Panoram Italia Toronto Oct/Nov 2015

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THE ITALIAN-CANADIAN MAGAZINE MAILED TO HOMES & BUSINESSES IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA

LIVING ITALIAN STYLE

2015

WINE GUIDE

MODENA THE HIDDEN JEWEL

COVER: ANGELA AIELLO ONE OF US • UNA DI NOI OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2015 • VOL.5 • NO.5

www.panoramitalia.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2015 Vol. 5 NO. 5

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WINE Angela Aiello on her love for wine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The science of food & wine pairing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Mirella Amato: Beer expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER & EDITOR Tony Zara

ITALIAN WINE GUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

EDITORIAL

Future Leader: Franco Lalela . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

LIFE & PEOPLE Candidates in the 2015 Federal Elections . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Singer Alessia Cara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Humber River Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Corso Italia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Oakville’s Italian Language Advocate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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VILLA CHARITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 FASHION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 LIVING ITALIAN STYLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 MODENA The Hidden Jewel of Via Emilia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 From the Motor Valley to Pavarotti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Il Museo della figurina di Modena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 A Voyage to the Heart of the Best Italian Foods. . . . . . . . . 44 Chef Massimo Bottura . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Modena-inspired recipes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Adam Zara MONTREAL TORONTO MANAGING EDITOR MANAGING EDITOR & WEB MANAGER Rita Simonetta Gabriel Riel-Salvatore ITALIAN PROOFREADER TRANSLATOR Claudia Buscemi Prestigiacomo Aurelie Ptito

ART DEPARTMENT ART DIRECTION & GRAPHIC DESIGN David Ferreira

PHOTOGRAPHY Giulio Muratori

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Anthony Zara

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Gianpietro Nagliati-Bravi

CONTRIBUTORS Antonio D’Alfonso • Maria Assaf •Liz Allemang • Erica Cupido Danila Di Croce • Sal Difalco • Alessia Sara Domanico Beatrice Fantoni • Sara Germanotta • Daniel Horowitz Chelsea Lecce • Sarah Mastroianni • Alessandro Mossini Romina Monaco • Claudia Buscemi Prestigiacomo

FOOD Best Ice Cream Shops in the GTA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

ARTS & CULTURE Pinball wizard Robert Gagno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Salvatore Difalco revisits Hamilton in new book . . . . . . . . . 55 The Best of Italy at TIFF 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Filmmaker Nicola Zavaglia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

26 Duncan Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 2B9 Tel.: 1.844.ITALIA.1 or by e-mail at: info@panoramitalia.com Legal deposit - Bibliothèque nationale du Québec / National Library of Canada - ISSN: 1916-6389 Distribution par / by

EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

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SPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

514.337.7870 www.accentimpression.com

ONE MORE DAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Montreal, Québec, Canada

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A Drink To Brindiamo!

Angela Aiello passes on her love for wine Angela Aiello trasmette il suo amore per il vino

By Sara Germanotta

A

ngela Aiello started working in the wine business at the age of 16.

Growing up in the lush heart of Ontario’s wine country, the teenager spent five years bussing tables and washing dishes at the Vineland Estates Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Aiello held down a full-time job at the winery during the summers and worked there part-time while going to school the rest of the year. It was a tough job, but it instilled in the young woman the importance of hard work and discipline. “At a very young age, my parents were very dedicated to making sure that I knew the art of working. I think my parents raised me and my three sisters as if we were boys,” laughs Aiello, whose family comes from the small Calabrian town of Figline Vegliaturo in Cosenza.

“I didn’t really bake or learn makeup or know about fashion. All of us were trained to get out in the yard and cut grass and chop wood. We’re all very hardworking women.”

Besides enabling Aiello to save up for school, the job at Vineland Estates offered the young student hands-on training in what would later become her life’s passion. “When you grow up in Niagara there’s really no other industry but wine,” explains the 33-year-old. “Wine was an anchor for me; it was my home, where I worked. At such a young age, I was already learning how to pair wine and food, how to deal with consumers, how to deal in the world of wine. I didn’t even realise at the time the skills that were being ingrained in me.”

It also helped that Aiello was working at the vineyard at a time when Ontario’s wine industry was exploding. The Niagara peninsula has long been regarded as a fertile grape-growing region, but it is only within the last 25 years that the industry has truly blossomed. According to the Grape Growers Association of Ontario, grapes are now the most valuable fruit produced in the province. “I remember all of a sudden summers in wine country became so busy. People from Toronto were coming to visit. I was so fortunate to have been working there at a time when people were really starting to recognize the region,” says Aiello.

Despite her extensive hands-on experience working in the industry, it was never her intention to become a wine gal. She graduated from university with a degree in Communications and always envisioned a career in the media. Aiello says her jobs working at Vineyard Estates and later at Peller Estates Winery Restaurant were just a means to that end. The young Ontarian happened upon her career by chance, when, in 2003, the self-declared country girl moved to the big city to pursue a job opportunity. “When I moved to Toronto, I had no friends, I had no social circle,” remembers Aiello. “But, I had a whole bunch of wine that I had been collecting over the years from my jobs. So I decided to throw a little wine party. That’s when I realised just how much I actually knew about wine and how much it had become a part of my self.”

That small wine party was the segue to the iYellow wine blog – a playful take on Aiello’s family name. Today, glasses of crisp Chardonnay and big, bold Cabernets are the tapestry for a wine club with nearly 20,000 members worldwide. Aiello throws some of Toronto’s hottest wine tasting parties, attended by thousands of iYellow Club members. She has established a YouTube channel where she reviews wines and teaches people about the fine art of wine tasting.

Aiello also has a staff of four full-time employees who help run her wine school and iYellow. “I believe the wine club really took off because the worldwide trend 10

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A

ngela Aiello ha cominciato a lavorare nel settore vinicolo all’età di 16 anni. Cresciuta nella lussureggiante regione vinicola dell’Ontario, da adolescente ha trascorso cinque anni servendo ai tavoli e lavando piatti nell’azienda Vineland Estates a Niagara-on-the-Lake. In estate, Aiello lavorava a tempo pieno nella cantina e, il resto dell’anno, mentre frequentava la scuola, era impegnata part-time. Era un lavoro duro che però ha instillato nella giovane l’importanza di darsi da fare e della disciplina. “Sin dalla tenera età, i miei genitori si sono impegnati molto per assicurarsi che comprendessi l’arte del lavoro. Credo che i miei abbiano cresciuto me e le mie tre sorelle come se fossimo maschi” – ride Aiello, la cui famiglia viene dal piccolo paesino calabrese di Figline Vegliaturo, Cosenza. “Non preparavo torte, né imparavo a truccarmi o mi intendevo di moda. Tutte noi siamo state educate ad uscire in giardino a tagliare l’erba o a spaccare legna. Siamo tutte grandi lavoratrici.”

L’occupazione alla Vineland Estates, oltre a consentire ad Aiello di risparmiare per l’università, ha offerto alla giovane studentessa l’esperienza sul campo per ciò che sarebbe divenuta più tardi la passione della propria vita.

“Quando cresci a Niagara, non c’è altro settore se non quello vinicolo” – spiega la trentatreenne. “Il vino era un punto saldo per me; lavoravo a casa mia. Così giovane imparavo già ad abbinare vino e cibo, come con i consumatori e come commerciare nel mondo del vino. Ai tempi non ero nemmeno consapevole delle abilità che mi si stavano trasmettendo.” È stato anche d’aiuto il fatto che Aiello stesse lavorando in una cantina in un periodo in cui il settore vinicolo in Ontario stava espandendosi rapidamente. La penisola di Niagara è considerata da tanto tempo una regione fertile per la viticoltura, ma il settore è davvero fiorito solo negli ultimi 25 anni.

Secondo l’Associazione Viticoltori dell’Ontario, l’uva è oggi il frutto di maggior valore prodotto in tutta la provincia. “Ricordo che all’improvviso le estati nella regione vinicola divennero molto impegnative. Gente da Toronto veniva a farci visita. Sono stata proprio fortunata a lavorare lì in un momento in cui la gente stava davvero cominciando ad apprezzare la regione”- sostiene Aiello.

Nonostante la sua notevole esperienza sul campo, non è mai stata sua intenzione diventare una guru del vino. Si è laureata in Comunicazione, immaginando sempre una carriera nel mondo dei media. Aiello dice che i suoi lavori, alla Vineyard Estates prima, ed al ristorante della cantina vinicola Peller Estates dopo, erano solo un mezzo per raggiungere quel fine. La giovane dell’Ontario si è imbattuta nella sua carriera per caso, quando, nel 2003, l’autodichiaratasi ragazza di campagna si è stabilita nella grande città alla ricerca di un’opportunità di lavoro. “Quando mi sono trasferita a Toronto, non avevo né amici né un giro di conoscenze”- ricorda Aiello. “Avevo però tutta una serie di vini collezionati al lavoro nel corso degli anni. Quindi, ho deciso di organizzare un vino party. È stato allora che ho realizzato quanto sapessi di vino e quanto questo facesse parte di me.”

Quel piccolo vino party segnò il passaggio al blog sul vino iYellow – richiamo giocoso al cognome Aiello. Oggi, bicchieri di Chardonnay croccanti e Cabernet corposi fanno da cornice a un wine club con circa 20.000 membri in tutto il mondo. Aiello organizza alcune delle degustazioni di vino più alla moda di Toronto, alle quali partecipano migliaia di membri del club iYellow. Ha creato un canale su YouTube nel quale recensisce vini ed insegna

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o That for wine drinkers is skewing younger each and every year. Wine has really become democratised.

That’s an exciting prospect for what we do because our demographic is young millennial drinkers,” Aiello explains.

That's pretty impressive for a young woman who says she had her first wine epiphany at the age of 19.

“One of the first bottles I remember having an intense relationship with was a 1998 Riesling that I opened when my parents were gone for the weekend. I didn’t have a corkscrew, so I had to push the cork into the bottle,” chuckles Aiello. “I remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is so good!’”

Aiello, who says Riesling is still her all-time favourite grape, now teaches others how to properly uncork a bottle of wine – with a corkscrew. She is also in the process of writing a book about her adventures in the wine industry. Aiello describes it as a sort of autobiographical, sex-in-the-cityesque tale about the escapades of a female wine aficionado.

She’s also set her sights on eventually opening her own wine bar in Toronto. “I’ve got a lot of plans and I'm not really sure what the end-game is for me.

Right now I’m just asking the universe what will come next.”

Cheers to that!

(Seguito del pezzo in italiano...)

Photography by Giulio Muratori Make up by Monica De Las Casas Rosati

alle persone l’arte raffinata della degustazione del vino. Aiello ha anche uno staff di 4 impiegati a tempo pieno, che la aiutano a gestire la scuola di vino ed iYellow. “Credo che il wine club sia davvero decollato perché l’interesse internazionale per il vino tende a ringiovanire di anno in anno. Il vino si è democraticizzato davvero. È una bella prospettiva per ciò che facciamo dato che la demografia dei nostri consumatori è quella dei giovani bevitori della generazione Y (Millennial)”- spiega Aiello.

Tutto ciò è notevole per una giovane donna che afferma di aver avuto la prima rivelazione riguardo al vino a 19 anni. “Una delle prime bottiglie con le quali ricordo di aver avuto un legame intenso è stata quella di un Riesling del 1998, aperta mentre i miei genitori erano fuori per il fine settimana.

Non avevo un cavatappi per cui fui costretta a spingere il tappo di sughero dentro la bottiglia” – ridacchia Aiello. “Ricordo di aver pensato: ‘Perbacco, è buonissimo!’”

Aiello, per la quale l’uva Riesling rimane ancora la preferita, adesso insegna agli altri come stappare a dovere una bottiglia di vino – con un cavatappi. Sta anche scrivendo un libro sulle proprie avventure nel settore vinicolo. Aiello lo descrive come una sorta di romanzo autobiografico, stile Sex and the City, sulle bravate di un’appassionata di vino. Ambisce anche ad aprire alla fine la propria enoteca a Toronto. “Ho molti progetti e non sono del tutto sicura su quale sarà il la sfida finale per me. Al momento sto proprio chiedendo all’universo che cosa verrà dopo.”

Brindiamo!

PANORAMITALIA.COM

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WINE

A Marvelous Match The science of food & wine pairing

We

’ve all heard that red wines pair with red meat while white wines are eternally destined for fish. But this adage is only a guideline and can be too simplistic once you learn more about wine. A basic rule is that what you’re drinking and what you’re eating should balance one another. Contrasting is also fun, for instance, sweet dessert wine is delicious with salty cheese. Here’s what the experts had to say when asked for their suggestions on what to pair with tomato-based sauces, creamy sauces, chicken, beef and fish:

Michel Beauchamp (SAQ) Food pairing with Italian regional wines: Tomato-based sauces: Sangiovese. It always works. Cabernet Franc, too.

I like the herbaceous bordering on vegetal note with tomato-based sauces.

Creamy sauces: There are several possibilities, of course. You have to keep the fat and texture in mind. Grape varieties with lower acidity and barrel-aged wines are good choices. The “sacrosanct” Chardonnays, Marsannes, Roussanes. whites from Sicily, Burgundy, California and the Rhône Valley are wines to consider for maximum pleasure.

Chicken: For a while now, I’ve been having lots of fun pairing Italian white varieties like Pecorino, Falanghina, Grechetto and Grillo with poultry. They work well. A happy marriage.

Beef: So many possibilities! Spices? Marinades? Cooking? BBQ? Essentially, beef calls for Tuscany – Bolgheri, Maremma. But the Languedoc, Bordeaux and Spain, too. More muscular reds with fine but quite present tannins. Pure joy for carnivores like me!

Fish: Italy now and forever. The north – Trentino, Alto Adige. Lively, mineral.

Crystalline wines. Tension and freshness are de rigueur. Also, white wines from the Loire and Gruner Veltliner from Austria, not to mention Spain and its whites from Galicia.

Feel free to drink any wine you prefer with any circumstance or meal, however, you will find that lighter wines accompany lighter dishes. An Amarone just doesn't work as well with a light fish dish as might a crisp white. And don't forget Italy's rosati (rosés).

- Roberto Martella, Co-Owner of Grano Ristorante, Toronto 12

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Mr. Joseph Rizzotto

Have you had a trip, slip or fall?

Rizzotto Law Firm handles all types of personal injury...

Q: I was at the grocery store and slipped on spilled liquid that was not cleaned up. What are my rights?

Illustration by Eduardo Laita

The liquid obviously should not have been on the floor. The store has an obligation to keep its premises safe and avoid any situation of danger. It should have cleaned the floor and posted some type of warning sign to its customers. It is therefore negligent or at fault. As your lawyers, we will help you prove that the store is at fault. As a result, the store or its insurance company is responsible to compensate you for what medical treatment you need, for your loss of enjoyment, your pain and suffering, your out of pocket expenses and loss of earnings.

