I stick to this path then maybe I’ll be able to find this new version of myself.

My love, I don’t mean to worry you. I will not become unhinged, or go fucking crazy like I did all those years back. I’m going to have to get used to life on the outside. Unknowingly I had been living my life inside a box. Now I do not know what to do with this freedom I have. All I have to do is find my way again. Easier said than done right? The life that I knew is now over. I’m eternally grateful that we got to spend the last week together as husband and wife. I cannot wait to see you again Mrs. O’Shea - Rossi. I wish we were able to live this life side by side. Our lives have always been unconventional. We’ll be okay.

Forever yours, Gio

He leaned back in his chair, rereading every word he poured out to a piece of paper. “I can’t send this...” Gio folded up the letter, putting it into the desk drawer. He’ll put on his teacher smile and pretend like everything is normal. After all he is an O’Shea now. Isn’t that what they do?

[sayitaliano]

Sanremo 2019

Here a few ways to watch Sanremo online starting from tonight (tuesday february 5th) night 8:30 pm - it’ll probably start with a 5 minutes “anteprima = preview” every night, until saturday when the final will be broadcasted. It will last until saturday (february 9th).

/ Official website / you can find loads of videos and interviews here + the latest news.

Rai’s website dedicated section (here)

Raiuno -> just click on the first video on the left, or here , to open the Raiuno streaming immediately (I added the whole Rai channels things in case you had troubles connecting directly and wanted to try from there) I’m not sure you have to log in to watch a live, but it’s through just an email or FB btw

I’ll try to write down some more infos/links through the week.

——-

Hosts & Guests

This years’ hosts will still be the singer Claudio Baglioni (who choose the songs taking part into this Sanremo), a TV and radio host, impersonator and actress Virginia Raffaele, and an actor, TV and radio host and comedian Claudio Bisio. It seems the latter two will be the actual hosts, while the first one will mostly appear to sing as the latest year. Some of the guests might be the singers: Riccardo Cocciante, Antonello Venditti, Fiorella Mannoia, Eros Ramazzotti, Luciano Ligabue, Marco Mengoni, Andrea Bocelli with his son Matteo, Giorgia, Elisa and Alessandra Amoroso, but also Tom Walker and Luis Fonsi. Also Michelle Hunziker and Pierfrancesco Favino (last year’s hosts), Pippo Baudo and Fabio Rovazzi (Sanremo Giovani’s -newbies- hosts), Laura Chiatti, Claudio Santamaria, Serena Rossi and Michele Riondino (actors) are rumored to be there.   I’m not sure about who will be there on what night tbh (excpet Elisa should perform on saturday while Bocelli tonight).  After the evening, there will be the usual Dopofestival, to spaek about performances and songs.

How it works

Differently from last year, this year there wll be 24 singers: no “young/newbies” section will be present. The 2 winners of the “newbies” competition held at the end of 2018, will sing a new unheard song, according to the rules of Sanremo. The winner of the competition will represent Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest: if he/she won’t accept, the choice will be another artist, usually the 2nd classified.

Day 1 - All the 24 singers will perform. Day 2 - 12 singers out of the 24 will perfom. Day 3 - The remaining 12 singers will perform. Day 4 - Duets night: all the singers will sing their songs with the help of other artists (singers or actors or dancers) that aren’t taking part to Sanremo this year. The songs might have a different arrangement or not. Here all the partecipants accompanied by the name of their own “supporter” artists for this night:

Achille Lauro – Morgan Anna Tatangelo – Syria Arisa – Tony Hadley and Kataklò Boomdabash – Rocco Hunt and the Musici Cantori di Milano Daniele Silvestri – Manuel Agnelli Einar – Biondo Enrico Nigiotti – Paolo Jannacci and Massimo Ottoni Ex-Otago – Jack Savoretti Federica Carta and Shade – Cristina D’Avena Francesco Renga – Bungaro and Eleonora Abbagnato Ghemon – Diodato and Calibro 35 Il Volo – Alessandro Quarta Irama – Noemi Loredana Bertè – Irene Grandi Mahmood – Guè Pequeno Motta – Nada Negrita – Enrico Ruggeri and Roy Paci Nek – Neri Marcorè Nino D’Angelo and Livio Cori – Sottotono Paola Turci – Giuseppe Fiorello Patty Pravo and Briga – Giovanni Caccamo Simone Cristicchi – Ermal Meta Ultimo – Fabrizio Moro Zen Circus – Brunori Sas Day 5 - All the singers will perform again their songs and after midnight we’ll know the winner.

