Articles by: Roberta Cutillo

On a particularly frigid November morning, Consorzio per la tutela vini Valpolicella welcomed a select group of wine writers and conoisseurs inside the newly opened Di Palo Wine Bar to discover Valpolicella wines, produced in the province of Verona, Italy, during an event organized by Forwinesake. 

The event consisted in a masterclass held by Filippo Bartolotta, an experienced sommelier from Florence, also known as the “sommelier of the stars,” who specializes in introducing people - including celebrities such as Emma Thompson and the Obamas - to the incredible world of Italian food and wine. He conducts various lectures, masterclasses, and training programs across Italy and the world.

On this occasion, he discussed the still little known wines produced in the geographically designated area of Valpolicella, located in the province of Verona, in Northern Italy. With incredible passion and an abundance of hand gestures, he began by describing the territory, which he called an “amphitheatre” surrounded by Lake Garda on one side, the Alps on another, and finally the Adriatic Sea. This characteristic makes this rather small area truly unique in terms of climate, altitude and soil, all fundamental aspects of winemaking.

We then learned that inside the Valpolicella region there are two subregions, Valpolicella Classica, which includes the valleys of Fumane, Marano and Negrar as well as the areas around Sant’Ambrogio di Valpolicella and San Pietro in Cariano, and Valpolicella Valpantena, which is centered around the Valpantena valley. 

Bartolotta then went on to explain how when it comes to Valpolicella wines, the process is of the utmost importance, more than grape variety and even soil. The grapes - usually a blend of Corvina, Corvinella, Rondinone, Molinara and other grape varieties - are put out to dry for 100 days after they are harvested. This process, which dates back to Roman times, makes the sugar levels rise significantly.

Spit cups in hand, we began our journey through Valpolicella as our sommelier walked us through the tasting of six wines: Corte Cavedini, Valpolicella DOC 2018; Albino Armani, Valpolicella DOC Classico Superiore 2017 Egle; Secondo Marco, Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG Classico 2011; Villa San Carlo, Amarone Della Valpolicella DOCG 2012; a 2015 Ripasso from Boscaini Carlo; and Ca’ dei Maghi, Recioto Della Valpolicella DOCG Classico, 2011.

They tasted unique, complex, each bursting with several distinct flavors. The first, as usual, was lighter, smoother, extremly drinkable, while the second one was already noticeably richer, darker. The taste was more acidic with hints of cherries, citrus, but also tobacco. You could also taste the minerality, present in most Valpolicella wines due to the volcanic components present in the soil. 

Then we got to the Amaroni, which are among the most renowned Valpolicella wines. They are strong, rich wines, again herby and/or fuity but also mineral, almost salty. For this reason our guide suggests pairing them with slow cooked meat or dry cheese (though the flavors vary with each wine, for example the first Amarone was much more mineral than the second, which left a more pronounced fruity, sugary taste in the mouth and teeth.)

The fifth wine was a Ripasso, which means that it is produced by remixing matured Amarone wine with newer and lighter wine. “Some consider this cheating,” Bartolotta says, then explaining that this is actually a procedure that dates back to Ancient times. 

The name Amarone roughly translates to “very bitter” but that is only because it is an evolution of Recioto, a sweet wine and therefore the sixth and final one of our tasting. “Recioto is what put Valpolicella on the map,” Bartolotto explains, adding that it is however often wrongfully dismissed nowadays, since the consensus is that people today tend to drink less sweet wine. I am personally not a fan of sweet wines, but I have to say I surprised myself with how much I enjoyed the Recioto, which felt velvety, fruity, floral, and also somewhat minty, giving it a nicer, fresher after-taste.

After the class, we were invited to linger in the stylish and cozy Di Palo Wine Bar - the latest venture by the Little Italy staple Di Palo's Fine Foods store, known by all New Yorkers as the "purveyor of the city's best mozarella" - to try more Valpolicella wines, over 20 from 10 different producers across the region, this time served alongside a delicious mushroom risotto from Risotteria Melotti and of course some mouthwatering salumi and cheeses from Di Palo’s.

Overall, a fascinating learning experience, a glimpse into the wonderful world of Italian wine, a quick trip across the unique region of Valpolicella, all rendered easily accessible in the heart of New York City, inside this Italian pocket, one of the few still left in Little Italy.

