Podcast
15 with Fosca
Hosted by Fosca D'Acierno · EN
15 with Fosca takes you on a journey to contemporary Italy and, through a plurality of voices, offers insights into Italian culture today and prepares you, in a meaningful way, for your time here.
The podcast features authentic stories from Italy in real time and strives to create and build a sense of community across space and borders through conversations about what’s going on in Italian society right now.
25episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Stories that Find Us: Featuring Katherine Mezzacappa
Mar 1300:46:06Tap to summarize“When I write under different names, I can be a different person. So, if I got stuck on whatever I was writing as Katherine Mezzacappa, that was a bit more literary, then I could dive off into a romance, if you like, and be Kate Zarrelli, and that does feel a bit different.” Katherine MezzacappaIn this episode, I’m joined by author Katherine Mezzacappa, the Irish-born, Tuscany-based novelist behind The Maiden of Florence and a wide-ranging body of work written under more than one name.We talk about Katherine’s long relationship with Italy, from her first trip to Florence as a child to the life she eventually built in Tuscany, and about the beauty, history, and cultural inheritance that shape her work. We also discuss her path to writing seriously later in life, and why her fiction so often returns to women and working people whose stories official history has ignored, distorted, or erased.Katherine shares the surprising ways books begin, how she researches the worlds she writes, and the unusual method she uses to understand her characters from the inside out. We also talk about discipline, time, artistic community, and what aspiring writers need to hear most: that there is no single right way to write a book, only the way that allows you to keep going.BiographyKatherine Mezzacappa is an Irish author of mainly historical fiction, long resident in Carrara. Ten of her novels have been published under three different names. The Maiden of Florence (Fairlight, 2024, also available in Italian translation with Piemme) was shortlisted for the Historia Gold Crown award, 2025 and this month achieved first place in Kindle sales in the US in the Italian Historical Fiction category.Katherine is also a manuscript assessor for a London literary consultancy, lead organiser for this year's Historical Novel Society's conference in Maynooth, Co Kildare, and is an executive committee member of the Irish Writers Union. She's also proud to be a member of the Florence Literary Society.Katherine holds degrees from East Anglia, Durham and Canterbury Christ Church universities.Linkshttps://katherinemezzacappa.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-mezzacappa-09407815/https://www.instagram.com/katmezzacappa/https://www.facebook.com/katherinemezzacappafictionShare, like, comment, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Podcast Producer: Andrew Niklas Curtis Production Intern: Nicole StevensRecorded via Zoom, post-production Lorenzo Maiani, Faminore Sound Agency
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The Art of the Moment featuring Sheean Hanlan
Mar 600:51:14Tap to summarize“People don’t just want the result; they want the experience of the work coming to life.” Sheean HanlanIn this episode of 15 with Fosca, I’m joined by Sheean Hanlan, a live event illustrator based in Florence whose work captures people not as perfect replicas, but as their essence, gestures, moods, microexpressions, and spirit.We talk about how Sheean first encountered Florence as a Pepperdine study abroad student, and how she felt, almost immediately, that something in her was going to shift. At the time she was pre-med, but the city’s art, history, and beauty cracked something open. She returned again and again until 2020 when she took the leap that changed everything.Sheean shares the behind-the-scenes truth: getting to Italy during COVID, training intensively in classical techniques, and then realizing that mastery doesn’t automatically equal a life. There was a gap between learning and making a career until she began trusting what felt natural; a style that embraces the human hand, the beauty of imperfection, and the thrill of watching art come alive in real time.We also talk about deeper questions like what it means to create while surrounded by Renaissance greatness, how a Henry James story (“The Madonna of the Future”) shaped her thinking about originality, and why the rise of AI has only increased the hunger for real artists and real presence.Sheean Hanlan Biography and Links Sheean is a live event illustrator splitting her time between Italy and the Bahamas. She creates watercolor portraits at luxury weddings across Europe, and her work has been featured in British Vogue and commissioned by Amazon and the National Gallery of London.https://linktr.ee/StudiosheeanShare, like, comment, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Podcast Producer: Andrew Niklas Curtis Production Intern: Nicole StevensRecorded via Zoom, post-production Lorenzo Maiani, Faminore Sound Agency
