Alis

Recently Echinox published the translation of Paul Morand's Bucharest (1935), a book that must be put in line with Ulysse de Marsillac's From Pest to Bucharest (1869), F. Damé's Bucharest in 1906, and Dominique Fernandez' Romanian Rhapsody (1998), in

There existed in cultural Bucharest between the world wars a sort of upside-down provincialism that believed only in the City of Light: What's new in Paris? There was always something new to talk about, even if, in some cases, the new from Paris had been seen around

Chic, bon ton, fashion, good manners are undoubtedly law-like psycho-social categories. The 1900 society man had to abide by an incredible host of gospel-truths written down in the code of manners: assiduous frequentation of dancing parties, fencing and gentlemen's

Director It was March 29, 1832 when the commissar of the Red District of Bucharest replied to Postelnic (Minister of Foreign Affairs) Costache Grigore Suţu with an approval to resume the works on the surrounding wall of the garden You have begun to raise. Symbolically

excerptsThe Beginnings With the passage of time the ancient road was called by sundry names: lane, bridge, promenade – as if it needed any name or title, this street of streets whose reign over the city goes back two hundred years. Victory Promenade! The Nation's

Bucharest became the capital of Wallachia in the middle of the sixteenth century in preference to the earlier sub‑Carpathian capitals of Câmpulung, Curtea de Argeş and Târgovişte. It became the capital of the united Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia

In the visual arts, the laugh, the ridicule and caricature have a certain regime, which is rather different from the one developed in literature, mainly because it is an expression of criticism and contempt much more immediate and politically engaged. Starting in Germany

A few days or so ago, the Romanian press offered us, its obedient and flabbergasted beneficiaries, another opportunity to please and sharpen our minds. A new Gallup poll. And what is Gallup? Gallup is some sort of a modern, computerized Pythia. Claiming scientific positivism

I get up one morning and, you know me, I take Gazetta dello Sport, to see how goes Il calcio after the Bosman sentence, which represents such a situation that you can't even begin to understand what will happen to this much cherished game. And lo and behold, what do

excerpt Lying on the hot tile floor, Brave Leader was reaching back and scratching his ass with the Romanian people. What he lovingly called the Romanian people was in fact a tiny little bathroom brush with ivory engravings, which he never parted with, and liked to have

excerpts Episode no. 33At the Vizier[1] Meanwhile, not long after the crescent had entered a Christian cloud, much to the heathens' grief, three men's shadows on three horses' shadows were more like crawling than riding towards the vizier's palace.

Speaking about I. L. Caragiale, i. e. the quintessential comic playwright in Romanian theater, N. Steinhardt made a few distinctions likely to offer generous openings: However powerful its spiritualism, Asia terrifies us with its uncivil dirt and squalor, while blind and