A NEW "LEOPARD"?

In 2009, I wrote an article for Italy Magazine which began,

"Who really knows when a journey towards fulfilment begins? Looking back, I sometimes think that my journey towards the island of Sicily began much earlier than that first visit in October 1992. And, like most of the important events in my life, it began with a book:

I don’t know quite why, browsing in a bookshop in Pinner, North London in 1967, I picked up a paperback entitled The Leopard, a novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa......."

This is, of course, the book which inspired the famous 1963 Visconti film starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale. Who could ever forget the ballroom scene? 

Well, now it has been reported that there is going to be a remake and Miss Cardinale is not happy about it, having asked how anyone can think of making a film version of Il Gattopardo without Luchino Visconti.  However, it turns out that the remake is not going to be a remake but a film about Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's life based on David Gilmour's biography The Last Leopard [which I also mentioned in the above article]. That's all right, then ... or is it?  

The new film is the brainchild of London-based filmmaker Demian Gregory and will include parts of the novel which were left out of the original film but there is some confusion here about rights. According to Variety, Mr Gregory has obtained the adaptation rights of the original film but other reports state that it may be more difficult for him to obtain film rights for the book. Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi di Lampedusa, the author's adopted son, has confirmed that the new project is not a remake but seems to think that more time will be required to deal with the question of the book rights.

The Italian legal system is not famous for its speed so it remains to be seen whether filming will start in Palermo this year as planned.

Pazienza, Mr Gregory!

LA NOSTRA VIOLETTA

Adriana Iozzia as Violetta

Some years ago, I interviewed Modican soprano Adriana Iozzia, whom I have had the pleasure of knowing since she was six years old, for Italy Magazine. 

Since then, Adriana's star has been rising steadily and I'm happy to be able to tell you that this week, she has been appearing as Violetta in La Traviata at the Teatro Fedele Fenaroli in Lanciano, Chieti [Abruzzo].  The performance was a sell-out and I'm not surprised!

Congratulations to Adriana and I'm very proud to have been her first interviewer.

ITALIAN LOGIC PRIZE 2012

One of the earliest posts I wrote on this blog, back in 2006, was partly about the public conveniences - or lack of them - in Modica and the condition of the facilities that did exist, mostly in bars, at that time. Four years later, I wrote this for Italy Magazine.  I'm glad to say that the toilet seat situation has improved since then but there are still institutions and establishments that stubbornly prefer the seatless toilet because it is thought to be more hygienic. The owners or managers of these premises may like to take a look at this article from the BBC.

In that early blog post, I said that bar staff in Italy as a whole are understanding if passers-by just need to use the bathroom but this is changing and in larger cities like Catania or other tourist spots you are now likely to see notices informing you that you are expected to buy something if you want to use the facilties. This does not bother me as I don't mind paying  €0.80 for a coffee if I need to use the loo but I do suffer from a Brit's sense of bewilderment at the absence of public conveniences - you know, easily accessible toilets that are just toilets.

The British, who, as the outcomes of recent EU summits have shown, consider themselves "different" from the rest of Europe, tend to believe that the public convenience issue proves it and have openly wondered for over a century whether their Latin neighbours have stronger bladders.

Well, I can tell my fellow-countrymen tonight that I have solved the mystery: having dared to ask an Italian colleague today why we didn't purchase better quality toilet paper for the school, I was met with an expression of pure horror and the response,

"But people go to the toilet at home!"

TURI WHO?

Salvatore Giuliano

Almost exactly two years ago, I wrote this article about the Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano - known to  friends, family and in legend as Turiddu - for Italy Magazine.  At that time, the body in the tomb bearing Giuliano's name in the Montelepre cemetry [Palermo] had just been exhumed in the hope of proving or disproving claims that the body was that of a look-alike and that the real Turiddu, far from being shot dead by a Carabiniere captain or killed by a cousin in 1950, had escaped to the USA.

La Sicilia reports that DNA tests on a femur and tibia were inconclusive, as were comparisons of these findings with Giuliano's genetic profile  [obtained by examining some of his clothing and other belongings].  Two years on, scientists can only tell us that it is probable - even 90% likely - that the remains in the grave are Giuliano's but they cannot give a definite answer.

