When Italian Art Is Your Life

free! All Things Italian in the U.S. Year 4 — Issue 2-3 — Fall 2017 — $5.00

Discussing Columbus Italian Leaders in the US www.i-Italy.org

Follow us on the web and on social networks If you are in NYC watch us every Sunday at 1:00 pm on NYC Life (Channel 25 - HD 525) Op-eds and debates pages 26-33 Interviewing Gabe Battista page 20 MagazzinoWhen Italian Art Is Your Life

WATCH THE VIDEO Stracci italiani , 2007 Stracci Pistoletto, Michelangelo

ww Focus ww Style ww Bookshelf ww Cuisine ww Travel ww Italy in the City Piero Bassetti and How Milan Overtook Domenico Starnone’s Pizzamania Conquers Under the Spell of Where To Go and Fred Plotkin on What Rome as Italy’s Ties. Anna Lawton the States: How Many Sicilian Baroque. What To Do Italian Being an Italico Means Fashion Capital and Her Amy’s Story Stories Top a Pizza? An Island of Beauty from Coast to Coast 17Q3_DTV_Italian_Italia_Tribune_TFN_9x10.875_r02_v1.indd 1 10/11/17 4:37 PM ww contents

free! All Things Italian in the U.S. Year 4 — Issue 2-3 — Fall 2017 — $5.00 05 Editorial Discussing Columbus Italian Leaders in the US www.i-Italy.org

WATCH THE VIDEO Michelangelo Pistoletto, Stracci italiani, 2007 Stracci Pistoletto, Michelangelo 08 Nancy Olnick and Giorgio

ww Focus ww Style ww Bookshelf ww Cuisine ww Travel ww Italy in the City Piero Bassetti and How Milan overtook Domenico Starnone’s Pizzamania conquers the Under the spell of Where To Go and Fred Plotkin on what Rome as Italy’s Ties; Anna Lawton States: How many stories Sicilian Baroque. What To Do Italian being an Italico means Fashion Capital and her Amy’s Story Top a pizza? An Island of beauty from Coast to Coast Spanu: When Art Is Your Life by Letizia Airos i-Italy 12 A Century Committed to www.i-italy.org Family, Italy, and Art A magazine about everything Italian with Margaret Ricciardi and Laura Erikson in the US The second series of our video project on “Grandparents and Grandchildren in Italian America” year 4 issue 2-3 starts with Margaret Ricciardi and Laura Erikson Fall 2017 — Editor in Chief 16 Italy Beyond Italy: The Italic Way Letizia Airos with Fred Plotkin and Piero Bassetti [email protected] Project Manager A conversation on Pero Bassetti’s latest book Let’s Ottorino Cappelli Wake Up, Italics! and on what an “Italico” is [email protected] 20 The Rocky Road to Italian Staff & Contributors Tommaso Cartia, Natasha Lardera, American Success — editorial coordination by Ottorino Cappelli Michele Scicolone and Charles Interviewing Gabliel A. Battista, co-Chair of NIAF, Scicolone — food & wine editors for our series “Italian Leadership n America” Camilla Sentinelli — fashion editor Rosanna Di Michele — chef Judith Harris, Maria Rita Latto, 24 Bridging Businesses in Italy Virginia di Falco — Italy correspondents Stefano Albertini, Dino Borri, Enzo and the U.S. Capua, Al F. Roof, Fred Gardaphe, Jerry by Al F. Roof Krase, Anna Lawton, Gennaro Matino, Lucia Pasqualini, Fred Plotkin, Stanislao Pugliese, Amy Riolo, Francine Segan — 25 Unity, Diversity and Dialogue columnists & contributors by Gennaro Matino Matteo Banfo, Ennio Serafini, Mattia Minasi — TV & multimedia team 26 Hands off Columbus, Alex Catti, Samantha Janazzo, Joelle Grosso, Kayla Pantano — events team “He Is Our Thing” Darrell Fusaro — cartoonist by Riccardo Chioni Will Schutt, Alex Catti — translations Robert Oppedisano — editorial supervision 29 Why This Year I Decided to Alberto Sepe — web & mobile Lilith Mazzocchi — layout Join the Parade in Manhattan Andrée Brick — design by Ierry Krase —

U.S. Office 30 Let’s Lead America Beyond 140 Cabrini Blvd, Suite 108 Columbus Day New York, NY, 10033 by Claudio Fogu Tel. (917) 521-2035 [email protected] 32 Columbus ‘the Man’ and ‘the Day’ Collectively authored by Luisa Del Giudice, Claudio Fogu, Laura E. Ruberto, Joseph Sciorra, and Geoffrey Symcox

www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 3

17Q3_DTV_Italian_Italia_Tribune_TFN_9x10.875_r02_v1.indd 1 10/11/17 4:37 PM 34 Paola Prestini, A Vision Into Art 58 Must Reads, Must Listens by Tommaso Cartia 59 A unique collection of the most 36 Energy Education: The End of important works of Dacia Maraini Coal, the Rise of Natural Gas by Luca Longo cuisine

style 60 How Many Stories Top a Pizza? a special section by Tommaso Cartia 39 How Milan Overtook Rome as Italy’s Fashion Capital 61 Pizza Academy: Father & by Stefano Dominella Daughter Teaching Pizza with Roberto and Giorgia Caporuscio A doyen of the fashion world leads us through a multipart trip to the heart of Made in Italy 62 Eating Pizza, Losing Weight, 43 Mauro Porcini: Designing in a Becoming a Celebrity Globalized World with Pasquale Cozzolino by Maria Teresa Cometto 64 The Legend of “Di Fara 45 Fashion Trends: It’s a Polka- Pizza.” A Classic Italian Story Dots-Kind-of-Fall! with Domenico “Dom” DeMarco by Camilla Santinelli 66 Delicious and Healthful by Amy Riolo bookshelf 67 The King of Cured Meats by Dino Borri 49 Is Marriage the Ultimate 68 How To Prepare: Rice with Bourgeois Trap? Culatello and Parmigiano with Anna Lawton by Rosanna Di Michele and Domenico Starnone w A favorite dish, paired with the right wine 51 Dante In Love by Fred Gardaphe 69 Pesto alla Trapanese by Michele Scicolone 52 16 Stories of Women by Fred Gardaphe 69 Etna Bianco, from Sicly by Charles Scicolone 54 Amy’s Story of Friendship, Love, and Social Turmoil by Anna Lawton travel 55 A Journey Through History and Across Continents 70 Under the Spell of by Daniela Enriquez Baroque Sicily 57 ‘Summertime, and the by Goffredo Palmerini Livin’ is Easy...’ 75 Four Baroque Corners by Enzo Capua in Palermo by Dominique Fernandez

4 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Italy in the city boston washington 96 The North End. “A State of Mind Surrounded By Waters” 80 The Capital Italian by Amy Riolo by Augusto Ferraiuolo How Boston’s “Italian ward” gradually changed from a A journey through DC’s Italian roots while enjoying slum to the desirable area it is today its’ contemporary Italian-centric culture w events w events 82 Italian Calendar 98 Italian Calendar

83 War & Art: USA in Italy 98 Harvey Sachs on Arturo Toscanini w dining out 99 How We Fell in Love with Abruzzo 84 Our picks this season and Why You Should, Too! DC’s Dining scene in its Golden Age w dining out by Francesca Maltauro 100 Our picks this season 85 Acqua Al 2: A Taste of Tuscany Italian eating in the North End: From the by Samantha Janazzo Old World to modern Boston by Francesca Maltauro New yorK 101 Barbara Lynch: The Guru of Italian Cuisine in Boston 87 Modigliani Unmasked by Tommaso Cartia by Riccardo Chioni 88 The Blue Bus Project San Francisco by Natasha Lardera 102 Campioning Classic Italian 89 A Mobile Care Clinic Cinema in The Bay by Tommaso Cartia by Tommaso Cartia Inteview with Amelia Antonucci, founder of Cinema 90 Parole, Parole, Parole... Italia San Francisco by Stefano Albertini w w events events 91 Italian Calendar 104 Italian Calendar

92 nanni Moretti, indefatigable 104 Baccari at the Italian American Museum: Tale Padre, Tale Figlio torchbearer of Italian cinema w dining out 93 Italian contemporary art in NYC’s cultural world and the art market 106 Our picks this season w dining out Italian bites in a Beat Generation vibe by Francesca Maltauro 94 Our picks this season Simply Italian: panini, dolci, gelati, and espresso 107 Tommaso’s: A SF landmark by Francesca Maltauro by T. C. 95 Zibetto: Espresso as Art by Tommaso Cartia www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 5 Lso Angeles w dining out 108 Promoting Italian Cinema in 112 Our picks this season the “Mecca of Cinema” The Angelenos’ Italian Way of Living Talking with Valeria Rumori, Director of the Italian by Joelle Grosso Cultural Institute in LA 113 Dining in Venice, LA w events by Samantha Janazzo 110 Italian Calendar

111 Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco at the LA Opera, directed by James Conlon w T he Italy I Love 114 Loving Italy: It’s Easy as Pizza Pie by Judith Harris

Where to find us New York St) CIMA - Center for Italian Modern Le Cirque (151 E 58th St) The Leopard Boston Art (421 Broome St) Rizzoli Bookstore at des Artistes (1 W 67th St) Mozzarella (690 Park Consulate General of Italy (600 Atlantic Consulate General of Italy (1133 Broadway) Alessi (130 Greene St) e Vino (33 W 54th St) Ribalta (48 E 12th Ave) (689 Park Ave) EATALY Boston (800 Boylston Italian Cultural Institute Poltrona Frau (141 Wooster St) Cappellini St) Piccola Cucina Osteria Siciliana (196 Ave) (33 E St) I AM Books (189 North St) Dante Italian Trade Commission (152 Wooster St) Casa del Bianco (866 Spring St) Piccolo Cafe (313 Amsterdam 67th St) Alighieri Society of Massachusetts (641 Italian Government Tourist Lexington Ave) Cassina (51 Wooster Ave; 274 W 40th St; 238 Madison Ave) (686 Park Ave) (12 Hampshire St, Cambridge) Board Scuola d’Italia St) Guzzini (60 Madison Ave) Scavolini Pizzetteria Brunetti (626 Hudson St) San E 96th St) Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò, (429 W Broadway) Boffi Soho (31 1/2 Matteo (1739 2nd Ave) Tarallucci e Vino (24 W 12th St) San Francisco NYU J.D. Calandra Italian Greene St) Galleria Ca’ D’Oro (529 W (163 1st Ave; 475 Columbus Ave; 15 E 18th (25 W 43rd (2590 American Institute, CUNY 20th St) Ierimonti Gallery (24 W 57th St) St) Zio (17 W 19th St) Zibetto (163 1st Ave; Consulate General of Italy St) Webster St) (601 Italian Italian Academy, Columbia Eataly New York (Flatiron: 200 5th Ave; 475 Columbus Ave; 15 E 18th St) Italian Cultural Institute (161 Amsterdam Ave) Van Ness Ave F) University Center Downtown: 4, WTC 101 Liberty St) Di Palo Museo Italo Americano (Golden Gate National Recreation Area, for Italian Studies, Stony Brook (200 Grand St) Agata & Valentina (1505 University (100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook) Washington, D.C. Landmark Building C, 2 Marina Blvd) 1st Ave; 64 University Pl.) A.L.C. Italian Embassy of Italy (3000 Whitehaven St Belmont Library and E. Fermi Cultural Grocery (8613 3rd Ave, Brooklyn) Mike’s Center (610 E 186th St, Bronx) Italian NW) Italian Cultural Institute (63000 Los Angeles Deli (2344 Arthur Ave, Bronx) Giovanni Whitehaven St NW) National Italian Cultural Center (One Generoso Pope Pl, (690 Park Rana Pastificio e Cucina (75 9th Ave) American Foundation (61860 19th St Consulate General of Italy Tuckahoe) Italian Cultural Foundation, Avenue) (1023 Al Vicoletto (9 E 17th St) Don Antonio NW) Italian Cultural Society (4827 Italian Cultural Institute Casa Belvedere (79 Howard Ave, Staten Hilgard Ave) By Starita (309 W 50th St) Fabbrica (44 Rugby Ave, Bethesda) New Academia Department of Italian at Island) Inserra Chair, Montclair State (212 Royce Hall) N 6th St, Brooklyn) Il Gattopardo (13-15 Publishing (4401-A Connecticut Ave, UCLA IAMLA-Italian University (1 Normal Ave Montclair, (125 W 54th St) Kestè (271 Bleecker St) L’Arte NW) Department of Italian, Georgetown American Museum of Los Angeles NJ) Club Tiro a Segno (77 MacDougal Paseo de la Plaza, Ste 406) del Gelato (Chelsea Market, 75 9th Ave) University (37th & O St NW)

6 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org ww editorial by Letizia airos An “Italica” Under an Umbrella on Columbus Day

his year’s Columbus Day, is one we won’t soon for- this exercise before taking any position. This is a big country. Yet get. Not only for the polemics surrounding the Italian its attitude toward its history is very different from Europe’s. It explorer but for the unrelenting downpour that lent can be contradictory. On one hand, it seeks it out desperately. On a particular mood to the parade down Fifth Avenue. the other, it can easily erase it. Do you remember the building Rather than presenting you with the contents of this that housed the historic Italian bookshop Rizzoli in Manhat- issue of our magazine, I’d like to tell you about tan, which was torn down two years ago because it was that day. considered obsolete? It was so beautiful. It would be I was there under an umbrella, with difficult to imagine something like that happen- the glistening rain on the pavement, ing in Italy. Neither would you think of tear- amid the people watching the ing down Caligula’s or Nero’s statues because parade’s increasingly wet participants go these were cruel and violent emperors. by. Something Italo Calvino once wrote We must take time to reflect. It would ben- Tcame to mind, that “walking implies that efit everyone. It might also help Italians with every step some aspect of the world and Italian Americans constructively dust changes, and that something in us chang- off the recent and less recent past. es too” (“The Thousand Gardens” in Col- lection of Sand). Yes, as we walk through In this issue you’ll find various points of it, the world changes and we change with it. view on the question of Columbus, some in Surrounded by people under the increasingly favor and others less so, but all—in our opin- hammering rain, I thought back on the various ion—make valid points. We believe it’s neces- parades that I had seen on Fifth Avenue. sary to talk about this issue beyond the day of the parade. What’s missing from our community is debate. Costantino Brumidi, I’ve been in the United States for twenty years. I try to pursue We don’t need a single voice that speaks for everyone. We need a The Landing of my job as a communicator and cultural mediator with honesty. plurality of voices and opinions. We need dialogue and diversity. Colmbus (1877) There’s a lot to do in this line of work, a lot to mediate in order Yet, we can’t blow our tops over the first quibble. frieze in the Rotunda for it to be communicated. In particular, history—especially as That is exactly what we try to do in this magazine, on the In- of the US Capitol seen from here in the United States. There’s History, and there ternet, and in our weekly television program on NYC Life. It’s an are many histories. Older, less old. There are different countries. “Italico” world that mulls matters over—and we bring it into your Different peoples. Different sensibilities. Different attitudes to- homes, workplaces and schools, whether you’re having fun, on ward the distant past. Different cultures. Old. Young. And there’s your commute, or relaxing on the weekend. We’ve been doing it a future to be built step by step. In my line of work it’s important for years. We do it in English so that we can address everyone, to tell a story and to “take a step back” from the events of a story. not only the handful of Italians living in the US (a little over Sometimes I succeed. Other times I don’t. But I think the story 250,000 people, according to Italian Embassy statistics). And we of the statue of Columbus has been a bit exploited. For various try to do it by telling stories that embrace the “Italico”—and not reasons. You have to have the courage to see the other side of a simply “Italian”—story, in a heterogeneous and across-the-board story. Indeed, to see it by taking a step back. To try to understand fashion. We do it by trying to mediate various viewpoints in order every point of view, interrogate every line of reasoning, with to better understand one another. But what does “Italico” mean? humility, without falling back on comfortable and occasionally populist positions. To have the courage to say or listen to some- For an answer, let me turn your attention to American writer thing uncomfortable, something you might not like. and journalist Fred Plotkin’s interview with Pietro Bassetti, an intellectual and Italian entrepreneur who coined this term— In the case of the “Columbus controversy,” it’s most important “Italico”—we’re particularly fond of (see below, page 16). We like to look people in the eye—those in the parade and those outside it because we believe it brings us all under one umbrella—Ital- protesting it. Whether they are Italians, Italian Americans, Na- ians and those who love Italy and the Italian lifestyle, whatever tive Americans, or “simply” Americans of all races and colors. their nationality. Those who paraded down Fifth Avenue on Only then can we understand that the figure of Columbus pro- Columbus Day, those who stood against it, and those who re- vides us with many means of reflecting on the other, on our iden- mained indifferent to it. We think the word “Italico” groups us tity, whatever that may be, without demolishing history or being with our readers, viewers and web-users. And it does so while scared that someone is demolishing it. I recommend practicing respecting our differences in a perfectly “Glocal” space. ww www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 7 focus focus

ww From a Family Art Space to an Italian Art Warehouse

Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu: When Art Is Your Life

Art collectors Giorgio Spanu and by Letizia Airos

Nancy Olnick call Cold Spring home. The road that takes to upstate New York, Surrounded by unspoiled nature their ww running along the Hudson River to the house of Nancy Onlinck and Giorgio Spanu in incredible residence welcomes Cold Spring, is simply fascinating. Especially numerous works of postwar Italian on its last stretch, where a few pieces of Arte Povera peek out through the vegetation as if a art with a focus on the influential part of the landscape. Their colors, materials Arte Povera movement of the 1960s. and shapes blend in perfectly. They seem to late Massimo Vignelli, one of the greatest de- have been created just for that spot. signers of all time. He and his wife Lella Vignelli We went to visit them to talk about Nancy and Giorgio are two world-famous helped conceive the splendid home where this their love for art and their latest contemporary art patrons. He’s Italian; she’s conversation took place, ending up—as always American; and they’ve dedicated their lives to seems to happen with Italians—sitting around endeavor: the opening of Magazzino, contemporary Italian art. “Giorgio and I were a long table set with lovely goodies from their a sort of museum/home for Italian born and raised on two very distant and differ- garden. ent islands: Sardinia and Manhattan,” Nancy Over lunch, L’Italia Straccia by Michelangelo contemporary art, and much more. explains. “Having always been an Italophile and Pistoletto “sits,” as if it were another guest, right loving everything Italian, I believed I was des- in front of us. That piece of art, I later discover, tined to meet and fall in love with this magnifi- is what has inspired Nancy and Giorgio’s latest cent Renaissance man. From the outset, we both and most anticipated project: Magazzino. felt that we had similar interests and a curiosity to expand our horizons in tandem.” Building a Special Home The first time I heard about Nancy and Gior- Giorgio Spanu explains how he and Nancy, and gio, it was thanks to a dear friend we shared, the their work, ended up in Cold Spring. “Nancy

8 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Art collectors Giorgio Spanu and Nancy Olnick take us for a tour of their house. Below, with their team at Magazzino. already had two children, Robert and Eve, so when I came along, I noticed that these city kids were in need of some countryside. They needed to see some nature. So, together, we decided to look at different routes to a place no farther than an hour ride outside of New York City. We took the Taconic State Parkway to the Cold Spring exit. And there we constructed this country house.” But this was no ordinary country house, though; the architect was the great Alberto Campo Baeza and their chief consultant was the legendary Massimo Vignelli. “It was our good fortune to be introduced to Massimo and Lella, two people who would become our close friends and mentors,” says Nancy. “Massimo in- stantly agreed to design our Murano exhibition and graphics and he designed a scholarly catalogue that accompanied the show as it traveled to several museums in the U.S. and Europe.” Giorgio Spanu talks about their house in a room illuminated by a lonely window that opens up to the greenery outside, a dialogue between interior and exterior. Or, as it were, between past and future. Indeed the house holds masterpieces of contemporary art from the second part of the 20th century, artwork spanning the 1960s to the present. Giorgio offers to take me and the i-ItalyTV crew on a little tour. “I would like to start with this piece called 1492—the year America was discovered—made by Maria Lai, a very important artist for us. This book we have is called America, and it’s one she dedicated to this country. These are some ce- ramics by a great Italian ceramist named Guido Gambone. Here’s a very important piece by Mario Merz, representative of the Arte Povera avant-garde, entitled Che Fare? (What is to be Done?) It’s an emblematic statement, the question that Lenin asked in front of the new Soviet politburo. It’s also a statement Merz addressed to the Arte Povera movement. Here is an image painted by Ettore Oliviero Pistoletto, the father of the artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, signed in 1933, the year Michelangelo was born. Michel- angelo transfers the image of himself as a baby on this beautiful silk cloth and adds this mirror where you find his face. You see [your own] portrait through Michelangelo’s.” Giorgio and Nancy’s career as art collectors started with Murano glass, then went into pop art, and, in the 1990s, they discovered their true passion for the radical Italian artists of Arte Povera. That’s what distinguishes them from other contemporary art collectors. The couple, who initially bought art to decorate their house, soon realized they had collected more than 400 pieces. At that point they were in desperately in need of a new location to showcase their unique collection. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 9 Visitors at the opening of Magazzino Italian Art

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Enter Magazzino Italian Art “At a certain point this house became too small for the works, so we decided to buy this old fac- tory in 2013 and we’ve been working on it ever since,” Giorgio tells us. Thus for the first time ever in the history of the United States, we now have a space, Magazzino, dedicated exclusively to Italian art from the second part of the 20th century. Its focus is on Arte Povera. How come? “It all began when a dear friend of mine, a gallery owner, suggested we visit the Rivoli Castle, just outside Turin, where an Arte Povera exhibition was on display. It was there that, for the first time, we saw the work of Giulio Paolini, Luciano Fabro, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, An- selmo, and Calzolari. We fell deeply in love with this group. We began to study them, and we also came to know this mythical figure, Margherita Stein.” Margherita Stein. The opening of Magazzino is dedicated to her, and the first exhibition is entitled Margherita: Rebel with a Cause. “We always viewed Margherita as a woman who re- belled against the art establishment, and against everything that represented classicism. She decided to take her husband’s name, Christian Stein, and to name the gallery after him. He was a very respected judge in Turin. By using his name, she thought the gallery would gain more respect, especially because she was both a woman and a new presence in the art world. The Christian Stein gallery became a leading promoter of the Arte Povera group.” Once inside Magazzino we are greeted by Mi- chelangelo Pistoletto’s L’Italia Straccia (Italy of Rags). What does it represent? “We asked Mi- chelangelo to create a type of emblem for us,” Giorgio explains. “Something that represented Italy, Italian art, and something that would in- spire the young artists that came to work here Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, with which Mag- ww For the first time ever in for the Olnick Spanu art program. And he made azzino will be involved in constant cultural this beautiful flag that has become the emblem conversations. Establishing ties with both Ital- the history of the United of the house. Like he says, ‘Poor Italy, always in ian and American universities and art schools rags.’ I think it will also become the emblem at to encourage student exchanges is at the core States, we have a space, the entrance of the Magazzino, and it will rep- of Nancy and Giorgio’s mission. They want to resent the history of Italian art from the second promote the work, in all shapes and forms, of Magazzino, exclusively half the 20th century.” young contemporary Italian artists. I ask about the projects included in Magazzi- After its spectacular debut back in June, Maga- dedicated to Italian art no. “We are preparing something beautiful and zzino is now open to the public by appointment important with MAXXI, the contemporary art only and free of charge. Magazzino is also the from the second part of the museum in Rome. They decided to do a joint perfect location for special events and the cov- retrospective for 2019 with Magazzino Italian eted residences for young artists. 20th century. Art. It’s the first real North American show of “Instead of simply showcasing art, we want Maria Lai’s work and it will be held after our to welcome it and share it with you all,” Vit- initial exhibition, which is dedicated to Mar- torio Calabrese, the young Italian director of ter for arts education—that’s why Magazzino has gherita Stein.” Magazzino, said recently. Mr. Calabrese is part a library that welcomes 5,000 publications on of an extraordinary team of young professionals Italian Art. We want it to become a point of ref- Fostering Art Education who have teamed up with the Spanus in making erence for both Italian and American artists,” But that’s not all. Giorgio Spanu is also the their dream come true. Spanu concludes outlining their dream and President of the Board of Directors of NYU’s “One of our goals is to use this space as a cen- wishing us a safe trip back to the City. ww

10 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Nancy Olnick and Giorgio Spanu on i-ItalyTV T o watch, scan the QR code with your smartphone ww What is Magazzino A n Italian art warehouse, an artist’s residence, and a center for art education

E stablished in 2017 by Nancy Olnick and Giorgio ”Spanish architect Miguel Quismondo created footage of the former space. The state-of-the-art Spanu and directed by Vittorio Calabrese, Magazzino Italian Art from a former computer facility features more than 18,000 square feet of Magazzino Italian Art is a private art space in manufacturing building in Cold Spring, New exhibition space as well as a library with more Cold Spring, NY, dedicated to widening public York. The new building doubles the square than 5,000 publications onItalian art. appreciation and education of postwar and contemporary Italian art in the United States. Magazzino, meaning warehouse in Italian, hosts works from the Olnick Spanu Collection, most of which have never been exhibited in the United States. Through the permanent collection, as well as rotating temporary exhibitions, community events, and collaboration with neighboring institutions, “Magazzino Italian Art will also continue to sponsor both contemporary Italian artists and international artists whose work is strongly tied to the Italian culture and artistic heritage through off-site events and collaborations with external art venues. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 11 Margaret Ricciardi and her niece Laura Erikson show their giant “family album”

focus ww tHE Second Season OF the I-ITALY TV SERIES “Grandparents and Grandchildren in Italian America.” A Century Committed to Family, Italy, and Art

ww Meet Margaret Ricciardi and her Color Palette

M argaret Ricciardi has had a number of solo exhibits, including at the Snug Harbor Cultural Arts Center and CUNY’s College of Staten Island. In recognition of her Italian heritage, and in memory of her husband Frank, she established the Margaret and Frank Ricciardi Scholarship, enabling Italian majors at the College of Staten Island the same opportunity of study abroad that she received. Additionally, since 2011, she has provided an annual award to a graduating studio art major. In 2006 she was honored with the Award for Cultural and Artistic Accomplishments, at the third annual Festa dei Campani nel Mondo, by La Federazione delle Associazioni della Campania, USA. Her painting, Twin Towers, was accepted for Born 103 years ago in Brooklyn to immigrants from Calitri (Avellino), artist exhibition by the Museo dell’ Emigrante in Naples. In Spring, 2017, Margaret Ricciardi received an Margaret Ricciardi agreed to be featured as the grandma in the first episode honorary doctorate from the College of Staten of our new TV series “Grandparents and Grandchildren in Italian America.” Island for her longstanding commitment to her craft. Here she talks to her granddaughter Laura Erikson, touching upon everything Maggie’s palette (above) was created over her from the original family business—a shoe repair shop in the St. George Staten entire painting career of 30 years. Weighing more than 25 pounds, it is a work of art in itself. Island Ferry terminal—to Margaret’s life with Frank Ricciardi, her passion for For more information visit Italy, and her devotion to art. www.ricciardigallery.com with Margaret Ricciardi and Laura Erikson we guess right away by looking at her posture, woman, wife, mother, grandmother, and artist. her eyes, her sweet confidence, and at the elegant Laura accompanies her grandmother through The view from her window is so wide femininity of the décor, where each detail, both her memories for the videao we have put together. w wthat it reaches the “symbolic” Verrazzano traditional and contemporary, has been taken Bridge; we are in Margaret Ricciardi’s home in care of by her. It’s in this 1950s ranch immersed Born Into an Italian Family the Ward Hill section of Staten Island, in what in a green landscape that Ricciardi keeps work- she calls her “dream house.” How many dreams ing on abstract, expressionist oil paintings de- Laura Erikson: Grandma, you were born in have these walls seen come true? We will find picting both landscapes and people. The house is 1914 in Brooklyn to Giuseppe and Philomena out little by little during our conversation, but full of emotions and holds the memories of this (Maffucci) Della Badia. What was life like at

12 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Margaret wearing a costume from Calitri. Right: With husband Frank on the day of their wedding ww Your grandpa wanted to learn English, but he didn’t want it like most of the Italians. They kind of half learned, and the words are half Italian and half English. He wanted to sound like an American who was born here. that time in Brooklyn in an Italian community?

Margaret Ricciardi: We lived on Central Av- enue in Bushwick. My mother and father had rented an apartment upstairs over this German bakery. We could smell all the goodies that were being baked, and once a week, my mother would take her little bag with the cash and go down and buy some of the buns that were left over from the day before. This way, she would get more of them, almost double.

Laura: Tell me how your parents came here. daughters, and I was the one she used to Staten Island. call the troublemaker because I was always Laura: Was grandpa already in the shoe Margaret: Well, my uncle—my mother’s broth- planning what we should do and where we business? er—came first. When anyone came from Calitri, should go. Anyway, we grew up. The Calitrani they would easily find a family from that town [people from Calitri] used to have a picnic Margaret: Yes, he had bought the first shop that would rent them a room. He met the man once a year, and they would come from all when it was on Stuyvesant Place on Staten who would become my father and found he was over, New Rochelle, Brooklyn, wherever. We Island. He became quite well known with the a very good, kind, and thoughtful person. In used to meet a lot of the boys there. My older orthopedic doctors because he took a course in those days it was about matchmaking, so my sister met her husband there, but he wasn’t orthopedic alterations, and he knew how to fill uncle would write to his sister and say, “there’s from Calitri, so that was a little disappointing out, to the letter, whatever prescription they this terrific man here, and I showed him your to my parents. I too used to see my husband came in with. He knew what to do. picture, and he really liked what he saw.” My there. He had come when he was 16. He was father started writing to my mother, and she born in Calitri. Laura: My mother told me grandpa was very would answer the letters. proud of the fact that he didn’t have much of That went on for a little while. Then my fa- Falling in Love an Italian accent. ther asked her to come to America because he thought they would get along very well. He had Laura: Tell me about your first date with Margaret: Yes, his cousin was a school teach- fallen in love with her. He wanted to marry grandpa. er. He would go to her after school and say, “I her. My mother wrote back. She gave it a lot of want to learn English, but I don’t want it like thought, and she kept refusing the boys in Calitri Margaret: I was known among the Calitrani most of the Italians. They kind of half learned, who were asking to see her. She didn’t like stay- because I always walked with my head held and the words are half Italian and half Eng- ing in the town. She told my father she would up high. The guys wouldn’t come near me, but lish. I want to sound like an American who come on the condition that he would send her a when Frank asked me to dance at the picnic, was born here.” round trip ticket. and then he asked me if he could have a date, I said OK. We had a date to go to Radio City Laura: Did he really want to be an American Laura: So it went that great-grandma came in New York, and that was terrific because you citizen? Was it because there was a stigma at- and married Giuseppe. And was she happy? didn’t get to the city too often. It was too ex- tached to being an Italian American? pensive. We dated for two years. Then we got Margaret: She was very happy. She had three married on July 11th, 1937, and we settled on Margaret:He didn’t feel that stigma because www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 13 focus

he didn’t act that way. The problem with some ww taking classes for the next 31 years. But where of the Italians who came here was that they I want it all. I keep else did you study? never changed. They never accepted any of the customs that you usually accept when you’re moving and keep the brain Margaret: I went to Italy to the Lorenzo de’ in another country. He was quite educated. He Medici School in Florence. I went one semester. had two uncles who were priests, and they used active. That’s why I keep Then, after a year and a half, I went another to teach him and gave him an education far semester. The first time I went, I took paint- beyond the high school diploma that he would registering for classes every ing, but they also had sculpture at the Lorenzo have gotten if he had stayed in Italy. school. The second time I went, I concentrated term… I always tell to more on my oil painting than on sculpture. Visiting Calitri people, ‘Life is short. Eat Laura: You started with painting in your art Laura: What did Calitri look like when you career. How long did you paint before you said went there? dessert first!’ That’s my ”I want to try sculpture?”

Margaret: The mountains and the view im- motto—but always in Margaret: Oh, I think I did painting for prob- pressed me. My mother-in-law had a balcony. ably two years. I don’t quite recall. One day, a That’s what I wanted to have. You walked out moderation. teacher came into the painting class and sug- on the balcony, and you could see forever. You gested I try sculpture. Gradually, I went from could almost see the next town! It was a great stone to more complicated pieces with wood. view, and I remember turning to Frank and say- The Art Student Then I started to buy my own material and or- ing, “when we build the house, I am going to dered some marble and Italian alabaster. build it with a view.” I never thought we would Laura: You were determined, for a long time, get that dream and have the water besides. It to further your own education. I remember Margaret’s Secret was beautiful. I remember we also went to Sor- when I graduated from high school, you were rento, and we stayed there for about four days. also getting your high school equivalency. After Laura: You know, my sister says the reason It was terrific, the people were so warm and grandpa passed away in 1983, you quit the shoe you have been here for 103 years is because you hospitable. I really recommend taking a trip to store and fully committed yourself to art classes don’t want to miss anything. Italy for everyone. You will fall in love with it, at the College of Staten Island. You received and I am sure you did when you went. your bachelor’s degree in 1986 and continued Margaret: That’s right! I want it all. I keep

14 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Margaret showing her home, memories, and paintings to the i-ItayTV crew during the filming.

moving and keep the brain active. That’s why I ww The second season of our video project will air this fall keep registering for classes every term. If you sit still and say, “Oh, this hurts and that hurts. Grandparents & Grandchildren in Italian America I’m too tired to get out of bed…” I say, “Get the butt out of bed, and get moving! It will go away.” T his project explores the relationship between different generations ofI talians in America and Margaret stops talking and looks straight into is narrated firsthand by the protagonists. the eyes of each and every woman who’s in the Grandparents and grandchildren tell their stories room. Apparently oblivious to the video camera in a conversation that touches on central issues she says: “You’ve got to have the Italian genes, concerning Italian identity. and you have to stay healthy. Don’t let yourself get overweight because then you start having The first sason featured conversations between: problems. Make sure you always eat vegetables Matilda Raffa Cuomo and Amanda Cole with your food. I eat and love sweets. I always tell Joseph Tusiani and Paola Tusiani to people ‘life is short. Eat dessert first!’ That’s my Aileen Riotto Sirey and Emma Bankier motto—but always in moderation. I’ll take one Rosaria Liuzzo and Mara Sparacino cookie out. Then I close the box and put it back in John P. Calvelli and John D Calvelli the freezer. If it’s not there, you won’t be tempted to take a second or third one.” The second season will feature: We move away from the set of our video con- Margaret Ricciardi with Laura Erikson versation, remove the mics and walk through the Dino Clemente with Saverio, Donato house with her. Margaret shows us the traditional and Francesca Capolupo costume from her home town and explains she’d Louis R. Aidala with Nicholas and Julianna Bambina like to donate it to a museum. We walk together on Joseph M. Mattone with Michael Mattone jr. the long terrace. She offers us some chocolate. Then and Lena Volpe Watch this episode she lets us visit her studio, located in a large base- Fred Gardaphe with Michelangelo and Anthony ment. She still works there today, surrounded by Lomuto on i-ItalyTV dozens of paintings featuring the different landscapes of her life and told through the colors of her Grandparents & Grandchildren in Italian America is co-produced by i-ItalyTV and ANFE and is sponsored by the Ministero love for art and for Italy. ww degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale, Direzione generale per gli italiani all’estero e le politiche migratorie. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 15 focus ww TWO SPECIAL “ITALICI” JOINED US AT LA CASA DI I-ITALY TO MEET EACH OTHER AND HAVE A CHAT Italy Beyond Italy: The Italic Way

Watch this interview on your smarphone

We sat down at our home with an old with Fred Plotkin and Piero Bassetti had just started i-Italy and you approached us to tell us more about our project, which you friend of i-Italy, industrialist Piero This conversation was aired on our thought —and we agreed—had much in com- Bassetti, during his recent tour in w wweekly TV show i-ItalyNY on NYC Life - mon with your idea of “Italici”. Ch. 25, and you can watch it on demand on Our other guest is Fred Plotkin, an American New York to promote his latest book , i-Italy.org. citizen … Let’s Wake Up, Italics! Interviewing Letizia Airos: I’m here with two people who Fred Plotkin: … a New Yorker! Piero Bassetti was another old friend have i-Italy in common. For two different but of ours, writer and critic Fred Plotkin, connected reasons. One is Piero Bassetti, the Letizia Airos: Yes indeed! A New Yorker with renowned Italian entrepreneur and public no Italian roots but, in my opinion, the epit- who was famously defined by the intellectual—the one who coined the term ome of a true Italico. Ever since I first met New York Times’s Frank Bruni as “the “Italico.” How many years ago was it? him, I thought there is no one who knows more about Italy. That’s why I decided to put most Italian of all New Yorkers.” Pero Bassetti: Maybe ten years ago, even you two together in conversation while I tiptoe though it took some time before introducing it. away. I’ve hoped for this for a very long time We identified the difference between “Italicità” and I’m excited to hear what you have to say. and “Italianità” right away, but the adoption of the distinction took a while. What’s an Italic?

Letizia Airos: Yes, about ten years ago. We FP: Mr Bassetti, first of all, I would like to define

16 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Piero Bassetti with Fred Plotkin at the i-Italy headquarters in Manhattan some words so that we are very clear about the ww If you wish to protect meaning of everything. What makes an Italian? Italy you must grasp its PB: An Italian is an Italic who lives on the pen- insula, and is a citizen of the Italian state, which internal diversity. A is a territory that has been defined as such for little more than 150 years. For example, Dante uniform italianità does was an Italic; he was not an Italian because during his lifetime, the “Italian” dimension only ex- not exist. isted through linguistics and culture, but not politically. United States understands that poker is the FP: So then, let’s define an Italic. game of Americans, and not just in Westerns. If one goes to Russia, one realizes why chess is the PB: An Italic is a person who has chosen to game of the Russians. The game of the Italians adopt “the Italian way of life,” as an expression is soccer. Kicking a ball between one’s legs to get of one of the greatest civilizations in the world. to the goal is a typical Italian skill, in which an Just how a civilization can become a subject of individual juggles the different obstacles found history, is a topic open to debate after the crisis in his way. The cultures that have adopted soc- of the nation states. cer play it in their own way, but the fundamental This is the difficult point about Italicità, or idea behind the game remains an Italic one. Italicity. It is not an easy one because in the FP: When I read Let’s Wake Up, Italics! some- tradition of nation-states, you are an Italian as thing immediately came to mind. Tell me if you Bastardy is better than purity long as you are within Italy’s border, and with don’t agree with me. To be an Anglo-Saxon, a others, you can only trade or make war. No Hispanic, or an Italic, one must know the lan- FP: I won’t define myself as an Italic yet be- hybridization is possible. But the true Italic is a guage of the country that this culture comes cause I still have to think about it. But I feel I bastard: he must be, because bastardy is better from. am an Italian through osmosis because I open than purity. This idea that purity is worth less myself to everything that Italy has to teach me than bastardy goes against the grain, and it PB: Yes, but the language of the culture is not re- and I create my own Italy that I love. But I also isn’t easy to put it as the foundation of a politi- ally the language of the country. The Florentines feel the right, being Italian through osmosis, to cal discourse. This is the purpose of my book spoke Italian before Italy existed as a political criticize every once in awhile, not simply to be and of my battle: let’s wake the Italics up to organization. But before the country was uni- a critic, but out of love. For me, Italy is a phe- their values based on integrating the values fied in the mid 1800s a Neapolitan, a Florentine, nomenon that I wish to protect. of others. and a Venetian didn’t belong to the same culture or speak the same language. So much so that PB: If you wish to protect Italy you must grasp FP: I completely agree. When I teach the his- even today the unity of Italian culture is mainly its internal diversity. A uniform italianità does tory of Italian cuisine, this is bastardization, a political phenomenon, because the differences not exist. We shouldn’t sell just risotto and pizza because of its use of ingredients from around between Northern Italy and Southern Italy are to the world—it’s the richness and diversity of the world. Truth is, the Italians knew how to still visible—even outside of the country. the Italian cuisine that we must sell instead. make the best use of these products! Some say that if the language dies, the culture dies. That’s not true because the Italian culture is made of more than just the official language. It ww Piero Bassetti’s manifesto was strongly made up of dialects. This is a delicate subject. And I think it’s the challenge for our U nderstanding Our Glocal Future in the World friends at i-Italy too. Because to abandon the old argument of Italian nostalgia, in the parade This book is a rallying call. An appeal to anyone who is willing to listen. on Fifth Avenue, it’s no small thing. There’s no Over the last two decades of cultural and political engagement, Piero doubt that today Italian Americans have a prob- Bassetti has been able to closely observe the impact of globalization- lem defending their nature. The Italian expats, driven change from both the economic and social standpoints; he the young people, don’t have the same problem. concludes that there are millions of people around the world whom we If anything, they have nostalgia for the Italian should get used to calling “Italics.” This Italic identity outside of Italy way of life, which they want to spread over the began with emigration, but it has since developed into something more. world. Bassetti and his research team estimate that there are approximately 250 million people who could be called Italics. They have different Soccer as an identity marker citizenships; they live in countries and societies that are far apart, both culturally and geographically. They speak different languages. But they FP: Can soccer, as it is played in Italy, be con- feel the same. They embrace Italicity—a shared way of feeling, a way of sidered an Italic game? relating to the world, of giving meaning to the world. This should be turned into an opportunity for Italics to play a new leading role in global PB: Yes. For example, anyone who knows the history and economy. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 17 focus ww We need ways of cultural education that emphasize hybridization. The true Italic is a bastard: you must be, because bastardy is better than purity. This idea goes against the grain, and it isn’t easy to put it as the foundation of a political discourse. This is the purpose of my book and of my battle.

The Italic anthropology pre-Italian origins, is perceived as a gift to the France and the United States. We need ways of world. Opera, for example, is a gift given to world cultural education that emphasize hybridization. PB: All of this is described in the book. This story culture. But you can’t assert that, say, Wagner’s You don’t grow just by talking, but you do grow by began when I was going back to Italy after school opera is better or worse than the Italian… becoming equal through a common experience. at Cornell. We were on the steamship Vulcania. All these problems need to be studied deeply. Our group was three Italian Americans and me. FP: Sure. Also because Wagner loved Italy. He We became friends, and one shyly asked me, conceived the tetralogy in Liguria, he died Venice, FP: I’m just afraid that in some cases, identity “How do you say pizza in Italian?” I grasped that he composed the first act of Parsifal in Sicily, the may become diluted rather than enriched, like pizza for him was, in fact, an American product. second act in Ravello, and the third in Venice. He a product that is not well-understood. Let’s use So the problem isn’t that the only pizza is Ital- traveled Italy taking inspiration from the country, olive oil as one of many examples. If you don’t un- ian pizza. The idea that the problem is spreading just as I do. derstand what makes a certain oil good or special, what was made in Italy is false. The real problem and how that oil is used as opposed to another is spreading what was made in the Italian way. DefiningItalicity oil, it ends up being seen just as olive oil. It loses That’s why I’m working with producers who the characteristics that I learned in Italy, which don’t want to just sell “Made in Italy;” they want FP: Is the Italian mindset itself something that unfortunately the Italians are losing. to protect the products of Italian origin, and the can be called Italicity? That is, something that can Italian way of doing things. It’s useless to attack be learned, absorbed, and used to make beautiful PB: Well, there are huge differences between an Nespresso or Starbucks because there’s no reason things. oil from Lake Garda and one from Sicily, but the to think that coffee needs to be consumed in the difference is less than that between Spanish oil United States as it is in Italy. We’re coffee people, PB: Yes, certainly. I’m personally convinced that and Sicilian oil. Here, you can see that the na- and we don’t have only one type of coffee. it’s not true that all anthropology comes from tional framework is an old one, one that does This is what my book strives to do: to make genes. It also comes from learning. I’m convinced not serve our analytic purposes. If you say that people understand that the awakening of Italics that in a world of such great mobility, this hy- communication between 7 billion people is, in comes from more than just Italianness. Italicità, bridization isn’t genetic, but rather operative, and a certain sense, entropic in that it reduces dif- or Italicity, is instead a matter of anthropology. already being seen. Just look at fashion produced ferences, this is true. But the challenge is being There’s no use denying it. We’re Mediterranean in New York. By now it’s organically soaked with able to extract the best qualities from inside an by origin, and we have a different anthropology contributions from Italian fashion, and French, organic global system. We shouldn’t be afraid to than the Swedes. It’s difficult to say this about of course. That’s why I say that the awakening increase communication. We should be afraid of Americans because Americans are already born of the Italics comes from contact with the whole also not doing anything in order to extract the as hybrids. Today an American certainly is a world. With the “Glocal” concept the central idea best from each culture. type, but a New Yorker is different type. In the is that everyone locally is part of the global society, same way a Milanese in Italy is different from a but the global permeates all local environments FP: ...and to study and learn more from them. Southern Italian. These differences are the true in different ways. This means that the problem And to love being Italian, Italic, or… Italian by wealth of a country. And the point truly is that of Italicità, of Italicity, is not a problem regarding osmosis. We could go on for hours, but we have today the Italic anthropology, which actually has Italy’s relationship with different countries like to stop here. Thank you! ww

18 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Italy in the Fall

by Darrell Fusaro

Everything wonderful about Italy in the fall is felt at once when you see a girl on a Vespa.

