Articles by: Camilla Santinelli

  • Arte e Cultura

    Natalia Ginzburg. Il ricordo all'Istituto di Cultura di New York

    La scorsa settimana l’Istituto Italiano di Cultura a New York ha aperto le sue porte, come sempre, alla celebrazione della migliore letteratura italiana. Questa volta lo ha fatto ricordando una delle sue più importanti rappresentanti - Natalia Ginzburg - in occasione del centesimo anniversario della sua nascita. 

    E' stato un evento diverso dall'usuale, ospite d'onore è stato Nanni Moretti che, con tono solenne e altamente evocativo, ha accompagnato l’evento leggendo in italiano alcuni estratti di Caro Michele, il romanzo epistolare scritto dalla Ginzburg nel 1973.

    Intensa la sua lettura, Nanni Moretti è parso particolarmente concentrato in un’atmosfera non lontana da quella familiare raccontata nel suo ultimo suo film, Mia madre, che ha al centro il rapporto madre-figlio e la famiglia.

    Dopo una breve introduzione della responsabile dell’Istituto, Donatella Baldini, in cui è stata sottolineata l’importanza della consapevolezza della scrittrice nei confronti della dimensione sociale del linguaggio e di come quest’ultimo sia in grado di creare e modellare le relazioni sociali - sono stati presentati gli altri due ospiti: Stefania Lucamante, docente di italiano e letterature comparate presso l’Università Cattolica di America a Washington DC e Valerio Magrelli, poeta e professore di letteratura francese all’università di Cassino.

    L’intervento di Stefania Lucamante è stato incentrato sulla delineazione della figura di Natalia Ginzburg all’interno della società del suo tempo e di come la sua scrittura ne sia rimasta profondamente influenzata.

    Nata a Palermo, ma vissuta tra Torino e Roma durante gli anni della guerra, la Ginzburg si è confrontata con periodi complessi e difficili che non hanno però intaccato, in alcun modo, quella continuità tematica, stilistica e intellettuale che si può rintracciare nei suoi lavori.

    La componente familiare è una parte incisiva nel suo approccio e quindi la Professoressa Lucamante ha fatto cenno anche alla passione che scaturiva dagli eventi e dai legami familiari e di come la scrittrice ne sia servita per modellare le trame dei suoi racconti.

    Anche il Professor Magrelli si è soffermato principalmente sul concetto di famiglia, e di come il contesto familiare non solo abbia ispirato il titolo di uno dei suoi più famosi romanzi (Lessico famigliare, 1963) ma anche tutta la sua vita. 

    Nata in una famiglia numerosa, figlia di un importante scienziato (e qui l’accostamento con Calvino è inevitabile), la Ginzburg - sebbene considerata da alcuni una scrittrice Naïf - è stata sempre in grado di usare la sua “intelligenza letteraria” per comporre romanzi straordinari, delineando figure di protagonisti energici e peculiari che l’hanno resa una scrittrice unica nel suo genere.

    L’incontro si è concluso con un’ultima lettura di Nanni Moretti, questa volta di alcuni estratti di La mia psicanalisi: degna conclusione di un incontro molto intenso.

  • Art & Culture

    Designer Riccardo Tisci for NikeLab x RT: Training Redefined

    After the success of the Air Force 1 and the NikeLab Dunk High x RT, the Italian designer, Riccardo Tisci, returns to collaborate with the Nike once again, this time with the creation of NikeLab x R.T.: Training Redefined – the capsule collection that is going to be on sale in honor of the Rio Olympics this summer.

    Created to pay tribute to the Summer of Sport, the NikeLab x RT: Training Redefined is a capsule collection that includes a complete clothing line and accessories with the intention of combining Nike’s famous performance technologies (such as Dry-FIT and Flyknit) with the unmistakable style of Tisci. 

     

    "This is the first time everything is brand new and the forms are Riccardo Tisci," the creative director of Givenchy said. "The aim is to introduce a new volume, a new concept within the sport industry while at the same time respecting the functionality and performance of Nike”.
     

    NikeLab x RT: Training Redefined will be distributed in two distinct collections with completely different aesthetics: the first one in black and white, while the second one will feature floral and kaleidoscopic patterns.
     

    Conceived to satisfy every performance demand, and designed in order to offer a safe and confortable fit, these items are the demonstration of how the collaboration between the legendary American sportswear brand and the eccentric Italian designer once again leds to the creation of a product that perfectly combines a refined design and excellent technical qualities.