Partecipants and songs:

Federica Carta and Shade, “Senza farlo apposta” Patty Pravo and Briga, “Un po’ come la vita” Negrita, “I ragazzi stanno bene” Daniele Silvestri,“Argento vivo” Ex-Otago, “Solo una canzone” Achille Lauro, “Rolls Royce” Arisa, “Mi sento bene” Francesco Renga, “Aspetto che torni” Boomdabash, “Per un milione” Enrico Nigiotti,“Nonno Hollywood” Nino D’Angelo and Livio Cori, “Con un’altra luce” Paola Turci, “L’ultimo ostacolo” Simone Cristicchi, “Abbi cura di me” Zen Circus, “L’amore è una dittatura” Anna Tatangelo, “Le nostre anime di notte” Loredana Bertè, “Cosa ti aspetti da me” Irama, “La ragazza con il cuore di latta” Ultimo, “I tuoi particolari” Nek, “Mi farò trovare pronto” Motta, “Dov’è l’Italia” Il Volo, “Musica che resta” Ghemon, “Rose viola” Einar, “Parole Nuove” Mahmood, “Soldi”

[giallofever2]

1990 (Internationa Vhs & Dvd Covers)

Demonia

Also Known As (AKA)

(original title) Demonia

Japan (video title) Shin demonzu

Japan (English title) (video title) New Demons

Portugal Freiras Demoníacas

Soviet Union (Russian title) Демония

Others Liza

Release Dates

Italy October 1990 (video premiere)

USA 26 June 2001 (DVD premiere

Filming Dates

January 1990 - March 1990

Filming Locations

Syracuse, Sicily, Italy

Directed by Lucio Fulci

Music by Giovanni Cristiani

Writing Credits

Piero Regnoli... (screenplay)

Lucio fulci... (story screenplay)

Antonio Tentori ... (story) (uncredited)

technical specifications

Runtime 1 hr 25 min (85 min)

cast

Brett Halsey ... Professor Paul Evans

Meg Register ... Liza Harris

Lino Salemme ... Turi DeSimone

Christina Engelhardt ... Susie

Pascal Druant ... Kevin

Grady Clarkson ... Sean (as Grady Thomas Clarkson)

Ettore Comi ... John

Carla Cassola ... Lilla the Medium

Michael Aronin ... Lt. Andi (as Michael J. Aronin)

Al Cliver ... Porter (as Al Clever)

Isabella Corradini ... Nun

Paola Cozzo ... Pregnant Nun

Bruna Rossi ... Nun

Paola Calati ... Nun

Lucio Fulci... Inspector Carter (uncredited)

ANTONIO TENTORI... Man at 'Bar Sicilia' (uncredited)

[brokehorrorfan]

The Possessed (also known as The Lady of the Lake) will be released on Blu-ray on February 5 via Arrow Video. Sean Phillips designed the new cover art; the original artwork will be on the reverse side.

The 1965 Italian mystery film has been newly restored in 2K from the original camera negative. It features uncompressed Mono 1.0 PCM audio and original Italian and English soundtracks, titles, and credits, both with English subtitles.

Based on a novel by Giovanni Comisso, the film is co-directed by Luigi Bazzoni (Footprints on the Moon) and Franco Rossellini (producer of Caligula). Peter Baldwin, Virna Lisi, Philippe Leroy, and Valentina Cortese star.

Read on for special features.

Special features:

Audio commentary by writer and critic Tim Lucas (new)

Richard Dyer on The Possessed - Video appreciation by the cultural critic and academic (new)

Interview with makeup artist Giannetto De Rossi

Interview with assistant art director Dante Ferretti

Interview with actor/director Francesco Barilli, a close friend of Luigi and Camillo Bazzoni

Original trailers

booklet featuring new writing on the film by Andreas Ehrenreich and Roberto Curti and original reviews (first pressing only)

The Possessed is a wonderfully atmospheric proto-giallo based on one of Italy’s most notorious crimes, The Alleghe killings, and adapted from the book on that case by acclaimed literary figure Giovanni Comisso.

Peter Baldwin stars as Bernard, a depressed novelist who sets off in search of his old flame Tilde (Virna Lisi), a beautiful maid who works at a remote lakeside hotel. Bernard is warmly greeted by the hotel owner Enrico (Salvo Randone) and his daughter Irma (Valentina Cortese), but Tilde has disappeared under suspicious circumstances. Bernard undertakes an investigation and is soon plunged into a disturbing drama of familial secrets, perversion, madness and murder...

[docrotten]

CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE (APOCALYPSE DOMANI, 1980) – Episode 216 – Decades Of Horror 1980s

“It says here the body showed signs of cannibalism. … That’s what it says, Chief!” Exactly what are “signs of cannibalism,” Chief? Join your faithful Grue-Crew – Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, Crystal Cleveland, and Jeff Mohr  – as they investigate the “signs” in Antonio Margheriti’s Cannibal Apocalypse (1980), starring John Saxon.