* Cartoonist, humor activist and great friend of i-Italy, Darrell lives in Los Angeles with his wife Lori and their furry four-legged friends, Mr. French, Gabby, Francis and Enzo. He is the author of What If Godzilla Just Wanted a Hug? and co-host of “The Funniest Thing! with Darrell & Ed” podcast. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 19 focus ww washington, dc: italian leadership in america series / 3 The Rocky Road to Italian American Success

We’re interviewing Gabriel Battista, Let’s start with your parents. They were former executive chairman of Talk both born in Italy? America, named by Ernst & Young as Well, my paternal grandfather Pietro came to the United States for the first time after the the Greater Washington Area First World War; he worked and sent money Communications Entrepreneur of the to Italy and traveled back and forth. His family stayed in Italy at first. My dad was born in Year in 2004. “Gabe,”as his friends the Molise region, in a small little town just call him, is the co-chair of NIAF and a outside of Isernia. It’s called Macchia d’Isernia, Well, in my father’s neighborhood they were I think it literally means “a spot of Isernia”. all Molisani. My mom’s family lived nearby in prominent Italian American leader in He came here in 1927. My mother’s family in- a 4-square block Italian neighborhood, which the nation’s capital. stead is from Giulianova, in the nearby region is where I grew up. Mom and dad met at a of Abruzzo. She was born in America, but just church social, in this Italian national parish of six months after her parents immigrated, so Our Lady of the Angels. It was unique in the by Ottorino Cappelli she always said she was from Giulianova. United States, certainly in Philadelphia. This is the story: originally there was a very large This interview was aired on our weekly Both your families settled in Philadelphia. Irish parish close to where my parents lived, wwTV show i-ItalyNY on NYC Life - Ch. 25, They lived in Italian neighborhoods, I pre- called Our Mother’s Sorrows. They weren’t and you can watch it on demand on i-Italy.org sume. How was life in Italian Philadelphia happy with the arrival of other Catholics like and on our YouTube channel. The text here has back then? And what about the relation- Italians, Poles, and Ukrainians, and they actu- been edited for publication ships with other immigrant groups? ally wanted them to go away. They said, “You will

ww A NIAF/i-Italy co-production I talian Leadership in America

T he project features a series of in-depth conversations with prominent leaders of Italian extraction in Washington, DC. It shows how much the Italian-American community has achieved, in so many different halls of power, in the nations’ capital. It also highlights that even the most accomplished Italian Americans are willing to share their Italian stories and acknowledge that their heritage is at the core of who they are. The first series include interviews with: Justice Samuel Alito, Patricia de Stacy Harrison, Anita Bevacqua McBride, Gabriel A. Battista, Anthony S. Fauci, Lugi Diotaiuti, Peter Cardullo.

Gabriel A. Battista on i-ItalyTV

20 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Gabe Battista’s family. Left page: Gabe as a child holding a telephone handle—a prophetic picture for someone who was to become a leader in the telecommunication market.

ww My mother was a very strong woman. When I would ask her whether I should do something, her answer was invariably the same—“use your own judgment.” have to say Mass in this little room, and really work to pay for my own tuition. I worked in high You went to Italy several times in your life. what you should do is build your own church!” school and I worked when I went to college at Do you recall the first time? Your emotions? So in 1911 these immigrants built a church and an industrial bakery for Acme Markets, a big it was called a national parish. The Catholic supermarket chain in Philadelphia. I had very I was maybe 29 years old working for General Church was ok with this, so the groups could good grades from Villanova University as an en- Electric and they asked me to head a joint project be separated. So my parish was Italian, and in gineer and I went to work for General Electric with FIAT. So, I went to live in Turin for nine order for me to go to the grammar school they when I was 22 years old. There were no other months. My parents insisted that I visit the fam- built, I had to be of Italian descent. Italian Americans in the group I worked in. One ily while I was in Italy. Now, I have to tell you—as This national parish system stayed in place day a guy came up to me and said, “How come a boy growing up, I wanted to be an American; for decades—I believe when I was a boy there you went to Villanova?” And I replied, “I wanted but when I went to Italy and I visited the families, were 35 or 40 of them in Philadelphia, not just to be an engineer, that’s why.” “But of all the Ital- I fell in love. I remember the first time I went Italian, but also Ukrainian, Polish. Then in 1976 ians I know,” he said, “the only ones that go to to Giulianova on a train from Turin. I kept ask- the Archdiocese decided this system was dis- college are the children of the Mafia. Was your ing myself, “How are they going to know it’s me? criminatory because each of these enclaves had father in the Mafia?” “No! My father was not I’ve never seen these people.” But when the train their own school, and even though their neigh- in the mafia…” “Well, you’re an exception…” I came into the station my mother’s first cousin borhoods were changing, they didn’t change-- thought about it after, and I remember I told my and his son came running to me, grabbed me and as long as they had a school they stayed there. mother. “Don’t let it bother you, “ she said, “just brought me home! When I asked, “How did you When they eliminated the national parishes, show them that you’re better than that.” I know know who I was?” they showed me a book with people fled to the suburbs. And my grammar it’s a lot less now, not as much as my parents photographs of me as a child, when I made my school closed. or my grandparents had to put up with. It was First Holy Communion, when I got confirmed, really difficult for them. when I graduated from high school--not just me, At one point you had to mingle with other but my brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all in ethnic groups. How was that experience? How was it for them? a big book! My folks used to send photographs Were there episodes when you felt discrimi- and they would save them. I wanted to be in It- nation because of being Italian? My parents and grandparents really had aly! It was family, it was loyalty, it was… you just problems. My mom had to quit school be- felt embraced and after I came back from Turin, I grew up in a world of Italians. And they were cause of this. It’s a true story. She went to the I wanted to know more about my Italian back- not “just” Italians, but almost all of them came Irish Catholic grammar school—there wasn’t ground, more about who I was, where I came from Abruzzo. In fact my grandparents settled the Italian American Catholic school at that from. I became very proud of my background. there because other relatives were there. And time. One day my mother came home and I must tell you, my parents had never taught complained that the nuns kept calling her This is why you got involved in the Italian- me about prejudices, I didn’t think prejudice “Dago,” and so my grandfather took her out of American community and NIAF? existed. But later in life, people would look at that school. She went to public school for the me and say you’re an Italian, and to me that was last two years before she went to work. So, it’s Exactly! After I sold my last company, my de- a foreign thing. always been there. Today it’s not as bad as it sire to be closer to my roots got stronger. I be- used to be because there are lots of people who came actively involved with NIAF and I was a Give us an example. have proven to the world that Italian Ameri- member of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, cans are very valuable members of society and where I met the former chairman of NIAF, Joe Well, I will give you the prime example that was they have added a lot of value to it—that’s why Del Raso, who introduced me to the American really shocking to me. I had the opportunity to my children feel none of that today. University of Rome... www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 21 focus

ww Meet Gabriel A. Battista A Life of Success and Telecommunications

Gabriel Battista’s experience in telecommunications spans more than four decades. He has served on the board of six publicly traded companies and served as president, chairman, and CEO of Talk America for six years, transforming the company into a profitable telecommunications provider. In 2006, he led the effort to consider new strategic options for the company which resulted in the sale of Talk America to Cavalier Telephone, LLC. His career began with General Electric as a senior manager. He later served as president of Sprint’s Eastern Group. In 1991, he joined Cable & Wireless, Inc. as president and became the CEO of North America. Battista is credited with leading the company’s development of a global Internet infrastructure. In 1996, he joined Network Solutions, Inc. as the company’s CEO and was responsible for business development and strategic planning as well as for the acquisition of the capital resources necessary to meet the company’s long term objectives. He led the company’s initial public offering on the NASDAQ in 1997. ww students, and not just study abroad students. For three companies and then at age 59 gave up all of My parents and me it’s a way to lead people—not just Americans, that to get back to my Italian roots, and add value because last year we had graduates from 17 dif- to the Italian American culture. I told myself, I am grandparents really had ferent counties—to recognize the culture and the done, I made enough for me and my family, I can value of Rome and Italy, and its contribution to live the way I want now. what I wanted to do was problems wth prejudices Western civilization. So my participation is driven directed to Italian American things. by my love for Italian culture. And even though and discrimination. My everything is taught in English, the students live As the co-chair of NIAF, what is in your view physically immersed in Italian culture. the “right thing” the Foundation should be do- mom had to quit school ing today? We cannot avoid mentioning your career, because of this. But my though it may not have a direct connection to NIAF is a great organization. Its original focus your Italian ancestry. How did you develop this was the recognition of the valuable things Ital- children feel none of that passion for science and engineering? You had ian Americans had done in this country. Today, an intuition about the power of the Internet there are millions of stories, all of us may tell you today. even before it became what it is today. stories about our parents and our grandparents and so on. But there are so many young Italian Now you are the chair of the University’s Well, there is an Italian connection. My parents Americans who don’t relate to the culture. We board, which includes other members of the encouraged me to try everything, and said, don’t don’t want them to become Italians—they are NIAF Board of Directors. What is the Ameri- worry about failing, if it doesn’t work try some- Americans—but they do need to have a feeling for can University of Rome and why is it so dear thing else. I was a strong early devotee of the in- Italian culture and embrace it. Italian culture is to you? ternet, and left as the CEO of Cable & Wireless marvelous and when anybody understands it, they to join Network Solutions—a small company, but fall in love with it. So I think the most important I became chairman five years ago. The American one that was on the forefront of the internet. They thing for NIAF today is to figure out how to reach University of Rome is a fully accredited university recruited me when the company had 50 people, people who are a generation or two generations with credits that are valid for transfer in the US. and we were going to build a big company. It was a younger than me, so they can feel the value of their The school was founded in 1969 and we are mov- tremendous success, but again it was pushing the ancestral culture, understand it, be proud of it, be ing it forward. We have established four master’s envelope, asking, what else can it be? That’s what part of it. I think that’s important if we want to degrees. We are working to enroll more four-year helped drive my success. I ended up being CEO of keep NIAF going for the long term. ww

22 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 23 Vincenzo Boccia with Pat Harrison, Gabe Battista and Marcella Panucci. Below, counterclockwise: Alessandro Profumo, Pasqualino Monti, and Antonello Montante with one of his famous Montante bikes focus

ww PEOPLE. TOWARDS THE 42nd niaf gala in washington, dc The Italian Presence at NIAF: Bridging Businesses in Italy and the US Important figures from Italy will take part in this year’s NIAF Gala, including the President of Confindustria Vin- cenzo Boccia, the CEO of Finmecca- nica Alessandro Profumo, and from Sicily, the region being honored this year, a major delegation of industrial- ists and managers such as the Presi- dent of Unioncamere Antonello Montante and Pasqualino Monti, the President of Palermo’s Port Authority.

by Al F. Roof

A particularly impressive delegation will rep- wwresent Italy at the 42nd NIAF Gala held this year in Washington DC. Kicking things off is the President of Confindustria Vincenzo Boccia, who will be participating for the first time in this grand event where three thousand of the most distinguished Italian-American leaders in economics, The entire event is dedicated to Sicily, chosen the Detective Montalbano series. One of the bikes management, and politics gather in Washington. this year as the region of honor. Leading the major will be exhibited at the Gala. Accompanying te president will be Confindustria’s group of Sicilian entrepreneurs invited to partici- Also attending the kermess will be the new Director General Marcella Panucci. pate in an exhibit of local products will be Union- president of Palermo’s Port Authority Pasqualino Mr. Boccia had previously met with the Foun- camere President Antonello Montante, who guides Monti, the previous recipient of a NIAF award for dation’s co-Chairs, Gabriel A. Battista and Pa- the important Confindustria sector of business international relations for his stewardship of the tricia de Stacy Harrison, at a conference on US- networks. Montante, who heads up a sophisticat- Port of Civitavecchia, where he created a trans- Italy relations organized by the Italian Embassy ed industrial group, is famous in America for the port hub for shipping to America the Chryslers in Washington. On that occasion, they developed iconic “Made In Italy” bicycles that bear his name. produced in Italy—specifically Melfi—therefore plans for an auspicious collaboration between the Not for nothing, Montante bicycles were in- building a robust business bridge between Italy two organizations. cluded in an exhibit organized a few years ago by and the US. Honored with the Gruppo Esponenti Italiani the Italian Embassy in Washington on the occa- One of this year’s honorees at the NIAF Gala is Award by its founder Lucio Caputo, and the Mario sion of the European Union Embassies Open Day. a real princess: Princess Béatrice of Bourbon-Two Cuomo Award by Matilda Raffa Cuomo (widow of Montante bicycles are considered works of art Sicilies, sister of Carlo, heir to the headship of the the late New York governor and mother of the cur- for their beauty and engineering, comparable, in House. Besides bearing Sicily in her family’s title, rent governor, Andrew), the President of Confin- terms of quality and reputation, to Ferrari. Among the Princess of Bourbon loves her ancestral island dustria will address those convened at the gala and those who admire the two-wheel gem are the Ital- and is its foremost cultural advocate. She will be personally present the major award of the evening ian Republic’s President Emeritus Giorgio Napoli- recognized for her work to preserve her land’s to Finmeccanica CEO Alessandro Profumo. tano and Andrea Camilleri, the Sicilian author of past and present. ww

24 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org P ope Francis during his visit to the University of Santo Tomas in Manila on January 18, 2015 ww OP-ED. WHY, According to Pope Francis, “Globalization is polyhedral” A Unity Based on Diversity and Dialogue

For Pope Francis, peace is achieved by through Jesus Christ, who said unequivocally, “I am the way and the truth and the life.” dialogue. He doesn’t abide by a Nevertheless, Christians also view plurality, globalized age in which, like a variety, difference of opinion—in other words, otherness—as an asset. And yet today, despite “sphere,” every point is equidistant, the fact that difference of opinion in and of it- there are no differences, and self doesn’t amount to exclusion, the challenging dialogue between believers and nonbelievers is everything is uniform. painfully chronic. When the Church addresses the world, it is well aware that faith cannot be by Gennaro Matino imposed. But respecting the ideas of others can in no way mean selling out your own truth. The Words are bridges. dialogue with the laic world cannot be based on ww Crossroads for different a kind of forfeiture to others that disregards the parties to communicate life absolute-objective pillars forming the foundation and share gifts, experiences, of the Christian faith. So where and how can we and stories. Words are gazes, find the space for such a dialogue? The only place gestures, letters, and sounds. is in man, not a universal abstraction of man, but They are anger, love, pain, kindness, pity, pas- a man in the world, in all his creaturely dignity. sion. The word is the man who passes his life Only by plumbing the depths of human nature onto his fellow man and from his fellow man can we arrive at a truth for all people. Only then receives life. A necessary trade, obligatory for is it possible to establish a dignified and friendly those who want to feel true, for those who want dialogue, capable of respecting the positions of to remain human. others without giving up our convictions. For be- For Pope Francis, peace is achieved by dia- lievers, once again there are no doubts. logue (“diversity makes unity”). He doesn’t abide The only possible truth is the truth articulated by a globalized age in which, like a “sphere,” ev- ww by Jesus when, with the power of plain speech ery point is equidistant, there are no differences, The unity that counts is, capable of reaching people in every historical and everything is uniform. Instead the unity period, he said, “Do unto others as you would that counts is, according to Bergoglio, “a unity according to Bergoglio, “a have them do unto you.” Not even the most in- of differences.” “Globalization is polyhedral,” he transigent and hardline rationalist could find that says. “There is unity. But each person, race, and unity of differences.” “Glo- maxim partisan. Just think of Kant, who relegat- culture retains its identity, and grows through ed religion to the confines of pure reason. Kant the ongoing dialogue between all sides of the balization is polyhedral,” said, “Act only in accordance with that maxim polyhedron.” through which you can at the same time will that World globalization cannot globalize the truth. he says. “There is unity. But it become a universal law.” There is no relativ- One is tempted to say, “Thank goodness!” If by ism that, in the face of a child in need of help, an globalized truth we mean a flat standardization of each person, race, and cul- abandoned elderly person, an oppressed woman, ideas, cultures, faiths, then we’re pleased no such a hungry people, the horror of war, or social sin, thing has occurred yet. Of course no one expected ture retains its identity, believers and nonbelievers cannot recognize, no globalization to muzzle dialogue. The fact is, ev- matter the grand systems and words meant to eryone has dug in to defend their position, fearing and grows through the divide them, as long as they have the courage to that their identity will be lost in a universe where look one another in the eye. the distances have been collapsed and pluralism ongoing dialogue between There is one truth: people should always be increasingly runs the risk of degenerating into treated as an end and never as a means. In this cultural, ethical and religious relativism, which all sides of the polyhedron.” light, charity and mercy form the main path to no one really wants. It’s in our nature to seek dialogue. Love thy neighbor as thyself and you out a transcendental truth that gives life mean- truth, never completely achieved, is conditioned will find the one truth that unites men of different ing or a common truth that legitimizes the rules by the seeker’s will to be him or herself, as far as cultures and faiths. ww of civilization. And yet conflicts among people is possible, and express his or her own essence stem from how we define that truth we all seek. within a specific cultural historic context. Believ- Gennaro Matino teaches Theology and History of For nonbelievers, the only truth is that there is ers, on the other hand, have no such doubts: the Christianity in Naples. He collaborates extensively no such thing as absolute truth. The search for truth is God. For Christians, Truth revealed itself with both traditional and new media. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 25 focus ww THE “ColumBUS CONTROVERSY” COAST TO COAST / NEW YORK Hands off Columbus, “He Is Our Thing.”

Joseph Guagliardo, national is no relationship between Robert E. Lee, slavery, the South, and Columbus. She, the Speaker, president of the Conference of created this entire spectacle. She picked that Presidents of Major Italian-American statue, she picked that venue, she picked that fight. I received phone calls from labor leaders Organizations, recounts how the and politicians while I was in Nebraska watch- “Columbus Controversy” started in ing the eclipse with my family. I called a friend, Councilman Joe Borrelli, and told him we need to New York and explains why it touches take this argument to the steps of City Hall. He all Italian Americans, “both the pursued it right to City Hall, quickly and swiftly. We brought out a reputable crowd of people who blue-collars and the bluebloods,” as were able to talk about what this meant. he says. He emphasizes that his It seems the Council’s Speaker has a following; family came to the U.S. in 1906 and there have been incidents. Columbus became had nothing to do with American the object of vandalism all over the country. slavery or what Columbus did 550 It happened after she started it. And the Mayor, years ago—on which, he notes, in an effort maybe to protect her, said he would create a committee and would come out in ninety scholars still disagree. “We came days with a list of questionable monuments. The looking for a better life. We learned vandalism and the hatred weren’t planned, but the Speaker apparently needs attention, because about Columbus in school here, and she is term-limited and as of next January will no it became our thing.” longer be a councilmember, so she may be looking for relevance beyond January. There was speculation that she was going to try to run for Gover- nor of Puerto Rico, and now there’s speculation by Riccardo Chioni that she may run for Congress. So she may be trying to use shock to be able to get her core group It’s difficult to understand how, over- to follow her. Now as soon as you challenge her, ww night, Christopher Columbus became she actually claims that she’s the victim. So you the villain of the country. In the beginning of can’t win. She’ll do anything to get the spotlight. August, the villain was the statue of Confeder- ate general Robert E. Lee, then being removed To your knowledge, has any Italian-American from a street in Charlottesville, and the ensu- organization spoken with the Mayor or the ing demonstrations where a woman was killed Speaker regarding Columbus? in a clash between white supremacists and college students. Then, all of a sudden, the statue No. That’s the biggest problem. There’s no com- of Christopher Columbus in Manhattan comes munication with the mayor’s office or with the under fire. How did that happen? Speaker’s office; to be able to say, “Come on, let’s sit down, let’s have a conversation, let’s under- Well, what happened was, he became an instru- stand what the situation is.” The Mayor wants ment. He became a politician’s tool. So all of to say he’s half Italian, because that’s convenient a sudden, as you say, on August 21st, Melissa during an election. Mark-Viverito, the Speaker of the New York City Council, comes out and calls a press conference He likes saying this. to call on the Mayor to consider taking down the statue of Columbus. Other than that, there Even the speaker says she’s half Sicilian, and she’s

26 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Clockwise: Joseph Guagliardo addressing the press outside City Hall in August; Mayor de Blasio and i-Italy’s tri-colored Fiat500 at the Columbus Day parade Photo: Riccardo Chioni

ww We’re not looking at demonstrations and we don’t want to hurt anybody. We are in a process of celebrating. This is our season. We celebrate Columbus’s voyage, as well as our own personal family voyages.

never attended an Italian parade. I’ve never seen they were at least until September 21st, when a her supporting anything Italian. So, I don’t really letter came out—one month to the day later— know what the purpose of that is. But, you would calling for the mayor to remove the statue. think that either one of them would have a better relationship with the Italian community—but the You represent a number of civil service and reality is, there is no relationship. Except for an police fraternal associations. We’re talking of event that he holds once a year and we attend thousands of people. Do you think you can in- because we’ve always attended in the past. But, volve these people? Ask them to demonstrate? no, there’s no communication. They really don’t want you to come up with an amicable solution to I represent two groups. I represent the National the problem. And, the problem isn’t necessarily Council of Columbia Associations, but as of last Columbus Circle, the problem is that the speaker January, I’m also the president of the Conference has created this problem. of Presidents of Major Italian-American Orga- nizations. Two very different groups. I always So, the only Italian-American politician in say they are—and I mean this in a respectful favor of leaving the statue where it is, is the way—the merging of the blue-collars and the governor? bluebloods. On the one hand, the Conference of Presidents is an organization made up of very Yes, absolutely. The only politician, that I know successful organizations, private industries with of, who goes across county lines, is the Governor. lodges and memberships, very unique in their The mayor refuses to have an opinion and all the own way; on the other hand, I represent civil ser- speaker says is that they “want to be responsive vants, including police officers, sanitation work- to the needs of the city,” but they’re totally ignor- ers, firefighters, corrections officers in an array of ing the fact that Italian Americans are speaking civil service organizations. To be able to represent up. They’re claiming to be listening to a Native both of these umbrella groups is a privilege and American constituency, but nobody knew who quite frankly, very challenging. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 27 Manhattan, Columbus Day Parade Photo: Riccardo Chioni

focus

But we’re not looking at demonstrations and we don’t want to hurt anybody. We are in a process of celebrating. This is our season. We celebrate Columbus’s voyage, as well as our own personal family voyages. Because we are a culture and we have a history of coming to America during different periods of time. I think that what has caught on to both of the memberships that I represent is to not be negative about this. First of all, this isn’t really our fight. This is a fight of hate, when they’re condemning a person. A person who did something five hundred and fifty years ago. Scholars still disagree on him. If we start arguing with these haters, we’re going to lower ourselves to a level of gutter fighting. You have politicians who are saying “Columbus en- slaved, killed, mass-murdered…,” I don’t know what Columbus did five hundred fifty years ago. I’m sorry for what Columbus did, if he did that five hundred fifty years ago. The reality is that my family didn’t come here until 1906 and had absolutely nothing to do with what Columbus did or with American slavery. We never owned slaves. In fact, when people say, “We owe the Indians” or “We owe black Amercians an apol- ogy,” I’m still waiting for the Moors to apolo- gize to Sicilians, or for the English, or for the ww to end it this year, and the only way to do so Piemontese King Vittorio Emanuele and for In those days you con- is by showing the numbers and showing sup- every country that invaded Sicily. There are no port. So, we don’t jumble any other issues with apologies because in those days you conquered, quered, pillaged, raped, and this. Christopher Columbus is the person who you pillaged, you raped, and you moved back Italian Americans wrapped themselves around to your country. So, if Christopher Columbus you moved back to your and made part of our families. Italian Ameri- was involved in that by finding a trade route, cans came here and we found Christopher Co- then he was involved. But that has nothing to country. So, if Christopher lumbus here. I don’t even think it was an issue do with what we did. We came looking for a in Italy. We learned about Columbus in school better life. Columbus was involved in here, and it became our ”thing.” We honor our people. And, I’m hoping that before the Do you think the petitions they’re writing to that by finding a trade election in November the mayor can find it in President Trum, both here and in Italy, will his heart, his common sense, and his political help in some way? route, then he was involved. smarts to sit down with the Italian-American community and come to an understanding to Right now, I don’t think that Columbus Day But that has nothing to do preserve and to protect Christopher Columbus on the national level is in jeopardy yet. I think in the city of New York, now, and forever going that as we watch little venues do away with with what we did. We came forward. Columbus Day, this may continue and start to spread out and it may be a threat on the federal looking for a better life. You must have done something great for It- level. We have to understand that Los Angeles aly, because you received the Order of Merit didn’t lose the day because the Native American down, we were prepared. After Councilman Joe of the Italian Republic. community was strong, but because the Italian Borrelli and I sparked that fire, all the organi- American organizations splintered with differ- zations lined up, and they came and supported I was honored, I can’t tell you. Nothing has ent agendas. We haven’t experienced that in what we did. Our goal was twofold: one, save given me more of an honor and I dedicate it to New York. New York is ground zero for the the day. That is essential. Two, save the monu- my grandparents. I have dual citizenship and world to recognize Columbus. We should not ments. Whether it’s a street name, or whether I was sworn in by the former governor of New be giving it up. Not because of the name, but it’s a building or whether it’s a statue. Now we York and the former Consul General of Italy as why are we giving it up. L.A. lost because once need to be able to show politicians that today, new president of the National Council in order they splintered, there was nothing left and so next year, and the year after that, if you come to be a cultural bridge between the U.S. and the other side was able to win and get rid of out against the Italians, if you come out against Italy. We have organizations in America that Columbus Day. our monuments, we’re going to come together need to be able to reconnect with Italy. Not only On August 21st when the speaker stood in and we’re going to make it difficult for you. We for what they can do for us, but for what we can front of that statue and called for it to be taken don’t want to have this fight anymore. We want do for them. ww

28 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Founder and Chairman of Barnes & Noble Leonard Riggio was the Grand Marshall of this year’s Columbus Day Parade

ww making columbus day a special day Why This Year I Decided to Join the Parade in Manhattan

This year for me, the parade usually rade on Sunday, October 1. We’ll meet at 12:00 one hundred Italian-American published au- p.m. on 5th Avenue at East 37th Street. Dress thors at the head of the parade. Considering this lead by one or another super- in white and red and bring Polish flags. Then, a personal invite, I decided to join them. prominent rich and/or famous Italian meet us at the KF House for traditional Polish bigos and pierogies.” For Poles, intellectuals are Thank You for the Chance! or Italian American, is different— central to their sense of nationhood. A few weeks ago I visited Sicily, the homeland and the Founder and Chairman of of my mother’s parents Giralamo Cangialosi Drop in just in case? and Maria Antonetta Trentascosta. My mother Barnes & Noble, Inc. Leonard Riggio, The New York City’s Columbus Day parade com- once told me my grandfather lived in a palace in made it so. mittee issues its more open invitation thusly: Marineo—a hill town near Palermo with a Nor- “The Columbus Day Parade is a fun filled parade man castle. Later she admitted he was the stable that gets bigger and better every year. Partici- boy. Starting on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan, by Jerry Krase* pants from all over the world march in our pa- my grandparents began their struggle to make a rade with pride. The parade has become a global better life for their family and despite anti-Ital- I have never marched in any Columbus Day event with millions of viewers and over a half ian bias they succeeded. They were ben educati, wwParade, nor have I ever watched one as a million spectators on the streets. We invite you but not “well educated.” Higher education was a sidewalk spectator. It may seem odd, but I did to join us and experience this memorable day” dream for their children’s children. They would march, once, in a Brooklyn St. Patrick’s Day pa- (my emphasis). To even half-Italian Americans, be astonished by how much their grandchildren rade. In that case, even though I hate parades, an invitation to “drop in in case you’re in the and greatgrandchildren have accomplished. and crowds, and furthermore am not even half- neighborhood,” is no invitation at all. But this I am sure that my fellow Technite, Leonard Irish, I did so because I was personally invited by year for me, the parade usually lead by one or Riggio, didn’t know it, but he made a special an Irish-American group—The Friendly Sons of another super-prominent rich and/or famous space in this year’s parade for a half-Sicilian Saint Patrick. They knew I wrote about Brook- Italian or Italian American, is different and the American author. He gave me and dozens of lyn’s ethnic groups and asked If I would help Founder and Chairman of Barnes & Noble, Inc. other writers a chance to honor our ancestors them plan their anniversary celebration. The Leonard Riggio, made it so. with our written words while joining with hun- Irish have a high regard for writers. I am a mem- First of all, he and I are proud alums of dreds more who do so in a myriad of other ways. ber of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences Brooklyn Technical High School (he 1958 and Grazie tante. ww in America and, even though I am not Polish, I me 1960). More importantly, as Grand Marshall am invited to: “Join the Kosciuszko Foundation of this year’s hotly contested Columbian celebra- * Jerry Krase is Emeritus and Murray Koppelman as we march in the 80th annual Pulaski Day Pa- tion he became a literary Centurion by leading Professor at Brooklyn College, CUNY. ww EMOJITALIA: A Little Italian-American App Hits the Headlines H ow To Save Columbus Day With One Click

Sometimes, Italian Americans are perceived to be, emoticon is labeled “Stai attenti,” rather than the well, overly traditional, even conservative. So the correct “Stai attento” or “State attenti” ;-) You can news that the Columbus Citizens Foundation has get all of this for $0.99, and while it may not seem a recently introduced an app might be refreshing. great deal, if you are “a lover of all things Italian and It’s conceived as a fun addition to your keyboard Italian American” you’ll be donating a buck to the that gives you 50 different emoji stickers of cause. But what cause? Well, have a look at the Italian-American gestures and icons you can add to top of your keyboard, where now sits a string of your text messages, Facebook posts, or tweets. new buttons that lead you to learn the basics of You can also have fun browsing through the Italian-American history, a few facts about emoticons’ dictionary—even if some items have Columbus Day (not about Columbus himself), and curious Italian labels unfortunately filled with a petition to send to your elected officials urging mispellings (e.g., “Aqua” rather than “Acqua” for them to “Maintain the Federal Holiday of Water) and grammar glitches (the “Beware!” Columbus Day.” Just enter your zipcode. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 29 The “Watts Towers” built by Italian immigrant and self-taught artist Sabato Rodia in Los Angeles focus ww THE “ColumBUS CONTROVERSY” COAST TO COAST / LOS ANGELES Let’s Lead America Beyond Columbus Day

The Italian American community that form even by Italian American associations As an American citizen sympathetic to the need including Comites LA. of supporting every initiative aimed at lifting the should celebrate the values of inter- century-long suppression of indigenous peoples’ racial solidarity, cultural exchange, An awkward compromise history of genocide and suffering in this country The City Council responded that it could not insti- and continent, I supported the motion calling for and visionary humanism, which many tute a new paid holiday without replacing another, the replacement of Columbus Day by Indigenous mistakenly attached to the figure and and Columbus Day was the obvious candidate. Peoples Day—though I also understood and ap- This set up a process of consultation with all af- preciated the spirit of Buscaino’s counter-proposal. legacy of Christopher Columbus. fected communities that has lasted two years and But as an Italian-born naturalized American I was has produced an awkward compromise solution: deeply troubled by the LA City Council’s choice to while the LA City Council has replaced Columbus decree the association between Italian heritage by Claudio Fogu* Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, it has also de- and the infamous date of Columbus’ supposed creed October 12 as “Italian Heritage Day” (though “discovery,” which the very same City Council ob- On Wednesday August 30, 2017, the City not a paid holiday). This is important because it viously considered no longer worthy of celebration wwCouncil of Los Angeles voted on a motion gives us a stark image of the current situation: in its decision to rename Columbus Day as Indig- for the replacement of Columbus Day with a new while leaders of the Italian American community enous Peoples Day. The silver lining in this situa- paid holiday called Indigenous Peoples Day. The such as Councilman Joe Buscaino had demon- tion is that the LA City Council has now thrown motion was introduced by Native American Coun- strated openness to renounce an exclusive claim the ball in the court of Italian American leaders cilman Mitch O’Farrell in 2015 in recognition of to Columbus’ legacy by proposing to rename Co- and communities to interrogate themselves on the fact that Los Angeles has become the city with lumbus Day “Diversity Day” and dedicate it more whether they want to tie themselves exclusively to the largest indigenous-heritage population in the explicitly to all immigrants, the LA City Council the historical figure and legacy of Columbus, or Americas. Initially, the motion did not ask for the opted instead for tying the figure of Columbus and begin working with other groups towards a more replacement of Columbus Day, but only for the in- of the “discovery” day (October 12) exclusively to inclusive celebration of “all immigrants’ contribu- stitution of a new holiday, and was supported in the Italian American community. tions,” as suggested by Buscaino’s counter motion.

30 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Grand Canyon National Park Photo via Flickr (CC-BY)

Historical retribution? the Italian American Congressional Delegation Some say that the LA City Council’s decision was and will ask them to initiate a bill for the aboli- a rightful gesture of “historical retribution.” I tion (and/or replacement) of Columbus Day as a have some problems with the concept of “histori- federal holiday. Our reasons for wishing Italian cal retribution,” but not because of its supposed Americans to lead into new practices of memory “presentism.” If Benedetto Croce could rightly for the whole nation—rather than being boxed affirm that “all history is contemporary history,” into denial and resentment—are too complex this is even more so for memory, and every me- and multilayered to explore here. But suffice to morialization was at some point in the past an say that although it might appear that our ini- act of presentism. My problem is with the idea tiatives represent a timely response to the cur- that the replacement of Columbus Day by Indig- rent political situation, our call for the Italian enous Peoples Day can in itself right centuries of American community to dissociate itself from repression suffered by indigenous Americans on Christopher Columbus ‘the Man’ and ‘the Day’ multiple levels. Much will depend on whether or has nothing to do with the current debate on not “Indigenous Peoples Day” will be geared to- commemorative monuments. We stand on the wards breaking the deafening silence in Ameri- shoulders of new and incontrovertible evidence can culture about the history of mistreatment, regarding the historical record of Columbus’ cultural genocide, and betrayal perpetrated by cruel rule as first conquistador and Governor of white colonizers against all Native American na- the West Indies, as well as the work of both Ital- tions in this country. From this point of view, I ian American and Indigenous American associa- agree with those who say that the abolition and tions who have been calling for the abolition of replacement of Thanksgiving by Indigenous Columbus Day for decades, and have been suc- Peoples Day would have been an even more ap- cessful in several Latin American countries and propriate act of restorative symbolic justice. But many US cities and States (only 23 States still the question for Italian Americans has little to do recognize Columbus Day as Federal Holiday). with historical retribution—unless pushed for in Our goal is for the Italian American commu- solidarity with indigenous people. The question nity to celebrate as Italian heritage the values of Columbus Day for Italian Americans involves of inter-racial solidarity, cultural exchange, and the modalities and values that this community ing on collecting signatures for two letters. The visionary humanism, which many mistakenly at- wants to celebrate as “Italian.” first one will be addressed to leaders of the Ital- tached to the figure and legacy of Columbus (i.e. ian American community and will ask them to “Columbian exchange”), and to celebrate them A new Italian Heritage Day facilitate an open discussion within their com- as the common heritage of all immigrant com- This is why in the weeks before the LA City munities “to explore more appropriate ways, and munities. ww Council vote I promoted, along with several new figures, through which to acknowledge and other scholars, a petition for the recognition of celebrate the legacy of sacrifice and generosity, * Claudio Fogu is Associate Professor of Italian Studies, October 10 as “Sabato Rodia Italian Heritage that Italian Americans have given to this nation.” Vice-Chair of French and Italian, Day” [see the box below] and we are now work- The second one will be addressed to members of University of California, Santa Barbara.

ww Meet Sabato “Sam” Rodia A n Italian immigrant, a tilesetter, and an artist

Born in Serino in the Avellino province, Rodia sculptural structures was nearly 100-feet high. immigrated to America in the mid-1890s, settling Rodia completed his towers in 1954, and shortly first in Pennsylvania, then in California. He worked afterwards moved to Martinez, California, where in mines, rock quarries, logging and railroad he lived, until his death in 1965, never having camps, and as a tile setter. Although not an artist returned to his monument. by traing, in 1921 he purchased a small triangular Meanwhile he was being discovered by the art lot in Watts, California, and started a three world. He was honored with standing ovations at decades-long assemblage art project which he the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and called “Nuestro Pueblo” (Our Town) and is now University of California, Berkeley in 1961. The widely known as the Watts Towers, both a Los Watts Towers were listed in the National Register Angeles and a National landmark. of Historic Places in 1977 and designated a Laboring alone using simple tools Rodia erected a National Historic Landmark and a California series of spires made of steel girders, wire mesh, Historical Landmark in 1990. and concrete, and decorated them with fragments of broken bottles, ceramic tiles, seashells, For more see Luisa Del Giudice (ed.), Sabato Rodia’s figurines, mirrors that he gathered from the Towers in Watts. Art, Migrations, Development, New streets. The tallest of these 17 interconnected York, Fordham University Press, 2014. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 31 focus ww AN ITALIAN/AMERICAN DEBATE Columbus ‘the Man’ and ‘the Day’

In mid September a group of scholars and public intellectuals created a blog in support of their call for “a new politics of memory inspired by the very values Italians mistakenly attached to the figure of Columbus.” Although we are not necessarily endorsing their positions, we believe the text merits attention and invite documents and contemporaneous writings — traits or talents can be made to count as “histori- our readers to engage with its authors Columbus can be credited with having been the cal legacy.” They provided real-life elements for at nocolumbusday.wordpress.com first white European, not to “discover” a land his hagiography and the mythmaking activity that that was known for centuries and inhabited by surrounded his figure for centuries, but they can- civilizations, but rather, to initiate specific and not be made to stand next to the record of his Over four million Italian men, women, and legacy-filled practices leading to enormous and actions as Governor of the West Indies and their wwchildren immigrated to the United States centuries-long sufferings for indigenous people short- and long-term consequences. during the period of mass migration. The expe- of the Americas: To all those who claim that Columbus was just a riences, labor, and culture of these immigrants a) He claimed possession of a land and named “man of his times and should not be judged by the and their descendants has frequently been dis- it Hispaniola on behalf of a distant and absent standards of today,” the answer we give is straight paraged or simply ignored in larger historical King, establishing a precedent that would be fol- forward: Bartolomè de Las Casas and Michel de narratives and by consumer culture. We believe lowed by all European colonizers thereafter; Montaigne were also men of Columbus’ times, these peoples’ histories and their evolving culture b) He took native peoples captive and shipped and both were horrified by the treatment of Na- might be better remembered, understood and them to Europe into slavery; tive Americans by Columbus and his followers. commemorated through means other than Co- c) He instituted the encomienda system of And to those who say that it was not Columbus, lumbus Day. We speak as scholars of Italian and forced-labor that brought thousands of Span- but the Spanish who were the “ferocious conquis- Italian American culture and history who have iards to the New World to brutally exploit Native tadores,” one need only offer Columbus’ least fa- attempted collectively and carefully to examine Americans, which was then exported by other mous words upon setting eyes on the inhabitants this question from several different perspectives. conquistadores throughout Latin America, and of Hispaniola: “with fifty men they could all be We invite you to consider our reasons for seek- is considered by most historians to be one of the subjected and made to do all that one wished;” ing to replace Columbus ‘the man’ as a figure of principal causes for the brutalization of the indig- or refer to the new evidence, uncovered in 2006, self-identification for Italian Americans, and to enous populations of the Americas, and for their of the trial for “cruelty” that the Spanish Crown abolish Columbus Day as a federal holiday, but dying in ever greater numbers under the ravaging instituted against Columbus, and which led to his also to engage with us by leaving your comments consequences of contact with the Europeans. deposition as Governor of the West Indies. on our blog nocolumbusday.wordpress.com. Like any man in any age, Columbus surely had Last but not least, to those who defend Co- positive aspects to his moral compass. Some of lumbus, the man, and Columbus Day, the holiday, Columbus ‘the Man’ his writings reveal moments of great sympathy on the basis of their “cultural reference” to the The historical jury on the first Viceroy and Gov- for the individuals, those “savages,” he ruled over. so called “Columbian Exchange” of things, peo- ernor of the West Indies, Admiral Cristoforo Co- For sure, he was an exceptional sailor, and he may ple, and cultures, between the New and the Old lombo, is no longer out. Thanks to the work of have been a pleasant companion, generous with Worlds, we respond that this cultural exchange several historians over the past two decades—and his friends, and possessed any number of appar- has very little—if anything—to do with the his- including the publication of thirteen volumes of ently good qualities. But none of these personality torical figure of Viceroy Columbus, and that the

32 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Ancient representations of the landing of Columbus and his crew

America. Starting in 1866, in New York, these all Italians as fully “white,” and to validate their Italian immigrants and their families began to contributions to this nation. At the same time, accept this colonial narrative by associating the Roosevelt’s decision may have had as much to do commemoration of Columbus’ Discovery of with a feeling of retributive justice towards Italian America with the celebration of the contribu- immigrants, as with calculations on how to fur- tion of Italian Americans to this nation. This ac- ther the assimilation of Italians, and perhaps dis- ceptance occurred in great part because of the tract them from their growing identification with success of prominenti, self-defined community Fascist Italy. These relationships—which were leaders, many who in various ways enhanced foundational to the creation of the holiday—point their own economic status by taking advantage precisely to the problematic origin of Columbus of this laboring class of Italians, and who “often Day, because as they suggest some of the ways acted as ethnic brokers between Italians and the that Italian Americans were in some sense sold dominant society.” Prominenti, especially in cit- a bill of goods. In time, however, the disturbing ies and towns in the North East, encouraged the connections between whitewashed colonial his- celebration of Columbus, soliciting funds for the tory, and the racist treatment of Italian immi- statues and monuments of Columbus and other grants as not fully white (or racially ambiguous), notable Italians (e.g., Dante Alighieri, Giuseppe were buried under the increasing identification Verdi) with appeals to the working poor. of Columbus Day with the contributions of “all The connection between Columbus Day and immigrants” to American history, which is the white European identity was key to Italians in motivation by which Columbus Day was finally the United States, precisely because their status established as legal federal holiday in 1968. as “whites” was challenged by both the failures Over the past four decades, however, the of mainland Italians as imperialist colonizers of number of states choosing to observe Colum- Africa (Adwa 1896), and by the unprecedented bus Day as a paid holiday has diminished to influx of poor and under-educated Italians from just twenty-three. By the same token, Columbus the South, which marked all Italian immigrants Day is no longer identified as a celebration of all as racially different (i.e. inferior) from Northern- immigrants, but of Italian Americans only, and White-Aryan Europeans. Italian American com- regularly defended only by some leaders of this very name “Columbian” attached to this exchange munity leaders reacted by seeking to appropriate community. Most significantly, we can also trace is evidence of the myth-making activity that has the “heroic” legacy of Columbus for the commu- a quiet but growing disregard for the holiday been ongoing for centuries, in order to mask the nity itself. By 1907, Colorado was the first state to among many Italian Americans, even as other colonialist roots of the tale of Columbus’ “discov- declare Columbus Day a state holiday, and, over Italian Americans remain the only recognizable ery of the Americas.” the next three decades, forty states would insti- group to support it. tute Columbus Day celebrations. Finally, three Today, in 2017, the social and economic posi- Columbus ‘the Day’ decades later, in 1937, President Franklin Delano tion of Italian Americans is markedly changed. Congress has never decreed Columbus Day as an Roosevelt created the first federal observance of Do Italian Americans still suffer from the sting official day for Italian Americans, and it was not Columbus Day, to honor, as he proclaimed three of white-on-white racism, as they did in the past? even made a federal holiday until 1968. Never- years later, “the courage and the faith and the vi- Do they still need a federally-mandated holiday theless, over time and through much politicking, sion of the Genoese navigator,” which: in order to celebrate their contributions to the an association between Italian Americans and “glorify and enrich the drama of the early move- success of America? But, most importantly, as Columbus has been passed off as “real” and the ment of European people to America. Columbus a community, do Italian Americans wish to re- holiday has long come to be celebrated as a day and his fellow voyagers were the harbingers of lat- main attached to a holiday and a historical fig- honoring Italian Americans alone. For example, er mighty movements of people from Spain, from ure so clearly linked to genocide, colonialism, and just recently, while replacing Columbus Day with Columbus’s native Italy and from every country white-washed memory? Indigenous Peoples Day as a city holiday, the City in Europe. And out of the fusion of all these na- We are concerned that many within the Italian of Los Angeles also decreed October 12 “Italian tional strains was created the America to which American community have failed to see the subtle Heritage Day.” the Old World contributed so magnificently.” racism of this reasoning. Just because earlier gen- The “discovery” date of October 12, and the Roosevelt’s statement rhetorically connected erations of Italians’ racial identity was questioned, figure of Columbus, were unofficially commemo- three different moments: Columbus’ sixteenth- it does not make contemporary Italian Americans rated for the first time in 1792, before Italians ever century voyages, the contributions of late nine- innocent of the privilege inscribed at the heart of emigrated en masse to the United States of Amer- teenth-century Italian (and other European) im- Columbus Day. We instead seek a recognition of ica, and, therefore, initially, the date had noth- migrants, and the creation of the United States the struggles and continued suffering of others, ing to do with them, because Italy was not even from the traditions of Europe. Roosevelt’s con- and we reject this implicitly special association a nation. This celebration initiated the process firmation of a specific national day to recognize with the white majority, especially in times in of making Columbus a symbol of the European Columbus came about in great part due to the which racism, ultra nationalism, and fascist-style “spirit of adventure,” of Europeans’ claims to the pressure mounted by groups such as the Knights rhetoric are again rearing their ugly head. ww “discovery” of the “New World,” and their right of Columbus, as well as individuals such as the to “civilize” it. By the 1860s however, around the newspaper editor and businessman, Generoso This text has been authored collectively by time Italy became a nation, a sizable, and mainly Pope. In hindsight, such pressure is entirely Luisa Del Giudice, Claudio Fogu, Laura E. Ruberto, laboring class of Italians began settling in North comprehensible, as a way to gain recognition for Joseph Sciorra, and Geoffrey Symcox. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 33 A scene from Aging Magician, co-created by writer and performer Rinde Eckert, composer Paola Prestini, and director and designer Julian Crouch focus Photo: Jill Steinberg ww A WOMAN WHO’S NEVER AFRAID TO EXPERIMENT Paola Prestini-A Vision Into Art

