The Marble Quarries of Carrara
The marble quarries above Carrara have been mined from before the Romans. Both the Roman Forum and Michelangelo’s David used marble from here.
A Walk With Dante in Florence
Dante began writing The Divine Comedy while exiled from his beloved Florence. The pain of banishment weaves through his work. The poet never returned to his native city; even the tomb built for him in 1829 in Santa Croce remains empty. Yet were Dante to return to Florence today, much of the city would be familiar to him.
Le Vieux Paris
Where else to begin exploring Paris but where the city began? Walking through the Île de la Cité covers some 4000 years of civilisation, from when the first Gauls settled here, to those living statues who pose each day outside the Notre-Dame for tourists.
The Quiet American
The Quiet American by Graham Greene is in many was a love song to Saigon, where Green once stayed. He expresses a love of the Vietnamese people and their gentle ways, although it is at such odds with the violence slowly descending as the Vietnam War looms.
The Kappillan of Malta
Against the backdrop of The Siege if Malta in WWII, up to 6000 Maltese take refuge in some forgotten catacombs and Father Salvatore joins them, becoming their priest (or kappillan). Throughout Monserrat’s writing shines his love of Malta; her history and her people, their strength and their failings. A Malta I want to discover, as I walk her streets to find the world of Father Salvatore.