The Palermo Proscutor's Office has to decide whether to archive the findings or order new investigations so it's still "Turi who?" for now. 

ANOTHER UNEXPECTED GIFT

Italy's colourful and interesting Carabinieri calendars are becoming collector's items and the 2013 edition will be the 85th.  

I became interested in them when I wrote an article about Italian calendars for Italy Magazine in 2009 and the following year, a Carabiniere student of mine gave me one.  A couple of weeks ago we found a forgotten 2004 edition in the new school building and a few days later, while I was waiting for a friend in the bank, I happened to remark to the manager that I liked the two he had on display in the foyer.  Imagine my surprise when he took them down and presented them to me with a flourish!  The only "gift" I had ever previously received from a bank manager having been a stroppy letter, I doubly appreciated the gesture.

The Carabineri corps will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2014 and because of this the 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 calendars each document and illustrate 50 years of its history.

ANCHORS - A "LET'S BLOG OFF" POST

Every two weeks, the blogosphere comes alive with something called a Blog Off. A Blog Off is an event where bloggers of every stripe weigh in on the same topic on the same day. The topic for this round of the Blog Off is "The Edge of your World".

When we are children, the edge of the world is represented by the limits of the world we know - the comforting scent of a mother,  the bars of a play pen or cot,  a garden wall, familiar rooms - and  perhaps this is why so many of us scream at our first children's party at another house or on our first day of school. 

For most of us, there is always a loving adult policing our surroundings when we move from that edge

and if we feel we are alone, even for a moment, we become pretty miserable:

However, I think I wanted to test the waters from an early age

and go off on the big ships

but always come back:

As a member of Churchill's "island race" it is not surprising that I am drawn to islands

Me, Elba-bound in 1977

and one day, more than half a century after the black and white photos above were taken, I flew to the biggest island in the Mediterranean and knew that I would not turn back:

In Donnalucata, Sicily - 2005

Sampieri, Sicily

I've written before about how, even then, leaving the comfort zone of my house in Britain was scary but tonight I want to think about one of the things you lose when, having stepped off the edge of your world, you arrive in your new one:  you lose what Alexander McCall Smith calls your "anchor-points".  He puts it thus:

"Just as Freddie de la Hay was missing him, so too was he experiencing that sense of incompleteness when a familiar presence is suddenly no longer there. Such feelings can be profound and long-lived..... or they may be less substantial, more transient, as when a shop or coffee bar we like closes down, or a favourite office colleague is transferred. These may seem little things, but they constitute the anchor-points of our lives and are often more important than we imagine."

- Alexander McCall Smith:  The Dog Who Came in from the Cold

If this is the case even in a city where you have lived all your life, imagine how important such "anchors" are when you change not only your city but your country.  You find new ones, as I wrote here, and you have to cultivate them but when you in turn lose one of these, you can feel quite disorientated for a while. Perhaps that was why I was so upset when Mr T shut up shop.  Yet this regret, for the loss of landmarks in an unfamiliar place, also means that you have integrated, so can be celebrated in a way. These days, though I still miss Mr T, I have become used to the new folk in what used to be his shop, and the butcher who occupies part of it has turned out to be a treasure - an "anchor", in fact.

So for me, stepping beyond the edge of what was my world has meant finding new anchors and it is still an adventure!

I couldn't find a suitable picture of an anchor, so here is my paternal grandfather in naval uniform, complete with anchor on his cap:

Below is the full list of bloggers participating in this week's theme:

Note: This is my last "Let's Blog Off" post as the project has now been wound up. I have enjoyed participating and would like to express particular thanks to Paul for inviting me to do so and for his unfailing support and courtesy. I've made some new friends along the way and I hope we can keep in touch. The "Let's Blog Off" archive can be viewed here.