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Essential Astonishments
Feb 2700:47:03Tap to summarize“It’s not about what happens to us, it’s about who we become going through it.” Gina Mazza In this episode of 15 with Fosca, I sit down with author, editor, and self-described “word provocateur” and “creative alchemist”, Gina Mazza, for a grounded and expansive conversation about writing, fear, consciousness, and why storytelling may be the most powerful force we have.Gina has built a career not only as a writer, but as a guide for other writers. She helps authors shape their ideas, find their voice, and navigate the often intimidating world of publishing, whether traditional, hybrid, or self-publishing. We talk about her award-winning poetry collection, Essential Astonishments, which was born in an extraordinary way, through 3 a.m. awakenings where she felt called to “take dictation” from something beyond herself. Listening to her describe that experience reminded me of my own early-morning writing sessions, those moments when the words seem to arrive fully formed, as if they’ve been waiting for us.Gina asks a question that I haven’t stopped thinking about: “What must I say before I die?” It’s a powerful way to frame the writing process; not as something we “should” do because it looks impressive, but as something that feels necessary. We also talk about the emotional reality of publishing. How vulnerable it feels. How rejection stings. How launching a book can feel like stepping off a cliff. And how important it is to have both creative support and practical strategy, because books aren’t just written, they’re raised.What I loved most about this conversation is Gina’s duality: she moves easily between the spiritual and the strategic, the intuitive and the practical. She understands that writing is both art and product, soul-work and marketing reality.At its heart, this episode is about courage; the courage to listen to that quiet voice, to follow the spark when it arrives (even if it’s at 3 a.m.), and to trust that our stories matter.If you’ve ever felt the pull to write, or the fear that stops you, this conversation is for you.Gina Mazza Biography and Links Gina Mazza has worked and played with words on a professional basis for nearly four decades. She’s an award-winning journalist and author of five books in the personal growth category, including Everything Matters, Nothing Matters (St. Lynn’s Press), which was praised in Publisher’s Weekly. Her latest release, Essential Astonishments: Poetic Reflections for Awakening, answers the soul’s longing to speak with intimacy about the bliss and bewilderment of the human experience.Gina runs a company that helps other writers bring forth their creative expressions, particularly in the spirituality/consciousness/wellness space. Her offerings include ghostwriting, editing, publishing consulting, “creative musing”, book promotion and branding. Gina also has a solid background in PR and advertising, media writing, corporate communications, entrepreneurship and the use of intuitive guidance to elucidate one's work, mission, passion and purpose.https://ginamazza.comFacebook: gina.mazzaInsta: @ginamazza_poetryLinkedIn:ginamazzaShare, like, comment, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Podcast Producer: Andrew Niklas Curtis Production Intern: Nicole StevensRecorded via Zoom, post-production Lorenzo Maiani, Faminore Sound Agency
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5 Chairs, 5 Choices featuring Louise Evans
Feb 2000:45:10Tap to summarize“When you’re triggered, you always have a choice: reactive or responsive.” Louise EvansWhat if every difficult moment in your life came down to one simple truth: you have a choice?In this rich and deeply human conversation, I sit down with Louise Evans, creator of the Five Chairs Framework, a powerful behavioral model that has transformed workplaces, schools, families, and relationships around the world.Louise’s TEDx talk (with over 6 million views) introduced millions to five archetypal “chairs” that represent our possible responses when we’re triggered:🟥 Red Chair (Jackal): Represents reactive, aggressive, and blaming behavior.🟡 Yellow Chair (Hedgehog): Represents self-judgment, insecurity, and defensiveness.🟢 Green Chair (Meerkat): Represents pause, awareness, and observation.🔵 Blue Chair (Dolphin): Represents empathy, connection, and understanding.