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Italica

The VICE Guide to the Venice Biennale

Every two years, Venice hosts the most important contemporary art exhibition in the world. Over a period of six months, the Biennale welcomes over 375,000 visitors and raises millions of Euros. We went to Venice a few months before the official opening to meet artists, curators, and producers, and to understand the impact such a massive art event has on the city and its citizens. Full story

I Was Kidnapped by a Bulgarian Human Trafficking Ring

Of the estimated 30 million people trapped in slavery around the world, only about 140,000 of them come from Europe. While that might make some Europeans feel a little better about the continent they're dwelling on (bankrupt and increasingly irrelevant), it shouldn't. Because tha… Full story

Italica

Three Days of War

Historical Florentine Football is an extremely violent sport that originated with the birth of Florence itself. Father to both soccer and rugby, it is played by "calcianti": men, mostly from Florence, who play for honor, glory, and passion. Nobody gets a penny. Full story

These Italian Dwarfs Love Getting Their Bones Broken

Achondroplasia is a form of dwarfism caused by a genetic mutation, affecting one in 20,000 people. In Italy, there are about 2,500 people living with achondroplasia. Italian dwarfs, as opposed to other nationalities, are particularly fond of a procedure called surgical lengthenin… Full story

Global Food Poisoning in Italy

Bra is the sort of town where old women really do wear all black to signify their widowhood and where the stores are closed for three, sometimes four, hours every afternoon. I went there to study Piedmontese regional food culture but instead found a surprisingly globalized coteri… Full story

All the PDA in Salerno

Public displays of affection are part of the daily fabric of life in Italy. In America we are typically guarded when we publically express our affection for others, and it reads as petty and self-involved. Italians are not afflicted this way: Lovers barrel over each other in a gr… Full story

CasaPound's First Big Outing in Rome Was a Snooze-Fest

During the recent austerity protests in Rome we decided to ditch the mainstream marchers and their boring old chants about poverty in favor of following the "terrible beauty" around and maybe witnessing some kind of apocalyptic vision of what the future holds. Turns out their fut… Full story

White Girl Immigration Problems

The oppression of a language barrier is not to be underestimated. As privileged white American people who idly study Spanish as a second language in public school, we take this for granted. Especially if you are, like me, decently educated and electively (though unsuccessfully) s… Full story

World Peace Update

Oh hai, Israel! Nice of you to join us. Ever since one of your drones took out Hamas' military leader, Ahmed Jabari, in a missile strike last Wednesday, you've been bombing the crap out of the Gaza Strip. Bravo on your maiden appearance in World Peace Update. Full story

World Peace Update

Humans found a vicious, unsuspecting competitor in fucking the world up this week: Nature, who decided to fart out Hurricane Sandy and hog up all the limelight. So, as Kurds took on the streets of Turkey and shop owners beat up police in Peru, you all kept yourselves busy by runn… Full story