MY CHRISTMAS STAR

My stella di Natale or poinsettia - which was a gift - is flecked with cream this year and I love it.  Two years ago, I had the pleasure of writing about the poinsettia legends for Italy Magazine and, for those of you who do not know these tales, I repeat them here:

The poinsettia plant is as much a symbol of Christmas in Italy as the presepe [crib] that is found in almost every home. With their bright red colour and leaves in the form of star points, the plants are loved, carefully tended and are often kept from one year to the next. In Italy they are known as Stelle di Natale [Christmas stars] a name which the Italians adopted from Spanish missionaries in Mexico, where the plant originated. A group of Spanish Franciscan monks working in Mexico used the plants in a Christmas procession for the first time in the seventeenth century and after that the Mexicans started using them in Nativity scenes. It was one Joel Robert Poinsett, US Ambassador to Mexico from 1825 – 1829, who gave the plant its English name and took it to the United States. At Christmas 1899 poinsettia plants were placed in St Peter’s Basilica, drawing admiration from all who saw them.

There are two legends about the poinsettia that you may like to know about. Neither is Italian but – hey- it’s Christmas! The first and most famous concerns a little Mexican girl called Pepita or, in some versions, Lola, or maybe a boy called Pablo. Pepita, on her way to see the annual Nativity scene in her village, suddenly realised she had no offering to take with her that would show her love for the Baby Jesus and she started to cry. At that point, an angel spoke to her and advised her to gather some greens from the roadside, for Jesus would know that they were given with love. Pepita did so but the other children laughed at her gift. Then, all of a sudden, the greens turned into a beautiful, red poinsettia plant.

The other legend is more universal: When God created Nature, he asked all the flowers to give to the humans who chose and tended them the very best of themselves – beauty, love, harmony and wisdom. But there was one plant that nobody wanted, although it tried hard to be chosen, for it had tiny flowers and its leaves were too big. The plant became very sad and in December God saw this. He said, “I know you want to give men beauty, love, harmony and wisdom and, as men need these things, I am going to help you. I will give you my blood and put it on your leaves, which will turn deep red and make you the most beautiful flower on earth in this most important season for man.” And so the plant with the tiny flowers and big leaves became the lovely stella di Natale and ever since, it has brought men beauty, love, harmony and wisdom.

Take care of your “Christmas stars” this year.

MORE NEWS OF OUR MODICAN OPERA STAR

In June I wrote that our rising Modican opera star, Adriana Iozzia, was going to sing the role of Pamina in The Magic Flute in Béziers, France.  The performances were a great success and tonight I thought you would like to see a photo of Adriana in this role.

Soon she will be off to sing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in Macedonia and she is to be the cover singer for the role of Mimi in La Bohème at the Carlo Felice Theatre in Genova.

Congratulations, Adri!

You can see my interview with Adriana - whom I have known since she was six years old - here.

DECISION IN PERUGIA

Perugia
Image: Wikimedia Commons

I had not intended to post on the Amanda Knox appeal verdict, partly because any mention of what has happened excites such strong feelings on both sides of the Atlantic and the case and partly because so many millions of words have been written about it that I did not think that mine could add anything useful.

However, I did follow the whole case closely and wrote several factual articles about it for Italy Magazine, including this interview with Steve Moore, the former FBI agent who was convinced that Miss Knox was innocent.  

Since last Monday's verdict, several readers of this blog have asked me what I think and on Thursday James asked me to contribute to an article he was planning on the decision.   The fact that I agreed to do so does not mean that his views are mine and this is what I told him:

As I live in Italy and have been following the Knox case closely, James has asked me to comment here.  I do not wish to give an opinion on the appeal verdict but I will address James's question about whether the case is being discussed in Italy.  The answer is "Yes" but not heatedly, at least not here in Sicily.  Most people I have spoken to about it have expressed surprise at the verdict but accept the appeal court decision. 

Things were very different outside the court in Perugia, of course, and the shouts of "Vergogna!" ["Shame!"] reflected suspicions that the verdict returned had been politically manipulated:  Mr Berlusconi has made no secret of his contempt for the judiciary and it would suit him if the judges at the first trial could be made to look incompetent, runs this reasoning.  Personally I do not believe this as the judiciary is the one body that has not been afraid to stand up to him.  It should also be remembered that Perugia is a city whose economy depends largely on its ability to attract foreign students.

