La Meditazione (also known as Meditation and Meditation on the History of Italy) (1851) by Francesco Hayez (Italian, 1791 – 1882), oil on canvas, 90 cm (35.4 in) x 70 cm (27.5 in), Galleria d’arte moderna Achille Forti, Verona
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seen from Türkiye

seen from United Kingdom
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seen from United States
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seen from Türkiye
La Meditazione (also known as Meditation and Meditation on the History of Italy) (1851) by Francesco Hayez (Italian, 1791 – 1882), oil on canvas, 90 cm (35.4 in) x 70 cm (27.5 in), Galleria d’arte moderna Achille Forti, Verona
The Departure of the Garibaldian by Gerolamo Induno
Three baddies + a walking cat who one day ordered a ticket for a tram in moscow
If the Italian Chasseurs appear in the series, they must be secular Chasseurs. The story takes place 19 years after the Capture of Rome, after all. And even though Italians were fervent Catholics, they still fought against the temporal power of the Church. Let’s be honest — the Vatican and the Catholic Church acted like complete assholes toward Italy, and France often supported the Papal States in keeping their temporal control over the peninsula. So, in a world where the Church maintains an army to hunt vampires, the resentment would be even stronger. One very important thing about the Risorgimento is that some groups wanted Italy’s reunification to include the Papal State as principal ruler, so all Italy would have been Papal state Here’s my theory: the Granatum family were former Papal nobles who sided with the Kingdom of Italy, while Gano’s family and his faction remained loyal to the Pope. That’s why they resent the Granatum family—not only did they betray the Pope, but they also kept their titles and wealth. I believe Astolfo is actually a political hostage, though he doesn’t realize it. He genuinely thinks Italy abandoned him, but in truth, he’s being used as a pawn by the French Church to control the secular faction within the Italian Chasseurs. It’s strange that Astolfo seems completely orphaned—despite his family’s importance, there’s no mention of relatives or any Chasseur who knows them. In his flashbacks, he’s utterly isolated, as if no one knew Lord Granatum personally. The only connection he had was Oliver’s father, and since “Oliver” is a British name, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s a British hunter, maybe even an ambassador for the Anglican Church. The Paladin rank seems inspired by the Mohs hardness scale—Oliver is represented by the obsidian, opposing Ronald, who’s jasper. Ronald isn’t noble and has less experience than Oliver, but the contrast fits. By classist logic oliver despite being noble if he is from Anglican church, it will be worthy less of Ronald who is Catholic. In any case, I imagine the Italian Chasseurs wearing uniforms inspired by the Regio Esercito (Royal Army) and behaving like soldiers hardened in the trenches. Noé and Vanitas’s usual tactics wouldn’t work against them. Italians fought foreign invaders before—so to them, vampires are just “Austrians with fangs.” They don’t fight for honor of Church but to survive.
"Changing Angelica Sedara"
"CHANGING ANGELICA SEDARA"
Upon a rewatch of "THE LEOPARD", Netflix's 2025 adaptation of Giueseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s 1958 novel, I have noticed a few changes that I found disturbing. One of those changes featured one Angelica Sedara, the daughter of a local Sicilian politician, who becomes involved with aristocratic Salinas and Falconeri families.
“ Guardò lo stemma sopra il caminetto della famiglia illustre da cui discendeva questo Galvano: un leone incoronato ritto su due zampe e con l'altre due che grattava l'aria. «Ma come, come, - si chiese il Mandralisca, - questi nostri antenati sono diventati nobili, per avere badato ai proprii o agli interessi d'altri? E se è vero il primo caso, com'è vero, allora tutta l'umanità risulta nobile... o pure, ahimè, gli uomini siam tutti ignobili!... Tranne, tranne qualcuno», ammise il Mandralisca. E pensò ai poeti, agli scienziati, ai filosofi, agli uomini di studio, avulsi e distaccati dalla lotta per procurarsi beni...
«Ma no, ma no! - si disse. - C'è quasi sempre qualcuno dietro a loro, un padre o un mecenate, che ha arraffato e provveduto a riempirgli il ventre, dandogli agio cosí di poetare o inseguir ricerche, idee, esperimenti. E io, io stesso, - pensò, - se non avessi avuto da mio padre Colombo, Giarrizzello, Musa e tutti gli altri fondi, avrei potuto scapricciarmi a inseguir uccelli, uova di palma, lumachelle; a raccogliere reperti, tesori d'arte, monete, quadri?...» E il pensiero gli andò al suo gioiello, al ritratto d'ignoto d'Antonello. E, dal viso dell'ignoto, scivolò naturalmente a quello, vivo, acuto, singolare, d'un marinaio sconosciuto, d'uno scaltro mercatante, d'un rivoluzionario acceso... «Forse, forse l'Interdonato è un nobil uomo...» concluse il Mandralisca. E guardò fuori dal balconcino, nel vuoto, senza vedere la corona di colline che si stagliava tra il cielo e la pianura su cui giaceva questo castello con il villaggio attorno “
Vincenzo Consolo, Il sorriso dell'ignoto marinaio, Einaudi (collana Supercoralli), 1976¹; pp. 72-73.