    Thus making us hesitant only when it comes to the color and model to choose. The new collection will be available starting in July in selected NikeLab stores and online at nike.com/nikelab.

    A second released is scheduled for the following month, with prices ranging from $50 to $260.  

    About Riccardo Tisci:
    After graduating from London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 1999, Tisci worked for a succession of companies such as Puma and Coccapani before signing a three-year contract with Ruffo Research, a company that has helped launch the careers of several fashion designers, such as Sophia Kokosalaki. Tisci has mentioned in an interview that he would like to work with an Iranian brand, although it is not known how realistic his wish is.

    Upon the expiration of his contract in July 2004, Tisci spent time living in India, where he began to work on his own collection. In September 2004 during the Milan Fashion Week, Tisci debuted his first Riccardo Tisci Collection for Fall 2005/2006 in an off-calendar show. Tisci’s line generated considerable attention, and shortly thereafter, he was appointed by Givenchy to the position of creative director and made the following statement "I am delighted to join Givenchy and very proud to be able to bring my vision to this prestigious French haute couture house, whose history inspires me."[3]

  • Life & People

    Yes, La Scuola D'Italia is Growing! The New Building is Almost Ready

    An energetic and yet elegant atmosphere characterized the party, hosted once again at Cipriani 42nd Street, with hundreds of guests in attendance. The evening was filled with music, good food, and speeches by some of the school’s most important figures, underlining the importance of having a bilingual and bicultural school as well as the connection between the Italian and American communities. 


    After renditions of various national and European anthems performed by the students, the dinner started, proving once more Cipriani’s excellent food and service. 

    Piera Palazzolo, the Senior Vice President of Marketing underscored the importance of a school that “applies the American practicality and the European traditional way of studying the humanities, creating an excellent bilingual and bicultural combination that prepares students to be open-minded.”

    However, the highlight of the evening was the announcement of a new La Scuola that will be housed at 432 West 58th St., near Columbus Circle, in order to accommodate an increased number of students, from 300 to 700.

    The new building, which will feature 28 new classrooms, a gymnasium, a 220-seat theater, a library, and increased space for the students’ exhibitions, will be close to one of the most prestigious residential areas in Manhattan.

    With the new facility, the level of excellence of the school is only expected to rise, allowing its graduates to enter the most renowned American and international universities.

    The School’s Principal Maria Palandra expressed her pride over the expansion project, saying that it will be an opportunity to create a new school that will be even more suitable for the 21st century’s revolution, “an environment which will allow the students to have more technological facilities, as well as more spaces for outdoor and indoor activities and a healthy cafeteria. It’s a duty for me as a principal,” she continued, “to constantly improve not only the academic program, but also the structure where the students study.”

    Mr. Carlo Mantica, Chief Operating Office and Co-Head of the School expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “I am very excited about the new school. I think it is going to be a great opportunity for all of the students. Not only is it a new place where we can learn and have more extracurricular activities, it is also a good place for the La Scuola name to grow. 

    I am especially happy about that because as a senior I love my school and want it to do better so I am happy that this new school gives us the opportunity to grow and grow.”

    Adding to the special night was the presence of the new Consul General Francesco Genuardi, just five days after his arrival in New York, saying, “It’s a wonderful experience for me, such an honor: after just five days in New York City, I’m here invited at this wonderful gala and I truly believe that the Scuola Italiana is really one of the most important Italian institutions in New York.

    I think they’re facing big challenges and we are ready to support them. What really strikes me is this passion and the fact that it’s a true and unique combination between the Italian spirit, the Italian anima, and the American spirit, l’anima Americana. It is absolutely like a big family. It’s like a team, it’s like a family; we are in it, ci crediamo. Viva la Scuola d’Italia!” 

The Gala this year in particular was considered a special one. “This year is different,” Chairman of the Board Stefano Acunto said.

    “We have a new building, a 102,000-square-foot building, 14 stories. We have a commitment this year, more than ever before, to harnessing the academics of the school, to refining every single aspect of what we do.” He also remarked at the fact that what distinguishes the school from the others is its level of italianità—that, alongside its excellent curriculum of study and the support of both the students’ parents and some important sponsors—makes La Scuola the excellent institution it is today.



    Among the many guests and speakers the honorees included President of Italian Chamber Alberto Milani and former student of la Scuola D’italia and Internist and Gastroenterologist Dr. Joseph L. Tromba

    “The Scuola d’Italia for me is a very important part of my professional experience and also just an emotional experience for me. From day one many years ago when the school started I soon realized that it was a very important part of the Italian American and Italian experience here in New York,” said Dr. Tromba. 

