Italy is mine

True friendship is one of the most valuable things in life and certainly one of the most important things to me, so I was glad to find these quotes from the Baci chocolates I picked on New Year's Day. The first quote: No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth. ( Robert Southey ) The second quote: True friends are always free to separate, without separating ever. (Alfred Bougeard) Vera da Pozzo

The message from the Bacio chocolate I picked on New Year's Morning is a quote by the great writer, aviator and hero Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, one of my favourite authors. To me, the meaning of this quote is: do not adjust your life to what has no meaning to you, by sacrificing your dreams to a plain and insignificant existence; put your dreams at the centre of your life, instead, and make them (or at least most of them) true, because you live once and, at the end of the day

2025 is over. Welcome, 2026! Two good quotes for a Happy New Year. The first quote, by an anonymous author, is often written on mural street art in Italy: Per essere felici ci vuole coraggio. It takes courage to be happy. As I haven't found the source of this quote, I do not trust the vague, non sourced informations found on Internet, attributing this phrase either to Karen Blixen or to Martha Woodroof. Few days ago, I saw and took a picture of a decorative magnet with this s

Many things to write here and many things to draw (also for a collective exhibition in Paris which will start in one month) and a message to send to... So, for today, I will just share a bit of beauty I have found on YouTube . Enjoy Frog's gentle adventure ... In a world where mediocrity and copy-and-paste contents generated by an artificial non-intelligence get a lot of undeserved attention and applause from the masses, the patient, sensible and sensitive artwork of someone

Christmas Time is the perfect time for some good news, and here is one from Morrissey : the new album, long-awaited and recently renewed before its release, is coming soon, and the new tracklist is known. After his post about Sire Records , last week (I was so busy I just had the time to copy, past and send to a French friend the link to Morrissey Central's post), we finally know the new tracklist of this album, whose title Without Music the World dies has changed, because t

You brought the Sun last Year, but Without You the Sky is sad now, and Grey Clouds pour Tears from Heaven The Sun shines elsewhere this Year Where We both come from, but You Will never come back there nor here Still I feel Your presence and I know You want Us all to be Happy on this Christmas Eve Thus, here is my Special Gift for You: Wrapped in Shiny Smiles and Songs There is my Joy To the Unique and Irreplaceable One Vera da Pozzo Somewhere in the North of Italy 24th Decemb

Europe may be old, but her appeal to Morrissey is intact. See You next year, somewhere in Europe . Be young, be foolish, be happy. (C) Vera da Pozzo #TheOldLadyhasntlostherappeal #Europe #Morrissey #MorrisseyinEurope #tour #Morrissey2026 #music #news #VeradaPozzo #ItalyisMine #italyismineanditowesmealiving

Among the Italian Saints, Cecilia is one of my favourite ones, et pour cause : music is in my life since the beginning, and even before my birth, thanks to the radio and my parent's and siblings' good taste. During the few days I spent in Rome, three months and a half ago, after Morrissey's concerts in Lucca, Rome and Catania, I had not the time to visit the Church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, but I visited it many years ago and quite hurrily - which is not in my habits,

When Nothing seems to happen And You're stuck on a Desert Island There is Something coming along, and You'll find it sooner than You imagine So please, no more Tears Falling down from Your Eyes: Do Your Best and don't worry If the Dawn seems to be late And the Darkness is too heavy When your Black Dog bites again I hear You crying de profundis: Through Your Voice I feel Your Pain And It's running through my Veins For I know well what It means Since I was eight, sad and helpl

Pier Paolo Pasolini was killed fifty years ago. His friend Ninetto Davoli remembers him and expresses his joy to see how many young people are interested in Pasolini's works and message. You can see and listen to Davoli's short interview here and also enjoy a longer interview (Ninetto Davoli in conversation with Corrado Augias) here . Unfortunately, there are not English subtitles for non-italian speaking people. I was not even born when Pasolini died; his murder was planned

You should have been with Us now Rembering and not being remembered Why did You have to go? The Unanswered Question Stays steadily in my Mind And -alas! - I still cannot find The Key of this sas Enigma But I can light a candle and pray For You and all the Beloved Ones Vera da Pozzo, Paris, 2nd November 2025 Below: pictures taken by me today in one of my favourite Parisian churches. I seldom attend the Mass: I have always preferred the churches when there is nobody. This after

Johnny Marr is undoubtedly a very talented and skilled guitarist and he did a great work when he was just out of his teens in a crowded and extremely lively music scene in Manchester and The Smiths came "to disturb the peace", as James Baldwin said during his famous talk at New York City's Community Church in 1962. In a crowded and extremely lively music scene in Manchester, The Smiths emerged as a band of "ordinary boys" who did not just want to be famous, but who were det

Last year I had not the time to write something about one of my favourites songs by The Smiths, but I made this drawing, taking my inspiration from the Australian sleeve of the single. Here is my artwork: Below, the Australian sleeve for Ask , with Cemetry Gates as the B-side. Photograph by Jo Novark. Cemetry Gates is another of my favourite Smiths songs: I was blessed to listen to both of these songs live, at my very first Morrissey's concert at the Paris Zénith in 2009.

Below: my personal homage to Oscar Wilde on his birthday page in my diary. As I was (too much) busy last Thursday, I made this drawing on Friday. Drawing made by me with a black Bic pen and three Damascene rose blossoms. (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living #HappyBirthdayOscarWilde #OscarWilde #literature #art #life #drawing #artwork #Morrissey #VeradaPozzo #ItalyisMine #italyismineanditowesmealiving

A tiny drawing I made last Sunday night. (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living #almamatters...

Pictures and Impressions. I will edit and add more pictures and text this weekend. (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine...

Pictures by me and / with some friends. Saturday night. Below: Sunday afternoon, on the rooftop of the Collège de France and in the...

Too busy to write, still I have found the time for this drawing. Detail of my artwork. ... and my drawing in its whole. New York, New York...

Drawing made by me today. During the concert at the City Folk Festival in Ottawa (the second gig of the Canadian leg of 2025 American...

Rosalia Sinibaldi from Palermo (1130-1166) was a young and wealthy woman who, according to an old legend, refused to get married and...