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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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The Boy with many Thorns in both Sides - Saint Sebastian

As I am going to work, I have just the time to post my favourite artwork inspired by Saint Sebastian: the stunningly beautiful picture by the great Renaissance painter Antonello from Messina. I was a very young and extremely curious child who found the best nourishment in books, art and music, and I have always been fascinated by the iconography of Saint Sebastian, and Antonello's masterwork is my favourite because of Sebastian's stoic expression of resignation and His inner

About the music of "Make-up is a Lie"

I have just found on YouTube an interesting video about the music composed by Camila Grey for the new Morrissey's single and album title-track Make-up is a Lie . Thanks to Alex from Morrissey Unofficial Videos for posting on YouTube his collab with Sam from @theironbridge who is on IG, because, as I do not want IG & Co. , I cannot see his contents. I am not sure about who the Poet is (the hypothesis about Gertrude Stein do not convince me) and, by the way. I do not think M

Impromptu (an Unexpected Meeting)

A freezy, sunny Day In Père Lachaise: Just like an impromptu, As I had something to do In Place Gambetta, I took my time and Visited my Friends This Afternoon On the top of the Trees Tiny Birds were singing Their Happiness, telling That Spring is nearer And Oscar and Robbie Could hear their songs As the Sun warmed The Sphynx and the Gravestone above An Unexpected Meeting And a Nice Conversation With a Tourist from New York In front of Wilde's Tomb Vera da Pozzo Paris, 19th Ja

Vernissage

Thank God, and against all odds, I managed to finish my artwork on Wednesday evening, just in time for the collective exhibition in Paris. My drawings were ready the day before but, as I had to get up very early to go to work on Wednesday, I had to put up the whole artwork and write the message (which is also its title) in the evening, during the vernissage. Even if it was absolutely not planned - and, to be honest, I would rather have my artwork already on the wall - it was

Rosebuds and Blooming Peonies

"Take this Rose: Put it in Water and Pick another Rose, Give it to Him and Keep the Other For Yourself" Said the Mysterious Messenger With his peculiar, familiar Accent In my Hand, Rosebuds And Blooming Peonies Pink as Baby's cheeks From and to You It happened Once It happens Twice And I know well that It's not just a Dream To YOU Vera da Pozzo Paris, 18th January A. D. MMXXVI Poem above and picture below by me. (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owe

Cat's Cradle

Jet trails in the blue Sky Like the game we used to play When I was a little Child We played it again, few years ago And our Happiness was the same Are You still playing now, there? I wish I could lie On the Cat's Cradle Swinging from the Sky To the Unique and Irreplaceable One Vera da Pozzo 17th January 2026 Poem above and picture below by me. The cat's cradle is called in Italian "ripiglino" (from the verb "ripigliare", which means "to take again") but I remember that it w

Spent Saturday in Bed... for the most part

I hate it, but I have to surrender if I want to get well soon. This week I had to go to work, malgré tout , on Wednesday and Thursday, taking the tram, the métro , the train and the bus (and the way back) because I had no choice (but there was also an excellent reason to be out and about on Wednesday evening) and yesterday took a short walk in my beloved Park, but I was not in good shape. It is just a mild flu, worsened by the frenetic rythm of my working week. I avoid any t

Well done, Silver Boy

I was There - somehow - in my Mind And I knew it would be a Great Time Well done, Silver Boy: Keep spreading your Joy Enlightening Souls and Faces; I will see You in Nearby Places Vera da Pozzo An Italian in Paris 11th January 2026 Poem above by me, as always; the pictures below are by someone else. As I am not on social media, I have found these photos on Morrissey-solo, with the due credits to the people who took them. Thanks to an unkown (to me) lady called Anna Gomez for

Keep Shining!

To You, Tonight Just keep shining And it's all right Vera da Pozzo Paris, 10th January 2026 (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living #keepshining #whateverhappens #whattheyhateinyouismissinginthem #VeradaPozzo #Morrissey #2026Tour #SanAntonio #music #MakeupisaLie #YourerightItstime #ItalyisMine #italyismineanditowesmealiving

Habemus Album!

Oh, I knew, I surely knew, I absolutely knew that it would happen soon. I have always been and I will always be impervious to the Jinxes and other Sad and Bad People whose happiness depend on other People actual, guessed or hoped unhappiness. Sing and shine in the Darkness as always, Silver Boy. Be Young, be Foolish, be Happy... Be YOU. Vera da Pozzo An Italian in Paris 9th January A. D. MMXXVI (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living Belo

A Message in the Snow

Such a beautiful place for writing a message in the snow: the best spot in my favourite Parisian park. Vera da Pozzo Paris, 7th January A. D. MMXXVI Post, writing in the snow and photos by me. (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living #amessageinthesnow #SnowinParis #snow #winter #natureisalanguage #Morrissey #YourerightItstime #ciao #VeradaPozzo #ItalyisMine #italyismineanditowesmealiving

I soon returned to Paris...(Grazie mille, cara Befana!)

Just before switching my smartphone to the flight mode, yesterday, I found some good news. If Morrissey-solo was just an informative forum, it would be a fantastic place, but there are too many angry, bitter and nasty people who seem having nothing else to do in their life than complaining, bitching and mobbing: I guess that All You need is Me is dedicated to them, and probably If You don't like Me, then don't look at Me too. Even if I had to go to work today, because Epipha

A Smile is Forever

Near a tree, I saw this short sentence: The memory of a smile stays forever. I still remember, as if it was yesterday, the reasons, the moments and the people (humans and animals) that made me smile, and I also remember very well the smiles I put on other people's faces, especially when these people are dear to me. Someone Very Special will smile again soon. Vera da Pozzo Italy 4th January, 2026 (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and It owes Me a Living #a

Just a Prayer

An electric candle And simple words Here's my Prayer For the Ones I love On Earth and Above Vera da Pozzo 3rd January A. D. MMXXVI Somewhere in the North of Italy Poem above and picture below by me. Thanks to pareidolia, I see the head of a lion in the capital of the column behind the Holy Virgin Mary. I am glad to have preserved the gift of Imagination when I grew up: it is what art, poetry and literature are made of. (C) Vera da Pozzo (C) Italy is Mine (C) Italy is Mine and

The Perfect Blue

I wish to dedicate to a very special and important Friend the picture below, and the other photographs I took today and posted here. I took the picture above by accident, this morning, while following the flight of a Magpie I had just photographed (see below) but I got instead this Perfect Blue. I did not resize this picture because I wanted it in its whole size and its absolute blueness. Around midday, I was strolling near the river and I took many pictures. The fresh water

Two more Good Omens for 2026

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

A Good Omen for 2026

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

Felice 2026! Happy 2026! It takes Courage to be Happy

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

A Bit of Beauty

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

You're right, It's time... for Christmas News

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

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