A tip of the ten-gallon hat to commemorate Gian Luigi Bonelli, father of Italy’s most famous Western comic “Tex Willer,” who died aged 92 January, 2001. Bonelli and wife Tea created a publishing empire starting with Tex in 1948, a politically correct cowboy decades before “Dances with Wolves.”Tex exemplified the Italian fascination with all things American but with a European sensibility. While American 1950s comic and movie heroes played out “cowboy vs. Indians” drama Tex, a federal agent on a reservation, took a Navajo bride (Lylith) and was a close friend of Kit Carson. Although Tex was set in Arizona, Bonelli, who visited the States many years after creating him, took inspiration from the Tuscan cowboy country Maremma and the rocky Sardinian interior. Tex still sells around 320,000 copies weekly, son Sergio Bonelli carries on the legacy. Sergio Bonelli editore is Italy’s largest comic publisher producing popular titles like Dylan Dog, Nathan Never and Martin Mystere. www.informacitta.it/texwiller/main.asp Tex Willer online

At last, the intertwining of irresistable high technology and human drama…the rocky love story of Leo and Tania is speeding its way to WAP-mobile phones throughout Italy. Called a “swap opera” (soap opera for WAP phones) the country that elevated opera as an art form moves on with new technologies. The story hits the usual opera themes: “amore e corna,” or rather love & unfaithfulness. Read the intro & pilot, then follow developments at the web site: www.wikeyfun.com