Jamie Mackay
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Jamie Mackay is a UK-born, Florence-based journalist. He is a contributor to VICE, Frieze, Internazionale, and Il sole 24 ore among others and author of The Invention of Sicily, a cultural history of the Mediterranean's most invaded island (Verso Books 2019).
Articles by Jamie Mackay
I’ll never forget my first time walking through Ballarò. The red-domed churches, low-hanging curtains and street art cast an immediate impression on m…
Back in 2014, when I first set out to write The Invention of Sicily, I began, naturally, by reading all the history books, novels, newspaper…
There’s something rather wonderful about the notion of a casa del popolo. Admittedly, this might not be immediately obvious at a first glance. Walking…
There’s no denying that it’s been a bit of a strange year for film lovers. It was supposed to be a big one here in Italy: plans were in place to celeb…
A few years ago now a Florentine friend gave me one of the simplest and most useful travel tips I’ve ever received. When moving around Italy, he recom…
If, like me, your social media feeds are dominated disproportionately by beautiful food content the chances are you’ve probably already heard of Mimi…
When I first heard that the writer, chef and illustrator Letitia Clark was releasing a book dedicated entirely to Sardinian cuisine I was intrigued to…
“Imagine, if you can, if somebody made a B-movie of the entire disco genre… It's not disco, in fact in most cases it's technically a lot worse, but th…
International audiences will have to wait another six months to get their hands on Elena Ferrante’s latest novel The Lying Life of Adults. In Ita…
If you think Tuscany is all about rolling hills and cypress trees then think again.
Starting in Carrara in the west, and stretching right across to Ga…
It’s a fixed place on any Italian deli counter, a staple in fridges and larders across the peninsula. White and rubbery, beige and flaky, solid and go…
You’ve probably spotted them around the stations and high streets of the peninsula’s major cities. Easily recognizable by their blown-up hemp leaves,…
Let’s face it, the summer heat can sometimes get rough in Italy. From June to September, midday to 5pm, all but the most intrepid Italophiles will be…
A word of advice: If you’re thinking of traveling around the mezzogiorno by public transport, don’t expect much help from the locals. "Ma se…
Sicily can reasonably claim to be the most enigmatic of all Italian regions. Anomalous and magical, with a multicultural identity that has fused toget…
From the bombed-out landscapes of post-war neorealism to the glitz and glam of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita, the Italian film industry was once among…
It might be grey and it might be gritty, but no longer can Mestre be cast-off as just a budget friendly base from which to visit nearby Venice.
Since…
Located just a few kilometres south of Florence, the Certosa del Galluzzo is a forgotten temple of art and architecture. More than just a monastery th…
The wait is almost over. In just a few days fans of Elena Ferrante’s best-selling Neapolitan novels will finally have the pleasure of watching her cha…
Nestled in the Dolomite foothills, a few kilometres north of Verona, Trentino is often overlooked by travellers as they race up to the ski resorts of…