Antonio Muriello (Italian Sommelier Currently Living in Ottawa) Food pairing with Italian regional wines: Tomato-based sauces: a light red: Gaglioppo (Calabria) or Cesanese (Lazio) Creamy sauces: full body white that’s high in acidity: Arneis (Piemonte) or Falanghina (Campania) Chicken: If simply grilled/drizzled with olive oil, lemon and oregano, I see a light Tuscan red using Sangiovese and/or Canaiolo grapes like a Chianti or a Rosso di Montalcino Beef stew: Barbera d'Alba (Piemonte) or Aglianico (Campania) Steak medium rare: Chianti Classico (Toscana), Rosso Conero (Marche), Lagrein (Trentino) Fish: Salmon poached or grilled with herbs : Soave Classico (Veneto) Grilled halibut: Pinot Grigio (Veneto)

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Shellfish: Fiano di Avellino (Campania)

The lumber was clearly improperly stacked and not secured.

Therefore, the store created a dangerous situation. This resulted in you sustaining significant bodily injuries. The store will suggest that you caused or contributed to the lumber striking you by you moving the lumber. With our advice and assistance we will prove the store created this situation and was negligent. Once this is accomplished, we will obtain compensation for you from the store or its insurer for your losses and your pain and suffering.

Q: I was walking on the sidewalk and tripped on a crack in the cement. Can I pursue the City for compensation?

The crack in the sidewalk or the unevenness in the sidewalk has to be significant enough for you to seek relief from the City or its insurer. A very small crack or an uneven sidewalk barely visible to the naked eye will not result in any relief for you. Municipalities are traditionally tough adversaries. You have to prove everything to them to be successful in seeking compensation. As your lawyers we will guide you towards proving that the City was negligent and that you deserve compensation for your pain and suffering and losses.

CALL FOR A FREE CONSULTATION

Many pairing conventions, while they still make sense in general, are much more fluid today. With the multitude of wine styles and food preparations, you can match a red with fish, or a white with meat. But there is still nothing that goes better with tomato sauce than a Chianti or another Sangiovese-based red. The best and most fun way of learning how to pair wine is simply by learning and experimenting.

“

- Igor Ryjenkov,

Q: As I reached for the lumber the entire stack fell on my head. Do I have any recourse?

To them it’s a game...

To you it’s serious.

tel: 905.264.6799 toll free: 1.866.221.8588 www.rizzottolaw.com 3700 Steeles Avenue West, Suite 700, Vaughan, Ontario L4L 8K8

Category Manager for European Wines at the LCBO in Toronto PANORAMITALIA.COM

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Photography by Jennifer Roberts

WINE / BEER

Mirella Amato is one of Canada’s leading beer experts

By Liz Allemang

M

irella Amato is committed to her craft. The Master Cicerone (a certified beer sommelier who has demonstrated encyclopedic knowledge of beer and the first Canadian woman to be granted the esteemed status), beer consultant, author and educator is so accommodating, that despite having a packed schedule, she’s happy to book a phone interview when she has time. Which, for someone who has no time, means taking advantage of the hour difference between Toronto and St. Louis (where she was on business), and chatting ahead of a day of back-to-back meetings. To say that Amato is in demand is an understatement.

With a new full-time job as Director of Beer Knowledge and Appreciation for the Global Division of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Belgium-based multinational beverage and brewing company, in addition to being the founder of Beerology, her beer education business, which offers guided tasting sessions and workshops as well as consulting and training, and a newly-released book Beerology: Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Beer… Even More (Appetite by Random House, 2014), Amato is meeting her demands, and then some, taking the opportunity to offer her enthusiasm and expertise to a much bigger audience.

Amato’s accomplishments – namely, becoming a leading educator and advocate less than ten years after she sought out to broaden beer appreciation and understanding in what had been a vinocentric foodie culture – are especially impressive considering her reasonably humble beginnings as an ale aficionado.

Before she was leading tastings at preeminent beer festivals like Le Mondial de la Bière and The Toronto Festival of Beer, she was offering smaller sessions in Beer 101 to her peers, trying to diversify their range from the standard swill to more varied and rewarding craft brews. “I was lucky: My introduction to beer was craft beer, a multifaceted, complex beverage that comes in a lot of colours and styles and flavours,” she says. “I remember being amazed by my friends who would drink pitcher after pitcher of the same beer. There was so much more out there and so I would drag my friends out to bars, trying to introduce them to all of the flavours they were missing out on.”

Her taste was particularly advanced considering the context in which she consumed, not only because of what her contemporaries were imbibing but also 14

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because craft beers, though they existed, weren’t so prominent or acknowledged then as they are now.

Fewer people were interested in the craft beer movement in the nineties and early noughties – she likens its popularity then to niche diversions like opera or stamp collecting. Sure, there were two craft breweries in Montreal that had gained traction, and you could find the stuff at specialty bars in Toronto, but “outside of the scene, people didn’t really know it existed and I certainly never thought that I could make a living of it.” At the time, Amato vowed that when she retired, she would write a book about beer to educate the broader public.

But she did make a job of it (and has the book and mini empire of popular workshops and appearances to prove it). And while Beerology, a full time devotion to beer education, and converting so many people who thought that they just didn’t like beer was the gain of the Canadian tippler, it was the opera world’s loss.

Amato, who has a degree in vocal performance from McGill University, had been working as an opera singer in Europe. She was auditioning a lot and travelling to where the work was. When confronted with a new locale, she would seek out craft and local beers and was impressed by the longstanding traditions and variety of styles. She was particularly impressed by Italy, “It’s a wine culture. Their beer tradition is interesting because they don’t have a tradition.”

This, she says, results in experimentation, like beer with fruit, tobacco, flowers and other combinations that inspired a whole new slew of craft brews now available in Canada as well.

Opera was a difficult business and the foodie movement was taking a strong hold in Toronto, her hometown to which she had returned. In 2007, a career change was brewing. She started Beerology and racked up a number of credentials in beer knowledge, draft training, brewing and has sat on the jury of homebrew competitions locally and internationally. “People were very much into local food and wine. They were not necessarily curious, but they were open to being introduced to local and craft beers and that was when I decided to dive in.” Amato, in part, attributes her success to timing. “[Craft beer] has only since increased in popularity,” though there is no doubt that appreciation for craft beer in Canada has also grown as a result of her enthusiasm and expertise.

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Italian Wine Guide 2015 About wine critic Gabriel Riel-Salvatore Managing Editor and resident wine expert at Panoram Italia magazine, Riel-Salvatore has been involved in the wine industry for 15 years and has travelled extensively to various wine regions of Italy. He regularly participates as a judge in Canada’s International Wine Championship in Quebec City. He organizes numerous gastronomical and wine tasting events and from 2008 to 2010, he served as president of the Montreal Slow Food Convivium.

Legend DOCG: Vino a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita DOC: Vino a Denominazione di Origine Controllata IGT: Vino a Indicazione Geografica Tipica

Types of wine Red wine

Service

Rating

Price Ranges

Ready to drink

☆ Ordinary (75-79)

0 to $15

☆☆☆ Very good (85-89)

$20 to $25

☆☆☆☆☆ Sublime (95-100)

$30 to $50

☆☆ Good (80-84)

White wine Sparkling wine

Ready to drink or keep until indicated

Liqueur or distillate

☆☆☆☆ Excellent (90-94)

Keep until indicated

Rosé

$15 to $20 $25 to $30 $50 +

N.B.: The prices incidated are subject to changes relative to the LCBO price policy. The wines are rated according to a universal scale system.

P.O.: Private Order

PRICE RANGE

Abruzzo

Emilia-Romagna

Friuli

Casale Vecchio 2013

Tini Sangiovese 2013

Farnese Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC $10.95 LCBO #612788

Caviro Romagna DOC $7.75 $ LCBO #179432

Tavernello Collezione 2014 Caviro Friuli Grave DOC $12.75 LCBO #361477

Fruity bouquet of black cherry mixed with soft liquorice undertones. Warm, juicy red with firm tannins and a spicy finish. Good with beef bracciole and sugo. ☆☆☆ 84

Sweet and floral nose with hints of strawberry jam.

Vivid medium-body red with chalky tannins and a rather short finish. Pair it with farfalle panna e funghi or penne al pomodoro. ☆☆ 82

Citrusy bouquet with herbaceous, box tree accents.

Light, crisp body with a sharp, racy finish. Pair it with fried cod filets with a splash of lemon. ☆☆ 82

Molise

Piemonte

Puglia

Trentino-Alto Adige

Fantini Pinot Grigio 2014

Costalunga 2012

Fantini 2014

Bersano Barbera d'Asti DOCG $12.95 LCBO #348680

Farnese Sangiovese Puglia IGT $8.45 LCBO #512327

Pinot Grigio Trentino DOC 2014

Tangy red berry bouquet with hints of rhubarb. Light, vegetal Barbera with a sharp acidity and a sweet, spicy finish. Pair it with spaghetti alla carbonara. ☆☆ 83

Gentle nose of red berries with smokey, leafy undertones. Accessible, tangy medium-body red with a sharp, vibrant finish. Perfect with pizza or meat ragù. ☆☆☆ 84

0-15$

Farnese Terre degli Osci IGP $9.95 LCBO #391631 Fresh, citrusy nose with hints of mandarin orange.

Sweet, crisp vibrant white with a lively, lemon finish.

Try it with baccalà arracanate (cod and potatoes). ☆☆ 83.5

Concilio Trentino DOC $12.95 LCBO #637595 Lovely apricot bouquet with fresh, floral undertones.

Tasty, round white wine with a crisp, zesty finish. Pair it with baked salmon. ☆☆☆ 84

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WINE Trentino-Alto Adige

Toscana

Toscana

Veneto

Mezzacorona Pinot Grigio 2014

Straccali Chianti DOCG 2013

Vernaiolo Chianti DOCG 2013

Pinot Grigio 2014

Mezzacorona Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT $12.95 LCBO #302380

Rocca delle Macie Chianti DOCG $13.95 LCBO #621227

Rocca delle Macie Chianti DOCG $14.95 LCBO #269589

Soft mandarin orange aromas laced with hints of lime fruit.

Fat, charming white wine with a crisp acidity.

Pair it with baked sea bass with cilantro pesto. ☆☆☆ 85

Inviting, fruity bouquet of red berry jam with gentle floral accents. Juicy, accessible medium-body Chianti with a lively finish. Try it with veal scaloppine with mushrooms, Marsala and thyme. ☆☆☆ 85

Savoury nose of red and black berries laced with vegetal undertones.

Medium-body Chianti with chewy tannins and a vegetal finish. Pair it with fried liver and thyme. ☆☆ 84

Pasqua Delle Venezie IGT $11.95 LCBO #213496 Peachy bouquet mixed with hints of pineapple aromas.

Fat, buttery white with sweet pineapple flavours and a lively finish. Pair it stuffed, deep-fried zucchini blossoms. ☆☆ 84

Veneto

Piemonte

Passimento 2013

Langhe Rosso 2013

Le Orme 2012

Pasqua Valpolicella DOC $13.95 LCBO #141952

Beni di Batasiolo Langhe DOC $16.95 LCBO #981019

Michele Chiarlo Barbera d'Asti Superiore DOC $17.80 LCBO #917518

Tangy bouquet of red berry jam with cedar undertones.

Vibrant, fruity red with a warm, juicy finish. Ideal with pizza or polenta e salsiccia. ☆☆ 83

Piemonte

PRICE RANGE

2018

Nice red berry and cherry bouquet with streams of almonds and floral undertones. Medium- to fullbodied wine with chunky tannins and a good peppery finish. Serve with porcini risotto or coniglio in porchetta (rabbit with fennel seeds). ☆☆☆ 86

$15-$20

Piemonte

Fragrant mix of cherry and red berries with smooth, floral accents. Fresh, tangy, vibrant red wine of medium character. Pair it with involtini alla romana or gnocchi and tomato sauce. ☆☆☆ 85

Sicilia

Toscana

Mompertone 2012

Altero 2011

Centine 2013

Chianti Riserva 2011

Prunotto Monferrato Rosso DOC $18.95 LCBO #388587

Theresa Eccher Etna Rosso DOC $24.95

Banfi Toscana IGT $15.95 LCBO #323725

Rocca delle Macie Chianti Riserva DOCG $15.95 LCBO #111641

Vibrant nose recalling cherry and raspberry aromas mixed with fresh, floral undertones.

Nice, fruity medium-body red with chewy tannins and a vibrant acidity. Best served with veal tenderloin and morels or braised beef stew. ☆☆☆88

Delicate nose of strawberries with truffle and mineral undertones. Medium-body red with coating tannins, a vibrant acidity and a rather thin finish. Try it with a Bresaola carpaccio. ☆☆☆ 86

2017

Toscana

2017

(PI Mondovino – 647 525-8466)

Toscana

2019

Chianti Classico 2013 Rocca delle Macie Chianti Classico DOCG $18.95 LCBO #741769 Tangy red berry aromas intertwined with dry mushroom accents and hints of rose petal. Savoury, vegetal mouth with chunky tannins and a sharp angular finish.

Pair it with ragù toscano e pappardelle. ☆☆☆ 86

Charming, fruity nose mixing red and black berries topped with hints of cedar. Gourmand and spicy mouth-filling Tuscan blend with chewy tannins ending on a smooth, warm finish. Best served with beef tenderloin with sea salt and balsamic vinegar. ☆☆☆ 87

2017

Red berry bouquet with plummy, smokey undertones.

Warm, spirity medium to full-bodied Chianti Riserva with chewy tannins and a lively, vibrant finish. Pair it with flank steak. ☆☆☆ 86.5

Trentino-Alto Adige

Umbria

Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio 2014

Vitiano 2013

Masianco 2014

Falesco Umbria IGT $15.95 LCBO #950204

Masi Agricola Pinot Grigio e Verduzzo delle Venezie IGT $15.00 LCBO #620773 Lovely bouquet mixing orchard fruits and apricot with hints of grapefruit.

Fresh, crisp, refreshing white with a vibrant, limy finish.

Great with braised black cod or baccalà mantecato. ☆☆☆86

Santa Margherita Valdadige DOC $18.95 LCBO #106450 Racy nose of peach and citrus aromas laced with light, floral undertones. Crisp, fruity mineral white with a vibrant acidity. Pair it with mozzarella in carrozza or tomato, pineapple and mango bruschetta. ☆☆☆ 86

Veneto

2019

Rich, earthy bouquet combining black berry and cherry aromas with fresh tobacco undertones.

Muscular red with robust tannins and a juicy, savoury finale. Best paired with wild boar stew or gamey meats. ☆☆☆ 87

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WINE Veneto

Veneto

Veneto

Bonacosta 2013

San Benedetto 2014

Mara 2013

Masi Agricola Valpolicella Classico DOC $15.00 LCBO #285585

Zenato Lugana DOC $16.95 LCBO #707158

Cesari Valpolicella Ripasso Superiore DOC $17.95 LCBO #506519

Fruity, alluring bouquet of fresh red berry aromas mixed with streams of vanilla and floral undertones. Fun, smooth straightforward mediumbody red. Good with stuffed porcini mushrooms or gnocchi with peas. ☆☆☆86

Vibrant nose of orchard fruits with hints of honey and mineral accents.