Decades of Horror 1980s Episode 216 – Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel! Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content! https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

Mentally unstable Vietnam vets who were held captive by the Vietcong come back to America after being rescued carrying a dangerous virus that turns people into cannibals when bitten.

IMDb

  Director: Antonio Margheriti (as Anthony M. Dawson)

Writers: Antonio Margheriti (screenplay) (as Anthony M. Dawson), Dardano Sacchetti (screenplay & story) (as Jimmy Gould)

Music: Alexander Blonksteiner

Special Effects

Giannetto De Rossi (special effects)

Bob Shelley (special effects coordinator)

Selected Cast:

John Saxon as Norman Hopper

Elizabeth Turner as Jane Hopper

Giovanni Lombardo Radice as Charlie Bukowski (billed as John Morghen)

Cinzia De Carolis as Mary (billed as Cindy Hamilton)

Tony King as Tommy Thompson

Wallace Wilkinson as Captain McCoy

Ramiro Oliveros as Dr. Phil Mendez (billed as Ray Williams)

May Heatherly as Nurse Helen

Renzo Marignano as Dr. Morris

Venantino Venantini as Lt. Hill

Jere Beery as Biker Leader

Luca Venantini as Bobby

Joan Riordan as Tina

Don Ruffin as Carlos

Goffredo Unger as Mall Guard

Did you ever have one of those movies that you didn’t think you’d seen, but when you finally watched it, it turned out you already had? That’s the case for Chad and his pick for this episode, Cannibal Apocalypse, also known as Cannibals in the Streets, Cannibal Massacre, Cannibals in the City, Invasion of the Fleshhunters, Savage Apocalypse, Savage Slaughterers, The Slaughterers, Apocalypse domani, and Asphalt-Kannibalen. With all those alternate titles, it’s easy to see how he might have been confused.

This time around, Chad points out that this allegory for Viet Nam veterans returning home has no one to root for. He’s a John Saxon fan and thinks he is the best thing about the movie, but he is perplexed by the film and the fact that it even exists.

Crystal loves John Saxon as well, especially his confused and shocked look when he sees his troops in the pit eating human flesh. The film is trying to be serious with a metaphor depicting PTSD as some type of contagious cannibalism but in the end, it doesn’t really know what it wants to be. And beware! There are triggers aplenty.

Bill generally appreciates director Margheriti’s work and can see why Quentin Tarantino likes him, but Cannibal Apocalypse feels to him like Margheriti wanted to make a Viet Nam movie but could only get money for a horror film and it turns out to be a bit of a mess. He does like the idea of war as a virus that comes home. Just because you’re no longer on the battlefield doesn’t mean you can escape it.

Margheriti’s The Long Hair of Death (1965) was covered in Decades of Horror: The Classic Era Episode 110 but Jeff sees few similarities between that and Cannibal Apocalypse. He loves Giannetto De Rossi’s special effects and of course, John Saxon’s performance, but also gives a trigger warning for several scenes.

At the time of this writing,  Cannibal Apocalypse is available to stream from Tubi and on physical media as a Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Every two weeks, Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror 1980s podcast will cover another horror film from the 1980s. The next episode’s film, chosen by Jeff, will be Lady in White (1988), a serial killer/ghost story starring Lukas Haas.

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans:  leave them a message or leave a comment on the gruesome Magazine Youtube channel, on the website or email the Decades of Horror 1980s podcast hosts at feedback@gruesomemagazine.com

  Check out this episode!

[roadtoponza-blog]

DAY FIVE – part 1

If you remember the British writer I mentioned earlier, her name is Christine Whittemore. I got an email from her with some scanned pages from the book Ponza Palmarola Zannone by Giovanni Maria de Rossi. It’s basically about the history of Ponza, and the pages she scanned were focused around the 1500’s. I printed the pages so that I could read them in the car. I’ve only skimmed through the text, but I thought I’d take some time to read them more carefully today. My hope is to find something that mentions reasons why people might have left the island during that era and what the living situation might have been back then. At least maybe it will give me some pointers for what to search online.

Christine has written a book called Inscription, which I want to read but haven’t gotten around to yet. It’s available on Amazon and Kindle, but we don’t have either in Sweden. I will order the book when I’m back home.

“Inscription tells the intertwining stories of two women, living two thousand years apart. Aubrey writes at the end of the twentieth century, interpreting a hitherto unknown ancient manuscript. Marina is the scribe who writes that manuscript at the end of the first century AD, from her exile on an Italian island. As Aubrey transcribes Marina's struggle to survive in the ancient Roman world, her own buried story emerges. Her commentary on the manuscript becomes an encounter with a loss she has tried to forget. The two women touch across the centuries; Marina's two-thousand-year-old words change Aubrey's life.”

