Remembering Andrea Camilleri
We will miss the intellectual, the free person who spoke freely, who said things that pleased and did not please…
Remembering Andrea Camilleri
A private funeral was held in Rome today for the famed Italian author Andrea Camilleri, who earned worldwide acclaim for his series of detective novels featuring inspector Salvo Montalbano.
Friends and family gathered for the ceremony at Rome's Protestant Cemetery, where many famed artists and poets are buried, including Percy Shelley and John Keats and was attended as well by several hundred well-wishers were allowed to enter the cemetery in small groups to pay tribute to the author.
The celebrated author died at the age of 93 in Rome after a period of intensive care. News of Camilleri's death sparked a outpouring of tributes for the author, who never shied away from criticizing those in power.
Italian Culture Minister Alberto Bonisoli stated that "we will miss the intellectual, the free person who spoke freely, who said things that pleased and did not please”.
Camilleri became a novelist later in life, publishing his first book at the age of 57 and would go on to sell over 20 million books in Italy with around 30 novels featuring Montalbano which were translated into at least 30 languages up until 2006, with instructions that his final novel be published only after his death.
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Italian Artist Spotlight: Dario Gambarin
Large scale art installations are common in Europe, but one artist has craftily created temporary works that are sure to astound any fan of non-traditional art mediums.
Italian Artist Spotlight: Dario Gambarin
Large scale art installations are common in Europe, but one artist has craftily created temporary works that are sure to astound any fan of non-traditional art mediums.
Italian land-artist Dario Gambarin created a giant portrait of astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the lunar surface, in a wheat field outside Verona to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 expedition to the moon.
Gambarin’s land art, created with a tractor and plough on a field of grain stubble, was part of a global wave of tributes that celebrated the expedition.
Gambarin himself has stated that “Art is an adventure of the spirit, of thought and of creative imagination. Only those who have the courage to face this journey with free will, taking the risk of their own integrity, can explore these multi-faceted realities.”
Over the years, Gambarin has created similar artwork of Barack Obama, J.F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Kim Jong-Un, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and Pope Francis.
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The Rise of Tourism in Matera
Matera, the European Capital of Culture in 2019, has experienced a boom in tourism the year before it officially took on the name…
The Rise of Tourism in Matera
Matera, the European Capital of Culture in 2019, has experienced a boom in tourism the year before it officially took on the name.
Hotels and other lodgings in the region saw total arrivals of over 614,000 over the course of the last year. The organization, CNA has stated that ''the contribution of foreign tourists was remarkable and that Matera ''benefited from its being assigned the title'', a statement said. In 2018, compared with the previous year.
For those unfamiliar of the region, Matera in the region of Basilicata, in Southern Italy. Iand was the capital of the province of Basilicata from 1663 to 1806. The town lies in a small canyon carved out by the Gravina.
it is also known as la città sotterranea ("the underground city"), its historical centre "Sassi" contains ancient cave dwellings from the Paleolithic period (10th millennium BC). If continually inhabited as Leonardo A. Chisena has suggested it would be one of the oldest continually inhabited settlements in the world.
Matera has a long history and a long list of places to see, from museums to churches to the old water cisterns, built in the rock like the Sassi. These are probably all the reasons why it was announced in 2014 as the European Capital of Culture for the year of 2019, together with Plovdiv in Bulgaria.
Some 42% of the foreigners visiting were from the US (over 14,000 with almost 29,000 overnight stays) which resulted in the United States surpassing France for first place. These figures will be among the themes discussed at the 'Matera, Connecting Made in Italy' conference, sponsored by the CNA and to be held on Wednesday morning at 11 AM in Matera.
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Present Day Pinnochio
This is one tale that is being taken on in a much more intense fashion…
Present Day Pinnochio
Many Americans recognize Pinocchio from the classic Disney film. While Disney is on a streak of making live-action remakes, this is one tale that is being taken on in a much more intense fashion with director Matteo Garrone at the helm.
Garrone, best known for his gritty 2008 crime drama Gomorrah, is making an Italian language version of the tale, penned in the late 1800s by Italian writer Carlo Collodi.