Attractive, fruity white wine with fresh minty extracts.

Pair it with baked branzino with cilantro pesto. ☆☆☆ 86

Veneto

Abruzzo

Prosecco Santa Margherita Brut nm

PAN 2010

Santa Margherita Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG $18.95 LCBO #687582

2017

Bosco Nestore Montepulciano d'Abruzzo DOC $19.95 LCBO #395004

Nice floral bouquet with crisp green apple scents.

Inviting, sexy Prosecco with a smooth, gentle sparkling.

Ideal with finger foods, olive ascolane or for any good reason to celebrate. ☆☆☆87

Charming black cherry bouquet mixed with streams of toasted oak and floral undertones. Fleshy, juicy wellstructured Montepulciano with rich coating tannins.

Try it with ragù alla bolognese or braised lamb. ☆☆☆88

Toscana

Toscana

2023

2020

2019

Floral bouquet of ripe raspberry with figgy undertones.

Warm, sweet, slightly vegetal red with a soft cinnamon spice finish. Try it with spicy spinach and ricotta cheese ravioli alla pusterese. ☆☆☆87

Toscana

2018

Poggio Al Tufo Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 Tommasi Toscana IGT $17.95 LCBO #203927 Rich blackcurrant bouquet with hints of cocoa and violet undertones. Juicy, fruity robust red wine. Ideal with barbecued rib eye steak. ☆☆☆88

Toscana

Veneto

Valpolicella Classico Superiore 2012 Zenato Valpolicella Classico Superiore DOC $17.95 LCBO #995704 Nice cherry and raspberry bouquet with floral and vegetal undertones. Charming medium-body wine with smooth tannins and loads of sweet ripe fruits. Pair it with polenta and porcini mushrooms or with pesto and prosciutto chicken parcels. ☆☆☆87

Toscana

2019

Poggio ai Ginepri Rosso 2011 Argentiera Bolgheri Rosso DOC $18.75 LCBO #394957 Compelling blackcurrant bouquet laced with floral and coconut accents.

Appealing, well-structured Bordeaux blend with ample fruit and an engaging peppery finish. Pair it with grilled veal chops or beef tenderloin with sea salt and balsamic vinegar. ☆☆☆89

2020

Chianti Classico 2012

Chianti Classico 2013

Pèppoli 2012

San Felice Chianti Classico DOCG $19.95 LCBO #282996

Casa Vinicola Carpineto Chianti Classico DOCG $19.95 LCBO #356048

Antinori Chianti Classico DOCG $19.95 LCBO #606541

Engaging nose of ripe red berries with streams of floral and grilled oak undertones.

Good, well-structured Chianti Classico displaying chewy tannins and a lovely floral finish. Pair it with tagliatelle and porcini mushrooms or tomato meat sauce lasagna. ☆☆☆88

Red berry bouquet blended with violet accents and earthy undertones. Powerful red with floral extracts and a sharp tangy finish. Ideal with ossobuco. ☆☆☆87

Lovely bouquet with loads of ripe red berry aromas intertwined with sweet spice and charming oaky undertones.

Rich, well-balanced Chianti Classico with a smooth, chocolaty finish. Perfect along a juicy beef tenderloin paillarde. ☆☆☆☆90

PRICE RANGE

$20-$25

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WINE

Toscana

Toscana

2019

Chianti Classico Riserva 2011 Rocca delle Macìe Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG $22.95 LCBO #930966 Tangy bouquet of red berries with spicy, cedar undertones. Smooth, fruity mouth filled with sweet spice extracts, chewy tannins and a sharp acidity. Good with a nice grilled T-bone steak. ☆☆☆ 88

Emilia-Romagna

Veneto

2018

Ripasso 2013

Barone Ricasoli Chianti Classico DOCG $23.95 LCBO #3962

Tommasi Valpolicella Ripasso DOC $22.95 LCBO #910430

Rich, alluring bouquet of cassis laced with streams of roasted coffee beans. Warm and spicy muscular red with chewy tannins and a nice lingering finish. Ideal with a glazed braised lamb shank. ☆☆☆ 88

Deep, engaging floral bouquet laced with plummy, chocolaty and liquorice undertones. Rich mouthfilling Ripasso displaying nice fig fragrances and a smooth long lasting finish.

Pair it with an ossobucco alla milanese. ☆☆☆ 88

Piemonte

Toscana

2021

2020

PRICE RANGE

$25-$30

Veneto

2021

Liano 2012

Barolo 2011

Le Volte 2013

Ripassa 2011

Umberto Cesari Rubicone IGT $27.95 LCBO #225086

Beni di Batasiolo Barolo DOCG $29.95 LCBO #178541

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Toscana IGT $29.95 LCBO #964221

Luscious, welcoming chocolaty bouquet mixed with blackberries and flat-leaved vanilla extracts. Smooth, yet full–bodied wine with loads of plum jam aromas. Ideal with a grilled flank steak or glazed spare ribs. ☆☆☆ 89

Pleasant sour cherry bouquet mixed with sweet spice, burnt sugar and underbrush undertones. Nice, approachable Barolo with polished tannins and a vibrant, tangy finish. Pair it with meat stews such as brasato al Barolo. ☆☆☆ 89

Zenato Valpolicella Ripasso DOC Superiore $29.95 LCBO #479766

Fresh and compelling bouquet of soft blackberries laced with cedar aromas and vanilla undertones.

Charming mouth loaded with fruits and robust, yet polished tannins. Pair it with a juicy rib eye steak. ☆☆☆☆ 90

Toscana

Toscana

PRICE RANGE

$30-$50

18

2019

2019

Brolio 2012

PANORAMITALIA.COM

2023

2021

Lucente 2013

Badia a Passignano 2009

Luce della Vite Toscana IGT $34.95 LCBO #747030

Antinori Chianti Classico Gran Selezione DOCG $44.95 LCBO #384552

Sophisticated nose of plum and blackcurrant intertwined with complex notes of fresh tobacco and earthy undertones. Muscular, juicy red wine with a vibrant, peppery finish. Pair it with duck breast with blackberries. ☆☆☆☆ 90

Distinguished aromas of ripe red berries cleverly combined with lofty violet and soft toasted extracts. Luscious, deep, well-balanced Chianti Classico Gran Selezione with chewy tannins and a vibrant, peppery finish. Perfect wih a leg of lamb or pappardelle alla lepre. ☆☆☆☆ 94

Rich, flowery bouquet streamed with fig and chocolate ganache aromas. Sweet, smooth and jammy Ripasso with a pronounced floral finish. Ideal with coniglio in porchetta (rabbit with fennel seeds). ☆☆☆ 89

Toscana

2021

Brunello di Montalcino 2009 Fattoria dei Barbi Brunello di Montalcino DOCG $49.95 LCBO #928028 Fine bouquet of ripe red berries with complex dry porcini undertones and rose petal accents. Rich, warm spicy Brunello with polished tannins and soft vanilla, liquorice and floral extracts.

Ideal with wild boar ragù. ☆☆☆☆ 90

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WINE

Veneto

2024

Veneto

2023

Veneto

2022

Famiglia Pasqua 2012

Amarone Classico 2011

Costasera 2010

Pasqua Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG $34.80 LCBO #360958

Cesari Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC $38.95 LCBO #426718

Masi Agricola Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC $39.95 LCBO #317057

Rich, figgy, spirity nose of ripe plum with streams of chocolate ganache and sexy, sweet spice undertones.

Good, sweet and tasty Amarone with a juicy, vibrant finish. Ideal with osso buco. ☆☆☆ 89

Savoury bouquet of sweet maraschino cherry laced with dry date and balsamic accents. Lush, chocolaty mouth-filling red with clove spice accents and a lively acidity. Pair it with braised lamb or slow-cooked veal shank. ☆☆☆☆ 90

Toscana

2022

Vigorello 2010 San Felice Toscana IGT $59.95 LCBO #726463

PRICE RANGE

$50 +

Rich, deep, classic bouquet of blackberries with hints of liquorice and eucalyptus.

Powerful, sapid Super Tuscan with loads of jammy fragrances and a toasted, chocolaty finish. Perfect with a herb-crusted rack of lamb with roasted tomatoes. ☆☆☆☆ 92

Lush, engaging bouquet of sweet dried fruits laced with graceful floral accents and smokey tar undertones. Rich and luscious full-bodied red with a lively acidity and a sweet, warm, spicy finish.

Try it with a slow-braised leg of lamb. ☆☆☆☆ 91

Toscana

2022

Veneto

2023

Tommasi Amarone Classico 2011 Tommasi Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC $49.95 LCBO #356220 Deep, clean inviting nose of ripe morello cherry and dry dates filled with streams of brown sugar and fresh, floral undertones. Delicious, juicy full-body Amarone with great depth and character.

Perfect with a tender rack of lamb. ☆☆☆☆ 92

Toscana

2023

Brunello di Montalcino 2010

Le Serre Nuove dell'Ornellaia 2013

Castello Banfi Brunello di Montalcino DOCG $54.55 LCBO #378257

Tenuta dell'Ornellaia Bolgheri DOC $59.95 LCBO #606194

Deep, captivating nose of ripe blackberries, plum and strawberry laced with lofty smokey accents and violet undertones. Full, charming Brunello with coating, powerful tannins, well-integrated oak and a tasty lingering finish. Perfect with glazed braised lamb. ☆☆☆☆ 92

Rich, dense and powerful nose displaying elegant blackberry, liquorice and roasted cocoa aromas.

Fleshy red wine with a splash of coffee and vanilla ending on a chocolaty, peppery finish. Perfect paired with a Fiorentina steak or a nice braised beef filet. ☆☆☆☆ 93

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Toronto OCT/NOV 17-32_Layout 1 2015-09-30 10:32 AM Page 21

FUTURE LEADER

Photography by Giulio Muratori

Franco Valela Continuously Striving For More

By Danila Di Croce

F

or 22-year-old Franco Valela, motivation is key. “I’m not the type of person to sit around; I like to make things happen,” explains the recent graduate of York University’s prestigious Schulich School of Business.

A degree from Schulich is just one of the accomplishments on Valela’s long list of achievements. Being a well-rounded individual, he has always excelled in various areas including school, sports and music. But when it came time to choosing a career path, Valela followed his interest in the business world. He explains: “I realized early on that everything needed a business; if I wanted to get into sports, I could go into the business of sports; if I wanted to get into medicine, I could go into pharmaceuticals.”

As a student at Schulich, Valela immersed himself in the school culture and held roles such as President of the Sports Business Association and Executive Vice President of Operations for the Business Student Association. Through these positions, Valela took hold of opportunities including Chairing the Orientation Week Committee, being Captain of Team Schulich for the JDC Central Case Competition, Co-chairing the Formal Event Committee, and overseeing and advising all of the operations within the Undergraduate Business Council’s $250,000 portfolio.

Valela recalls these experiences fondly: “I cannot imagine how my university experience could have been any better. Schulich created the opportunities for me to challenge myself every single year.”

Since he graduated, Valela has positioned himself in the commercial and industrial real estate field, specifically in the area of development and consulting.

His day job definitely hasn’t slowed him down, as he continues to explore his other areas of interest.

Currently, Valela is a Skills Camp Lead Instructor with Hockey Canada and a volunteer with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. “Sports played a huge part in my entire life,” he says. “They taught me very important life lessons: the value of team work, the need for dedication and hard work in accomplishing goals, and finally, that after success, you must keep going; after a win you must prepare for the next one.”

When asked how he finds the time to do it all, Valela explains, “When you are busy you don’t have a lot of free time, so it forces you to focus on the task at hand and stay extremely organized.”

This second generation Italian-Canadian, whose grandparents hail from Calabria, credits his heritage for helping to provide the example of what hard work can achieve. “I love the working class mentality from my Italian heritage,” he explains. “All of my grandparents came to Canada with two nickels to rub together; they knew they were going to work hard and build a new life for themselves. Because of that and everything that they have sacrificed, I had a responsibility to work hard, get an education and be the best that I could be.”

Valela describes his family as his rock, and is grateful for the invaluable lessons they have given him. “They’ve instilled confidence in me, and they gave me the tools to think positively and find success.... They always gave me the power and responsibility to make decisions for myself, which I think is one of my most valuable assets.”

As for what’s next in Valela’s future, he explains that he is constantly volunteering and offering his services to a variety of charities such as the Terry Fox Run and Movember. And as the Director of Social Competition for the JDC Central Business Case Competition, one of Canada’s premier business case competitions, one of Valela’s current main priorities is preparing for their upcoming event in January 2016.

When asked where he sees himself going forward, Valela replies, “I don’t have it all figured out. I wish that I did, but I don’t. What I do know is that I’m going to be successful. That is because my definition of success is being able to find the beauty and positivity in every situation. I know that I’m going to take risks and they’re not all going to pay off, but it’s only a mistake if I don’t learn from it...above all else, I strive to spread peace, love and positivity in this world, and as long as I’m doing that, I know that it will come back around to me and I’ll be successful.”

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LIFE & PEOPLE

2015 Federal Elections

Marco Mendicino Natalie Rizzo “I N

am in large part defined by my family and my family values: honesty, integrity, hard work, and contributing to our community as much as we can.” Meet Marco Mendicino, who is vying for the Liberal seat in Toronto’s EglintonLawrence riding and attempting to unseat Conservative Finance Minister Joe Oliver. It will be a particularly interesting race to watch considering the Liberals held sway in the riding for decades until Oliver captured the win in 2011. “I am running in Eglinton-Lawrence first and foremost because it’s my home,” says Mendicino. “This is where I live and where my wife and I are raising our young family. I know these streets, these neighbourhoods, and the families who make Eglinton-Lawrence home.”

And running for the Liberals was a natural fit, he says. “I feel that my convictions are represented both in the core values of our party and Justin Trudeau’s plan.

I strongly believe that our country works best when we grow the economy by putting the middle class in the driver’s seat.”

Mendicino was born in 1972 in Toronto to parents from Calabria. After earning a law degree, he articled at the Justice Department, then worked as a federal prosecutor in 2002 where he battled against organized crime and terrorism: “I prosecuted the Toronto 18; I was part of the team that helped secure the first and most important convictions under the Anti-Terrorism Act,” he explains. “The case involved a group who plotted to put deadly bombs in downtown Toronto – they were prosecuted under the Anti-Terrorism Act between 2006-2009.”

Seven years later he was elected President of the Association of Justice Counsel, where he was instrumental in delivering their first collective agreement in the history of Canada. He then had a short stint at the Law Society of Upper Canada, and has been in private practice since 2013.

The former federal prosecutor says he was drawn to politics for the same reasons he became a prosecutor. “It starts with a desire to serve and help shape a progressive future for my community and country…I entered politics because I see government as a force for good in Canada, and politics as a venue to affect change.”

That change involves putting various policies in place if he’s elected. “Justin Trudeau has a plan to kick start the economy by making the largest infrastructure investment in Canadian history, investing in three crucial areas. First is greatly improving the public transit that so many Canadians rely on. Second is enhancing our crucial social infrastructure, including affordable housing and senior homes. Third is investing in green infrastructure and preparing for changing weather patterns.”

