One of my favorite publications is celebrating its twenty-fifth birthday. Il Vernacoliere is a satirical magazine based in Livorno, dedicated to the worthy cause of ridiculing the powerful, exalting la topa (pussy, but not the feline), putting religion in its place, and trashing the genetically inferior inhabitants of nearby Pisa. Who obviously can never do anything right, starting with their Tower. Although I'd be interested in seeing how they can account for the fact that Galileo was a Pisan.Their posters are famous: here, the big news is that Christmas is in danger. Why? "Three Kings arrested. Myrrh my ass, it was cocaine. The Madonna says: I'm not going to give birth there this year. Must we give up our Nativity Scene? The Pope flies up to Heaven to talk with God". In lesser news, an old man is sold for 2000 lire (little more than a dollar at the time) and the good people of Lucca are outraged: "he's worth at least 10,000!"