Founder of VisionIntoArt, a New York by Tommaso Cartia where emerging artists can share their visions and experiment in front of the public. National interdisciplinary art company, Paola On Wednesday August 30, 2017, the City Sawdust was created to be that platform, giving Prestini is also the Creative Director wwCouPa ola Prestini has lived a life full of dif- performers the chance to make their raw talent ferent cultural experiences and is always driven by flourish into established carriers. Prestini, Cre- of National Sawdust, a non-profit the desire for discovery and the thrill of the jour- ative Director of the theater, was able to realize venue with the mission of being a ney. Born in the Northern Italian region of Trenti- her dream in National Sawdust thanks to a rich no Alto-Adige, as a child she immigrated with her task force of talent behind the scenes. From Jean platform for contemporary artists. family to Nogales, a town on the Arizona-Mexico Pierre Chesse, President of the National Sawdust We met Paola and talked about her border. Her diversified ethnic experiences blended Board; Rick D’Avino, President Emeritus; and with a passion for music Paola had since an early Kevin Dolan, Founder and Chair; to some of the career and her experience with age. So a very peculiar artist was born, one who, most exceptional contemporary artists that form National Sawdust. although classically trained, has never been afraid the Artistic Advisory Board, like Laurie Ander- to experiment with different musical influences. son, Philip Glass, Renée Fleming, Helena Chris- A union of opposites is not just a philosophy tensen, and Suzanne Vega, to name a few. Paola channels when she creates music, but it’s We had the chance to talk to Paola about her the lifestyle that shapes her professional and per- ties with Italy, what inspires her to write music, sonal life. The composer is always very attent in and the National Sawdust. creating union and in promoting artistic integrity. This is the philosophy behind VisionIntoArt, the How and and when did you discover your pas- non-profit Paola founded in 1999 while she was sion for music? studying composition at Julliard. Paola was then faced with an even bigger I was born in Trento, Italy, and immigrated to challenge: to establish a platform in New York the Arizona/Mexican border town of Nogales at

34 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Left: Paola Prestini. Rigth: At the National Sawdust Spring 2017 Gala Photo via nationalsawdust.org

ww I strive to stay ahead of the curve, and I am tremendously interested in nurturing new talent. As a composer, I believe the role of an artist in the 21st century should be that of creator, educator, performer, and entrepreneur. a young age. I still return every year to the Do- Beyond composing and being an artist, how lomites where my mother still resides part of the important it is for you to be a mentor for the year. My father is a leading musical instrument future generation of artists? maker who is still based in Nogales. I was raised in a culture steeped in song. I came to composing My love of the artistic and executive process ww At its Spring 2017 Gala early and now create music that takes the listener is in bringing disparate voices together and on a journey through different life experiences, allowing the synergy that emerges to grow. I N ational Sawdust Enters creating an aural and visual map of the different have brought this inclusive vision to all of my countries and cultures that have inspired me. curating with a focus on new music and inter- Its Second Year of Activity disciplinary art. I am unswayed by trends and Take us through your composing process... yet excited by all voices; I strive to stay ahead E steemed philanthropists such as Ann Ziff, Daisy of the curve, and I am tremendously interested Soros and Alberto Cribiore came together with art When I write, I am in a state of flow: I often cannot in nurturing new talent. As a composer, I be- world luminaries including Marina Abramovic, Karen remember the details of writing. It is as if all the lieve the role of an artist in the 21st century Wong, and Nicola Vassal to launch National Sawdust years of experience come together to transport me should be that of creator, educator, performer, into its second full year. Several artists performed at through the process of expressing the cumulative and entrepreneur. the event, from Kinan Azmeh, recently profiled on inspirational sources into the musical concept at NBC to discuss the travel ban, to Grammy- hand. My works are often inspired by literature or Tell us about National Sawdust. What is its mis- nominated singer and spokesperson for UN Women, my different disciplines. My last work was Aging sion, and what type of performances can we ex- Magos Herrera. “All of the artists who performed Magician, which opened at the New Victory The- perience there? represented the rich and diverse community that ater on Broadway. Another work, The Hubble Can- makes New York so special,” Paola Prestini told us. tata, will go to the LA Opera and the Kennedy Cen- National Sawdust (NS), is a unique space found- “They helped raise the National Sawdust’s profile ter and is a collaboration with an astrophysicist. ed with an expansive vision: to provide compos- and strengthen our residency program.” The values ers and musicians across genres a home where anchored in this young, dynamic non-profit Your music takes inspiration from different they can flourish and share their work. We also organization were supported by the icons of the countries. In these terms, what is your spe- believe the future of new art lives in education. music world, from celebrated composer Philip Glass cific tie with Italy? We define education broadly. At NS, our advi- and founding member of Talking Heads, David Byrne, sory board and curators participate by giving us to the renowned soprano Renée Fleming. One of my favorite works is an opera called their discoveries according to their tastes and Julianne Moore spoke about her upcoming movie Oceanic Verses, which began as a Carnegie Hall diverse disciplines. You can see FLEXN dancers Bel Canto, for which she spent hours observing commission—a chamber work that painted a on one night, the punk rock activist group Pussy Fleming in rehearsal to prepare for her role as a diva picture of Italy as it once was. By researching Riot on another, and opera on yet another! — Renée is also voicing the character for the film. the Salento region of Puglia, which maintains David Byrne spoke about his relationship with Philip many ancient traditions and still speaks a nearly What are your future plans both artistically and Glass and the importance of breaking down musical forgotten language, I created a work that illumi- as the creative director of NS? barriers, while Fleming emphasized the importance nated the complex ethnic mosaic that has shaped of championing women in the field. In a true my cultural heritage. The story was derived from My plans are to continue writing opera—I have representation of the types of unexpected the text of the songs I chose laced with poems a new one with Robert Wilson—and to continue collaborations that National Sawdust curates, the from a variety of Italian poets, such as Vittoria to refine my interdisciplinary language. For NS, gypsy punk band Gogol Bordello joined forces with Colonna, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Dante Alighieri, I plan to expand our brand through franchising the Brooklyn rapper Latasha Alcindor in a lively and Aleardo Aleardi. eventually! ww finale to the gala. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 35 focus

(2.0%, mostly first generation). At the bottom of the list there is solar photovoltaic (1.2%), while thermal solar (CSP), geothermal, tides and waves combined make up for the remaining 0.4% of the 23.9% total share of renewables. We still need to invest in research because the most technologically advanced sources (photovoltaic, biofuel, tides, wind, …) have to replace the less efficient ones we have been using for hundreds ww ENERGY EDUCATION of years. • It is expected that there will be a downsizing of nuclear energy. This is mainly for political reasons, rather than serious technical issues related The End of Coal, the Rise to plant safety or environmental protection (it is, in fact, an entirely fossil source, but is among those available it has one of the lowest levels of environmental impact). of Natural Gas • In order to meet the growing demand for electricity, today and in the immediate future, we will have to continue to rely mainly on fos- In August, the Italian energy giant ENI by Luca Longo sil fuels. Currently, coal, gas and oil account for 40.8%, 21.6% and 4.3% respectively of electric- announced the discovery of Every year we consume more than 24 PWh ity generation. And, returning to the example potentially the world’s largest natural- w wof electricity: 24,000,000,000,000,000 above, four in ten electric light bulbs operate on Wh/year, in other words, the energy that would coal, two on gas, a half on oil, one uses atomic gas field off the Egyptian coast. Luca be used by a million billion 24W energy-saving fission, two on water, while the last half bulb is Longo explains why the most bulbs kept on for an hour. To be clear, it is as if powered by a mix of all the remaining renew- every one of the seven and a half billion human able sources. sustainable choice, to protect our beings on the planet kept 15 24 W light bulbs Substantially 66,7% of electric energy global planet and fight climate change is to on all day and night for the whole year. Two- production (equal to 15,9 PWh) is made from thirds of this enormous quantity of electricity fossil fuels (coal, gas, oil). These energy sources, use natural gas. that we consume comes from fossil fuels, 10.7% in soild, liquid or gaseous forms, are burnt and from nuclear power, and 23.9% from renewable turned into heat. This evaporates water and cre- sources. Even though world averages don’t pro- ates high pressure steam that drives turbines vide a very useful picture, ranging from France, which, in turn, are connected to a generator which gets 75% from its nuclear power plants, that generates electricity. In modern installa- to China, which uses coal for 78%, and Norway, tions, this transformation of the chemical bond which derives 98% of its electricity from hydro. energy stored in the fuel into thermal energy, But let’s look in more detail at the three sources and then into mechanical energy and finally used to generate electricity: into electricity, has an overall efficiency of about • Among renewable sources the lion’s share is 40%. This means that 60% (or more) of the en- currently taken up by hydroelectric turbines ergy is dispersed in the environment, mainly as (16.6%). Followed by wind (3.7%) and biofuels heat. The most virtuous plants try to reuse part

36 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Infographics, left t0 right: 1. Where electricity comes from: Between fossil and renewable sources how 10 light bulbs are powered. 2. Renewables used to produce energy. 3. Weighted average efficiency of thermoelectric plants.

of this heat for preheating incoming streams ww clear that the less attention paid to purifying or for the heating of surrounding facilities or Coal is a dirty fuel. It is fuels and breaking down fumes – the more pol- homes. While coal and fuel oil plants have a yield luting plants will be are. of around 40%, and technological development dirty when it is extracted, This is why less developed countries that are has enabled combined cycle gas systems to reach less aware of the risks of global warming tend yields of up to 55%. dirty when it burns and to prefer coal-fired plants built without such Another important consideration is that fossil scruples. The consequences have been obvious, fuels are not pure substances but contain vari- dirty when you have to for example, to the Chinese government after able amounts of other elements and compounds another consecutive Beijing winter was invaded that turn into particulates, fumes or gas when treat the dust it produces. by a level of smog that made it impossible to see burned. The same combustion process can pro- more than a few metres and made the airports duce toxic compounds. Even at the extraction Its only value is that it costs unusable. The Chinese Centre for Prevention phase, coal is a particularly dirty fuel compared and Control on PM10 published, in the Brit- to others. The pollution produced by prospect- less. So, what can we do? we ish Medical Journal, an estimate of 1.2 million ing, drilling and oil and gas extraction impacts deaths attributable to particulate matter in just much less on the environment than the open need to invest more in the one year. or underground mines needed to extract coal. In conclusion, coal is a dirty fuel. It is dirty Moreover, the health of mine workers is much research and development when it is extracted, dirty when it burns and more at risk, both at depth and in the vicinity of dirty when you have to treat the dust it produces. mines, than that of oil and gas well technicians. of renewable sources, and, Its only value is that it costs less. So, what can we In addition, all fossil fuels burn by oxidising car- do? Since it is not possible to replace it directly bon and producing carbon dioxide. While the on the other hand, use gas with green energy sources, we need, on the one various forms of coal produce from 350 to over hand, to invest more in the research and devel- 400 grams of CO2 per kWh, fuel oil produces as a “bridge” towards a low opment of renewable sources, and, on the other emissions of between 240 and 260 g/kWh and hand, use gas as a “bridge” towards a low carbon natural gas stops at just 200 g/kWh. In fact, carbon future. future. But, how? For example, stepping up the CO2 is the main cause of the greenhouse effect progressive replacement of coal and gas fired and global warming. The main advantage in the power plants would be a decisive step forward use of gas rather than coal for the production of benefits in terms of global warming. in the decarbonisation process and environmen- electricity is precisely this: while the chemical It is not easy to compare the average cost of tal protection requirements set out in the Paris energy contained in coal is in the carbon-carbon electricity from different sources. In addition to climate agreement that has already been ratified chemical bond, in gas it is stored in the carbon- the variable costs of raw materials, the costs of by 195 countries. hydrogen bond. To release the energy trapped building and managing more or less advanced, Moreover, in the future, it will be possible to in these fuels millions of years ago, both the car- more or less efficient and more or less polluting use modern gas-fire power stations in conjunc- bon – which produces CO2 – and the hydrogen plants has also to be considered. A Fraunhofer tion with renewable energy to offset seasonal – which produces H2O water vapour – must be ISE study shows that in Germany the cost of one and daily fluctuations in the energy demand completely oxidised. This is why, for the same MWh of electricity ranges (in euro) from 63 to with changes in the production of energy from amount of energy produced, the complete com- 80 using coal to 75-98 for combined cycle gas renewable sources. ww bustion of natural gas produces about half of the systems. In the United States, the EIA estimates CO2 produced by burning coal. Consequently, a cost of $95/MWh for coal and $75/MWh for replacing coal-fired thermoelectric power plants gas. But if carbon capture and storage systems Reprinted with permission from the energy webzine with gas could save up to half of the carbon di- are installed, the costs rise to $144 and $100 Eniday.com, a communication project of the Italian oxide emitted into the atmosphere, with obvious $/MWh respectively. Despite lower costs, it is Oil and Gas company ENI www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 37

The wildly popular American womens’ monthly McCall’s featuring Krizia on style its covers in 1980. ww A Trip in Time to Italy’s Fashion Hubs / 2 The Prêt-à-Porter Revolution: How Milan Overtook Rome As Italy’s Fashion Capital From Florence on down, craftsmanship reigns. Up north is the reign of finance, industry, and media, with Milan at the helm. And at the center presides Rome, like a classy patrician, the ancient capital of Italian couture. Leading us on this first installment of a multipart trip to the heart of Made in Italy is a doyen of the fashion world. by Stefano Dominella

On the first leg of our journey nated by industrial- ww Meet the author wwthrough the history of Ital- scale production even of luxury ian fashion, we covered the major items. The age of prêt-à-porter. H aute Couture Professional and Manager capital of haute couture. Rome in We’ll pick up the story there. the 1950s and ’60s. Rome and its Stefano Dominella I talian Academy of Rome and pioneering designers like the Fon- Rome-Milan is the President Florence, and the Accademia tana sisters, Gattinoni, and Emilio In the 1980s, as mass tourism was of Maison del Lusso in Rome and Milan; Schubert. It was also the heyday of starting to replace elite tourism in Gattinoni he is the Director of the Cinecittà, aka “Hollywood on the Rome, the international city of luxu- Couture, and Master’s Program in Luxury and Tiber,” the set where Italian-style ry shopping began to decline. Rome past president of Fashion Management at the dreams were manufactured. Abroad remained anchored to haute couture Alta Roma. He chairs the Textiles, Link Campus University of and at home, Rome represented the and consequently lost out to moder- Attire, Fashion and Accessories Rome. collective image of Italy. nity. The victor was Milan, home of Department at Unindustria; and Stefano Dominella is also a We last left off at the end of the prêt-à-porter. However, Rome was is member of the Scientific & television host on Italy’s public 1970s, as the power of Rome was slow to realize the impending crisis Organizational Committee for television RAI and has designed beginning to wane, and Rome’s his- because there stll continued to be a the Archives of 20th c. Fashion and directed several toric rival—Milan—was already on certain market for couture fashion, Project sponsored by the Italian exhibitions, including Elegenza the rise. Rome, as we mentioned, is where one single dress could fetch Cultural Heritage Authority. He del Cibo: Tales about Food and like an old aristocratic lady pining ten million lire ($15,000 today). is the Technical Director of the Fashion for Expo 2015, which after an era of tailor-made, hand- But the truth is that such prices Istituto Modartech of Pontedera, debuted in Rome and was later sewn apparel that only the rich couldn’t compete with the sales vol- and teaches several courses in presented in Milan, Hanoi ,and could afford. Milan on the other ume of the new prêt-à-porter lead- fashion, design studies and New York. hand is an ambitious, modern, mid- ers, who in the same stretch of time marketing strategy in Italian dle class girl, the manifestation of could churn out thirty dresses that universities, includig the For more information visit: a market-driven age, an age domi- would sell for just a fraction of that European Design Institute, the www.stefanodominella.com www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 39 Time’s covers clockwise: Coco Roca wearing Prada (2007); Giorgio Armani’s portrait (1982); Claudia Schiffer wearing style Versace (1995) one. The Romans weren’t equipped for such a high production volume— neither psychologically nor commercially. In Rome and Lazio there are no big fashion companies, but old-style taylors and artisans who also work for the most important brands of Made in Italy, which usually go to the fashion shows in Milan and Paris. In Northern Italy the situation was the complete opposite as far back as the early 1970s, when the National Chamber of Fashion sensed the importance of ready-to- wear shows, and Milano Collezioni Donna wagered on three talented unknowns: Armani, Krizia, and Versace. This trio of young cutting- ww In the 1970s three edge stylists would use prêt-à-porter to launch the Made in Italy myth talented unknowns: across the globe. Armani, Krizia, International and industrial Behind these developments was and Versace, wage- the growth in the north of a genu- ine industry. In Como and Biella red on prêt-à-porter there are the silk and wool districts. In Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont, to launch the Made Tuscany and Veneto, thousands of manufacturing companies took in Italy myth in the advantage of satellite activities, producing accessories, zippers, and world. buttons, as well as the manufacturing machines themselves. The Valentino, and, in France, Ungaro. industry’s great insight was to fold There’s a reason I bring up the these small companies of specialist French. In those years, the same craftspeople into one large stylistic shift toward prêt-à-porter fashion and commercial enterprise. It sig- was happening in France. However, naled both a shift in attitude and an France’s manufacturing and textile enormous jump in sales. In the face industry was not as advanced as of this development, the Italian tex- Italy’s. So in Paris, new names, like tile industry snubbed high couture Jean-Paul Gautier, and old, like and embraced prêt-à-porter. And Chanel and Dior, came to Italy to that changed everything. buy textile materials and acces- Naturally, this change came sories. The relationship between from abroad, and the United States French and Italian fashion is storied played an important role. In the US, and complicated, as we shall see. prêt-à-porter had emerged in the 1970s and exploded commercially The Birth of the Fashion in the 1980s, when major depart- Entrepreneur ment stores like Bergdorf Goodman, The “young lions” in Milan repre- ket capable of bringing in billions GFT Marco Rivetti, he did every- Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and Saks sented a new figure. Two actually. of sales and producing in bulk. The thing himself. landed in Milan to acquire the rights The traditional creator/designer entrepreneur was a new person, dis- The fashion entrepreneur is a to Albini, Armani, and Versace. The who works alone like a sophisti- tinct from the designer. For Gianni symbolic figure of the new way of one to recognize this development cated craftsman or artist and serves Versace, it was his brother Santo. doing things: the man who under- early on was the Rivetti brothers’ a small and affluent clientele was For Krizia, Gigi Monti. Armani is stands that Italian stylists are ma- Gruppo Finanzario Tessile (GFT), now paired with another figure, the a rather rare breed, since after the ture enough to occupy their own which was then collaborating with entrepreneur, who sees fashion be- death of his longtime partner Sergio corners in New York’s department emerging designers like Armani and coming a viable international mar- Galeotti and later the president of stores, and who will later go on to

40 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Hollywood and Italian fashion, clockwise: American Gigolo (1980) and The Untouchables (1990) are dominated by Armani; the iconic shopping scene in Pretty Woman (1990) kates place in a Versace store; Anna Hattaway refashioning her look in The Devi Wears Prada (2003).

a status hitherto unknown to photographers. Richard Avedon, Guy Bourdin, Helmut Newton, Robert Mapplethorpe, and later Giovanni Gastel and Mario Testino, produced artful images that added significant value to the evolution of fashion. However, the power of these artists’ images were rooted in their ability to absorb and reiterate in a modern key the principal message of the cultural revolution from two decades prior: provocation. It was a young, anti-conformist, anti-establishment zeal that had arisen in America and England in the early ’60s and exploded in Europe in 1968, particularly in France and It- aly, and explicitly in Paris and Milan. Everything “old” was mocked. There were two key symbols: men hung up their ties and women showed off their legs. A decade later, fashion and marketing would appropriate that provocative aesthetic and turn it into a commercial instrument. The Role of Movies The great movie directors didn’t really embrace fashion. They would rather create high impact commer- cials for companies that produced perfumes. But then came a special type of director: the fashion show director. Amid the major changes ww in the 1980s, fashion became spec- Hollywood had tacle, and here the precursors were Sandro Massimini, and Alberto gone back to LA. Garbati, who for over a decade had enlivened the runways of Milan, Neither Rome nor New York, and Tokyo. To think that before then there wasn’t even music Milan supplied the on the catwalk! In any case, the relationship be- sets. But Italian tween movies and fashion was still strong. Actually stronger than be- fashion played a fore. Even if things had changed a lot since the age of “Hollywood on leading role. the Tiber.” Hollywood had gone back to Los Angeles. Neither Rome nor sell their own brands in flagship in the 1980s Italy discovered that fer prêt-à-porter to high fashion, Milan supplied the sets. But Italian stores on Fifth Avenue. Krizia was fashion could produced nine-figure emerging designers began to rely fashion played a leading role. the first to arrive in New York. Oth- earnings on nascent marketing offices. Just For example, American Gigolo ers followed soon after. Among the think of the role Rudi and Consuelo (1980) is an apologia of the “Made in pioneers was Benetton. Though The importance of marketing Crespi played in promoting Krizia Italy” brand. A boyish Richard Gere not a luxury brand, it was the first That the change was also cultural and Versace. sports Italian clothes exclusively and to earn billions of dollars through was reflected in the new role of There were also major photog- Armani specifically. Yet it was The direct sales. marketing. raphers emerging who saw fashion Untouchables (1987) that cemented Thanks to this new entrepreneur, While Vogue began to pre- photography as a new way to attain Armani’s reputation in Hollywood. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 41 Provocative images, clockwise: Helmut Newton for Versace; Mario Testino for Furla and Gucci style

The entire cast of Brian De Palma’s ww We also have to epic wears Armani. When Julia Roberts goes shopping in Beverly consider the role of Hills in Pretty Woman (1990), the scene is shot in a Versace store. the Internet. When More recently, product placements were so prominent as to even ap- an Italian label pear in the title of The Devil Wears Prada (2003). dresses an actress The “Made in Italy” industry blew up in the 1980s and ’90s, who wins an Oscar, “spectacularizing” and democratiz- ing tastes, not in the sense of cre- it blows up on ating a homogenous mass, but in the sense of making beautiful high Instagram The quality objects affordable for many people—a lot more than in Rome’s Internet could save heyday. The Challenge of “Organizing” “Made in Italy.” At the same time these developments were happening, Italian in- and the Italian entrepreneurial Long Live the Made in Italy— We also have to consider the stitutions began to sense the need “family” didn’t have the ability on the Internet role of the Internet. This can be to better coordinate and organize to make the jump to the interna- After Rome and Milan, did the capi- seen spectacularly in the US. When the Italian industry’s rise abroad. tional dimension. It didn’t have tal of Italian fashion transfer to Paris? an Italian label dresses an actress For example, there was the Istituto the same economic power as the Not exactly. First of all, the French who wins an Oscar, it blows up on per il commercio estero (ICE) cre- great luxury groups that are found are, fortunately, savvy business- Instagram! In the US, there’s a lot ated in 1926 and now better known in France. men and leave Italian brands in the of retail on the Internet, including in the US as the Italian Trade The country that did adapt to hands of Italian artists, Italian offices, fashion. And there is still a large Agency (ITA). But—paradoxically, the need to organize was in fact Italian CEOs, and Italian manufac- middle class willing to spend a lit- considering the enormous growth France, as attested to by the birth turers. The French understand the tle more for an Italian image. For a of the sector—these developments of large private luxury groups. That commercial importance of italianità, young American manager, placing had little effect on fashion. There explains why the French bought and they emphasize it. Trusting in the your Prada computer case on the were few public contributions for many Italian labels: Fendi, Bulgari, added value of the “Made in Italy” conference room table is making a the sector. Gucci, Loro Piana, Emilio Pucci... brand, they don’t try to frenchify it. statement of your status. Italy didn’t “organize,” our There are few Italian brands still So “Made in Italy” endures. In fact it’s So, will the Internet save “Made industry remained anchored in based in Italy. Armani, Ferragamo, a successful brand all over the world, in Italy”? Sounds like a good sub- family traditions (and sizes) — Dolce & Gabbana. independent of its ownership. ject for the next installment. ww

42 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Mauro Porcini and Maria Teresa Cometto at the Italian Cultural Institute tww Innova ive Italian Leaders at the Cultural Institute of NEW YORK Designing in a Globalized World Recently, Mauro Porcini, ww Who’s Who Chief Design Officer of Mauro Porcini joined PepsiCo in PepsiCo, Inc. talked with 2012 as the company’s first Chief Design Officer. Through innovative journalist Maria Teresa design, Porcini has revitalized Cometto as part of the PepsiCo’s image in pop culture with series, “The excellence of new products, packaging, advertising, and social media. His fresh new Italian human capital and approach also touches such PepsiCo personal success stories” brands as Gatorade, Tropicana, Doritos, and others. held at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York. Maria Teresa Cometto is an Italian journalist and award-winning author based in New York City. For the past by Maria Teresa Cometto 17 years, she has been covering business, finance, and high-tech for The complete conversation, Corriere della Sera, the leading wwcurated by i-ItalyTV, is avail- Italian newspaper. able at www.i-Italy.org. The ex- cerpts here have been edited slightly for publication. When I joined Pepsi we kept the logo because it was redesigned a What’s your job as Chief Design few years earlier but we complete- Officer for PepsiCo? ly redesigned the identity system. There were different colors and It is a new job that didn’t exist a different presence on the store before I joined the company but it shelf. A second project we did does exist in a few corporations. right away and one that has been The reason is because we live in a extremely successful is our design world that is radically changing. for dispensers. Essentially, when Essentially, these big corporations you go to a fast food restaurant, you don’t just compete with other big put your cup under a machine to corporations anymore but with a get your drink, what we call a foun- series of new startups that arrive tain in America. We redesigned this from everywhere. So a corporation machine by adding intelligence to needs to figure out how to inno- it. The new machine - we call it vate in a different way and how to Pepsi® Spire - has a screen that build brands in a different way-- could range in size from an iPad this is where design plays a very up to the size of a big television. important role. In the past, it was You select your drink, then select all about building those amazing the different flavors, and you can campaigns every year but you need completely customize the drink. We to activate those brands every day added real-time information about in a variety of different ways. So what kind of drinks people at the it is about creating new products, fountain are creating, and it’s all new packaging, new experiences sent to our innovation teams who in retail, hospitality, and on the will make the drinks of the future. street. Let’s go back to the origin. You Can you talk about something are from Varese, right? I was that you created? wondering if that is why you www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 43 From “The Pulse of New Talent” collection (2014), a partnership between Pepsi and Vogue Italia to showcase emerging global talent, such as Masha Reva shown here. style have so many shoes—I read a ww few years ago that you have a The dream of the hundred pairs. designer is to do Well I don’t count them anymore, but probably between 200 to 250. something amazing I thought I was collecting shoes but collecting is the wrong word for people. I usually because I just buy them and then they happen to accumulate. I was say we are people in looking at my wardrobe and I have hundreds of all of those things like love with people. We jackets and trousers. I just buy. I love clothing but then if you want to create come to my house, you’ll see that I collect other stuff too. I am just something cool that a curious person who likes to buy and discover things. The idea of surprises people, discovery is something that is part of me so shoes are just a part of something they can who I am. It’s probably the most physical part of my clothing be- fall in love with. cause as a man, you can be a little bit more extreme on the shoes, I am obsessed with social media, more so than other pieces. It’s just actually. I am very active on it part of who I am. and my job wouldn’t exist if social media didn’t exist. Or at least it You once said that a designer is wouldn’t exist as it is today. someone who thinks different- Essentially, companies used to ly—can you elaborate on that? build brands by crafting content and communicating top down The dream of the designer is to do through TV channels. Today, com- something amazing for people. I panies are not the sources of con- usually say we are people in love versation anymore but rather the with people. We want to create topic of conversation among people something cool that surprises in social media. Companies are are people, something they can fall moving from buying their way into in love with. Eventually, you can the the conversation to earning make money out of that but that is their place in it. not what drives us. The dream of the designer is to make something How do you earn this place? that really changes the world. This is the way a designer thinks. By being relevant to people and Because of the global market, by creating content: the situation social media, and the evolution is shifting from the marketing- of technology, there are no longer driven approach of building inno- those entry barriers so your prod- vation to a more design-driven ap- uct needs to be as relevant and as proach where essentially you need competitive as possible. The quality designers to create stuff. To create of the product needs to be amazing limited-edition cans, partnerships but also very meaningful for people, with celebrities, fashion inspired by and this is why companies are real- the world of Pepsi, amazing experi- izing that designers are important ences in the music world, or inno- because we are there to design with vation with Usain Bolt and Serena a human centric approach. Williams for Gatorade. Politecnico of Milan like Andrea at Philips, who is revolutionizing It’s really about the continuous You had brilliant career. Did you Branzi, who is the historian of the design in consumer electronics. creation of content in a variety of have any famous mentors? Italian design. There were many different ways driven by this chang- others in Milan, too. One was Ste- Your are fond of social media. ing world, the global world, the in- Yes, I had famous teachers at fano Marzano, the head of design How do you deal with them? ternet, and social media. ww

44 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org The “Dotted 1950s.” Audrey Hepburn, Marylin Monroe, and Sophia Loren wearing polka-dots

style ww FASHION TRENDS FOR THE SEASON Beware: It’s a Polka-Dots-Kind-of-Fall! Polka dots are not just a ww Cinema & Fashion spring/summer(ish) pattern, Those Golden one that can only be linked to bright and candy colors. This ‘Spotted’ Fifties year, the major runways from It was the far 1958 and the location one of the most glamorous of all: the Cannes all over the world were giddy Festival. The lady who is smiling at the with pois embellished dresses camera needs no introduction for sure, as and accessories in all forms she’s one of the most renowned icons of the Italian cinema, whose acting and style and shapes – giving this marked an era. In this precious picture, everlasting pattern a whole we find a radiant Sophia Loren surrounded by a glimpse of the wonderful new fresh take. French Riviera as an enchanted frame. 1958 was a golden period for her career: it was the year when she signed the by Camilla Santinelli contract with Paramount Pictures, which assured her a place in the international Either you’re used to calling stardom scenario. Among her wwthem polka dots or pois – there’s films at this time were no doubt that these funny freckles Desire Under the Elms have been a major presence in with Anthony Perkins, fashion for quite a while now, Houseboat – a romantic defining new styles and trends comedy co-starring Cary Grant – and each time they are brought into Heller in Pink Tights. play. Loren has always been considered a As a synonym of cheerfulness and a symbol of Italian femininity and elegance. guarantee in terms of glamour, they Here we see her wrapped up in a have been and still are being repeat- delightful pois dress which highlights her edly interpreted in a variety of ways, Mediterranean beauty and brightens up always giving fantastic outcomes. the general scene at the same time. In this sense, both international and Italian designers opted for embracing this trend for the upcoming fall season, proposing it in a different, more autumnal-like key – both in terms of colors and styles. While in the international scenario names such as Balenciaga and Loewe stand out – among the Ital- ians we find big names as Armani, Dolce e Gabbana, and Giambat- tista Valli with their haute couture creations, together with more low-key brands that offer more affordable and continuative trendy items that are perfect for everyone and every occasion. Let’s take a look! ww www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 45 Y ayoi Kusama, “Dots Obsession” (2011). World famous Japanese artist Yoyoi Kusama, born in 1929, recreates rooms entirely covered by polka dots which have become her trademark (www. yayoi-kusama.jp)

◗◗ 2 ◗◗ pants – or with a black leather Diadora Heritage-Equipe Dots sheath skirt, for a bolder look, Diadora perfect for the season. ww www.diadora.com

1 The iconic Diadora Heritage shoe ◗◗ 4 ◗◗ has been revisited in this new blend Funny legs of casual and elegance, specially Calzedonia designed for women who want to be ww www.calzedonia.com glamour without giving up comfort and practicality. This A pop of fun is always necessary, particular style features a especilly when it’s time to deal with black-and-white canvas and rainy, grey days. Therefore, if you do premium leather upper combined not already have them in your closet, with this exquisite polka dots detail you’d better go and buy them (there for a traditional yet fashionable shoe is no excuse). which is always right on trend. The traditional Calzedonia pois 2

4 ◗◗ 3 ◗◗ ◗◗ 1 ◗◗ Romantic rouches Polka dots all everything G iambattista Valli Dolce e Gabbana ww www.giambattistavalli.com ww www.dolceegabbana.com We know you might wonder if this is Pois on dresses and accessories are a spring/summer runway, but it’s not. just the brand’s distinguishing For the latest ready-to-wear fall 2017 feature since… ever. The pattern has collection, Giambattista Valli been the protagonist of many proposed exquisite outfits that collections over time and the one perfectly mix together the fresh we chose is from the latest spring/ brightness typical of spring with an summer collection. We know it’s not autumnal touch. Light chiffons are collants have been slightly renewed purposely from a fall collection but combined with heavier materials – – featuring bigger pois and looking look at it: wouldn’t it be great also such as velvet and fur –creating nicer than ever. This is just a basic, for a warm October day or paired interesting volumes and enchanting inevitable accessory that every with a light pair of black collants for appeals. This chiffon ruffled top woman should consider as the when the temperatures begin to would be perfect either matched 3 starting point of many of her fall/ drop? The answer is all yours. with a light bottom – such as beige winter outfits. Don’t you agree?

46 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org 7

ww Ecologically and environmentally friendly A special atmosphere

from the ‘Patterns If anyone has a better idea of autumn Remind’ collection than cozying up indoors, watching a Join Lamp movie or reading a good book while ww www.ecoliving.it sipping a hot brew – raise your hand. We just can’t think of something better. That’s why our selection of items could not end without a piece of ◗◗ 7 ◗◗ furniture that seems to be created just for this purpose. The table White dream lamps from the ‘Patterns Remind’ collection by Join-Lamp are Blugirl designed to light up any room with a touch of originality, ww www.blugirl.it providing different patterns for every taste. Of course, we could not help but fall in love with this pois one, which is absolutely Overlappings, transparencies, and perfect for the seasonal trend we chose to deal with. contrasts create a dreamlike In addition to its exclusive assembly system – which is entirely dimension in all the Blugirl fall 2017 designed and produced in Italy and protected by an collection and in particular in looks international patent – this lamp is also ecologically and like this one. We just love how environmentally friendly, as it is made by Priplak, a 100% different materials are combined recyclable material. Available in different sizes and colors, we together, and the proportions these bet you won’t resist to buying at least one. Aren’t we right? overlappings create. Those subtle pois embroidered on impalpable veil are exquisite, and the contraposition ◗◗ 5 ◗◗ ◗◗ 6 ◗◗ (also in color) the fluid shapes create Sophisticated pois Polka dots Love with the accessories is just brilliant. Emporio Armani Twin Set ww www.armani.com ww www.twinset.com

The fall 2017 Emporio Armani What’s better than this soft and runway was a real polka dots tribute. super-cute Twin Set pashmina to 6 The Maison proposed sophisticated keep you warm during fall’s first black and white outfits chilly evenings? Either you are characterized by a mesmerizing considering buying it as a optical component. This outfit is present for someone you love or composed by a longuette skirt and a getting it for yourself, you can’t blazer made of thick stretch cotton go wrong either way. Perfect for with contrasting polka dots and a casual outfit or to brighten-up a concealed buttoning with three more elegant one, these adorable decorative buttons that highlight the red pois spaced out by tiny 5 waistline and show off the hearts on an antique rose base is silhouette. The foulard around the just the item every girl and woman neck finishes the look, giving a super needs to kick the autumnal season feminine and sophisticated result. off right. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 47 Bookshelf

48 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Domenico bookshelf Starnone ww TALKING TO ACCLAIMED ITALIAN AUTHOR DOMENICO STARNONE ABOUT HIS POWERFUL TIES Is Marriage the Ultimate Bourgeois Trap?

Winner of Italy’s most Anna Lawton: First of all, story work everywhere would be a done. How is this ambiguity ren- prestigious literary prize, w wcongratulations for the Amer- terrible mistake. It is essential that dered in the novel? ican edition of Ties. What was the ways of life different from ours pos- the Strega, Naples-born reaction of the American public? sess a heart, and that in their heart DS: The ties figured in the title ap- writer Domenico Starnone beats we can find our own. pear only once in the novel, and Domenico Starnone: Hard to they are just shoe ties. When the talks about his short, tell. It’s got positive reviews, and AL: The title, Ties, seems to be a boy, Sandro, realizes that he is tying provocative novel Lacci the readers I met during my tour metaphor that connotes family re- his shoes in exactly the same way in March welcomed me warmly. lations. As such, it creates a certain his father does, the metaphorical (Ties), translated into But this doesn’t mean much. It’s ambiguity, because the ties can be ties—the emotional ones—which English by Pulitzer Prize- a very “Italian” story, and this may done and undone, and perhaps re- had been apparently cut off acquire be an obstacle. Although, the pain strength. Aldo, the father, comes winning author Jhumpa endured during a family crisis, or ww Any kind of order back home, the family is reunited. Lahiri. when a family gets back together But his return is not a happy one. without actually overcoming the My idea was that the metaphorical crisis, can be felt by anyone. In fact, is only a lid over level can be totally disjointed from don’t we in Italy, and in the whole reality, and that what seems to be a world, read very “American” novels? disorder. And if the winner as a metaphor in reality is The place where a story is born is a flat defeat. extremely important, its specific lo- pot starts boiling, cal features are the salt of the story. AL: Besides the ties, there is an- To erase them in order to make the the lid pops off… other central metaphor which is ex- www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 49 Domenico Starnone signing copies of his latest novel. To his right: writer Jhumpa Lahiri, translator of Ties. Bookshelf

tremely important, also because of its visual impact. It is the devastated apartment. This image saturates about two thirds of the novel and it is described in minute details. Why does it occupy so much space?

DS: It was pointed out to me that most of my stories end up in an apartment. It’s true. Apartments are a rigorously defined space, they give us an impression of order and safety. But in Ties, the order is only an illusion, and if someone brings chaos to the surface the hidden truth comes up from the bottom. And this does not concern only apartments. Any kind of order is only a lid over disorder. And if the pot starts boiling, the lid pops off.

AL: There is more than one narra- ww Ties tor in this story—one may use the Domenico Starnone term “polyphonic” to describe it. Translated by Jhumpa Lahiri The narrators are the three main Europa Editions characters, and the reader follows w Pages 144 w $ 16 the individual point of view of each as they define ourselves and the Ties is the thirteenth work of other two. Part one is narrated by fiction written by bestselling Vanda, the wife, through the letters Italian novelist Domenico that she wrote to her husband. Part Starnone. It’s a powerful short two is narrated by the husband. tempt to create new ways of living ww novel about relationships, family, And part three, by their daughter together. But the story of Aldo and Marriage is a love, and the ineluctable Anna. Why did you choose this Vanda ends up in failure, and shows consequences of one’s actions. structure? us that we are still in the middle of fundamental Vanda and Aldo’s marriage, like the ford. We cannot go back. Just many others, has been subject to DS: I thought it was the only possi- like in the devastated apartment, institution that strain, to attrition, to the burden of ble structure. I thought of the three where it’s not only impossible to routine. Yet it has survived intact. parts of the novel as self-contained put the shards back together, but throughout history Or so things appear. The rupture in short stories. Wife, husband, chil- it’s even wrong. At the same time, their relationship lies years in the dren—although they’re a family to live amidst the debris generates has been experienced past, but if one looks closely they gradually grew estranged into suffering, as it happens with the enough, the fissures and fault lines separate worlds, and each now has children, Anna and Sandro. as an extremely are evident: a cracked vase that his/her own voice which does not may shatter at the slightest touch. communicate with the others. The AL: At one point, Aldo justi- painful necessity. Or perhaps it has already reader cannot intertwine those fies leaving the family in political shattered, and nobody is willing to three voices—it’s now impossible terms: “Marriage is a bourgeois as good as new. It seems we’re not acknowledge the fact. to connect them—and therefore trap. By leaving you, I’m actually able to figure out other, less trite, Known as a consummate stylist he makes them clash. The story is setting you free, you and the chil- ratifications of love which would and beloved as a talented resolved in this clash. dren.” This line connotes Aldo as also ensure mutual assistance. storyteller, Domenico Starnone is an irresponsible person, but it also the winner of Italy’s most AL: There are some flashbacks to broadens the issue to the field of AL:In the Nineteenth century and prestigious literary award The the 1970s and the youth movement social criticism of marriage as an up to Modernism, the novel con- Strega. Ties is powerfully that produced the cultural revolu- institution. True? tained a moral. But then there was translated by Pulitzer Prize- tion. What is their function in the a change in literature. The moral winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. narrative context? DS: Yes. Marriage is a fundamental became ambiguous, although not institution that throughout history absent, and the reader was forced DS: The references to the 1960s has been experienced as an extreme- to make his own conclusions. In and 1970s tell of the end of the ly painful necessity. It’s been wildly your novel, the characters/narra- old patriarchal family and the at- criticized, but it’s always come back tors are not very likeable, and cer-

50 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org A detail of the painting Dante and Beatrice (1884) by Henry Holiday

tainly not exemplary. Why did you ww aN ODE TO A masterpiece that rewards rereading make them this way?