Mendicino, who is married with two daughters, says his Italian-Canadian upbringing has been an important influence in his life. “I believe we live in the best country in the world. However, I’m also very proud of my Italian heritage. It’s close to my heart, it’s part of my identity, it’s part of who I am, and I believe that’s one of the things that makes Canada so great: it allows people to preserve part of their identities, which is connected to their parents’ country of origin.”

22

PANORAMITALIA.COM

atalie Rizzo has a political mind shaped by the Catholic traditions of her youth.

The 22-year-old Vaughan resident is running for Parliament and she aims to contribute to making Canada a more equal country, one in which youth like her, one of the most educated generations in Canadian history, can have improved access to highly-qualified jobs. “[My political view] I think lines up most closely with the economic and social theories of Pope Francis. Pope Francis has been quoted saying that inequality is the root of all social evil and in Canada inequality is a growing problem,” she says.

The third generation Italian-Canadian whose mother is Calabrese and father is Sicilian, has been part of the New Democratic Party since the age of 18, a political movement she says Italian-Canadians have traditionally supported.

She knows its history by heart. “After the Second World War, many southern Italians immigrated to Canada. Many Italian men, in particular, worked in the Toronto construction industry and engaged in dangerous and low-paid work,” she says. “In 1975, Toronto Italians actually elected four Italian-Canadian NDP members to the Ontario legislature. They won largely because the NDP was willing to champion workers’ rights, which was a very important issue for the Italian immigrant community in Toronto.”

Times have changed, and Rizzo is now competing against Conservative candidate Konstantin Toubis in an area that has been represented by an Italian-Canadian conservative MP since 2011.

But the young politician, who graduated this year from political science at the University of Toronto, is willing to fight for her beliefs. “I want to live in a world that is void of social and economic inequality and that’s why I’m running for office,” she says.

Rizzo has been working with Development and Peace, the member organization in Canada of Caritas Internationalis, a social service group from the Catholic Church.

Through this organization, Rizzo has travelled to Ghana to work in a campaign to improve the accountability of Canadian mining companies abroad. She has also been to Ethiopia to learn about the work of Mother Teresa.

The first time she held public office, Rizzo was a student trustee in the Toronto Catholic District School Board. She championed a campaign against the privatization of water by advocating against bottled water.

If elected as MP in the King-Vaughan riding, she also hopes to help restore OMNI’s ethnic language newscast, which she considers an important issue for Italians in her community. “Many Italian speakers are seniors who have come to rely on OMNI as an Italian language newscast to keep up with the news and current affairs both here in Canada as well as in Italy,” she says. “If elected, I promise to stand in solidarity with the other NDP MPs and call on the Canadian radio television and telecommunications commission to justify their decision to cut funding for OMNI newscast,” says Rizzo.

Her dearest cause is without a doubt inequality. “I really believe deeply that we can live in a world that is rid of social and economic inequality, not just in our own community or in Canada, but in a global community,” she says. (By Maria Assaf)

Toronto OCT/NOV 17-32_Layout 1 2015-09-30 10:32 AM Page 23

LIFE & PEOPLE

Meet the Candidates

Julian Fantino ven after three decades spent in policing, Julian Fantino hasn’t tired of public service. The incumbent Conservative MP for the riding of Vaughan north of Toronto is campaigning again for a second full term in office. “There’s always more things one can do,” says Fantino, who has called Vaughan home since 1981. “The work wasn’t done. I wasn’t spent yet.”

Working as a member of parliament and as a cabinet minister is a 24/7 job, Fantino says, but he thinks of it as an extension of what he was already doing over the past 30-plus years in policing, including as chief of the Toronto, York Regional and London police services and as commissioner for the Ontario Provincial Police.

In 2010, Prime Minster Stephen Harper tapped him to run in the by-election in Vaughan – a longtime Liberal riding. “It’s not so much about the politics, so much as the values I embrace,” Fantino says, explaining why he ran on the Conservative ticket.

He’s opposed to the liberalization of illicit drugs like marijuana – an idea touted by the Liberals – and he privileges victims’ rights in the justice system.

Although he was widely criticized by opponents and the media for some highprofile faux pas when he was minister of veterans’ affairs in 2014, Fantino says he’s proud of the work he and his staff did while on the veterans’ portfolio, as well as all the others he’s held, including international cooperation and seniors, and now as associate minister for national defence. “You quickly realize how difficult it can be when there’s so many wants, needs, expectations and people clamouring for immediate change,” he says, adding there are always competing agendas at play.

This autumn, Fantino is campaigning on five main issue areas, namely the economy, small business, seniors’ issues, infrastructure – a major issue in Vaughan, he says, because of the riding’s rapid growth – and, naturally, public safety.

Fantino, who is married with children and grandchildren, immigrated to Canada from a region near Udine, Italy, in the early 1950s. He was 10 years old, and quickly had to adjust to life in another country, learn a new language, and witness the hardships and discrimination Italians faced at the time. “I never lost my relationship to the community,” he says. In fact, he started out in policing using his background to serve in the Italian-Canadian community.

He cites milestones like new agreements between the Ontario and Italian governments to recognize drivers’ licenses and the discussions he’s had in Ottawa about expediting immigration processing from Italy.

And his journey to Canadian citizenship has made him sensitive to the issues faced by newcomers, whether from Italy or elsewhere, and the plight of migrants and refugees worldwide. “We are so, so blessed,” Fantino says of life in Canada.

Whether or not he is reelected, Fantino says it won’t deter him from working in the community. Just as he’s adapted from the police force to parliament, the thought of another change doesn’t faze him. “It would be a very minor adjustment because I would probably be doing the same things but in a different environment. The focus would remain the same.” (By Beatrice Fantoni)

E

Francesco Sorbara He

deals with the biggest investment funds, institutions, governments, and makes billion dollar decisions. That’s all in a day’s work for Francesco Sorbara, the Associate Director at Scotiabank Global Banking & Markets, who is running for the Liberals in Vaughan-Woodbridge. If elected, Sorbara, who has worked in corporate finance for more than 20 years, says he would make fixing the economy his top priority. “The Liberal party is presenting a platform and a plan to invest in families and their future. The policies that we have put forward are what we need at this time for our economy and for our country,” Sorbara says, pointing out these policies include “investments in infrastructure, tax cuts to the middle class and helping the families that need help.”

His current job entails analyzing companies (such as pension funds, insurance companies, mutual fund companies) that borrow money from the Canadian bond market. “It’s a fast-paced environment with enormous responsibilities and the ability to understand their consequences.”

The long-time Liberal says his background as an economist is aligned with the fiscal policies of the Grits because it’s “a proactive policy based on evidence.”

When asked about the person he is away from his desk, the husband and father of two daughters remarks, “I’m blessed with a great family,” and adds, “life is special; I like to enjoy it everyday.”

Sorbara, who has a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Toronto, has experienced life from various vantage points: “I was born in Prince Rupert, B.C. I grew up there, then I lived in Vancouver, Toronto and New York, and now I call Vaughan my home.”

And there are several issues that he wants to focus on for York Region, including alleviating traffic. “Our plan is to increase the amount we spend on infrastructure from $5 billion to $10 billion within the first three years,” he notes, “and from $65 billion to $125 billion within 10 years.”

The 43-year-old also has a clear mandate when it comes to pension reform. “We want to restore the age of qualification for Old Age Security pension and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) back to 65 from 67 and sit down with our provincial partners to start working on enhancing the CIIP benefits.”

A son of Calabrian parents, Sorbara says he is grateful for “the work ethic ingrained in me by my parents,” and is appreciative of those who paved the way for him: “I’m proud of the sacrifices and contributions of the many millions of Italian immigrants and Italian-Canadians and how much we contributed to this society.”

He continues, “I’m Canadian, but I have Italian blood,” and says he’s keenly aware of the influence his dual upbringing had in his everyday life. “I’m a tenacious, hard working individual who benefitted greatly from the opportunities presented to me.

And I believe in being humble – people should always be humble.”

The campaign trail is busy and “going wonderfully,” he says. “I enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories. The feedback at the door is simple: people want change.”

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LIFE & PEOPLE

Rising

Success Brampton singer Alessia Cara bursts on the scene

By Beatrice Fantoni

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Photography by Merideth Truax

he’s made it onto the airwaves and countless iPod playlists with her hit single “Here,” but Alessia Cara is headed far beyond that. In just a few years, Cara, 19, has gone from recording songs in her bedroom and uploading them to YouTube to releasing a debut album and making television appearances with the likes of Jimmy Fallon. “It’s crazy for all of us,” says Cara, who grew up in Brampton to parents who hail from Calabria. “It’s good energy.”

Cara started singing and strumming in her early teens, tackling covers of her favourite songs and uploading them to the web.

She quickly gained a following – one of her YouTube videos has clocked more than 800,000 views – and it’s how she got tapped by the production company EP Entertainment, who helped her bring “Here” into existence.

The song, which debuted online this spring and quickly went viral, wasn’t even supposed to be a single, says Cara. “It just became one because people became attracted to it.”

The song, which speaks to anyone who has ever been to a high school party and felt out of place, has steadily climbed the charts this year.

Cara signed with Def Jam Recordings in 2014 after graduating high school, joining ranks with recording artists like Iggy Azalea, Frank Ocean, Kanye West and Leona Lewis.

But it’s not uncommon to see the word introvert associated with Cara’s name, and she appears earnest and genuinely youthful in interviews and performances.

Her first album Four Pink Walls wasn’t exactly planned, she points out.

When she was writing and recording the songs that now make up the album, she was still in school. “I was sneaking around after school going to the studio,” she explains. “I didn’t tell anyone about it. I guess because I was pretty shy.”

She would record one song per day, but it’s not like there was a set goal of making a record, yet “it came out so naturally,” she says.

Music was something she always wanted to do, even though neither she nor her family, who are very supportive, expected it to happen so soon, says Cara, who cites artists like Ed Sheeran, Lorde and particularly Amy Winehouse as inspirations.

Four Pink Walls, released August 28, is a collection of songs based on her thoughts and experiences as a teenage girl – whether it’s body image, romance or growing up.

Entertainment Weekly called her “the soul breakout of the summer” and she’s spent the past months touring the U.S., giving short teaser concerts, and making TV and radio appearances as far away as the UK and Australia to promote her album.

Her first televised appearance was on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in late July where she sang “Here” in a T-shirt that cheekily declared, “Life of the party.”

The toughest part in this stage of the game is all the travelling, she says, since up to this point in life she hadn’t done much of it. “Other than that it’s pretty easy because it’s something I love to do.”

And she’s developing her musical style in the process: “I’m learning the way my voice works now. I know my voice a lot better than I did before.”

She writes music almost every day now, jotting down new ideas, pulling out her guitar or a ukulele to tease them out. Typically she’ll start with the

melody first and then figure out the lyrics.

Making music that speaks to her listeners in personal ways is her goal, she says. “I just want people to feel something when they hear my song. Otherwise I feel it’s a waste…the point is to get something across to somebody.”

Along with her original music, Cara is still getting attention for her renditions of other hit songs. Her recent take on Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” for BBC Radio 1 in the UK had Swift tweeting to Cara, “You’re AMAZING.” And there are now dozens of fans on YouTube covering Cara’s “Here” – everything from a duo singing the tune a cappella in their car to a guitar chord tutorial to a peppy remix version. “It’s so weird,” Cara says, reflecting on how she’s come full circle. “It’s hard to believe that’s my song.”

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LIFE & PEOPLE

Humber River Hospital Re-inventing patient care

By Sarah Mastroianni

At

Keele St. and the 401, in the heart of one of Toronto’s Italian communities, a healthcare revolution is taking place. It comes in the form of the redeveloped Humber River Hospital, a 1.8 million square foot, state-of-the-art healthcare facility and the only one of its kind in North America. But what makes the Humber River Hospital so unique?

“Humber River was selected to lead the transformation in how healthcare is delivered. It is the first fully digital hospital in North America,” explains Heather Hurst, President and CEO of the Humber River Hospital Foundation.

“The hospital was built with the patient in mind, to give them the safest and most efficient care possible,” she says. In part, the hospital will do this by making use of many digitized and automated processes to help streamline what Hurst refers to as the “patient care journey.”

She cites things such as robots (instead of doctors or nurses) delivering materials around the hospital and patient medical records instantly available online through a secure portal, as examples of how the new Humber River Hospital, which opens on October 18, will transform healthcare.

Fausto Gaudio, President and CEO of IC Savings and co-chair of the Humber River Hospital Campaign explains further: “The advantage of a digital hospital is that information is instant and shared at many levels. When blood work goes down for analysis, you don’t wait for the report to sit on someone’s desk. The report comes back instantly and the patient’s other healthcare providers or family can access it over the hospital’s site.”

With all this talk of robots, automation and computer screens, you might think that the hospital will look and feel like something out of a sci-fi movie, but Hurst assures this isn’t the case. “It doesn’t even feel like a hospital,” she says. “It’s a remarkable feeling when you walk through it.”

In addition to the technology and automation, there have been many other improvements made to this hospital, not only to help patients but also the families of patients. Eighty per cent of the rooms will be single rooms, where patients are afforded the privacy that other hospitals offer in the form of “private” rooms, which usually come at a cost; but not so at Humber River Hospital.

Each room is also equipped with a chair that pulls out into a bed, which makes it easier and more comfortable for visitors to spend the night, and beside each

bed is a monitor that allows patients to do things like order meals, use Skype, and automatically see the name, title and a picture of any hospital staff member that enters their room. “The hospital also uses 100% fresh air. It doesn’t get re-circulated,” adds Hurst. “This promotes healing and helps to ensure that others don’t get sick while at the hospital.”

Humber River Hospital has also been designed to reduce the amount of walking that patients have to do to travel from building entrances to their clinics, and also the amount of walking doctors and nurses have to do to perform their jobs. The end result? More time spent with patients.

All of this, however, comes at a cost. And although the province of Ontario pays for the bricks and mortar part of the hospital, Gaudio is quick to point out that, “the government doesn’t buy the equipment. The community does.”

That’s why the Humber River Hospital Foundation aims to raise $225 million to fully equip the hospital with everything it needs. So far, they’ve raised almost $70 million, thanks to the generous donations of individuals, families and organizations such as the Calabrian Benevolent Association of Ontario, Bon Furlans and Friends, and IC Savings, to name a few. “Many Italian community groups have come together to make donations,” says Gaudio, because, “it’s [Humber River Hospital] is where our children are born, our seniors are cared for. The lion’s share of its patients for many decades has been from the Italian community.”

And Gaudio is pleased with the campaign’s progress. “As far as hospital campaigns go, this hospital is way ahead,” he says. “That’s [$70 million] a great and encouraging number for us […] but we need to encourage people to become more involved.”

