Articles by: I. I.

  • Events: Reports

    Italy Towards Europe Theater Culture, European Identity



    There couldn’t have been a better coincidence than the European Union Italian semester presidency to speak about theatre and Europe.

    The Italian contribution to the project of the European Union has been significant: Altiero Spinelli and Alcide De Gasperi were among the founders; in 1957 the treaty defining the European Economic Community, or the Common Market, was signed in Rome, while in 2004, 25 heads of state and government signed the treaty that establishes the European Constitution, the result of a long process of integration yearned so much by us all.

    Undoubtedly, over the centuries culture has been Italy’s major contribution to the melting pot that today we call Europe, that feeds on traditions still thriving in our own country: the ancient Roman and Greek civilizations, Christianity, the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightment. Ever since ancient Greece, at the Acropolis in Athens, or from Shakespeare’s time at the Globe in London, a community of active spectators has been meeting up to think, to release the emotions, to mirror itself, to read the present in the light of its history and foundations and to get ready to change. Art becomes the sheltered place where to meet up, separated yet projected into reality.
     
    In the course of this reading, through the analysis of selected texts and authors, speakers will lead the audience to a journey into the European theatrical heritage exploring the thread that has connected dramatic art across all Europe, and still does.




    Speakers: Christian Biet (Institut Universitaire de France), Annamaria Cascetta (Centro di ricerca CIT "Mario Apollonio" - UCSC) Stanley E. Gontarski (Florida State University).


    Readings by Laura Curino:

    Happy Days by Samuel Beckett

    Antigone by Sophocle

    Maria alla Croce (passione popolare)
  • Events: Reports

    The Table Of Silence Project 9/11

    Jacqulyn Buglisi and Buglisi Dance Theatre are honored to be welcomed back by Lincoln Center for a fourth presentation of the transcendent  "Table of Silence Project 9/11," a public tribute to 9/11 and prayer for peace, conceived and choreographed by Jacqulyn Buglisi in collaboration with Italian visual artist Rossella Vasta. The tribute will take place Thursday September 11, beginning at 8:15 AM and concluding at 8:46 AM, the moment when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower.  

    In partnership with Dance/NYC and The September Concert, Buglisi Dance Theatre brings
    together over 100 dancers, selected from major dance companies and professional institutions including The Ailey School, Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance, The Juilliard School, and Steps on Broadway. 

    Moving to the minimal plaintive cries of the singers, echoes of the flute and conch, and the ritualistic beat of the tympani - a metaphor for the heartbeat - the dancers ascend onto the Josie Robertson Plaza forming patterns of concentric circles to create a Peace labyrinth while encircling the Revson Fountain, symbolizing eternity, purity, and the continuous life cycle.   This sacred landscape becomes filled with the transcendent energy of the Mandala, connecting dancers and viewers to the healing rituals of the natural world. At 8:46 AM, the dancers will turn their wrists with open palms and extend their arms to the sky for one minute, evoking the simple gesture of universal peace.  Spectators are invited to join in this ritual.  

    A live stream broadcast via the internet will once again be available (full list of countries is attached). Since 2011, the event has been viewed via live-stream in 45 U.S. States and 82 countries around the world, including New Zealand, Russia, Guatemala, Italy, Venezuela, South Africa, Thailand, Israel, Egypt, India, Vietnam, and our troops in Afghanistan, to name a few.   Crossing all borders and boundaries and expressing what makes us human, "The Table of Silence Project 9/11" has proved itself a powerful transmitter of universal consciousness and understanding.   

    More than 400 dancers that represent the diversity of the NYC community,  have performed in The Table of Silence Project since the inaugural tribute in 2011, on the tenth anniversary of September 11th. Hundreds of viewers from around the globe have written heartfelt testimonials:

    "The intense work was challenging; however every minute was profoundly rewarding, never losing sight of the intent of what you are dancing about.   The reward for doing the work was the freedom to dance with an emotional and spiritual awareness I've rarely experienced."    Dancer, Table of Silence Project 2013  

    Buglisi's "Table of Silence Project 9/11" has inspired numerous similar events around the world in the past two years, including:
    Syracuse University's Wall of Remembrance in tribute to the thirty-five Syracuse University students who lost their lives in the 1988 Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie; Cathedral San Rufino Square in Assisi, Italy as part of a gathering of religious leaders welcomed by Pope Benedict XVI on the 25th anniversary of a day-long prayer for peace, initiated in 1986 by Pope John Paul II amid Cold War conflicts; Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Event in NYC, to bring awareness to the fight against human trafficking; Film Presentations at the Global Summit 2012 in London, and the Cardinal Stritch University at the presentation to Rossella Vasta of a Doctor of Humane Letters Honorary Degree.

    The Table of Silence Project 9/11 is made possible with the generous support of Jody & John Arnhold, Arnhold Foundation; Heinz Family Foundation; New Music USA; Caroline Howard Hyman & Edward S. Hyman, Jr; Billy Lerner, Steps on Broadway; The Juilliard School; Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance; Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; New 42nd Street Studios; TenduTV; and public funds from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature. 

    Endorsements:  Mayor Claudio Ricci of Assisi granted the patronage of UNESCO World Heritage in recognition of The Table of Silence Project 9/11 at Lincoln Center. Sponsorship for the iconic Table of Silence terracotta plates is generously provided by Bizzirri Ceramic Factory  and for the 100 mantles for the dancers by Alessandro Gherardi, Citta di Castello - Perugia, Italy.
     