Interesting right?

[orionmassetti]

Come back.

Send me a “Come back” and I’ll write a drabble about character asking the other to return (childhood friends au)

i listened to this song while writing it

He is five years old when he meets his best friend.

Orion always enjoys his mother’s parties. The fingers stroking his hair and patting his cheeks. The folded bills and cellophane wrapped sweets tucked into his pockets. Un angelo–they croon. Orion tips his chin up and allows their worship. Holds that sweet expression and that candied smile.

He steals a cake. His fifth slice. Layers of chocolate and thick cream on his fingers, his face, his mouth. His back is propped against an olive tree, and he hears the other boy before he sees him, dried leaves crackling beneath the weight of shined black shoes.

“Come here.” Orion calls. He waits for the other boy to crouch next to him, before sliding the plate over. “Do you want some?”

The boy nods. Reaches. Orion draws the plate back.

“You have to say it.” Wiping his mouth and fingers clean with the handkerchief in his pocket. “You have to say please.”

“– please?”

The obedience was satisfying, and Orion placed the plate on the boy’s lap.

“I’m Orion.” An intake of breath. “Orion Guido Giovanni Massetti.”

The other boy hesitates, a bite of cake in his mouth as he mumbles, his tongue thick with icing. “Hector.”

He is nine years old and doesn’t share.

Orion pulls Hector along, his fingers curled tight and sticky on Hector’s wrist and leads them to the playground. They’ve just finished lunch, and Orion’s lips were red from the spaghetti sauce, his pulse racing from the sugared juice.

“Today–” Orion climbs up the ladder. “We are knights. Signor Rossi is the dragon.” He points to their teacher. A blackberry tree curls over the playground, and Orion strains, reaches, snaps off two branches and hands one to Hector.

Another voice intrudes. Grating and uninvited.

“Can I play?” Dante Marino. Another boy from their class.

Orion turns. And his eyes narrow. His voice is cold and his chin tips up. “No.”

The same time as Hector says, “Yes. Of course.”

Dante steps closer to Hector, and Orion’s mouth turns down. Irritation twists his brow, drags at his mood until he pauses. And his lips move, quirking up. “Why not.”

Hector runs down the slide, stick in hand. Dante moves to follow.

Orion places his hand flat on Dante’s back and pushes him off the slide.

An accident–he claims, tears prickling his eyes.

Dante never asks to play with them again.

He is fifteen and aware of what it is to ache.

Their class lines up for confession.

Orion takes his time. He has a list of sins in his right hand, cursive on lined paper with a red pen, and he leisurely reads them off to Father Antonio.

I lied to my mother about her imported chocolates.

I watched a pornographic film with a woman and two men.

After–the priest admonishes him for being too detailed. And Orion asks for his forgiveness for that too.

As he walks out of the confessional, Hector is waiting for him, seated on the front pew. And Orion kneels next to him. Clasps his hands and breezes through four Our Fathers, three Hail Marys, and invokes Saint Michael for strength of will.

This far from the group, nobody could hear them.

”Father Antonio says loving another man is a sin.”

He doesn’t look at Hector. Keeps his eyes trained on the altar, attention shifting to the stained glass of the Annunciation. “I suppose that means I’m damned.”

He reaches back for Hector’s hand. It trembles, and Orion tightens his grip.

”Will you come with me, Hector?”

A confession in itself. And Orion draws his hand back, stands, and smooths his uniform. He leaves the chapel. Hector follows.

Later, as Orion pins Hector with his hips, pushes him against the locked door of the empty classroom, he soothes, his mouth on Hector’s ear, his fingers dragging down the zipper of Hector’s pants.

“Don’t worry.“

He hums, open mouth on the pulse point of Hector’s neck.

“We can always confess tomorrow.”

He is 21 and hasn’t seen Hector in three years.

He invites himself into Hector’s apartment, dressed in American jeans and an American leather jacket. There will be a party later to celebrate his graduation from Princeton, and Hector is invited. But–

“Haven’t changed a bit. Have you?”

Orion drops his backpack on the floor. Wanders through the living room, fingers shuffling through drawings, books, a letter on Hector’s desk.

“Do you keep all of them?” He lifts the envelope. Taps it against the corner of his mouth. “The letters I write you?”

Orion pulls the pages free from the envelope. Reads the swooping cursive of his own handwriting and laughs, low and under his breath. “Or do you just save the filthy ones?”

He catches Hector’s hand. Kisses the knuckle of each finger, before drawing the thumb into his mouth.

Hums, sucks, pops it free.

