History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places Smithsonian Magazine

“Once upon a time, there was a piece of wood.” An Italian tradition, epitomized by the fictional Geppetto, continues at Bartolucci’s shop in Florence.

The Real Story of Pinocchio Tells No Lies

Forget what you know from the cartoon. The 19th-century story, now in a new translation, was a rallying cry for universal education and Italian nationhood

Perri Klass
Photographs by Simona Ghizzoni

A taxidermied Cumulina holds a block of toy cheese.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

The Mouse That Squeaked Its Way Into Scientific History

As of 2019, doctors can prescribe an FDA approved ketamine-based antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression.

The Past, Present and Future of Using Ketamine to Treat Depression

Smart News

Paleontologists Find Biggest Pterosaur Species Ever Unearthed in South America

May 25, 2022 2:58 p.m.

NASA Snaps Photos of Underwater 'Sharkcano' Erupting

May 25, 2022 2:16 p.m.

This Ancient Roman Statue Embodies the 'Perfect' Man. But Was It Stolen?

May 25, 2022 1:00 p.m.

U.S. Customs Agents Find Rare Moth Last Spotted in 1912

May 24, 2022

Italian Art Police Recovered a Long-Lost Titian. But Is It Really the Renaissance Master's Work?

May 24, 2022

Wandering Salamanders Skydive From Some of the World's Tallest Trees

May 24, 2022

Latest Features

In August 1994, Cuba's leader Fidel Castro announced a reprieve in the enforcement of laws governing emigration (above: a homemade raft sets off from the coast near Havana on August 22, 1994) and as a result nearly 35,000 left the island.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

A Makeshift Raft Speaks to the Risks Cubans Took to Escape Their Homeland

May 25, 2022 12:00 p.m.

A 3-D animation put together using data from lidar shows the urban center of Cotoca.

Lost Cities of the Amazon Discovered From the Air

May 25, 2022 11:00 a.m.

The Blue-Haired Fairy and the Talking Cricket try to make Pinocchio drink a medicine in an illustration for the children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio, by Carlo Collodi (1826-1890).

Who Was Pinocchio's Mysterious Blue-Haired Fairy?

May 24, 2022

Adorned in the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, Victoria Franco takes part in a protest near Los Angeles City Hall on March 19, weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine.

How Ukrainian and Russian Immigrants View the War From Afar

June 2022

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Escape From the Gilded Cage

June 2022

This commemorative sculpture by an Edo artist is one of 29 objects the Smithsonian is proposing to repatriate to Nigeria.

AT THE SMITHSONIAN

Why the Smithsonian Adopted a New Policy on Ethical Collecting

June 2022

As of 2019, doctors can prescribe an FDA approved ketamine-based antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression.

The Past, Present and Future of Using Ketamine to Treat Depression

May 24, 2022

“Once upon a time, there was a piece of wood.” An Italian tradition, epitomized by the fictional Geppetto, continues at Bartolucci’s shop in Florence.

The Real Story of Pinocchio Tells No Lies

June 2022

Current Issue
June 2022

Smithsonian magazine June 2022 issue cover

Most Popular

1.

The Deadliest Disaster at Sea Killed Thousands, Yet Its Story Is Little-Known. Why?

In the final months of World War II, 75 years ago, German citizens and soldiers fleeing the Soviet army died when the "Wilhelm Gustloff" sank

2.

Danish Biologists Cultivate Morel Mushrooms Year-Round With New Indoor Technique

The black morel mushrooms are grown in a climate-controlled environment that produces 20 pounds per square yard per year

3.

Amateur Archaeologist Stumbles Onto Trove of Coins Dated to Constantine the Great's Reign

Found in Switzerland, some of the buried Roman coins were minted during a time of relative political stability, between 332 and 335 C.E.

4.

This Teenager Found a Way to Control Mosquitoes Using Essential Oils and Baker's Yeast

Aseel Rawashdeh's inexpensive larvicide kills disease-spreading species and spares beneficial ones

5.