DS: I don’t think a novel must be edifying and the characters like- Dante In Love: Dante Alighieri’s able. Morals grow old, and what feels upright today it may feel corny tomorrow. Literature has one single task: to tear apart screens, to show Vita Nuova Reinterpreted what we don’t see or pretend not to see. There have been many AL: We said that Ties deals with translations and family relationships. In your novels the family is a recurrent theme— interpretations of Dante’s first in Via Gemito, then in your Vita Nuova, mostly used by latest one, Scherzetto. Why do you have this continuous interest in the students and scholars, family? so one might ask, could DS: The family is the place where one more do something the individual, as a young animal, so completely different receives the first fundamental varnishing that will proudly dis- that it matters today? tinguish him from other forms of life. But it’s also the place where the humanization process shows by Fred Gardaphe* its cracks. In this sense, it is an extraordinary and inexhaustible nar- You might know Anthony rative space. wwValerio from his previous stories, novels and biographies, and if AL: On this precise point, I’d like you do, then you’ll have found that to broaden the scope of the discus- he is a master of the love story. sion and place your novels in the Whether it’s street love in Brooklyn, context of contemporary Italian the historical romance between Gi- literature. The prevalent theme to- useppe and Anita Garibaldi, or the day seems to be the family. Of the illicit affair between a writer and twelve books in competition for the a married woman that’s mediated Premio Strega, more than half were by a gangster, the common thread novels/memoirs, reminiscences of of them all is love: how people live childhood and the family environ- with it and without it. In his latest ment on a historical background. work, Valerio reaches back to the Can you comment on this trend? Renaissance master Dante Aligh- ieri and explores this theme in a DS: Well, the family has always very unique way. been a central theme, often found Valerio’s Dante in Love combines in extraordinary novels. Today we and transcends earlier work by cre- should examine each individual ating a palimpsest through which novel and see how the family set- we read Dante through Valerio. The ting is being used. We’ll probably brilliance of the work is how it pres- discover an interesting variety of ents a translation of the original approaches. Therefore, I want to Italian while simultaneously cover- avoid any generalization. ing it with insightful commentary along the way. AL: Thank you so much, Domeni- Now whether you’re familiar with co, for sharing your views with our Vita Nuova or not, Valerio’s take readers. My wish to you is that the on it is worth the read. More than American edition of your novel will an insightful read of this important help to strengthen your “ties” with text, Dante in Love is interactive in the USA. ww an intriguing way. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 51 Bookshelf

Strategically placed throughout Beatrice becomes somewhat of a ce- the work are phrases followed by lebrity of her town, and the young blanks, such as: “I measure my Dante’s crush on her, unrequited, love for _____ by ______” becomes the fuel that feeds his ar- and “I’m a mess when my love tistic endeavors, becoming the cen- ______.” ter of all the writer creates in poetry At first, I thought we needed to and prose. Written many years be- rely on Dante to fill them in, then fore his great Divine Comedy, Vita I realized, these are for readers to Nuova helps us to see the early life complete. By doing so, we connect of an artist who will go on to create our experiences with love to Dante’s, one of the greatest written works of and in the process, we contribute to Western humanity. Through this the work, learning much about how “new life” or “young life,” we can lo- good writing creates good thinking. cate ourselves in him, and better un- Like Dante, Valerio uses contem- derstand what make us all seek love. porary English vernacular to ren- This book is also available in elec- der this over seven-century-old tronic format. Explanatory notes writing into a version that speaks and a link to the original work follow to us right now. The story is simple the text to help us better understand and common: a young man falls in how and why Valerio created this love, and through his inexperience unique reading experience. Like and uncertainty shadows the one the work that he translates, inter- he loves, making mistakes that all prets and interpolates, Valerio has of us know; he pretends to ignore composed an ode to a masterpiece her, while stalking her at public and that demands attention and rewards private events; he composes sonnets rereading. ww of adoration and despair; he dreams of her; he befriends her family and *Distinguished Professor of English and ww LOUISA ERMELINO’S LATEST NOVEL acquaintances; he becomes love- Italian American Studies sick; he grieves her absence in his at Queens College/CUNY life, especially after her death when and the John D. Calandra he wonders how he can go on living. Italian American Institute 16 Stories of Women

ww Dante In Love: Dante Alighieri’s Vita Nuova Reinterpreted Who Take Control Anthony Valerio Daisy H Productions LLC w Pages 115 w $ 6.99 of Their Own Lives ww Book excerpt Whether in danger or ecstasy, Ermelino’s women can “Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), author of the monumental work The Divine handle themselves better than the men they attract, Comedy, wrote his little book of and it makes you wonder just what part of equality social about fifty pages entitled Vita nova around the age of twenty-seven, early tradition has masked. in his career. Supposedly, it’s the real story of Dante and Beatrice, of a by Fred Gardaphe* story collection the same title as tormented lover and writer of prose the song, she takes that now fa- and poetry and an elusive young When Neapolitan actor, mous song and makes it an an- woman named Beatrice. Some say wwAntonio de Curtis, known them for women who take control that very little happens in their story; as Totò, penned the song, “Mala- of their own lives and don’t wait they meet at the age of nine; he falls for her hard; for reasons known only to femmena,” back in 1951, it was to simply react to what men do to him, he tries to hid his affect, seducing and using other women as shields and payback for a tough woman who them. fails. Beatrice dies; and Dante spends the rest of the work lamenting and had done him wrong. When Lou- praising her. But more happens…. For the sake of that good beguiling story to isa Ermelino, author of Joey Dee Sixteen short stories emerge and crystallize, I have compressed and modernized Dante’s words in Gets Wise, The Black Madonna, The sixteen short stories take Italian into English, from the point of view of my life as a writer.” and Sisters Mallone, gave her first the shape of folktales in their ef-

52 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org From the left: Antonio “Totò” De Curtis (1898-1967) with his last wife Franca Faldini; the poster of the movie inspired to his famous song “Malafemmena.” Below: Louisa Ermelino.

ww Malafemmena Louisa Ermelino Sarabande Books http://www.sarabandebooks.org w Pages 162 w $ 15.95

ww Book excerpt “I took good food for granted. I grew up a first-generation Italian American. We weren’t big on ambience (I don’t think I saw a milk pitcher until I was of legal age) but we know about food. Lamb at Easter, the rib chops as tiny as a baby’s fist, the lamb’s head, capozelle, split and roasted with parsley, garlic and parmigiano; minestrone soup with five kinds of fresh beans and gobs of pesto stirred it; veal shoulder stuffed with egg and bread and oregano. When I started traveling, I didn’t know much about the world or what there was to see, but I was open to what there was to eat. Camembert in France, ham sandwiches with fect by making us think of what ww butter (butter? Hmmm) pork-liver we might do in similar straits, Whether they’re pâté. In Italy, puntarella and buffalo and some of these are pretty wild mozzarella, sautéed rabbit, fresh situations, like when a kidnapped set in a Little Italy figs. Yogurt and honey in Greece Annemarie finds herself in Staten and feta with tomatoes and Island. “Sister-in-Law,” brings out or in exotic foreign cucumbers; profiteroles, zaatar the worse behavior in Angela, her bread, King of Persia pistachios, husband’s sister with a “cigarette locations, these roasted corn, duck eggs swallowed voice. Philip Morris unfiltered” raw in a tea glass on the road to and her husband Joey “a small stories all ring true overland India.” guy in a big car,” who reveal that she has done her husband wrong in spite of their “I see this than in the story, “James cause she balances delicately, but one too many times; for that she’s Dean and Me.” Set on the border surely, between the professional going to be immured in the ever- can’t believe she did between Afghanistan and Iran a and personal. growing stone wall that surrounds woman is sure that the man she their home. that” actions. hooks up with is none other than Stories that merit rereading Whether they’re set in a Little It- the famous actor who died in that The key to the successful story is aly or in exotic foreign locations, Smart, bold women tragic car accident a long time whether it can be read more than these stories all ring true in spite of Whether in danger or ecstasy, ago. She is so certain that Dean once, and in Emerlino’s hands, their “I can’t believe she did that” Ermelino’s women can handle still lives and travels with her that the genre is safe, for nearly all of actions. In fact, the more absurd themselves better than the men we begin to believe her. these reward second and third the behavior of her cast of femme they attract, and it makes you In “Death Becomes Her,” we have readings because once you get fatales, the more we believe it hap- wonder just what part of equality an elegiac tale of love, and the the substance of the tale, you are pened. This speaks to the power social tradition has masked. It’s deaths of loved ones, that tran- drawn back by the desire to know of the author’s imagination to see not that these women are react- scends the sentimental. The unjust how she did this. ww the surreal in the simple, to draw ing like men, for that would be named narrator reaches the high- the ordinary out of the exotic, as in too simple an explanation. No, er ground of survival with dig- “Fish Heads” where after a vaca- they are acting smart, boldly go- nity. She’s a professional woman, _ tion filled with delectable foreign ing where women have always swamped with the demands of her *Distinguished Professor of English and delicacies, the women are served been; through Ermelino’s prose job that takes seriously the imper- Italian American Studies fish heads at every meal on a ship they take their places as direc- sonal superficiality of Hollywood at Queens College/CUNY and learn to love that which skee- tors of the theater they create out star fashion; her grief is beautiful and the John D. Calandra ved them. of life. There’s no better place to as it deals with the extremes be- Italian American Institute www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 53 Bookshelf ww EXCERPT FROM ANNA LAWTON’S AMY’S STORY A Gripping Story of Friendship, Love, and Social Turmoil

Amy’s Story takes the strolling leisurely or lying on the reader on a life journey sand, their manes blowing in the wind. Bead necklaces, bracelets, from Italy to the US. anklets and headbands complet- Following in the steps of ed their look of urban refugees in an imaginary tribe of noble sav- Amy (full name America) ages. The smell of pot was heavy ww I was in the crowd and her childhood friend even in the open. The vastness of the ocean could not absorb it. Stella, the reader But the cops rarely showed up, with my boyfriend, experiences friendship, and when they did everybody made the two-finger peace sign— Giorgio, mainly to love, struggle, and social “Peace, man”— and moved a few find out what was turmoil against the yards away. There was no con- frontation, no violence. At least, backdrop of American not there. Not yet. going on. We didn’t history from the 1960s to Cindy and Ken were sitting in a group nearby. They shared the belong to any radical 2011. house with us and a few others. Cindy came up to me. She was movements and We lived in Venice. That pretty, a fresh flower blooming wwis, Venice, California. The in her hair. Long, blond, straight, hardly knew what house was right on the beach. In silky hair. The kind I liked. The those days Venice was a funky kind I wished I had. But mine their demands were. neighborhood, a favorite hang- was short, wavy and light brown out of the Flower Children who with golden highlights. as well?” Baroque palace in the heart of drifted south after the Summer “Am I bothering you? If you’d I was surprised Cindy would ask the city. A banner hanging from of Love in San Francisco. But also rather be alone, just say so.” me such a personal question. the façade said in big characters: students and junior faculty with “On the contrary, I enjoy your But I was also pleased because I UNIVERSITÀ OCCUPATA. The no money lived there. company. Please, sit down. I’ve needed a friend, someone to talk massive portals were closed and I closed the bedroom door be- been here for only three months to. guarded by militant fellows with hind me. The house was empty. and there are many things I’ve “I guess so,” I replied, “things are red armbands. They would let in, Everyone had already gone out, got to get used to.” not going smoothly between us.” by a small door, only those who leaving the breakfast dishes on “Like what?” “How did you two meet?” could show the proper creden- the kitchen table. I went out the “Like corn flakes for break- “It’s a long story. We met in Italy, tials. A large number of students front door, not bothering to lock fast and square bread in plastic during the campus occupation crowded the portico in front of it. I crossed the front lawn clut- wraps. And especially the aca- at the University of Turin, my the building and spilled out into tered with folding chairs, sleep- demic system, which is quite dif- hometown.” the street, blocking the traffic in ing bags, and children’s toys, and ferent from the one back home.” Trouble had just started. Those both directions. stepped on the boardwalk. “Why aren’t you at school today?” were the first signs, well before I was in the crowd with my boy- I found myself a spot on the “I’ve classes in the afternoon. I’ll the Red Brigades came into ex- friend, Giorgio, mainly to find beach where I could have some have to leave in a short while.” istence and terrorized the coun- out what was going on. We didn’t privacy, and laid down my towel. “And Jim?” try for more than a decade. The belong to any radical movements Young people in tattered jeans “What about him?” students had occupied the ad- and hardly knew what their de- and colorful rags hung out there, “D’you have to get used to him ministration building, a stately mands were. An animated dis-

54 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Student demonstrations, hippie rallies, and social unrest in California (left) and in Italy (right) in the 1960s and 1970s

ww A must read Amy’s Story. A Fascinating Journey Through History and Across Continents by Daniela Enriquez

“Yes, good novels can leave a mark on our imagination”. Those are the words that Nik – one of the characters in Anna Lawton’s book – states while talking to Stella, the protagonist. There is no doubt that Amy’s Story is one of those novels, because in addition to narrating a captivating story, this book transports readers through almost 100 years of American history and allows them to get lost in a different time. Reading Anna Lawton’s book is almost like watching a movie where you wish you could talk to the characters, give them suggestions, and take part in the political arguments and debates which are scattered throughout its pages. Amy’s Story is a novel that narrates the life of Stella – an Italian girl who immigrates in the USA—through the words written by the woman herself during the course of several years. The literary structure is sophisticated, and demands some mental jumps in time and space. The frame—Amy’s attempt to publish her friend Stella’s manuscript—is in the present, but the core of the story—narrating Stella’s life—is set in the 60’s through the 80’s. That gives the author the chance to include many historical events and elements from those years. Although most of the story is set in California, there are entire chapters that happen in Italy and New York. The language is colloquial but researched, and the story is narrated in both first person – Stella’s Story—and third person—Amy’s story. A kaleidoscope of characters inhabits the pages of the book. They are fictional characters, but they come across authentically as though they could have been real people living at that time in America. As it happens with every good book, it is ultimately hard to depart from them. Love, sex, social justice, drugs and immigration are only some of the themes of this novel, all of which are intertwined with a fictional story incorporating real events. History ultimately reveals itself as another protagonist of the book, always in the background but constantly present. Toward the end, Jim—the charismatic male lead—says of the published manuscript: “It’s literature at its best, and at the same time it’s an engaging story that pleases the reader, with intriguing characters and a dynamic plot”. There are no better words to define Anna Lawton’s novel than those. Oh, and just a small tip: be ready for surprise finale!

cussion was taking place right masses by the hegemonic profes- But the Union disagrees with in that spot. A student in a Che sorial class, but on the basis of your demands. I was not able to Guevara beret was haranguing your belief in the cause and your go to school. I had to go to work those who gathered around him: involvement in the struggle.” as a young boy. And I don’t want “No more grades based on an “I agree, school must be radically my little brother to have to do unjust evaluating system. We reformed,” another said. the same. I want him to get an demand political grades for all. “No, not reformed. It should be education.” Equality of grading.” abolished. The whole bourgeois “The working class has sold out “What’s a political grade?” some- educational system must be over- to its masters,” shouted the Che one asked. thrown,” still another replied. Guevara guy. “We maintain that you should be A guy a few years older, who did “This is a provocateur,” said a evaluated not on the basis of false not seem to belong in that crowd, student pointing a finger at the knowledge inculcated on the managed to make himself heard. Union man. “We don’t want to abolish the A scuffle erupted, and the man school. We want the right to go would have been badly beaten if ww Amy’s Story to school. I am a metal worker the police had not been on their Anna Lawton and represent the Union. Some way. At the sound of the ap- New Academia Publishing of you guys asked me to come to proaching sirens, the crowd froze www.newacademia.com this rally today to see whether and then frantically tried to dis- w Pages 246 w $ 22 (paperback) we can make common cause. perse. But the police had already www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 55 Anna Lawton

Bookshelf surrounded the area. ww Many were clubbed and many Many were were arrested. A few managed to escape. Tear gas was rapidly fill- clubbed and many ing up the street. Giorgio and I got separated. I was swept along were arrested. A few the portico that extended for the entire length of the street by a managed to escape. stream of panicking students. All the stores were locked and Tear gas was rapidly looked empty. I stopped in the doorway to a bookstore to catch filling up the street. my breath, choking on the gas. I must have cut a rather pa- Giorgio and I got thetic figure. Suddenly, the door opened. A hand grabbed me by separated. (…) the arm and pulled me in. I “It looks like you can use some stopped in the help,” the guy said with a sly grin. He had a foreign accent—defi- doorway to a nitely, American. “What makes you think so? I bookstore to catch my was just window shopping,” I answered in the same vein, free- breath, choking on ing my arm. I hurriedly wiped my tearing eyes. As my sight cleared, the gas. (...) Suddenly, I took a good look at him. He was handsome, longish blond hair, a the door opened. A square jaw, blue eyes sparkling with a roguish smile. hand grabbed me by “If you’re interested in books, this ww Meet the author is the place. I spend the good part the arm and pulled of my days in here and always Anna Lawton, born in Italy, has earned her PhD in Russian Literature at find what I look for.” me in. UCLA. As a professor, she taught courses in literature, cinema and visual “And what’re you looking for?” I culture at Purdue University and later Georgetown University. She also asked staring at him intently. “Yes, he is unhappy. But it’s not worked for USIA at the American Embassy in Moscow as the Deputy “You mean, other than books?” my fault. He’s unhappy because Director of Public Information and Media Outreach and the editor-in- He held my stare and for a second his book project has not been well chief of the magazine Connections, and at the World Bank in Washington, we weighed each other up. Then, received in the academic commu- as the managing editor of the magazine Development Outreach. She we both laughed. nity. He’s not got the expected en- published three scholarly books and numerous scholarly essays and book He extended his hand, “I’m Jim dorsements from the senior fac- chapters. She has received several awards, including the CHOICE Award Welsh. Let me buy you a cup of ulty, and therefore two university as Outstanding Academic Title for her book, Imaging Russia 2000: Film coffee.” presses have already rejected the and Facts. Her first novel, Album di famiglia, was published in Italy and is (...) proposal.” now being translated into English. Amy’s Story is her second novel. In “Wow, what a story! You should “So sorry. But I’ve got positive 2003, she founded the publishing house New Academia Publishing, try and sell it to a Hollywood pro- vibes about the two of you, and which is today a successful enterprise. For more information visit: www. ducer. They like love stories with I’m sure everything will work out annalawton.com and www.newacademia.com. a happy ending,” Cindy said. beautifully in the end.” “Well, this is only the end of Part “Thank you for the rosy fore- Twelve o’ clock. I had to quick- He turned to the wall, making One. Now Part Two has started, cast. Time for me to go. I’ve ly change clothes and be on my disgruntled sounds, something and the ending’s not necessarily classes in an hour and I can’t af- way. Jim was still asleep. I raised unintelligible, “… and shut the going to be a happy ending.” ford to be depressed. I must be the venetian blinds with a sharp goddam blinds,” he concluded. “Oh, what a pity. D’you still love super-efficient.” pull. A beam of light burst into That, I distinctly heard. him?” I picked up my towel and start- the room like a punch. It hit him “Shut ’em yourself,” I snapped “Of course, I love him. But I’m not ed back toward the cottage. full-on. back. sure I like him these days. He’s Cindy stood there for a minute, “Whadda fuck you doing?” he I slammed the door and was changed. He’s depressed, unso- a concerned smile in her eyes. muttered angrily, raising his gone.” ww ciable, and angry all the time. She waved me good-bye, “Take head. Even at me.” it easy!” she yelled after me. I “Come on, Jim, get up. I’ll fix you Abridged and published by “He must be unhappy.” turned around and waved back. some lunch.” permission of the author

56 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Italian jazz icon Paolo Fresu

ww JAZZ & ITALY ‘Summertime, and the Livin’ is Easy...’

This time I want to talk to voice on a summer evening on you about a very famous Charleston’s Catfish Row, creating a highly poetic image that song. It’s one of those shines in sharp contrast to its songs that will exist forever impoverished setting. The song, with a style similar to the blues, and that nobody will ever has always lent itself to great in- forget–not even after a terpretations by jazz musicians. Among some of the most thousand years. The song is memorable versions are those of called “Summertime,” with Ella Fitzgerald (with Louis Arm- strong in the recording of the music by George Gershwin, complete Porgy and Bess) and of lyrics by DuBose Heyward, Cleo Laine (with Ray Charles). Among the instrumental ver- and a contribution by Ira sions, that of Miles Davis with ar- Gershwin. rangements and direction by Gil Evans is essential. Many Italian jazz musicians challenged them- by Enzo Capua selves with the beautiful song. On this front, we remember two ver- I believe sions: one is a duo with pianist wwthat even Stefano Bollani and percussion- those who are ist Roberto Gatto in an album not so passion- dedicated to Gershwin’s music ate about jazz (Gershwin & More Live!), and or even about the other is by trumpet player music know this beautiful mel- Paolo Fresu ,who wanted to fol- ody. Perhaps some will even low in Miles Davis’ footsteps. know how to whistle it. How- Fresu’s splendid interpreta- ever, not everyone knows the tion is a reworked version of Gil story of “Summertime,” a story Evans’s arrangement that will that has become very fitting for forever be a part of jazz history. our time. The song was composed Fresu recorded it in at least two by George Gershwin in 1934 for completely different settings: his opera Porgy and Bess, and the one with the Orchestra Jazz della lyrics written by Heyward, author Sardegna (Porgy and Bess, 2001) of the 1925 novel Porgy, on which and another in 2002 (Kind of the opera was based. of black people’s lives alternated ww Porgy and Bess) with an Italian- This magnificent musi- with complaints about an exces- ‘Summertime’ French big band. They’re all ex- cal came to Broadway in 1935, sive indulgence toward blacks. has a style that’s traordinary interpretations that and its resounding success still Beyond these fruitless contro- Italian jazz can be proud of. It’s echoes today in the story of versies, Porgy and Bess was, and similar to blues, too bad that the great Gershwin, American music and theater. It’s still is, one of the great master- who died in 1937 at the age of 38, important to know that the play pieces of all American art. The and therefore, it was only able to see the Broadway deals with a tragic story set in the music’s beauty and its various version. He surely would have ap- south, in the old city of Charles- interpretations over the decades has always lent preciated the Italians’ versions of ton, South Carolina. The opera constantly serve to confirm to the his opera, and “Summertime” in involves the life of Charleston’s genius of its creators. In the first itself to great particular, which we will never black community and it created act, “Summertime” is sung by a grow tired of listening to–even in quite an uproar among the pub- woman, Clara, and it’s a lullaby interpretations by this heat and this distance from lic and the critics: accusations of she whispers to her baby. It’s a those times. ww racism and of a superficial vision sweet melody, sung by a mellow jazz musicians. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 57 Bookshelf ww Stile Ducati: A Visual ww The need to eliminate war in the powerful work of a renowned Italian scholar and writer History of Ducati Design Various Authors A tale of man’s obsession with humanity’s darkest atrocities Skira w Pages 320 — w $ 85.00 ww Blameless Magris’s ambitious novel, a Claudio Magris fragmentary, densely detailed Book w It is fitting to define Ducati’s Yale University Press account of one man’s obsession with history as a dream, because the w Pages 368 w $ 26.00 building a “Museum of War for the adventure began in a dark Advent of Peace,” is a collection of laboratory in the From one of Europe’s most revered anecdotes about the evil that humans center of Bologna, authors, a tale of one man’s obsessive do and the banal ways in which that in Via Collegio di project to collect the instruments of evil survives us. Magris’s narrator, Spagna 7, when the death, evil, and humanity’s darkest inspired by a real-life collector of war workforce consisted atrocities in order to oppose them. memorabilia, grows up in the of just two workers Claudio Magris’s searing new novel multicultural and cosmopolitan city of and a secretary. ruthlessly confronts the human Trieste, Italy, where his early Probably not even the Ducati obsession with war and its savagery in childhood games with toy soldiers brothers could have imagined what every age and every country. His tale impress upon him “the need to would one day become. Two centers on a man whose maniacal eliminate war.” employees at the small laboratory devotion to the creation of a Museum became almost 1200 in 1936, and of War involves both a horrible secret Claudio Magris is an Italian scholar, the company grew in overwhelming and the hope of redemption. Luisa translator and writer. He is an essayist fashion. Brooks, his museum’s curator, a and columnist for the Italian newspaper descendant of victims of Jewish exile Corriere della Sera and for other ww Diagnostics: Poetics of and of black slavery, has a complex dilemma: will the European journals and newspapers. His numerous studies Time collections she exhibits save humanity from repeating its have helped to promote an awareness in Italy of Central Joseph A. Amato tragic and violent past? Or might the display of articles of European culture and of the literature of the Habsburg myth. Bordighera Press war actually valorize and memorialize evil atrocities? Professor emeritus of modern German literature, University w Pages 140 w $ 12.00 In Blameless Magris affirms his mastery of the novel form, of Trieste, Magris is a recipient of the Erasmus Prize among interweaving multiple themes and traveling deftly through scores of other literary awards. His best-selling novel Danube Book w This is a collection of poems history. With a multitude of stories, the author investigates has been translated into more than twenty languages. He on our attempts to read, or by individual sorrow, the societal burden of justice aborted, lives in Trieste, Italy. Anne Milano Appel, an award-winning diagnostics’ Greek roots, to and the ways in which memory and historical evidence are translator, recently received the Italian Prose Translation distinguish and sabotaged or sometimes salvaged. Award. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area. discern, our place and condition in time. And it is the Book w Through conversations with in tone, focus, and style. What June in 2016: they take the form of root sense of poiesis twenty-three leading Italian emerges is a broad, deep, lively, notes, a series of precise that explains the philosophers representing a variety and even witty picture of the Italian annotations on the course of daily subtitle Poetics of of scholarly concerns and philosophical landscape in the life in a neighborhood of the city. Time: to make or bring forth methodologies, this volume offers voices of its protagonists. The result of his work is a lucid and meanings of lives lived out in times, an informal overview of the vivid photographic reportage on constant and many. Joseph A. background, breadth, and ww Ferdinando Scianna: The the Venice ghetto in the late spring Amato is the author of several distinctiveness of Venice Ghetto 500 Years of last year filled with initiatives books. He taught a range of courses contemporary After organized to mark the 500th in European intellectual and Italian philosophy Denis Curti anniversary of the setting up of the cultural history and historiography, as a tradition. Every Marsilio first enclave for the segregation of with a particular interest in the conversation is a w Pages 100 w $ 35.00 Jews in the world, the one in Middle Ages, Renaissance, German, testimony to the Venice. Italian, and French histories and differences that Book w The ghetto European rural life, as well as characterize each thinker as unique today: a story told in ww Palazzo della civiltà Italiana taught ethics and introductory and that invigorate the Italian pictures, a history in Franco La Cecla social science courses. philosophical landscape as a whole. the making. The Rizzoli The individual replies differ widely forty-four black- w Pages 300 w $ 75.00 ww Viva Voce: and-white Conversations with Italian photographs presented here have Book w A stunning Philosophers been selected from the many portrait of the Silvia Benso Watch pictures taken by Ferdinando Palazzo della Civiltà SUNY Press i-ItalyTV Scianna on a succession of visits Italiana in Rome, the w Pages 318 w $ 85.00 made to Venice between May and iconic building

58 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Watch our interview with Dacia Maraini where Fendi relocated its headquarters. In 2015, the storied fashion house Fendi moved its headquarters ww Imagine: New Imagery in into the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana Italian Art 1960-1969 in Rome, a stark white cube Luca Massimo Barbero perforated by symmetrical arches. Marsilio Originally commissioned as part of w Pages 288 w $ 43.95 an exhibition on Roman civilization for the 1942 world’s fair, the Book w The 1960s were a architects took their cues from revolutionary time for Italy in ancient history to create a building ww A homage to the finest Italian woman writer alive today many aspects. The economic that was quintessentially Roman yet boomed resulted in decidedly modern, earning its A unique collection of the most years of imaginative nickname “the Square Colosseum.” thought and important works of Dacia Maraini creativity. This ww Eutopia book recounts the Liftiba You might know Dacia Maraini, one of Italy’s most acclaimed Italian mindset of TEG contemporary fiction writers and essaysts, from her outstanding mixing engineering w $ 50.00 novels which include La vacanza (The Holiday), L’età del malessere with art to create a (The Age of Malaise) and La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa (The Silent multifaceted era of art and design Music w Pure rock is coming back! Duchess), but she is also the writer of captivating short stories, while illuminating the post-war Piero Pelù is an Italian singer and poetry, and plays. Writing like Breathing celebrates a writing career freedoms, which created a never songwriter, best known for his work that has spanned over half a century, covering all forms of literature, before felt desire for personal with the Italian band Litfiba. It’s an including prose, poetry and drama. It is a collection comprising some identity in Italy. The artists Italian rock-band formed in Florence of her most important works, the represented include Franco in early 1980. Four majority of which have never been Angeli, Domenico Gnoli, Giosetta years since the translated into English. The series is Fioroni, Tano Festa, Michelangelo “Great Country” divided into four major volumes that Pistoletto, and Mario Schifano. album, Litfiba are meant to give a full picture of These individuals are known as returns! In these four Maraini’s production from 1962 to the the creators of a new and original years, Litfiba have released the live present: I. Autobiography, novels, short direction that that categorized album “Trilogia 1983-1989” (2013) and stories and poems; II. Plays; III. Articles; the art of this period. the “Element Tetralogia” (2015) IV. Essays, talks and interviews. special box. Currently, they are Writing like Breathing shows how the ww The Italian Art of continuing their tour with a finest Italian woman writer alive today Shoemaking: Works of Art in Mediterranean rock sound. has embraced and fought for a vast Leather number of issues: women’s rights, Christina Morozzi ww Le migliori abuse of women and children, Rizzoli Mina & Celentano emigration, discrimination, politics, the w Pages 244 w $ 80.00 Sony Music Holocaust, among many others. w $ 21.80 Moreover, this collection of Maraini’s Book w This book offers an exclusive autobiographies, novels, short stories, look inside the world of Moreschi, Music w The first single “Amami and poems, emphasises the author’s one of the world’s amami” was released on October 21, long relationship with Japan and the most prestigious 2016. Le migliori became the United States, countries to which she shoemakers. This best-selling album of 2016 in Italy. ww Dacia Maraini. Writing Like has devoted several books and articles, richly illustrated On March 2015, rumors began of Breathing both autobiographical and fictional. book boasts the another collaboration between Edited by Michelangelo La Luna Some unpublished manuscripts enrich standards set by the Adriano Celentano ListLab this unique first volume: two short internationally and Mina, especially w Pages 270 w $ 20 stories (“A Christmas in the Snow recognized after the message he Globe” and “Aylan”) and three poems shoemaker: high quality leather and posted on his blog to (“At Night”, “Rome”, “Like Sea Bass Underwater”). The other volumes the ability to design and create congratulate her on contain unpublished plays (“Diotima and Socrates,” “My Name is shoes on site. Moreschi shoes have her 75th birthday. In the following Antonino Calderone,” “Celia Carli, Ornithologist”, and “Lia, Who been worn by the likes of Richard months, these rumors became more Thought Herself Antigone”), essays, talks, conversations, and Burton, Liam Neeson, Adrien pervasive until it was officially interviews given by the author at American universities. Brody, Michael Jackson, James confirmed on October 20, 2015 that Dacia Maraini is a winner of the most prestigious Italian literature Brown, Johnny Cash, and also the two artists would indeed be awards such as Campiello and Strega. Her books have been sports stars such as Michael releasing an album of new songs translated into 22 languages and some of her bestsellers were Jordan, Novak Djokovic, and together. turned into successful movies. Alberto Tomba. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 59 cuisine

ww PIZZAMANIA CONQUERS THE STATES How Many Stories Top a Pizza? by Tommaso Cartia

60 | i-Italy | Spring 2017 www.i-Italy.org Clockwise: Roberto and Giorgia Caporuscio; Students getting their certificates at PAF; Teaching kids how to make pizza. ww THE Pizza Academy FOUNDATION in New York Father & Daughter Teaching Pizza Master pizza maker Roberto Caporuscio shares the secrets of true Neapolitan pizza as the U.S. president of the Pizza Academy Foundation (PAF)–the Neapolitan pizza school headquartered in his Kesté Wall Street. But there is another secret in the family: Giorgia, his daughter and a talented pizzaiola, is also a fantastic teacher. by T. C.

Roberto Caporuscio’s story is wwfascinating and adventurous. It’s a story of passion, love, and determination that guided him from his Roman roots to Neapolitan culture, becoming a kind of adopted Neapolitan, and rising to success in the United States. All of this was and Kestè, Roberto’s teaching and lead by his passion for pizza and advising was concentrated in New Neapolitan culture, and one of its York, and he taught almost 200 most distinctive gifts: pizza. students. The students received certifications and are now success- An American Adventure ful pizza makers. After working in Naples with Moving to New York, Roberto is Neapolitan pizza was always on Recently, Roberto’s daughter, master pizza makers such as Don now the owner of some of the most Roberto’s mind. “The idea for the Giorgia, a young and extremely Gennaro Capatosta, Antonio Starita popular Neapolitan pizzerias in the school has existed for 10 years,” he talented pizza maker, joined in and Enzo Coccia, Roberto arrived city: Don Antonio and Kesté Pizza tells us. “We had our first student and began teaching. And her fa- in the United States in 1999 and & Vino, which has three locations: in 2007 in Madison, Wisconsin. ther proudly confesses, “She’s even began working as a pizza maker in West Village, Wall Street, and Wil- From there, the Associazione Piz- better than me at teaching!” Pittsburgh, making authentic Nea- liamsburg. He has also received zaiuoli Napoletani (Neapolitan Piz- Roberto and Giorgia’s dream politan pizza. It was a gamble at a wide recognition for his work: “#1 za Makers Association) asked me to was to find a physical space that time when Americans were used to Pizza in New York” by New York educate people here in America and was equipped to host a real school. the taste of their own and Italian- Magazine, “Best Pizza” in New York to show Americans what true Nea- They found such a space down- American pizza and cuisine. How- State by Food Network Magazine, politan pizza is.” town, in which they opened Kesté ever, Caporuscio won his personal and top 25 “Best Pizza Places in the Little by little, the master pizza Wall Street. The largest room in the gamble that the taste of true Nea- US” by Food and Wine. maker began teaching students, restaurant lent itself perfectly to politan pizza could win over Ameri- like Mark Dym in Denver, who to- hosting the school—inside of a real cans , and, from that point forward, PAF, The Pizza Academy day has four pizzerias there. Soon pizzeria. Students could then have he has seen resounding success. The idea of sharing the secrets of after the opening of Don Antonio the opportunity not only to learn www.i-Italy.org Spring 2017 | i-Italy | 61 cuisine

how to prepare a Neapolitan pizza e costumi di Napoli e contorni by but also how to work with the right Francesco De Bourcard. It describes ovens and in a professional kitchen, a traditional Neapolitan pizzeria, a chance to understand how a piz- and gave Roberto his inspiration. zeria works and how it should be “I recreated that atmosphere here run. As Roberto emphasizes, “This thanks to the Neapolitan architect school is dedicated both to teach- Roberto Iuliano. I photocopied the ing amateurs and to training chefs, pages and gave them to him. This but companies also come for team is how he decided to recreate that building. We also teach how to make rustic environment.” pizza to children who are looking to Roberto adds, “Something im- have fun.” portant that we always explain during the lessons is that a restaurant’s What the school does environment needs to match the The opening of the Pizza Academy product that you sell. It needs to re- Foundation saw the collaboration of spect the food that you serve and its various sponsors like Caputo, Ciao, traditions. Neapolitan pizza can’t be Belgioioso, and Urbani Truffles. presented in a modern place, espe- Inside, there’s also a beautiful bar, cially in the eyes of Americans.” which may be used to teach how to prepare true Italian cocktails. Neapolitan pizza secrets Seaside Communication, which “First of all, Neapolitan pizza re- collaborated on the project, advised quires an artisan who knows how Roberto to livestream the lessons to make it, the pizza maker,” Capo- from Kesté Wall Street. “This al- ruscio says. “It’s an art that must be lows us to conduct lessons online, learned, from the dough to the oven, streaming through our website, and the temperatures, the cooking times, it allows us to be present outside the and the ingredients. Neapolitan piz- ww Chef Pasquale Cozzolino’s Pizza Diet United States... We’ve already been za can be prepared only with Caputo able to reach Australia, South Af- flour, either 0 or 1. The dough needs rica, Berlin, Nicaragua, Colombia, to be made with a small amount of Eating Pizza, Losing and Santo Domingo,” he says en- yeast, fermented for a long time, and thusiastically . with the right amount of salt. After Caporuscio feels it’s important to this, the most important part is the teach not only how to cook a perfect kneading. It needs to be soft and Weight, Becoming a Neapolitan pizza but also to teach fluffy but also elastic. It must be able what a true Neapolitan pizzeria to be eaten with your hands, and should feel be, beginning with de- the ingredients must not slide off. cor and interior design. For Kesté Mozzarella, tomato, and extra vir- Celebrity Wall Street, Roberto was inspired gin olive oil are obviously the main by a classic book about the Nea- ingredients. It should be made in a politan lifestyle in the 1800s, Usi wood-burning oven and cook for ap- Eat pizza and lose weight? It can be done! When proximately 90 seconds.” Executive Chef Pasquale Cozzolino discovered his pizza The school also teaches how to ww Our school is make Roman pan pizza and Ameri- diet, the news became viral and hit the headlines both in can pizza with a class run by Mi- the US and in Italy. Newspapers and TV shows wanted to dedicated both to chele Ameglio, a world-champion of pizza. Still, while Roberto is open to know, and Paquale finally wrote a book to share his teaching amateurs various interpretations of pizza, he secrets and keep everybody happy. argues that “Neapolitan pizza is ei- and to training ther Neapolitan or it’s not. If not, we risk it becoming like spaghetti and by T. C. Mediterranean diet is one of the chefs. We even teach meatballs, which is the big prob- healthiest, but not everybody, espe- lem that Italian gastronomy had in It might seem like a dream to cially outside of Italy, knows how how to make pizza America. This is why it’s important wwbe able to lose weight by eat- to cook it or serve it to draw out its to educate and teach the timeless ing, especially by eating your favor- maximum benefit. to children who are tradition of true Neapolitan pizza. ite meal. In reality, it all depends Chef Pasquale Cozzolino grew up This a fundamental mission of my on what you eat, how you eat, and with the traditions of Mediterra- looking to have fun. work.” ww when you eat. It’s known that the nean cooking, and he knows them

62 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Left to right: Pasquale Cozzolino talking to Andrea Boehlke of People; the article by Claudine Ko in The New York Post that launched his pizza diet; Pasquale making his point at “Good Morning America” on ABC

ww Pizza is often considered junk food in America. The message for Americans is not to ‘eat whatever pizza you want,’ but rather to eat this pizza, which is prepared according to the criteria of the Mediterranean diet. well. His passion for pizza was born York Post about his experience, the politan pizza prepared with 220 in Naples, the homeland of pizza. news of his pizza diet spread, and grams (about a half pound) of As a boy, he would anxiously wait now everybody is talking about dough (made from flour, water, salt, for the day when his mother would it. In 2016 it was the third-most- and yeast), uncooked tomatoes, bring him to eat his favorite meal: researched diet online. The diet’s and a bit of mozzarella and basil, “When I was little, my mother growing popularity landed the chef without added fats and sugar. It’s brought me to eat pizza once a a book contract—and his story, told the typical Margherita pizza and, week,” he told us. “I was fascinated in The Pizza Diet–How I Lost 100 if cooked correctly, it’s a complete, watching the pizza makers actually Pounds and You Can Too! (Pen- nutritious meal of 570 calories. The make the pizza. I wanted to eat it guin-Random House) became a secret to making this pizza light is every day even though I wasn’t al- great success. to not overdo it with condiments lowed. I always dreamed of being a and oil. The ingredients need to be pizza maker, so I could eat a pizza Pizza Diet 101 balanced. every day!” During the first part of the day, Still, it’s not possible to eat just Pasquale made his dream come the diet allows eating foods with any type of pizza every day, espe- true. Today, he’s an accomplished a higher calorie count and which cially those prepared in American pizzaiolo and the Executive Chef of take time to digest, such as com- fast food restaurants, which are one of the most important Italian plex carbohydrates. The pizza di- almost always unhealthy and high restaurants in New York, Ribalta. He’s also a consultant and dietitian et’s breakfast is very generous but in calories. “Pizza is often consid- He also achieved his dream of eat- for soccer teams. He told me about should only prepared with products ered junk food in America,” the chef ing a pizza every day thanks to his how the human body works and of an excellent quality--cereal, fruit, said. “The message for Americans is special diet. “The pizza diet began how to benefit from the so called almond milk, and possibly an egg. not to ‘eat whatever pizza you want,’ from a personal need,” the chef ’super burn‘ moments. You intake Lunch, around 12pm, is when it’s but rather to eat this pizza, which told us. “I put on some weight, and a large number of calories during time for pizza, and a salad. At that is prepared according to the criteria I needed to lose it. I am the kind those parts of the day, but the body point, 70% of the daily caloric re- of the Mediterranean diet.” of person who eats often, and I al- burns them quickly. Then he asked quirement is consumed. Dinner at Traditional Neapolitan pizza is ar- ways have food around me since I’m me what my favorite dish is. This 6 pm means protein, particularly tisanal, and it needs to maintain a chef. The usual diets made me feel is how pizza was included as the lean protein, preferably with a sal- its specific characteristics. “If you as if I were in some type of cage. ‘happy item’ in my diet.” ad or greens. overdo it with condiments, you lose So I consulted a friend, Doctor Gi- Cozzolino was able to lose 100 the sense of the pizza,” the chef af- useppe Moscarella, who is a biolo- pounds (50 Kg) in nine months, Use Only Neapolitan Pizza firmed. “It then becomes almost like gist and nutritionist from Naples. and after an interview with the New The pizza of choice is classic Nea- a dish that supports what’s on it. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 63 Domenico DeMarco in a photo by Gabriele Stabile on the back cover of issue n. 9 of Lucky Peach. Source: Kaleidoscope, School of Visual Arts Library (https://library.sva.edu/kaleidoscope/hours/lucky-peach) cuisine

Instead, the important thing with ww “GRUPPO ITALIANO” LAUNCHED IN NEW YORK pizza is the dough. My research on pizza as a chef is focused on always finding new processes of leavening. This is what makes a pizza dish The Legend of “Di Fara Pizza” modern. However, it’s a dish that needs to stay true to itself.” Behind the pizza diet is a concept that stems from biosophy, a hu- A Classic Italian Story manist idea that balances all aspects of a healthy life. Once you lose weight, it’s important that this The adventurous diet becomes a a lifelong practice, and romantic story because you don’t lose weight by being on a diet, and losing weight of Domenico “Dom” is not an end in itself. The objec- DeMarco, who, in 1959 tive is changing your attitude and embracing a more healthy lifestyle . moved from Caiazzo For Pasquale, pizza is not only (province of Caserta) good food, but it’s also a symbol of conviviality: “Pizza is the food to Brooklyn. The story of the gods. Its shape–the circle– of a simple man who made represents brothership, the embrace. It’s a food that symbolizes his historic Di Fara pizzeria sociability.” into a legend. The Book’s Mission The book isn’t just a classic cook- by T. C. book with recipes and the recommended diet. It contains a com- If you enter the heart of Brook- plete philosophy of eating, from wwlyn from the Avenue J subway buying the right products in the station, you’ll find yourself in a clas- supermarket to understanding sic Jewish neighborhood, with syna- ingredients on the label. It also gogues and kosher restaurants. It’s tells the story of Pasquale Coz- the last place you would ever think zolino. It recounts his debut at of finding a typical Italian pizzeria. thirteen years old when he pre- However, New York is a city of infi- pared his first pizza with famous nite surprises, of contrasts but also pizza maker Gaetano Esposito, a of cultural synthesis. And just a few descendant of Raffaele Esposito, steps away from the Avenue J sub- one of the inventors of pizza. It way station stop, you’ll find one of also tells of Cozzolino’s New York the city’s most venerable pizzerias, Di adventure, which gave him not Fara Pizza, a place that has become only a successful career but also legendary and in recent years an im- a family. Pasquale married an portant destination for tourists and American woman, and they have celebrities from all over the world. two children together. The secret of this little storefront “I grew up with the idea of eating lies in the golden hands of Domeni- well. My mother passed it down to co DeMarco, a pizza maker from me. My mission, having two Amer- Caiazzo, in the province of Caserta, ican kids and seeing what they eat, who, since opening the pizzeria in is to educate people to eat well, by 1964, has been preparing his classic going on TV or to schools to talk pizzas daily. about food culture. I already did something at the Borough of Man- Domenico’s Story hattan Community College. It was His story is also a classic one. In 1959, a panel with 50 students on nutri- Domenico left Caiazzo and followed tion. I receive hundreds of emails his father, an American citizen, to a day from people who follow the the dream metropolis of New York. diet and ask for my advice.” ww When he told us his story, the silence,