    Table of Silence Project 9/11 Photo (c) Terri Gold
  • Events: Reports

    Travel Back to the Golden Years of Italian Cinematography with ISA

    ITALIAN SURF ACADEMY, founded in 2010 by guitar player Marco Cappelli - together with Luca Lo Bianco, base, Francesco Cusa, drums and Andrea Pennisi, video art - is getting ready to undertake a glorious tour that, starting from New York City, will bring the band to China and Japan – via Los Angeles, then back to California and Mexico, to end with a final concert in Brooklyn. This is an “audio-visual journey” that will surely ignite international audiences.

    It explores and reinvents the sound of the Italian b-movies of the1960s by reworking the musicand the images of cult Spaghetti Western, Horror, Noir and Sci-fi films by the likes of directors like Sergio Leone and Mario Bava. Compositions by Morricone, Bacalov, Rustichelli, Ortolani, Umiliani, Trovajoli as well as by Bob Crewe and Glitterhouse, the label behind the music of the erotic parody “Barbarella,” directed by Roger Vadim, are revisited in perfect “downtown New York” style while recuperating the “Surf” soul of this extraordinary vintage repertoire.
     

    Italian Surf Academy makes audiences travel back in time to the golden years of Italian cinematography by reinterpreting familiar and popular sounds and sound tracks through an improvised filter that makes it all unpredictable. Back in July 2012, the band released their first cd titled “The American Dream” for the New York-based record label Mode Records/ Avant >>>

    The album was a considerable success with specialized international critics:

    Wall Street Journal >>>

    Down Beat magazine >>>

    Then in December 2013, the band recorded, in Paris, their second cd by the title “Barbarella & Friends.” The record was an audiovisual remake of the film “Barbarella” The band's members are:
     

    Marco Cappelli, composer and guitar player based in New York where he collaborates with renown musicians such as Marc Ribot and Elliott Sharp. Cappelli has been conducting a singular artistic path that brings him to execute both the most rigorous musical writing and the wildest improvisation numbers with great ease;
     

    Francesco Cusa is a drummer and a composer from Catania, who is known to be one of Italy's best percussionists. He is the leader of numerous musical projects and the founder of the collective label “Improvvisatore Involontario”;
     

    Bass player Luca Lo Bianco, is a jazz and session musician. Director of the "Orchestra Instabile Disaccordo” (OID) he is also founded the independent label “Fitzcarraldo Records”;

    Andrea Pennisi, aka VJ Lapsus, is a video artist, producer, editor, author and foley artist who collaborates with electronic music artist Dario Aiello 'Blatta' on the project “La Parola è Supposta.”

    Follow Italian Surf Academy on FACEBOOK >>>

    Settembre

    02. ANTEPRIMA: Bar H – Catania, Italy

    09. The Classon Social Club - Brooklyn, NY/Usa

    10. The Classon Social Club - Brooklyn, NY/Usa

    14. House Of Blues And Jazz - Shanghai, China

    16. House Of Blues And Jazz - Shanghai, China

    17. The Paradise Walk - Chongqing, China

    18. The Paradise Walk - Chongqing, China

    19. Italian Cultural Institute - Beijing, China

    20. Xianyishhuguan - Tianjin, China

    21. XP - Beijing, China

    23. Umberto Agnelli Hall - Tokyo, Japan

    24. Club Mokkiriya - Kanazawa, Japan

    26. Club Quattro - Osaka, Japan 

    28. Watts Towers Jazz Festival - Los Angeles, CA/Usa

    29. Italian Cultural Institute - Los Angeles, CA/Usa

    30. Tba - Colima, Mexico

    Ottobre

    01. Tba - Guadalajara, Mexico

    02. Emerald Tablet - San Francisco, Ca/Usa

    04. Littlefield - Brooklyn, NY/Usa
  • Events: Reports

    Italians in New York, Italians and New York


    ″[…] I don’t see a future for Italy, but for the Italians I see a brilliant one.″ (Indro Montanelli)


    ITALIANY is a visual celebration of Italians working, living and loving in New York City, manifested through a series of iconic black-and-white portraits, taken in a variety of places around the city. The exhibition is a window into the excellence of Italians in New York. The impact of Italians living in America should not be understated, as so many Italians have contributed impressively to every facet of life in America, evident in culture, science, arts, fashion, politics, cuisine and medicine.

    ITALIANY is the first initiative of Peroni Nastro Azzurro’s two-year campaign launching this month that celebrates Italian heritage and style.
     
    ″Italians in New York, Italians and New York—this is the way I have presented my vision of Italians in America. We all have individual reasons to be proud of our identity, thus each portrait is a collaboration, rather than just a simple photograph. Each portrait was a project in which I worked with every individual as part of a process to capture the essence oftheir experience as an Italian by understanding how they present themselves″ Wandael explains.
     
    Wandael, like many other Italians living in America, will always call Italy his home. Wandael was born and raised in Bolzano, Italy and studied photography and architecture at the University of Ferrara. After practicing both in Berlin and Los Angeles, he decided to exclusively follow his true passion of photography.

     
    Wandael’s genuine love for portraiture, his knowledge of art, architecture and understanding of style has made him a distinguished figure in the industry. His work has appeared in magazines such as VogueItalia, Uomo Vogue, Russian Vogue, Russian Elle, Amica, The Observer and The Telegraph. Wandael’s work is known globally; he has had exhibitions in Europe and all across the United States, including a permanent collection at the FIT Museum in New York. In 2012, Wandael was in Afghanistan for a reportage covering the conditions of female jails and the military training of Afghanwomen. In 2013, he completed a 5900-mile coast-to-coast journey on his motorcycle to create a book of photographs that captured the spirit of America through his eyes: Dear America from NY to SF.
     