If anyone has been made to look stupid in this sad case, it is the Italian police and certainly the fact that they appear to have been careless with some of the items used in evidence weakened the Prosecution's claims.  Nevertheless, the appeal court judge said unequivocally that Knox and Sollecito were absolved of the crime not because of contaminated evidence but because they simply did not do it.  I do not think there has been enough emphasis on this in the foreign press.  [It is true that the judge has since said they may have been guilty but in the trial he had to find on the facts as presented to him.]

Whether Italians fall into the "innocent" or "guilty" camp, there is one thing that they are all agreed upon and that is their sympathy for the family of Meredith Kercher.  And, like everyone else, they want to know who was really responsible for this horrific deed.

However, at the end of the week in which Amanda Knox went home, few people here are still discussing the case:  Italy is a country whose citizens have many other issues on their minds.

DESPERATELY SEEKING MIKE

Image: Wikipedia Italia

Daniela Zuccoli, the widow of Italian TV presenter Mike Bongiorno [26.5.1924 - 8.9.2009], is to appear on the television programme Chi l'ha visto?  ["Who Has Seen Him / Her?"] this evening in an attempt to find her husband's body, which was stolen from the Dagnente Cemetery in Arona [Piedmont] on 25th January this year.

Signora Zuccoli will be appearing on the programme on the advice of the police in the hope that someone, somewhere, will give the programme's presenters information which they do not feel able to communicate to the police.  Since Mike Bongiorno's coffin and body disappeared his family have received ransom demands and there have been some arrests but that vital clue that might lead the police to find the body has not been forthcoming.

Mike Bongiorno was born to Italian-American parents in New York City but emigrated to Italy as a young man.  He fought with the Italian partisans during World War 11 and later became Italy's most popular TV presenter ever.  His ancestors were Sicilian and the smalls towns of Campofelice di Fitalia and Mezzojuso in Palermo Province both claimed to be their birthplace.  In 2007, when Bongiorno stated on TV that his ancestors were definitely from Mezzojuso, the inhabitants of Campofelice di Fitalia took offence and declared him persona non grata. [However, it turns out that both towns have a legitimate claim as Campofelice di Fitalia was, when Bongiorno's paternal grandfather emigrated to the USA, a district of Mezzojuso.]

Federica Sciarelli, the presenter of Chi l'ha visto? has not always behaved impeccably but I hope that the programme can help signora Zuccoli to locate her husband's body and obtain closure.

SABATO MUSICALE - FOR A SPECIAL FRIEND

Today is the 71st anniversary of the sinking of the Arandora Star, a shameful episode in British history for which no British government has ever apologised.  It is, therefore, an appropriate day on which to remember my friend, Margo Giovannone, who was instrumental in the successful fund-raising campaign for a memorial to Welsh-Italian victims of the tragedy.

Campaigns formed an important part of Margo's life and I was often amazed at the speed at which, well into her sixties, she could march on demonstrations!   I'm sure she has a picket organised on St Peter's Gate by now.  Her political hero was Tony Benn and she even named her beloved cat, Wedgie, after him.  Margo lived according to her socialist and multi-cultural principles and  was always true to her Rhondda Valley roots:

Dyfnant Male Voice Choir - There's a Valley Called the Rhondda

Nowhere were her ideals on multi-culturalism more evident than in her classroom and she was the best ESOL teacher I have ever known.  Margo's classroom  was a refuge where difference was celebrated and many now integrated Cardiffians owe their English language skills to her.  In her classroom there was always laughter but this tiny woman was also capable of defending her charges like a lioness protecting her cubs.

Her interest in politics, contact with young people, travel and her tireless search for her Arpino ancestors kept Margo young at heart so this is for you, my friend:

Frank Sinatra - Young at Heart

A few years ago, not long before I moved to Italy, I was unhappy over a man and it was Margo who picked up the pieces and took me along to line dancing classes which, to my surprise, I enjoyed immensely.  This was one of her favourites:

Desert Rose Band - One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

Margo died on June 13th of breast cancer and I ask, in her name, how many wonderful, witty, life-enhancing women have to die of this disease before governments the world over divert even one tenth of the money they spend on killing people into cancer research?

My special Welsh-Italian friend also loved this so "Ciao, bella" and be sure to sing it on that picket line!