What Really Happened to Michael Rockefeller

A journey to the heart of New Guinea’s Asmat tribal homeland sheds new light on the mystery of the heir’s disappearance there in 1961

Special Report

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The Future of Mental Health

As the isolation and anxiety caused by the pandemic put a renewed focus on our brain's ability to cope with trauma, Smithsonian magazine brings you stories about the latest advancements in treatments and understanding of mental illness

View Full Report

Why Psychedelic Drugs May Become a Key Treatment for PTSD and Depression

Kids as Young as Eight Years Old Should Be Screened for Anxiety, Task Force Says

Negative Effects of Social Media May Impact Adolescent Girls and Boys at Different Ages

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Preview thumbnail for video 'An Energetic Dog Is Best Friends With an Orphan Raccoon

An Energetic Dog Is Best Friends With an Orphan Raccoon

Preview thumbnail for video 'A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

A Vervet Monkey Befriends Some Hostile Dogs

Preview thumbnail for video 'How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

How the Meaning of Thanksgiving Has Changed

Photo of the day

A small snail crossing the road.

Slow and Steady

History

The first two panels of "Nazi Death Parade," a six-panel comic depicting the mass murder of Jews at a Nazi concentration camp

The Holocaust-Era Comic That Brought Americans Into the Nazi Gas Chambers

In early 1945, a six-panel comic in a U.S. pamphlet offered a visceral depiction of the Third Reich's killing machine

Last September, an installation of almost 700,000 white flags on the National Mall paid tribute to the Americans who have died of Covid-19.

The Civil War Drastically Reshaped How Americans Deal With Death. Will the Pandemic?

The Neolithic-Era henge was completely obscured by overgrown vegetation.

Volunteers Uncover Rare, 4,800-Year-Old Stone Circle in England

Science

A 3-D animation put together using data from lidar shows the urban center of Cotoca.

Lost Cities of the Amazon Discovered From the Air

Mapping technology cut through the canopy to detect sprawling urban structures in Bolivia that suggest sophisticated cultures once existed

As of 2019, doctors can prescribe an FDA approved ketamine-based antidepressant for treatment-resistant depression.

The Past, Present and Future of Using Ketamine to Treat Depression

The skydiving wandering salamanders are native to northwestern California.

Wandering Salamanders Skydive From Some of the World's Tallest Trees

Innovation

A taxidermied Cumulina holds a block of toy cheese.

The Mouse That Squeaked Its Way Into Scientific History

Forget Dolly the Sheep. The birth of a mouse named Cumulina 25 years ago launched a genetic revolution

Haribo products are available in more than 100 countries, with 160 million Goldbears leaving factory floors around the world every day.

The Colorful History of Haribo Goldbears, the World's First Gummy Bears

AIM users could log on and instantly ping messages back and forth, remotely chatting with friends, colleagues and loved ones.

In the 25 Years Since Its Launch, AOL Instant Messenger Has Never Been 'Away'

Arts & Culture

Hieronymus Bosch, The Last Judgment, circa 1515

Inside Hieronymus Bosch's Surreal Visions of Heaven and Hell

A new exhibition in Budapest features almost 90 works by the Dutch artist and his peers

Painted to inspire a sense of patriotism among 19th-century Americans, Washington Crossing the Delaware still has cultural sticking power today.

'Washington Crossing the Delaware' Sails Toward the Auction Block—and Could Fetch $15 Million

In the ancient Roman world, sexual pleasure was a cause for celebration rather than a source of shame.

Why Was Erotic Art So Popular in Ancient Pompeii?

Travel

The Great Hall boasts works by nearly 50 American painters and sculptors.

What Makes the Library of Congress a Monument to Democracy

The world’s largest book repository has expanded far beyond its original scope to include sound recordings and digitized collections

Red ocher has served many history, from painting cave walls to tanning hides.

This 12,000-Year-Old Wyoming Quarry Could Be North America's Oldest Mine

Some 1,500 rhesus macaques live a mile off the eastern shore of Puerto Rico on Cayo Santiago.

The Puerto Rican Island Where 1,500 Monkeys Rule

At the Smithsonian

Left: Photo of the dress from a Bonhams auction listing. Right: Father Gilbert Hartke with the gifted garment

There’s No Place Like Home—but What’s the Right Place for Dorothy's Dress From 'The Wizard of Oz'?

Donated to the head of Catholic University’s drama department in 1973, the garment's ownership is now at the center of a legal dispute

This commemorative sculpture by an Edo artist is one of 29 objects the Smithsonian is proposing to repatriate to Nigeria.

Why the Smithsonian Adopted a New Policy on Ethical Collecting

A taxidermied Cumulina holds a block of toy cheese.

The Mouse That Squeaked Its Way Into Scientific History