🟣Purple Chair (Giraffe): Represents authenticity, courage, and high consciousness. Louise reminds us that when we are triggered, we are not trapped. We can react or we can respond.Biography Founder and Director of The 5 Chairs project, Behavioral Coach, Corporate Trainer and Facilitator, Speaker, and Author of 5 Chairs 5 Choices.Louise’s audiences routinely describe her as “captivating,” “inspiring,” “entertaining,” and “life-changing,” These qualities have been a throughline of her life.Since childhood, Louise has had a determination and an enthusiasm for life. Three things have always been dear to her heart: people, travel, and the performing arts. A large part of her happiness today comes from being able to combine all three in bringing The 5 Chairs to the world.Born in England to Welsh parents, she left home in her early 20s to work in the South of France which marked the beginning of her passion for travel. After France, she moved to Germany. Then, in 1986, she settled in Florence, Italy which she considers her spiritual home.Florence, the cradle of the Renaissance, makes a perfect backdrop for Louise’s artistic vision: to bring forth a revolution in the way people behave and interact with each other — each person able to develop into their wiser, more noble and compassionate selves. In short, Louise’s modern Renaissance is to make the world a better place through “behavioral agility.”Her professional journey began in educational organizations offering language and communication training to the corporate world. This suited her well. In this environment, she was able to use the skills she developed in the performing arts. Since, her audiences always remark about how much more entertaining she is than the average corporate trainer.Her move to Italy marked the beginning of her life as an entrepreneur and as a serious world traveler. Her passion for exploring other cultures inspired her to specialize in Cross-Cultural Diversity Management and Global Leadership, which she offers to multinational companies across the world as a facilitator, trainer, and coach. Having visited 85 countries and experienced culture shock three times, Louise enjoys bringing multiple perspectives to the present moment to help people connect across their differences.Links https://the5chairs.com/Own Your Behaviours, Master Your Communication, Determine Your Success | Louise Evans | TEDxGenovahttps://youtu.be/4BZuWrdC-9Q?si=dWAvNEOgme40K2wLhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/louise-evans-b67485/https://www.instagram.com/the5chairs_louiseevans/Share, like, comment, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Podcast Producer: Andrew Niklas Curtis Production Intern: Nicole StevensRecording and post-production Lorenzo Maiani, Faminore Sound Agency
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Accessible Study Abroad: Verto Education’s Winning Model (Part II)
Mar 8, 2024Tap to summarizeSeason 2, Episode 9 Accessible Study Abroad: Verto Education’s Winning Model, Part 2 Cristiana Gallai, Florence Center Director, Verto Education In the second part of our two-part conversation, Cristiana Gallai and I dig deeper into the experience of Verto Education’s first year students in Florence, discuss the ins and outs of study abroad, and ask what Florence and Italy still have to offer to our future leaders. We also reflect upon our role as educators, the importance of building community and bridges, and how to ensure that Generation Z students coming to Florence from the world over can be agents of change in the city and in the world. Cristiana Gallai’s Biography Born in the picturesque town of Bergamo in the north of Italy, I was raised in my paternal city of Florence, the place that I call home, the place where I would grow, learn, and discover my passion for international education. From an early age, I was fascinated with foreign languages and cultures that ignited my wanderlust. I embarked on numerous journeys, exploring the diverse tapestry of our global community. During my master’s degree in foreign languages and literature at the University of Florence I joined the Erasmus program for a semester in Paris, France, for a study abroad experience that tested my resilience and resourcefulness. This experience, though far from what I had expected, instilled in me a profound understanding of my own strengths and the importance of support systems in education. I decided to dedicate myself to improving the lives of international students. After a successful tenure at the Florence University of the Arts, where I fulfilled various roles in student affairs and institutional relations, I embarked on a new journey in the fall of 2021. I assumed the role of Florence Center Director for Verto Education, a transformative first-year academic program. I am driven by a deep conviction that education is not only a means of personal and professional growth but also a powerful tool for fostering social inclusion and equity. I envision education as a path to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in a fair and inclusive society. I feel privileged to be able to participate and contribute to this field with my daily work and to mentor future generations of professionals with enthusiasm and commitment. Links Cristiana Gallai, Linkedin Profile linkedin.com/in/cristiana-gallai-4b8139205 Verto Education https://vertoeducation.org/ Verto Florence https://vertoeducation.org/abroad-locations/study-abroad-florence/
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