Rita Pavone - Bella ciao



For Margo Giovannone, please remember the Arandora Star and cancer research today.

A FEMINIST TRIUMPH - WELL, SORT OF

A Sicilian Miss Italia:  Francesca Chillemi in 2003.

The fact that this year's Miss Italia contest is going to be open to women who are a size 44 - British size 12 or US size 10 - is being hailed here as a triumph for all women if not exactly a feminist victory.  The newspapers are full of articles extolling the more curvaceous woman and we are being reassured that men prefer us that way. 

Well, I have a few questions:  since when has a size 12 woman been particularly curvaceous and men, why didn't you tell us before -  vociferously?!  Ever since the sixties, women have been trying to look like stick insects but now it's OK to look - I hardly dare utter the word - healthy? Will someone tell the fashion industry - please?

Does this mean that Liz Hurley will have to stop making ridiculous statements like,"I'd kill myself if I was as fat as Marilyn Monroe" and are the organisers of Miss Italia about to confer upon that most glamorous Italian lady of them all, Sophia Loren, the title that should rightly have been hers back in 1950?

The Miss Italia organisers pride themselves on innovation, having waived the requirement for contestants to give their measurements on the entry forms back in 1990, allowing married women and women who were mothers to enter from 1994 and awarding the title to a woman of colour in 1996.  Last year there was the scandal, or non-scandal,  of the transsexual contestant and from this year women under the age of eighteen will not be allowed to enter.

I suppose we must be grateful for small mercies but I for one look forward to a day when women are judged on their achievements and on their inner, rather than ephemeral, beauty.

Sophia Loren shows contestants how to do elegance at the 2010 Miss Italia contest.

'TIS THE SEASON [6]....

.... to love those we are with and to think of those who have reason to be sad at Christmas.

Of all the news stroies I have written for Italy Magazine in the past year, there is one that I cannot get out of my mind.  Anyone who has been a carer has had desperate moments and this is a tragic example of what can happen if one of those moments comes when the person feels that they have no support and nowhere to turn.

If there is a loving and forgiving God, may he take pity on this woman at this time and may he bless her poor little ones, wherever they are.

This Christmas night my heart is with all who need care and those who help them.

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 27

Here is my pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles:

Christmas is almost upon us but you may also be thinking about where to spend New Year's Eve.  If you are going to be in Italy, there is a fantastic free show to be enjoyed in Bologna!

This was the week in which both the Vatican City and the town of Gubbio [Umbria]  prepared, in their different ways, for Christmas.  Which of the two trees would you rather see?  Meanwhile, in Tuscany, there is one exhibition I would love to visit, for what woman could resist a red stiletto?  None of these ladies, I am sure. Finally, with regard to the news stories, I had to laugh at this.  "Viva l'amore", say I, but I don't think I would be feeling so tolerant if I had been among the passengers!

For my Patti Chiari column I wrote, in more detail, about Modica's Chocobarocco festival.

Happy reading.

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 26

Here is my pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles:

The week began with the sad news of Mario Monicelli's death and all here were upset by the manner of it.  But, as Michele Placido said, we should respect the great director's wishes.  

In art news the original model for Michelangelo's Pietà was found and UNESCO inspectors headed to Pompeii to find out more about the recent collapse of buildings on the ancient site.

There were plenty of smiles too, as this was the week in which Julia Roberts became the smile of Lavazza , mythological smiles appeared on the Pirelli calendar and pets all over Italy, including my Simi, smiled at this news.

Preparations for Christmas are now in full swing in Italy and, if you thought bagpipes were a purely Scottish tradition, you may be surprised to read this.

For my Patti Chiari column I wrote about Christmas cards - or the lack of them in Italy - and seasonal confusion.

Happy reading.

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 25

Here is my pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles:

First of all, if you're heading down towards the Italian islands in January, here is an event not to be missed in Sardinia.

Student protests against education cuts continued across the country all week and, although I can understsnd the frustration of tourists who found their way into sites like the Leaning Tower of Pisa barred, I have to say that I admire the young people for standing up for what they believe in and proving that Italy is still a democracy.