Looking at the sheer numbers is one thing, but Hurst and Gaudio point to another very pleasing by-product of both the Humber River Hospital redevelopment and the campaign to fund it: other positive impacts on the larger community. “There’s new retail coming in, the streetscapes around the hospital are changing, new condos and houses are going up,” Hurst says. “The fact that there have been so many jobs created by the construction of the hospital and community events held to raise money for the hospital – it’s changing lives for people in that community.”

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LIFE & PEOPLE

Corso Italia offers something new for all generations

By Rita Simonetta

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evitalization meets nostalgia in Corso Italia. The neighbourhood along St. Clair Avenue West in Toronto – which hosted landmark events like Italy’s victory celebration during the 1982 World Cup of Soccer when hundreds of thousands of Italian-Canadians gathered for a street party – is extending its welcome to a new generation of visitors to enjoy all it has to offer.

For instance, those out for a passeggiata will notice that the area, which was a settling point for Italian-Canadians in the 1950s and 1960s, is maintaining its old-school European charm while adding modern touches.

Mike Di Sapia, chair of the Corso Italia Business Improvement Association (BIA), says that’s thanks to revitalization projects that focus on multi-sensory aesthetics like seasonal flower arrangements along the streets and a speaker system that plays music for passersby. “It allows you to feel like you’re in a different part of the world,” he notes.

Corso Italia has also expanded its exposure on social media, where it celebrates its past while embracing the present and future. “We really want to speak to the young generation and engage them in a conversation,” says Di Sapia, pointing to the Toronto Corso Italia Facebook campaign that showcases archival photos of the neighbourhood. One snapshot provides a glimpse at the area back in 1928 while another captures Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 1984.

The visual time capsule has garnered positive feedback and promoted discussion, according to Di Sapia. Young people have taken note as have the generation that remembers the area as a destination point from their youth. “It has reconnected people who have known each other and lost touch over the years.

There is nostalgia with that generation, which brings them back because it allows them to share their story with us.”

The story of the neighbourhood’s deeply-felt Italian roots is something familiar to Father Vito Marziliano, who served at both St. Clare and St. Nicholas 26

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of Bari for five years. “The gift of the area is the parishioners who were immigrants in the 1950s and 1960s and were very connected to a lot of Italian traditions and had a genuine spirit of the Italian reality. They truly maintained those ways of celebrating faith and traditions in the home and community.”

These values are something that Di Sapia, 46, is keenly aware of. Born and raised in the area, he opened Di Sapia Opticians with his sister seventeen years ago. Locating his business in the same neighbourhood he grew up in was an easy decision for him and his sister, he explains: “We just felt we learned so much from the neighbourhood about keeping the culture alive. We learned so much from people we were able to experience life with. Why would we want to open anywhere else? This is where we want to be.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Ellen Vivacqua, whose father Ernesto launched La Parigina Shoes over 50 years ago. “This was his legacy,” she says. “His iconic place.” And while she concedes that times have indeed changed, the store’s reputation for one-on-one care and attention has remained the same. “My customers like the personal touch,” says Vivacqua, who offers footwear from Italy and other European countries like France and Portugal.

In recent years, she has refocused her merchandise toward children’s footwear to cater to the changing demographics. “There are a lot more young families moving into the area,” she explains. She’s also proud that her loyal customer base includes the children of clients her father used to serve.

This melding of the old and new is at the heart of another area project: Cinema sotto le stelle. These outdoor movie screenings, which were held this past July, harken back to Di Sapia’s youth when he fondly recalls the popularity of the neighbourhood’s local movie theatre. Cinema sotto le stelle revitalized that sentiment with a successful turnout that included people of all generations. “What better way to celebrate their culture,” Di Sapia says.

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LIFE & PEOPLE

Photography by Giulio Muratori

Oakville’s Italian Language Advocate Antonia Montanari keeps Italian language alive for youth

By Danila Di Croce anyone believes that the Italian language is dying, Antonia Montanari has some news for them: her Italian language program is growing each year and most of her students are not even Italian.

Montanari, a business and Italian high school teacher at Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School in the Halton District, is excited to teach the Italian program that she has cultivated and nurtured for the past six years. “When I arrived at Holy Trinity, only the grade 10 Italian course was offered, and it was taught by a French teacher,” she explains.

“When the French teacher retired, it was my golden opportunity to approach the principal to allow me to teach the course and make the program grow.”

Montanari’s parents hail from the Ascoli Piceno region of Le Marche and settled in Oakville, where Montanari was born and raised. Montanari has fond memories of growing up in a large Italian community.

She joined the St. James Church choir when she was 10 years old, and today she is its director, a position she’s held for the past 25 years.

The church also holds a special place for Montanari because it made her aware of the richness of the Italian culture: “At a very early age I was introduced to Dante Alighieri, Petrarca, and other great Italian writers through Father Pucci, who would quotes these great writers in his homilies.”

Although Montanari studied Italian during high school, it was during her time as an undergraduate at the University of Toronto that her love for Italian academia flourished.

While she was majoring in Commerce (and went on to work as a Certified Public Accountant and Chartered Accountant for 18 years), her minor in Italian exposed her to the art of teaching the romance language. “I was always passionate about learning the Italian language, but my Italian professors at the University of Toronto made me love the language even more. In 2003, I had a personal need, a burning desire, to continue my Italian studies, so I embarked on a Masters of Italian Studies at U of T, which I completed part-time.”

During her studies, Montanari met the late Professor Gianrenzo Clivio, who served as a great inspiration to her.

If

“This man was a linguistics genius,” Montanari recalls. She promised him that when she landed a teaching job, she would make every effort to preserve the Italian language.

She has made good on that promise with an Italian program that keeps students engaged and excited through field trips both to Europe and around the GTA (one which included a trip to a local gelateria where students saw how gelato was made), involvement in Italian cultural activities, and guest speakers from iconic Italian brands like Ferrero.

The link to the real world is what makes Montanari’s program appealing and unique. Through her various business connections, Montanari is able to deliver what she terms “experiential learning,” and demonstrates to her students how they can benefit from Italian in their post-graduate lives.

One connection, which has aided her program immensely, is the Oakville Italian Club. A current member herself, Montanari has been able to work with her colleagues to secure sponsorships for her class, and most importantly, offer all graduating students of the Italian program (those who have completed all three Italian courses) a $500 bursary.

Santo De Arcangelis, a member and former president of the Oakville Club, applauds Montanari’s work: “Her vision and commitment and love for the culture and language are infectious...if our language and culture are to survive and thrive, we need more programs such as those of Antonia, and they need the support of our community, government and education system.”

Since Montanari’s Italian classes are elective courses, they face tough competition. But she doesn’t let that deter her. “I don’t just wait for students to come to me; I go out and attract [them] through various marketing initiatives.” These include program brochures, option sheet fairs, Grade 8 carousels, and a separate Italian Studies information booth at school events. “The key is to be passionate about what you do,” Montanari says.

“People see the passion and energy and they want to jump onto your bandwagon. I really believe that we could resurrect an interest for the Italian language and culture amongst my generation, and most importantly, for future generations.”

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Bruno Bertolin Stays 76 Years Young at Columbus Centre Seventy-six year old Bruno Bertolin, a former Toronto Italia soccer star and fixture at the Columbus Centre from its debut in 1980, has never stopped being active. Though Bertolin has long since hung up his cleats, he stays in top shape today with three times a week workouts at the Columbus Centre Athletic Club, cycling and downhill skiing.

Married with two grown sons, Bertolin says the Columbus Centre has a central place in his life, behind only his family and his successful insurance business, Brokers Trust, where he is President.

Bertolin began jogging on the Athletic Club’s indoor track six months before the Columbus Centre even opened.

“Because of soccer, I was well-known in Bruno Bertolin (front row, 2nd from R) was a player/coach with the Columbus Centre team at his last official the community, so I had no problem soccer game, in the late 90s twisting an arm,” he jokes. Thirty-five “Bruno was one of the first locally grown successful soccer players,” years later, you can still see him there – if you get up early enough Di Iulio says. “He was better than Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco, to catch him during his typical 6:30 a.m. workout. though he never made $7 million a year.”

Bertolin’s involvement at the Columbus Centre has included committee Bertolin, for his part, is more modest about his soccer achievements: work with the Canadian Italian Business and Professional Association “I don’t purport that I was a world star, but things were embellished (CIBPA) and Italian Chamber of Commerce, both of which had offices at the Centre. He remains a faithful supporter and ambassador of the Centre because there was nothing else in town.” to this day, according to Villa Charities CEO Pal Di Iulio.

Today, of course, there are many sport and entertainment options in Di Iulio regularly joins Bertolin for a morning coffee at Caffè Toronto, just as there are many community centres and athletic faciliCinquecento following his workouts. A friend of Bertolin’s today, Di ties. But for Bertolin, the Columbus Centre is “the one and only spot I Iulio was a fan first, going back to the days when he sold pop during would ever consider. The environment, location, amenities and space Toronto Italia games at Varsity Stadium in the early 1960s. can’t be found anywhere else in the city.”

A Special Summertime Place for a Child with Special Needs Working with a severely autistic child can be a great challenge, but as staff at the Columbus Centre Summer Day Camps learned this summer, it can also bring great rewards.

Eleven-year-old camper Michael Mannochio, who was often seen around the Columbus Centre with iPad firmly in hand, enjoys the Centre’s welcoming environment, as he has since attending daycare here eight years ago.

“It's been a long road … and I'm proud to share that eight years later, Michael attends Columbus Centre Summer Camp, a place where he is not judged, loved dearly and always accepted,” Nancy Mannochio, Michael's mother, says in a note to Camp Coordinator Clara Stramaglia and her staff. “Michael's experience at the camp has always been exceptional.”

Stramaglia acknowledges that working with Michael can be challenging at times, but it is also “an absolute delight,” she says.

Michael Mannochio with Support Counsellor Christina Bezzera

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“It’s hard not to grow attached to this loving boy,” Stramaglia remarks.

“All the campers accepted Michael and never made fun of him for being

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special. I’m glad our summer camp here at the Columbus Centre community made every child feel welcomed and loved.”

Stramaglia hired experienced and qualified staff, Christina Bezerra, Victoria Giovinazzo and Kevin Wilson, to support Michael and other special needs campers. “Their devotion, patience and love for Michael were evident and made him smile every day,” she says.

The support team met with the family to share ideas that would ensure Michael was integrated into the camp’s daily activities. In future years, the Columbus Centre hopes to integrate more children with special needs into the day camps.

In her note to camp staff, Nancy expresses her gratitude for Michael’s care: “A special thank you to Clara Stramaglia and all the counsellors for the perfect summer.”

Toni Ciccarelli Turns 100!

Villa Charities’ icon Toni Ciccarelli celebrated her 100th birthday on Sept.

23rd, next to the place she helped build and now resides in – Villa Colombo. It was a milestone not only for Toni, her family and friends, and Villa Colombo staff, but for the entire Villa Charities community.

communities, finally settling on a farm in Scarborough. Within a week, her father died and a few months later, the farm burned down. The family then moved to Toronto’s Little Italy and at age 14, Toni quit school and went to work to help support her family.

Antonietta – or Toni as she is best known – has been a central part of the community since the early 1970s when she joined with others seeking to build a home for elderly Italian-Canadians. Toni tirelessly raised funds for Villa Colombo with the Villa Colombo Ladies Auxiliary.

When World War II broke out, she was taken to the RCMP as an alien and finger printed. She was fired from her job at the post office and had to regularly report to officers. During that time, fruit stores owners were the only people who would hire her.

“At 100 years young, Toni is truly an inspiration for people of all ages,” says Villa Charities CEO Pal Di Iulio. “I know this personally. She has inspired me for over 40 years and still calls to remind me to visit my 91 year old mother. The world needs more Toni’s.”

Toni’s hard work started at an early age. After immigrating to Canada from Italy in the early 1920s, Toni’s family lived in a succession of Ontario

Buon compleanno, Toni. Auguri e a 120 anni!

This special section is published by Villa Charities.

For more than 40 years across the GTA, Villa Charities has provided care for seniors and offered educational and cultural programs in music, dance, visual arts, culinary arts, athletics, and much more.

The Villa Charities family includes Villa Colombo Services for Seniors in Toronto; Villa Colombo Vaughan/Di Poce Centre; Caboto Terrace, Casa Del Zotto and Casa Abruzzo apartments for independent seniors; the Columbus Centre; and J.D. Carrier Art Gallery.

For more information, visit www.villacharities.com

S E C T I O N

After more than 40 years, Toni is Villa Charities’ longest-serving volunteer.

Her tireless efforts earned her the Ontario Senior Achievement Award, the province’s highest honour for seniors, last year.

Through all this, Toni dated Patrick Ciccarelli, who she married in November 1946 and had two daughters, Lorraine and Catherine, and a son, Patrick.

S P E C I A L

After she moved into nearby Caboto Terrace apartment in 1987, following the death of her husband, Pat (Pasquale), she got even more involved, helping organize “Ciccarelli Challenge” walk-a-thons, selling event tickets and baked goods, and pressing for donations to Villa Colombo. She also sold daffodils for the Canadian Cancer Society; few people dared leave the Columbus Centre without buying one from her!

Toni Ciccarelli, L, with her mother and sisters in Italy, in 1923 Photo courtesy of Toni Ciccarelli & Columbus Centre Collection PANORAMITALIA.COM

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Dalla Nostra Cucina: Columbus Centre Culinary Arts Instructor Chris Pires’s Stuffed Eggplant & Zucchini Chef Chris Pires, the popular instructor of Columbus Centre Culinary Arts classes, presents a delicious, easy-to-make recipe for stuffed eggplant and zucchini. This dish combines an Italian favourite with Indian ingredients to produce a wonderful vegetarian fusion of east and west.

Ingredients • 6-8 Indian (small round) eggplants or 3-4 zucchini • 3 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil

• 4 green chilies, chopped – Thai or green, as long as they are hot

• 1 tbsp. ginger paste

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp turmeric

• ½ cup chopped cilantro

• 1 ½ tbsp. chili powder

• 2 cups chopped tomatoes – juice and all

• 2-3 tbsp. garam masala

• ¼ cup water

• 1 ½ cups desiccated coconut – unsweetened

• Additional salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste

Preparation 1. Heat the oil in a medium, heavy bottom frying pan, add the ginger paste and stir to release flavor.

2. Add the turmeric, chili powder and garam masala and stir to cook – about 2 minutes – make sure it isn’t burning – reduce the heat and take off the fire. If starts burning – add some water.

3. Add the coconut and stir – you want the coconut to caramelize and absorb all the spice mix – stir constantly so it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn.

6. Taste, season and taste again.

7. Remove from the fire – let cool.

8. Pre-heat the oven to 375F. 9. Hollow out the eggplant/zucchini and stuff with the cooled stuffing.

10. Line a baking tray with foil, sprinkle some olive oil onto the foil and rub to coat the foil.

11. Arrange the stuffed items on the tray.

4. Add the tomatoes and cook through.

5. Add water if necessary, stir – add the cilantro and continue to cook.

12. Pour any additional stuffing onto the eggplant/zucchini and bake for 30-45 minutes, depending on size of eggplant/zucchini and heat of your oven.

