Dear Readers,
An October assortment of Italian artistic connections awaits you: Antonio Benedetto aka Tony Bennett performed at the Thunder Valley Casino in Lincoln, California, recently. Vic Befera, former S. F. Chronicle P.R. and Nite-Life columnist sent the singer a note before the show and reminded Bennett that he’d been in the audience in 1962 at the Fairmont when Bennett first performed “I left my heart in San Francisco.”
Vic Befera, who was writing a column then, went backstage and told Bennett he’d never heard the song before. “Do you like it?” asked the singer. “My music director and I were in Ohio and looking for something new for the San Francisco date, and decided to use it.” Vic did not only like the song, but wrote an enthusiastic review in 1962 and maybe even helped jump start the song into the international fame.
From the stage during the Thunder Valley outdoor amphitheater show, Bennett introduced Befera and invited him to come backstage afterward. Befera suggested another engagement at the Venetian Room, maybe this time with his lovely daughter Antonia who opened his show.
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Artistic, imaginative and creative people, experts say, are often left handed, because they are “wired” into the artistic half of the brain, whereas right-handers are wired into the logical half of the brain. Artists Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti seem to buttress that theory: Leonardo Da Vinci (1452- 1519) was so left-handed he invented left-handed machines, painted left-handed masterpieces, and created left-handed statues; he also wrote left-handed, back- wards, from right to left, because that’s the sensible way for a left-hander to do it. Of course, this mirror writing was a little difficult for other people to read, but Leonardo couldn’t have cared less.
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is another of those left-handed Florentine artists who seemed to dominate the Italian Renaissance. He’s further proof of the strong artistic influ- ence of the left-handed brain: the visionary who could comprehend and solve the enormous technical problems of St. Peter’s dome, as well as the obsessive personality who could spend nearly four years flat on his back painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
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Bracelets with coins were popular fashion accessories back in the days when planes had pro- pellers. They also provided a bit of conversational fodder when traveling and making new friends. I was looking at my own collection of metallic memorabilia and along with the usual symbolic charms of Venice (gondo- la), Bologna (two towers) and Lily of Florence, I noted an Italian 20 Lira gold coin minted in 1882, with a profile of Umberto I Re d’Italia. Thinking their royal numerical system a bit askew, I found an old copy of World Coins by Krause Publications, to set me straight.
Listed under the name Kingdom of Italy, Rulers Vittorio Emanuele II 1861-1878, Umberto I 1878-1900, Vittorio Emanuele III 1900-1946, Umberto II 1946 and Republic 1946. I also checked the mint-mark to see where it was minted, i.e., R-Rome, F-Firenze, etc. but couldn’t find any. But, not to worry for “Better than the gold of Kings, is the Memory of Happy Things.”
From the fall of Rome until modern times, “Italy” was little more than a geographical expres- sion. Although nominally included in the Empire of Charlemagne and Holy Roman Empire, it was in reality divided into a number of independent states and king- doms presided over by wealthy families, soldiers of fortune or hereditary rulers. The 19th century unification movement fostered by Mazzini, Garibaldi and Cavour attained fruition in 1860-70 with the creation of the Kingdom of Italy and the installation of Victor Emmanuel, king of Sardinia, as king of Italy.
Benito Mussolini came to power during the post-world War I period of economic and political unrest, installed a Fascist dictatorship with a figurehead king as titular Head of State, and allied with Germany for the pursuit of World War II. Following the defeat of the Axis powers, the Italian monarchy was dissolved by plebiscite and the Italian Republic proclaimed in 1946.
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Candy is dandy and while the Greeks, Romans, and Arabs made “candy” using seeds, dried fruits and spices dipped in honey, it was the Romans who took it to the next level with sug- ared almonds which were passed out to guests to celebrate births and marriages.
Darius, a Persian Emperor on a journey to India, developed a taste for a reed that yields honey without the help of bees (sugar cane) and as the Venetians began importing sugar from the Middle East, Italian chefs developed a talent for creating sugared candies. Sweets in France, the Bon Bon, literally “good good”, received a major boost when Henry II King of France married Catherine de’ Medici in 1533 and she brought master confectioners with her.
A younger cousin, Maria de’ Medici also came to France when she married Henri IV. So, it’s really “Grazie” to these two women that new delights from Italy came to France and spread to all the European courts.
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Cards, known as Tarocchi in Italy and Tarot cards in the U.S. have in the last thirty years been gaining in popularity and diversi- ty with artists all over the world producing new variations on this ancient theme. Produced in Northern Italy during the first half of the fifteenth century they were used by Italian nobility for the purpose of playing games and in instructional purposes.