In occasion of “Leonardo and the Madonna Litta,” a new exhibition held at Milan’s Poldi Pezzoli Museum to close the “Year of Leonardo,” five artworks created in the master’s studio were analysed by researchers using new technology to unravel details invisible to the naked eye that can inform on how Leonardo and his studio operated, what their process was, which materials they used, and so on.

The exhibit, curated by Pietro C. Marani and Andrea Di Lorenzo, features 17 selected paintings and drawings belonging to a variety of public and private collections across the world, all created in Leonardo’s Milan workshop, by both the master himself and his most prominent students between 1482 and 1499. Some of the works included are the newly rediscovered Madonna del Fiore (1487-1488) attributed to one of Leonardo’s best students, Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, as well as the Madonna con Bambino by Francesco Napoletano, and the Bust of the Christ Child by Marco D’Oggiono.

The show is centered around the famed Madonna Litta (ca. 1494), a painting sold to the St. Petersburg State Hermitage Museum in 1865 by Milanese nobleman Antonio Litta. As is often the case with the work of Old Masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, the authorship of the Madonna Litta is somewhat uncertain and the painting has sometimes been attributed to Leonardo’s studio rather than to the painter himself. 

Organizers therefore took the opportunity to have experts from the Institute of molecular bioimaging and physiology (IBFM) conduct in-depth analyses on five works displayed. These analyses were documented and are displayed on multimedia screens throughout the exhibition, giving viewers the opportunity to learn about the research process that goes into the attribuition of artworks.

The data gathered also allows us to learn more about what it was like to work in one of the Renaissance’s most famous studios, to discover the backstage procedures that went into the creation of Leonardo’s masterpieces.

Isabella Castiglioni of IBFM explains the different levels of analyses conducted. “We used optical techniques to examine the painting surfaces and spectroscopic techniques to study materials such as varnishes and binding substances,” she says. “Then we went deeper using reflectography, which allows us to see the preparatory drawing, and radiography, which reveals the preparation of the background, the support, the canvas, and the wooden boards.”

The results allowed researchers to determine the painters’ color palettes, which shared many commonalities and uncover traces of ocre, azzurrite, and even precious materials such as lapis lazuli and gold in the color pigments they used. 

They also uncovered traces of “pentimenti” in underlying preparatory drawings - mid-process changes, corrections such as modified facial expressions, covered up windows, etc - which give insight into the artists’ creative practices, into their minds. 

All of this sheds some light into the dynamics that took place in the studio, it brings us inside of it. For instance, as Pietro Marani, a docent at Milan’s Politechinic Institute explains, we know that the master used to work on the preparatory drawings and then pass them on to his assistants who would create the actual paintings, which he would then adjust and correct, giving them his final touch.

Learning about these procedures really takes us into the history of artworks and their makers. It’s something that continues to fascinate most of us. Just think of all the books, films, documentaries dedicated to exploring the work and life of history’s great artists. 

Everyone loves a little behind the scenes action and this exhibition, which will run through February 10, 2020, provides just that, on multiple levels. 

Federculture - the Italian national association of public and private entities operating in the fields of culture, tourism, sports and leisure - presented the 15th annual culture spending report at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rome.

The report revealed that Italians spent 72.5 billion euros on culture over the course of 2018, averaging 127 euros per household each month. This marks a 2.4% increase from the previous year.

Household spending on culture has in fact been rising since 2013, after a period of decline between 2008 and 2013, during which culture spending dropped by 4.6% as the country’s GDP dropped 1.6% and overall consumer spending rose 1%. Then the trend was reversed so that over the last five years, culture spending rose 13.4% while GDP increased 9.9% and overall consumer spending 8.8%.

Researchers also found that museum visitors went up 10% between 2017 and 2018 and so did the number of children discovering art and culture by visiting museums and archaeological sites and attending shows. During the presentation, culture minister Dario Franceschini spoke to the importance of “investing in young people and the contemporary.”

However, though the trend is certainly encouraging, not all of the report’s findings were so positive. For example, it also shows that Italians are reading less and less, with only 40% reading one or more books per year. A problem Federculture proposes to address by developing legislation aimed at consolidating the habit of reading and laws to support bookselling activities.

