MetaFilter posts tagged with italy

molto bello

stinkycheese — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:05:18 -0800

Milanese businesswomen Lorella Zanardo made a short documentary critiquing the sexist depictions of women on Italian television. That documentary - Il corpo delle donne (Women's Bodies) - is available to watch online (with subtitles) here.

Pilgrim route redux

aqsakal — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 07:30:44 -0800

The Via Francigena (fran-chee-jena) (also here) was the pilgrim road leading from Canterbury to Rome and one of the most important routes of communication in the Middle Ages. The Italian government has this week launched a project to recover the Italian leg of it. The object of the plan is to recover the entire route (disjointed parts of which are already signposted) “not only in spiritual and religious terms but also in terms of the environment, architecture, culture, history, wine and cuisine and sport.” The initiative was promoted by the regional government of Tuscany, which hosts 400km of the Via, and which presented a plan (128-page PDF in Italian with maps and pix) detailing the low environmental impact infrastructures to be created. The plan will be shared with other local authorities located along the route as an encouragement to carry out similar recovery work. Tuscany has also announced cooperation with the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi (ORP) (link in Italian), the Vatican’s organisation for encouriging and supporting pilgrimages. Modern-day pilgrims can often be seen walking (or sometimes cycling) on the Via Francigena, and are offered hospitality along the way by local parishes.

The Manliest Game On Earth

gman — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:11:23 -0800

Calcio Fiorentino was an early form of football (YT) that originated in 16th century Italy (YT). The modern version (Foto Gallery) allows tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking, but forbids sucker-punching and kicks to the head.

Lost in the desert for 2,500 years.

Lutoslawski — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:25:43 -0800

It appears that the Lost Army of Cambyses has been found. Cambyses II expanded the Persian empire into Egypt. Most accounts depict him as a lousy, drunken tyrant. According to Herodotus, he sent his army, 50,000 strong, into Egypt where the encountered a sand storm near the Siwa Oasis and were buried alive. The tomb of Cambyses himself was discovered in 2006.

Art of Noises

fire&wings — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:32:46 -0800

Luigi Russolo was a futurist painter, experimental composer, and instrument builder. In his 1913 manifesto "The Art of Noises" he declaimed the death of traditional Western music and foresaw the dawning of a new music based on the grinding, screeching, moaning, crackling and buzzing of mechanical instruments. He and his assistant Ugo Piatti built the Intonarumori to bring these new sounds - "the palpitation of valves, the coming and going of pistons, the howl of mechanical saws, the jolting of a tram on its rails, the cracking of whips, the flapping of curtains and flags" - to life. Listen to them, then and now.

Prisencolinensinainciusol - Ol Raight!

dunkadunc — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:25:34 -0800

Sung in incoherent pseudo-English, Adriano Celentano's Prisencolinensinainciusol (1973) could be thought of as an early example of rap.

Colossal Green Volcano Rises In Italy

mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:28:21 -0800

"A jaw-dropping feat of architecture has risen in the Italian city of Nola, just a stone’s throw away from the cataclysmic Mt. Vesuvius. Designed by Renzo Piano, Vulcano Buono is an epic cone-shaped commercial center crowned with a gorgeous sloping green roof. Piano’s 'good volcano' contributes a vital new space to the southern edge of the Nola commercial district, which is the most most important freight terminal complex in southern and central Italy."

Videocracy

acb — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:11:30 -0800

A new documentary by a Swedish-based Italian filmmaker examines how media mogul turned two-time president Silvio Berlusconi's 30-year grip on Italian television has shaped the country, its politics, its culture and society. Erik Gandini's Videocracy, which screens at the Venice Film Festival, starts 30 years ago, when Berlusconi introduced a quiz show whose female contestants stripped for the camera, and charts 30 years of showgirls, celebrities, reality TV shows and Berlusconi's rise to political power, and interviews characters of the system, including a talentless but fame-hungry TV contestant, a fascist-sympathising media fixer, and a paparazzo/extortionist turned celebrity. More details here and (with a trailer) here. Perhaps unsurprisingly, both Berlusconi's private TV channels and the state broadcaster RAI have refused to run advertisements for the film.

