When ytali.com was launched as an online magazine in 2016, only one word was chosen to describe it: “plurale”. This itself was something of a linguistic innovation: according to the Treccani Italian Dictionary, the word “plurale” “is a term used exclusively in linguistics and grammar”. In English the word “plural” simply means “a form that shows you are talking about more than one of something” (Longman English Dictionary). Yet here we find the term applied to an online magazine, in an extension of the meaning and application of the term itself that taps into something quintessentially Venetian: pluralism.
Merriam Webster defines pluralism as follows: a state of society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain and develop their traditional culture or special interest within the confines of a common civilization. This definition could just as easily be a summary description of society in early modern Venice, a society that welcomed and hosted Jews, Muslims, Greeks, Armenians, German Lutherans and Slavs. One of the many things that made Venice so unique and so open to integrating other cultures was a fundamental element of the city’s character. Venice evaluated and accepted outside groups based on the contribution they could make to the city and the republic – not on their identity or beliefs. In fact, the city was organized in such a way as to allow each group to preserve its identity and practices while still interacting with and contributing to the city itself, creating an intentionally and truly pluralistic society.
This commitment to pluralism, while actually very pragmatic and centered around the commercial and trade benefits that groups could offer, was nevertheless no casual thing. On the contrary, it was fiercely defended. Venice was actually excommunicated by the pope at the beginning of the 1600s for allowing Jews who had been forced to convert to Catholicism on the Iberian peninsula (the so-called Marranos) to live as Jews again in Venice without fear of reprisal from the Roman Inquisition – as long as they went to live with other Jews. The benefit those Jews offered to Venice (trade with the wealthy Levant) was deemed more important than obedience to the pope.
This inherently Venetian spirit of pluralism is renewed, revitalized and expanded on ytali.com, where the articles published – the contributions – are always judged on their inherent quality, not on their ideology or orientation. In this way ytali.com has created a uniquely Venetian space, which like the city itself, is both local and global. And like Venice, ytali.com has attracted writers from around the world, allowing it to publish articles in a variety of languages and offer unique perspectives that might not get published elsewhere. Like the Venetian Republic of long ago, this fierce independence is at the core of ytali.com. Independently owned and produced, ytali.com is able to prioritize content over click-bait, and offer quality without compromise.
It goes without saying, of course, that conditions in Venice today are far different than they were in the 1600s, but the city is more relevant than ever. Today Venice faces a range of crises – climate change, housing, healthcare, work, schools, environment, tourism – which very much reflect similar crises around the world. Rising sea levels pose a direct existential threat to Venice in a dramatic microcosm, but the threat is just as real in New York City, Boston’s Back Bay or Miami Beach. The causes of the housing crisis here in the US may differ in some ways from what is happening in Venice, but the net effect is the same – young people and families cannot afford to buy homes, and the less affluent are being displaced by the wealthy with near total impunity. Local is global.
It is this basic connection – Venice to the world, the world to Venice – that has inspired this new venture for ytali.com, YtaliGLOBAL.
Like ytali.com, this new initiative will grow with and in some ways be defined by those who contribute to it. But from the outset YtaliGLOBAL is committed to building on our inherent pluralism and independence, and we have big ambitions. We aim to create publishing laboratory that provides an unprecedented space for journalists, writers, poets, musicians, videographers, academics, scientists – and anyone else who has a high quality contribution to make – to publish their work, and we are committed to building a model that pays our contributors fairly for their work.
YtaliGLOBAL is our Venetian contribution – a plural online magazine where the local reflects the global, a home for the kind of innovation and pluralism that Venice represents and has always contributed, and a new bridge from Venice and Italy to America and the English-speaking world.
This is just the beginning! We hope you’ll come along with us on the adventure.
(Many thanks to Stefano Navarrini for his donation of our new logo!)
Aggiungi la tua firma e il codice fiscale 94097630274 nel riquadro SOSTEGNO DEGLI ENTI DEL TERZO SETTORE della tua dichiarazione dei redditi.
Grazie!
