Europe | The persistence of memory

A corner of Italy that is forever China

Despite decoupling

Image: Alamy
|Macerata

Italy may, like other Western countries, be hard at work “de-risking” its links to China; Giorgia Meloni’s government is considering leaving the Belt and Road Initiative that promotes Chinese trade and investment by next year. But in the hilltop university city of Macerata in the Marche region, relations with China are as enthusiastically friendly as ever. And that is because of a Jesuit priest who lived more than 400 years ago.

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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The persistence of memory”

From the October 14th 2023 edition

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