With lavish make-up and scenery, it appears this is not quite the family-friendly adaptation that Walt Disney gave us in 1940.
Garrone has also specifically stated that it will be faithful to Collodi's original text but added that he 'would certainly like children to be part of the audience'.
Italian screen veteran Roberto Benigni will portray the carpenter Geppetto, who makes the marionette in his Tuscan workshop, dreaming that he would one day become a real boy an is Benigni's 1st since the Woody Allen comedy To Rome With Love in which he appeared in in 2012.
Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only new version of Pinocchio that has been announced as Guillermo Del Toro is set to make a stop-motion animated Pinocchio movie for Nexflix, which will be decidedly not family friendly.
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Italian Blockchain Banking
Remember the great bitcoin craze of last year?
Italian Blockchain Banking
Remember the great bitcoin craze of last year? The technology behind it, blockchain, is seeing a resurgence in the banking sector, specifically in Italy with a new project that is set to launch next year.
The Italian Banking Association (ABI) will revisit the method of blockchain technology to run reconciliations beginning March 2020. This marks the first use of the blockchain among Italy’s banks and will integrate distributed ledger technology in interbank processes to improve the rate of speed at which settlements occur.
The move is part of the Spunta Project that aims to enact daily rather than monthly reconciliations. The Italian word “spunta” translates literally to check.
The latest round of tests reportedly began in February with participation from 18 banks, which together represent 78% of the Italian banking sector by number of employees.
Last October marked the successful completion of the 1st trial and validated the use of blockchain to assist in backed-up banking operations to reduce discrepancies between ledgers.
In February of this year, the Italian House of Representatives approved a bill defining blockchain, as well as the technical criteria that smart contracts will have to comply with in order to have legal validity.
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The Return Of The Roman Youth
The sculpture disappeared from Italy sometime after 1944…
The Return Of The Roman Youth
The marble bust of a Roman youth unearthed in the 1930s in the city of Fondi between Rome and Naples was returned to Italy this week for the first time since it was smuggled out of the country nearly 50 years ago.
The sculpture disappeared from Italy sometime between 1944 and the early 1960s and has been returned to the Italian Ministry of Culture in a ceremony at the German ambassador's residence early in June. With centuries of art and artifacts strewn all over Italy, various pieces have been lost over the years to thieves, traffickers and natural disasters.
The statue, which dates from the second century AD and depicts the head and part of the shoulders of a young man, has spent the past 55 years in the University of Munster's Archaeological Museum, whose then director received it from a private owner.
Germany offered to return it without being asked, according to Italy's culture minister Alberto Bonisoli who called the action “a highly symbolic act.”
However, owners of stolen artwork aren't always as willing to return them. Among the most notable disputes is Italy's dispute with the Getty Museum in the United States over the Statue of a Victorious Youth which the American gallery refuses to return despite a ruling by Italy's highest court that it was removed from Italy illegally.
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The Fight For Italian Marriage Equality
The annual Pride march in Rome took place this week as LGBTQ+ Italians are continuing to fight for equal rights regarding marriage equality.
The Fight For Italian Marriage Equality
The annual Pride march in Rome took place this week as LGBTQ+ Italians are continuing to fight for equal rights regarding marriage equality.
In Italy, both male and female same-sex sexual activity have been legal since 1890 though it was not until 2016 that civil unions law passed with many of the rights of marriage. Stepchild adoption was, however, excluded from the bill, and it is currently still being reviewed. The same law provides both same-sex and heterosexual couples which live in an unregistered cohabitation with several legal rights In 2017, the Italian Supreme Court allowed a marriage between two women to be officially recognized.
Currently, Italian law only allows heterosexual couples access to fertility treatments, but a Turin city council in April registered the birth of the son of a lesbian couple, who was conceived via IVF in Denmark.
While many strides have been made towards equality under the law, in May 2018, the Court of Cassation ruled that same-sex marriages performed abroad cannot be recognized in Italy. Instead, they must be registered as civil unions, regardless of whether the couple wed before or after Italy introduced civil unions in 2016.
