Voltaire and the Buddha

By Donald S. Lopez, Jr.

Donald S. Lopez, Jr. looks at Voltaire's early reflections on Buddhism and how, in his desire to separate the Buddha's teachings from the trappings of religion, the French Enlightenment thinker prefigured an approach now familiar in the West. more

A Thousand and One Nights in Italy: The Moorish Fantasias of Cesare Mattei and Ferdinando Panciatichi

By Iván Moure Pazos

In mid-19th century Italy, two eccentric aristocrats set forth on parallel projects: constructing ostentatious castles in a Moorish Revival style. Iván Moure Pazos tours the psychedelic chambers of Rochetta Mattei, optimised for electrohomeopathic healing, and Castello di Sammezzano, an immersive, orientalist fever dream. more