Pisa is about more than the Tower, however and the city is host to an interesting Joan Mirò exhinition until 23rd January.  In Rome, another famous tourist site is to get a makeover  while down in Naples the EU wants some money back.

For my Patti Chiari column I wrote about Sicilian surnames and some of the nicknames associated with them.

Happy reading.

NEW PLAY ABOUT ARANDORA STAR TRAGEDY

Regular readers of this blog will know that I follow the Arandora Star Campaign with interest, not least because 53 of those who perished in the 1940 tragedy were Welsh Italians and I was pleased to be able to report that a memorial to these men had been unveiled in Wales in July this year.

Now a play has been written about the disaster and here is the article I wrote about this for Italy Magazine last week:

New Play About Arandora Star Tragedy

Italy Magazine followed the lead-up, this year, to the seventieth anniversary of the Arandora Star tragedy, in which 486 British Italian internees were drowned. Rounded up by the British government without consideration for their families, these respectable men who had made their lives in Britain were regarded as a security threat and were treated cruelly by their guards.

On July 1st 1940, 734 of them were put aboard the Arandora Star, which left Liverpool with 1,864 passengers and crew, bound for Canada. On July 2nd she was torpedoed.

Now the tragedy has been turned into a play by Alfo Bernebei, an Italian who has been living in Britain for 40 years, reports the Telegraph. “The Tailor at the Bottom of the Sea” tells the story of a real-life character, anti-fascist campaigner Decio Anzani, and a fictional British camp commander. Mr Anzani died in the tragedy.

The play will open in Jesi [Marche] on 4th December and later Mr Bernebei hopes that it will be performed in Britain.

The Arandora Star tragedy remains one of the most ignominious episodes in British war history and the campaign for a government apology continues.

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 24

Here is my pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles.

Everyone is talking about the rubbish crisis in Naples but, in the run-up to Christmas, let us not forget a more positive claim to fame that the city has.  Everyone also continues to talk about Mr Berlusconi and you really would think that the Prime Minister's manhood had caused enough trouble;  then this story broke.  If, on the other hand, you are fed up with stories of the airheads who surround him, here is the perfect antidote.

Immigrant workers in Brescia found a unique way of drawing attention to their plight but the day after this story appeared torrential rain forced them down from their crane.  

Tired of politics and protests?  Here you can learn why it will shortly be time for tea in Rome 

With an early genereal election in Italy looking increasingly likely, I wrote about my personal experience of participating in Italian elections for my Patti Chiari column.

Happy reading.

XV CENTURY PORTAL CRUMBLES IN GELA

The city of Gela found itself in the news again at the weekend following the crumbling on Friday night of part of a fifteenth century portal leading to the Santuario Maria SS d'Alemanna.  At one time the portal was the entrance to the Sanctuary but the area around it, already deemed dangerous two years ago, had been sealed off.

The Salesian brothers who care for the Sanctuary, which is dedicated to the patron saint of the city, are brushing aside comparisons with Pompeii, saying that only a few stones and pieces of plaster fell from a disused structure.

You can judge for yourselves from the pictures in this video:

This incident comes at a time when Italy's Culture Minister is facing a vote of no confidence over the crumbling of the House of Gladiators at Pompeii and amid concerns about the stability of the Greek and Roman amphitheatres at Siracusa, among other ancient monuments in Italy.

ITALY MAGAZINE ROUND-UP - 23

Here is my pick of last week's Italy Magazine articles:

In the run-up to next year's celebrations of 150 years of Italian Unity the Italian flag is being honoured in an exhibition in Rome . Twenty-four  of the country's top designers have been asked to contribute their interpretation of the tricolore and their creations form the highlight of the show.  Elsewhere the Unity celebrations have caused a row as the organisers of next February's Sanremo Song Festival argue over which songs to include on a night dedicated to the anniversary. 

Never mind:  Italian researchers have proved that a healthy sex life is good for us and  in more good news Italian footballing hero Roberto Baggio received a well-deserved award.

For my Patti Chiari column I wrote about Vincenzo Bellini and his relationship with the city of Catania and the pasta dish named for his most famous heroine.  The recipe is here, too.

Happy reading.