EDITORIAL “Happy Italian Heritage Month”

●● (10-10-3) so when you write about ocean you write about shore (51-6-3) there’s no water flowing and no flower snowing (14-1-3 )when you do what you were dreaming of you may be assailed by fears


I’ve kept to my promise of beginning every editorial note with a poem. Only this time I’m using several random verses. That’s right, random. They’re lines from “Ellis Island,” a poem by Robert Viscusi, assembled by the Random Sonnet Generator, which can be found on the poem’s website (ellisislandpoem.com).


Why “Ellis Island”? Because it’s an extraordinary poem that tells the all-American story of immigration, an event in which Italians played a large role.


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Which leads us to this issue of i-ItalyNY. October in New York is the most Italian month of the year, so we began a new collaboration with the prestigious Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of New York; the traditional booklet they publish this time of the year, listing all Italian and Italian-American events, is now a special insert of i-ItalyNY. It is by far the most comprehensive, up-to-date guide to our “Italian city” this fall.


And it’s no coincidence you’ll find here our interview with Frank G. Fusaro and Angelo Vivolo, the leaders of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, the association responsible for organizing the Columbus Day Parade.


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Yet our cover story takes us back to Italy, an Italy that gave rise to an internationally recognized dream: Ferrari. My interview with Flavio Manzoni, Ferrari’s Design Director, explores the history and future of Italian excellence; and we begin by remembering our great friend and maestro, Massimo Vignelli, the international icon of Italian design who passed away this May. Feature articles include Stefano Albertini’s interview with world- renowned film director Gianni Amelio and Consul General of New York Natalia Quintavalle’s reflections on the challenges facing an Italian presidency of the EU Council. Then we travel back to Venice to meet Giampaolo Seguso, a major glassmaking artisan as well as a poet, and to Naples to meet Amedeo Scognamiglio, the leading manufacturer of cameos—without, however, leaving the comfort of New York; indeed both men have established major branches of their business here. New York is, after all, the biggest Italian city outside Italy. And, if you’re looking for a glimpse of Italian American politics, jump to Jerry Krase’s piece on the “tribulations” of Governor Andrew Cuomo and Anthony Tamburri’s column about Mayor Bill de Blasio’s combinatio nova.


We will travel to Italy, however, in our Tourism section. Eugenio Magnani, the director of the Italian Government Tourist Board for North America, relates his personal memories of Italy’s “small islands,” as special as they are yet little known. Last but not least, an interview with former Italian Ambassador to the UN Paolo Fulci, now president of Ferrero. Fulci, a Sicilian who calls the small island of Salina “home,” shares the very Italian (and Italian-American) story that brought little islands—in Italy and across the globe—to the world’s attention.


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So, take a gander at this voluminous issue, visit our website, follow us on Facebook and watch our show weekends on Channel 25. Our new series is full of surprises. And please send us your suggestions and comments. They do us good. Have a happy Italian Heritage Month!


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