    Wandael, curator and photographer, expressed his deep passion for ITALIANY: ″The project is a tribute to all those Italians who left their families, their comforts, their mamma, their casa and their pasta. ITALIANY honors the courage, sacrifice, and achievements of so many Italians in America through my modest contribution of these portraits. ITALIANY is a deserved tribute to my beautiful country that forged such incredibly talented individuals″.
     
    The exhibition will be on display until September 26th at Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò. Thereafter, ITALIANY will be presented in Miami and Los Angeles, where Wandael will add new profiles of Italians in those respective cities. The ITALIANY project will be travelingaround the world as metaphor of the Italian courage to leave Italy in search of a personal dream and will be completed with a book entitled ″Italiany.us″, a collection of all ITALIANY portraits.
     
     
     
     
    ALEXO WANDAEL ITALIANY
    Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, NYU
    24 West 12th Street
    New York, NY 10011
    Sept. 4 – 26, 2014
    Opening Private Event: Wednesday Sept. 3, 2014, 6pm-8pm
    On display through Sept. 26
    Monday - Friday 10am - 5pm (on nights of events, until end time of event)
     
    For more information visit ITALIANY official sites:
    Facebook: /ItalianyUS
    Twitter: @ItalianyUS
    Instagram: @ItalianyUS
    #ItalianyUS #Wandael #StorieItaliane
  • Facts & Stories

    BOOKS. The State of a Nation Just Before “The Great Beauty”

    As the Italian daily la Repubblica commented, “Sorrentino uses this novel to deal with Italy’s unstoppable descent into today’s dazed, corrupted and tragically foolish reality.”
     

    In a fast-moving, Raymond Chandler type plot, Everybody’s Right tells the story of Tony Pagoda, a talentless Neapolitan crooner, cokehead, and male chauvinist who succeeds in gaining the cheap fame of the kind promised in the Berlusconi era—including fame, money, and the saucy accessibility of 18-year-olds (or sometimes younger) aspiring newscasters and dancing girls. 

    At the peak of his glory, Sorrentino’s quintessential anti-hero seems to muster the secret of mundane success, when he cynically reflects: “Only those that nobody wants to listen to have careers. It’s more convenient. That way the people, the public, who haven’t achieved much in their lives, can feel better about their own failure by seeing themselves reflected in the fellow up there on stage, just a few metres higher than them.” 

    Indeed his success stretches over borders and across the seas. But somewhere things begin to go awry, the public’s tastes in music is changing. Tony decides to leave the music world and start over, making a clean break with the past, traveling through Brazil and South America in search of a new life for himself. 

    Here, his peculiar vision of the world, irreversibly shaped by those years in which enjoyed the adoration of audiences the world over, is under assault. The world strikes him as a barren place that is completely at odds with his understanding of it.  

    In the final chapters, back to his country as the house singer for a Berlusconi stand-in, Tony ends up in a life of infinite license, where “everybody’s right.” Yet he remains cursed by his special brand of integrity—or we should better say naivety, as he realizes that, beyond the villas of the superrich, “it’s all just one huge rape.” 

    Which masterfully brings us back to the conclusion of the very first chapter, set in Manhattan where Pagoda meets idol Frank Sinatra, and ends up first serviced and then robbed by a trio of Times Square whores. “Why don’t things like that ever happen to Frank Sinatra? Maybe because he doesn’t go around picking up whores in Times Square.”
  • Life & People

    NEW YORK! Celebrating Italy’s Republic Day

    It was a day of celebration. The Italian flag wrapped New York, and not just in a symbolic sense.

    On Park Avenue a giant tricolor awning covered the terrace of the diplomatic headquarters’ entertainment hall.

    On the street, a Fiat 500 and three shining Vespas by Piaggio – white red and green – attracted the attention of the passers-by.
     

    “I-Italy’s FIAT 500 is a tribute to the great contemporary architect Massimo Vignelli who designed it and passed away only a few days ago” said Consul General Natalia Quintavalle. “And the three Vespas – she continued – are there because one of them is the prize for the winner of the Italian treasure hunt. We’ll award it to the family who answered all the riddles and managed to reach all the Italian stages by 2:30 pm. It was completed in a record time no one had anticipated.

    Congratulations to the Rossi Hawkins family: William, Angelica and Maria Luisa.”

    For the second year in a row the Italian institutions in New York opened their doors in occasion of the Republic Day, which saw this year increased interest and participation. A number of events have been organized by the Consulate General, Institute of Culture, ICE, Enit, Italian School “Guglielmo Marconi”, Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimo’ and others. It’s not going to be easy to convey the atmosphere just by listing them all, but we picked a few, big and small, to bring some of this ‘all Italian’ celebration to you.

    The National Republic Day has been animated by many different events, meetings, ceremonies and exhibitions. 
     

    Starting off on June 1st   with the Italian Treasure Hunt which saw the participants spread across the City guided by the answers to the riddles, the ‘Festa’ really got on the way on Monday June 2nd. The students of the ‘Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi’ performed in a mini sports competition organized by CONI USA: a hymn to sport and its values.

    The celebrations progressed at the Institute of Culture, ICE, Italian School “Guglielmo Marconi”, Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimo, Italian Consulate General. For the occasion the Consulate inaugurated a newly refurbished area with three consecutive entertainment halls. Important in the revitalization of the area has been the installation of the young artist Teresa Cinque, named “Velvet Park”.

