Italy
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On this day in 1919, Primo Levi was born. He was an Italian-Jewish chemist, partisan, writer, and Holocaust survivor. He has written many books and essays. He died on 11 April 1987 from injuries sustained in a fall from a third-story apartment landing. His death was initially ruled a suicide, but after some careful consideration,…
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The Birth of Quarantine: A 14th-Century Innovation That Changed Public Health When we think of quarantine, we often picture modern hospital isolation wards or the stay-at-home orders of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the practice of systematically isolating travelers to prevent the spread of disease did not emerge from a modern laboratory. Its origins lie along…
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Contrary to popular belief, concentration camps were not a Nazi invention; the British military had already established them in South Africa during the Second Boer War. It could be argued that Native American reservations in the United States shared certain characteristics with concentration camps, although the comparison remains the subject of historical debate. That said,…
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We all know how Hitler used the 1936 Summer Olympics as a massive propaganda tool, and even in 2026 the second-largest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup, remains deeply politicised. But this is nothing new. So, with the World Cup just a week away, let’s take a look back at the 1934…
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No this is not a piece on World War 2 or any other war for that matter,although it is often said that football is war. The Battle of Santiago is the name given to a particularly infamous football match during the 1962 FIFA World Cup. It was a game played between host Chile and Italy…
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The final chapter of Benito Mussolini’s life, marked by betrayal, capture, and execution, symbolizes the brutal end of Fascism in Italy. Alongside him was his mistress, Clara Petacci, whose loyalty led her to a tragic end. Their deaths on April 28, 1945, not only concluded Mussolini’s two-decade rule but also sent a powerful message about…
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The Stresa Front was a short-lived diplomatic alignment in 1935 between the United Kingdom, France, and Italy, formed in response to the growing threat posed by Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. Named after the Italian town of Stresa, where representatives met in April 1935, the agreement aimed to preserve the post-World War I European order…
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The Ardeatine Massacre stands as one of the most brutal reprisals carried out by Nazi forces in occupied Europe during the Second World War. It was not merely an act of wartime violence, but a calculated demonstration of terror intended to suppress resistance and assert absolute control over a subjugated population. Understanding the massacre requires…
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Giorgio Perlasca (January 31, 1910 – August 15, 1992) was an Italian businessman who became one of the great, unsung heroes of World War II for his remarkable efforts to save thousands of Jews from the Holocaust in Hungary. Despite his early association with fascism, Perlasca’s story is one of a profound moral transformation, culminating…
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The last time Mount Vesuvius erupted in Italy was on March 18 1944. The eruptions and the lava flows lasted for several days. The villages of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Massa di Somma, and Ottaviano were destroyed, as was part of San Giorgio a Cremano. 26 died and thousands had to flee their homes. The…
History of Sorts 