The report also highlights strong regional imbalances: culture spending is significantly higher in the North of Italy and lower in Southern regions and islands. In Trentino Alto Adige, a family spends on average 178.8 euro in culture each month, while in Calabria that number is down to 64.3 euro.

It also appears that autonomous museums perform better, especially with regards to customer service and satisfaction (accessibility, visitor services, etc.) Autonomously managed museums saw a larger increase in visitors (+14.8% compared to +10.2% in total public museum visits) and in income (+22.5% compared to +18.4%.)

As Minister Franceschini stated, “Culture is strategic to the sustainable growth of Italy, who has always made beauty, art and creativity fundamental traits of its identity.” And for this reason, in sharing the data gathered, Federculture also argues in favor of implementing public policies that will help continue to increase culture spending and diffusion throughout the country. 

The association in fact found that spending rose in sectors in which such policies had been implemented, such as museums and archaeological and monumental sites, which did much better than in those where no such policies exist, including cinema and theatre.

The report therefore calls for the formulation of a cultural policy agenda to increment cultural consumption, incentivate programming and innovation, and favor collaborations between the public and private sector. 

“Growth, which we all care about, passes through culture,” notes the President of Federculture Andrea Cancellato, “with it we can contribute to the overall betterment of Italy.”

On Wedesday, the motion to form an extraordinary commission against hate, racism and anti-semitism proposed by Holocaust survivor and life Senator Liliana Segre, was approved by the Upper House. However, to the surprise and alarm of many, out of 249 votes, there were 98 abstentions.

This result caused many to speak out, all sharing the concern that by not voting in favor of a commission to regulate hate crimes, parties such as Lega, the rightwing League of Brothers of Italy (FdI) and Berlusconi’s Forza Italia (FI) are expressing their tolerance if not their support of such acts.

"The commission is a great institutional result for our country, it has great value," stated Ruth Dureghello, the president of Rome's Jewish Community on Thursday, then adding that "the abstention of some parties is disconcerting. It's a decision that we consider wrong and dangerous.”

The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella echoed her, reminding everyone that “We must never let our guard down, underestimate attempts at denying or rewriting history against evidence, with the goal to feed egoism, personal interests, discrimination and hate.”

Even the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin expressed apprehension regarding the abstentions. "I'm worried in the sense that, some things, some fundamental values, should be felt by all of us," he said.

Senator Segre was born into a Milanese Jewish family in 1930. As a child, she was expelled from her school, subjected to racial laws, and ultimately deported to Auschwitz in 1943 at the age of 13. She has been speaking to the public, particularly focusing on younger audiences to talk about her experience, to make sure history isn’t erased or forgotten.

"At the moment there is a need for unity,” she commented. “There should be no room for ambiguity." 

All sound words it would seem, and yet, somehow, there does appear to be quite a bit of ambiguity on the subject. While members of the current Movimento 5 Stelle-Democratic Party-Liberi e Uguali government, from the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Roberto Fico, to the Secretary of the Democratic Party, Nicola Zingaretti all agreed that establishing the commission should be a no-brainer, representaives of Lega, FI, and FDI defended their position against it, citing the need to protect freedom of opinion.

Silvio Berlusconi responded by saying “I must reject with force all exploitation of the vote expressed by Forza Italia.” The four times Prime Minister and founder of the center-right party claims that the left is instrumentalizing his party’s position.

"As liberals we are against an excess of legislation on crimes of opinion and the motion put to the Senate yesterday, on which Forza Italian abstained, outlined, at the request of the Left, the institution of a new crime of opinion," he stated.

However, Forza Italia is itself divided on the issue. “We are betraying our values and changing skin,” commented former minister Mara Carfagna, who last year helped pass a motion against antisemitism. 

While the fact that the motion passed is certainly a victory for Italy - an important step in establishing the necessary legal framework to deal with the atmosphere of violence and hate that seems to be spreading across the country - the resistance to something seemingly so obvious as a law to provide protection against racism, antisemitism and hate is indeed cause for concern. 

For the moment, the majority of Italian politicians and representatives claim to share this concern, but one can’t help but wonder whether the balance will shift. And if so, when? And what do the Italian people think of all of this? It becomes hard to gage public opinion when we start to see people opposing what up until yesterday were considered to be universally shared values.