A MARKETING MASTERPIECE?

Originally shown at Milan Expo and published on Vimeo in September, the video below has now, with much fanfare, been uploaded to YouTube and is being hailed here as a masterpiece. It is certainly a break with traditional clips promoting Sicily and has been conceived with social networks in mind. The target market is Northern Europe, where people are known to start planning their holidays in January.

I'd very much like to know what all of you think before I divulge my own opinion but I do want to congratulate the Comune di Ragusa for having the courage to do something in a new way and I wish them every success.

Ragusa - easy to reach, hard to leave

Another, shorter version [1m.05] is also available on YouTube. The director is Riccardo Lupo.

TAKE UP YOUR LADLES!

Oh dear, oh dear - the honour of Sicily has been besmirched and this time it is very serious as it involves food:  it is all about a 30-second television advert for a certain brand of stock cube. In the advert, Tiziana Stefanelli, the winner of MasterChef Italia two years ago, is being shown how to make caponata by a Sicilian woman. But when the Sicilian lady committed the cardinal sin of adding a stock cube, twitter and social networks exploded. 

Tiziana Stefanelli has said she is sorry about the strong feelings that have been provoked by the advert but that she thinks Sicilians have other things to worry about. She also said that she is glad that some women have time to make their own stock as she herself often does not. 

Had this happened in a neighbouring country, I would have said, "Aux armes, citoyens" but the best I can suggest is that all good Sicilians take up their ladles.  Ai mestoli, cittadini!

My [stockcubeless] recipe for caponata is here.

SAYS IT ALL

And now, back to the stylish Italy that we love. For those of you who have not already seen it, this says it all:

Fiat Commercial - "The British / Italians are coming!"

Be honest: Who would you rather be invaded by?

ESL / EFL TEACHER REQUIRED

I am posting this on behalf of the English International School, Modica.

The English International School [established 2003 ] in Modica, Sicily urgently requires an enthusiastic teacher of ESL.

We can offer you interesting and varied work in a lively, happy atmosphere, in one of the most fascinating and exotic locations in the world.

Our students come from all walks of life, all age ranges and are preparing for the following examinations: Trinity Speaking levels 1 – 12, Cambridge PET, FCE and CAE. TOEFL courses are offered on request and we also train business students.

If you are interested in joining our team, please email your details to Catherine Ciancio at:

english_int.school@virgilio.it