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The Swarm Over Sardina
A swarm of locusts is plaguing farmlands on the Italian island of Sardinia…
The Swarm Over Sardina
A swarm of locusts is plaguing farmlands on the Italian island of Sardinia in what farmers have called the worst infestation since the end of World War 2. The locusts, estimated in the millions, have covered over 6,000 acres of farmland between the towns of Ottana and Orani.
The farmers’ lobby has asked the government for help, but it’s likely too late to save the hay crop and grassland that sustain their sheep and other livestock.
Locusts are common in Sardinia during the summer, but the massive drought in 2017 followed by significant rainfall in 2018 created the ideal climate for the locusts. Currently, even Northern Italy is also battling a plague of stink bugs, which are destroying swathes of fruit trees.
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Starting Out With Italian Soda
This does beg to questions however, where Italian sodas come from…
Starting Out With Italian Soda
Italian sodas have become increasingly popular around the world with one in particular gaining national notoriety in the U.S. Italian-based Stappi has captured the hearts of food bloggers around the world for good reason. The flavor catalogue is full of variety and has been used both as a refreshing summer drink as well as a favorite alcoholic mixer. This does beg to questions however, where Italian sodas come from. It may surprise you that Italy isn’t the answer. Despite its name, Italian soda originated in the United States.
One claimant to the introduction and increased popularity of Italian sodas is Torani. Rinaldo and Ezilda Torre brought recipes for flavored syrups from Lucca, Italy, and in 1925 introduced what become known as an Italian soda to the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, California. The Italian-American association with Italian sodas has been reinforced by various ready-made brands of Italian sodas, such as the 2005 creation of Romano's Italian Soda Company (named after the Italian-American grandfather of the company's founder) and the 2007 introduction of "The Sopranos Old Fashioned Italian Sodas" which come in three flavors: limoncello, amaretto, and Chianti. Additionally, unlike American sodas, they typically do not contain any caffeine.
According to Le Cordon Bleu, Italian sodas are actually “scoffed at by most full-blooded Italians.” However, Italians do enjoy a similar beverage made with myrtifolia juice, a native-Italian citrus fruit.
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3 Italian Inventions That Changed The World
There are inventions that are often overlooked that have influenced our lives more than all of these brands and products…
3 Italian Inventions That Changed The World
Italy is known for giving birth to some of the most famous brands in modern times in all industries including, Ferrari, Versace, Moschino, Gucci, Prada, and Nutella. The food of Italy is also internationally famous with favorites including gelato, pizza, spaghetti, and a large variety of cheeses. However, there are a few inventions that are often overlooked that have influenced our lives more than all of these brands and products combined. Here are 3 Italian Inventions That Changed The World!
Roman Law
Roman Law is the foundation of all legal systems in Europe that followed it. Its foundations lie in classical Greek and Roman philosophy, but it was exported around Europe during the reign of the Roman Empire.
Its development roughly spans over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC) to the Corpus Juris Civilis (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I.
Today it forms the basis of all civil law around the world, which is why it is argued that this is not only the most influential invention, but also the most important.
Photo: Espresso Machine Critic
The Espresso Machine
The invention of the machine and the method that would lead to espresso is usually attributed to Angelo Moriondo of Turin, Italy, who was granted a patent in 1884 for “new steam machinery for the economic and instantaneous confection of coffee beverage.” Espresso has not only become a staple of nearly every citizen in Italy’s day, but is the basis of an entire coffee culture that has become a global phenomenon, with an enormous resurgence that began in the mid 2000s and is still prevalent today.
The Battery
One of Italy's most recognized contributions to the world of technology was the first true battery. The Voltaic pile was devised by Italian physicist Alessandro Volta in around 1800 AD and was a stack of copper and zinc plates that were bathed in brine-soaked paper disks. Surprisingly. this rudimentary setup was able to produce a steady current for an extended period of time and has lead to what we now consider the modern battery.
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Inclement Italian Weather Refund
You'll never have to worry about inclement weather…
Inclement Italian Weather Refund
Many travelers have the misfortune of running into unforeseen circumstances on their trip. Sometimes this even requires a last minute change of hotel plans due to bad weather. Unfortunately, most hotels, especially in the United States are not very accommodating to these changes. However, you'll never have to worry about this happening if you vacation to the Italian island of Elba, off the coast of Tuscany.