“Three hours until the party. Not enough time.” He skims his hands down Hector’s sides. Pushes his thumbs into Hector’s hips. Pressure–hard enough to bruise.

“To tell you how much I missed you.”

He leaves marks, one of them purposefully too high above Hector’s collar. And he can see flashes of the bruised skin despite Hector fretting, tugging at the neckline of his shirt.

“Will you stay?” Hector asks.

Orion buttons his shirt. Leaves his underwear behind on the couch and pulls on his pants.

“Of course.”

At the party, his father boasts to anyone willing to listen, “Orion starts next week at a firm in New York. How his mother will survive, we don’t know.”

He doesn’t look at Hector.

He never said for how long.

He is 25 when on whim, he buys Hector a ticket to meet him in New York.

Orion sits at the airport. In his pocket are tickets to the MET, and he has a reservation for dinner at 7.

It was a one way ticket from Italy.

He doesn’t expect Hector to leave.

The plane lands. The passengers file out of the plane.

Orion waits.

And waits.

The flight attendant keeps her eyes on him as she closes the door to the plane. Orion stands, smooths down the lapels of his pants, and abandons the MET tickets on the seat.

He doesn’t call Hector.

That evening. Or the next.

A week later, he brings up Hector’s number. Texts a message–Come back to me. Doesn’t send it. Hesitates with his thumb on the call button. Brings up Hector’s profile on his phone instead.

He taps delete.

He is 29 when he takes his wife to Paris.

She is American and pregnant with their second child. The first, he leaves with his mother in Verona. It is their two year anniversary, and he buys her pearl earrings and a pastel tower of macaroons, both sent to their hotel room.

She isn’t soft. A woman with a sharp tongue and sharper wit. He’s lost his appetite for tame. Needs teeth, nails, that pinning press of hips as he lay back on the mattress.

They don’t leave their room for two days.

On the third, they take the train to the Eiffel Tower. As he walks out of the station he sees a ghost.

Orion stops. Forgets to breath.

“Are you alright?” His wife’s hand on his arm. And Orion steps away from her. Stands next to the artist and inquires in Italian, “How much for a portrait?”

Hector lifts his head.

Orion leans in. Then once more, in Italian, so his wife doesn’t catch the dripping intimacy.

“For old time’s sake.”

[softrobotcritics]

An Astrarium replica made in 1963.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Dondi_dell%27Orologio

Dondi wrote on a wide range of subjects. His most celebrated work is the Tractatus astrarii or Planetarium, which describes the Astrarium. It is one of the earliest surviving descriptions of its kind, predated by only a few years by the Albion and Horologium of Richard of Wallingford.[7] In the introduction, Dondi writes that his machine was built in accordance with the 13th-century Theorica planetarum of Campano di Novara, and to demonstrate the validity of the descriptions of the motion of heavenly bodies of Aristotle and Avicenna. The Tractatus survives in twelve manuscript sources. The autograph in the Biblioteca Capitolare of Padua (MS. D39) and a copy of it, also in Padua, are certainly the work of Dondi. The other sources are rewritten versions of the autograph, to which Dondi's contribution is as yet unclear.[1] The autograph manuscript was published in 1987 in a critical edition with colour facsimile and French translation by Poulle as the first volume of the Opera omnia of Jacopo and Giovanni Dondi.[8]

Of the twenty-nine lectures on medical topics, the Sermones and Colationes, delivered between 1356 and 1388, only the titles survive, with the exception of one, the Sermo in conventu magistri Iohannis ab Aquila in medicina 1367(Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Lat. 9637), and some passages from that in Bologna in the same year cited by Francesco Scipione Dondi dall'Orologio.[9]

The twenty-four Quaestiones super libris Tegni, dating from about 1356, are preserved in a manuscript begun in 1370 by Tommaso da Crema and now in the Biblioteca Palatina of Parma (Parmense 1065); Tegne was the mediaeval name for the summary by Galenus of the works of Hippocrates. The Quaestiones are to date unpublished, as are Dondi's Experimenta or medical prescriptions, conserved in a manuscript of Iohannes de Livonia dated 1453 and now in the Biblioteca Civica of Padua (C.M. 172).