Join Chef Chris at one of his entertaining and informative culinary classes at the Columbus Centre. See Upcoming Events for the fall lineup. To register, or for more information, email dagostino@villacharities.com or call 416-789-7011 ext. 244.

Villa Colombo Vaughan: a HERO to Local Seniors Villa Colombo Vaughan has launched a unique new program for independent older adults and seniors to help them connect with one another, become more active and learn ways to enrich their quality of life.

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Carrier Gallery • Hungarian Visual Artists of Canada: Oct. 4-Nov. 2 • Beverley Jenkins: Oct. 8-Nov. 9 • Silvia Pecota, Remembering the Fallen: Nov. 3-16 • KASC: Nov. 18-Dec. 8 • Marilena Isacescu: Nov. 12-Dec. 7 • Nick Biagini: Nov. 12-Dec. 8 Ristorante Boccaccio • Selvaggina (Game Meats) – Friday, October 30 • Tartufo Bianco (White Truffle) – Featured during the month of November Music Classes Christmas Recital: Nov. 30 & Dec. 2 Register: cultural@villacharities.com 416-789-7011 x248

The “HERO” (Helping Enhance Resident’s Opportunities) Seniors Vaughan initiative provides a series of educational workshops offering tips on health awareness and community resources, light exercise, presentations, live entertainment and group activities. The program, which is offered exclusively at Villa Colombo Vaughan, is funded by a federal New Horizons for Seniors Program grant.

HERO Seniors Vaughan,” says Marisanna Tersigni, Coordinator of the New Horizons Program. “Through our programming, we’re hoping to engage and inspire seniors to better their lives”.

“We encourage Vaughan seniors to become involved in the community and participate in

To learn more about the HERO program, contact Marisanna Tersigni at 289-202-2222 ext.333.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

DanzArts Toronto Register: dance@danzartstoronto.com 416-789-7011 x250 Cooking Classes • Falling for it! (Demo Class): Oct. 16 • Cookies, Cookies, Cookies (Interactive): Nov. • International Night (Demo Class): Nov. 30

Register: dagostino@villacharities.com 416-789-7011 x244 Art Classes Register: cultural@villacharities.com or 416-789-7011 ext. 248 Athletic Club and Cultural Arts program information: www.villacharities.com

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Remembering the Fallen: Carrier Gallery Marks Remembrance Day Carrier Gallery will mark Remembrance Day with an art exhibit honouring Canadian soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

Artist Silvia Pecota’s artwork and her new book, “Remembering the Fallen,” to be launched at Carrier Gallery on Nov. 3, are dedicated to the memory of our fallen soldiers. Both feature soldiers in uniform of both past and present, from the colonial era to the Afghan mission.

“My purpose is to commemorate and honour the lives and memory of our Fallen military, and to promote public awareness and remembrance of their sacrifices,” Pecota says.

Since 2001, Pecota has focused on photographing, creating artwork and writing poetry that is dedicated to the Canadian Armed Forces. She has participated in the Canadian Forces Artist Program, visiting bases across Canada and travelling to Afghanistan five times.

Being embedded with the troops, she was able to document their efforts, appreciate their dedicated service and witness the sacrifices soldiers took when putting themselves in harm’s way. Her experiences during the Afghan mission have inspired over 50 compositions as well as five art calendars. Pecota has been commissioned to design four coins for the Royal Canadian Mint, all in the theme of Canadian military history.

Pecota’s award-winning works have been exhibited in Canada, Italy, Germany, the U.S., the former Soviet Union and in Afghanistan. Her photographs have also appeared internationally in several top publications.

Remembering the Fallen will be on exhibit at Carrier Gallery from Nov. 3 to 16.

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FASHION

The Fine

Line

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Set the stakes for the season

By Alessia Sara Domanico

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4.

If

everyday Italian fashion has taught me anything, it’s that there’s a major double standard on the streets of the country’s metropolitan hubs. On the catwalk, it’s all bold and sass, while in reality you would be gawked at if you tried to pull off what Donatella Versace is spinning. Learning how to walk that fine line between demure and eccentric is an art that can only be perfected by an outsider through close examination. But not all of us can while away the hours tucking into a cappuccino and brioche in a cozy little piazza staring down passersby. So, we’ve taken a cue from the season’s trends to list a few mainstays that you’ll need to make a subtle impact with your fall wardrobe, without the overkill.

First lesson: neutrals are your friend. Use brown, beige, charcoal, and grey hues in blazers, cardigans, skirts, trousers, and especially shoes.

They will layer your look perfectly and flatter a Mediterranean skin tone. For the ladies, take a cue from Max Mara’s cardigans and Salvatore Ferragamo’s high-waisted skirts. Yes, high waists are back again, so tuck in! Gents, browse your high street purveyors for chocolate-coloured suede or leather jackets à la John Varvatos or tan trenches as seen at Costume National. Pair these overcoats with total black looks and you can’t go wrong.

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FASHION

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Having said this, don’t get scared away by a bit of colour. Now that you have your neutral base you can add ONE, ok maybe two, more chromatic items into the mix.

Céline snuck in a long crimson red leather skirt at its fall show that looked divine peeking out from under a cream coat.

Lacoste proposed a lush green men’s winter coat – worn over a total grey outfit, of course. Louis Vuitton solved the issue with two-tone windbreakers, having a darker colour offset the pop of bright cornflower blue or mustard.

Prints are also on the table, just take care to choose one that suits the rest of your outfit and try to wear it in different contexts so you don’t tire of the piece quickly. Plaid is very big this season, but if you want to follow the low-profile Italian way, then steer clear of head-to-toe plaid like the Brits have been trying to pull off season after season. Men, you can opt for a classic check shirt worn with a solid cardigan, and ladies, grab a scarf, poncho or wrap, something that doesn’t have to stay on all day and enhances an outfit when incorporated. Take these cues on playing it fashionably safe, but remember you can still have (some) fun!

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L E G E N D

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1. FENDI 2. BURBERRY 3. JOHN VARVATOS 4. MAX MARA 5. COSTUME NATIONAL 6. FRATELLI ROSSETTI 7. MAX MARA 8. LACOSTE 9. LOUIS VUITTON 10. SALVATORE-FERRAGAMO 11. BOTTEGA VENETA 12. TOD'S GOMMINO

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LIVING ITALIAN STYLE

Go to panoramitalia.com and click on “Living Italian Style” to submit your profile!

Adriano Vito Valitutti Nickname: Tutti Occupation: Student of Construction Management at George Brown College Age: 20 Generation: Third Dad’s side from: Reggio Emilia and Salerno Mom’s side from: Campobasso and Bari Speaks: English Raised in: Woodbridge Clothes: Massimo Dutti blazer and shirt, Scotch and Soda pants, Luca del forte shoes, Daniel Wellington watch Favourite boutique: Massimo Dutti Fashion idol: Cristiano Ronaldo Passion: Healthy eating, fitness, weight lifting Goal in life: To succeed in my field and own my own business as a general contractor.

Thing about you that would surprise most people: I like to clean my room and do my own laundry.

Pet peeve: When someone else drives my car or dirties it.

Favourite dish: Nonna Teresa’s zuppa di pesce Best caffè in Toronto: Cataldi Fresh Market 34

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Best panino in Toronto: Vicentina Meats Favourite aperitivo: Vodka Lime Favourite Italian saying: “Tu si nu’ baccalá” You know you are ItalianCanadian if: Your nonno hands you a bushel of cucumbers and tomatoes picked from his garden every time you visit.

Italian soccer team: Napoli Best way to feel Italian in Toronto: Celebrating the World Cup in Woodbridge’s Market Lane Most common name in your family: Vito (5) Best memory growing up Italian-Canadian: Celebrating Christmas Eve with all my family and an amazing fish dinner at Nonna’s.

Adelia Rosati Nickname: Del Occupation: Entrepreneur/Merchandise Assistant Age: 24 Generation: Third Dad’s side from: Pescara, Abruzzo Mom’s side from: Caserta, Campania Speaks: English and a little Italian Raised in: Newmarket Clothes: Marshalls top, Jean Machine pants and Zara shoes Fashion idol: Grace Kelly Goal in life: To have a house on the Island of Capri.

Thing about you that would surprise most people: I won the shop class award in high school for making a wine cabinet, when I was the only girl in the class.

Pet peeve: Small talk, especially about the weather.

Favourite dish: Spaghetti alla Carbonara Your best dish: My focaccia Best pizza in Toronto: Frank’s Pizza House Best panino in Toronto: Forno Cultura Favourite vino: My homemade wine

You know you are ItalianCanadian if: A picture of Padre Pio accidentally falls out of your wallet, and your nonItalian friend asks, “Who’s that?”

Favourite Italian song: ’O Sarracino by Renato Carosone Sexiest Italian: Fabio Cannavaro What you like most about Panoram: As a third generation Italian, I sometimes forget about my background, but I like how Panoram Magazine helps keep the Italian heritage alive, because I could never imagine my life without it.

Best memory growing up Italian-Canadian: Playing Scopa on Christmas Eve with my Nonno.

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Photography by Giulio Muratori

LIVING ITALIAN STYLE

Makeup by: Monica De Las Casas Rosati

Jason Michael Galle

Calla Serafina Elia

Nickname: Jay Occupation: Secondary School Teacher Age: 29 Generation: Second Dad from: Vibo Valentia, Calabria Mom from: Avellino, Campania Speaks: English and Italian Raised in: Richmond Hill

Nickname: Caya Occupation: Business and Visual Arts student at the University of Western Ontario Age: 19 Generation: Third Dad’s side from: Cosenza, Calabria Mom’s side from: Indiana, USA Speaks: English and some Italian Raised in: North York

Clothes: Z Zegna dress shirt, Zara pants, Harry Rosen shoes, TW Steel watch Favourite boutique: Harry Rosen Fashion idol: David Beckham Goal in life: To be the best teacher, son, husband, and father.

Thing about you that would surprise most people: I went to school in Italy.

Pet peeve: People driving too slow in the left-hand lane.

Favourite restaurant: The Carbon Bar Favourite dish: Penne con tonno e carciofi Your best dish: My gnocchi alla Sorrentina Best panino in Toronto: Vicentina Fine Foods Favourite aperitivo: Martini

Clothes: French Connection floral dress, Dynamite leather jacket and Aldo pumps Favourite boutique: Mendocino Fashion idol: Mila Kunis Passion: The arts, music, sailing and downhill skiing Thing about you that would surprise most people: I can read a 600-page book in one day.

Pet peeve: Smokers Favourite restaurant: Grano Favourite dish: Calamari, grilled or fried Your best dish: My mushroom omelet Best pizza in Toronto: Trattoria Nervosa Best caffè in Toronto: Caffè 500 at the Columbus Centre Favourite aperitivo: Moscato D’Asti

Rosso on the rocks with an orange wedge Preferred drinking establishment: Bier Markt Favourite Italian saying: “Tra il dire e il fare, c’è di mezzo in mare”.

You know you are ItalianCanadian if: You listen to CHIN Radio on your way to work.

Favourite Italian city: Rome Favourite Italian song: Pronti, Partenza, Via! by Fabri Fibra What you like most about Panoram: Learning about the various Italian regions and culture.

Best memory growing up Italian-Canadian: Going to Nonna’s every Sunday for lunch with the entire family.

Preferred drinking establishment: On the patio at the Amsterdam BrewHouse at Harbourfront Favourite Italian saying: “A chi vuole, non mancano modi” You know you are ItalianCanadian if: You had more Panettone than you knew what to do with at Christmas time.

Favourite Italian song: Bagno di mare a mezzanotte by Domenico Modugno Italian soccer team: AC Milan What you like most about Panoram: Feeling the continuous connection to the Italian community.

Best memory growing up Italian-Canadian: Attending Leonardo Da Vinci Academy’s Scuola Materna at the Columbus Centre.

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MODENA

Modena

The Hidden Jewel of Via Emilia Tesoro nascosto della Via Emilia

By Alessandro Mossini Translated by Antonio D’Alfonso

T

he city of Modena is one of the focal points of the Po Valley (Padan Plain).

Situated near the centre of the Emilia-Romagna region, it is surrounded by the Secchia and the Panaro Rivers. It lies no more than forty kilometres from Bologna, the regional centre.

In the 16th century, Modena served as the capital of the Ducato degli Estensi (House of Este dynasty), and in 1997 the small area comprising the Modena cathedral, the Torre Civica (Torre della Ghirlandina) and Piazza Grande were declared UNESCO world heritage sites. Modena embodies two thousand years of history and culture, ready to be appreciated by tourists.

In the Ghirlandina Tower, one revels in a superb exhibit of an authentic copy of La Secchio Rapita (1622). The Stolen Bucket, written by Alessandro Tassoni, became the symbol, par excellence, of the rivalry between Modena and its neighbouring city, Bologna. This epic poem takes readers back to the war of 1325, when the citizens of Modena stormed the walls of Bologna and snatched from a public well, on via San Felice, a communal bucket that the Modanesi raised as a token of their invasion.

The Duomo and its Piazza (later renamed Piazza Grande) were founded almost a thousand years ago. The first stone of the Duomo was laid in 1099, and the Piazza, established in the 12th century, has become the beating heart of Modena. In front of the Piazza are the portals of the Palazzo Comunale. The Duomo, one of the most elegant buildings of Romanesque Europe, displays the architectural genius of Lanfranco (c. 1099-1110), whereas its sculptures are the creations of Wiligelmo, better known as Gugliemo da Modena (c. 1099-1120); on the reliefs carved on the Palazzo’s façade are his representations of religious scenes inspired by The Book of Genesis.

In addition to this triad of great historical merit recognized by UNESCO, it is essential to add the Palazzo Ducale the Ducal Palace, that has now become the headquarters of the Accademia Militare dell’Esercito (Military Academy). It houses the Estense court that was transferred from Ferrara to Modena in 1598.

Another destination point is the Palazzo dei Musei at the Largo Porta Sant’Agostino, considered the core of cultural life in Modena. Within its rooms, one discovers the Musei Civici, the Estense Gallery (home of artworks by masters 36

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città di Modena è una delle grandi protagoniste della Pianura Padana: posta praticamente al centro del territorio della Regione Emilia Romagna, è circondata – ma non attraversata – dai due fiumi Secchia e Panaro e dista poco più di quaranta chilometri dal vicino capoluogo Bologna.

Dal ruolo di capitale del Ducato degli Este nel 16° secolo al riconoscimento del 1997, quando l’Unesco ha proclamato Patrimonio Mondiale dell’Umanità il complesso che nel giro di pochi metri riunisce la torre della Ghirlandina, il Duomo e Piazza Grande: Modena racchiude in sé oltre due millenni di storia e di cultura che ora si mostrano orgogliosi ai suoi turisti.