The island’s beautiful beaches, gorgeous architecture, and delicious food was home to Napoleon Bonaparte when he was exiled from France in 1814 and is made up of slices of rocks which once formed part of the ancient Tethyan seafloor, but it does have a history of very inclement weather. Visitors of Elba can get a refund for their hotel stay if there’s too much rain while they’re there (more than 2 hours of a downpour during the day, between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time).
It’s important to note that not every hotel on the island has adopted this refund policy. A full list of hotels who are participating in the "Elba No Rain" program can be found on the initiative’s website.
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The Best In Italian Street Art
The 400 mainly elderly residents openly embrace the thousands of visitors that arrive each June…
The Best In Italian Street Art
2019 will mark the fourth year of the CVTà Street Fest in Civitacampomara - a depopulated village in the Campobasso just under 200 km east of Rome.
Photo: Alessia di Rissio
The goal of CVTà Street Fest is to bring new life into the largely abandoned village. The 400 mainly elderly residents openly embrace the thousands of visitors that arrive each June. Festival-goes will be treated to 4 days of live mural painting, street art tours, live music, amongst many other arts based workshops.
Photo: WideWalls
The entire concept was brought to life In 2014 when Ylenia Carelli, president of Civitacampomarano's cultural organization, wrote to celebrated street artist, Alice Pasquini, inviting her to paint in the village not even knowing that Pasquini's grandfather was actually one of the village's 400 residents. While the town continues to see a decline in inhabitants, there are signs of change. A new ice-cream shop has opened, there’s an AirBnB in the town’s center, and more and more people are seen walking through Civitacampomarano as a result of the artistic spectacles put on by well known Italian and international street artists.
Travelers should note that the village is a 3.5-hour drive away from Rome, and can only be reached by car, so those relying on public transit in Rome will need to plan to rent a vehicle to attend the festival.
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The Return of Ancient Artifacts
This week, there will be a massive event in Beijing to showcase more than 700 Chinese cultural artifacts returned in March by Italian authorities…
The Return of Ancient Artifacts
This week, there will be a massive event in Beijing to showcase more than 700 Chinese cultural artifacts returned in March by Italian authorities at the National Museum of China in what has been the longest case of China tracking lost antiquities.
Photo: Artsy
The returned artifacts are well-preserved and in good condition as they were originally to be sold in Italy. As cultural superpowers, and the two countries have the highest number of UNESCO heritage sites, and have made bast efforts to preserve their culture. Items in the cache range from around 3,000 BCE to the early 20th century and includes significant artifacts like a Neolithic-era clay pot related to the ancient Majiayao culture, Song dynasty porcelain, and pottery from the Han, Tang, and Ming dynasties.
Photo: Global Times
Italy, however, is not the only country that has returned lost relics. The United States has also returned 391 cultural relics and are planning to hold a joint exhibition of repatriated cultural relics. Thankfully, there is no bad blood between the two countries as they will be working with the UNESCO World Heritage Convention to launch collaborative programs with the aim of enhancing exchanges in good practice, protection, promotion for cross-border asset protection.
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Why Italians Live So Long
Italians are far less likely to die from cancer and heart problems than their other European counterparts.
Why Italians Live So Long
Italy is known around the world for its healthy diet and lifestyle, so it comes as no surprise to hear it came second in a global index ranking countries worldwide on factors that contribute to the overall health of residents. Since 2008, the European Heart Network has found that despite the older profile of Italy's population Italians are far less likely to die from cancer and heart problems than their other European counterparts.
The index grades nations based on variables such as life expectancy and access to clean water and sanitation while subtracting points over risks such as tobacco use and obesity with the Mediterranean diet being at least partially responsible for Italy's high ranking on the list.
Researchers say eating habits may provide clues to health levels enjoyed by Spain and Italy, as a “Mediterranean diet, supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts, had a lower rate of major cardiovascular events than those assigned to a reduced-fat diet,” according to a study led by the University of Navarra Medical School.