    The velvet trees on the walls evoked a fairy tale forest atmosphere, the branches reaching out ready to witness important events. The end result, achieved by these precious removable fabric silhouettes, was absolutely beautiful.

    The combination of art and sport was the theme of the unusual performance we attended at the Institute of Culture: kids coloured a grey wall by kicking balls, dirty with graphite, against it. “Kickstarting#2” was conceived by Andrea Mastrovito, from the Bushwick neighbourhood. The artist leads a program of socio-artistic education for children.

     An unavoidable topic on this day, in New York as well as in all the 1232 Embassies , 48 Consulate Generals and 9 permanent Italian delegations scattered around the world – has been the presentation of Milano Expo 2015.

    Introduced by Natalia Quintavalle and by the ENIT Director Eugenio Magnani, Piero Galli – in charge of the events - talked enthusiastically of the details of the project. For the Italians around the world Milano Expo has planned a number of special deals which include benefits on trips and accommodation. “We would like to welcome the Italians living abroad in a unique and unforgettable way to show them a very special aspect of Italy”

    Also present, the Farnesina’s Secretary General, ambassador Michele Valensise, who underlined the need for optimism and hope for our Country.

    The icing on the cake was the contribution of Fred Plotkin, journalist, writer and much more: an American who is also the ultimate expert on Italy. Entertaining, intense and interesting, Fred’s speech piqued the curiosity of the many present.

    Also this year June 2nd coincides with the presentation of awards and commendations of the Italian Republic: Maria Fosco, Vincenzo Pascale, Joseph Scelsa and Joseph Guagliardo the recipients.

    Diverse and manifold the nature of these celebrations. Of great relevance the projection of the movie by Florestano Vancini “The Matteotti assassination” at Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimo’. The screening, organized with the support of the Primo Levi Centre, has been strongly desired by the directors Stefano Albertini Mussini and Natalia Indrimi. At the end of the movie Spencer di Scala (University of Massachusetts, Boston) and Mauro Canali (Camerino University) promoted an intense conversation. On a day like this, which should remind us of the values of democracy, it is compelling to remember such a tragic moment of our history.

    At the ICE building, a few blocks away from the Consulate General, we celebrated Italian Style. The excellence of the ‘Made in Italy’ was on display throughout the day: from the marvellous dresses by Curiel, to the clothes worn by Toni Servillo in the Oscar winning movie ‘The Great Beauty’, by the Neapolitan tailor Attolini.

    ICE celebrated big brands such as Pirelli, Piaggio, Ferrari, Panini, but also the craftsmanship and creativity that so distinctively characterizes Italy. Amongst these, Tobia clothes for men, a company from Spoleto that produces entirely handmade garments, and the curious pouches by Fedon, whose objects of artisanal design have made their way to MOMA.

     And what about Food and Wine at ICE? Amongst the countless offerings, we would like to mention the Torcolato, extraordinary wine, presented by the brand ambassador Alberto Zamperla. With him the lively Alessandra Rotondi, fantastic presenter and sommelier. And then tastings offered by Colavita, Monini, Di Palo, Parmacotto.

    “Surrounded by creativity, beauty and history” commented the host Pierpaolo Celeste, director of the ICE.

    And the evening at the Consulate General concluded with music. The European and Italian anthems were sung by the extraordinary voices of the Women of The World, group of singers from all corners of the globe.

    The musical group Trio Jazz “Marci Cappelli’s Italian Surf Academy” – Marco Cappelli on guitar, Damon Banks double base, Mathias Kuntzli percussion – presented a retrospective of music in Italian cinema from the sixties and seventies…

    In the adjacent rooms more tastings: the tempting Nutella Ferrero, Cesare Casella with his cut meats and the abundance of De Cecco pasta with red or green sauce. Tomato and pesto in big containers brimming with ‘penne rigate’. All exceptionally good.

    We go home with the sensation of having been to a party. A nice feeling that gives hope and that recognizes, also on behalf of the organizers, the desire to celebrate our Country’s best achievements, without any rhetoric.
  • Fatti e Storie

    New York. Ecco la Festa della Repubblica Italiana!

    E’ festa. Il tricolore avvolge un pò New York e non solo simbolicamente. Su Park Avenue un enorme tenda bandiera copre il terrazzo della sala ricevimenti della sede diplomatica. Per strada, una Fiat 500 e tre Vespe Piaggio - bianco, rosso e verdi -fiammanti attirano l’attenzione dei passanti. La Fiat (quella di i-Italy) “Vuole essere un omaggio al grande architetto contemporaneo, Massimo Vignelli, che l’ha disegnata e che da poco ci ha lasciato” ci ha detto il Console Generale Natalia Quintavalle e le Vespe sono lì perchè una sarà consegnata ai vincitori della caccia al Tesoro italiano organizzata il giorno prima.  Premiata sarà una famiglia che è riuscita a risolvere gli indovinelli ed arrivare alle tappe italiane per le 2.30. Tempo record che nessuno aveva previsto. Complimenti a Rossi Hawkins: William, Angelica e Maria Luisa.