Rerepainting Bellini

thomas j wise — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:25:35 -0800

Investigating Bellini's Feast of the Gods takes apart the layers of Feast of the Gods, painted by Giovanni Bellini, repainted by Dosso Dossi, and repainted again by Tiziano Vecellio--that is, Titian. Visitors can see the results of x-rays and other imaging techniques, view the painting's changing context in the Duke of Ferrara's gallery, and examine details in close-up. For further adventures in x-radiography, among other techniques in art conservation, try the following:

John Hayls' A Portrait of a Lady and a Boy with Pan (Tate)
Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (MoMA)
Understanding Picasso Through Conservation (Cleveland Museum of Art)
A nativity by Jacopo Tintoretto (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
A "missing" painting by Vincent Van Gogh (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)
Some examples from the Victoria & Albert Museum
Uncovering Watteau (Art Institute of Chicago)
An illustration concealed under another work by N. C. Wyeth (U. of Delaware)

Caravaggio and Rembrandt, two great tastes that go well together

Kattullus — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:34:08 -0800

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam invites you to compare Caravaggio and Rembrandt. For an overview of Rembrandt's work here are Rembrandt van Rijn: Life and Work and A Web Catalogue of Rembrandt Paintings. For Caravaggio there's caravaggio.com which makes use of the Italian website Tutta l'opera del Caravaggio.

Nothing to declare except that, um, $135 billion

grounded — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:11:16 -0800

Two Japanese men have been detained by Italian authorities after they were caught with $134.5 billion in US bonds and securities in a false-bottomed bag on a train heading for the Swiss border. Real or counterfeit? Quantitative stealing? Japanese TV reports. And all this when Japan is pledging 'unshakable' faith in US Treasuries.

Andy Warhol's Frankenstein and Dracula: almost begs the gorge to rise

filthy light thief — Thu, 21 May 2009 13:22:39 -0800

Though film is not generally Andy Warhol's field of greatest fame, some see his long and storied history in film as "where Warhol's supreme achievement lies". And then there are the two horror films from 1973: Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (or Flesh for Frankenstein) and Andy Warhol's Dracula (or Blood for Dracula). The two films were filmed quickly and inexpensively in the Spring of 1973, using the Roger Corman method of filming two movies at one location using the same actors to decrease costs. Frankenstein was filmed first, using Space-Vision 3-D. But filming 3D footage was too expensive and time-consuming, so Dracula was shot in standard 35mm film. The films are a mix of tribute to and parody of Italian horror films. Both movies were shot in and around Rome, and edited at the Cinecittà studios,which were opened by Mussolini in April 1937, and later the location for Roman Holiday and Ben Hur, amongst others. Despite the pedigree of the location, the content of the films were not the of the same sort, with gory effects in Frankenstein including innards [that] resemble lobster salad, an evocation that stresses the obvious expense of this production (NYTimes.com Bugmenot) and Dracula receiving an X Rating from the MPAA due to its violent and sexual elements. Regardless, or because of this, Both films were commercial successes by Factory standards in the United States, Europe, and, for the first time, Japan. These films would be the last two Factory films that Paul Morrissey directed, and the last Factory films in which Joe Dallesandro starred. Morrissey first worked at The Factory in 1965, sweeping the floor, a year prior to the making of The Chelsea Girls. Morrissey went on to take over the directing, pushing Warhol's films in more commercial directions. After these films, Morrissey continued to direct movies, though he stopped when it became harder to finance independent films. Dallesandro, probably the guy(parts) on the cover of Rolling Stone's Sticky Fingers, continued to have acting roles, though he now manages a hotel in the heart of Hollywood, where he lives with his cat Booky. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has given these films to the Andy Warhol Museum. Dracula clips Movie teaser (1:29) Intro to the film (8:33), dubbed in Spanish Screen test (4:09), film director Paul Morrissey discusses his choices for cast members for the film Frankenstein clips German trailer (3:19), nudity and gore included US trailer (1:18), with minor spoilers Udo Kier (2:18), on censorship and Frankenstein ("It's a comedy, everyone knows the blood is syrup")

