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Italy is mine

... and it owes me a living

Art and Nature, music and literature, animal and human rights, freedom of thought and speech, kindness, culture and education without boundaries.

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Vera da Pozzo, an Italian expat in Paris.

From the Island of the Sun to the Isle of France.

My pseudonym Vera da Pozzo is a pun alluding to what I care about most : truth and loyalty, depth and insight. In my mother tongue, the syntagma "vera da pozzo" means a puteal, but it could be a female name followed by a family name. Water is indispensable for living, and we need to keep it pure and unpolluted; it is the same for truth.
I write in English because I love this language since my childhood and also because English allows me to have a more detached view on both Italy and France. The title of my personal website and blog is a paraphrasis of the verse "England is mine and it owes me a living", from Morrissey's song "Still Ill", released in The Smiths debut album "The Smiths" on 20th February 1984. As Italy had nothing to offer to young people like me, I decided to throw my arms around Paris, as Oscar Wilde did, and I am still here. Like francophone actor Lino Ventura, I am and I will always be Italian.

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In Memory of Federico Aldrovandi

The Summer has just ended But the Weather is still warm On this Night of September You say Goodbye to your Friends You don't know it's a Farewell Alone, You're walking back Home A Smile on your Childlike Face You are just eighteen years old Never again You'll see your Mom And You will never grow old Federico Aldrovandi Your Name could fit to A Middle-Ages Knight But you are just a Boy Born in the Eighties Caught in the Night By four Murderers In Bloody Uniforms Who'd make blu

Bravo for braving it out at Riot Fest

Looking for news about Morrissey's concert at Riot Fest yesterday, I have found a very embarrassing article (a non-compte-rendu) written by someone who knows very little about Morrissey and his music and repeats ad nauseam the usual Moz-bashing topoi, as if the hostile message written on the fence of the Riot Fest was a "proof" that Morrissey should be banned, and implying that, if he is still invited at festivals and allowed to go on stage, it is "just" because he still has

A new start

Morrissey's tour in the United States starts tonight at Riot Festival, Chicago, IL. Sing and shine and be happy, Silver Boy! Enjoy the US tour with your band, your crew and your fans. See you in the Old Europe. True to You, Vera da Pozzo Paris, 19th September 2026 Exactly two months after the wonderful concert in Cernobbio and all the beautiful memories I dearly keep in my mind. Below: drawing made by me with a black Bic pen, without preparatory sketch, as always. I took my i

Letter to a Good Friend

Last night I wrote a letter to a Good Friend. It has been seven weeks since I have started writing my letter: many pages and lots of fragments written on the paper in Italy, while recovering from that horrible flu, and other bits written on my smartphone's notes, during my daily journeys from Paris to Alcatraz and back (I cannot handwrite properly on the train) and I had to interrupt it so many times that I feared I would have never been able to finish and to send my letter

Maria Callas and Elvis Presley

Two great singing voices and tortured souls died in 1977: Elvis Presley on 16th August and Maria Callas on 16th September. I was not yet born at that time, thus, to me, Elvis and la Callas have always been shining in the Dead Stars Constellation, whilst their voice and their art are eternal. Last Sunday I drew a double tribute to Maria Callas and Elvis Presley on my diary: I started from Maria's portrait, then I drew the portrait of Elvis and, since they both are in black, I

Natività di Maria - Nativity of Mary

Below, drawing by me. The baby Blessed Virgin Mary with her mother, Saint Anne. Black bic pen without preparatory sketch and the brand new brilliant coloured gel pens I bought yesterday. Dedicated to... (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living #NativitàdiMaria #NativityofMary #VergineMaria #VirginMary #SantAnna #SaintAnne #drawing #art #artwork #VeradaPozzo #ItalyisMine #italyismineanditowesmealiving

Back to Bic

It has been a while since I drew something: the flu robbed me a lot of time and energy. Today, I am back to Bic - i. e., the classic quatre couleurs ballpen - and here is my new artwork: a portrait of Morrissey before the concert in Zurich, five months and four days ago. As usual, I made this portrait without preparatory sketch. Vera da Pozzo 11th July 2026 (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living #BacktoBic #ballpen #art #drawing #artwork

Bread and Lilies - Saint Anthony of Padua (Sant'Antonio di Padova)

Drawing made by me on my diary this morning. Born in Lisbon, Fernando Martins de Bulhões (15th August 1195 - 13rd June 1231) became a Franciscan friar, took the name of Anthony and settled in Padua, after having lived and preached in Coimbra, Morocco, Sicily, Tuscany, and Romagna. He was just thirty-five when he died. I hope to have the chance to visit Padua and the wonderful Basilica dedicated to him, one day. Vera da Pozzo On Saint Anthony's Day 13th June A. D. MMXXVI Below

I shall overcome

A very rainy day, especially in the afternoon, but this morning I had the chance to enjoy a one-hour promenade in my beloved and deserted Parisian park. How I was glad to enjoy to be there in complete solitude - but not alone, because there are hundreds and hundreds of friends in leaves, petals or feathers who are happy to meet me again. While I was peacefully walking, suddenly a verse, then another, came to my mind and I wrote a short poem on a tissue, with the help of my de

A Jay on my Way

Detail of a drawing I made on my diary today, after the unexpected meeting with a beautiful Jay near my favourite tree in my beloved Parisian park. Below, my drawing in its whole. As usual, I drew directly with a Bic pen without doing a preparatory sketch. As the jays wear a very beautifully coloured suit, I used my coulour glitter pens to add a touch of colour to this fantastic bird. I love every kind of animals and I am deeply fascinated by all types of birds and other flyi

May ad Maiora

April is over And May is here: Ad Maiora! True Joy is near It may happen, so Make It happen now Vera da Pozzo, Paris, 1/5/2026 As an Italian proverb say, Forza e coraggio! Dopo aprile viene maggio. I am quite busy with my second musical number for the upcoming cabaret, so I post just a detail of the drawing I have made this afternoon; I will edit my article and add a full picture of my artwork tomorrow. Short poem, article and drawing by me. Vera da Pozzo

Happy Birthday, Virginia Woolf

Drawing made by me this afternoon, after having worked with my pals on our next cabaret show, which will take place in May. The model for my homage to this great writer and feminist is a lovely picture with her father, Leslie Stephen, taken in 1902 , when Virginia was twenty years old and her father was in his seventieth year. Picture by the renowned photographer George Charles Beresford. Article by me, as always, without using Artificial Idiocy. Vera da Pozzo An Italian in P

Why I did not attend Johnny Marr's concert in Paris and why I do not regret it

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

20 October 1986 - 2025: Happy 39th Birthday, "Ask"

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.

Happy Birthday, Oscar Wilde

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

It's up to You, New York!

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...

My Deerest Love

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...

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