The ITALIAN DISPATCH By Eric J Lyman
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✍️ Italy Explained
A foolproof handbook a day early, because why waste time?
Mar 31
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Saved by a Parking Lot
In Rome, the ancient dead survive by chance
Mar 24
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It’s Not What You Know.
How 'raccomandazione' decides who gets a chance in Italy -- and why the practice endures
Mar 17
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✍️ Italy, According to Online Reviewers
'A big pile of rocks,’ ‘gratuitous nudity,’ and the risks of the 'influencer echo chamber'
Mar 10
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Italy, At Close Range
Forget the big crowds and ignore pronouncements; the best of Italy comes from small interactions
Mar 3
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February 2026
✍️ The Backward Games
Improvisation defined the Milan-Cortina Olympics -- and its limits were plain to see
Feb 24
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What To Do About Airbnb?
What does 'living like a local' mean if the locals are gone?
Feb 17
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✍️ Everyone Was Trying to Help
My many Italian misadventures with false friends
Feb 10
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A Wrinkle in Stone
Rome once valued age and experience. Now it’s valued for them
Feb 3
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January 2026
✍️ Rome in One Day?
A serious answer to the wrong question
Jan 27
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Not Up to You
Why the neighborhood coffee bar decides whether or not you belong
Jan 20
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✍️ Confession of a Grape Thief
Lessons from my unremarkable experiment in winemaking
Jan 13
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