Clowns make me cry.

adamvasco — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 02:40:37 -0800

The Guardian has taken the unusual step of publishing the same article in English & in Italian because the Italian media will not tell the truth about Berlusconi. The tainted clown that heads Italy has accused newspapers and television stations of slandering him and damaging the country’s reputation by highlighting his alleged faux pas.
Silvio's Shadow an interesting article from the Colombia Journal of Review cached archives shows how Berlusconi uses Journalism as a political weapon. Much of Italian Media is controlled by Berlusconi. The World Press Freedom Review expressed concern five years ago. Oh and Berlusconi Plans to Use G8 Presidency to "Regulate the Internet".

Earthquake kills 150, displaces 50.000 in Italy

elpapacito — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:04:29 -0800

At least 150 dead, 1.500 injuried and 50.000 displaced by a magnitude 6.3 Richter scale earthquake that struck Abruzzo and center Italy at 01:32:42 UTC on April 6th.The damage is very severe, the little village of Onna, existing since at least year 1178, was completely destroyed and the city of L'Aquila (pop 70.000) was severly damaged. The city hospital was rendered 90% unusable, allegedly 50% of all of the city buildings are now considered unsafe. Hundreds of pictures have been sent on the internet by locals, while controversy ensues on a early warning by an italian scientist (indicted a few days ago for spreading rumors about an upcoming quake), who claims that his Radon gas detectors signaled an anomaly that may have been validated by a more extensive networks of detectors and may have saved lifes.

Surgeon finishes operation despite heart attack

baphomet — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:52:11 -0800

Contenders for this year's Badass of the Year award will have a tough time topping Italian surgeon Claudio Vitale, who completed a delicate brain surgery despite having a heart attack during the procedure. He pushed himself to complete the surgery when he realized that his patient was unlikely to survive if he halted the operation.

Is there a Godwin for Musolinni?

Hactar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:00:33 -0800

I don't know if this is more troubling than any of the other anti-immigrant movements that have been cropping up in Europe, or whether it's just that Italy has Silvio Berlusconi (previously on MeFi), but with the fingerprinting of Roma, including their children, the destruction of Roma camps and the blase attitude towards two Roma girls found dead on an Italian beach, one wonders whether comparisons to the 1930's may become justified. Now, in an act that, while not violent, is perhaps even more indicative of the country's views on race the city of Lucca and the region of Lombardy have banned the opening of new "foreign" restaurants, as, one newspaper put it "a new Lombard Crusade against the Saracens." Included in the ban: kebabs, sushi, Chinese food. Not Included in the ban: French food. Questionable: Sicilian food, as it has "Arab influences." Beyond this, Italy has passed a law allowing for the summary expulsion of dangerous EU citizens. Using this law, the Italian police have been expelling large numbers of Romanian immigrants. So, is this simply the xenophobia that has been spreading across Europe, or is this something more worrisome for the country of Italy? Or is the xenophobia seen in many countries lately worrying enough on its own?

Mondo Kim's moves to Sicily!

unknowncommand — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:09:47 -0800

Contents of the beloved/historic/deceased Mondo Kim's video store in New York City purchased by the town of Salemi, Italy. The village intends to project the videos as part of a neverending film festival open to the public. Roadtrip, anyone?