    La Scuola d’Italia is an independent and private bilingual English/Italian educational institution, from nursery through High School (Liceo Scientifico) located in the heart of Manhattan.

  • Art & Culture

    Dolce and Gabbana's Love for Sophia Loren

    “This is not only a lipstick, Sophia Loren N°1 is a gesture of love” - the fashion duo said - “Created from us for Sophia and for all the women”. This scented, bright cherry red lipstick is designed for all the women who want to dress their lips in elegance, and thanks to its creamy formula, it nourishes the lips making them glow. 

    From the shade to the texture, to the delicate essence – typical of every Dolce e Gabbana lipstick – to the elegant golden packaging which adorns Loren’s signature, Sophia Loren N°1 pays homage to the iconicity of the testimonial that represents it: a symbol of  (timeless) beauty and femininity since ever. 

    The collaboration between the actress and the brand continues with the new fragrance for women: “Dolce Rosa Excelsa”.

    The short film renews the connection between Dolce e Gabbana and Giuseppe Tornatore, involving three greats of Italian cinematography: Tornatore, Loren and Ennio Morricone, who curated the soundtrack.

    The film takes place in at Villa Valguarnera di Bagheria, a large, abandoned, and consumed by time estate in Sicily. Here, Sophia depicts a mother that guides her five sons in the renovation process of the old family house.
     

    While the house is restored to its ancient magnificence, the background music by maestro Morricone plays and the entire village is invited to the garden party to celebrate Villa Valguarnera house in all its regained beauty.
     

    Among the guests there is also Kate King, a Canadian model who was already endorsed the “Dolce” fragrance. Kate portrays Rosa, a beautiful young lady that catches the attention of the youngest of Sophia’s sons. Struck by her beauty, the boy picks the most beautiful flower in the garden as a gift for her: a carmine red rose. As Kate smells the flower, a drop of dew slips from it. The girl then smiles and decides to put the water from the flower on her neck, just like perfume.
     

    In the final scene, after a last touch of lipstick, Sophia greets her guests in the garden where the laughs, the colors and the light perfectly convey the idea of the authentic Sicilian summer.
     

    At this point, Kate shows her the rose and Loren, captivated by its beauty says: “Meravigliosa!” This encounter between two women from different generations, is full of beauty and tradition. An encounter that is eternal, just as the Rosa is.

  • Life & People

    Shape & Color @ the New York Fashion Week

    During these days the Big Apple is the scene of numerous fashion shows where the big names of the Fashion Industry (Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Alexander McQueen and Diane Von Furstenberg, just to name some of them) follow each other on the runways, showing their latest collections and the next must-haves of the future coldests months of the year.

    Among the fall/winter 2016-2017 collections presented in New York this week, there have been some who decided to color their pieces with strong and energetic shades, like Escada, who proposed intense-red long dresses and grass green coats, while others – like Creatures of Comfort – decided to focus completely on quartz pink: a romantic and feminine color, but with a strong personality.

    For Adam Selmanci and Alexander McQueen the attention was all on the rocker style, featuring leather jackets of Japanese inspiration or covered with metallic colored fringes as well as a series of dresses characterized by deep rips – one of the main trends of next fall/winter season.

    The collections of Monique Lhuillier and Tadashi Shoji were more about elegant, highly chic dresses, perfect for important occasions. Here the protagonists were asymmetrical skirts, gowns and mesh dresses but what particularly attracted attention were the nude jumpsuit-collants that convey the effect of a tattoo (very reminiscent of the ones created by Raf Simons for Dior).

    More conventional and classic presentations were proposed too, like the one by Polo Ralph Lauren, with its knitted dresses and accessories of camel, rope color and hunter green shades – and Victoria Beckham, who let herself be conquered by the elegant concision of stripes, both for bustiers and dresses.

    And although for a proper Italian representation we still have to wait for Milan Fashion Week (February, 24th-29th) and Rome Fashion Week (February, 17th-19th), the Red Valentino fashion show in New York brought to the stage a sporty-casual style, but always with a very feminine touch. The crucial items were the longuette skirt (embroidered or transparent), but also jackets and coats of different textures that covered a chromatic range going from navy blue to grass green, passing through black, white, yellow and cream.

    A mixture of interesting chromatic combinations and bold overlappings combined sporty and elegant styles with personality and character... signed “Made in Italy”.