Another lost work, a tractatulum Galieni occultam seriem explicantem in distinctione dispositionum corporum humanorum, quorum in libro Microtegni sub brevitate restrinxit reales differentias inter illas, preterquani in paucis assignatum, was probably written at Pavia during the plague of 1383, and may have discussed the De complexionibusof Galenus.[1]

The short practical treatise on the avoidance of plague, De modo vivendi tempore pestilentiali, was written shortly afterwards; it was published, in Italian, by Zambrini in 1866,[10] and by Sudhoff in 1911.[11]

In natural science, Dondi wrote De fontibus calidis agri Patavini, dedicated to his friend Iacopino da Angarano, and preserved in autograph manuscript in the Biblioteca del Seminario of Padua (ms. 358) and in a copy in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan (H 107 sup.). Together with the Tractatus de causa salsedinis aquarum et modo conficiendi sal artificiale ex aquis Thermalibus Euganeis by his father Jacopo, it was published by Tommaso Giunti in De balneis omnia quae extant apud Graecos, Latinos et Arabas in 1553.[12][1]

A manuscript in the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (Ms. lat. XIV 223 (4340)), though not in Dondi's hand, contains both his own literary work and selections copied from that of others. It contains his Iter Romanum, which describes the Roman monuments of Rimini and Rome in a scientific manner, with measurements and transcriptions of inscriptions, and was published by Rossi in 1888;[13] his Epistolario of twenty-eight letters, of which the two to Petrarch have attracted particular attention; and his Rime, consisting of forty-two sonnets, five madrigals and three ballate, published by Medin in 1895[14] and Daniele in 1990.[15] Musical settings for two of the ballate survive, "La sacrosanta carità d'amore," set by Bartolino da Padova, a copy of which was sent to the poet-minstrel Francesco di Vannozzo, and "Omay çascun se doglia."[16]

Dondi's quaedani apostillae or notes on a letter of Seneca, mentioned in a manuscript of Gasparino Barzizza from 1411, have not been traced.[1]

[stefanosap]

LATE SHOW (short film) from Lorenzo Tardella on Vimeo.

Directed by LORENZO TARDELLA Produced by CLOVERTHREE FILM Written by ERNESTO GIUNTINI, LORENZO TARDELLA Starring ANGELO DE MACO, MARINA TROVA, MICHELE SEGRETO, GABRIELE GENOVESE, MICHELE MARINIELLO, VALENTINA MIGNOGNA, STEPHANIE DEL BINO, GIANCARLO LATINA, SIMONE FRANZOSO, GABRIELE BIVIO, GIOVANNI ROSSI, DAVIDE ROSSI, LUCA MARIANO, FRANCESCO FONTANA, ALICE ARCANGELI, VALERIA COLIZZI

Executive Producers PAOLO CARTAGO JACOPO SARNO Line producer ERNESTO GIUNTINI Story by LORENZO TARDELLA Edited by FILIPPO LORENZI Director of photography FRANCESCO MARULLO Music by JACOPO SARNO FRANCESCO TERMINI Production designer MARCO MONTI Costume designer MARCO MONTI, VALENTINA ALLIEVI Gaffer JACOPO MUTTI Best boy MATTEO CALANCHI Make up CLAUDIA MAYR, LUANA GIBERTI, LAVINIA SALOM Sound design FEDERICO SLAVIERO Boom Operator PIETRO CARLINI Solo Violin VITO GATTO Closing titles song by DOLAN TYMAS

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

“LATE SHOW is a story about life and death. But, more than anything else, I've always preferred to see it as a story about cinema, and about how every screen in a movie theater is a mirror in which we reflect ourselves. The universality of the screen, because of it being always different and yet the same - just like death - has been the starting point for the writing of this story.”

ABOUT CLOVERTHREE

CLOVERTHREE is a production company based in Milan. They have made commercials for “L'Oreal”, “Sky Arte”, “IBM”, “Nowness”, “Philip Plein” but also short films and music videos.

For more informations: cloverthree.com

Complete list of Festivals:

- RINGERIKE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (Norway) - WAG FILM FESTIVAL (Italy) - CUFF COMMUNITY UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL (USA) - "SCRITTURA E IMMAGINE" FILM FESTIVAL (Italy) - THUNDERDANCE FILM FESTIVAL (UK) - TRACCE CINEMATOGRAFICHE FILM FESTIVAL (Italy) - NOTTINGHAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (UK) - BEST SECONDS VIDEO COMPETITION (Switzerland) - INTERNATIONAL "PEACE & FILM" FESTIVAL (USA) - SAPIENZA SHORT FILM FEST (Italy) - CEFALU' FILM FESTIVAL (Italy) - COPPER COAST FILM FESTIVAL (Ireland) - LIVING SKIES FILM FESTIVAL (Canada) - TIMELINE FILM FESTIVAL (Italy) - DOMINIO PUBBLICO FESTIVAL (Italy) - UMBRIA FILM FESTIVAL (Italy)

(All rights reserved)

[travelworldnetwork]

By Rossi Thomson

4 February 2019

From the 2nd Century AD to the end of the Middle Ages, it was an accepted tenet that monkeys had the inner workings quite like those of man. This was the anatomical point of departure established by the 2nd-Century Greek physician Claudius Galenus – commonly referred to as Galen – who at the time was the authority on all things medical in Western Europe and Byzantium. Yet due to religious, legal and cultural taboos, he had never systematically dissected human bodies. Instead, his writings and dissections of monkeys, specifically Barbary and rhesus macaques, guided the development and practice of medicine for around 1,400 years.