    E’ il secondo anno che le istituzioni del sistema Italia aprono le loro porte alla Festa dellaRepubblica. E questa volta la partecipazione è stata anche maggiore. Tanti infatti gli eventi organizzati dal Consolato Generale, l’Istiuto di Cultura, l’ICE, l’Enit, la Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi, la Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò insieme ad altri partner. E non sarà facile un resoconto che vuole rendere l’idea dell’atmosfera, raccontare la giornata ma al tempo stesso portare al termine dell’articolo il lettore. Scegliamo quindi alcuni momenti. Di una vera lunga festa di italianità, tra grandi e piccoli.
     

    Sono state diverse le anime di questa festa nazionale. Cominciata il giorno prima, con una Caccia al Tesoro italiano in giro per la città, grazie a diversi indovinelli culturali, le celebrazioni sono entrate nel vivo lunedì 2 giugno. Hanno iniziato gli studenti della Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi, con mini competizioni sportive organizzate dal CONI Usa. Un vero inno allo Sport ed ai suoi valori.
     

    E poi i festeggiamenti si sono dati la staffetta tra Istituto Italiano di Cultura, ICE, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, il Consolato Generale. La sede diplomatica ha visto, in questa circostanza, l’ufficiale inagurazione di uno spazio ristruttrato che vede collegate tre sale per ricevimenti. Parte importante di questo rinnovamento l’allestimento della giovane artista Teresa Cinque, intitolato Velvet Park. Alberi di velluto sulle pareti, una vera foresta da fiaba i cui rami intrigati hanno fatto da sfondo ai diversi eventi. Bellissima, e al tempo stesso genial, la realizzazione con questi tessuti preziosissimi che possono anche essere rimossi.
     

    Arte e sport insieme in un’altro evento all’Istituto di Cultura, dove si è svolta una performance particolare. Calci a palloni sporchi di grafite verso una parete.  Il titolo: “Kickstarting #2”. L’ispirazione è venuta a d Andrea Mastrovito, nel rione di Bushwick. L’artista, insieme a bambini,  porta avanti un programma di educazione socio- artistica. Così hanno colorato un muro grigio utilizzando un Pallone e della grafite”.
     

    Un momento inevitabile per la festa della Repubblica del 2014 - e lo è stato in 123 ambasciate, 48 consolati generali e 9 rappresentanze permanenti sparse nel mondo - è stata la presentazione di Expo Milano 2015. Introdotto da Natalia Quintavalle e dal direttore dell'Enit Eugenio Magnani, Piero Galli - responsabile eventi – ha raccontato con grande entusiasmo e dettagli l’iniziativa. Per gli italiani nel mondo la Expo Milano ha in preparazione programmi speciali che prevedono benefici su viaggi e accomodamenti. “Vogliamo poter accogliere i nostri connazionali in un modo unico e irripetibile per far vedere una Italia particolare”.

    Presente ancge il segretario generale della Farnesina, ambasciatore Michele Valensise, che ha voluto sottolineare la necessità di ottimismo e la speranza in un Paese che le energie per guardare al futuro.
     

    Fiore all’occhiello di questa presentazione per New York, l’intervento di Fred Plotkin, giornalista, scrittore e molto di più: americano esperto di Italia a trecentosessanta gradi. Divertente, intenso e interessante il suo discorso che ha amplificato la curisità di molti.
     

    Anche quest’anno il 2 giugno coincide con alcune onoreficenze della Repubblica Italiana. Ad essere insigniti sono stati Maria Fosco, Vincenzo Pascale,  Joseph Scelsa, Joseph Guagliardo.
     

    Diverse, ma mai in contraddizione, le anime che hanno animato questi festeggiamenti. Importante e fondamentale infatti anche la proiezione del film  di Florestano Vancini “ll delitto Matteotti’ alla Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò. L’evento organizzato. in collaborazione con il Centro Primo Levi,  è stato fortemente voluto dai direttori Stefano Abertini e Natalia Indrimi.  Al termine Spencer Di Scala (Università del Massachusetts a Boston) e Mauro Canali (Università di Camerino) hanno sviluppato una intensa conversazione. E’ importante ricordare anche questo tragico momento della storia italiana in un giorno di festa che deve riportare ai valori della nostra democrazia. 
     

    Nel Palazzetto dell’ICE, a pochi isolati dal Consolato Generale, si è celebrato invece l’Italian Style. Nel corso di una giornata. dedicata alle eccellenze del Made in Italy, sono stati diversi i momenti. In un lato di una sala troneggiavano gli abiti della Grande Bellezza indossati da Toni Servillo della sartoria napoletana Attolini, dall’altro stupendi i vestiti da sogno di Curiel. 
     

    L’ICE ha voluto celebrare grandi brand come Pirelli, Piaggio, Ferrari, Panini ma anche il lavoro artigianale che rende così ricca la creatività italiana. Tra questi gli abiti da uomo di Tobia, società di Spoleto, realizzati completamente a mano, fin nei minimi dettagli o gli astucci curiosi di Fedon, società di Belluno i cui oggetti di design artigianale sono arrivati anche al Moma.
     

    E sul fronte food & wine all'ICE? Ricordiamo tra le tantissime proposte il Torcolato vino straordianrio, presentato da Alberto Zamperla, brand ambassador. Con lui la frizzante Alessandra Rotondi, fantastica presentatrice e sommelier. E poi ancora le degustazioni offerte da Colavita, Monini, Di Palo, Parmacotto.

    “Tra creatività, bellezza e storia.” ha detto Pierpaolo Celeste, direttore dell’ICE mentre faceva da padrone di casa.
     

    E in Consolato la serata si è chiusa in musica. L’inno europeo ed italiano sono stati cantati dalle straordinarie voci Women of The World, un gruppo di donne cantanti provenienti da tutto il mondo.
     

