Australia Day on Sydney Harbour
For me there is no better place to be on Australia Day than at Camp Cove, a beach that faces west near the South Head of Sydney Harbour. Yet, let’s go slowly, maybe an early lunch under an umbrella in the sun and then a walk around to South Head…
Bagpipes at Caetani Castle in Trevi nel Lazio
My afternoon tour, with Giancarlo Flavi, on the second last day of the year, had us heading into the Simbruini mountains and the Regional Park, up from the Cesanese vineyards of Piglio, through the high plains of Arcinazzo to hear Scottish Bagpipes in Trevi nel Lazio, a Ciociarian town sitting…
Australia Celebrates Faces of Mercy in Rome
The inspiration for the creation of the Faces of Mercy and its performances in Sydney and Rome was a key sentence in the homily by Pope Francis after his selection as Pope. "The message of Jesus is mercy. For me, and I say this with humility, it is the Lord's…
Exciting musical experience of a Stuart Grand Piano
Wayne Stuart is a proud Australian who has created the most outstanding revolution in grand piano design in generations. He is the master designer and manufacturer of the Stuart Grand Piano that adds a dimension to the capability of the traditional name brands such as Steinway and Yamaha by expanding…
Surf’s UP! At Bondi Sculpture by the Sea
For 20 years Bondi Sculpture by the Sea has graced the coastal walk, parks and beaches of South Bondi and Tamarama, a scenic area of great natural beauty but not architectural wonder. Standing above the Bondi Icebergs Club, looking north over the ocean pool, gives the perfect panorama of Bondi,…
Australian Celebration of Jubilee of Pope Francis
The Australian jubilee has its own spirit and towards the end of the Year of Mercy it celebrates in a special way with three of its finest artists: Niké Borghese, Kevin Brophy and George Palmer. The performance, called ‘Faces of Mercy’, has been held in Sydney on 23rd October and…
Barangaroo Reserve, Old Sydney Town Renewed
Sydney and the area of Barangaroo Reserve was first occupied by the Gadigal people maybe over 10,000 years ago. The Sydney harbour with the surrounding hills were home to about 1500 people when the British arrived and declared when they landed at Camp Cove that the land was ‘Terra Nullius’…
Legends of Australians in Film
For Italians Gallipoli is a beautiful seaside resort in Puglia, but for the Australians it is a peninsula in Turkey, a symbol and an even deeper wound from a century ago, and the foundation of the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) tradition. Perhaps for this reason, the ninth…
A ‘True Blue’ Ballad of Australia
In every culture, poetry, rhymes and songs tell the story of the country, of the region, of the people. Yet except for the English bards and a very few from other cultures, French, Italian, German, not much transfers from one language, from one culture, to another. Shakespeare and Lord Byron…
Living in and by the Harbour – Sydneysider joys
Some may argue and some may see other harbours of the world through rose-coloured glasses, but when reality is checked, the Sydneysider joy is to have the most beautiful harbour in the world. And all can share living in and by the harbour, on the many public parks and beaches…