The twenty-two major trump cards, or Triumph, were probably combined with standard playing cards of the time to pro- duce the complete Tarocchi (Tarot in French) deck. As time went on they were used for div- ination, meditation, and artistic exploration. The triumphs were probably an outgrowth of designs inspired by the Triumphs of Petrarca, a series of poems written by four-teenth century poet Francesco Petrarca.
As Tarocchi developed throughout Italy, various regional styles evolved such as a Bolognese, Piemontese or Venetian, Sicilian, and Florentine, with sixty-two, seventy-eight, sixty-four, and ninety-seven cards respectively. Readers interested in knowing more about the Italian origins of Tarot cards can try to find an old copy of “The Tarot Trumps” by John Shepard or “Encyclopedia of Tarot” by Stuart Naplan.
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Denmark, Austria, Croatia, Finland and Australia, were among the first countries to embrace Italy’s Slow Food Movement, spearheaded in the 1990’s by Carlo Petrini. I was looking at a 1996 Slow Food publication and was surprised to see how many countries were already on board as we Californians were just getting started thanks to the effort of Abruzzi born, Lorenzo Scarpone, president of Villa Italia Wines and Foods based in South San Francisco. Slow Food’s Logo is a snail.
Slow Food Editore is based in Bra, province of Cuneo, region of Piemonte at Via della Mendicità Istruita, 45 – 12042 Bra (Cn), e-mail: slowinfo@slowfood.com Here are some Slow Food snippets from around the world in the 1990’s, when the Slow Food snail was slowly but surely spreading the Slow Food mes- sage beyond the borders of Italy where it started: “Slow Food believes that the training of our senses and the sharpening of perception are essential to enriching our existence. We can, and should, build up a balanced sensory structure through the exercise of tasting. The definition of quality involves a set of values that can be objectively determined with considerable precision”.
Slow Food conceived Taste Workshops with this in mind, to involve adults and kids of all ages in defining sensation and becoming aware of food quality. How is a taste workshop best set up? Through study and experi- mentation. In 1996, Sicilian and Tuscan teachers went to a “school of taste”. Training courses were held in Noto (Syracuse) and in Prato, and sponsored by the two town councils. Lessons based on an effective combination of teaching techniques and sensorial experiences were given in association with Slow Food experts.
These two pilot projects were initial steps in a far-reaching plan for the education of taste. Denmark’s foodies hosted tasting sessions throughout autumn in Copenhagen: chocolate, red wine and grappa (Italian aquavit) and two nights devoted to Barolo olive oil from Mediterranean countries. Austria’s early Slow Foods Convivia were set up in Voralberg, Ebbs (near Innsbruck) and in Vienna. Croatia shed its communist yoke and Pola was an early entry in Slow Food Croatia.
The Istrian convivium opened with a dinner party. When Slow Food hosted the first annual “Ark of Taste to Save the Planet of Flavors”, at the Trade Fair in Torino, Italy, delegates from these countries were among the Early Birds who came: Australia, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia, Israel, Finland, Spain, United States, United Kingdom, Austria, Greece, Brazil, Belgium and Sweden. By 2010 the U.S.A., especially the California conviviums, became super Slow Food fans!
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Eugenio Mirabella, president pro-tem of the N.S.A.F. recently announced that the directors of the National Sicilian American Foundation have initiated an alliance with another non-profit organization, Unione Siciliana of San Mateo, CA. Working together will benefit both organizations, allowing greater numbers to attend events and more talent to draw upon for the planning and production of even better events in the future. “We all have the same goal: to promote and celebrate our rich Sicilian heritage,” said N.S.A.F. directors Laura Hamai, Tony Luciano and Jean Tinelli.
Within the alliance, NSAF will become the cultural arm of the new organization, and Unione Siciliana will continue to take the lead in organizing social events. The combined resources will encourage greater participation among all members and therefore lead to a more varied program. With its common interest in Sicilian culture the alliance will widen the circle of friends who will participate in more social and cultural events. For more information, call, write or visit the N.S.A.F. site: PO Box 503, Santa Clara, CA 95052 or call 408-984-2654.
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“Happiness is good health and bad memory.” Attributed to actress Ingrid Bergman, whose American life ended when she wrote a fan letter, left her husband in Hollywood, CA, and moved to Italy to be with Italian director Roberto Rossellini, when she received his reply.