    Il gruppo musicale del Trio Jazz "Marco CappelIi's  Italian Surf Academy" (Marco Cappelli, chitarra; Damon Banks, basso; Mathias Küntzli, batteria) ha condotto poi il pubblico in una escursione di musica nel cinema italiano degli anni ’60 e ’70. Attraverso la riscoperta di musiche che abbiamo amato, orecchiato, ascoltato. Originale ed imprevedibile l’improvvisazione del trio.

    Nelle sale attigue ancora degustazioni. Nutella Ferrero, grande tentazione; Cesare Casella con i suoi affettati; e  le cascate di Pasta De Cecco, indiscutibile protagonista della serata. Con una bella trovata scenica: salsa rossa e salsa verde - pomodoro e pesto in enormi contenitori pieni di penne rigate. Tutto buonissimo.

    Andiamo via con il senso di chi ha lasciato veramente una festa. Una bella sensazione che da speranza e che riconosce,  anche a chi ha voluto organizzarla, il desiderio di celebrare un Paese nei suoi migliori aspetti, senza retorica.
  • Arte e Cultura

    Un nuovo prestigioso volume con la cartografia di Matteo Ricci

     L’11 maggio ricorre il 404° anniversario della morte di padre Matteo Ricci, il gesuita maceratese considerato non solo il pioniere della cristianità in Cina ma anche il fondatore della moderna sinologia oltre che raffinato studioso di discipline scientifiche e letterarie.

    Le iniziative ed il lavoro di studiosi e istituzioni, tra cui il Comune, che diedero vita agli
    ormai disciolti Comitato per le celebrazioni ricciane e Istituto Ricci per diffondere l’opera e l’azione ricciana, non si sono fermati dopo le celebrazioni del IV centenario della morte di Ricci, quando fu realizzata una grossa operazione culturale con l'obiettivo di promuovere e valorizzare la figura del gesuita maceratese, definendo i tratti di questo personaggio attraverso una serie di eventi di alto contenuto scientifico e divulgativo. 

    Tra questi, la traduzione e pubblicazione dell’Opera Omnia ricciana che vede oggi un ulteriore prestigioso volume.

    Si tratta de La cartografia di Matteo Ricci, a cura di Filippo Mignini, edito dall’Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato nella serie “Libreria dello Stato”,  che sarà presentato in autunno con una giornata di studio dedicata alla cartografia e al progetto delle opere ricciane.

    Il volume è di grande formato (cm 41x31, pp. XXXVI-265) e contiene 148 immagini, di cui 85 a colori alcune a pagina intera e mezza pagina, con 36 tavole (oltre a una tavola di sintesi) a tutta pagina di riproduzione in cinese e traduzione italiana a fronte dell’edizione Pechino 1602, del mappamondo ricciano (esemplare della Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana).

    Pubblicato nella prestigiosa serie della Libreria dello Stato (IPZS), La cartografia di Matteo Ricci è il quinto volume della prevista collana delle Opere di Matteo Ricci, programmate in occasione delle celebrazioni ricciane, a cui sta per seguire il sesto (Mnemotecnica occidentale) presso l’editore Quodlibet. L’opera, frutto di sei anni di lavoro, si avvale della collaborazione di dodici studiosi italiani e stranieri, esperti di storia della cartografia e specialisti di fonti ricciane.

    Si divide in cinque parti. L’introduzione generale, in cui  l’autore ricostruisce la storia della cartografia ricciana, la formazione cartografica di Ricci, i documenti relativi all’attività cartografica emergenti dall’opera del gesuita maceratese e presenta una interpretazione complessiva del mappamondo ricciano, come “vera espressione del libro del Cielo e della Terra”. “La cartografia – afferma il prof. Mignini - era divenuta, negli intenti di Ricci e nella pratica effettiva, il principale strumento per l’introduzione del Cristianesimo in Cina”.

    «Ricci – scrive l’autore nell’introduzione - non nasconde mai che l’enorme diffusione della carta ne fece lo strumento di gran lunga più importante ed efficace nella strategia di “autorizzazione”, ossia di acquisizione di credito e autorità presso il mondo dei confuciani, di sfaldamento dei pregiudizi cinesi nei confronti degli stranieri, e nella dimostrazione della tesi secondo cui in Oriente e in Occidente l’umanità è guidata da una sostanziale unità di “spirito e di principi”, come scrive Li Zhizao nella sua prefazione. Tesi, queste, centrali, nella strategia comunicativa ed evangelizzatrice di Ricci».

    La seconda parte del volume è costituita da otto saggi che fanno il punto sulle conoscenze attuali intorno alla cartografia ricciana. Sono di John Day, Francisco Roque de Oliveira, Giorgio Mangani, Maria Antonietta Conti, Huang Shijian e  Gong Yingyan tradotti da Paolo De Troia, Angelo Cattaneo, Hiro’o Aoyama e Lim Jongtae.

    Il volume presenta una riproduzione dell’originale cinese e traduzione italiana a fronte, con annotazione analitica, del mappamondo 1602, a cura di Huang Ping e Filippo Mignini: una nuova traduzione dal cinese, del mappamondo ricciano, già pubblicato da P. D’Elia nel 1938.

    Tre Appendici propongono documenti inediti e rari riguardanti la prima circolazione della cartografia ricciana in Cina, evidenziando il ruolo avuto da alcuni intellettuali cinesi, tra i quali Qu Taisu e Feng Yingjing. Bibliografia, indice dei toponimi e indice dei nomi completano il prestigioso volume.