64 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Di Fara Pizza 1424 Avenue J, Brooklyn www.difarany.com

the pauses, and his eyes, still full of my life. I’ve been in business for 53 find the right rhythm for my work. proud of what I do.” youthful passion, spoke a thousand years,” Domenico proudly told us. My favorite song is “Ave Maria.” Using ingredients of the highest qual- words. “My father was an American However, pizza was not DeMarco’s ity is, of course, important. But De- citizen, so I automatically became a only love. He married an American Di Fara’s Pizza Marco’s skill is also key. He’s able to citizen. I came here from the city of woman who gave him wonderful But what’s made Di Fara so popular? make approximately 150 pizzas daily Caiazzo, a very old city. My family children. To this day, his daughter It has become a must stop for tour- at a rate fast enough to cause any of was a family of farmers. We cultivat- Margaret still sticks by her father’s ists visiting New York. Many Italians the larger restaurants to be jealous. ed oil, figs, and also made wine. Be- side and helps him run the pizzeria. affirm that the pizza is even better at Dom does almost everything by him- fore moving here to Brooklyn, I lived “I married a very religious Catho- Di Fara than it is in Italy, and celebri- self; he’s helped only by a few assis- in the town of Huntington on Long lic woman. We got married in the ties have never stopped showing up, tants, among whom are his children. Island. I worked on a farm there.” church. I liked her because she did including singers Tony Bennett and DeMarco’s prowess is not only in his While he was working on the farm, her own thing, and she was reserved. Ed Sheeran and actor Leonardo Di- extraordinary hands but also in his Domenico remembered that some- It was good because as I always say, Caprio, to name a few. knowledge of cooking, of the impor- one told him about the neighbor- ‘it’s better to be alone than in bad “When Italians come here to try my tance of the dough and the constant hood near the Avenue J subway company!’” pizza, they tell me that they like it search for new processes. “I always stop and that there were interesting experiment with the pizza. I’m always opportunities there. One Saturday ww evolving,” Domenico told us. “Before night, Dom went to visit the area, When Italians come here to try my letting my clients taste a pizza, I’m al- and he was surprised by the amount ways the first to try it. The dough is of people on the street. The place pizza, they tell me that they like it even the most important part of the pizza, that would eventually become his and that’s where I experiment the pizzeria was for sale and was situ- more than the pizza they eat in Italy. most. Pizza shouldn’t stay inside the ated in a great location, steps from oven for too long. I keep it in for no the subway entrance. Domenico al- I don’t know how that’s possible, for all of more than 5 minutes. If it’s in there ready had some pizzeria experience, for more than 5 minutes, the taste and he felt ready to open his own the ingredients I use come from Italy... changes radically, and it gets too dry.” business. Trusting the instincts that Writing about the taste of this pizza had always guided him through the In addition to being a tireless pizza even more than the pizza they eat in is easy; you can safely say it’s exqui- important decisions in his life, he maker, Domenico is also a positive Italy,” Dom says. “I don’t understand site because that’s just the truth. But decided to take the storefront. When and friendly man. He loves life and, how that’s possible because all of the it’s the experience of going there to he opened the business, his partner’s in particular, music, which he listens ingredients I use for the pizza come the Avenue J stop in Brooklyn, of name was Farina. The two combined to and plays for Di Fara’s customers. from Italy. The Casapulla mozzarella walking into a place that seems like their names, DeMarco and Farina, “I always listen to Italian music here. from Caserta, San Marzano toma- something out of a black and white and Di Fara Pizza was born. The piz- I like the sound of the accordion, the toes, extra virgin olive oil. Perhaps postcard, and of seeing this man, zeria is the same today as it was back tarantella, and Italian folk music. this is the reason: I use only products both strong like a rock but as good as then, unchanged thanks to Domeni- One of my favorite artists was Enrico of an extremely high quality. If you do bread, knead his pizza, as he’s been co’s strength, determination, and his Caruso, who I was able to see here what you like, if you have passion for doing every day for fifty years… and great love for his art. “As soon as you in New York. I also like Enrico Fi- your art, in this case the art of making then of eating something that allows open the door, you don’t stop work- ume, who always used to come here pizza, the magic happens, and people you to taste an important part of our ing until 9 at night. It’s my passion, to have pizza. My music helps me to like it. I like what I do, and I’m very Italian history. ww www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 65 cuisine ww FROM The Italian Diabetes Cookbook Healthy and Authentic Cuisine If you think Italian food is off-limits for people with diabetes, think again. While thoughts of the Bel Paese (“Beautiful Country”) generally conjure up the image of platters of carbohydrate-rich pastas and fat-laden sauces, authentic Italian cuisine is both healthful and delicious. by Amy Riolo plan delicious enough for the whole goal to demonstrate that fantastic optimal health. Best of all, preparing family to eat. Who knew that it would food and good health don’t have to these foods in a traditional Italian My motivation for writing The turn into a career? When I visited our be mutually exclusive. fashion helps to coax the ultimate fla- wwItalian Diabetes Cookbook was ancestral hometown of Crotone for The secret to my success with cook- vor, texture, and aroma out of them. to change the way Italian cuisine is the first time, I was struck by how books, teaching, and lecturing has May you enjoy these recipes as much viewed abroad and to demonstrate much healthier our Italian fam- been to focus on what people with as I do. Buon appetito a tutti! ww ways in which traditional Italian food ily members were than our Ameri- diabetes can eat, instead of what can be part of a diabetes-friendly eat- can ones. While we share the same they can’t. Vegetables, fruits, grains, ing plan. The inspiration came to me genes, it is the diet and lifestyle of our beans and legumes, nuts, dairy, sea- years ago. I was 15 years old when I southern Italian relatives that make food, poultry, lean meats, and whole- began preparing many of these reci- the difference to their health. While some baked goods can all be part of pes for my family after my mother’s living in Rome, I was struck by how a healthful lifestyle. Fortunately, each diabetes diagnosis. Since I didn’t fit even the elderly citizens were. Be- of these food groups offers scores of want to create two separate meals for lying the stereotypical figurines, even ingredients to choose from—many of our family, I strove to make the reci- most Italian chefs are in good shape. which include nutrients that are par- pes that fit into my mother’s eating Ever since that stay, it has been my ticularly beneficial to people seeking ww How to prepare Pomodori di riso alla romana Roman-Style Rice and Herb Stuffed Tomatoes

Stuffed tomatoes are one of the 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil side opposite to the stem; you will be ultimate delicacies of the Roman diet 1/4 cup minced basil using it as a lid. With a melon scoop, and the pride of many home cooks— 1/4 cup minced mint scrape out the flesh of the tomato, some of whom bake tiny, matchstick- 1/8 tsp unrefined sea salt being careful not to break the skin. size pieces of potato along with the 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper Reserve the pulp and the juice. tomatoes. Simple and delicious, they 4. Chop the pulp and mix it with the are a great accompaniment for grilled 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. juice (you can use a food processor). seafood and meat. 2. Place rice and chicken stock in a In a bowl, combine the pulp and juice saucepan. Bring to boil over a high with the rice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, Serves: 4 heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 20 basil, mint, salt, and pepper. Serving Size: 1 tomato minutes, or until rice is tender but 5. Stuff hollow tomatoes with the rice Prep Time: 5 minutes firm (al dente). Add more water, 1/4 mixture. Cover with the tomato lids Cooking Time: 45 minutes cup at a time, if rice begins to stick to and arrange in a greased baking dish, the bottom of the pan. When rice is standing the stuffed tomatoes with 1/2 cup Arborio rice or Calrose rice finished cooking, set aside. the lid side up. Drizzle with the 1 cup Homemade Chicken Stock, 3. Meanwhile, wipe off the tomatoes, remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and low-sodium chicken stock, or water discard the stem without damaging bake for 20–30 minutes, or until the 4 beefsteak tomatoes, approximately the skin, and lay the tomatoes stem tomatoes are cooked through. Serve 6–8 ounces each side down. Cut a round slice from the hot or at room temperature.

66 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Culatello di Zibello served at Eataly

ww AtTENTION! Starting in the fall, Culatello di Zibello will be imported in the United States! Culatello: The King of Cured Meats Culatello di Zibello represents the heritage and the richness of Zibello, a town in the province of Parma, nestled along the Po river and wrapped in its fog. That fog, or really, the Po Valley climate, is the key factor in properly aging this king of cured meats. The art of its production has been handed down from generation to generation and contains the story of a land, the traditions of its people, and the characteristics of its terroir. by Dino Borri * sculptor Renato Brozzi and the cel- ucts whose unique characteristics ww For a long time ebrated poet Gabriele D’Annunzio. depend exclusively on the spe- For centuries, Culatello’s Culatello has long been considered cific techniques and on the area in Culatello was a ww fame was celebrated only a noble food. Even as a purely lo- which the product is made. Every near its place of origin, the Bassa cal food, Culatello was a luxury, a year, more than 60,000 Culatello di luxury, a “rare and Parmense plains south of the Po “rare and exquisite” delicacy that Zibellos are stamped with the DOP river that extend west to Piacenza only few could afford to afford to certifiying seal and also with the exquisite” delicacy and east to Reggio- Emilia. People have on their tables, and for a long names of the producers that adhere of the reigon knew to appreciate time, Culatello remained a product to the Consortium of Culatello di that only few could the taste of this very special kind for the few, limited in its produc- Zibello’s standards. This is a further of prosciutto and to safeguard its tion and geographic distribution. guarantee of its distinctiveness and afford to afford to secrets. The first evidence of Cu- Only since the 1980s has its fame authenticity. The alternation be- latello di Parma is in a document and consumption spread beyond tween dry and humid periods in have on their table dating to 1735 from the Comune of the borders of the Bassa Parmense. the area of production makes Cu- Parma. The document lists prices latello unique--production occurs produce Culatello must be raised for pork products, and it’s also the Production and Procedure between November and February, in Emilia Romagna or Lombardy. first time “Culatello” is used before Culatello is commonly identified as and climate is fundamental for it became part of the popular vo- pork cured in a natural casing usu- the process. The towns of Busseto, Production Method cabulary. Other important accounts ally made from pig’s bladder. It has Polesine Parmense, Zibello, Sor- Bundles of filet or loin muscle from of Culatello date back to the 1800s received the prestigious “Protected agna, Roccabianca, San Secondo, the hind legs of these protected and 1900s in the works of Giuseppe designation of origin” recognition Sissa, and Colorno are some of the pigs—the best of the same general Callegari, a poet from Parma, and (Denominazione d’Origine Pro- most notable places for produc- cuts used for prosciutto-- are cleaned in the correspondence between tetta ,or DOP given to food prod- tion and aging. The pigs used to and cut into a pear shape. The meat www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 67 cuisine is salted by hand in a process last- intestines and tied up. Aging occurs ing anywhere from one to six days. in specific locations in temperatures Next, the muscle must be refriger- between 55°F and 63°F for at least ated between 32°F and 41°F, so that ten months. Finally, the Protected it can absorb the salt. It is then put in designation of origin “Culatello di another room before it is encased in Zibello” is applied to the label, and it’s ready for sale. To best preserve the Culatello once it’s opened, spread ww It pairs perfectly a small about of olive oil and butter on the part that was cut. Wrap it in a and simply with a linen cloth that has been steeped in dry white wine, and store it in a cool fat and an extremely low percent- sumption, this cured meat must be slice of bread, and area, not in the fridge as that would age of cholesterol. It’s digestible and treated and preserved with care. If it diminish the flavor. perfect for any age and pleasing to all has been long aged,, it must be first makes a great palates. Culatello has a unique taste be softened with lukewarm water. Taste and Characteristics and an unmistakeable smell. It pairs Then, spread a small amount of ol- appetizer when Culatello is a delicate and sweet perfectly and simply with a slice of ive oil and butter on the cut surface cured meat with an intense smell. bread, and makes a great appetizer before wrapping the piece in a cloth served in hand-cut When it is cut, the meat has a uni- when served in hand-cut slices and that has been steeped in dry white form red color with white fat be- accompanied by Parmigiano-Reggia- wine. Store in a cool area, but not in slices and accompa- tween the various muscle bundles. It no or butter. It can also go well with the refigerator, which would com- is an excellent source of energy: 3.5 a nice glass of Malvasia, an intense, promise its inimitable flavor. ww nied by Parmigiano ounces of Culatello contains approx- sparking wine from Emilia-Romag- imately 200 calories with 15% fat na that pairs particularly well with * Dino Borri is VP of Purchasing Reggiano or butter. content. This includes unsaturated long-aged meats. For optimal con- for Eataly USA

ww How to Prepare Cooking with Rice with Culatello and Parmigiano Rosanna by Rosanna Di Michele

Serves 4 people raw culatello to the rice, and let it cook for a few minutes. Add the rest Ingredients of the wine, mix well, and pour the l 11 ounces (1-1/3 cups) of Carnaroli or broth a little at a time until the rice Arborio rice; begins to soften and thicken. Add the l 7 ounces of culatello (sliced less spinach leaves just before the rice than half an inch thick); finishes cooking (about 20 mins). w l 3.5 ounces (1/2 cup) of chopped Take the saucepan off the heat, add fresh spinach leaves, cleaned; the crisped culatello, the knob of l 3.5 ounces (1cup) of Parmigiano- butter, and the all the Parmigiano. Mix Reggiano, grated; everything together, cover, and let l 1 glass of white wine cook slowly until creamy. w Garnish l A knob of butter with the raw spinach leaves and a l 1/2 quart ( 2 cups) of filtered touch of extra virgin olive oil. chicken or vegetable broth (cooked separately with 1 zucchini, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 onion, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil) Directions D ice the culatello slices and lightly brown half of them in a frying pan for a few minutes. Leave the other half raw. w Pour the rice into an ungreased saucepan and toast over medium heat for a few seconds. Add half of the white wine and mix. w Add the

68 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Left page: Ageing Cuatello in Emilia-Romagna

ww A favorite dish... Michele Scicolone ww ... paired with the right wine. Charles Scicolone From Western Sicily to Your Table: Etna Bianco. A Great Pairing for White Spaghetti with Pesto alla Trapanese Meet, Cheese, and Pesto alla Trapanese

While everyone is l Coarse salt and freshly ground The soil around Mt. $20 or less, however, those that familiar with pepper Etna is volcanic cost more are among Sicily’s best Ligurian style l 1 pound fresh tomatoes, peeled, and rich in white wines. pesto, the Sicilian seeded and chopped minerals. The version known as l 1/4 cup freshly grated pecorino fertile soil Pesto alla Romano supports extensive Trapanese is not so l About 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil agriculture and well known. The Sicilian variety l 1 pound spaghetti vineyards have been cultivated contains with tomatoes and almonds, there since before the time of the ingredients abundant in that region. Directions ancient Greek. Vineyards on Etna This recipe was given to me by a w With a mortar and pestle, or in a can be as high as 1,000 meters. friend many years ago. He was food processor, combine the One of the best white wines from originally from Trapani, a city on almonds, garlic, basil and salt and Mt. Etna is Etna Bianco DOC. The Sicily’s west coast, and insisted that pepper to taste. Pound or chop the Etna D.O.C. region is situated on the sauce should contain an entire ingredients until fine. Add the the north, east and south slopes of head of garlic and could only be tomatoes, cheese and oil and pound the Etna volcano. Etna DOC may made by pounding it until smooth or process until smooth. w take the following forms: with a hand-held mortar and pestle. Meanwhile, bring a large pot water Etna Bianco must have a minimum But a little fresh garlic goes a long to boiling. Add the pasta and salt to of 60% Carricante grapes and a way and a food processor does a fine taste. Stir well. Cook over high maximum of 40% Catarratto. Also job of turning a handful of familiar heat, stirring often, until the pasta is included in the blend may be up to ingredients into a quick pasta sauce. firm yet tender to the bite. Drain the 15% of non-aromatic grapes such as In Trapani, pesto is traditionally pasta, reserving a little of the Minnella and Trebbiano. served with busiate, a spiral shaped cooking water. w Pour the pasta into Etna Bianco Superiore must consist pasta made by wrapping the dough a large warm serving bowl. Add the of a minimum of 80% Carricante, around a wooden dowel, but it is also pesto and toss well. Add a little of and a maximum of 20% Catarratto good on spaghetti. the reserved cooking water if the or Minnella. The grapes have to pasta seems dry. Serve immediately. come only from the Milo area. Serves 4 to 6 Carricante is an ancient wine grape, Ingredients Adapted from 1,000 italian Recipes, Wiley which does very well in volcanic soil l 1/2 cup blanched almonds Publishing, Inc., by Michele Scicolone. and at high altitudes. It is l 1 large garlic clove For more information about cooking, vist indigenous and cultivated only on l 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves www.MicheleScicolone.com Mt. Etna. The grapes ripen slowly during the long growing season and retain the good acidity for which they are known. The finest examples of Etna Bianco are made from 100% Carricante. Catarratto grapes are grown almost exclusively in Sicily. The variety Where to find them in NYC takes up over 60% of the island’s total vineyard area and this makes Flatiron Wines and Spirits it one of Italy’s most common white 929 Broadway grape varieties planted. New York, NY 10010 Etna Bianco has hints of lemon, 212-477-1315 lime, grapefruit with good acidity and minerality, and a touch of Astor Wines and Spirits smoke and almond on the finish. It 399 Lafayette St goes well with a number of different New York, NY 10003 foods such as fish, shellfish, white 212-674-7500 meats, cheese and pasta such as Spaghetti alla Trapanese. For more about wine visit Charles’ website: Most of these wines sell for around www.charlesscicolone.wordpress.com www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 69 travel travel ww THE HEART OF MEDITERRANEAN AESTHETICS Under the Spell of Baroque Sicily

There are so many ways to by Goffredo Palmerini earthy flavors. Like a gendarme, explore Sicily. This time we Etna watches over the splendid city As you turn from scanning of Catania, which merits a visit, but chose to highlight the wwthe Tyrrhenian to the peaks of we’ll have to save that for another southwestern side of the Mount Peloritani flitting by, the air- day. This time we’re headed to the plane begins its descent into Cata- southwest of Sicily. Island and its baroque nia. In a few minutes the command- treasures. Baroque Sicily ing profile of Etna appears, a feath- A Trip through Time ery white cloud hovering on top. Or Our friends from Modica are wait- has a particular charm, one maybe it’s smoke. We should respect ing for us in the airport. All it takes that epitomizes the volcano; despite the headaches is a quick meal in a little restaurant its eruptions can cause, it is still part on the outskirts of town for Sicily to Mediterranean aesthetics. of our heritage. Viewed from above, welcome us with a waft of flavors: Etna really is a wonder, with its lava- pasta with sardines and a fennel blackened summit and lush green aroma washed down with an excel- base at the start of summer. The lent white wine from Etna, grilled surrounding volcanic earth yields swordfish, and for dessert a slice savory red and white wines with of Sicilian cassata and good coffee.

70 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org The Cathedral of Syracuse. Below: Santa Lucia alla Badia.

Next we hit the highway in the di- of Thapsos, which dates back to the rection of Syracuse. The bright sun ww Those looking for Bronze Age. casts a golden light over the citrus Fifteen minutes down the road fields and vegetable plots in this history, art, and there emerges on the horizon a peak, lush, fertile soil. The vibrantly lit almost a pyramid. That’s the sanctu- oleanders in bloom flank the black- architecture are in ary of the Madonna delle Lacrime, a top until to our left there appears radically designed circular temple, at a skyline of chemical plants that for a real treat in the entrance of Syracuse. We can’t signal we’ve reached Augusta. The stop long because our destination is port city sits on the northern end of southwestern Sicily, the old city on the island of Ortygia. the bay, and in the center of the gulf Syracuse shoulders a millennial-old shine the ancient remains of Megara a region filled with history. It was founded back in 734 Iblea. Founded in the eighth century BC by Greek settlers from Corinth. BC by Greek colonists from Attica, stunning beauty. One of the major Hellenistic cities, in there are still vestiges of the city terms of power and wealth, Syracuse wall, agora, temple to Aphrodite ins and grave goods of the colony’s was a competitor of Athens, which and thermal baths. You can also necropolis. On the southernmost tried in vain to subjugate the city, visit an “antiquarium” to see the ru- point of the gulf stand the remains and the main rival of the Phoenician www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 71 travel city Carthage. Only Rome succeeded in conquering it, in 212 BC, and not ww Modica’s special without difficulty. A hub of artists, philosophers and scientists, Syracuse urban design, with was the birthplace of Archimedes and a destination for illustrious figures, its intricate network like Plato, who visited three times, Aeschylus, Pindar and Xenophone. of stairs and narrow Cicero later lauded it as the most beautiful Greek city. In successive alleys that snake up centuries, it became an intersection of peoples and conquerors: Angevins, the four surrounding Arabs, Aragonese, Byzantines, Nor- mans and Swedes. This melting pot hills, explains its phenomenon led to Sicily’s extraordinary hybrid of civilizations. designation as “the A Real Gem most unique city Our first stop is to admire the ancient Doric temple of Apollo at the outside Venice” and entrance of Ortygia. Throngs of tourists enliven the maze of narrow UNESCO World streets running through the island, granting it the kind of grandeur Heritage Site. that only cities with a long history can summon. We follow the crowds here and is the city’s patron saint – the devastating earthquake of 1673. when the highway ends abruptly in streaming by, browsing for glass to admire Caravaggio’s large canvas, We enter through the Porta Reale Rosolini and merges with a minor souvenirs, until to our right we spot the Burial of St. Lucy, a masterpiece onto Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The arterial road. No problem. Actually, a wide paved road leading to the by the great artist of light. Church of Santa Chiara, magnifi- it allows us to get a better glimpse heart of the city and a broad rectan- This splendid city harbors many cent palazzos, monumental staircas- of the landscape in this part of Sic- gular piazza. There we glimpse the other jewels for tourists, but our es, Palazzo Ducezio, Cathedral, and ily, as we cross the Hyblaean Moun- magnificent Cathedral built over the time is running out. We hop back the Churches of San Carlo and San tains, an expansive rocky tableland. ruins of a Doric temple of Athena, on the road and in no time reach Domenico rise up in all their beau- The fields show off the variety of the the Municipal Palace, the Episcopal Avola. It lies on our left, near the sea. ty, lit by the setting sun. The city, a island’s agronomy: vineyards, or- Palace, the Church of Santa Lucia The city is renowned for its almonds world heritage site, is a real gem. Its chards, olive groves and leafy carob alla Badia, and other elaborately and, especially, “Nero d’Avola,” a beauty is intoxicating. We have just trees fleck the earth that alternates designed palazzos. The Cathedral full-bodied red wine with hints of enough time for a refreshing granita green vegetable patches with golden combines a number of styles: its cherries and prunes, best grown in and cannoli—the out-of-this-world wheat ready for harvesting. The se- facade ranges from the baroque the coastal stretch between Avola and not-to-be-skipped sweet here. ries of fields are fenced off by orderly to rococo periods, and its interiors and Pachino. We speed off in the stonewalls, made with stones that has everything from Greek ruins to direction of Noto. We would be re- “The Most Unique City Out- have been gathered from the earth Norman-built medieval sections. miss not to make a pit stop in the side of Venice” and carefully assembled by genera- But we’re headed straight for the baroque capital of Sicily. Noto was There’s a pleasant sense of anticipa- tions of farmers, as their colors attest. Church of Saint Lucy – she was born entirely rebuilt on a new site after tion en route to Modica, especially The stunning panoramic stonewalls

72 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org A view of Modica. Below: the famous Saints of Modica. Opposite page: Il Loggiato del Sinatra in Ispica; a view of Noto and its cathedral.

form a dense labyrinth of property people emerged from these caverns, After a series of windy curves, the urban design explains its designa- lines, a harmonious mix of working as was revealed by the necropolises profile of the “città alta” emerges, tion as “the most unique city outside farmland where cows, sheep and in Pantalica and Cava d’Ispica, dominated by the Church of Saint Venice” for its intricate network of goats graze. The air is clean. The which date back 2200 years before John above and a little farther down stairs and narrow alleys that snake clear sky is an intense blue. Christ. Important ruins and rock by the majestic facade of the Cathe- up the four surrounding hills. Near Ispica, the limestone has paintings have been discovered dral of Saint George. The city is re- been deeply scored by coursing wa- here, while a third century bronze ally something, jutting from either UNESCO World Heritage Site ter for millennia. Dense brush gives statue of Hercules, now housed in side of two canyons that were hol- The urban design is utterly affecting, it a wild look. The deep grooves in the civic museum, was found on lowed out over millennia by a pair quilted as it is by a hundred or so the rock are called “cave.” The cliff the outskirts of Modica. Speaking of streams that merged below, in to- late baroque churches, noble family walls often face grottoes. Prehistoric of Modica, we’ve almost arrived. day’s “città bassa.” Modica’s special palazzos, monasteries, and various ww Sicilian Wine Tour Three Special Wines That I Enjoy by Charles Scicolone

I am often asked to recommend my favorite Sicilian wines. There are many, but these three are among those I have been enjoying lately.

Benanti Etna Bianco Biancodicaselle 2014 DOC Benanti made from 100% countryside of Caselle on the minerals, with subacid reaction. The The wine matures for a certain Carricante, vines grown as eastern slope of Etna in the consulting enologist is Michele Bean. period of time in tanks before being freestanding bushes (alberello). This commune of Milo and the The grapes are late ripening and are bottled. After two months in bottle indigenous vine is cultivated only on countryside of Cavaliere on the picked in the third week of October; the wine is released. The color is Mt. Etna. The vines are 35 to 50 southern side of the mountain, in the they are intact and softly pressed. pale yellow with greenish hints; it is years old and at 800 to 1,000 commune of Santa Maria di Licodia. Temperature controlled aromatic, fruity with hints of apple, meters. The area of production is the The soil is sandy, volcanic, and rich in fermentation in stainless steel vats. and nice acidity. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 73 Below: Caravaggio, The Burial of St. Lucy. Opposite page: Palermo, Oratory of Santa Cita, Stucco of Giacomo Serpotta. travel convents, which have impacted the ww cultural life of the city for centuries. After the Modica has been recognized by UNESCO for its architectural value. devastating Founded in 1360 BC, the city experienced a golden age around 1296, earthquake of 1693, when King Frederick II of Aragon appointed Manfredi Chiaramonte the entire county of Count of Modica. For centuries the County of Modica was the largest, Modica emerged richest and most powerful feudal state on the island. In Sicily, the more beautiful than figure of the Count of Modica also happened to be the King’s Viceroy. ever thanks to a And the Chiaramonte family enjoyed uncontested prestige, partly handful of great because the family descended from Charlemagne. architects who But on January 11, 1693, tragedy struck. The entire county was hit breathed new life by a devastating earthquake that reverberated over a wide swath of into Sicilian southwestern Sicily, as far north as Catania, destroying cities and baroque. castles. 100,000 died. Yet the area was quickly rebuilt and the the cities of Caltagirone, Catania, many manufacturers, but there baroque buildings, including cities emerged more beautiful Militello, Modica, Noto, Palaz- is one in particular worth sin- Palazzo Beneventano and Palazzo than before. In fact, the greatest zolo Acreide, Ragusa and Scicli. gling out: Casa don Puglisi. The Civico. The latter is well known Sicilian architects – Rosario Ga- A stupendous example of baroque manufacturer uses proceeds from as Inspector Montalbano’s police gliardi, Paolo Labisi, Vincenzo Sicily, Modica is now a beautiful its chocolate and candy produc- station in RAI’s film adaptations Sinatra and others – were operat- city with 55,000 inhabitants. No- tion to help support its namesake of the famous novels by Andrea ing at that time. These sophisti- bel laureate Salvatore Quasimodo shelter and community center. Camilleri. ww cated artists and expert artisans was born here in 1901, and it is Our tour ends in Scicli, another breathed new life into Sicilian ba- the city of chocolate. Beloved the pearl studding this corner of Sic- * Writer and journalist Goffredo Palmerini roque. Their best works have been world over, Modica chocolate ily, all the more precious for its continues his fascinating journey through recognized by UNESCO, as have is specially prepared. There are magnificent churches and superb the beauty of Italy.

Planeta Cometa 2014 100% Fiano Palm Bay $40.99. Production area Menfi from the Gurra vineyard planted in 1998 and the Dispensa vineyard planted in 1996. There are 4,500 vines/hectare. The grapes are destemmed and crushed; the juice is clarified by cold settling overnight and then inoculated with selected yeast. Fermentation takes place at a controlled temperature in stainless steel tanks for 20 days. The wine is bottled in the second half of February following the year of harvest. Firriato south-east exposure and they are at temperature controlled steel tanks This is an elegant, full-bodied wine Harmonium Sicily DOC Sicily 2013 300 meters. The soil is calcareous- according to tradition. The wine is with a wide range of aromas and 100% Nero d’Avola from the Borgo slime, there are 5,000/5,500 vines per aged for 12 months in French and flavors. It has hints of pineapple, Guarini Estate. This is a “cru” from 3 hectare and the vines are cordon American durmast barriques. This is a mandarin, thyme and chamomile with vineyards: Ferla cru with a north-east trained and spur pruned. Grapes are well-structured wine with hints of a long finish and very pleasing exposure, Beccaccia cru with a south hand-picked the third week of cherry, blueberries, prunes and a hint aftertaste. exposure and the Lepre cru with a September. Vinification in of pepper and nutmeg.

74 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org ww A DIFFERENT WAY OF EXPLORING THE CAPITAL CITY OF SICILY Four Baroque Corners in Palermo

Known throughout the by Dominique Fernandez* clinging to pillars in an lively blend Prince Gangi. The French princess world for its millennia of of realism and fantasy. Behind the offers private tours of the adjoining The first corner of baroque altar, in the recesses of the choir, the halls she has restored bit by bit, wall history, stunning mountains wwPalermo, marmi mischi (col- sculptor Vitagliano recreated scenes hanging by wall hanging, trinket by in the backdrop, and ored or inlaid marble) is a sumptu- from the Old Testament taken from trinket – repairing, gluing, scrub- ous local specialty that bears wit- the story of David. The statues are bing and polishing with admirable rowdy vitality, Palermo is ness to the wealth and politics of set against a backdrop of yellow and earnestness and self-sacrifice. Rare also renowned for its eighteenth-century churches. The blue inlay and depict three workaday cabinets, chandeliers teeming with most luxurious of these polychrome commoners – a miller, a vintner and branches, armchairs with gnarled marvelous baroque churches, the Chiesa di Santa Ca- a man delivering bread – who stand feet and intricate lace adorn every architecture. Let’s focus on terina, is overlaid with ornate flutes, in sharp contrast to the church’s the- room without a care for how much arabesques, and precious stone atrical pomp, naturalist motifs in a it once cost – or will cost in the fu- its “four corners,” all of cabochons. However, it’s almost lyrical setting. ture. The ballroom and adjoining which will surely take your never open. Fortunately, the Chiesa Palazzo Gangi, our second ba- hall of mirrors are among the most di San Giuseppe dei Teatini and roque corner, was made famous by beautiful antique remnants of a class breath away. Chiesa del Gesù are, and they never Visconti in his movie Il Gattopardo that has all but disappeared. What cease to amaze. Set in the heart of (The Leopard). A remnant of Paler- impeccable taste! What unpreten- a working class neighborhood, the mo’s old aristocracy, Palazzo Gangi tious beauty! Chiesa del Gesù is laden with mar- is the only family house of its kind Another noble residence, the ble inlays of every color, numerous in such good condition, thanks to the Palazzo Mirto, was donated to the putti, scantily clad figures, angels, ingenious work of the current owner, government and opened to the pub- peacocks, winged dogs and griffins a woman from Lyons who married lic. Though not as spectacular as the www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 75 The famous scene from Luchino Visconti’s Il Gattopardo (1963) with Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale dancing in the ballroom of Palazzo Gangi in Palermo. travel

Palazzo Gangi, you will find a few in- bedded in the walls and above the teresting paintings there. altar. In the next chapel Serpotta On the third corner we find the decorated, Santa Zita, a flurry of three oratories decorated by Gia- white shapes fills the space. You see como Serpotta, a stucco worker nothing but white – life-size female about whom little is known. In Virtues and playful putti frolick- fact, his talents never made it off ing about like acrobats, skipping, the island. Besides his work on swaying, playing with their mouths the Santo Spirito Monastery in and genitals, among garlands of Agrigento, Serpotta exclusively roses, bunches of fruit, and war operated in Palermo, where he was trophies. But this child-like space born in 1656 and died in 1732. His can’t muffle the noise of war: the body, buried in the basement of the Battle of Lepanto is rendered in Chiesa di San Matteo, disappeared admirable detail in a large panel when the cemetery was removed. above the entrance and between Until recently, there had been no two older boys—one, holding his mention of his work. For two and head high and staring insolently, a half centuries, he was forgotten, symbolizes the victor; the other, confirming how little Sicilians care in a turban, the defeated Turks. to boast of their reputation. Or The twelve alcoves along the walls should their silence be attributed to reveal the mysteries of the Rosary. indifference? Contempt? Why, for These miniature theaters were instance, did the Prince of Lampe- dusa wait so long before writing his book, so that Il Gattopardo only ww Sicilians, you became famous posthumously? Ac- cording to his cousin the great and might say, prefer to utterly unknown poet Lucio Pic- colo, “We don’t want to be judged stay in the shadows, by the mainland.” By the mainland, Piccolo means Italy, and that pow- where their talents erful word both expresses the infe- riority-superiority complex of Sicil- may remain intact, ians and explains their distaste for attention. Sicilians, you might say, intangible, sacred, prefer to stay in the shadows, where their talents may remain intact, in- like a diamond in tangible, sacred, like a diamond in the depths of a mine. the depths of a mine. Until recently, visiting Serpotta’s three oratories was virtually impos- fashioned with exquisite precision world of white with only women Prince of Palagonia topped the sible, unless you could somehow and poetry. Serpotta may have and children. When Serpotta was wall surrounding his villa with ex- charm the fickle guards by, say, pet- never set foot off the island, but his fourteen years old, his father was travagant “monsters” that would ting their cat. Now the oratories have deep understanding of perspective sent to the galleys and died a slave. startle Goethe, one of the first regular opening hours; all you need makes you wonder if his bas-reliefs Does the color white, combined visitors to see them. Dwarfs riding to do is buy a ticket to enter. Inside, were borrowed from Donatello. with the absence of virile charac- lions, hunchbacks donning large you will discover the work of a sculp- Shapes gradually recede, creating ters, suggest a boy who has erased wigs, dragons with donkey ears, tor of striking imagination and skill, a sense of depth. his father from his mind? Or is it a bird-women, fish-men, and over- whose medium was not marble or The last oratory is in San Lo- post-mortem homage to the ideal- sized heads on contorted bodies bronze but stucco. The artist’s spe- renzo, adjacent to the church of ized criminal according to the Sicil- – if you attribute them to the wild cialty was a snake or lizard (serpiot- San Francesco d’Assisi, and intro- ian code of omertà? A large painting imaginings of the mentally insane, ta) that he would sometimes carve duces a new kind of human next to by Caravaggio (The Adoration) once then you fail to grasp the Mediter- into the corner of his statues. the serious Virtues and whimsical hung above the altar. It was stolen ranean mindset. Like a Pirandello Serpotta’s world is entirely white, babies, several naked adolescents in 1969 and its whereabouts are still character, the “mad” prince was and you’re not immediately aware stretched out or prone in poses unknown. fully aware of what he was doing. of it, given that the first oratory he redolent of Michelangelo’s Ignudi The fourth corner lies at the oth- Chances are he commissioned these worked on, the Rosario in San Do- or those by Carracci in the Palazzo er extreme of this relatively muted statues to tarnish the image of Sic- menico, houses massive paintings Farnese in Rome. The total absence baroque building, in over-the-top ily, which he believed worshipped by van Dyck, Pietro Novelli and of adult men among dozens of fig- Bagheria, a small town about ten at the altar of restraint and reason. other famous artists, which are em- ures is novel and mysterious; it’s a miles from Palermo. Here, the Bagheria’s brand of baroque is

76 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org The grotesque statues of Villa Patagonia, Bagheria.

ww The Prince of Palagonia topped the wall surrounding his villa in Bagheria with extravagant “monsters” (…) if you attribute them to the wild imaginings of the mentally insane, then you fail to grasp the Mediterranean mindset.

merely an exaggeration of a quint- heaps of carbonized ash, clouds of essential island trait: a tendency to black smoke, random craters formed defy Greek clichés and impatiently by ice melt: the world as it was, a tel- dispel the myth that had reduced luric jumble. It’s not uncommon to the island to a college campus. On emerge from the slag heaps and see the contrary, what has best repre- a shrub suddenly burst into flames, sented Sicily since the end of an- reclaimed by the fire underneath tiquity are not the columns you see the surface. How can you maintain on the temples, the tiered seats in your composure or your bourgeois the theaters or the grandeur of the lifestyle when you can’t even trust ruins, but rather art that express the earth your house stands on? The a lust for life, the direct result of notions of saving for the future, mak- a tragic and turbulent history and ing plans, keeping obligations and the constant threat of violence from career building don’t exist in Sicily. the earth and below the earth – the What’s the point when at any minute island’s erratic earthquakes and it could all go up in smoke? ww volcanic eruptions. “Sicilitude” is a permanent state of anxiety. * Dominique Fernandez is a French writer, a Mount Etna beckons. Lava, basalt, renown expert on Italian art and literature, blackened prisms, black lava flows, and a member of the Académie française. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 77 THE TV SHOW FOR ALL THINGS ITALIAN

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Italy is everywhere around you Washington

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In this issue:

The Capital Italian Exploring the Italian influence in Washington, DC

Causes on Weels The Blue Bus Project and the Mobile Care Clinic in New York

Boston’s North End How Itaiians changed it from a Where to go slum into a desirable area A Guru of Italian What to do Cuisine on the Rise Meet world-acclaimed chef Italian Barbara Lynch of Boston

Cinema Italia SF T aking the Bay back to to the Golden Age of Italian classics Through February 4, 2018 Modigliani Unmasked The Jewish Museum 1109 Fifth Ave, New York City

Italian Cinema in the ‘Mecca of Cinema’ Amedeo Modigliani, Seated Female Nude, c. 1911 - Paul Alexandre Family, courtesy of Richard Nathanson, London How Italy is promoting itself through films in Los Angeles n Italy in the City OVERVIEW gto

hin ww The Italian Scene in Washington, DC s a washington w The Capital Italian

A journey through DC’s Italian roots while enjoying its contemporary Italian-centric culture. The city’s strong tie to the Italian sense of beauty has remained steady through modern times.

by Amy Riolo

A lot has changed since I first moved ww to the Washington, DC area in the mid 1980’s. When my family first arrived from New York State, we were the only Italians in our neighborhood. Procuring Italian products from the local supermarkets was almost impossible. I remember joking with a friend who used to forage basil from Rock Creek Park because he couldn’t find it in stores! That was, of course, before “we” all began growing our own herbs and vegetables to fill our insatiable culinary nostalgia. Whenever we did meet Ital- ians, or Italian-Americans, everyone would la- ment about there being no Italian community in Washington. the District of Columbia.” I couldn’t agree more. Lack of Italian influence? ww Other American cities Many of our monuments are in honor of Ital- Even as a young teenager though, it struck ian historical figures. A large bronze statue of me as odd that this very capital city in which may have larger Italian Dante that was gifted to the US from Italy can our American forefathers incorporated Ital- be found in Meridian Hill Park. Leonardo Da ian inspiration, was known for its lack of Ital- populations than ours, Vinci and Galileo statues can be found in the ian influence. I began seeking refuge in the National Academy of Science Building. There rotunda of the capitol building, the Library but it’s hard to visit a is an Art Deco statue of Guglielmo Marconi on of Congress, and the Smithsonian art galler- Sixteenth Street and another of Columbus at ies –such as the National Gallery of Art, the neighborhood in the Union Station. Hirschhorn Museum, and the more recent Na- Evidence of our American forefathers’ fasci- tional Museum of Women in the Arts, where District without seeing nation with Italy can be found all around the Italian names and aesthetic sensibilities were Washington, DC area today. In a future article, plentiful. Making friends with Italians in the evidence of the artistic I will discuss how George Washington laid the diplomatic community and those who came to foundation for the American wine industry work (usually at World Bank, the IMF, or NIH) and architectural when he asked Filippo Mazzei to introduce the was another way to construct a personal sense “culture of wine” to the United States, hence be- of community. influences of Italy. ginning our nation’s love affair with viticulture. Ever since those early days, it became some- Thomas Jefferson himself visited Italy as often what of a mission of mine to explain the Italian — Adrian M. Fenty, Former Mayor of as possible, as is evidenced in his Monticello. While roots of DC not only to new Italian members of Washington, DC entire books are devoted to this subject alone, Jef- the community, but to the community at large. ferson’s importation of Italian style didn’t end Once all of the historical roots and synergy there. Many Americans are shocked to learn that between America and Italy are understood, it A fascination with Italy it was the result of his smuggling riso di Pavia, would be very difficult for an Italian-American Former Washington, DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty rice from the town of Pavia, that lead to our $2-3 not to feel at home here. In future articles, I said “Other American cities may have larger Ital- million-dollar rice industry in the United States. will focus on more modern aspects of the Ital- ian populations than ours, but it’s hard to visit a ian scene in DC, but for this initial piece, I feel neighborhood in the District without seeing evi- An Italian sense of beauty that a historical overview is the best guide to dence of the artistic and architectural influences While the 16th-18th centuries remained a little- all of the Italian – influenced federal flavors. of Italy. He also stated, “Italy’s roots run deep in known chapter in the history of Italian-Americans

80 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Clockwise: Costantino Brumidi, Apotheosis of Washington (1865) n Cupola of the Capitol Building; The Landing of Columbus (1877) frieze in the Rotunda of the US Capitol. Below, the statues of Dante and Guglielmo Marconi in Washington, DC. gto hin s a washington w

ww Meet the author Sharing History, Culture, and Nutrition

With this issue, Amy Riolo starts her regular collaboration with i-Italy from Washington, D.C. As an award – winning, best-selling, author, chef, television personality, and educator, Amy is one of the world’s foremost authorities on culinary culture. She is known for sharing history, culture, and nutrition through global cuisine as well as simplifying recipes for the home cook. A graduate of Cornell University, Amy is considered a culinary thought leader who enjoys changing the way we think about food and the people who create it. Amy is a food historian, culinary anthropologist and Mediterranean Diet advocate who makes frequent appearances on numerous television and radio programs both in the United States and abroad. Amy’s seventh book, The Italian Diabetes Cookbook was released on January 12, 2016 and was the #1 New Release on Amazon.com. Amy, an American of Calabrian descent, was awarded the 2015 Wise Woman Award from The National Organization of Italian American Women. She is a Culinary Advisor for The Mediterranean Food Alliance who lives in the Washington, DC area and travels to Italy and other Mediterranean countries often. in the United States, it was perhaps the height of ladio’s influence on the development of English fashion, art, dining, decorating, and theatre Italian architectural dominance in Washington. and American architecture has been greater than scenes all boast Italian elements. Our urban planning relied heavily upon Italian that of all architects combined.” Join me on a monthly journey through DC’s artists, artisans, architects, engineers, stone cut- Despite the fact that the majority of Italian Italian roots while enjoying its contemporary ters, painters, and masons. Constantino Brumidi, immigrants had not yet arrived on Ellis Island, Italian-centric culture. In the next issue, we’ll ex- famous for designing the capitol building’s ro- tributes and connections to their homeland were plore more of Palladio’s influence and the visions of tunda, became known as “the American Michel- already being built in our nation’s capital. The Washington, Jefferson, and Madison with a trip to angelo”, and Andrea Palladio, “the most imitated city’s strong tie to the Italian sense of beauty has Barboursville, VA. After getting to know Virginia architect in history” left Italian imprints on the remained steady through modern times. Even Wine Country, we’ll head into DC’s top Italian DC area that cannot be escped. The late architec- the Watergate complex was designed by an Ital- restaurants to find out how the capital’s chefs and tural historian James S. Ackerman said that Pal- ian architect – Luigi Moretti. Our city’s current sommeliers are putting local wine to good use! ww www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 81 n Italy in the City EVENTS Italian events in the Capital gto

hin Italian Calendar greatness. They utilized imagery of October 21 s the Roman Colosseum, for example, a as a multivalent symbol to articulate Innovation in Italian the rise, grandeur, terrors, and fall Programs and Pedagogy

washington w October 17 of empire. The keynote “American- 17th Italian Language Week in the World Italian Is a Language Italian Artistic Exchange after World 8:00 am - 7:00 pm Spoken By Dubbers War II” by Ester Coen, Professor of Department of Italian, Georgetown 17th Italian Language Week in the World Art History, Università degli Studi University 6:00 pm dell’Aquila, will highlight the reality of 37th & O Streets NW Embassy of Italy - Auditorium political interactions that is reflected with all its socio-cultural and politi- ww guevents.georgetown.edu 3000 Whitehaven St, NW in the cultural history of two nations. cal significance. It is a time of Italian ww iicwashington.esteri.it How to understand such different immigration to Switzerland, which n The third iteration of the Italian courses—one of an imperialist state Swiss cinema depicts with films Language and Culture Conference n iItalian cinema relinquished and one of a country that, amongst such as Siamo Italiani by Alexander this year focuses the discussion Italian literary language back to the many difficulties, was unified in the Seiler. We then make another stop in on pedagogical innovations to shelf. Its role as a guardian of the second half of the nineteenth century the ’80s. Before our journey ends, increase enrollments in the Italian language was handed to television, and then went on to wage an artistic we explore cinema in the Swiss- classroom. The event is part of where Italian films in which dialect battle to enforce its contemporary Italian region. the 17th Italian Language Week is prominent are still excluded from relevance? In postwar Italy, the real The presentation will be given by in the World, held under the High programming. semantic rupture happened with Domenico Lucchini, current director Patronage of the President of the Caterina D’Amico, Director of the Lucio Fontana, the most direct heir to of CISA (International Academy Italian Republic. The Keynote Spe- Centro di Cinematografia Speri- the vision of time and space proclai- of Audiovisual Sciences). CISA is aker will be Giuseppe Cavatorta, mentale in Rome will show us how med by the Futurists, who carried a training Institute in the fields of from the University of Arizona, and Italian cinema changed and shaped their ideals beyond their canonical cinema, television and multimedia the conference will feature guest the Italian language, in a lecture on methods of painting. Correspondingly, culture, oriented toward student speakers from the US and Italy. The movies by Vittorio De Sica, Mario in the United States, that rupture was development with the aim of impro- ability to innovate has always been Mattòli and Lina Wertmüller. The enacted by Jackson Pollock and the ving their inclinations, talents and a fundamental trait of the Italian event is part of the Italian Language unprecedented gravitational shift skills. This presentation, part of the spirit characterizing the work of Week in the World , held under the evidenced in his painting. Exploring Italian Language Week in the World, Italians in many domains, from High Patronage of the President of American and Italian art of the fifties is organized in partnership with the arts, to design, to cuisine. In the Italian Republic and sixties—among, for example, pop the Embassy of Switzerland in the recent years, Italian departments, art, arte povera, and minimal art, or United States of America. researchers, and teachers have had October 19 & 20 between conceptual and land art—al- to find innovative ways to confront lows us to rediscover encounters and the challenges brought about by The Course of Empires: intersections and above all differen- changes in higher education and the American-Italian Cultural ces in origins, sources, and cultural general shift in students’ interests. Relations, 1770-1980 expressions. This event is sponsored by the 6:00 pm Faculty of Languages and Lingui- Embassy of Italy - Auditorium October 20 stics at Georgetown University, the 3000 Whitehaven St, NW Embassy of Italy and the Italian ww iicwashington.esteri.it An Italian-Language Cultural Institute in Washington DC. Excursion into Swiss Professional development credits n This international conference will Cinema will be awarded to K-12 educators examine the persistent fascination 17th Italian Language Week in the World in attendance. of American and Italian artists with 18:30 pm the cultural achievements of ancient Embassy of Switzerland October 26 Rome and the Renaissance. In creating 2900 Cathedral Avenue NW national identities, both countries ww guevents.georgetown.edu The Garbage Patch State: turned to history for similar reasons: Ocean Plastics Pollution to find inspiration for enlightened n Fasten your seat belt and join us 6:00 pm political practices; to locate models on a time-travel trip to discover the Intercultural Center Auditorium, of artistic, political, and economic path between images and words. Georgetown University preeminence; and to seek ways to Our time travel will start with some 37th & O Streets, NW ward off imperial decadence and examples, such as Eve by Francis ww italianinstitute.college.georgetown.edu decline. Yet alongside this tendency Borghi and Heidi by Luigi Comencini, toward emulation, some American representing the origin of Swiss n The Georgetown University and Italian artists looked askance at cinema in the ’40s and ‘50s. We Italian Research Institute, in colla- the myths of antique and Renaissance will then fast forward to the ’60s, a boration with the Embassy of Italy glories, demonstrating a skeptici- time period during which the Italian and the Italian Cultural Institute, is sm toward the notion of imperial language will make its appearance pleased to sponsor a conference