And then something ground-breaking happened.

A scientific revolution burst through the self-imposed limits of ancient knowledge. After human dissections being frowned upon for hundreds of years, in the 16th Century a shift to scientific research and observation allowed the real picture of human anatomy to emerge for the first time, paving the way for the practice of medicine we see today.

At the forefront of it all was one Italian city – Padua – and its university.

View image of During the 16th Century, Padua, Italy, was on the forefront of a scientific revolution (Credit: Credit: Enrico Della Pietra/Alamy)

You may also be interested in: • The island that forever changed science • How France created the metric system • The revolution that mapped the world

Padua has a rich artistic, religious and literary heritage. It’s best known as the setting of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and where Italian artist Giotto – recognised as the Father of the Renaissance – frescoed the Scrovegni Chapel with biblical scenes loaded with human emotions. What is most remarkable about this northern Italian city, though, is that it’s the cradle of modern medicine.

Medicine had been studied in Padua – once a free commune – for many centuries. This tradition was upheld when the University of Padua was founded in 1222. A renowned centre of the sciences, the University of Padua enjoyed unparalleled autonomy and religious tolerance even after it came under the rule of the Carrara dynasty during the 14th Century. When Padua was conquered by the Republic of Venice in 1405, the Venetians kept the university as the main educational hub of the Republic and managed it under the motto of Libertas docendi et investigandi (Freedom of teaching and researching).

“The Republic understood that the university was a fundamental opportunity to foster a culture that celebrated Venice’s government,” explained Fabio Zampieri, associate professor of history of medicine in the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences at University of Padua Medical School. “The best professors were called from all around Europe, captivated by the guarantee of freedom of research. The fame of the best professors attracted the best local and international students, too.”

As a result, the University of Padua became the centre of what Zampieri describes as ‘the Scientific Renaissance’, part of the larger Renaissance period.

View image of Founded in 1222, the University of Padua was the main educational hub of the Republic of Venice (Credit: Credit: Brenda Kean/Alamy)

This was a time of major change. While the Middle Ages relied on theology and knowledge that was acquired through the reading of theoretical books, the Renaissance period brought with it a shift to a scientific method that relied on practical testing and experimentation.

Zampieri continued, “During the Renaissance, Galileo taught mathematics here and spread his new quantitative method, which deeply influenced also medicine. William Harvey – who first described fully the human blood circulatory system – was a student of medicine in Padua. Santorio Santorio – a professor at the university – invented the thermometer. Giovanni Battista Morgagni – a professor of anatomy here – founded modern anatomical pathology in the 18th Century. The first human heart transplant in Italy was performed in Padua in 1985.”

A brisk 15-minute walk took me from the Padua train station to Palazzo Bo in the city’s heart. The historical seat of the University of Padua, Palazzo Bo is the place where medicine finally received the systematic approach it needed to grow into a modern science. On my tour, I could feel the echo of galvanising lectures and ground-breaking scientific and medical discoveries that took place here.

Stepping into the monumental courtyard decorated with the colourful heraldic crests of former students, I stopped for a moment. This is where in the 16th Century, Andreas Vesalius performed systematic dissections of human bodies in a temporary anatomic theatre in front of crowds of 500 people or more.

View image of Many famous scientists passed through the University of Padua, including Galileo Galilei (Credit: Credit: Rossi Thomson/Reproduced by concession of the University of Padua)

Born in Brussels, Vesalius arrived in Padua in September 1537 where he completed a doctorate in medicine in December that same year. He immediately became chair of the university’s Anatomy and Surgery Department – a position he held until the early 1540s.

During his time in Italy, Vesalius wrote his revolutionary work De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem (On the Fabric of the Human Body in Seven Books), which was published in 1543. The seven books explained the workings of our bodies in unprecedented detail, with help from meticulous illustrations executed by artist Titian’s studio in Venice under the close guidance of Vesalius himself.

Greek physicians Herophilus and Erasistratus performed systematic dissections of human bodies in the first half of the 3rd Century BC in the Greek School of Medicine in Alexandria, Egypt. However, the writings about their findings were lost in the great fire that devastated the library of Alexandria – the ultimate scientific and cultural hub of the Ancient World.

Human dissection fell into disfavour in both Greece and Rome, becoming such a cultural taboo by the 2nd Century AD that Galen had no other choice but to dissect animals in his quest to understand the human body. This led to several errors in his findings, and because there was no acceptable way to refute them, Galen’s assumptions persisted as medical knowledge for more than 1,400 years.