    Riguardo al significato umanistico della cartografia ricciana, Mignini conclude nella sua introduzione: «Non sembra esservi alcun dubbio che anche l’opera cartografica, come quella complessiva di Ricci, si ponesse l’obiettivo di affermare la sostanziale uguaglianza e pari dignità di tutti gli uomini in qualsiasi parte del mondo. Se la sua carta si propone espressamente di combattere il sinocentrismo, al tempo stesso, di fatto, critica il parallelo e simultaneo eurocentrismo, intenta a esprimere la perfetta equidistanza di tutti gli uomini dal centro della loro esistenza, come quella dei punti sulla superficie della sfera rispetto al centro di essa. […] Per questa ragione di equidistanza geometrica, fondata sul modello aristotelico-tolemaico del mondo,  di tutti gli uomini dal Cielo e dal Signore del Cielo, e quindi per la loro ontologica e cosmologica uguaglianza e pari dignità, Ricci può concludere la Prefazione all’edizione1602 con questa frase sublime, dedicando il mappamondo a tutti gli uomini: “Desidero indegnamente [offrire] questa carta a tutti coloro che, sopra, portano su di sé il Cielo sovrano e, sotto, premono i sandali sull’augusta Terra” (4C). L’uomo che per i prefatori cinesi della carta si era spinto così lontano nella conoscenza del Cielo e della Terra, da poter essere considerato un perfetto confuciano, denominazione che talvolta Ricci stesso si era attribuito, abbandona qui ogni distinzione e divisione, per abbracciare l’orizzonte di una semplice e universale umanità».

    Il volume della Cartografia è disponibile presso la Libreria dello Stato. (ap)
  • Life & People

    “Feeding the Planet. Energy for Life”. Italy introduces to the World the Milan Expo 2015

    On Monday April 28th, the Italian Govenrment Tourist Board of New York (ENIT) hosted an event aimed at presenting to the American public EXPO 2015. Exactly one year from now, the universal exhibition will open in Milan (May 1 - October 31, 2015).

    Over 130 countries will participate to the exposition which will be a unique opportunity to discuss innovative, sustainable solutions “to feed the planet.” To this day, 60 countries decided to participate with their own pavillion and many others will choose their own space inside one of the Expo nine Thematic Clusters.

    During his official visit to Rome on March 27, President Obama officially announced the participation of the United States with an investment of 60 million dollars. With more than 20 millions visitors expected, the Milan Expo 2015 will also be an occasion to re-launch Italy’s tourism.
     
     

    The Expo Milano 2015 site was designed with the support of internationally renowned architects. Its common core is the idea that everyone on the planet should have access to food that is healthy, safe and sufficient.

    The site is devised as an island surrounded by a canal that brings one of the basic elements of this “extraordinary setting” into the project: water.

    Together with the canal, the site’s main symbolic elements help to define the setting at its cardinal points: The Hill is one of the site’s principal landmarks and home to the Mediterranean agro-ecosystem.

    The Open Air Theatre will host concerts, plays and official ceremonies. The Lake Arena will be the venue for special water shows, fireworks, concerts and performances.

    The Expo Center comprises three independent functional blocks: an auditorium, a performance area and an office block. There will also be Thematic Areas, a Biodiversity Park, a Future Food District, and a Children’s Park.

    Dozens of countries will have their own pavillon, including the U.S. In the Italian Pavilion, regions and cities, companies and associations, will show to the world the culture and tradition of Italian food that stand out thanks to the high quality of raw materials and finished products.

     
    Global promotioin and communication of Expo Milan 2015 is the main objective of Event Management General Director Piero Galli and his team. Here are a few excerpts from the interview Mr. Galli granted to i-ItalyTV.
     
     
    EXPO MILANO is being announced as “the place to be” for everybody.Why?
    This universal exposition will be a unique opportunity to experience and discuss a fundamental challenge of our days: nutrition and food culture. 147 countries will be participating and showcasing their experiences, problems, and solutions in terms of availability of food, safety, education, sustainability.

    At the same time, over 20 millions visitors – turists, professionals, and people interested in the subject – will enjoy access to a vast array of cultural and recreational programs revolving around food from all over the world.   

     
    Italy is a country with thousands of small-medium businesses in the food sector. What will be the impact of EXPO MILANO?
     
    It will represents a great opportunity because historically – not only in Italy but all over the world – the supply of food, especially high quality food, is best served by small-medium businesses with specific competences and skills.
    Italy will have a unique chance to present to the world all different aspects of its offer of wine and food. It’s an occasion of great visibility, of becoming more international. This is usually a problem for small-medium business: reaching a vast audience and gaining international visibility.
     
    How have Italian business responded to your call up to now?
     
    The respose has been very satisfying. Covering the operational costs of the  EXPO depended il large part on the ability to attract investments from the private sector. To this day we received more than 350 millions euros from both large and medium-small businesses and this will allow us to launch a platformthat will be used in 2015, but also in the future.
     
     
    Being responsible for the internationalization of EXPO MILAN must be a great job A real challenge.
     
    Yes, going international is one of the greates challenges for the organization I represent, in terms of achieving a great audience. Communication here is a tough business. It’s not like the Olympics, where everyone knows what you are talking about. We are often asked: what is this EXPO? Why should we come?
     
    So the world tour we have been organizing for a year now has the objective to improve communication of the subject-theme of the EXPO, to inform and involve prospective business and institutional participants as well as visitors and tourists.
     