82 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Italian events in the Capital n gto

dedicated to raising awareness ww At the Embassy of Italy hin

of the environmental harmful s

impact of plastic pollution in our Honoring 2 million U.S. troops who served at the Western a oceans and to the global marine washington w ecosystem. Maria Cristina Finucci Front in Europe in WWI—more than 50,000 of whom died will show, with numerous images, all the “actions” of THE GARBAGE teer Army Air cadets had flight training PATCH STATE, the new Federal Sta- in Foggia, in southern Italy. They were te she founded at the Paris UNESCO under the command of Captain, Fiorello in 2013 to create awareness about LaGuardia. Known today as the Foggiani, the critical problem of plastic cho- they took part in an extraordinary op- king our Oceans. Through art she is eration, which combined the vision of addressing this previously unknown Major Giulio Douhet, the genius of Engi- phenomenon. In just five years she neer Giovanni Caproni, and the coopera- has provided visibility to the plastic tion of American and Italian Army Com- pollution in our oceans through mands. her monumental installations When the war concluded in November placed in strategic locations around 1918, with a victory for the Allies, more the world. These exhibits have than 2 million U.S. troops had served at attracted positive artistic reviews the Western Front in Europe, and more as well as increasing understanding than 50,000 of them died. War & Art: about this serious environmental Join the Embassy of Italy as they pres- World War I. The first U.S. infantry USA in Italy was created to honor them. issue. ent the catalogue War & Art: WWI - troops arrived on the European conti- Featuring: Maria Cristina Finucci, USA in Italy followed by a preview of a nent in June 1917. In October, the first October 12 Architect & Artist, Founder of The previously unreleased documentary American soldiers entered combat, in Garbage Patch State; Laura Parker, about the First World War provided by France. That December, the U.S. de- War & Art: USA in Italy Senior Staff Writer at The National the Museo Centrale del Risorgimento. clared war against Austria-Hungary. 6:00 pm Geographic, Washington, DC. When World War I erupted in 1914, The 332nd Infantry Regiment, 83rd Di- Embassy of Italy - Auditorium Moderator: John McNeill, Ph.D., President Woodrow Wilson pledged vision, with attached medical and sup- 189 North Street Professor at the School of Foreign neutrality for the United States, a posi- ply units, was sent to the Italian front in ww iicwashington.esteri.it Service, Georgetown University. tion that the vast majority of Ameri- July 1918 in response to urgent re- cans favored. Britain, however, was quests from the Italian Government. Its Welcome remarks: October 30 one of America’s closest trading part- principal missions were to build up Ital- H. E. Armando Varricchio, Ambassador ners, and tension soon arose between ian morale and to depress that of the of Italy to the United States. The Bridge Book Award. the United States and Germany over enemy by creating the impression that Opening Remarks: Third Edition the latter’s attempted quarantine of a large force of Americans had reached Major General Luca Goretti, Defense 7:15 pm the British Isles. Several U.S. ships that front and was preparing to enter Attaché, Embassy of Italy. Embassy of Italy traveling to Britain were damaged or the battle line and to take an active part Panel discussion: 3000 Whitehaven St NW sunk by German mines, and in February in the fighting. A pivotal role was also Ambassador Tod Sedgwick, Commis- ww ambwashingtondc.esteri.it/ 1915 Germany announced unrestricted to protect Italian works of art from the sioner, World War One Centennial Com- warfare against all ships, neutral or bombings, as we can see from the mission. n You are invited to the Award otherwise, that entered the war zone unique exhibition now on display at the Deanna DeSante, Deputy Director, OSD Ceremony and Panel Discussion for around Britain. Pentagon. European Policy (South & Central), the Italian winners of the Third Edition In 1917, Germany, determined to win its The United States 332nd Infantry Reg- Country Director for Italy. of the Book Award “The Bridge” with war of attrition against the Allies, an- iment had a distinctive and unique role Roberto Tonon, Mayor of the city of curator Maria Ida Gaeta, panelists nounced the resumption of unrestrict- in WWI as the sole American combat Vittorio Veneto, Treviso. Tiziana Rinaldi Castro and Eli Gottlieb ed warfare in war-zone waters. Three unit to serve and fight alongside the Al- Marco Pizzo, Deputy-director of Museo (2016 American Fiction winner), and days later, the United States broke dip- lies in Italy. The men of the “reggimen- Centrale del Risorgimento in Rome (in the 2017 Italian winners, Andrea Ingle- lomatic relations with Germany, and to americano,” some of whom were Italian). se for fiction (Parigi è un desiderio, just hours after that the American liner killed or died while serving on the Ital- Antonella Uliana, Cultural Councilman Ponte alle Grazie) and Antonella Housatonic was sunk by a German U- ian Front, trained with the gallant sol- of the city of Vittorio Veneto. Tarpino for Non Fiction (Il Paesaggio boat. On February 22, Congress passed diers of the Italian Army, crossed the Maria Cristina Scalet, Director of Fragile: L’ Italia Vista dai Margini, Ei- a $250 million arms appropriations bill Piave and successfully engaged the en- Museo della Battaglia in Vittorio Veneto naudi). The award ceremony will also intended to make the United States emy in combat at the Tagliamento dur- Alberto Luca, President of Fondazione mark the opening of Librografie by ready for war and on April 2 President ing the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. Quite Museo Hemingway e della Grande Gonzalo Orquin, an exhibition inspired Wilson appeared before Congress and a few of the men in the regiment were Guerra di Bassano del Grappa. by the protagonists of the greatest called for a declaration of war against born in Italy and returned to their Douglas Farquhar, nephew of Lieuten- Italian novels of the 20th Century, and Germany. homeland as American soldiers in the ant Colonel Arthur Douglas Farquhar, curated by the House of Literatures Four days later, his request was grant- 332nd Infantry. member of the Foggiani Pilots based in of Rome. ed: on April 6, 1917, America entered In addition, nearly 500 American volun- Italy during the First World War.

www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 83 Italy in the City dining out

ww A New Culinary Capital washington The Golden Age of DC’s Dining Scene

When considering the greatest food cities in the United States, the nation’s capital never usually come to mind. Today however, a new culinary scene is developing in Washington DC, and Italian restaurants are definitely contributing to it.

by Joelle Grosso puts DC on the right track to be- Our Picks For dining experience known for the San coming a foodies’ paradise, and Leo ravioli bursting with ricotta cheese Lately the most talented it also makes for the perfect en- This Season & fresh lemon zest and finished with wwchefs in the industry have vironment to experiment the in- almonds & hints of fine herbs.T he bar is been looking to DC as their dream tricacies between traditional and another decadent aesthetic to your ex- destination to open up new busi- modern Italian food. Restaurants ww Mount Vernon Square perience at the osteria; it offers a variety nesses, and the world is begin- like Acqua Al 2 and The Red Hen of signature cocktails along with red ning to take notice. In an effort already have lines going out the Casa Luca wines, white wines, and prosecco. Both to become a true global leader door and are full of customers ea- 1099 New York Avenue NW the fabulous wine list and rustic dishes in cuisine, chefs are opening up ger to taste an authentic Italian % (202) 628-1099 make you feel as if you have crossed the more restaurants than ever with meal with surprising contempo- ww casalucadc.com border into Italy for a romantic meal. fresh concepts. These restaurants rary twists. The new generation of cuisine Traditional Overall, Casa Luca provides an intimate ambience Friendly are drawing crowds of people, gastronomic artists are introduc- price $$$ experience that suits all needs. who want to experience some- ing an exciting sophistication to thing other than the White House the rapidly evolving dining scene n This upbeat and trendy Italian sit ww Chinatown and Capitol Hill. Last year dur- in one of the most eclectic neigh- down restaurant provides a warm ing the summertime alone, Eater borhoods in the States, trans- and delectable dining experience that Graffiato DC counted 85 new restaurant forming America’s capital into will surely stand out. Bite after bite of 707 6th Street NW openings with less than half clos- the culinary capital of the world. classic Italian dishes will cater to all of % (202) 289-3600 ing throughout their first year in Enjoy our selection of some of the your cravings. Originally from Marche, ww graffiatodc.com business. best Italian restaurants in the city owners Fabio and Maria descended to cuisine Traditional ambience Modern This remarkable expansion truly and stay tuned for more! ww Washington DC and created an upscale price $$

n As an Italian American who was influenced by the culinary skill of his Italian grandmother, Chef Mike Isabella ensures there are strong Italian and American influences that permeate all the dishes at his joint—at all hours of the day. The reservations fill daily for those awaiting the prizes that come from the wood burning oven. The potato gnocchi with pork ragù, chicken thighs with pepperoni sauce, charred octopus with summer squash puttanesca, and hanger steak with sundried tomatoes are a few of the Italian meals with an American twist that keep both locals and travelers hooked. The classic Italian-inspired New York style pizza comes piping hot from the pizza

84 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Pizza oven at Al Dente (left), and Ari Gejdenson of the Mindful Restaurants Group (right). Opposite page: Meat and seafood at Casa Luca.

Urbana 2121 P Street NW % (202) 956-6650 ww urbanadc.com washington cuisine Traditional ambience Casual price $$

n It’s no secret that Dupont Circle is one of Washington’s most competitive food districts, and Urbana does fail to please! The interior is classy, cozy, and warm. The service is top-notch, and the bar is welcoming. And the food– ww Neighborhood Gems wow! The restaurant considers itself to be a “contemporary Italian food spot,” and that proves to be true. The lobster ravioli is creamy and fresh; the plating A Taste of Tuscany is elegant, and each bite is better than the last. The lobster flavoring is oven that fills the swanky restaurant buttery and light, and it stands out on The story of an Italian As his soccer career came to a with the scent of pepperoni, cheese, the fluffy al dente ravioli.T he roasted close, Ari decided to enter the culi- and countless other toppings. The artichoke hearts–served with rapini, restaurant in DC that has nary business. He lived in Florence, bottom floor presents a casual dining red quinoa, salsa rossa, and pine nuts– a city where late night cuisine was spot while the top floor is the perfect create an entree that will absolutely a twin in Piazza della rare, so he opened “Ari’s Diner,” brunch spot. If you’re in the area late keep you coming back for more. Com- Signoria, Florence complete with a classic American at night, fear not. The kitchen may be pliment your dish with a half off bottle menu and feel. closed, but the oven is still hot in order of wine from Wednesday through by Samantha Janazzo It just so happened that this was to serve you a late-night snack. Saturday after 5:30pm. a stone’s throw from the internation- Today more than ever, food is ally-renowned restaurant, Acqua Al ww Dupont Circle ww Cathedral Heights wwbecoming a means for slowing 2, which kept its wait-list exclusive, down the hectic pace of life and for causing lines out the door. After Floriana Al Dente Ristorante spending time with those dear to us. some some healthy competion be- 1602 17th Street NW 3201 New Mexico Avenue NW This most Italian philosophy is the tween traditional and new-world % (202) 667-5937 % (202) 244-2223 belief behind the Mindful Restau- cuisine, a beautiful companionship ww florianarestaurant.com ww aldentedc.com rants Group. The Group was found- developed between Ari and the Ex- cuisine Traditional cuisine Traditional ed by Washington DC native Ari ecutive Chef of Acqua Al 2, Stefano ambience Romantic ambience Casual price $$ price $$$ Gejdenson, together with his wife Innocenti. Stefano was conquered by Stacy, and director of Operations young Ari’s passion and personality. n Made with fresh locally grown n Al Dente offers three great dining Brian Zaslavsky, who has worked Ari told us, “Stefano came to me one ingredients, Floriana’s dishes are rich options: brunch, lunch, and dinner. For for some of the best restaurants on day saying, ‘you remind me of me!’” with Italian flavor.C hef Jamie’s eclectic a fixed-price brunch of $29, you can both coasts. Ari founded the group Then he invited Ari and his business menu pays tribute to several of Italy’s enjoy as many mimosas as you would after he had retired from his soccer partner Ralph Lee, and taught them regions. His knowledgeable staff will like, accompanied by any one of their career and returned to the U.S. all about Italian cuisine. Four years also assist you in selecting the perfect delicious brunch entrees. For lunch It’s comprised of nine different later, the three of them partnered to bottle of regional wine. Thry lamb and dinner, be sure to try one of the restaurants in the Washington DC open Acqua Al 2 in DC. They de- gnocchi with a Montepulciano, or the pizzas. If you’re a white pizza lover, we area: Acqua Al 2, Ghibellina, Mind- cided on Eastern Market, and agreed scallop and shrimp risotto with a Sicilia recommend the Piemontese with its ful, Sotto, Denson Liquor Bar, Har- on keeping the interior and exterior Bianco—you won’t regret! Nestled in fontina cheese, porcini mushrooms, old Black, Dock Fc, Ari’s Diner, and as authentic as possible. In fact, the a three-story Victorian townhouse and sausage. Sit at the bar and watch La Puerta Verde. Each of the res- Acqua Al 2 locations in both Eastern in the upscale Dupont neighborhood, your pizza be prepared right before taurants has a distinct theme. Har- Market and Piazza della Signoria Floriana is known for its intimate dining your eyes! Al Dente does not joke old Black, for example, is a speak- sport very similar interior décor—and experience. It is located just a stone’s around with the quality of its cheese, easy named after Ari’s grandfather. equally authentic Florentine menu, of throw from the White House; in fact, fish, and meat.W hether you want the Ghibellina is an Italian gastropub course! Not to be missed. ww during the springtime, you can dine perfectly cooked seafood pasta or that specializes in Neapolitan piz- while enjoying the sight and smell of the grilled branzino filets, the texture zas and craft cocktails. Ari’s Diner Acqua Al 2 the cherry blossoms. It is no surprise and flavor of all the produce served is is the Washington DC incarnation 212 7th Street SE (Capitol Hill) that this restaurant was voted one of sure to please. The wine and beer list of the original American diner that % (202) 525-4375 the top ten most romantic restaurants is constantly changing, and the bar is Ari first opened in Florence. Our ww www.acquaal2dc.com in the District, making for a memorable always buzzing. For a delicious dining favorite is Acqua Al 2 and here is cuisine Regional (Tuscan) ambience Modern dining experience. experience, Al Dente is surely a hit. its story. price $$$ www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 85 Works of Amedeo Modigliani

Clockwise: Jeanne Hébuterne with Yellow Sweater, 1918-1919 Oil on canvas - Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York new york Head, 1911-1913 Limestone - Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

Head of a Woman, 1910-1911 Limestone - National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Chester Dale Collection

Opposite page: Study for “The Amazon,” 1909 Black crayon on paper - Paul Alexandre Family, courtesy of Richard Nathanson, London

Images: Courtesy of The Jewish Museum

86 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Italy in the City OVERVIEW ww “Modigliani Unmasked” at the Jewish Museum New York Showcases the Work of new york Amedeo Modigliani After 66 Years

The tremendous interest in the exhibit curated by Mason Klein has forced the museum to stay open for longer hours. “Modigliani Unmasked” is scheduled to last until February 4, 2018. by Riccardo Chioni addressed ancient art by personalizing his representation of the caryatids. Modigliani, in op- New York reporters are quick in identify- position to their classic female representation, ww ing cultural events of great significance, re-designed them and portrayed them in his as in the case of “Modigliani Unmasked” at the drawings as both women and men but also as Jewish Museum on Fifth Avenue. The cente- ambiguous beings. nary museum, has opened its doors to all those The city of Paris, at the beginning of the who want to see the exceptional collection of 1900s, was characterized by waves of anti- Amedeo Mogliani’s early works. The line that semitism and winds around the corner all the way down the xenophobia, and Modigliani couldn’t feel block to Fifth Avenue, confirms that the pub- at home, despite being at ease with both the lic’s interest is great and that people flock to classic Italian and French cultures and both it week after week. languages. The tremendous interest in the exhibit—a Charming and troubled, Modigliani did not showcase curated by Mason Klein who wanted live a serene life, mostly due to tuberculosis to present the Italian Jewish artist in a differ- which killed him in 1920, when he was only 36 ent light—has forced the museum to stay open years old. On January 25th, the day after his for longer hours. “Modigliani Unmasked” is death, his lover and model, Jeanne Hébuterne, scheduled to last until February 4, 2018. desperate for the loss and pregnant with his Modigliani’s work returns to New York sixty child, committed suicide. six years after a retrospective held at MoMA Reports from those years relate that the back in 1951; the show at the Jewish Museum artist from Livorno, arrived in Paris with features the first works by the artist, made in great expectations and he loved to stand out his twenties upon moving to Paris, and it’s from the group of Jewish artists he was a part mostly comprised of drawings. of. Out in public, he liked to introduce him- Born in Livorno in 1884, by an Italian fa- self like this: “My name is Modigliani and I ther and a French mother, the artist moved to am Jewish.” This was his way of protesting Paris in 1906 where he found himself, for the assimilation. first time, face to face with fierce ostracism, Broadway and Hollywood both portrayed due to his Judaism. That had never happened Modigliani’s life and career, with a long stand- to him before back in Italy. ing off-Broadway show and with “Montpar- The works on display, mostly coming from nasse 19,” a film that’s almost sixty years old. the private collection of Dr. Paul Alexandre, More recently, back in 2004, a film came out an old friend of “Modi’s” from the years back with Andy Garcia playing Modigliani himself. in Paris, are comprised of 130 drawings, 12 The Jewish Museum – located on Fifth Av- paintings and 7 sculptures and are grouped enue & 92nd Street – has also put together an in the exhibition halls by theme. What the museum offers is the opportunity audio tour, a program of lectures and meetings, Located in the Museum Mile on Fifth to discover lesser known works, pieces that are and a catalogue (172 pages with 165 photo- Avenue, the Jewish Museum, even if small little known just as the emerging artist from graphs) edited by Yale University Press. ww in size, has become the focus of the cultural Livorno himself was during his first years in attention of New Yorkers and international Paris. There he had the chance to find him- visitors alike, the many languages spoken by self and explore different cultures. Mostly, them are a way to tell they are coming from Modigliani admired African, Asian, Greek For information call all corners of the world, thanks to “Modigliani and Egyptian art, all identifiable in the works (212) 423.3200 or visit Unmasked.” he completed at the age of thirty, works that TheJewishMuseum.org. www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 87 Italy in the City The Blue Bus Project this past summer OVERVIEW Photos: Annalisa Iadicicco

ww New York Causes on Wheels / 1. The Blue Bus Project new york Making Socially Conscious Art on the Streets of NYC

This school bus doesn’t take you to a classroom, but it comes to you. It comes to your neighborhood to provide a safe space for artists and communities to merge, while cultivating self-worth, social expression, imagination and creativity.

by Natasha Lardera ing but I would always see it parked in the same spot. One day I put a note on the window that “I wanted to start a movement of change said: ‘If you are selling the bus, give me a call,’ wwthrought art,” says NYC- based mixed me- and after 9 months I got the auspicious call. dia public artist, Annalisa Iadicicco, creator of the Suddenly I found myself with this big bus, an Blue Bus Project. “After creating my installation insurance to pay, a mechanic to deal with, and a “2nd Amendment” (an anti gun violence art piece colossal dream waiting to become reality. With and the T-shirts inspired by it), I felt the need to the help of some of my patrons, I was able to fix do more. I believe in the artistic process and its it up and put it on the road. I’m now driving ability to bring social awareness. Our most power- around NYC, with the desire to reach different ful weapon to express what we are going through, parts of the world and, one day, to end up in my and/or what society is experiencing, is Art! And, hometown; Naples.” as Nina Simone once said “An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.” Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Founded in May 2016, the Blue Bus Project is a Re-connecting the Disconnected platform for participants - neighborhoods, artists, Inspired by her community and her engagement students of all ages - to contribute to their commu- with the social environment, Annalisa concieved nity while enhancing its beauty and cultural iden- the Blue Bus Project, a living, breathing mobile tity. Since its inception, The Blue Bus Project has art gallery that takes this conversation to the reached out to several communities, held different streets of NYC and beyond. This is her speaking. programs and was commissioned workshops for “In times where our art funds are being cut, the youth in public parks and neighborhoods, in our governments are poisoning us with lies, put- Harlem, Governors Island, Socrates Sculptor Park, ting our children’s future into jeopardy, and our Williamsburg, Jamaica Ave, and Rockaway. Said technology of the “eternally connected” is actu- workshops were ranging from the creations of ally, if not used properly, disconnecting us from sculptures, painting, and dance performances to our selves, I wanted to create a platform, a safe Food&Clothing drives for the needy. space for artists and communities to merge, in- This past summer, the Citizen Committee for teract, explore and stimulate discussion that will New York City gave the Blue Bus Project a Neigh- lead them to action and social change. And what borhood Grant for its series of workshops called a better place than the streets! A venue suited for RE(F)USE ME! Held in the Rockaways, the your empty plastic bottles into something awesome, artistic intervention, where people don’t expect workshops focused on the three R’s of the envi- instead of just leaving them on the sand. The PET to find art but they are organically drawn to it. ronment: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The goal was plastic that most beverage bottles are made of is a With all these ideas brewing in mind, one to help broaden the ability to value discarded ob- fairly useful material – it’s resilient, flexible, trans- day I saw this school bus parked a few blocks jects while cultivating self-worth, self-expression, parent and food safe. You just need some paint, scis- from my house. At the time, I was working for imagination, and creativity, but mostly, while being sors and imagination. Sculptor Daniel Valle showed a sculptor, whose project was mobile; seeing the socially conscious (in this particular case by keep- kids how to turn these bottles into colorful fish, a effect that his artwork was bringing to people, I ing the ocean and the beaches clean). Participating cute sculpture for any room or classroom. decided that a bus, a school bus, would be perfect artists, Iadicicco herself with visual artist/educa- for my BIG idea to change the World! tor Maria Liebana, sculptor Daniel Valle, musician Get to the streets! So day after day I kept biking there just to Ivan Dalia, and this writer mingled with local kids “To wrap things up, we are a collective of art- check if this bus was moving and/or function- and made art together. For example, you can craft ists driving our own mobile art gallery into any

88 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org A patient poses in front of the mobile care clinic after taking her screening

ww New York Causes on Wheels / 2. The AICF Mobile Care Clinic A Mobile Care Clinic to new york Fight Breast Cancer

The American-Italian Cancer Foundation does a remarkable job in helping New York City women learn about breast cancer. A mobile care clinic that travels throughout the city is one recent example. by T. C.

The American-Italian Cancer Foundation w wis about improving research, but it also cares about the community and being part of it. Its mobile care clinic aims to shorten the distance between patients and quality medical care, which is often complicated by bureaucracy. We had the chance to witness the community work done by the “Mobile, No-Cost Breast Can- ww Sponsored by Colavita USA cer Screening” program when their bus stopped in front of The Ryan Center to offer special The Mediterranean diet screenings to the public. Ruth L. Vega,Director of Cancer Screening, Outreach, and Education may help cancer prevention for AICF, explained the importance of cancer awareness and the significant support that each Every year the mobile clinic and its screening year an Italian sponsor provides for the Founda- program is supported by generous sponsors. This tion (this time the sponsor was Colavita USA). year it is Colavita USA–the Italian food company “We operate this mobile care clinic. We do that produces and imports authentic Italian mammograms, clinical breast exams, and offer products like extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, pasta, education on self-breast awareness,” said Vega. and sauces. Colavita USA embraced the cause “Our focus is really on making breast cancer wholeheartedly and, besides covering all the daily [screening] available to medically underserved expenses, they gave out gifts to the patients. “They women, women with no insurance, who have offered oil and vinegar and pasta. The women loved low income, women of color. We provide the it! It’s wonderful to have them as our partners” says women with this service at no cost. If they don’t Ruth Vega. Thanks to Colavita USA, 37 women community. With our white walls, hardwood have insurance, they don’t have to pay anything. received no-cost mammograms and clinical breast floors, and gas in our tank, our bus is a fully If they do have insurance, we take their informa- exams on the day of our visit. On the subject of equipped alternative art space that crosses all tion, but they don’t have to pay either. We also food, we asked Vega about the relation between barriers. The bright blue color of the bus’s exte- do it in conjunction with a community based nutrition and cancer prevention. “A good healthy rior cultivates curiosity, creativity, and joy and organization that knows the women of this com- diet, low in cholesterol with lots of vegetables, is serves as a bridge to connect people with their munity and can help us to let them know that always the best diet for your health in general,” she community. All the antiwar, civil rights, and this service is available to them.” pointed out. “But specific to cancers, it has been feminist movements of the past, have showed Every day, Wednesday through Sunday, the found that women who have much leaner diets us that together we have strong power and mobile clinic goes to a different location. Includ- actually do better. Asian women, who have lots of together we can do a lot. And we need to get ing weekends is of importance, for in this way fish in their diet, or those following the to the streets, that’s a real powerful place: the they can also see women who have a job, or kids Mediterranean diet. These are the kinds of diets streets!” ww to attend to during the week. “We cover all of New that may reduce the rates of cancer.” www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 89 Italy in the City OVERVIEW

York’s five boroughs,” Vega remarks. Women can make an appointment with the mobile clinic just new york as they would with any other medical facility, but the process is much easier and faster. Results of their mammograms are sent via mail. If the ra- diologist sees something suspicious, the women are contacted by the organization and helped to find additional diagnostic testing and treatment. Awareness and Communication Of course, breast cancer awareness is the key Watch the video now to prevention. The way in which awareness in- creases can make all the difference–especially in a city like New York, which is so diverse. We asked ww From the Director of Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, NYU Ruth Vega about how the Foundation reaches out to women. “Breast cancer awareness, overall, has been raised in New York. What we try to do is work Parole, Parole, Parole... with community-based organizations that know the women and that can get our message to them. If women speak a language other than English or Featuring Italian words—funny, strange, unusual, common, ancient, Spanish, we usually partner with their community-based organizations that can get the message brand new, impossible to translate, misleading. A series shot, edited, out in their language. New York women are from and distributed for free on Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò’s social media many different places in the world, so there are some cultural divides, but these organizations by Stefano Albertini ingenious technical solutions Eugenio turned a help us to get the message out.” classroom into a makeshift TV studio. I started Communication is also important for dispel- Parole, parole. No, we are not talking of free- an aggressive recruitment of speakers, typically by ling misconceptions and clarifying uncertainties. w wing a convict after the trial of the century. asking “ci regali una parola?” (Would you donate For example, some women don’t know how often “Parola” (plural parole) in Italian means word. a word?). The words could be funny, strange, un- they’re supposed to get a mammogram. AICF fol- And Parole Parole is also the title of an Italian song usual, common, ancient, brand new, impossible lows guidelines from the National Breast Cancer from the 70’s made famous by the popular star to translate, misleading. Our guests naturally in- Foundation and the Susan G. Komen organiza- Mina, and Alberto Lupo, an actor with the most clude the usual suspects: professors, teachers, and tion, and it looks to spread their messages and impossibly deep and sexy voice. Mina sang and and students of Italian, and translators, but also recommendations to the women served. Lupo responded, almost in a whisper, a series of tour operators, musicians, writers, film critics, and So how often and from what age should wom- flattering compliments and daring metaphors to businesspeople both Italian and American. The en start getting tested for breast cancer? “Usually which Mina replied, disenchanted, that they were pilot episode, featuring the word “Ciao”, reached at age 40 and older is when you start testing once just... words: Parole Parole, Parole.... more than 20,000 people and was seen by 7,000 a year,” says Ruth Vega. “Not before, unless you Now I can tell you a bit more about the series in just a few days. But what my staff and I liked have a family history. When a woman is younger, of short videos (around a minute each) conceived, more than the numbers was the wave of excited different tests are usually recommended for her, shot, and edited entirely at Casa Italiana Zerilli- participation we got from our viewers. They sug- not a mammogram.” Marimò and distributed and promoted for free on gested words, volunteered to come and record, We followed Ruth inside the mobile van and our social media. Despite the fact that we feature planned to use the series in the classes they taught. had the chance to meet some of the women who hundreds of video recordings of our events, this is The series is first a lot of fun for all involved and were tested that day. We spoke with one of them, the first time we’ve produced original web-based I can say that there is always something I learn who communicated with us in Spanish, which content not connected to a specific event. The idea from these short videos. In future episodes you’ll Ruth kindly translated. “Last year, I had come of presenting an Italian word, explaining its origin, find the same mix of the high and the low, and to the clinic [The Ryan Center] because my kids usage, and different meanings was born in part as the funny and the serious. Words ranging from get seen here, and I saw the van. I wanted to get a way of responding to a need that emerged in the ‘sprezzatura’ to ‘mutande’. Not only can English a mammogram, but I was always fearful–fear last survey of our members and friends. About one speakers broaden their vocabulary and deepen of the unknown. I was always afraid to do it at third of them are native or fluent speakers of Ital- their knowledge of Italian but even native Ital- the hospital because I found it to be a very cold ian, one third are somewhat conversationally flu- ian speakers can also learn to use their language environment. But I knew I had to go, so today I ent and one third have no proficiency at all. But an better. For example did you know that there is an came, and I got it done.”Another woman who had overwhelming majority of people would still like Italian verb that perfectly translate the English taken the test the year before told us, “I like that to see more events in Italian and improve their ‘to scan’ and no, it’s not the Italianized form of the it’s right here. When you make an appointment knowledge of the language. English verb, the horrible ‘scannerizzare.’ Want to with a hospital, you have to wait a long time to So our series was born. Taking advantage of know the answer to these and many more ques- be seen. Here, since they already know me from the presence on our staff of Eugenio Pizzorno, tions, doubts and curiosities? Stay tuned to Parole last year, they called me saying that I’m due, and a young videographer, we started our adven- Parole. And help us make it even more fun and I could come here.” ww ture. We bought a green screen, and with a few rewarding. ww

90 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Italy in the City events

Italian Calendar she was suddenly widowed with Democracy” (Italy, 2016) directed October 20 & 21 three young children, she had few by Michele Diomà. Starring Dario Fo, new york options. Her Ma Speaks Up (Beacon Renato Scarpa, Antonello Pascale. Orchestra dell’Accademia October 17 Press, 2017) is the daughter’s record Followed by a Q&A with director Nazionale di Santa Cecilia of growing up feeling she was on the Michele Diomà in conversation with 8:00 pm Adventures in Italian wrong side of the tracks, with the Francesco Andolfi. Carnegie Hall Opera with Fred Plotkin: A wrong family, in the wrong religion. Adam Coretti is an Anglo-Italian, 881 7th Avenue Conversation with Joeph Calleja Although Marianne endured shame worldwide famous journalist. The ww carnegiehall.org 6:30 pm during her childhood, she now appre- pillars of his career are inflexibility and Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, NYU ciates also the love, great cooking, integrity. For these reasons people in n The Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazio- 24 West 12th Street and humor that she experienced. power fear him and his interviews. But nale di Santa Cecilia will perform two ww casaitaliananyu.org Since the age of four, Helene Sta- the Italian Prime Minister who Adam concerts at the Carnegie Hall. On Fri- pinski heard lurid yet exciting tales Coretti wants to interview is living a day, October 20, the rarely performed n The first Adventure in Italian Opera about her great-great-grandmother, very delicate moment. He is losing Sinfonia from Aida that Verdi wrote for with Fred Plotkin of this season fea- a strong and unconventional woman people’s support and all the surveys the La Scala premiere of Aida—a full- tures Joseph Calleja, from Malta, who who, after committing murder, fled on him are quite negative. Therefore, fledged overture that reflects themes is one of the world’s leading tenors. Southern Italy with her three children he is forced to accept the interview. from the opera. This will be followed by He sings Pollione in the Met’s new for the United States in 1892. Murder Prokofiev’s Piano ConcertoN o. 3, and opening night production of Norma in Matera (Dey Street Books, 2017) n 8:00pm - MigrArti Projct by Ottorino Respighi’s “Fountains of and will appear in the role through chronicles Stapinski’s efforts to 7 short films by Luca Cusani, Guido Rome” and “Pines of Rome,” two spec- December. Calleja sings all the major excavate the facts around this family Lombardi, Paolo Mancinelli, Paolo Ci- tacularly orchestrated tone poems that roles of the Italian tenor repertoire in mystery. Deeply researched and re- vati, Roberto Malfatto, Fausto Roma- evoke the beauty of the Eternal City. Sir all the top theaters of the world. ported, the book details the author’s no, and Amin Nour and Paolo Negro. Antonio Pappano, Music Director and increased understanding of and The MigrArti Project promoted by the Conductor; Martha Argerich, Piano. October 18 respect for her spirited ancestor’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Tou- The second concert, on Saturday particular struggle. Discussion led rism is a series of short movies with October 21, presents the New York Writers Read Series. by Edvige Giunta, New Jersey City the aim to foster intercultural dialo- Premiere of Salvatore Sciarrino’s “La With Marianne Leone University gue through film projects featuring nuova Euridice secondo Rilke,” and and Helene Stapinski immigrant communities already esta- Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6. 6:O0 pm October 19 blished in Italy; it is a selection of the Tragedy and rapture are the essence of J.D. Calandra Italian American best ones screened during the 74th Mahler’s Sixth Symphony. The storm- Institute, Queens College / CUNY Italy on Screen Today Venice Film Festival. We will have tossed finale’s three titanic hammer 25 W. 43rd Street, 17th floor Screenings: Tribute to the pleasure of hosting Paolo Masini, blows presaged personal tragedies in ww qc.edu/calandra Dario Fo / MigrArti creator and coordinator of MigrArti Mahler’s life, including his own mortal 6:00 pm - who will introduce the project - and illness. But the symphony overflows n This evening presents two books Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, NYU Andrea Bartoli, the representative with life-affirming joys as well, from that explore the experiences of two 24 West 12th Street of the Sant’Egidio Community at the peaceful memories of mountain pa- indomitable immigrant women, as se- ww casaitaliananyu.org U.N. and the U.S., who will discuss stures—listen for the cowbells—to the en through the eyes of their younger this subject and share the work ecstatic portrait of his wife, Alma, that female relatives. Marianne Leone’s n 6:00pm - Tribute to Dario Fo” experience of this Community around fills the first movement.Sir Antonio mother moved to the United States “Sweet Democracy” the world. Coordinated by Francesco Pappano, Music Director and Conduc- under tragic circumstances, and when Screening of the Docu-fiction “Sweet Andolfi. tor; Barbara Hannigan, Soprano.

www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 91 Italy in the City EVENTS

ww From October 17 to October 21 new york Settimana della lingua italiana nel mondo (XVII edizione). Nanni Moretti, indefatigable torchbearer of Italian cinema

On Tuesday, October 17 at 6:30pm, Giuseppe Antonelli teaches Italian late 1980s and 90s, but in the person the Italian Cultural Institute (686 Linguistics at the University of of Nanni Moretti it has had its great Park Avenue) will host a conversation Cassino, Italy. He writes for a number and indefatigable torchbearer. between Italian Director Nanni of newspapers and websites such as Anxiety over decline—of a leftist Moretti and professor Giuseppe Corriere della Sera and Treccani.it resistance, of a non-commercial Antonelli. They will discuss about the cinema, of plain old aging and human importance of linguistic choices in From Wednesday, October 18 to frailty—is essential to Moretti’s films. Moretti’s films. Saturday, October 21, the prestigious Documentary and fiction form, Nanni Moretti is an Italian film-maker Manhattan venue for cinema d’essai ideological seriousness and absolute and actor, living in Rome. His long and Metrograph (7 Ludlow Street) will irreverence—all mix and mingle in successful career started in 1973, present a retrospective of Nanni these remarkable movies that can when he directed his first film, and Moretti’s cinema. Screenings will be only be labelled as “Moretti.” since then he has been the recipient followed by Q&A with the Director. These events are part of the Settimana of several Film Awards. His latest One of the great international film della lingua italiana nel mondo (17th film,Mia Madre, had great success in traditions, the Italian cinema edition), held under the High Patronage US movie theaters. weathered hard years through the of the President of the Italian Republic.

October 25 Organized in collaboration with ICI and Europa Edition, this vent is part RICHARD GERE Reads of La Settimana della lingua italiana ITALO CALVINO nel mondo, held under the High 6:30 pm Patronage of the President of the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, NYU Italian Republic. 24 West 12th Street ww casaitaliananyu.org November 2-4

n Golden Globe-winning actor Richard International Conference: Gere reads from the new transla- “The Challenge of tion of Italo Calvino’s Baron in the Migration in Europe and the Trees (1957, 2017 translation by Ann United States” Goldstein). Richard Gere will be in Center for Italian Studies at Stony conversation with Giovanna Calvino Brook University and Stefano Albertini. 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook, NY Cosimo di Rondó, a young Italian noble- October 27 Italy’s most prestigious literary Thursday, 7:00 pm in the Center for man of the eighteenth century, rebels prize Strega (2016) and makes its Italian Studies in the Frank Melville against his parents by climbing into Ferocity: Nicola Lagioia debut in English this October from Memorial Library, Room E4340; the trees and remaining there for the in conversation with Europa Editions. Friday & Saturday (8:30 am – rest of his life. He adapts efficiently to Michael Reynolds The complex story of a brother 5:00 pm) in the Simons Center for an existence in the forest canopy—he 6:00 pm seeking to get to the bottom of his Geometry & Physics. hunts, sows crops, plays games with The Center for Fiction sister’s death, Ferocity is a mix of ww stonybrook.edu/italianstudies earth-bound friends, fights forest 17 East 47th Street noir, gothic horror story and family fires, solves engineering problems, ww folkartmuseum.org saga set in Lagioia’s native Puglia. n The U.S. component of an Internatio- and even manages to have love affairs. In her correspondence with Lagioia, nal Conference on Migration. The first From his perch in the trees, Cosimo n On the occasion of the publica- catalogued in Frantumaglia: A part, held in Agrigento, Sicily, focused sees the Age of Enlightenment pass by tion of the English translation of Writer’s Journey, Elena Ferrante on migration to Europe. The Stony Bro- and a new century dawn. La Ferocia/Ferocity by acclaimed described reading Ferocity with ok counterpart will focus on the United The Baron in the Trees exemplifies Cal- writer and editor Nicola Lagioia, “great enthusiasm,” finding on each States’ efforts to understand the poli- vino’s peerless ability to weave tales the author will be in conversa- page “confirmation of your great, tical and economic forces of expulsion that sparkle with enchantment. This tion with Michael Reynolds at the truthful passion for literature”. at play as we attempt to deal with this new English rendering by acclaimed Center for Fiction. Described as “a Lagioia will discuss this ambitious phenomenon, unequal in human histo- translator Ann Goldstein breathes new mesmerizing exploration of failure, and vivid work of fiction with ry. Please consult the Center for Italian life into one of Calvino’s most beloved resilience, and profound, multifa- Michael Reynolds, Editor-in-Chief of Studies website for additional program works. ceted loss” (Kirkus), Ferocity won Europa Editions. information and event updates.