All’interno della torre civica della Ghirlandina fa bella mostra di sé una copia della Secchia Rapita, il simbolo per eccellenza della rivalità tra Modena e la vicina Bologna risalente addirittura ad una guerra tra le due città del 1325, quando un gruppo di modenesi si spinse fin dentro le mura di Bologna e strappò da un pubblico pozzo di via San Felice una comune secchia di legno come ricordo dell’impresa. Il gesto fu poi ricordato anche in un 'poema eroicomico' del 17 secolo, intitolato appunto “La secchia rapita”, del patrizio modenese Alessandro Tassoni.

Il Duomo e la sua Piazza, poi rinominata Piazza Grande, affondano le loro radici quasi un millennio fa: la prima pietra del Duomo fu posata nel 1099 e la Piazza, nata nel 12° secolo, è diventata presto il cuore pulsante della città di Modena al punto che su di essa si affaccia anche il portico del Palazzo Comunale. Il Duomo, uno dei più eleganti del romanico europeo, mette in risalto l’architettura di Lanfranco mentre le sculture di Wiligelmo – noto anche come Guglielmo da Modena – rappresentano messaggi simbolici di fede, come i rilievi di “Storie della Genesi” presenti sulla facciata.

A questo terzetto di storiche attrazioni premiato dall’Unesco va aggiunto anche il Palazzo Ducale, ora sede dell’Accademia Militare dell’Esercito, che ospitò la corte Estense che nel 1598 si trasferì da Ferrara proprio nella città di Modena.

Un’altra meta irrinunciabile è il Palazzo dei Musei di Largo Porta Sant’Agostino, che può essere considerato il polo della cultura di Modena: al suo interno ci sono i Musei Civici, la Galleria Estense che contiene capolavori – tra

La

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MODENA such as Guercino, Tintoretto, and Guido Reni, among others), and finally the Estense Library, where book lovers can enjoy the precious Bibbia di Borso d’Este, prints, illuminated manuscripts and other illustrated texts.

Modena houses many such interesting museums and churches within which are stored paintings and sculptures by many great artists. The most ancient church of the city is the focus of Modena’s hustle and bustle: Santa Maria della Pomposa, located in the intimate piazza bearing the same name. There are many excellent examples of Baroque works in churches like San Biago, Sant’Agostino (also called the Pantheon of the Estensi, adjacent to the Palazzo dei Musei), and San Vincenzo with its impressive cemetery. Also deserving of a visit is the San Pietro complex on via San Pietro, where visitors can appreciate the beauty of the Abbey and the numerous works of art and, in particular, the sculptures produced by native artist Antonio Begarelli (known as the Begarino). The Benedictine Monastery opens its doors to visitors interested in its unforgettable cloisters and its Medieval

gli altri – del Guercino, del Tintoretto e di Guido Reni, e la Biblioteca Estense che conserva la preziosa Bibbia di Borso d’Este oltre a stampe, codici miniati e antichi testi illustrati.

Modena offre interessanti musei, ma anche diverse chiese, piene di capolavori: la più antica è Santa Maria della Pomposa nella omonima piazzetta cuore della movida modenese, mentre ottimi esempi di arte barocca vengono dalla chiesa di San Biagio, da quella di Sant'Agostino (di fianco a Palazzo dei Musei) detta Pantheon degli Estensi, fino a quella di San Vincenzo, dove ci sono le tombe estensi. Merita un passaggio anche il complesso di San Pietro nell’omonima via, dove si trovano un'abbazia ricca di opere d'arte come quelle dello scultore locale Antonio Begarelli, detto il Begarino, e un monastero di benedettini che apre al pubblico i suoi suggestivi chiostri, vi è inoltre l’antica spezieria dove si possono acquistare i prodotti realizzati secondo le tradizionali ricette dei monaci.

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MODENA

“

“

Modena embodies two thousand years of history and culture, ready to be appreciated by tourists.

apothecary shop where spices are prepared according to ancient monk recipes.

One breathes in history everywhere in Modena, but also in the little neigbouring towns. There is the Circuito dei 17 Castelli (the chain of the 17 castles of Modena): a journey of sorts that encompasses a number of adjoining hamlets of the province. The trip begins with the Castello dei Pico a Mirandola (entirely dedicated to the genius of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, a scholar and philosopher, part of Lorenzo il Magnifico’s court in Florence (who first espoused the idea of human freedom), and continues with Rocca Estense of San Felice on the Panaro, passing by the Palazzo dei Pio a Carpi, the Castelli di Formigine and Spilamberto, Rocca di Vignola, the Castle Levizzano di Castelvetro, and finally Rocca di Montese and the Castello di Sestola in the Apennines.

Si respira storia, in questo territorio e anche nei tanti paesi del comprensorio: è il caso del Circuito dei 17 castelli di Modena, una sorta di mappa che abbraccia quasi tutti i paesi limitrofi della provincia. Si parte dal Castello dei Pico a Mirandola – dove tutto ruota attorno al genio di Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, studioso e filosofo che per primo elaborò l’idea dell’uomo come essere libero alla corte di Lorenzo il Magnifico a Firenze – per arrivare alla Rocca Estense di San Felice sul Panaro, passando per il Palazzo dei Pio a Carpi, i Castelli di Formigine e Spilamberto, la Rocca di Vignola, il Castello Levizzano di Castelvetro e spingendosi fino alla Rocca di Montese e al Castello di Sestola nella zona dell’Appennino modenese.

Già, perché Modena si vede bene dall’alto dalle sue montagne contraddistinte

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Because Modena is viewed from the summits of the mountains all around, the city is in sharp contrast to characteristic towns of the area. The landscape will take your breath away. The location also has a lot to offer for those who enjoy sports and excursions. Two of the greatest Italian skiers grew up at the foot of the Apennines (in Modena, and strangely enough, not in the Alps): Zeno Colò and Alberto Tomba, crowned champions in Calgary during the Winter Olympics in 1988.

Sestola and the Monte Cimone, famous for their ski resorts, attract sports lovers from all over Italy from October to March. Within their centre is one of the largest bike parks in Europe, with 70 kilometres of tracks and trails that lead to the stunning view of Lake Ninfa.

“

MODENA

Modena racchiude in sé oltre due millenni di storia e di cultura che ora si mostrano orgogliosi ai suoi turisti.

“

da borghi caratteristici: paesaggi che tolgono il fiato e che al tempo stesso assicurano anche una grande offerta per i patiti di escursioni e di sport.

Stranamente, due dei più grandi campioni di sci italiani sono cresciuti qui, nell'Appennino modense, piuttosto che sulle Alpi: Zeno colò e Alberto Tomba, protagonista assoluto delle Olimpiadi di Calgary. Parliamo di Sestola e del comprensorio del Monte Cimone, affermato polo sciistico che in particolare dal mese di ottobre fino a quello di marzo attrae appassionati da tutta Italia e al tempo stesso è la sede di uno dei Bike Park più grandi d’Europa con 70 chilometri di piste che arrivano fino all’incantevole scenario naturale del lago della Ninfa.

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MODENA

Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari

From the Motor Valley to Pavarotti Donne e motori, gioie e dolori

By Alessandro Mossini Translated by Antonio D’Alfonso

N

ot only does Modena offer history, beautiful landscapes, great food and mouth-watering flavours, but the city and its suburbs are also the heart of what’s come to be known as Motor Valley. The Emilia-Romagna region has been overcome by an extraordinary passion for motorcars, which has turned into the basis of the motor industry and made it home to masterful champions of two- and four-wheelers. But that’s not all.

When people think of Modena and motorcars, what inevitably comes to mind is Maranello, capital of the Ferrari car. With the passing of time, this area has become the star of international sportsmanship with its racing car chassis. Fifteen worldwide, award-winning drivers and sixteen transnational prizes for car builders have garnered Ferrari (which since 2014 has been headed by Italian-Canadian Sergio Marchionne, also the CEO of FiatChrysler) the most championships in Formula One. Red represents the colour of the avant-garde company widely known for its dream cars. These days any tourist who travels to the area can sit behind the wheel of a Ferrari thanks to PushStart (www.pushstart.it), an organization that lets thrill-seekers test drive a high-powered Ferrari on the renowned raceways of Maranello, accompanied by an experienced driver fluent in various languages (English, French, Spanish). A good time is guaranteed for all those interested in this unique experience.

The influence of Ferrari is so far-reaching that it has even inspired a museum: The Ferrari Museum in Maranello, situated only 300 metres from the Ferrari factory, which attracts more than 200,000 visitors per year. At the museum, one finds not only cars but also trophies, photographs, and historical merchandise relating to the automotive industry. One can also relish an introduction to technological innovations that began in sports car, but made

N

on solo storia e splendidi paesaggi, non solo buon cibo e sapori deliziosi: la città di Modena e il territorio circostante sono il cuore di quella ormai comunemente chiamata come Motor Valley. Tutta la regione Emilia-Romagna è attraversata da una straordinaria passione per il mondo dei motori che l’ha resa la casa di industrie motoristiche, grandi campioni delle due e delle quattro ruote e non solo. Non per niente il famoso detto “Donne e motori, gioie e dolori”, pare sia nato proprio qui, tra Modena e la Romagna. Tra la Ferrari e Valentino Rossi, insomma.

In generale, se dici Modena e motori, pensi alla vicina Maranello, casa della Ferrari: nacque tutto nel 1947 dal genio di Enzo Ferrari e negli anni è diventata una star dell’automobilismo sportivo mondiale con le sue vetture sportive da corsa. Quindici titoli mondiali piloti e sedici titoli mondiali costruttori hanno reso la Ferrari – dal 2014 guidata dall'italocanadese Sergio Marchionne, già a.d. di Fiat Chrysler Automobiles – la casa più titolata nel campionato del mondo di Formula Uno. Il rosso è il colore largamente dominante di un’azienda all’avanguardia e nota in tutto il mondo per le sue vetture da sogno: un sogno che ora, però, anche i turisti possono cullare, mettendosi al volante di una Ferrari. L’occasione la fornisce PushStart (www.pushstart.it), azienda di test drive che permette a chiunque di guidare un bolide Ferrari lungo le strade storiche di Maranello al fianco di driver esperti che parlano numerose lingue straniere – inglese, francese e spagnolo in particolare – per poter accontentare tutti e far vivere al meglio questa particolare esperienza.

Lo spettacolo delle Ferrari è diventato materiale da museo: è l’esempio del Museo Ferrari di Maranello, che si trova a circa 300 metri dagli stabilimenti Ferrari

DREAMS ROMANCE MEMORIES

CUSTOM DESIGNING FOR ALL OCCASIONS

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MODENA their way into everyday vehicles.

The House Museum of Enzo Ferrari in Modena, better known by its acronym M.E.F, was an undertaking that cost 18 million Euros. It is devoted to the life and works of founder Enzo Ferrari and was inaugurated on March 10, 2012.

With the prancing horse as its symbol, Ferrari is without question the leader of the automotive industry in Modena. It would, however, be a mistake to consider it the only star in the city. Modena is also the general headquarters of the Maserati. Alfieri Maserati, known to be a daredevil driver, established the Trident Company in Bologna in 1914. After celebrating its 100th anniversary, the Maserati company has commemorated its achievements by inventing a concept car named after its creator, “Alfieri.” After having spent a brief period with the Ferrari family, Maserati is now part of the Fiat Group.

Between Modena and Bologna is Sant’Agata Bolognese, which contains another shining star in the Motor Valley: lamborghini. The carmaker, whose famous logo is a charging bull, was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini.

Lamborghini has been part of the Audi Group since 1988. In recent years, it has undergone a revival thanks to its CEO, Stephan Winklemann. Links to Santa’Agata Bologna are stronger than ever, as is visible with the debut of the new SUV, the Lamborghini Urus, produced in its original plant in Italy.

Fans of historical vehicles can view some of the most famous and admired Maserati models thanks to the Umberto Panini Motor Collection Museum. Its collection of 19 cars provides a glimpse into the history of automobiles produced in this region.

Born in 1930, Umberto Panini is the penultimate son in a family of eight sons, itself a world-class institution for figurines. This significant family enterprise owns The Figurine Museum, located on Corso Canalgrande, a special space which offers quality and quantity statuettes where one can find the much revered collection of “soccer players,” as well as figurines representing Hollywood stars, rare animals, and other subjects.

Beyond motorcars and figurines, Modena is also home to the art of the Bel Canto, since it is intrinsically connected to tenor singer Luciano Pavarotti (who passed away in 2007). For Expo 2015, the Luciano Pavarotti Estate has opened the doors to the Pavarotti home, which has been transformed into a House Museum where visitors can appreciate Pavarotti, the man and artist.

Open every day, the museum is situated on Stradello Nava.

Since May, tourists to Expo 2015 have been lining up to visit the “Discover Ferrari & Pavarotti Land,” which runs until October 21. It offers a glimpse at Modena and the areas surrounding the city, and encompasses the viewing of motorcars and items of Pavarotti’s life and a tasting of foods and unforgettable spices that have helped define this region’s beauty.

For those whose hearts are less inclined to listening to classical music but instead enjoy rock, it is worth travelling down to the foot of the Apennines, and more specifically to a place called Zocca, in the Verrucchia district, on Via delle Divisione Tridentina. This is the home of Vasco Rossi, a rock icon whose following of loyal and passionate fans spans four generations of Italian music lovers. His house is easily identifiable. All around the building there are hundreds of metres of graffiti in every hue drawn by fans, reproducing the lyrics from Vasco Rossi’s repertoire. Men and women come from all over Italy and elsewhere as a sort of pilgrimage to this child of Modena who has become a success throughout Europe.

So whether it’s high-powered thrills or iconic musicians that tourists seek, they can find it in Modena.

e richiama quasi 200.000 visitatori ogni anno. Al suo interno non ci sono solo automobili, ma anche premi, fotografie ed altri oggetti storici relativi alla storia dell’automobilismo italiano, oltre ad una introduzione alle innovazioni tecnologiche che sono il passaggio tra le vetture da corsa e i modelli da strada.

Impossibile non fare una visita anche ad un altro museo dedicato al cavallino rampante: il Museo Casa Enzo Ferrari di Modena, noto anche con l’acronimo MEF, un progetto costato 18 milioni di euro. E’ uno spazio dedicato alla vita e al lavoro del fondatore Enzo Ferrari ed è stato inaugurato il 10 marzo 2012 per opera della Fondazione casa di Enzo Ferrari-Museo, ideatrice del progetto: dal febbraio 2014 è passato sotto la gestione diretta della casa di Maranello, che l'ha abbinato allo suo storico Museo Ferrari.

La Ferrari con il suo simbolo del cavallino rampante è l’indubbia regina dei motori di Modena, ma guai a considerarla l’unica star: a Modena ha sede anche il quartier generale della Maserati, l’azienda del “Tridente” nata a Bologna nel 1914 per volere di Alfieri Maserati che fu anche un pilota agonistico. Reduce dai grandi festeggiamenti per il centenario, la Maserati ha celebrato questo traguardo con una concept car denominata proprio “Alfieri” e dal 1993 fa parte del gruppo Fiat, con una breve parentesi all’interno della famiglia Ferrari.

