About Alessandra Bocchi
I was born and raised in Milan, Italy.
I earned my Bachelor’s at King’s College London in political science and my Master’s at UCL in political philosophy. I loved philosophy, a subject in which I excelled (the only one as I wasn’t so good at doing what I didn’t enjoy).
As I aspired to become a journalist, I later completed the National Council for the Training of Journalists Diploma at the Press Association news agency in London, with exams in media law, political affairs, and shorthand. I passed with a Gold Standard, 100% results in shorthand.
I was thrust into the Arab world shortly thereafter for my first job as a journalist when Islam was gaining increasing notoriety in Europe. I was curious to learn for myself what the controversy was about. I worked for local newspapers, Tunisia Live and Libya Herald, and regional newspapers, including The New Arab, Al-Monitor, and Middle East Eye. I was drawn to taboo issues, like the life of former Guantanamo Bay detainees, the persecution of Christians, and forged virginity tests on women.
I returned to Italy with a renewed perspective; my university-enclosed liberal, utopian views had been shattered, but my principles remained the same, and so had my idealizing tendencies for a better future. The difference was that I realized another version was needed.
I became a “professional journalist” with the Italian government, which requires us to pass exams in Italian law, political affairs, and writing. A remnant system from the fascist era that was ironically kept to make journalists follow a moral code. I worked for the Italian newspapers Il Foglio and Il Giornale, among others, reporting on foreign policy. I also worked as a freelance journalist from Italy for American publications such as First Things Magazine and The Spectator.
I subsequently won the Joseph Rago Fellowship for Excellence in Journalism at The Wall Street Journal. I worked as an assistant features editor and writer for the Editorial page in New York.
When the fellowship ended, I returned to my place of origin once again. A plant needs solid roots to grow. I had always had a passion for art that I wanted to cultivate, so I signed up for a Renaissance painting school in Milan, which introduced me to the artistic universe (it truly is a cosmos of its own). I realized it was interconnected to the reality I attempted to understand in my journalistic work.
Today, I want to harness those formative years while relinquishing their limitations to create something authentic that can enrich the lives of others. That’s why I created Aalata Magazine and Rivista Alata (in English and Italian) to explore the essential pillars of our lives: philosophy, art, conflict, health, faith, and relationships. I aim to create a community of people who seek to forge a new philosophy for the future of the West.