92 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Counterclockwise from opposite page: Nanni Moretti, Richard Gere, Nicola Lagioia, Peter Carravetta. Below: Giulio Paolini’s Amore e Psiche, 1981 (courtesy of Magazzino).

n For the first time in her career, ww October 31 | Italian Cultural Institute internationally acclaimed and award- new york wining director Emma Dante will visit Italian Contemporary Art in New York’s the United States presenting her work Le sorelle Macaluso (The Macaluso Cultural Landscape and the Art Market Sisters) and meeting the audience in a conversation moderated by Teresa Fiore, Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies. The event is a unique opportunity to learn about Dante’s artistic trajectory, a versatile blend of theater, opera, cinema and literature. November 9 November 16

After Identity: The Routledge History Migration, Critique, of Italian Americans Italian American Culture 6:00 pm 6:O0 pm Center for Italian Studies at Stony J.D. Calandra Italian American Brook University Institute, Queens College / CUNY Frank Melville Memorial Library, 25 W. 43rd Street, 17th floor 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook ww qc.edu/calandra ww stonybrook.edu/italianstudies n Professor Stanislao Pugliese Italian Cultural Institute The opening of CIMA (Center for Italian n Peter Carravetta presents his After of Hofstra University presents 686 Park Avenue modern art) first, followed by Magazzino Identity (Bordighera Press, 2017). The The Routledge History of Italian 6:00 pm Italian Art (to which is dedicated the photo study proposes a fundamental shift in Americans, edited by William J. ww iicnewyork.esteri.it/iic_newyork exhibition currently on view at the Institute) approaching social and cultural history Connell and Stanislao G. Pugliese. shows confidence about the interest for from the viewpoint of migrations as Books will be available for purchase Italian art from early 1900s to contemporary art. In this respect, the extensive opposed to employing the nation-state and autographing by the editors. exhibition dedicated to Burri at the Guggenheim Museum in 2015 has given an paradigm. It argues that a migration The Routledge History of Italian important positive signal. But has contemporary Italian art, in reality, a focus allows for a more nuanced and Americans weaves a narrative of considerable weight and importance in the panorama of the most important politically and existentially flexi- the trials and triumphs of one of the international biennials, on the market, and among art’s collectors of New York? ble notion of identity. Carravetta’s nation’s largest ethnic groups. This The presence of a large community of Italian artists in the city, to which the ICI discussions of selected literary works history, comprising original essays has several times contributed to shed a light on, and the role that many Italian illuminate his argument. After Identity by leading scholars and critics, scholars and curators have in New York Institutions and in Art Galleries have an also posits that ethnic/national identity, addresses themes that include the impact on the relevance of and the consideration for our artistic production? typically attributed on the basis of na- Columbian legacy, immigration, the The question is not rhetorical and the IIC will submit it to a panel compring me, language, or provenance, is instead labor movement, discrimination, Giorgio Spanu and Nancy Olnick, the masterminds behind the Magazzino’s the result of continuous struggles anarchism, Fascism, World War II extraordinary project, a protagonist of the art market and former director of between an inner sense of self and an patriotism, assimilation, gender Gagosian Valentina Castellani, art curator of Met Museum Ian Alteveer, and outer imposition that varies over time identity and popular culture. This Susan Hapgood, Executive Director of ISCP, The International Studio & Curatorial and place. The challenge, therefore, landmark volume offers a clear and Program, a Brooklyn-based residency organization for artists. is to negotiate this dialectic in view of accessible overview of work in the ever greater flows of capital, techno- growing academic field of Italian logies, and power structures that are American Studies. Performance Program and Lecturer artist, producer, and an administrator. already post-national and trans-ethnic. in Music at Columbia University, will Her performances have been hailed November 16 give a recital at the Italian Academy as “eloquent and technically flawless” November 15 for Advanced Studies. The program (The Washington Post), and praised Magdalena Baczewksa: includes: Baldassare Galuppi: Sonata for ‘high musicianship and refined Sicily as a Theater of the Piano performance at the No. 7 in D major; Domenico Scarlatti: musical taste” (Polish Daily News), World: A Conversation Italian Academy Sonatas; Nino Rota: Suite del Casanova and the ability to “create a myste- with Playwright and Director 7:00 pm di Federico Fellini; Arcangelo Corelli: rious ritual on stage” (Aura Cultural Emma Dante The Italian Academy, Columbia Pastorale (Angelus) from the Re- Magazine). 6:30 pm University naissance Book; Karol Szymanowski: Montclair State University 1161 Amsterdam Avenue Preludes; Fryderyk Chopin: Mazurkas Feliciano School of Business, ww italianacademy.columbia.edu and Polonaise fantasie. Born in Poland, i-ItalyTV Lecture Hall 101, Magdalena Baczewska has enjoyed Sunday 1 pm 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ n Pianist Magdalena Stern- a multifaceted career as a pianist, on Ch25 ww montclair.edu/chss/inserra-chair Baczewska, Director of the Music harpsichordist, educator, recording www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 93 Italy in the City dining out

ww Strolling around the Big (Italian) Apple new york Simply Italian: Panini, Dolci, Gelati, and Espresso Coffee

Italians are never “quick and easy” when it comes to food. Discover the big difference between a sandwich and a panino, an ice-cream and a gelato... and never confuse espresso with coffee!

by T. C. Our Picks For For those of you who can’t take This Season ww a vacation to Italy, or for all the tourists who want take advantage of their free time to enjoy the Big Ap- ww WEST VILLAGE ple’s amusements, there’s a chance to soak up the spices and the aromas of La Panineria Italiana the Italian Mediterranean tradition! 410 West 36th Street New York is simply one of the best % (917) 639-3441 cities in the US, possibly in the world, ww www.lapanineria.com for experiencing authentic Italian cuisine Traditional products in freshly baked bread. Easy next to it. It was an immediate and ambience Friendly cuisine. But what about an Italian price $$ but tasty. The way a panino should be. long-lasting success. During the sixties, sandwich, a sweet, an ice cream, or a Their panino with burrata cheese is a Bocchi sold his business to Faimali, a coffee? You can find plenty of those in n La Panineria, with locations both in specialty you can’t find elsewhere in pork butcher who helped make the New York City, of course—but if they the Village and on the Upper West Si- New York. A brand new panino, which trattoria a compulsory stop for anyone are to be Italian you will call them de, is your trendy spot to experience a has been popular and highly reque- passionate about good cooking and a gourmet panino, a perfect pasta real Italian panino in New York. Owner sted among the panineria clients, is traditional products from Parma. Later (a common name for sweets too), a “Super” Mario Pesce exudes the kind the prosciutto crudo–double robiola the Picchi sisters arrived, and in 2008 savory gelato, and a strong espresso… of Neapolitan warmth that immedia- cheese and fresh white truffle. Big on Parmacotto bought the business, tran- In this issue we’ll show you that tely puts you at ease. You feel like he’s take-out, La Panineria also provides a sforming it into a trendy global brand. Italians are never “quick and easy” a pal you could chew the fat with over useful app for delivery. Now the best in Parma’s cuisine is just a when it comes to anything related a panino. And this young, driven guy is train ride away. Super fresh ingredients to food and beverage. There’s a big definitely equipped with super powers. ww UPPER WEST SIDE are the simple but massive trend of this difference between a sandwich and He moved to New York when he was salumeria, offering a selection of panini a panino, and if you feel like a gelato just 22–on a dream and a prayer. Like Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto assembled right in front of your eyes to you don’t want”just” an ice-cream. something out of a movie, one day, 283 Amsterdam Avenue preserve their “just-cut” quality. Their Not to speak of... coffee! So, as the while he was enjoying a panino in a % (212) 877-4800 signature sandwiches are made with Fall is still warm and you are enjoy- park, he had an epiphany. A panino ww www.salumeriarosi.com homemade focaccia. Along with the fa- ing you weekend in town, grab a with high-quality Parma prosciutto and cuisine Traditional mous Prosciutto di Parma, you certainly ambience Rustic real Italian gelato or a multi-layered a great cheese, he reasoned, is always price $$ don’t want to miss their exquisite bresa- panino and enjoy them at the park. a pleasure for the senses, and it could ola panini. Another signature dish and a And please, save some room for be a winning formula in a city like New n Antica Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto client favorite is the Roman traditional some yummy cannoli and an au- York where eateries always tend to was founded in Parma in the early thir- Cacio e Pepe. With the patio area still thentic Italian espresso, so that you pile on the ingredients rather than ties by Cesare Bocchi, an enterprising open and a favorable weather forecast can keep on strolling around the Big keep it simple. Therein lies the secret businessman who had the idea to open for the Fall, the Salumeria will be your (Italian) Apple! Buon appetito! ww of La Panineria.It serves high quality a trattoria with an adjoining salumeria spot of choice for this season too.

94 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Emiliano Pllumai Master Barista at Zibetto

ww STATEN ISLAND new york Pasticceria Bruno 1650 Hylan Blvd % (718) 987-5859 ww www.pasticceriabruno.com ww CHELSEA MARKET cuisine Traditional/Patisserie ambience Rustic price $$ L’Arte del Gelato 75 9th Avenue n The history of Pasticceria Bruno % (212) 366-0570 dates back to 1973, when Bruno ww www.lartedelgelato.com Bakery opened on LaGuardia Place. cuisine Gelato When the Settepani family took over ambience Friendly price $ the business in 2004, they maintained the essence and the atmosphere of a n Gelato-making is definitely a craft bakery, adding a top stellar patisserie that’s not easy to master—some even and a refined Italian dining menu. A say it’s an art. For years it was hard bakery seems to have been written in ww Neighborhood Gems to find real Italian gelato in the city, the family’s destiny–their last name, that is… until Francesco Realmuto Settepani, literally means “seven ventured to the US from his little breads.”Co-owner and Executive Past- town in Sicily, Baucina, which is close ry Chef Biagio Settepani, a Certified Espresso as Art to Palermo. He was driven by his Master Baker, had moved from Sicily passion for Italian food and fueled by to New York at age 13, and he was 21 the American Dream in the tradition when he opened the Pasticceria, star- With its four locations and a future plan of of the Sicilian immigrants who have ting a brand and a career as pastry expanding throughout the city, Zibetto is the answer made history in New York. In fact, Si- chef and food industry entrepreneur. cilian immigrants have developed one Biagio became famous for the Pastic- to all espresso lovers in New York City. of the most florid Italian communities ceria’s elaborate multi-layered cakes in town. along with chocolate tarts and many Espresso—one of the things espresso,” he says. “You can hardly Many in Italy believe that gelato was other artisanal sweets. He has won w wItalians miss the most when find the same flavor and the same born in Sicily, and the 100% artisanal many prizes, including Food Net- they are abroad. It is something roasting here in the US. These beans product you can find at L’Arte del work’s “Sugar Adventures” challenge about the blend, the grinder, the ma- come from from Brazil, Vietnam, Gelato preserves indeed a distinct (Gold Medal winner); and the Cannoli chine, and the artisanal hand of the Indonesia and Columbia, and it is Sicilian aroma by using only fresh, Throwdown with Bobby Flay (winner). barista that makes it a unique treat our own brand–the ‘Zibetto’ press. It organic products. Realmuto is also In 2008, Pasticceria was named Retail in the world. In New York, true Ital- tastes like the coffee from Southern careful to make the distinction betwe- Bakery of the Year by Modern Baking ian espresso is really hard to find–it’s Italy!” The machine to make cof- en a “true” (meaning: Italian!)gelato Magazine. also very hard to find what Italians fee is of course very important, and and a “mere” (meaning: American!) Biagio is not the only pastry artist of commonly call a “bar,” which isn’t a they work with an Italian machine, ice cream: an artisanal gelato is me- the family; his son Salvatore, thanks typical place for drinks like here in La Cimballi, which is commonly ant to be made and consumed right to the influence of his father, bloo- the US—or at least it is, but to drink found in Italian bars. With its four away, with no additives and preserva- med to become the excellent pastry coffee! Espresso and a brioche is the locations between uptown and mid- tives. Ice cream, on the other hand, is chef that he is today. standard Italian breakfast, the per- town and a future plan of expanding intended to be stored. The traditional But the success of the Pasticceria fect boost for the day. throughout the city, Zibetto is the Italian flavors, from milk chocolate relies not only on its pastries, but al- New Yorkers got accustomed to answer to all of the espresso lovers to panna are, of course, available, but so on its exquisite menu of authentic this ritual thanks to Zibetto Espres- in New York. you should also taste their true Sici- Italian food. Chef Gianfranco Franzese so Bar, one of the very few spots in lian pistachio, or the exotic freshness is the key player who brought his the city where you can have a “real” Zibetto Espresso Bar of their Sicilian agrumi sorbet with culinary tradition to the restaurant. espresso or a “true” cappuccino ww www.zibettoespresso.com orange and lemon. If you feel like Originally from Bari, where he gra- and many different types of fresh cuisine Traditional/Coffee ambience Friendly having a drink… bottoms up with the duated in Culinary Arts, Gianfranco brioches and pastries, plus tasty price $$ new alcoholic sorbets! New flavors is another awarded chef recognized panini for lunch—all of it strictly include the Lime Mojito, the Bloody all over America. From typical Italian Italian style of course. ■ 1385 6th Avenue Mary or the Aperol Spritz! L’Arte appetizers to panini, pasta, fish, Zibetto is a small place, tiny but % (646) 707-0505 del Gelato has become an Italian meat, and pizza, Pasticceria Bruno is rich in flavor, and it is intended to be ■ 501 5th Avenue Landmark in New York, and in addition a great place for a breakfast, a quick like that, a friendly and familiar bar % (646) 383-6364 to its location inside the Chelsea bite, or a big dinner. They also offer a “sotto casa.” General Manager Mi- ■ 1221 6th Avenue Market, you will soon findR ealmuto’s great catering services for your most kail Olsson is so very proud of Zibet- % (212) 332-2648 gelati at Whole Foods and in other special occasions, from birthdays to to’s signature coffee: “We take great ■ 1 Park Avenue cities across the US. weddings. pride in making the perfect Italian % (929) 431-3787 www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 95 Italy in the City OVERVIEW boston ww Boston’s North End “A State of Mind Surrounded By Waters”

The process of change from a slum Oyster House in a ritual cup of clam chowder. Al- though running late, I allowed myself a stop at the to the desirable area the North End Holocaust Monument for another personal ritual is today, was slow and Italianness of respect. It was Saturday morning and therefore Haymarket was crowded with people shopping certainly played a role. Indeed, eth- for fruit and seafood, but I found my way through nicity has become an economic val- the multitude and reached my destination: I was entering the Boston’s North End. ue, introducing the necessity for local businesses to be, or at least to Ethnicity Historically speaking, Boston’s North End present themselves and the neigh- changed from a desirable place in colonial times borhood as Italian. to a slum suitable only for the city’s social out- casts, particularly Irish immigrants, was certainly slow, heterogeneous, traumatic--and yet by Augusto Ferraiuolo* expected. The process was aided by various economic factors. A new industrialism caused the The perception of the North End as an ‘Ital- economic crisis of the area’s small artisan and wwian’ neighborhood began in the early 20th craftsman alike. The persistence of a sea-based C. even though the neighborhood was, and is, mercantile economy turned the North End into far from homogeneous. The Italian settlements an increasingly crowded and noisy place where in the North End feature ethnic enclaves based sailors and transients could live, even if only tem- on the Italian village of origin and on chain mi- porarily. The neighborhood’s decay can be seen gration based on kinship and friendship. Back therefore as a function of the transformation of a then, familial strategies were modeled on an al- society from pre-industrial to capitalist. The need North Square and Fulton Street saw the growth most endogamous pattern, seeming to encourage for unskilled and cheap workers should be con- of Avellinesi, who came from the towns of Taur- the notion of inner separations. A symbolic way sidered a fundamental pull factor for the impres- asi, Chiusano San Domenico, Mirabella Eclano, to claim for local identities was and still is the sive waves of immigrants beginning in the 19th C. Lapio, Montemarano, and Montefalcione. The celebration of the patron saint of the original Ital- The creation of a slum for immigrants therefore, Sicilians, with a large community from Sciacca, ian village. Thus, several religious festivals occur the only suitable settlement close to the industrial came to Boston during a second phase, populat- weekly in Boston’s North End during the summer area--marginalizing them by social if not territo- ing the area around North Street, also taking the and are organized by voluntary religious societies rial boundaries--was an urban necessity. place of the Genoese group in Ferry Court. venerating various Madonnas (delle Grazie, del The 1880’s were an important turning point in the The settlement pattern is well-known and self- Soccorso, etc.) and other Catholic saints. ethnic fabric of the North End. For the first time evident: the Italians tended to cluster together after years of Irish mass migration in the 19th C., based on the village of origin, in relatively small The North End their population began declining. The departure enclaves. A village-based campanilismo (the The first time I went to the North End I followed of the Irish was combined with the arrival of new sense of belonging symbolized by the bell tower the Freedom Trial, a tiny red line painted on immigrants from Eastern Europe (Russian Jews) of the local church) is the cultural reference point streets through downtown Boston to make the and, finally, Southern Europe (Southern Italians). carried from the country of origin, and chain tourist enterprise of visiting the historical sites of First, a Genoese community settled in the Ferry migration became the principal engine for con- the city easier. Exiting the subway, I followed the Court area and North Bennett Street, until the stituting micro-ethnic enclaves in the receiving red line all the way to Downtown Crossing, not first decade of the 20th C. When they left, they country, separated even by different dialects. The lingering at the Old State House. I gave a quick were replaced not by other Northern Italians, importance of dialect as a social boundary is often look at the window of the Old Corner Bookstore, who by this time preferred emigration to South underestimated by scholars but is fundamental. rapidly crossed Faneuil Hall, but stopped long America, but by Southern Italians. It is a strong identifying and unifying tool, as well enough to pay due homage to Sam Adams’ statue. Another ethnic enclave can be seen in the area as a marker of regional divisions. (I am not a proper nor even improper Bostonian, bounded by Prince, Salem, Tileston, and Hanover In the 1930’s a new trend became evident which I am not even an American, but I do like a good Streets, inhabited by Abruzzesi and a few Nea- later—and today—can be considered one of the beer.) For consistency, I also indulged at the Union politans. The area bounded by Hanover Street, fundamental characteristics of the neighborhood:

96 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org The North End at sunset. Below: Poster of the documentary film Boston’s North End boston

The general pattern the festivals proposes are a blend of religion (and the processions are the cli- max of this aspect) and entertainment (food and music seems to be the most important commodi- ties). In general, the festivals start with a short procession on Friday. Saturday is almost completely dedicated to entertainment. On Sunday, the statue of the saint is taken through the streets in a grand solemn procession. During all three ww borhood was recognized as poor, other variables days of the festival the entire area is full of stalls A primary pull factor determined the increase of a now-continuous for economic transactions, most of which involve centripetal movement of new settlers, mainly the manipulation of symbols such as ethnic foods for the North End is the young urban professionals. A first pull factor: (Italian and/or Italian American). the appreciation for a community lifestyle, mod- The ritual of the feast reaffirms the compact ethnic appreciation for a eled on the Italian village, now evident even to enclave through the procession, even if the times of outsiders. For the first time in the history of the rigidly bounded communities are definitively past community lifestyle, North End ethnicity became an economic value, and the procession traces symbolic borders not at introducing the necessity for local businesses all coinciding with the original habitat. The ethnic modeled on the Italian to be, or at least to present themselves and the enclave’s boundaries are now blurred if not com- neighborhood as Italian. pletely dissolved. Yet paradoxically, processions village, now evident even strongly reaffirm the boundaries of the neighbor- Claiming Ephemeral Identity hood and claim for an authentic identity, strategi- to outsiders. Above I have mentioned a specific symbol of Bos- cally reinforcing or inventing anything that could ton’s North End Italianità: the religious festivals. symbolize Italian ethnicity. This strategic essen- the food business. Nowadays the importance of These festivals, venerating different Madonnas tialism, vital to the economic prosperity of the ethnic food business in the North End is easily and various other Catholic patron saints, occur North End, is even more necessary now that a sup- demonstrated by the concentration of restaurants with weekly regularity in Boston’s North End posed Italian identity became a scarce resource. in an area of not even 100 acres. It is impressive: during the summertime and are organized by According to the last census, people claiming for at the end of February 2008 86 restaurants, 8 voluntary religious societies. The North End fes- Italian heritage in the North End are less than the bar and pubs, 4 coffee shops, 7 home delivery, tivals celebrate a variety of local town origins: the 20%. Thus, more than ever, the North End is a 2 catering and 8 bakeries, all proposing ‘Italian’ Madonna del Soccorso, celebrated by the Sicilians state of mind surrounded by waters. ww food, were active in the neighborhood. of Sciacca; Saint Anthony of Padua, celebrated by The process of change from a slum to the desir- the Montefalcionesi; San Domenico, protector of * Augusto Ferraiuolo is Visiting Researcher and able area it is today, was slow. Even if the neigh- Augusta, Sicily; and so on. Lecturer at Boston University www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 97 Italy in the City events boston Italian Calendar ww At the Center for Europen Studies, Harvard University Harvey Sachs on Arturo Toscanini October 16 October 19 Writer and music historian Harvey Italy Calls Africa: Toscanini: Musician of Sachs explores the legacy of Arturo Rhymes and Images Conscience Toscanini — the man who was, Across the Mediterranean 5:30 pm arguably, the most influential 7:00 pm Center for European Studies, Harvard classical performing musician of the Deparment of African and Afro- University (Lower Level Conf. Room) twentieth century. This lecture will be American Studies, Brandeis University 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA based on Sachs’ recently published Mandel Center for the Humanities, ww https://ces.fas.harvard.edu book, Toscanini: Musician of 415 South Street, Waltham Conscience, a new biography that wwwww.brandeis.edu replaces his 1978 biography of the famed Italian conductor. It is an account not only of Toscanini’s work and its impact, but also of his turbulent personal n The arrival in Italy of migrants life and his principled stand against Fascism. from Africa, while sparking contro- The lecture is presented by the Salvemini Colloquium in Italian History and versy and igniting a heated debate Culture. Named in honor of the Italian anti-fascist historian Gaetano Salvemini, on migration to the EU, has urged who spent much of his career as a professor in the Harvard department of Italians to reconsider their histo- history, this annual lecture is co-sponsored with the Consulate General of Italy rical connections with the African in Boston and aims to foster a spirit of intellectual inquiry into Italian history continent and assess new cultural within the Harvard community and beyond. This year marks the 60th relationships. Among the first com- anniversary of Gaetano Salvemini’s death. Sponsored by the Center for munities who crossed the Mediterra- European Studies, Harvard University, and the Consulate General of Italy. nean and found a new home in Italy are Nigerians. In the newly-published poetry anthology Migrazioni/Mi- grations, curated by Alessandra Di Maio, of the University of Palermo, renowned Italian and Nigerian poets headed by Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka tell the choral story of how Africa and Italy have always been united by a common sea and a shared experience of migration. Cosponsors: October 19

Nancy Harrowitz presents “Primo Levi & the Identity of a Survivor” 6:00 pm I AM Books identity played in his choices of how October 22 189 North Street to portray his survival, as well as ww iambooksboston.com in his exposition of topics such as Pappano/Argerich and the bystander complicity. Her analysis Orchestra dell’Accademia n Primo Levi (1919–1987) was an uncovers a survivor’s shame that Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Italian chemist, writer, and Holocaust deeply influenced the personas he 5:00 pm survivor who used a combination of created to recount his experiences. Symphony Hall testimony, essays, and creative wri- Exploring a range of Levi’s works, 301 Massachusetts Ave, Boston ting to explore crucial themes rela- including Survival at Auschwitz and ww www.consboston.esteri.it ted to the Shoah. His voice is among lesser-known works of fiction and the most important to emerge from poetry, she illustrates key issues n Legendary pianist Martha Argerich program includes: Verdi, Sinfonia from this dark chapter in human history. within his development as a writer. returns to the Celebrity Series of Bo- Aida; Prokofiev, Piano Concerto No. 3; In Primo Levi and the Identity of a At the heart of Levi’s discourse, ston to perform Prokofiev’s third piano Respighi, Fountains of Rome; Respighi, Survivor, Nancy Harrowitz, associate Harrowitz argues, lies a complex concerto with the renowned Orchestra Pines of Rome. Sponsored by Zachary professor of Italian and Jewish Stu- interplay of narrative modes that dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Ceci- Haroutunian and The Garbis & Arminé dies at Boston University, examines reveals his brilliance as a theorist of lia in Rome and their charismatic music Barsoumian Charitable Foundation in the complex role that Levi’s Jewish testimony. director, Sir Antonio Pappano. The loving memory of Garbis Barsoumian.

98 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org boston October 25 and hand painted Italian harpsichord ww Rediscovering a region oft ignored by American travelers Donna Franca by master craftsman Andrea di Franzaroli presents Maio, the performance will feature How We Fell in Love with Abruzzo and “Pride and Perseverance” dramatic madrigals, high energy 6:30 pm dances, popular songs and im- Why You Should, Too! Consulate General of Italy provisations in Renaissance style. 600 Atlantic Avenue, 17th Floor The performers will also discuss November 16 A presentation by Linda Dini-Jenkins and Vicky ww www.consboston.esteri.it Renaissance humanism and how it Let’s Talk Abruzzo Sirianni. The two Italian-American women will n Longtime travel operator Donna influenced musical performance and 6:00 pm talk about how they decided to buy one, then Franca Franzaroli, founder of Donna composition. I AM Books two, apartments in Sulmona and how the region Franca Tours and an iconic presence 189 North Street has stolen their hearts. They will talk about in the Italian American community ww iambooksboston.com landscape, food, wine, traditions, tourist of Boston, presents her book Pride destinations, the people… and how being and Perseverance: A Story of Love “adopted” by an Italian family there has changed their lives. How do two and Courage. My Recipe for Success. intelligent Italian-American women decide to buy not one, but two, Refreshments will be offered. apartments in Abruzzo within two years? And why? Vicky knew it as the region from which both her father and her mother’s family immigrated. Linda October 27 knew it because a villa-renting friend of hers decided to send her there in 2010 “because none of my other clients would understand it.” Thus, an adventure Utopia and Memory: of a lifetime was born. Women Poets of the Join Salemites Linda Dini Jenkins and Vicky Sirianni as they present a talk and Italian Renaissance slide show which captures their love for this gorgeous region of South-Central 8:00 pm Italy that is oft ignored by American travelers. Find out how they first arrived, Dante Alighieri Society a year after the terrible earthquake in L’Aquila in 2009. Hear how they were 41 Hampshire Street, Cambridge “adopted” by a local family in Sulmona, where they have their apartments. ww www.dantemass.org Take in the scenery in this armchair tour of Abruzzo, which will include a few October 27 Abruzzese goodies, as well. Victoria Sirianni is a retired Chief Facilities Officer n Poems by Isabella Andreini, from MIT and is now a consultant to colleges and universities. Linda Dini Jenkins Gaspara Stampa, Sara Copio Sullam; An Evening with Aldo is the author of Up at the Villa: Travels with my Husband and blogs about travel Adaptation and Dramaturgy: Walter Tambellini and travel writing at travelthewriteway.com. Linda takes small groups of Valeri; Directed by: Robert Scanlan 6:00 pm travelers to Italy twice each year, and she and Vicky will also rent their with Chiara Durazzini and Music by I AM Books apartments in Sulmona if you ask nicely! Dan Meyers, Alexandra Stoica (Vio- 189 North Street lin) Nikole Stoica (Violin). Sponsored ww iambooksboston.com by The Poets’ Theatre and Pazzi Lazzi. Light refreshments will be n A presentation of “Listen: offered. ($20.00 per person). Selected Poems of Aldo Tambellini . 1946-2016” and a short selection October 27 of projected works. Aldo Tambel- lini (born in Syracuse, 1930) is an Renaissance Madrigals, Italian American artist. He pionee- Dance Music and red electronic intermedia, and is a Improvisations in Renaissance painter, sculptor, and poet. Style Refreshments will be served. 6:00 pm I AM Books November 5 189 North Street ww iambooksboston.com Carmen Sottile: Piano Concerto n Internationally acclaimed 3:30 pm performers and recording artists Dante Alighieri Society John Tyson and Miyuki Tsurutani, 41 Hampshire Street, Cambridge who met in Italy, offer a concert of ww www.dantemass.org elegant virtuosity celebrating the beauty, vitality and variety of Italian n 14-year-old pianist Carmen Sottile Renaissance music. from Palermo, Sicily, winner of a Playing on seven sizes of handma- national and international competition de recorders (‘Il Flauto Italiano’) and recently returning from a concert by master craftsman Francesco performance at Carnegie Hall will LiVirghi and an exquisite handmade perform classical favorites www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 99 Italy in the City dining out boston ww North End’s Culture and Tradition From the Old World to Modern Boston

With a blooming Italian food culture, Boston proves to be a primary culinary destination for gourmet travelers

by Francesca Maltauro you’ll want every last bite of the Prezza rich pastas, such as the pappardelle 24 Fleet Street When landing in Boston, you Bolognese, Bucatini all’Amatricia- % (617) 227-1577 w wimmediately experience an na, and fettuccine alla Carbonara. ww www.prezza.com old-time feel: the beautiful cobble- However, there are main courses, cuisine Mediterranean ambience Cozy stone streets, the harbor, and the too, including plenty of chicken and price $$$ architecture. Then visit the historic veal, either Marsala, Calabrisella, North End neighborhood, where Cacciatora, or Sorrentina. n Chef Anthony Caturano named the influence of 19th century immi- Prezza after the ancient Italian village gration waves has left an indelible Ristorante Saraceno in Abruzzo where his grandmo- mark. When Italians immigrants 286 Hanover Street ther was born. Hidden away in the came to the city, they brought their % (617) 227-5888 mountains, the town’s diet revolved culture with them, letting it bloom Our Picks For ww www.saracenos.com around pork, polenta, and vegetables. into what today is one of the most cuisine Neapolitan Therefore, the residents had to be in- ambience Friendly popular Little Italies in the US. This Season price $$ novative to make new dishes with the Walking in North End, you are over- food of their homeland. Determined whelmed by wonderful aromas too. Strega n Ristorante Saraceno transports to channel his ancestors’ creativity, From the freshly baked goods at 379 Hanover Street you back in time to Naples. With four Caturano always uses seasonal ingre- Maria’s Pastry Shop to the fragrance % (617) 523-8481 dining rooms, including a glassed-in dients that result in an ever-changing of Sicilian pizza coming from Gal- ww www.stregaristorante.com rooftop, each floor has a distinct menu to accompany the go-to house leria Umberto, you will immediately cuisine Traditional ambiance. The downstairs dining favorites. With handmade pastas, ambience Trendy fall for this lively neighborhood. price $$ room boasts a wall mural, ancient served either in appetizer or dinner During the year, North End is col- statues, and vinery, while the main portions, like squid ink spaghetti and ored by several traditional Italian n Sicilian-born Chef Salvatore dining room is suffused with warmer pea ravioli, and items from the oven, feasts when the streets are filled Firicano helms the kitchen at the tones and features a fireplace and such as sea scallops, crispy pork with people, and street carts and Varano Group’s North End re- chandeliers. As the space is so chop, and roasted halibut, it’s a per- vendors propose the best of North staurant, Strega. Known for his grand, you’re guaranteed a seat, fect blend of popular faves and fresh End’s Italian and Italian-American authentic take on Italian cuisine and but it still feels intimate with its old- plates. Enjoy the meal of your liking food—meatballs, calzoni, arancini, heavy portions, locals, tourists, and world charm. Family run since 1984, with any wine you can think of, as the cannoli... and much more! their celebrity clientele make for a it has grown to be a go-to place collection boasts over 8,000 bottles, North End’s Italian food culture packed house on the daily. That’s for authentic Italian fare, whether in the effortlessly chic, intimate bloomed so much that its cuisine right, this small and charming spot you’re with family, friends, or on a environs, which Includes suede was eventually recorded in one of is a go-to destination among the date. The extensive menu sports booths, contemporary the most popular cookbooks, The stars when they find themselves in plenty of Neapolitan classics. If you artwork, and a separate, North End Italian Cookbook by Boston. With an illuminated yellow want homemade pasta, the rigato- upscale bar scene. Marguerite DiMino Buonopane, wall that boasts six widescreen ni all’arrabbiata always gets rave published for the first time in 1975. televisions that play different mob- reviews, but if you’re in the mood for The book is filled with Italian fam- ster movies on repeat, impressive seafood, the sogliola meunie- ily recipes that are truly part of chandeliers, and a marble counter- re—filet of sole sautéed with North End’s history and that per- top bar, the gangster-inspired décor lemon and butter—will fectly reflect the culinary soul of creates a glitzy, old-world Italian melt in your mouth. With the neighborhood and its people. If feel. The appetizers feature upgra- even more meat dishes you happen to be in town this fall, ded classics, like Caprese, gamberi and assorted desserts, check out our selection of some of in padella, and roasted beet salad. you definitely won’t leave North End’s best Italian spots. ww But don’t fill up too much because hungry.

100 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Renowned chef and food entrepreneur Barbara Lynch boston

ww Meet Barbara Lynch A Guru of Italian Cuisine

Carmelina’s World-acclaimed chef Barbara Lynch has been taking Boston’s Italian dining scene by 307 Hanover Street % (617) 742-0020 storm. Recently, she has also partnered with Eataly in running Il Pesce restaurant. ww www.carmelinasboston.com cuisine Sicilian by Tommaso Cartia The Barbara Lynch Group Thought: Stories You Can Taste, an in- ambience Friendly, cozy price $$ She opened The Butcher Shop, interactive platform that allows the au- Born and raised in Boston in a spired by her visit to Cortona, in Tus- dience to share their own food-related wwbig New England family, Bar- cany, where she would go to the local stories. Barbara Lynch’s memoir Out bara is a self-taught prodigy. Though bottega to have wild boar. After that, of Line: A Life of Playing with Fire is she never graduated from a cooking she founded B&G Oysters, a kind of also available. The book outlines Bar- school, her love for food and cooking New England fish shack with a fancy bara’s life journey from a hard-knock brought her to a luminous career. In twist, serving great wines and clas- childhood to her glorious success. 1996 she won her first award, Food sics like fried calamari and chowder. & Wine’s best chef in the Northeast, Close to The Butcher Shop, Barbara Working with Eataly Boston but then many others came. then opened Stir, which has a dem- One of Barbara Lynch’s latest efforts is onstration kitchen where they have her collaboration with Eataly Boston, In Love With Italy cooking classes seven days a week. where she has become the mind and n Since 2012 Carmelina’s has grown The first trip Barbara ever took was After that, her drive proved unstop- soul behind their Il Pesce restaurant. to be a North End favorite. With to Italy. She was in her early twenties, pable. “I then opened Sportello,” she This happened almost by chance. floor-to-ceiling windows that open and it was during that trip that Ital- to the street on warmer days, the ian food and culture struck her. “I had ww airy restaurant offers modern Italian never been out of Boston in general,” I ended up loving Italy because of cooking served in generous portions. she told i-Italy in a recent interview. And it’s not just any Italian fare, it’s “And boy, was I surprised! It was what Italians are and who they are. The traditional Sicilian comfort food amazing. What happened was, I fell in with a Mediterranean twist. Using love with that book The Food of Italy culture, first of all, the regions, and that generations-old family recipes, Execu- by Waverly Root, and I ended up lov- tive Chef DiPaolo creates contempo- ing Italy because of what Italians are there’s usually a nonna in the kitchen. rary dishes that are a perfect balance and who they are. The culture, first of of fresh pasta and seafood. From all, the regions, and that there’s usu- tells us, “which has diner-style coun- During one of her trips to Italy she the menu to the space, where family ally a nonna in the kitchen.” ter seating but all homemade pasta, happened to be in Turin when Eataly photos bring life to the brick walls, Her first experience in Italy changed salads, and entrees. Underneath that first opened, and she immediately felt it definitely has the Italian stamp of her life and her perspective. “It was is Drink, which has the most incred- a connection with their educational approval. If you’re a fan of il mare, just this really wonderful, cultural ible bartenders and mixologists and philosophy and amazing artisanal start with ahi tuna arrabiata, sautéed lifestyle that I absorbed. I was like has won Best Bar in the World. Next slow-food products. “I fell in love with spicy shrimp, or mussels marinara. a sponge. It was just an eye-opener to Sportello is Menton, which is Re- the store’s concept. So when Mario Alternatively, for the meat lovers, go for me, and I ended up coming back lais & Châteaux.” Batali came to me and said, ‘Hey, I’m for the brasato or lamb lollipop. And and mastering Italian for the last ten So the Barbara Lynch Group is a little going to open an Eataly in Boston, those are just the appetizers! With years. At 32 I opened my first restau- dining empire employing over 200 would you be interested in coming endless pasta options, like Palermi- rant—No. 9 Park, which was French- people and has an affectionate clien- on board and running my seafood tana, spaghetti with littleneck clams, Italian.” That was just the start of tele that enjoys both the food and the restaurant?’ I said, ‘Absolutely!’ I felt and gnocchi al forno, and other main the legacy of restaurants that Lynch culinary culture that the group deliv- that Eataly was going to be the best courses, such as pesce pistachio and would create around her name and ers. It is a lively resource for all Bosto- thing that ever happened to Boston, pan roasted filet mignon, you defini- that eventually would become part of nians in so many different ways. The period. And it is, actually. It’s doing tely won’t leave hungry. the Barbara Lynch Group. Group also has a magazine Food for phenomenal numbers.” ww www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 101 Italy in the City OVERVIEW

ww Amelia Antonucci, unbattled film lover Championing Classic san francisco san Italian Cinema in The Bay

Upon retiring as the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco, Amelia Antonucci found that her energy had not declined while her love of film persisted. Thus Cinema Italia SF was born, and it’s now in its fifth year. by Tommaso Cartia

As a young girl, growing up in Salerno, w wAmelia Antonucci used to spend almost every night at the movies. She likely had no idea then that part of her life would end up being dedicated to this great passion of hers--and that she would have the chance to share it with so many. After graduating with a degree in modern literature, Antonucci began a career as a cultural energy did not decline while her love of film per- attaché at the most important Italian Cultural In- sisted. Pushed by the desire to try something new, ww I was always involved stitutes in the US. First in New York, where she she decided to… go back to the classics! She real- would become the assistant to the director of the ized that a lot of attention in San Francisco was in cinema; in New York, in Italian Cultural Institute, then in San Francisco, being given to contemporary cinema, while great where she moved in 1996. Eventually she would classic Italian cinema was slowly disappearing San Francisco, but also in establish herself in the City by the Bay. From 2008 from the big theaters. “I had already brought to to 2011 she was the director of San Francisco’s the city the New Italian Cinema Events (NICE),” Rome in the Ministry of Italian Cultural Institute where, among the other she recounts. “It’s an interesting show of young important initiatives aimed at celebrating the Ital- directors’ first films. However, I missed the golden Foreign Affairs’ Cinema ian culture, she played a key role as an “ambas- age when I had brought Alberto Sordi, Marcello sador” of Italian cinema. “I was always involved Mastroianni, and Michelangelo Antonioni to the Department. And today in cinema,” Antonucci told us, “in New York, in city. I wanted to recreate that atmosphere.” San Francisco, but also in Rome in the Ministry Thus Cinema Italia San Francisco was born. It the support of Luce of Foreign Affairs’ Cinema Department. I always consisted of one full day of showings from morn- maintained contacts within Luce Cinecittà and ing till night; four or five films from the same di- other entities that were fundamental in my work rector with a themed party to follow. The location Cinecittà, and the as a cultural director in America.” Antonucci re- was the Castro Theater, San Francisco’s historic calls her early years working at the Italian Cultural art-deco palace. The first exhibition was in 2013, collaboration of the Institute in New York. Her first experience was with a retrospective dedicated to Pier Paolo Paso- a collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art lini. The guest of honor from Italy was Giovanni Italian Consulate and (MoMA) and its late film curator, Stephen Har- “Ninetto” Davoli, a notable protagonist in such Pa- vey. “It was dedicated to Anna Magnani,” she says, solini films as Uccellacci e Uccellini (The Hawks Italian Cultural Institute, “and at the end I was mentioned in the MoMA and the Sparrows) and Il vangelo secondo Matteo catalog… What an incredible feeling!” (The Gospel According to St. Matthew). are fundamental in the The public was enthusiastic, and the program Cinema Italia San Francisco caught on in San Francisco, becoming an essen- success of Cinema Italia Even after her retirement as director of the Italian tial event for cinema lovers. In 2014 Cinema Italia Cultural Institute in San Francisco, Antonucci’s San Francisco presented the works of Bernardo San Francisco.

102 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org From the left: Vittorio Gassman and Jean-Louis Trintignant in Dino Risi’s Il sorpasso (1962); Giancarlo Giannini and Mariangela Melato in Lina Wertmüller’s Swept Away (1974). Below: Amelia Antonucci at a presentation of Cinema Italia SF; Italian screenwriter and film director Lina Wertmüller. san francisco san

ww We’ve become part of something that goes beyond the reaches of the Italian and Italian American communities. Actually, the biggest boost comes from the general American public.

