Give war a chance – a Spanish village at war with France
How a 100-year ‘war’ between an Andalucian village and France forged lifelong friendships
The ‘Battle’ of Parsley Island is much more Comedy than tragedy, writes Jack Giaoni
WITH a good pair of binoculars on a clear day, from just about anywhere along the Costa del Sol, you can make out the outline
Shedding some light on Spanish secret societies
Secret societies work covertly to achieve a hidden agenda where secrecy is a sanctuary and a source of power, writes Jack Gaioni
Fake news: How a lost suitcase changed photojournalism
Although the terms are contemporary, the role of journalism in ‘manufacturing opinion’ has been a human activity as far back as reliable evidence suggests, writes
The papal effect: What does a deceased, oversexed Spanish pope have to do with climate change?
Jack Gaioni examines Pope Alexander VI's life, role and global influence.
The wrong kind of Catholics?
Spain’s Jesuits were just too successful for their own good
How a butterfly-catcher spied on Gibraltar for the Nazis
Adolf Clauss was running the largest and most efficient German spy ring in Spain, writes Jack Gaioni
Bugs life
The EU could learn a lot from the Iberian peninsula’s smallest residents
Cloak and dagger… an Andalucian legacy
Espionage, stealth and semantics: Back to the roots of the popular saying
Junipero Serra: Saint or sinner?
To Pope Francis he was a Spanish missionary worthy of sainthood, to others he was the devil incarnate
The forbidden visionary
Banned by Franco, Irish author Kate O’Brien was the world’s first political travel writer
Francisco Goya goes to Hollywood
The Spanish artist Goya died nearly two centuries ago but he lives on at the movies, writes Jack Gaioni
Did gold-greedy Romans kick-off climate change in Spain?
Columinst Jack Gaioni takes a look at Las Medulas as an example of what the Romans did for us
Santayana said it!
The sayings of the late, great Spanish philosopher, George Santayana, are an inspiration in these troubled times, writes Jack Gaioni
Viva Roma!
Jack Gaioni unearths the best and brightest ‘Spanish sons’ who made it big in ancient Rome, setting the literary and intellectual agenda for many centuries
The legal battle that restored Spain’s claim to the biggest ever underwater bounty
Jack Gaioni explores modern-day treasure hunters, are they pirates or archaeologists?
Antequera: The town that’s ‘all heart’
The town surrounded by Andalucía’s Big Three cities is also at the centre of a ‘love triangle’, writes Jack Gaioni
What the Dickens?
Columnist Jack Gaioni takes a rather unusual ride to an eccentric event centered around tweed in Madrid
In Cordoban Skies… How a Moorish daredevil made aviation history
Columnist Jack Gaioni explores the history of flight in Spain
Where did your dinner really come from?
Columnist Jack Gaioni explores the real link between countries and their national dishes
The Liberator and the ecologist
Olive Press columnist Jack Gaioni on why the ghosts of Simon Bolivar and Alexander von Humboldt are alive and well