  • Nuova Guinea Rainy Forest
    Nuova Guinea Rainy Forest

    Fashion, National Geographic

    Fashion - the exhibition ideated and created by Marco Cattaneo in collaboration with National Geographic Italia - has been inaugurated on February, 4th and will be open to the public until May, 2nd 2016 at Palazzo Madama, in Torino.

    The aim of this exhibit is to represent aspects of cultural anthropology such as the universal attention towards the body, the ornaments and the garments, the cultural exchanges and the social changes in the different parts of the world.

    Sixty-two enlarged photographs (selected from a nine-million and a half archive corpus) made by photographers of international fame, offer unexpected and bizarre combinations in order to make us understand how the super glamorous runways of Milan, Paris and New York have a lot more in common than we would think with the African villages, the women from Mongolia’s clothes and the rainy forests of Papua New Guinea.

    What we decide to wear has always been able to express both the ephemeral and the eternal at the same time.

    It allows us to express our social, economic and religious identity. It is not only about “decorating our body” in order to look beautiful and attractive, but also being able to express who we are and where we come from.

    Through a mixture of colors, powerful sensations, visual emotions and contrasts – Fashion offers a fascinating, global perspective on the historical and cultural meaning of clothing and ornamentation and on what is connected to the general concept of “style”, in its most various and diversified forms.

     

    Where: Palazzo Madama - Corte Medievale, Piazza Castello, Torino
    When: February, 4th – May, 2nd 2016
    Opening Hours: Monday 10-6; Wednesday-Saturday 10-6; Sunday 10-19. On Tuesday the exhibit is Closed.

     

     

  • Fashion
    Style: Articles

    Fashion, National Geographic

    Fashion - the exhibition ideated and created by Marco Cattaneo in collaboration with National Geographic Italia - has been inaugurated on February, 4th and will be open to the public until May, 2nd 2016 at Palazzo Madama, in Torino.

    The aim of this exhibit is to represent aspects of cultural anthropology such as the universal attention towards the body, the ornaments and the garments, the cultural exchanges and the social changes in the different parts of the world.

    Sixty-two enlarged photographs (selected from a nine-million and a half archive corpus) made by photographers of international fame, offer unexpected and bizarre combinations in order to make us understand how the super glamorous runways of Milan, Paris and New York have a lot more in common than we would think with the African villages, the women from Mongolia’s clothes and the rainy forests of Papua New Guinea. 

    What we decide to wear has always been able to express both the ephemeral and the eternal at the same time. 

    It allows us to express our social, economic and religious identity. It is not only about “decorating our body” in order to look beautiful and attractive, but also being able to express who we are and where we come from. 

    Through a mixture of colors, powerful sensations, visual emotions and contrasts – Fashion offers a fascinating, global perspective on the historical and cultural meaning of clothing and ornamentation and on what is connected to the general concept of “style”, in its most various and diversified forms.

    Where: Palazzo Madama - Corte Medievale, Piazza Castello, Torino

    When: February, 4th – May, 2nd 2016

    Opening Hours: Monday 10-6; Wednesday-Saturday 10-6; Sunday 10-19. On Tuesday the exhibit is Closed. 

  • Fashion, National Geographic

    Fashion - the exhibition ideated and created by Marco Cattaneo in collaboration with National Geographic Italia - has been inaugurated on February, 4th and will be open to the public until May, 2nd 2016 at Palazzo Madama, in Torino

    The aim of this exhibit is to represent aspects of cultural anthropology such as the universal attention towards the body, the ornaments and the garments, the cultural exchanges and the social changes in the different parts of the world.
     

    Sixty-two enlarged photographs (selected from a nine-million and a half archive corpus) made by photographers of international fame, offer unexpected and bizarre combinations in order to make us understand how the super glamorous runways of Milan, Paris and New York have a lot more in common than we would think with the African villages, the women from Mongolia’s clothes and the rainy forests of Papua New Guinea. 
     

    What we decide to wear has always been able to express both the ephemeral and the eternal at the same time.

    It allows us to express our social, economic and religious identity. It is not only about “decorating our body” in order to look beautiful and attractive, but also being able to express who we are and where we come from.

    Through a mixture of colors, powerful sensations, visual emotions and contrasts – Fashion offers a fascinating, global perspective on the historical and cultural meaning of clothing and ornamentation and on what is connected to the general concept of “style”, in its most various and diversified forms.

    Where: Palazzo Madama - Corte Medievale, Piazza Castello, Torino

    When: February, 4th – May, 2nd 2016

    Opening Hours: Monday 10-6; Wednesday-Saturday 10-6; Sunday 10-19. On Tuesday the exhibit is Closed. 

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