Italy was beaten to first place by neighboring Spain in the 2019 edition of the Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, which ranks 169 economies worldwide. Currently the average life expectancy of Italian citizens is 83 years old.
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Italian Tourism Overload
Italy is amongst the most visited counties in Europe when it comes to tourist destinations and for yet another year, Rome has placed at the top of Italy's cultural destinations…
Italian Tourism Overload
Italy is amongst the most visited counties in Europe when it comes to tourist destinations and for yet another year, Rome has placed at the top of Italy's cultural destinations. In 2018 alone 15.2 million tourists visited the home of the Vatican, Trevi Fountain, and the Colosseum. This represents an increase of 1.1 million tourists compared to the previous year and accounted for 64% of Rome's overnight visitors in 2018. The Colosseum alone attracted an average of 21,000 tourists a day in 2018.
One thing that happens to bewilder international visitors, however, is the city tax. In Rome, the authorities apply a city tax on all hotels which is charged and collected by your hotel. The tax requires a contribution of 4.00 Euros per person per night for 2 and 3 star hotels, 6.00 Euros per person per night for 4 star hotels and 7.00 Euros per person per night for 5 star hotels. While it may seem like an inconvenience, the Rome Tourist Tax is put toward maintenance and promotion of Rome in the tourism capacity. In 2016, the city of Rome raised €123 million from the tourist tax which has bolstered the wonderful tourist services and assistance, info points, and location materials.
Visitor numbers are only expected to keep growing, with 2019 set to be busier than ever for many of Italy's tourist hotspots and with it comes an added €41.3 billion to the Italian economy. This isn’t good news to everyone however, especially residents of these hotspots. Over-tourism in iconic Italian destinations has led to the introduction of measures like Venice charging an entry fee from this year, Florence recently banned snacking on its historic streets, and Rome has cracked down on obnoxious activities including pub crawls and cooling off in fountains. While the government has created initiatives such as the “Year of Villages” to get tourists off the beaten path, the best hope for well meaning travelers is that their counterparts continue to behave themselves.
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Health Conscious Italian Cuisine
An Italian restaurant has come up with a new tactic to keep health conscious diners snacking the night away…
Health Conscious Italian Cuisine
An Italian restaurant has come up with a new tactic to keep health conscious diners snacking the night away, and its not quite as simple as substituting the dressing on a side salad. Feva Restaurant in Castelfranco Veneto has perfected the art of fried air.
Yes, air.
Photo: Latestly
Known as 'Aria Fritta' in Italian, the eye-catching dish is designed to capture the essence of being outdoors and of inhaling fresh air. The crispy treats - which are also meant to represent the English expression 'full of hot air' - are actually made of tapioca skin which is boiled to make a batter before being baked and deep fried. After being thoroughly dried to remove the oil, the light batter shapes are then infused with low levels of the gas ozone for 10 minutes.
Nicola Dinato, head chef at Feva Restaurant, said: "Aria Fritta is a simple batter, tapioca and water which is oven-cooked and then deep-fried, Next, “Low levels of ozone are then infused to it and is immediately served on top of a cloud of cotton candy with blue salt powder and a vegan white sesame seed mayo…[and] the aim is to recall the fragrance of fresh air."
The rather unusual snack is offered to the surprise of guests as an appetizer and is completely free of charge.
He added: "Aria Fritta is idiomatic, an expression, the equivalent in english for 'full of hot air' like someone who's talking a lot, especially without saying anything of value or meaning.
Photo: Tellereport
"As we are living in an era in which the core values of life are been progressively replaced by frivolous and shallow contents without real meaning.
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Admission To Venice At A Cost
those traveling to Italy may have to get used to paying to enter a particular city…
Admission To Venice At A Cost
Americans are very familiar with paying admission fees to enter tourist attractions, but those traveling to Italy may have to get used to paying to enter a city.
Having accommodated nearly 25 million visitors each year, Venice, Italy is becoming the first Italian city to charge visitors an entrance fee. This week, the city approved a 3 Euro per person fee for all day-trippers. The new day-trip entrance fee will go toward maintaining the World Heritage site.
