On a recent trip to Bologna (2016), I found myself drawn into the halls of the Municipal Building, tempted by a brochure I had read that suggested there was some beauty to behold inside the imposing stone edifice. Some limited signage indicated an upstairs gallery: up a steep gradated stairwell, the kind that allowed for […]
By Claudia PALMIRA ACUNTO
At a recent talk at Rome’s MAXXI Museum, Ferdinando Scianna recounted being asked if he considered himself an artist. Paraphrasing him, he said, No, I’m not an artist, I’m a photographer.
The Editor’s insight into the entrepreneurial realm of Italy. Recession in Southern Europe has been on the world’s radar for the past year, with Greece and Spain’s economies brinking on insolvency. Italy straddles the line; with its renowned outward cool, the country is perhaps gearing up for that smashing, game-changing save that will surprise everyone.
La Scala’s December 7 season premiere of La Traviata made headlines in Italy — large type exclamations of how the director was boo’ed. The director’s intrepid vision was to demonstrate that Verdi’s love story need not be trapped in a 19th century Paris boudoir, but whose characters and emotions resonated in an ultra-chic, 20th-century Milanese […]
by Claudia PALMIRA ACUNTO
It is essentially American to assimilate the influences of its myriad foreign-born communities and traditions while nonetheless individuating them. And one could say that Italian culture is “one of a kind” and not readily integrated. Italianità in America has mostly resisted over-adaptation and watered-down versions of itself, creating an almost amorous symbiosis between the two.
by Claudia PALMIRA ACUNTO
On the thrilling occasion of the premiere of Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love, the words Italy and film have been seen together once again like lovers reunited.
by Claudia PALMIRA ACUNTO
Italy, art – the terms are almost inextricable. The historic “greats” come to mind immediately, conjuring images of paintings and sculptures deeply embedded in our collective visual memory. But insert the word “contemporary” between the two, and the references diminish exponentially.
by Claudia Palmira Acunto
The very land whose ruins, art, architecture and traditions date from antiquity, seems far too mature to have such a young birthday–150 years. Yet “Italy” is, in its way, this young.
by Claudia Palmira Acunto
The title of our current edition immediately captured the imagination of the designers, curators and economists who wrote and were interviewed for this issue. Though Italy may not need saving, the idea that one concept, one export, might bolster its success, is an attractive one.
by Claudia Palmira Acunto
Caravaggio. The New York Times recently published that this “anithero” artist had superceded Michelangelo in his relevance to contemporary viewers. The lines outside of the Rome’s Scuderie del Quirinale exhibition certainly seem to prove this.