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Benedictine and Franciscan Monks: Forgotten Inventors

   Usually, when we think of religious orders, these things come to mind: a cloister, an abbey, a library, prayer in solitude, detachment from the world… All this in the cradle of a period defined as "dark" by historiography up to Romanticism: the Middle Ages . In this period the monks - especially the Benedictines of the various orders - were the custodians of Judeo-Christian but also classical culture, since thanks to their patient and meticulous transcriptions as scribes we have received almost all of the Greek and Latin works which we study today. Today we are grateful to them first of all for this.   However, many do not know that many products - material and immaterial - that we consume and use every day, come from monks who, using their ingenuity nourished by a profound spirituality, invented them due to practical necessities.    Personally, I find it amazing!    Let's begin…   The heavy plow   Plows were a primary agri...

Five Unmissable Romantic Movies

 

The romantic films that I selected and want to recommend to you today are great classics of romance, cult films with thrilling emotions, unforgettable romantic comedies, lesser-known films that perhaps you don't expect to find here, sometimes tortuous love stories, not necessarily with happy ending,  but always on the edge of a feeling that resists time, distance, death, human weakness.

Casablanca (1942) of Michael Curtiz

A love film between drama, espionage and romance of the golden age of Hollywood, a legend of cinema in which myth surpasses melody. And also an anti-Nazi work.

Here is the impossible and poignant love between the rude but fascinating Rick (Humphrey Bogart), bar manager, and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), ethereal and with veiled eyes, divided by war and destiny...

With his white tuxedo, cigarette in hand and choices dictated by a greater good, Bogart sculpts the icon of the "real man”. Oscars for cinematography, direction and screenplay.

 Titanic (1997) James Cameron

A young Kate Winslet dressed only in a necklace with a heart pendant, a hand that clings to the fogged glass inside the car stopped in the belly of the Titanic, the kiss on the bow of the ship, finally the final gesture of love between freezing waters and ice . How many sighs and tears shed for the heroic passion of Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), a handsome third class boy, and Rose (Winslet), a first class girl met on board the "unsinkable" ship.

A colossal epic that attracted crowds of spectators to the theatres, the standard-bearer of all romantic films, Titanic is still the fourth best grosser in the history of cinema. Won 11 Oscars (including best film and best director), a record shared with Ben-Hur and The Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King.


Ghost – (1990)  Jerry Zucker

A funny and touching cult, with a love story that goes beyond death, between comedy, mystery and thriller.

Demi Moore in the role of Molly, fragile and beautiful, is heartbroken by the death of her boyfriend Sam, interpreted by Patrick Swayze who, once again after Dirty Dancing, makes you dream. And here, noisy and hilarious, the fraudulent psychic Oda Mae played by Whoopi Goldberg acts as a link between the two.

Two Oscars won, for the screenplay and supporting actress Goldberg.


When Harry met Sally (1989) Rob Reiner

Funny cult romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally,  stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan,  who play two college students who share a controversial car trip from Chicago to New York, after which they wish they would never see each other again.

Instead, it happens that they meet again several years later, cyclically. Until they realize that something has developed between them.


 Notting Hill (1999) Richard Curtis

A 1999 film written by Richard Curtis and directed by Roger Mitchell: «I'm just a girl standing in front of a boy and asking him to love her», says Julia Roberts to Hugh Grant in one of the cult scenes. She is a Hollywood star, he is an unsolved travel literature bookseller in London.

Today's Blogger



Hello, I’m Isabel Baiocchi. I am 15 and I’m in the third year at high school. I’m glad to take part in this project because it’s interesting and truly amazing! This blog is giving me the opportunity to improve my writing skills in English while dealing with topics I love.

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Benedictine and Franciscan Monks: Forgotten Inventors

   Usually, when we think of religious orders, these things come to mind: a cloister, an abbey, a library, prayer in solitude, detachment from the world… All this in the cradle of a period defined as "dark" by historiography up to Romanticism: the Middle Ages . In this period the monks - especially the Benedictines of the various orders - were the custodians of Judeo-Christian but also classical culture, since thanks to their patient and meticulous transcriptions as scribes we have received almost all of the Greek and Latin works which we study today. Today we are grateful to them first of all for this.   However, many do not know that many products - material and immaterial - that we consume and use every day, come from monks who, using their ingenuity nourished by a profound spirituality, invented them due to practical necessities.    Personally, I find it amazing!    Let's begin…   The heavy plow   Plows were a primary agri...

Aren’t We All Poor Things?

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