Reuters has reported that of the 25 million tourists who visit Venice each year, around 14 million spend just one day, and many take picnics and sleep on cruise ships, bringing little income to local businesses. Under a seven-year-old law, overnight guests are already charged a nightly tourist tax. The city is currently repositioning itself as an open-air museum and as Luca Zaia,
One large hurdle with this proposal is that collecting the fee may get complicated. Day-trippers can enter the city by plane, cruise ship, car, train, or bus, so transport companies who bring tourists into Venice may add the entrance fee to their ticket price.
What are your thoughts on the proposed fare to enter the city as a conservation effort? Join the conversation below!
Recovering Lost Italian Art
8 works of stolen Italian art have been returned to Italy by Christie’s auction house…
Recovering Lost Italian Art
8 works of stolen Italian art have been returned to Italy by Christie’s auction house. This marks a success for Rome’s continued effort to recover pieces that were illegally obtained and trafficked such as an Etruscan terracotta mask that experts have dated to between the 6th and the 5th century BC and a marble fragment from a sarcophagus which was identified as having been stolen after 1966.
Photo: The Telegraph
. Christie’s voluntarily returned them at a ceremony at the Italian embassy in London on Tuesday, which was attended by the country’s culture minister Alberto Bonisoli who stated that “The restitution confirms the effectiveness of the collaboration between our country and the giants of the art market such as Christie’s in the fight against illegal trafficking of works of art.” Thankfully, only a small portion of work that passes through Christie’s doors (0.8%) is withdrawn from the sale process as a result of such investigation.
The cooperation was described as historic” by the embassy and an "important milestone in the protection of Italian cultural heritage.”
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Move To Italy (And Get Paid To Do It)
Locana is offering foreigners up to just over $10,000 to make this seemingly dreamscape a home…
Move To Italy (And Get Paid To Do It)
Have you ever imagined waking up surrounded by lush meadows, snow-peaked mountains, and chestnut forests? Well imagine getting paid to move there. Giovanni Bruno Mattiet, the mayor a tiny village of Locana is offering foreigners up to just over $10,000 to make this seemingly dreamscape a home. Locana is the latest in a list Italian towns offering unbelievable property deals in a bid to revive their depopulated communities.
Photo: Homes & Property
Amazing, right? There must be a catch, right?
Of course there is.
Those wishing to take advantage of this offer must have at least one child and a minimum annual salary of $6,800.
Locana’s population has shrunk from 7,000 residents in the early 1900s to barely 1,500, after people left looking for a job at Turin’s big factories. The village school also faces the risk of shutting down due to so few pupils, so the aim is to draw mostly young people and professionals who work remotely or are willing to start a life in Italy. The $10,000 payout will also be payed out over the course of 3 years rather than a single lump-sum payment.
Photo: vallesoana
Every year in the town there are only 10 births but 40 deaths, thus making it very hard to sustain a population, so while the offer was first only for Italians or foreigners who already live in Italy, the program has been extended to also include foreigners living outside Italy.
There are dozens of closed shops, bars, restaurants and boutiques just waiting for new people to run them. The country has already seen success stories, like Ollolai on the island of Sardinia, which sold dozens of properties for around $1, which have already been refurbished by young professionals and more Italians relocating to the village.
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The Musical Growth of Tuscany Wine
An Italian winemaker in Tuscany is helping his grapes grow by serenading them with classical music.
The Musical Growth of Tuscany Wine
An Italian winemaker in Tuscany is helping his grapes grow by serenading them with classical music.
Giancarlo Cignozzi started serenading his vineyards with the sounds of Mozart 10 years ago and is finally seeing results. He found the vines grew closer to the music and once they were in “earshot” grew larger.
He also found music scares away animals that eat the crops. The music confuses harmful bugs, making it harder for them to breed, and as a result, the vineyard uses little fertilizer and no pesticides.
The consumer electronics company "Bose" caught wind of the experiment and donated 72 speakers to help with the research.
Giancarlo stands by his decision to play Mozart, but it has been argued that many other types of music, even heavy metal if it had enough bass will work in the same fashion to encourage growth among the plants.
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