Bertolucci; in 2015, Vittorio De Sica’s; in 2016, Wertmüller by Valerio Ruiz . Wertmüller was the Antonucci finds that the San Franciscan audi- Anna Magnani’s; and in 2017, Dino Risi and Lina first woman in the history of cinema to be nomi- ence has always been very open to Italian culture, Wertmüller’s. nated for an Oscar for Best Director. Antonucci even more than the public of other cities like New Antonucci speaks enthusiastically about her was able to get four of Wertmüller’s films and a York, where there is a lot more competition. “For creation. “When we presented Bertolucci, we had documentary in a restored format from New York example, in 2010,” Antonucci recalls, “alongside Joan Chen as a guest of honor. She was one of the film distributor Kino Lorber. the Italian Cultural Institute in San Francisco, I main characters in L’Ultimo Imperatore (The Last Passion and a lot of hard work carry Amelia did a show of Maria Callas’s costumes, and it was Emperor), which we presented in the exclusive 3D through her ambitious project: to be able one day incredibly successful. The San Francisco Opera version. Then in 2015, we presented Vittorio De to transform Cinema Italia San Francisco into a also helped us. Another event was Teatro San Sica. It was a great success; we had 1,700 people true Italian film festival in America. She is con- Carlo’s trip here with Verdi’s Requiem. It was the in just one day. Among the films presented was a vinced of the project’s great potential thanks to event of the year, not just an Italian event.” restored version of Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini the encouraging response that is coming not only (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis). We try to of- from the Italian and Italian-American public, but Contagious optimism fer the best that we can to the public, showing also from the general American audience. Antonucci is aware that hers is an uphill battle, as restored 35mm films.” Italian cinema lacks industrial investments and a The support of Luce Cinecittà, and the collabo- The San Francisco Audience consistent policy of promotion and distribution. ration of the Italian Consulate and Italian Cultural Amelia Antonucci is very active in the Italian com- “At the San Francisco International Film Festival,” Institute, are fundamental in the success of the munity in SF. She is the president of the non-prof- she says, “France is able to present an average of event. The program graphics are by publisher, de- it Leonardo Da Vinci Society, and of group called 30 films a year. We Italians need to jump through signer, and curator Colpa Press. The biggest chal- DIVE (Donne Italiane che Vivono all’Estero). hoops to be able to present even one! We still have lenge that Antonucci faces is certainly the budget. However, although Cinema Italia San Francisco is a lot of work to do in terms of both investments “It’s a project that needs financing because the box primarily geared towards the Italian community, and promotion.” Neverthess, she is optimistic. She office covers only a small portion of the expenses. its audience is mixed. “Actually, the biggest boost notes that Luce Cinecittà is now being restructured We are constantly looking for public or private comes from the general public. Americans who along lines similar to UniFrance—the French sponsors.” On the last day of the 2017 edition ear- love films in their original languages are the ones agency for cinema promotion. “Soon we too will lier this Fall, Antonucci was able to involve spon- buying tickets. These are the same people who go be able to show our cinema abroad with greater sors like the eyeglass company Zenni Optical—a to see films in German and French. We’ve become strength—both classic and contemporary cinema!” natural choice since one of the films presented part of something that goes beyond the reaches of One thing is certain: Amelia Antonucci is a force was Behind White Glasses, a documentary on Lina the Italian and Italian American communities.” of nature. And her optimis is contagious. ww www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 103 Italy in the City events

Italian Calendar ww Through January 7, 2018 | Museo Italo Americano Baccari: Tale Padre Tale Figlio. An October 13 Exhibit on the Photographic Artistry of

san francisco san Nicola Lagioia - Longform Fiction from Europe Alessandro Baccari Sr. and His Son 7:00pm Museo Italo Americano Odin Room, Swedish American Hall November 20, 1888 and grew up in Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd. 2174 Market Street Building C Naples. He immigrated to the United ww https://litquake2017.sched.com/ States with his family, later attending ww museoitaloamericano.org Harvard University. While at Harvard, n Novelist Nicola Lagioia takes part The exhibit features works by two he began writing plays and musicals. the San Francisco Literary Festival’s, generations of San Francisco He also worked as a musical composer international evening Longform photographers: Alessandro Baccari Sr. and conductor and made paintings and Fiction from Europe, which features (1888 – 1966) and his son Alessandro ecclesiastical decorations in a number Barrymores. In 1925, Baccari Sr. readings and discussion from some Baccari Jr. (1928 – ). The exhibit has of churches throughout New England. settled in San Francisco when he of Europe’s top novelists curren- been designed to explore the Encouraged by his friends Alfred married Edith Fantozzi, and focused on tly on book tour. With Dominique development of the creative process Stieglitz and Edward Steichen, two portrait painting and photography. Fabre (France), Nicola Lagioia (Italy), and how drama and excitement comes major contributors in establishing Among his clientele were such Karolina Ramqvist (Sweden), and Nina into focus through planned use of light. photography as art, Baccari Sr. notables as A.P. Giannini, Gaetano Weijers (Netherlands). Moderated by Each of the photographic images is focused on his photographic talents as Merola, William Randolph Hearst, and San Francisco Chronicle book editor dramatically unique and reflects the well. It was not long before his images inventor Guglielmo Marconi. He went John McMurtrie. Nicola Lagioia is photographers’ insights into attracted the attention of the Eastman on to become the official photographer currently on a book tour of the United composition and design. For Baccari Sr. Kodak Company. Each year for 30 of the San Francisco Opera Company, States and Canada to promote the and his son, creativity is a survival skill years they would select a collection of Ballet, and Symphony. He also newly published translation of his and the cutting edge is within one’s his portraits for a traveling exhibit to composed and organized many A Night novel Ferocity (Europa Editions). Co- mind. As photographers they made up promote the company and their in Italy musical events held at the presented by the Consulate Generals their own laws of composition and in products. Among those he Fairmont Hotel to raise money for of France, Italy, Netherlands, and so doing brought originality to their photographed in the early days were worthy causes in the Italian American Sweden, and by the Italian Cultural work. President Theodore Roosevelt, community. In 1941, he opened the Institute. Alessandro Baccari Sr. was born in playwright Eugene O’Neill, actor Will Baccari Mona Lisa Art Gallery at 525 Casacalenda, Molise, Italy on Rogers, Florenz Ziegfeld, and the Sutter Street in San Francisco, October 14

Nicola Lagioia reads Girl and Jonathan Franzen’s Freedom, in the course of their first West Coast and signs “Ferocity” filtered through the fierce Mediterra- tour. Their recordings include works by 5:30pm nean vision of Elena Ferrante. Pascale Criton, released by the French Libreria Pino label POTLATCH, as well as works 1412 Grant Avenue October 16 & 17 by Philip Corner, to be released soon ww www.libreriapino.com (http://www.silviatarozzi.it) Silvia Tarozzi & Deborah Composer Pascale Criton (1954) stu- n Libreria Pino welcomes Italian au- Walker Duo died composition with Ivan Wyschne- thor Nicola Lagioia to read and sign his (October 16) 7:30pm gradsky, Gérard Grisey and Jean-Etien- novel, Ferocity. Nicola Lagioia, born in Mills College – Ensemble Roome ne Marie. She received electro-acoustic Bari in 1973, is an editor for the Italian 5000 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland training at the CIRM (International publisher Minimum Fax. He is the ww https://musicnow.mills.edu Centre for Musical Research, Nice), author of three novels and a collection (October 17) – 7:30pm in 1/16 of a tone. The compositions from 1980 to 1982, as well as in a mu- of short stories. His books have been Center for New Music that have resulted from this process sical computing course for composers awarded the Strega Prize, the Premio 55 Taylor Street, San Francisco challenge the sense of form and the at the IRCAM (Paris, 1986) Volponi, and the Premio Viareggio, ww http://centerfornewmusic.com attitude of interpretation, transforming among others. He lives in Rome. it into a creative process. This concert October 18 Ferocity, translated and published by n Silvia Tarozzi (violin) and Deborah is made possible with the support of Europa Editions, is his English-langua- Walker (cello) are actively involved in SACEM, SPEDIDAM, and Istituto Italiano A Taste of Italian - Istituto ge debut. the fields of contemporary experimen- di Cultura of SF in collaboration with Scuola’s Open House & Winner of the 2015 Strega Prize, Italy’s tal music and free improvisation. To- Luciano Chessa. Language Fair preeminent prize for fiction, Ferocity gether with French composer Pascale Silvia Tarozzi and Deborah Walker have 5:00 Pm is a cinematic suspense novel that Criton they have been exploring micro- been working together since 2003. Italian Cultural Institute also addresses vital social questions, tonal extended techniques and gestural They have played at venues and Festi- 601 Van Ness Ave F a combination of Gillian Flynn’s Gone processes on a violin and a cello tuned vals across Europe, and they are now ww iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it

104 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Alessandro Baccari Jr. and some of his works. For more see www.museoitaloamericano.org

musician, broadcaster, author, his charitable endeavors in 1997 from journalist, poet, artist, and Pope John Paul II, and the prestigious photographer. Born and raised in San Silver Cable Car Award in 2001 Francisco, Baccari Jr is a graduate of presented by the San Francisco the University of Santa Clara and UC Convention and Visitors Bureau for his Berkeley’s Graduate School of Political significant contributions to the San san francisco san Science. In 1958, he became an Francisco visitors industry. executive with Westinghouse Photography has long been his passion, Broadcasting Company, producing and his photographic images have been award-winning programs, such as PM published in numerous publications and East/PM West with Mike Wallace. In have been exhibited around the world. 1965, he established Alessandro He is the recipient of many awards as Baccari and Associates, specializing in well as of two Fulbright Grants and the public affairs research, advertising, Distinguished American Scholars Grant. public relations, and graphic design. In He was the 2002 recipient of the 1984, along with his company American Society of Photographers activities, he served as Associate Dean International Award. Over the years, he of the College of Business and Director has served as the executive director of of the Center for the Study of the Professional Photographers of Enterprise at San Francisco State California Association, a trustee of the University. His love of California history Brooks Institute of Professional compelled him to serve as curator and Photography in Santa Barbara, and as a director of the Eureka Foundation director of the International where he built 18 museums dedicated Photography Hall of Fame and Museum to preserving regional history. In 1985 in Oklahoma. he was knighted by the Italian For Baccari Jr. the greatest gift the Government for his book The camera can offer the serious showcasing for sale art objects, appeared three times a year with a Chronicles of The Italian Cathedral of photographer is “that of seeing, and paintings, tapestries, furniture pieces, circulation of 30,000. The West, a four hundred page through seeing, understanding a little statues, and vases. The gallery also Alessandro Baccari Jr. has also enjoyed illustrated volume on the history of bit more about humanity, the significant exhibited the art of up-and-coming a versatile career. Over the years he Italian immigrants. Two awards that he details of life and the world around us. young artists. In 1945, he published the has been described as an educator, is very proud to have received are: the In the hands of this perceptive person, Eyes of the Woman magazine, which businessman, museum curator, Benemerenti Medal in recognition for photographic images become art.”

same-day course enrollment called by the New York Times Book Days of Sodom. Pasolini’s tragic and Travel to Italy information Review “the standard Pasolini bio- still unsolved murder has remained Workshop on Umbria’s olive oil pre- graphy,” author Barth David Schwartz a subject of contentious debate for sented by “La Lingua La Vita” cultural returns to the Italian Cultural Institute four decades. The enduring fascination center from Todi. for a conversation with film scholar with who committed the crime—and The Istituto Italiano Scuola (IIS) is the Noa Steimatsky. why—reflects his vital stature in Italy’s only school affiliated with the San Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922–75) was one political and social history. Francisco Italian Cultural Institute, with of the most important Italian intellec- Barth David Schwartz, a Rhodes Scho- the task of fulfilling their shared mis- tuals of the post–World War II era. An lar who earned degrees from Harvard sion of providing the highest quality astonishing polymath—poet, novelist, College and Yale Law School, is a Italian language instruction in the Bay literary critic, political polemicist, writer based in Baltimore, Maryland. Area. screenwriter, and film director—he n On the occasion of the Settimana exerted profound influence on Italian della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo, the October 20 culture up to his untimely death. Based Istituto Italiano Scuola and the Italian on extensive interviews with those Cultural Institute open their doors to Pier Paolo Pasolini: A who knew Pasolini, both friends and all who may be interested in or curious Cinematic Life enemies, admirers and detractors, about our beautiful language. From 17th Italian Language Week in the World Pasolini Requiem chronicles his growth 5:00pm to 8:00 pm visitors will have 6:30 Pm from poet in the provinces to Italy’s a chance to explore language classes, Italian Cultural Institute leading “civil poet”; the scandalous learn about scholarships, take advan- 601 Van Ness Ave F success of his two novels and political tage of special discounts, and taste ww iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it writing; and his transition to film, whe- true Italian products from Umbria. re he started as a contributor to the Course information & free Italian trial n Following the publication of the golden age of Italian cinema and ended classes. Enjoy a 10% discount on revised edition of Pasolini Requiem, with the shocking Salò, or the 120 www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 105 Italy in the City dining out

ww i-Italy lands in the Golden City Italian Bites in a Beat san francisco san Generation Vibe

From chic and luxurious to friendly and casual, San Francisco’s Italian dining scene has something.

by Tommaso Cartia mers. Mamma Stefania and the rest Italian of course, and the special of the Gambaccini family will win you Vicoletto Private Collection that bo- Did you ever dream of enjoy- over with their Italian hospitality and asts among others two regal wines ww ing a typical Italian espres- kindness while filling your bellies with such as the “Super Tuscan, Sassicaia, so, or a perfectly cooked pizza in the most exquisite Tuscan delights. Tenuta San Guido” from Tuscany, and the same spot where Jack Ker- the “Nebbiolo, Angelo Gaja, Sperss, ouac, Francis Ford Coppola, or Vicoletto Langhe” from Piedmont. Lawrence Ferlinghetti spent their 550 Green Street time? If you did, San Francisco’s % (415) 433-5800 Tony’s Pizza Napoletana North Bach is the place for you. ww www.vicolettosf.com 1570 Stockton Street The city’s Italian dining scene cuisine Regional (Calabrese) % (415) 835-9888 ambience Cozy today is spread throughout all price $$ ww www.tonyspizzanapoletana.com the neighborhoods, but both the Our Picks For cuisine Traditional ambience Casual Italian immigrants and the beat- This Season n A delightful, charming spot in price $$ niks found their cradle in North North Beach, Vicoletto (Italian for Beach, which remains one of the alley) is an exquisite joint that offers n Chef Tony Germignani grew up top-ten places to visit in town. Baonecci all of the best of the cuisine from spending his free time cooking with What at first was actually a beach, 16 Green Street Calabria in a warm environment. his mother, who used the organic during the centuries became a % (415) 989-1806 Owners Francesco Covucci and Peter products they collected at their family hotbed for old and new cultures. ww www.caffebaonecci.com Fazio, two Calabrians at heart, know farm. After his very first experience But this lively neighborhood— cuisine Regional (Tuscan) how to treat their clients with an au- as a pizza runner at his brother’s ambience Casual also called San Francisco’s “Little price $$ thentic Mediterranean menu cooked pizzeria, Pyzaro in Castro Valley, Tony Italy”—owes its popularity to the with local and organic ingredients. became a pizza throwing star, winning Italian immigration of the past n If you are looking for an authentic Start your meal with the tasty bur- his first competition in Las Vegas to century. It was here where bear- Tuscan culinary experience, look no rata with roasted butternut squash, then become president of the World ers of Italian traditions met Beat further than Baonecci. This restau- imported weekly from Puglia. As for Pizza Championship. Germignani is the Generation artists. Caffe Trieste, rant offers typical dishes that can the main courses, try the Tagliolini only Triple Crown winner for baking at opened in 1956 by Giovanni Giot- otherwise only be found within the al Nero di Seppia–homemade squid the International Pizza Championships ta, became one of their preferred city walls of Lucca, a tiny town in ink pasta, clams, Monterrey squid, in Lecce, Apulia, and he was even the meetings places. Tuscany with tons of charm. The prawns, and cherry tomato sauce. first American (and non-Neapolitan) As beat poet David Meltzer chef, affectionately called Mamma Or perhaps try the gnocchi with to win the coveted World Pizza Cup in once stated, “North Beach had Stefania, offers only the best with ho- Calabrian sausage and broccoli in a Naples in 2007. When Tony started much more of a European atmo- memade pasta prepared daily topped cream sauce. Vicoletto has refined his own business in San Francisco, he sphere because most of the real with her own special sauces. Her goal selection of wines as well, mostly set the bar high in order to eliminate estate was managed primarily by is to make others feel like they were all competition. Ever since it opened Italians–often first-generation in Italy, and she does just that. She its doors, Tony’s Pizza Napoletana has Italians. And the Italians never transforms the simplest of ingre- received nothing but high praise from felt uncomfortable with the idea dients into something truly extraordi- locals and critics alike for its tasty of somebody being an artist or a nary. Even the most common plates Margherita and several other styles poet.” Come enjoy some of North pack an unexpected punch that leave of pizza. The chef prides himself on Beach’s historic and modern Ital- foodies stunned and coming back for continuing the tradition he grew up ian joints to feel the “beat” of that more. Not only do the freshness and with, using only the freshest ingre- era! You’ll find our suggestions quality of her products entice custo- dients he grows on the rooftop garden right here in our special Fall se- mers but it’s also the warmth of the in addition to supporting local organic lection! ww restaurant that really attracts custo- farmers and artisan cheese makers.

106 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Left: one of Bill Weber’s murals in North Beach. Counterclockwise: Baonecci Cafè; Vicoletto (photo by Stephanie W. Hession); Cafè Trieste. Left: Tommaso’s legendary oven san francisco san

ww Neighborhood Gems A San Francisco Landmark

Cafe Trieste Home to the oldest wood-fired brick oven on the West Coast, this family-run 609 Vallejo Street % (415) 392-6739 Neapolitan style restaurant recently cselebrated its 80th birthday. ww http://coffee.caffetrieste.com cuisine Typical (Italian Caffè) by T. C. puts a sweet note on the restaurants ate with a warm savory sensation. ambience Rustic price $$$ menu with her exquisite desserts. In Try the veal saltimbocca–prosciutto A Tommaso’s Ristorante Ital- an interview, Agostino was proud to and fresh mozzarella in a white n The legend of Caffè Trieste dates wwiano truly represents a piece of say that Tommaso’s is North Beach’s wine sauce–or the parmigiana with back to 1956 when Giovanni “Gianni” San Francisco’s history. Home to the oldest Italian restaurant. “We’ve been melted cheese. Regarding the rich Giotta, “Papà Gianni,” opened the joint very first wood-fired brick pizza oven here 77 years, I mean the place,” said wine list, Tommaso’s sports an origi- after migrating from his hometown of the West Coast, this classic Italian Crotti, “Everything around us has nal wine, a Tommaso’s Private Label of Rovigno D’Istria–which is now part joint, which opened in 1935, cele- changed. Places opening up, places Table Red, produced in conjunction of Croatia–to San Francisco with his brated its incredible 80-year history closing. The neighborhood has with Pedroncelli Family Estate. This wife, Ida. At that time, Italian espresso in 2015. The restaurant was opened changed so much, and we are the original wine is an exquisite blend wasn’t that popular in the US. In fact, by the Cantalupo family from Naples only true anchor in this section. A of Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah that it was almost unknown on the West who named the place “Lupo” at first. little bit of the red light district am- shows fruity flavors of ripe berry, Coast. To this day, many say that Then the business was passed down biance as you can tell. That came, plum, and warm spice. Some of the Giotta and his Caffè are responsible to chef Tommy Chin, who italianized everything came after this place.” restaurant’s seasonal specials add for introducing the philosophy of a the name of the place according to Pizza at Tommaso’s is legend- magic to the regular menu. The tor- classic Italian espresso bar to the his own. Later on, the Crotti family ary. It’s 100% real Italian pizza, tellini con burro, salvia e parmigiano, city of San Francisco.The success joined Chin to shape the modern with a thin-crust and super fresh for example, is a tasty delight–home- of the Caffè really starts with the face of this sumptuous Italian restau- ingredients. The best seller is the made tortellini, with browned butter, quality of its coffee. Papà Gianni had rant, which managed to stay relevant burrata pizza with cherry tomatoes parmesan and sage. Another special an old-fashioned approach to brewing among the Italian dining scene in and basil. On the pasta front, their treat is the pizza pesto con pomodori techniques. He used to say that the San Francisco thanks to its authentic lasagna is mouth-watering, and the secchi, aglio soffritto e erba cipollina– secret of his success was to “buy the old-fashioned Italian cooking, rooted oven-baked specialties, particularly sundried tomato pesto, roasted gar- best beans, roast them yourself, then in the Neapolitan style. the appetizers, embraces the pal- lic, and chives. brew each cup like it’s for you.” The Tommaso’s remains successful The restaurant is also one of the shop also has exquisite Italian pastries today due to its family-run concept, pit-stops of Avital Tours, a sight- and delicacies, such as Sicilian cannoli. which makes the dining experience seeing tour agency that organizes But it who sipped on that coffee that rustic, cozy, and friendly. It’s the per- 4-course fabulous dining experienc- truly made the difference. The mythi- fect environment for an evening with es. Each course is served in a differ- cal Francis Ford Coppola, for example, friends or for a date. The warmth of ent restaurant, and, of course, paired wrote the screenplay for his master- the Crotti family really makes all the with great wines. Tommaso’s is part piece The Godfather at Caffè Trieste. difference. In 1973, Agostino was of the North Beach tour of course. So, Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti was a working as a server for Caffe Trieste– check out the agency website (www. regular, and so were Jack Kerouac, the historic Italian coffee house that avitaltours.com) and come and visit Allen Ginsberg, Bob Kaufman, Gregory has been frequented by artists and Tommaso’s Ristorante Italiano! ww Corso, Jack Hirschman. On saturday musicians since 1956–and he stayed don’t miss the Caffè Trieste Saturday true to his artisan way of running a Tommaso’s Ristorante Italiano Concert, considered to be the longest- restaurant. Till this day, he makes his 1042 Kearny Street running show in the all city. It started own pizza dough at Tommaso’s. His % (415) 398-9696 with the Giotta family performing sister, Lidia, serves as the executive ww www.tommasos.com there, and then it expanded to present chef, and his other sister, Carmen, cuisine Traditional ambience Rustic the best of SF’s local music scene. is the perfect host. His wife Anna price $$ www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 107 Italy in the City Director Mario Martone on the set of Il giovane favoloso with Elio Germano (Giacomo Leopardi) and Isabella OVERVIEW Ragonese (Leopardi’s sister Paolina). Below: Valeria Rumori, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, LA.

ww The 17th Edition of the Italian Language Week in the World Takes Off This Fall los angeles los Italian Cinema in the “Mecca of Cinema” Every year a different cultural theme is chosen to spotlight the week’s promotion of language; in 2017, it’s cinema. Located in the capital of American cinema, the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles is naturally very actively involved. The Institute’s director, Valeria Rumori tells i-Italy how they are approaching the task.

by Tommaso Cartia

The Italian Language Week in the World wwis an event of foremost importance for Italians. Now in its seventeenth year, and run under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic of Italy, its theme for 2017 is the Italian language in Italian cinema—and the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles is naturally very actively involved. One of the major screenings during Italian Language Week will be Il Giovane Favoloso by Italian director Mario Martone, on Octo- ber 17th. The film chronicles the tormented life of a giant of Italian literature, Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837). We asked the Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, Valeria Ru- mori, the reason behind the choice of Mar- tone’s film. “Il Giovane Favoloso was suggested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an iconic movie about the Italian language,” Rumori says. “It narrates the intellectual and human story of one of the greatest Italian authors of all times. Besides, it is a movie for which Mario Martone has won so many awards, including one dedicated to Italian creativity here at our Institute.” Martone’s work is in very good company.. ww We bring to Los Angeles The Instituteis also presenting Raffaello, Mas- ter of Arts, a 3D documentary about the fa- the best that Italian cinema mous Renaissance painter, produced by Sky in collaboration with the Vatican Museums and produces every year. The Magnitudo Films. Host of the event is Davide Gasparotto, Senior Curator of Paintings at the fact is, for LA, Italian Getty Museum in Los Angeles. cinema has always been A complex, multifaceted job But the work of the Week is much more com- relevant—even cool! plex than “just” showing movies to the public. Rumori, who has a long experience in the field and came to Los Angeles after serving several zona, and New Mexico. Therefore, I chose to comedy Pane e Tulipani (Bread and Tulips) years as the director of the Italian Cultural In- emphasize the collaboration between differ- by Silvio Soldini. This award-winning movie stitute in San Francisco, explains the rationale. ent institutions, not only Italian, such as the is an Italian-Swiss co-production and was se- “When I started working at this Institute,” she Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles, but lected by the Institute together with the Con- points out, “I got to understand how culturally also American and those representing other sulate General of Switzerland. The rationale complex and varied the city of Los Angeles is, countries.” was to emphasize that Italy and Switzerland as well as the whole area we serve, covering An example of this international collabo- share a long border, and in the Swiss canton the whole of Southern California, Nevada, Ari- ration is the inclusion of the Italian romantic of Ticino, where Italian is one of the official

108 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Scenes from: Pane e Tulipani, by Silvio Soldini; Pizza e l’arte di arrangiarsi, by Matteo Troncone; Enrico IV, by Marco Bellocchio; Tutto quello che vuoi, by Francesco Bruni; Fuocoammare, by Gianfranco Rosi. languages, it is spoken by almost everyone. There, Italian works as a bridge between two ww The city of Los Angeles is different cultures. Another example—this one beyond cine- culturally complex and ma—is the Italian-Mexican collaboration for angeles los the Year of Mexico 2017 celebration in Los varied, and we also serve Angeles. In fact, when the Institute had to decide on its participation to the Day of Con- the whole of Southern temporary Art, it chose an exhibit by Italian writer and illustrator Andrea Ferraris, author California, Nevada, Arizona, of Churubusco—a graphic novel telling the story of an Italian immigrant in Mexico. The and New Mexico. Therefore, event was created in collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico, and it served you have to emphasize the as a reminder that Italy—today a country of destination for immigrants from Africa and collaboration between Asia—has long been a country of departure for millions of Italian emigrants to North different institutions, not and South America as well as to Australia, Europe, and virtually everywhere else in the only Italian, but also world. American and those Promoting Italy through cinema Another example of cinematic collaboration, representing other this time among Italian institutions, is the screening of Enrico IV, directed by Marco countries. Bellocchio and inspired by the play by Luigi Pirandello, the Nobel Prize-winning Sicil- Q&A sessions. This year the exhibit will pay ian playwright and novelist. In 2017 Italy cel- homage to one of the most influential Italian ebrates the 150th anniversary of Pirandello’s directors of all times, Michelangelo Antonioni. birth, and the Italian Cultural Institute, in Roberto Ciccutto, President and CEO of Luce collaboration with ENIT (the Italian National Cinecittà, the italian agency for the promotion Tourist Board) paid homage to his memory in of cinema, will participate in a pre-opening on a series of events called Viaggi in Italia (Voy- November 15 ages to Italy), in which they promoted Piran- dello’s Sicily, specifically the city of Agrigento, “Italian Cinema is cool in LA” where he was born. In the golden age of Italian Neorealism—after The connection between Italian cinema and WWII—Italian cinema was a strong presence Italian society and culture is very strong in- in Hollywood. Today, however, contemporary deed. A telling example is the program Film- Italian films in the US face a much more dif- ing in Italy, that promotes Italy as a location ficult market. That’s why the work of agencies for foreign movie productions. The program like the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Ange- was created in collaboration with Tiziana les is so important. Valeria Rumori is positive Rocca, former director of the Taormina Film about the future, noting the increased inter- Festival, and was co-presented at the Institute est of the American public in the new Italian during the Voyages to Italy series with the cinema. “We bring to LA the best that Italian Italian Trade Commission. cinema produces every year, including movies On November 15, another chapter of the from the Turin Social World Film Festival, for series Viaggi in Italia will focus on the city example. And the winner of the Milan Inter- of Naples with a screening of Pizza & the national Film Festival 2017, Tutto quello che Art of Living (Pizza & l’arte di arrangiarsi) by vuoi, directed by Francesco Bruni, will have its Italian-American director Matteo Troncone. US premiere here in LA.” The fact is, Rumori The event is co-hosted by ENIT and falls in says, that “for LA, Italian cinema has always the Week of Italian Cuisine in the World—in been relevant—even cool. Gianfranco Rosi’s a year when pizza is a candidate for inclusion Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea), Oscar nominated in UNESCO’s World Heritage. last year, confirms this. Rosi missed winning Then, starting on November 16, the exhibit his Oscar, but two other Italians didn’t: The Cinema Italian Style will showcase the best of Best Make-up and Hairstyling Award went to Italian cinema in Los Angeles, with the oppor- Alessandro Bertolazzi and Giorgio Gregorini tunity to meet the filmmakers and actors for for Suicide Squad.” ww www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 109 Italy in the City EVENTS

Italian Calendar

October 14 los angeles los “The Day of Contemporary Art” at Italian Cultural Institute in LA 10:00 am Italian Cultural Institute 1023 Hilgard Avenue ww iiclosangeles.esteri.it

n The Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles will participate in “The Day in Milan. Since then, he has served Alps in this interactive wine tasting of Contemporary Art” on October 14, as music director of the Philadelphia party organized with a Vinomatica. 2017 organized by AMACI (Associa- Orchestra as well as music director com Wine Agency and its Founder tion of Contemporary Art Museums of the Teatro alla Scala. His numerous and CEO, Master Taster and Wine Edu- in Italy) with the support of MIBACT accolades include France’s Officer of cator, Giammario Villa. We all know (Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Legion of Honor, Russia’s Order that wine is meant to be enjoyed with Activities and Tourism) and MAECI of Friendship, the Birgit Nilsson Prize, good company and food, so the party (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Inter- and Spain’s prestigious Prince of will also feature an array of salads national Cooperation). Asturias Prize for the Arts. In May and crostini, prepared by one of the The “Day” features free entrance to 2012, he was awarded the highest top Italian eateries in Los Angeles. all associated museums and activities Papal honor: he was made a Knight of It will be a perfect addition for your in the contemporary art sector. the Grand Cross of the First Class of tasting pleasure! The October 16th On October 14 the IIC Los Angeles will the Order of St. Gregory the Great by event will focus on Italian cocktails open its doors to the public to visit Pope Benedict XVI. made with wine and grappa. Join us the exhibit of original drawings by the for an evening of great fun and lear- famous writer and illustrator Andrea October 16 ning! Space is limited, RSVP required. October 18 Ferraris, from his most recent Fee: $55.00 (IIC members)/$60.00 graphic novel entitled, Churubusco. Italian Cocktail Night - (non-members). Giovanni Bellini: The Unconventional Italian Poetry of Landscape October 16 Aperitivo: from Amaro to Spritz October 17 6:30 pm Maestro Riccardo Muti & 6:00 pm Italian Cultural Institute The Chicago Symphony Italian Cultural Institute Leopardi - Il Giovane 1023 Hilgard Avenue Orchestra 1023 Hilgard Avenue Favoloso (2014) by ww iiclosangeles.esteri.it 8:00 pm ww iiclosangeles.esteri.it Mario Martone Renée & Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall 6:30 pm n Davide Gasparotto, Senior Cura- 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa n Wine in contemporary Italy: Explo- Italian Cultural Institute tor of Paintings at the Getty Museum, ww www.philharmonicsociety.org ring the unique wines of each region. 1023 Hilgard Avenue will give his insight on the Giovanni There are around 350 common wine ww iiclosangeles.esteri.it Bellini exhibition Landscapes of Faith n The multi-Grammy Award-winning grape varieties in Italy, so there is so which he curated. The exhibition will Chicago Symphony Orchestra makes much to taste! Discover a favorite n On the occasion of the 17th Week be on display at the Getty Center its first Orange County appearance in new bottle and learn something new of The Italian Language in the World a through January 14, 2018. five years under the baton of music about the wine culture of the Italian screening og the film Leopardi (2014, Gasparotto is a native of Bassano del director Riccardo Muti to open the 2h 25m) by Mario Martone. Based Grappa, Italy. He studied Art History Philharmonic Society’s 2017-18 sea- upon the short but fruitful life of and Classical Archaeology at the son. This performance features prin- illness-racked Italian poet and philoso- University of Pisa. He then went on cipal clarinetist Stephen Williamson in pher Giacomo Leopardi, the film was to study the History of Art Criticism Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto and also selected to compete for the Golden at the Scuola Normale Superiore in includes Schubert’s Symphony No. 8 Lion at the 71st Venice International Pisa. Gasparotto spent 12 years as and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2. Film Festival. (In Italian with English a curator and art historian at the Named 2010 Musician of the Year by subtitles). Organized by the IIC with the National Gallery of Parma. He was a Musical America, Riccardo Muti has Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Interna- Paul Mellon Visiting Senior Fellow at enjoyed an extraordinary career. He tional Cooperation as part of the 17th the Center for Advanced Study in the first came to international attention Week of the Italian Language in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery in 1967, when he was unanimously World and under the high patronage in Washington, D.C. (2007), and an awarded first place at the Guido of the of the President of the Republic Andrew W. Mellon Fellow at the Me- Cantelli Competition for conductors of Italy. tropolitan Museum of Art(2011-2012)

110 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Clockwise from the right page: The MAXXI Museum in Rome; Director Riccardo Muti; Ludovico Einaudi in concert; Thaddeus Strassberger’s Nabucco; Silvio Soldini’s Bread and Tulips; Mario Martone’s Leopardi researching sixteenth-century Italian subtitles.) Organized by the Consulate ww Through November 19 decorative arts before being appoin- General of Switzerland and the IIC ted director of the Galleria Estense in on the occasion of the 17th Week of Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco at the LA Modena in September 2012. the Italian Language in the World and He has published extensively on Tu- under the high patronage of the of the Opera, directed by James Conlon angeles los scan, Venetian, Emilian and Lombard President of the Republic of Italy. art from the sixteenth to the eighte- On September 26, only a few weeks enth centuries. (By invitation only and October 24 before the opening of the LA Opera members). production of Nabucco, the Italian Sounding Limits: The Cultural Institute in Los Angeles October 19 Music of Pascale Criton dedicated a special evening of opera 8:30 pm to Verdi with a renowned guest of Ludovico Einaudi in REDCAT honor. M° James Conlon, Richard concerto 631 W 2nd Street Seaver Music Director of the LA 6:30pmm ww redcat.org Opera. A guided listening of Verdi’s Royce Hall - UCLA Nabucco was presented alongside 340 Royce Drive n The expressive Italian duo com- highlights of the upcoming season ww ludovicoeinaudi.com posed of Silvia Tarozzi (violin) and including Verdi’s Rigoletto in Spring Deborah Walker (cello) join CalArts 2018. The evening closed with a live n Back by popular demand, UCLA’s composer and violist Eyvind Kang opera performance—a very pleasant Center for the Art of Performance to present the US premiere of anticipation of what was to come starting on October 14, when Nabucco opens again welcomes the incomparable Lu- recent works by the innovative to run through November 19 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion in Downtown Los dovico Einaudi to Royce Hall for two French composer Pascale Criton. Angeles. A monumental opera that made Verdi a national hero, Nabucco boasts unforgettable evenings. A classically Tarozzi and Walker will hold ma- a bold score that goes straight to the heart, highlighted by the immortal chorus trained pianist and composer, Einaudi sterclasses at CalArts and a wor- of the Hebrew slaves. is best known for his unique, genre- kshop and performacne on October In Thaddeus Strassberger’s production, the towering biblical drama is defying musical style that blends 23 at UC Santa Barbara. exquisitely presented as it might have been staged at its 1842 premiere at elements of classical, avant-garde, Teatro alla Scala. Plácido Domingo continues his astonishing exploration of the rock, jazz, electronica and world October 26 Verdi baritone repertory with his portrayal of the title role, with one of today’s music in an effortlessly lyrical and brightest stars, Liudmyla Monastyrska, making her company debut as the unexpected way. The Adelaide Review Tina Modotti: Dogma and king’s power-hungry daughter, Abigaille. described his compositions as “rolling Passion (2013) M° Conlon is one of today’s most versatile and respected conductors. A waves” and said that while “some by Laura Martínez Díaz graduate from the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, he has directed describe it as nostalgic and liken its 6:30 pm some of the most important orchestras all over the world, including Italy. In patterned harmonies to pop music… Consulate General of Mexico in LA 2011 he directed the Orchestra of Maggio Musicale in Florence and in 2016 was in truth, this Milanese musician has 2401 W 6th Street appointed Music Director of the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della Rai in Turin. invented a solitary musical path of ww consulmex.sre.gob.mx/losangeles He has been the Music Director of LA Opera since 2007. his own, one where genre distinctions cease to matter and establishment n The connection between art, acti- Organized by the Consulate General DOP and IGP denominations. She practices are left far behind.” (For vism, love and tragedy is the subject of Mexico in L.A. in collaboration is a LA-based Italian food blogger, tickets or more information, Visit of Tina Modotti: Dogma and Passion with the IIC, on the occasion of 2017 recipe developer, host home chef www.ticketmaster.com or call the by Laura Martínez Díaz (2013, 52 Year of Mexico in Los Angeles and in web series and author of the UCLA box office at 310-825-2101). min), a documentary dedicated to the on the occasion of the 17th Week of cookbook “A Queen in the Kitchen”. Italian photographer, model, actress, the Italian Language in the World and Born and raised in Northern Italy, October 24 and revolutionary political activist. under the high patronage of the of the beautiful Milan, she learned how to (In Spanish with English subtitles.) President of the Republic of Italy. cook and love good food from her Silvio Soldini: Bread and beloved grandmother Nonna Fer- Tulips (2000) November 4 nanda. Ale Gambini was nominated 6:30 pm in four categories for the 2017 The Italian Cultural Institute Corso di cucina: Cooking Taste Awards – Best New Series, 1023 Hilgard Avenue DOP & IGP Best Single Topic Series, Best Food ww iiclosangeles.esteri.it 10:30 am Program – Online Streaming, & Best Italian Cultural Institute Home Chef in a Series. n A screening of the Italian-Swiss pro- 1023 Hilgard Avenue Menu’: duction and romantic comedy, Bread ww iiclosangeles.esteri.it - Cialda di Parmigiano con Spuma di and Tulips (2000, 1h 56m) directed by Mortadella Silvio Soldini. After being forgotten n In anticipation of the Second - Medaglioni di Polenta Concia in a highway café’ during a bus trip, Week of Italian Cuisine in the World, - Lasagne Zucca Speck Taleggio a housewife decides to start a new Alessandra “Ale” Gambini will host - Ciambellone Evoo e Limone life in Venice. (In Italian with English a cooking class focused on Italian Fee: $60.00 (IIC members)/ $65.00 www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 111 Italy in the City DININGOUT

ww Healthy Eats and More los angeles los The Angelenos’ Italian Way of Living

Home to juice-cleansers, detox tea drinkers, and gluten-free vegans, this health-conscious city has much to offer in terms of Italian food too.

by Joelle Grosso can contain such rich and intense flavors, turning the ordinary into Our Picks For It may seem paradoxical to something truly extraordinary. wwthink that the glamorous Some restaurants go the extra This Season Californians, who are constant- mile to satisfy their guests by ly creating the latest wellness customizing their gastronomic ww Pico-Robertson trends, are also the ones chang- experiences to perfection and ing the game when it comes to designing innovative dishes that Sotto a cuisine that often uses carbs cater to individual health needs. 9575 West Pico Boulevard and cheese. Many of the restau- Those who maintain a strictly % (310) 277-0210 rants featured in our selection gluten-free diet but still want to ww www.sottorestaurant.com are working with local farmers get their pasta fix now have the cuisine Traditional ambience Friendly to stock their kitchens in or- option of ordering alternative price $$$ der to provide only the freshest meals that are just as tasty. As op- high quality ingredients for their posed to your typical flour or egg n Born in LA but raised in Bologna ww Downtown customers, an element that is based pastas, homemade speci- during the summers, head chef Steve crucial in authentic Italian cook- alities can include fettuccine and Samson goes back to his roots when Bottega Louie ing. Instead of relying heavily pappardelle made entirely out of compiling the ever-changing menu for 700 South Grand Avenue on imported goods, chefs in Los corn, quinoa, and flaxseed. The his acclaimed restaurant Sotto. With % (213) 802-1470 Angeles are using the abundance beauty of contemporary cooking an extensive wine list, a menu stacked ww www.bottegalouie.com of organic ingredients available is that there are no limits as to with flavorful dishes, and wonderful cuisine Traditional ambience Modern in the Golden State and continu- what can be achieved in the kitch- fixed-price options, no wonder that price $$$ ously refining their menus to ac- en. California and Italy may seem magazines, websites, and customers commodate for seasonal harvest worlds apart, but the thing that rave about their dining experiences at n From phenomenal appetizers to changes. The result is always a binds the two together is their Sotto. Their spicy clams served with delectable desserts, Bottega Louie delicious meal that leaves diners passion for authenticity when it chickpeas, sausage, and garlic crostone is sure to please. Signature pizzas, in awe at how simple products comes to eating right. ww are the perfect way to start your meal. pastas, salads, lattes, and sweets If you’re looking for some exceptional are all decadently plated to absolute flavor, try the casarecce; it’s a heaping perfection providing a satisfying feast plate of fresh housemade noodles pre- for your eyes and your stomach. The pared al dente with braised lamb, egg, menu consists of traditional Italian pecorino cheese, and a creamy meat recipes with fun twists such as the sauce. The pizza guanciale with house- battered and fried portobello mushro- cured pork cheek, ricotta, scallions, and oms with panko chips. Be sure to also fennel pollen earned this restaurant a try the truffle pizza, which is a crowd spot on Food Network! pleaser. For dessert, the consider the The wine list is controlled by wine cremeux or the butterscotch budino. director Jeremy Parzen, Ph.D. Its core is The restaurant’s interior is elegant and devoted to the red grapes of southern modern with gold and silver tones. The Italy–Aglianico, Palagrello Nero, Casa- massive restaurant seats over 250 vecchia, and Gaglioppo, among others– guests; however, no matter how busy it but it is now starting to feature some of is, the service is never lacking. Overall, the unsung winemaking regions of Italy Bottega Louie offers a chic dining expe- (beyond Piedmont and Tuscany). rience that you’re sure to enjoy.

112 | i-Italy Magazine | Fall 2017 www.i-Italy.org Opposite page: The LA City Hall with the colors of the Italian Flag

Diners rave about the aragosta, a healthy serving of cold lobster on a bed of baby greens, artichokes, mushrooms, and crispy apples–all finished with a decadent citrus dressing. Also angeles los be sure to try the Bucatini all’Ama- triciana: bucatini pasta in a sauce of reduced cherry tomatoes and bits of pancetta. ww ww Los Feliz ww Hancock Park Neighborhood Gems

Little Dom’s Osteria Mozza 2128 Hillhurst Avenue 6602 Melrose Avenue Dining in Venice, LA % (323) 661-0055 % (323) 297-0100 ww Littledoms.com ww www.la.osteriamozza.com cuisine Traditional cuisine Traditional Discover Your Posh a classic Italian antipasto, for in- ambience Cozy ambience Casual price $$ price $$ Go-To Spot in Venice stance–fried zucchini flowers–and makes crisped-to-perfection fried n This bustling little pizza joint has n For an upscale and sophisticated Beach. Los Angeles squash blossoms, and you’re lucky become one of LA’s best and has lo- dining experience with superb service she did! cals raving. Although Little Dom’s was and melt in your mouth food, Osteria by Samantha Janazzo Not only do the simplicity of completely renovated, it maintains the Mozza is the perfect place. This brain- fresh ingredients compliment vibe of a neighborhood pizzeria that child of Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich You may think you have a each other perfectly, but this has been around for years. Chef Bran- and Nancy Silverton has Naples as its wwfavorite Italian restaurant neighborhood gem also brings don Boudet was born and raised in the muse—there is an entire bar dedicated in LA, but if it isn’t Scopa Italian people together with its timeless New Orleans with a passion for Italian to mozzarella and an area of the menu Roots, then you simply must give dishes. From the classics, like egg- culinary methods. The sweet nutella that explains the various mozzarella it a try. Venice Beach’s Washington plant parmesan and rice balls, to panino and savory smoked salmon offerings. Burrata & artichoke–brai- Blvd. is a typical LA street with its more refined dishes, like linguine flatbread make for charming brunch sed artichokes, pine nuts, currants & many strip malls and eateries. Sleek topped with braised pork cheek and options while the constantly revolving mint pesto–is one of the many fresh and unassuming on the outside, ricotta salata, Scopa tries to satisfy menu includes the perfect Italian cheeses, which come straight from Scopa’s dark building with large every palate. While much of their staples such as creamy spaghetti Italy. Start off the evening with grilled square windows stands alone near influence is Italian, one dessert is carbonara, fresh gnocchi fritto, and octopus antipasto served with pota- a marina. But as you walk in, you based on a classic American school wood oven baked piadine. This little toes, celery, green onion & lemon. For will quickly realize why it’s your lunch–the fluffernutter. It’s a sweet brick restaurant found on the corner an entree, the gnocchi with duck ragù new favorite. The gorgeous massive rich blend of toasted marshmallow will surely brighten up anyone’s day. is a great choice; the duck flavoring bar has bottles that stack up to the and peanut butter that will bring compliments the potato dumpling to highest part of the ceiling. They’re back nostalgic feelings of the easy ww Brentwood perfection. illuminated by gold light and stand days of elementary school. out against the charcoal colored The trendy spot also offers a wide Vincenti Ristorante walls. The waiting room is quaint range of beverages from imported 11930 San Vicente Boulevard and comfortable, but you may rath- wines to creative cocktails and is % (310) 207-0127 er want to wait at the bar. Reserva- currently featuring the Louis XIII ww www.vincentiristorante.com tions fill up quickly, so dropping-in De Remy Martin. Put the prosecco cuisine Modern on a Friday after LA traffic could aside (just for tonight) and enjoy ambience Elegant price $$$ mean you’ll be waiting at the bar this Grand Champagne Cognac-80 for a while. A little patience goes a proof that was created in 1874 and n Upon entering Vincenti Ristorante long way because the food here is contains a blend of up to 1,200 eaux you will be greeted with a warm and exquisite. Not only do the floor to de vie, the youngest of which is 40 welcoming atmosphere. Complete ceiling windows provide stunning years old. So come to Scopa and en- with mahogany tables and chairs and views of colorful sunsets, the way joy the Italian American food that a stylish marble bar stocked with top the chefs plate the food is almost as has pushed the limits of the LA din- shelf liquors, the restaurant’s interior eye catching, if not more. ing scene for years. ww feels sleek and modern. The skilled Executive Chef Antonia Lofaso and attentive staff will aid you in pai- provides her customers with moth- Scopa Italian Roots ring the perfect Italian or Californian erly affection along with a fresh in- 2905 Washington Boulevard wine from their extensive cellar, or terpretation of old-school Italian % (310) 821-1100 a refreshing cocktail from their own food. She is an expert on finding ww www.scopaitalianroots.com mixologist, with a perfectly prepared the balance between fine dining cuisine Traditional ambience Trendy and beautifully plated Italian dish. and homey comfort food. She takes price $$$ www.i-Italy.org Fall 2017 | i-Italy Magazine | 113 LABuStINA Judith Harris and, below, a view of Trevignano Romano, where she lives with her partner David Willey. Both are journalists and expats. ww The Italy I Love Loving Italy: It’s Easy as Pizza Pie

There are hundreds of reasons why an American expat may fall in love with Italy and live there for half a century. Nature, art, food, the people... and national health care! by Judith Harris

Let’s face it. If I’ve lived in Italy ww Meet Judith wwhalf a century, there must be a reason. In fact, not one, but hun- Judith Harris writes primarily about dreds of reasons. conservation of the Italian cultural First, this is the most beauti- heritage. Her most recent book is a ful country in the world, from the biography, Evelina, A Victorian Heroine gifts of mother nature—Alpine in Venice. She is also the author of slopes, islands, seashores, gently Pompeii Awakened: A Story of rolling hills—to the creations of Rediscovery and The Monster in the mankind. Wherever the gaze falls, Closet. As a freelance American one sees beauty, and not only in- journalist based in Rome, she has been side the famous museums. There a regular contributor to ARTnews, is the country church whose win- Current Archaeology, Time, Wall Street dows reveal its 16th century origin. Journal and the online magazine i-italy. The user-friendly piazza (no, not a org. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, she is a “shopping plaza”) where people graduate of Northwestern University, sit together and converse about Evanston, Illinois, and is a former the events of the day. The pub on diplomat. Rome’s outskirts whose construc- tion shows that, before the auto- and breadcrumbs. I was so taken mobile and the building’s recent, with this invention that I made it thoughtful conversion, it had been myself for lunch (admittedly less an inn with horse stalls, still visible perfectly than his). The wines speak and carefully preserved. for themselves, as do those popular On the more obvious aesthetic sommelier courses on offer. level, one learns to look: in a bold Not least, for those who love Baroque divertissement, the stone family, this is still a country where window frames of the building next grandparents remain close to their to Palazzo Montecitorio in Rome grandchildren, and where the were carved to look as if gushing grown children appreciate and forth waves of mud. Before noticing even enjoy their elderly parents and them I had, unobservant, walked aunts and uncles. past those windows a hundred how townships are taking it upon Julie Fabrizio, remain Italy’s great Among the most important el- times. themselves to be creative. Horren- treasure and resource. All over Italy ements of Italian life—and this is But just look, and everywhere dous photos of rubbish piled up in the borghi are a delight to explore— deeply serious—is its socialized historic levels are visible. Tire of the the big cities are everywhere. Vit- for instance, in the Abruzzo, Santo health system. I sometimes sus- Baroque, like those windows, and erbo, pop. 67,000, has launched a Stefano di Sessanio, which has an pect the Italians do not appreciate go visit ancient Roman ruins: mo- campaign to avoid this. With help innovative albergo diffuso, or scat- all they have, beginning with this. saics, temples or statues, like those from citizens taking photos with tered hotel rooms inside the old When I had the misfortune to have in the elegant museum at Ostia An- cell phones, the city has just issued houses. a serious infection, I was hospital- tica. Weary of antiquity? Okay, trot 375 tickets to individuals caught Needless to say, Italian foods ized three times and successfully back into the Bronze Age, push for- dumping rubbish onto the streets triumph. In our own little village operated by a brilliant, youthful sur- ward into the Renaissance or drift instead of into the bins provided. of Trevignano Romano a brilliant geon. Thanks to the national health back into the Middle Ages—say, in These smaller ancient towns, like young chef just served us a compote service, the cost was minimal. the medieval quarter of Viterbo in Asolo, where Wyatt Rockefeller, de- of pureed potato and fennel, laced Thank you, Italy—thanks for so North Lazio. scendant of the U.S. banking family, Jwith raisins, of all things, baked much, and I hope I can repay you, Speaking of Viterbo, it illustrates just married the Italian-American under a topping of grated cheese if only with words of gratitude. ww

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