View image of Andreas Vesalius performed dissections of human bodies in the courtyard of the Palazzo Bo (Credit: Credit: Rossi Thomson/Reproduced by concession of the University of Padua)

It was only towards the end of the Middle Ages that a wind of change could be felt. By the 1300s, human dissections were introduced as a valuable teaching exercise for medical students. However, dissections were not a common occurrence, and anatomists merely directed the proceedings by reading verbatim from Galen’s texts, leaving the actual dissection to a surgeon. It wasn’t until Vesalius came along that people truly began to question the existing knowledge of the human body.

“Vesalius revolutionised the teaching of anatomy by performing the dissection himself. Vesalius commented on the cadaver in front of him, thus putting for the first time the human body as the book of nature at the centre of anatomical research,” Zampieri explained. “He also revolutionised the content of anatomy, by demonstrating that Galen never dissected human bodies and that the animals which he dissected presented many anatomical differences with man.”

On the Fabric of the Human Body in Seven Books caused quite the stir in the 16th-Century world of medicine, provoking a strong rebuttal from Western Europe’s most illustrious medical professors and practitioners who were devoted Galenists. Vesalius felt ostracised, and abandoned his academic career. But his departure didn’t stop the advance of medical science at the University of Padua. Anatomists and physicians like Gabriele Fallopio (who first described the Fallopian tubes) and Bartolomeo Eustachi (who was the first to accurately study the anatomy of the teeth) took the proverbial baton and then passed it on. Nowadays, portraits of these luminaries of modern medicine adorn the Hall of Medicine at Palazzo Bo.

View image of Andreas Vesalius revolutionised the teaching of anatomy (Credit: Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Just over 50 years after Vesalius performed dissections in a temporary anatomical theatre in the university courtyard, the world’s first permanent structure designed for public anatomical dissections was erected inside the Palazzo Bo between 1594 and 1595 next door to the Hall of Medicine.

The guide led our group to the ‘kitchen’ – a room with dark-coloured walls where the cadavers would be prepped for the dissections. We accessed the anatomical theatre from the door through which bodies were once carried and crowded right below the spot where the dissection table used to be placed.

This was a time of major change

In the dim light, I could glimpse the six narrow tiers on which up to 250 medical students and other spectators would congregate. There were no seats, no space to take notes and, initially, no windows. Shaped like a funnel and beautifully carved from wood, the concentric, gradually expanding tiers had amply-high balustrades to ensure that the spectators, if they fainted, could not fall and disrupt the dissection. Students, professors, aristocrats, visiting dignitaries and even noble ladies would attend the candlelit dissections. A violin orchestra would play on the top-most tier to make the atmosphere feel less nauseating.

Each body would be dissected over several days in winter, traditionally during the Carnival season – a licentious period when social mores would be more relaxed and dissections could be performed despite the still-existing taboos around them.

A range of emotions took over the group as we listened to the guide describe what took place where we stood. The more squeamish ones among us squinted their eyes and looked a bit put off. One surgeon who had travelled all the way from Canada to see this sanctuary of medicine for himself couldn’t get enough of the tales about the world’s first permanent anatomical theatre.

View image of The world’s first permanent anatomical theatre was built in the Palazzo Bo in the late 16th Century (Credit: Credit: DEA / A. DAGLI ORTI/Getty Images)

After touring Palazzo Bo, I ventured back into the city where a number of other sites highlight Padua’s influence on modern medicine. I made my way to the Museum of History of Medicine (MUSME), which relies on hundreds of artefacts and dozens of interactive displays to tell the complex story of how we came to understand and treat the human body. From there, I strolled through Padua’s porticoes, past the Basilica of St Anthony to the university’s botanical garden.

Founded in 1545 and now a Unesco World Heritage site, the botanical garden was vital to medical students’ studies of botany – particularly the therapeutic and healing power of plants. Many new botanical species were introduced to Italy via this beautiful place, including sunflowers, potatoes and sesame, as well as jasmine and lilac.

According to Zampieri, Europeans even have this botanical garden to thank for coffee. “It’s a fact that the first mention in Europe of coffee was in [the 16th-Century work] De Medicina Aegyptiorum by Prospero Alpini, who was the garden’s director.”

View image of The University of Padua’s botanical garden was founded in 1545 to help scientists study the healing power of plants (Credit: Credit: Hilke Maunder/Alamy)

As I left the botanical garden, I thought of what Herbert Butterfield, history professor and vice-chancellor of the University of Cambridge, wrote in his book The Origins of Modern Science 1300-1800, published in 1959: “In so far as any single place could claim the honour of being the seat of the Scientific Revolution, the distinction must belong to Padua.”

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