Offending the honour of the sacred and inviolable person

ersatz — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 17:05:13 -0800

Sabrina Guzzanti, an Italian comedienne who said that Pope Benedict XVI would go to Hell and be tormented by homosexual demons is facing a prison term of up to five years, according to the provisions of the Lateran treaty. The July rally was called to protest against alleged interference by the Vatican and the Catholic Church in Italian affairs, from abortion to gay rights, but also to attack the Prime Minister for passing "ad personam" laws to protect his own interests and avoid prosecution on corruption allegations. Three years ago Ms Guzzanti released a widely praised film, Viva Zapatero!, about the suppression in 2003 of her late night show RAIot in which she had satirised the Italian Prime Minister. Antonio Di Pietro, a senator and former anti-corruption magistrate, who organised the rally, said that Ms Guzzanti had only "exercised her constitutional right to freedom of thought. [...] To put people in prison for what they think is reminiscent of a time when those who thought differently had castor oil poured down their throats" — a reference to the Fascist era, when the Lateran Treaty was enacted.

Niccolo Machiavelli

homunculus — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:35:04 -0800

The Florentine. Niccolò Machiavelli, the man who taught rulers how to rule.

Pink foam walls reveal national character.

Alison — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 07:47:42 -0800

Tunnels no Minasan no Okage Desu is a Japanese game show where contestants strike poses to fit through cutouts in pink foam walls. International reproductions of this game show reveal much about national character; reproductions exist in Italy, Russia, France, Denmark, Hong Kong, Korea, and Australia. Though this game show has popped up before, it's popularity has grown to a worldwide scale. Next up is the United States.

Schockoladespielzeugkombinationseier

tellurian — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 00:52:28 -0800

Sold all over the world but banned in the US in 1997 under a law passed in 1938. Kinder Surprise are now under attack in Germany. No magicodes for you!

Servigliano Calling

amyms — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:54:50 -0800

‘Even to this day the diary has a slight aroma of cocoa,’ says Steve Dickinson about a diary kept by his uncle Robert Dickinson while a prisoner at Servigliano, an Italian war camp, in the 1940s. The diary has a cover made of old cocoa tins (hence the smell) with a broadcast aerial design incorporating the title 'Servigliano Calling.' It begins with his capture by the Germans in November 1941, and finishes, about six months before his death, in September 1944. Via The Diary Junction blog.

Righteous among the Peoples

Skeptic — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 15:59:58 -0800

In March 1944, Nazi Germany occupied its ally Hungary and immediately began preparing the extermination of Hungary's Jews. A small band of diplomats from neutral countries and the Red Cross put their lives at risk to try to smuggle as many Jews as possible out of Hungary from under Adolf Eichmann's nose. While Raoul Wallenberg remains the best known of these "Righteous among the Nations", there's no doubt that the most intriguing character was Giorgio "Jorge" Perlasca. A fugitive himself, as an Italian national who had refused his allegiance to Mussolini's puppet Salò Republic, Perlasca had found refuge at the Spanish embassy, where he immediately received a Spanish passport as a veteran from the Italian Francoist volunteers of the CTV in the Spanish Civil War, and joined the Spanish chargé d'affaires, Ángel Sanz Briz, in protecting as many Sephardic (and not-so-Sephardic) Jews as possible under a 1924 Spanish decree granting citizenship to these descendants of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492. When the Spanish diplomats were withdrawn to Switzerland, Perlasca appointed himself Spanish ambassador and continued Sanz Briz' efforts at enormous personal risk. After the war, he proceeded to retreat into obscurity until rediscovered forty years later.

Charlie the deer.

fearfulsymmetry — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:05:57 -0800

Unicorns are real! Well sort of... Maybe not the first time though. (Previous mefi unicorns)

Interactive 18th century Rome

peacay — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 23:21:59 -0800

Imago Urbis: Giuseppe Vasi’s Grand Tour of Rome is a rich and innovative geographic database that projects Vasi's 18th century engravings of Roman architecture onto the contemporary map of Giambattista Nolli [previously] with supplementary modern satellite, photographic and mapping overlays together with copious background detail. The work was undertaken by researchers at the University of Oregon (announcement) [via]