    I must say that this year the subject of the Expo is very appealing. And let me make a point: The presence of the American pavillion was established as early as March 27, when President Obama announced the formal agreement in Rome. This is a record. Usually the US is not a big fan of such international fairs, it takes a lot of government negotiations to engage them. But this time the decision was spontaneous. There was a natural interest towards it.
     
     
    We are at ENIT, the Italian Government Tourist Board of New York. ENIT is a major collaborating partner of Expo and will coordinate its promotional activities worldwide…
     
    ENIT is an essential partner for us. We signed an agreement with them to facilitate our process of going international. ENIT is present in several coutries all around the world and will actually help us to bring together all the key figures of the turist sector, helping our communication and our project of going international. It is an essential job.
     
     
    There is great expectation here for the Italian Pavillon. Diana Bracco, the Expo 2015 President & General Commissioner for the Italian Pavilion made a great announcement last October in Washington when she participated at the annual gala of the National Italian American Foundation.
     
    Well, we are the hosting country and our Pavillon will be one of the largest, about 150.000 square feet, a huge one. It’s the creation of some of renowned architects and designers. It will be an excellent opportunity for Italy to revive and promote its many points of excellence in manufacturing, technology and science. The Italian Pavilion is at the very center of this mission. Its theme is "The Nursery", which symbolizes the nurturing of projects and talents so that they can grow, providing them with fertile soil, offering them shelter and giving prominence to new energies. The tree is a symbol of life, of nature at its most primitive, a central icon around which all activities are arranged. And in a horizontal plan view, the roots are designed to connect the many different areas, particularly those dedicated to the various regions of Italy. Each one will give the best representation of themselves in terms of food, tourism, attractions, and lifestyle which is what connects everything together.
    The pavilion is innovative, unusual, surprising, unique, a living representation of the concepts of Italian excellence, know-how and Made ​​in Italy.
     
     
    How important are for the Expo the millions of Italians who live abroad?
     
    A year ago I came up with this idea we called “Italians in the World.” There are between 60 and 70 millions Italians and descandats of Italians around the world. Many of them are in the United States. We want all the first, second, and third generations of Italian emogrants to say: 2015 is the year we are “going back home” and experience Italy in a unique way. Italians in Italy are preparing to welcome the world in an extraordinary way next year and this applies in particular to former emigrants and their descendants. We shall offer them a unique experience.
     
    And what about “italophiles”—or the “Italici,” like renowned industrialist and intellectual Piero Bassetti calls them?
     
    In the minds of so many the people around the world, Italy is an extraordinary place to spend time and enjoy a peculiar, healthy, food-related lifestyle. 2015 will be the year to live such experience to the best. Italy’s lifestyle represents the “reason why” people should come. There is no other place in the world capable to compete with Italy in terms of food and wine culture.
     
    What do we all need to do in order for EXPO to succeed?
     
    Expo Milan 2015 will succeed if we are able to communicate effectively what this is going to be and why people should come. The experience and satisfaction that every visitor will have is going to be amazing. It’s up to us to communicate this now in the proper way so that we’ll not only realize something incredible, but will be able to achieve the number of visitors it deserves. 
  • Events: Reports

    Renaissance and Rebirth. From Leonardo to the Third Paradise

    A Conversation with Prof. Paola Salvi from the Accademia of Belle Arti, Milan, and the artist Michelangelo Pistoletto about the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, Segno Arte (Art Sign) and the Third Paradise by Michelangelo Pistoletto, followed by a video screening and a special live performance on "Great Symbol" with Michelangelo Pistoletto and some students of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (Marcelina Braga Dias, Alicia Comincioli, Thais Fernandes Costa, Katia D. Greco, Gabriele Rivolta, Wan Xi), in collaboration with La Scuola d'Italia Liceo students.

    Renaissance and Rebirth has been represented in Milan, Florence, Venice and other locations
    in Italy in 2012 and 2013 and a video screening of it was also presented with the catalogue of the exhibition Michelangelo Pistoletto. Année 1. Le Paradise sur Terre at the Louvre Museum in Paris.

    Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man represents a male figure placed in both a circle and square, as specified by Vitruvius in his treatise De Architectura (On Architecture). The measurements of the body follow the rule specified by Leon Battista Alberti in his treatise De statua (On Statuary). Leonardo's Man, icon of the Renaissance is therefore a perfectly proportionate body which became the symbol of civilization in the Western world.

    According to Michelangelo Pistoletto "Leonardo's Man was placed in the center of a world to be discovered. Today, the Segno Arte emanating from the mirror depicts a human being projected into the future looking at the past, like a temporal weighing scales, and directs attention toward new proportions that humanity has to consider in order to progress."

    These new proportions especially regard the relationship between contemporary man and the planet he lives on. The necessity to find a new harmony between nature and technology has given rise to the great symbol that is the Third Paradise. It is a symbol that begins with the mathemathical symbol for infinity expanding toward the centre into a third and wider circle.

    This represents "the procreational emblem of a new humanity" which takes responsibility for the planet.

    -----
    PROGRAM:
    2:30 pm -- Anna Fiore: Welcome Remarks

    2:45 pm -- Michelangelo Pistoletto and Paola Salvi: Conversation about the Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, Segno Arte (Art Sign) and the Third Paradise by Michelangelo Pistoletto

    3:45 pm -- Screening of Rebirth Day

    Monday May 5th

    2:30 p.m.

    at La Scuola d'Italia "G. Marconi" - Auditorium Gym

    406 East 67th Street, New York

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