Andando in territorio di confine tra Modena e Bologna, a Sant’Agata Bolognese, c’è un’altra stella della Motor Valley, la Lamborghini: fondata nel 1963 da Ferruccio Lamborghini, ha come simbolo un toro alla carica e dal 1998 è entrata a far parte del gruppo Audi. Di recente Lamborghini sta vivendo una nuova rinascita sotto l’opera del presidente e amministratore delegato Stephan Winkelmann: il legame con Sant’Agata Bolognese è sempre più forte e lo dimostra il fatto che il nuovo Suv, Lamborghini Urus, sarà prodotto proprio nello stabilimento italiano.

E a proposito delle eccellenze motoristiche modenesi non si può non citare la “Collezione Umberto Panini-Motor Museum,” che regala agli appassionati di auto storiche la possibilità di vedere alcuni tra i più noti ed ammirati modelli di Maserati: diciannove vetture che vi faranno davvero brillare gli occhi, e fare un tuffo nella storia del motorismo di queste zone.

Umberto Panini, classe 1930, era il penultimo degli otto fratelli della famiglia Panini, una vera e propria istituzione nel mondo delle figurine: la grande avventura imprenditoriale della famiglia è testimoniata dal Museo della Figurina di corso Canalgrande. Un luogo unico anche per quantità e qualità delle figurine che si possono trovare, dalle celeberrime collezioni “Calciatori” a quelle che raffigurano star di Hollywood, animali insoliti o altri protagonisti.

Motori, figurine, ma anche l’arte del bel canto, perché il nome di Modena è legato indissolubilmente a quello del tenore Luciano Pavarotti, scomparso nel 2007. In occasione di Expo 2015, la Fondazione Luciano Pavarotti ha straordinariamente aperto le porte di Casa Pavarotti, trasformata in Casa Museo grazie all’allestimento di un percorso che permette a tutti di conoscere l’uomo e l’artista Pavarotti: il museo si trova in Stradello Nava ed è aperto tutti i giorni.

Il grande tenore insieme alla Ferrari è stato protagonista di un progetto turistico che ha esaurito la sua prima fase il 31 ottobre, dal titolo “Discover Ferrari & Pavarotti Land”, un tour della zona di Modena e dintorni che abbraccia i motori, la vita di Pavarotti e la filiera del cibo e del gusto mostrando ogni bellezza di questo territorio.

Per chi invece ha un’anima un po’ meno classica e un po’ più rock vale la pena spingersi fino all’Appennino e più precisamente a Zocca, nella frazione di Verrucchia, in via delle Divisione Tridentina: è casa di Vasco Rossi, rocker che ha coinvolto e appassionato almeno quattro generazioni di italiani. Abitazione facilmente identificabile dato che per centinaia di metri prima e dopo la casa si trovano scritte colorate con le frasi delle canzoni di Vasco Rossi lasciate dal suo pubblico venuto in una sorta di pellegrinaggio da ogni parte d’Italia e dall’estero.

Un figlio del territorio modenese che ha avuto successo in tutta Europa.

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Figurine che mania!

Il Museo della figurina di Modena Claudia Buscemi Prestigiacomo

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Museo della figurina, tesoro per tutti gli appassionati delle immagini stampate, si trova nel cuore di Modena - capitale mondiale della figurina moderna - all’interno di Palazzo Santa Margherita, sin dal XII secolo adibito a vari usi e sede anche della Biblioteca Antonio Delfini e della Galleria Civica.

Il Museo, nato dalla collezione privata di Giuseppe Panini, fondatore nel 1961 assieme alla famiglia della famosa azienda di figurine, è stato donato dallo stesso Giuseppe e dall’azienda al Comune di Modena nel 1992. Giuseppe Panini era un “collezionista portentoso, aveva messo insieme una raccolta di figurine storiche che rappresenta tuttora il grosso delle collezioni” – spiega Thelma Gramolelli, curatrice del Museo.

Le figurine fanno pensare agli album di calciatori, ai cartoni animati giapponesi, ai “doppioni” ed agli infiniti “cel’hocel’homimanca” a scuola o nei caldi pomeriggi estivi. Per non parlare dei giochi correlati, come ad esempio “il soffio”, nel quale si cercava di vincere il mazzetto di figurine che si riusciva a far capovolgere con la forza di un solo soffio, per l’appunto.

Da febbraio ad agosto, è stato possibile ammirare, in una mostra dedicata ai favolosi anni ’80 e ’90, la prima versione dell’album Panini di Star Wars del 1978 e la versione pubblicata nel 1997. Per rendere completo il tributo alla saga, il Museo (in collaborazione con Hasbro e Lego) ha inoltre inserito una serie di giochi e oggetti pertinenti al mondo di Darth Vader e compagni.

“Una delle caratteristiche delle figurine è l'immediata attivazione del ricordo: chi da piccolo ha riempito un album, appena lo rivede, sente emergere tutti i ricordi di quel periodo” – spiega Gramolelli. “Quello che però avviene subito dopo questa prima fase emotiva è la sorpresa dei visitatori, che scoprono un mondo di cui non avevano la minima coscienza: scoprono, ad esempio, che il Feroce Saladino era una personaggio 'cult' degli anni trenta e che la Seconda guerra mondiale si è combattuta anche a suon di figurine. E ne restano ammirati” – continua.

Il museo accoglie visitatori spinti dalle motivazioni più diverse. Gramolelli spiega infatti che dai collezionisti di figurine, bolli chiudilettera, etichette d’albergo e scatole di fiammiferi, si passa a studiosi di storia ed arti decorative, fino ad arrivare a visitatori attratti dalle raccolte che rievocano dolci memorie. Questi ultimi finiscono per “conoscere aspetti meno noti del mondo delle figurine: la tecnica cromolitografica, le origini come mezzo pubblicitario intorno al 1870, le declinazioni nazionali della figurina, le vicende propagandistiche, la varietà di materiali che a loro afferiscono” – dice Gramolelli.

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La figurina, tecnicamente, deve la propria nascita alla già menzionata cromolitografia, metodo di stampa brevettato a Parigi nella prima metà dell’Ottocento da Godefroy Engelmann. Questa tecnica consentì infatti di produrre più immagini con una maggiore varietà cromatica, a costi ridotti. Fino ad allora infatti, seppur fosse possibile stampare immagini e colorarle anche manualmente con acquerelli, i costi elevati ne avevano limitato l’utilizzo. Così, dalla seconda metà dell’Ottocento, grazie alla cromolitografia si cominciò a utilizzare la figurina per i motivi più svariati, tra i quali, per l’appunto, la pubblicità.

Al di là dell’elemento sentimentale, qual è il loro pregio? “È molto difficile quantificare un valore in collezioni composte da migliaia di pezzi, le cui quotazioni variano costantemente. Una delle collezioni più significative è quella dei bolli chiudilettera, circa 43.000 oggetti, considerata una raccolta eccellente” – spiega Gramolelli. “Imponente anche la raccolta di figurine Liebig e il cosiddetto WELD, figurine pubblicate dagli anni settanta dell'Ottocento fino alla fine della prima guerra mondiale soprattutto in Francia...Personalmente amo molto la collezione di etichette d'albergo 'Gambini Ruggero': circa 7.500 etichette che

venivano incollate alle valigie e che permettono di fare un giro del mondo virtuale” – aggiunge.

Data l’imponente quantità di raccolte, oltre all’esposizione permanente, il Museo della figurina ne organizza periodicamente di temporanee, suggerite da una serie di input esterni. “Per esempio, accogliamo con piacere le proposte del festival filosofia che si svolge a settembre a Modena” – dice Gramolelli –“ed in occasione di Expo 2015 abbiamo organizzato una mostra divisa in due episodi, Figurine di gusto, che mette in luce le mille sfaccettature del cibo in figurina.”

“Cibo, fiabe, mondo animale e vegetale, storia, abbigliamento, sport – la lista è lunghissima visto che le figurine possono considerarsi un’enciclopedia per immagini' – sono trattati in maniera massiccia da questi cartoncini colorati ed è giusto darne conto con mostre ricchissime di immagini” – conclude Gramolelli.

Il fatto che nel 2015 la Panini abbia organizzato le “figuriniadi”, olimpiadi delle figurine, riproponendo vecchi giochi ed attirando moltissimi appassionati in giro per l’Italia, non fa che confermarne il fascino indiscusso.

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A Voyage to the Heart of the Best Italian Foods Viaggio nel cuore del miglior 'food' italiano

By Alessandro Mossini Translated by Antonio D’Alfonso

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ne of the main attractions of Modena and its surroundings is without a doubt its food industry. Produce and savory dishes have turned this part of the country into the capital region of Italian gusto, where eating well and drinking well is the rule.

Tourists can do little else than lose themselves in this world of delicacies; they will be swept away by the unique and intense tastes of the region. It is primarily in Emilia-Romagna that food becomes genuinely aromatic. As proof of this, one need only consider that Modena is said to be the major food centre in Europe and the world.

It is here that we find DOP and IGP designated products. There are nineteen in all: ten by DOP (Demoninazione di Origine Protetta / Controlled Designation of Origin) and nine by IGP (Indicazione Georgrafica Protetta / Protected Geographical Indication). Such control indicates the excellence expected from food production in the area.

Ermi Bagni, CEO of Piacere Modena, a subsidiary of Palatipico Srl, assures its clients gourmet quality in Modena and neighbouring towns. All the food syndicates adhere to the provincial DOP and IGP guardianship. “Whenever a person sits at a table to eat in Modena, they are automatically embraced by food products with origins that date back in time,” explains Bagni. “Workmanship and collective determination have enabled tradition to prolong itself into modern society. Such dedication alone will fill any person sitting in a restaurant with awe.”

One example of this is Modena’s balsamic vinegar. This regional product distributed across the planet comes in two forms: Modena’s traditional balsamic vinegar designated by DOP – its purity immediately recognizable on one’s palate – and Modena’s balsamic vinegar carrying the IGP logo, which is used as a condiment in the preparation of specific recipes.

Moving from vinegar to wine, Modena is the land of Lambrusco. This Italian wine is the most widely distributed (along with Prosecco). Bagni, who also serves as the director of the consortium of winemaking in Emilia in addition to his role as director of Marchio Storico Lambruschi Modenesi, explains: “There exist four kinds of Lambrusco DOP wines: Castelvetro, Sorbara, Salamino di Santa Croce, and Modena (this last one being different from the other three not so much by its grape variety as by its special blend of Lambrusco grapes, cultivated only in Modena.)”

To accompany a glass of Lambrusco wine, one obviously needs quality food, starting with a cheese that is beloved and exported all over the world such as Parmigiano Reggiano. Milk, rennet, salt, and the necessary waiting time to mature: these are the essential ingredients that constitute this first-class cheese, produced not only near Parma and Reggio Emilia, but all over the territory around Modena.

Modena and surrounding towns are especially known for their various assortments of delicious cold meats, typical by-products of pork. A fine example of the artistry of such meats is the Prosciutto of Modena. Its production is limited to the sloping hills that give way to the Panaro River (with a few exceptions permitted across to Bologna and Reggio Emilia). There are between 80,00 to 100,000 pieces prepared every year. Compare this amount to the 10 million hams provided by Parma.

There are a number of ways to serve Prosciutto and other mouth-watering cold meats from the region. These specialties can be presented with tigelle (fried 44

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na delle principali attrattive di Modena e della sua provincia è senza dubbio la filiera agroalimentare e del cibo: prodotti e sapori che rendono questo territorio una vera e propria capitale italiana del gusto, dove mangiare bene e bere bene è la regola.

Un turista non può fare altro che perdersi tra le prelibatezze del luogo, lasciandosi trasportare da sapori originali e intensi, che solo qui nel ventre dell’Emilia Romagna possono esplodere in tutta la loro genuinità. A conferma di questo, basta pensare che Modena è la città con il primato assoluto a livello europeo di prodotti Dop o Igp: sono diciannove in tutto, 10 Dop (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) e 9 Igp (Indicazione Geografica Protetta) ad affermare l’eccellenza della zona in tema di cibo e di attività agroalimentare.

A guidarci nel gusto di Modena e dei suoi dintorni è Ermi Bagni, direttore generale di Piacere Modena, il brand della società Palatipico Srl a cui aderiscono tutti i consorzi di tutela delle Dop e Igp provinciali: «Quando qualcuno si siede a tavola a Modena si trova circondato da prodotti che affondano la loro storia in tempi lontani e che la laboriosità e la determinazione della collettività hanno portato avanti fino ai giorni nostri: qualcosa in grado di lasciare a bocca aperta qualsiasi ospite». È il caso dell’aceto balsamico di Modena, il prodotto di questo territorio più diffuso nel mondo, che ha due risultanze: l’aceto balsamico tradizionale di Modena, che ha marchio Dop e può essere assaggiato anche in purezza, e l’aceto balsamico di Modena che ha denominazione Igp e viene usato come condimento o anche come preparazione in determinate cotture.

Dall’aceto al vino, perché Modena è la terra per eccellenza del Lambrusco, il vino italiano più esportato al mondo insieme al Prosecco. Un tema, quello del vino rosso frizzante tipico del modenese, che coinvolge lo stesso Ermi Bagni, che è anche direttore del consorzio di tutela dei vini dell’Emilia e del consorzio Marchio Storico Lambruschi Modenesi: «Nel modenese ci sono quattro tipi di lambrusco Dop: quello di Castelvetro, quello di Sorbara, il Salamino di Santa Croce e il lambrusco di Modena che a differenza degli altri tre non è un vitigno ma un uvaggio dei vari lambruschi tradizionalmente coltivati a Modena».

Insieme ad un buon lambrusco, però, bisogna mangiare cibo di qualità, magari cominciando da un formaggio amato ed esportato in tutto il mondo come il Parmigiano-Reggiano: latte, caglio, sale e il tempo necessario per la stagionatura sono gli ingredienti di questa star mondiale che viene prodotta non solo nelle vicine Parma e Reggio Emilia ma in tutto il territorio del modenese.

Modena e dintorni sono particolarmente conosciuti anche per i prelibati salumi tipici, frutto della lavorazione della carne di maiale: un esempio è il Prosciutto di Modena – prodotto nella fascia collinare e nelle valli del bacino del fiume Panaro, con qualche sconfinamento nelle province di Bologna e Reggio Emilia – del quale vengono confezionati tra gli 80.000 e i 100.000 pezzi all’anno contro, ad esempio, i dieci milioni di pezzi del celeberrimo Prosciutto di Parma.

Tra i modi tutti modenesi di assaggiare il prosciutto crudo o altri

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MODENA dough puffs) or fried gnocco (disk-shaped bread, crisp on the outside and steamy on the inside). Near Bologna, gnocco is known as crescentina, whereas in Parma it is called torta fritta (fried dough Italian style).

Tigelle, small focaccia typical of Modena’s Apennine region, are round pieces of dough baked following popular traditions. In times past, peasants would use sparse ingredients readily available to them.

The gnocco fritto is dough made with flour, lard, sparkling water, and salt, which is then fried: a tasty snack when stuffed with cold cuts and cheese.

One can alleviate the flavour of tigelle by spreading inside the small focaccia pesto alla modenese, a typical uncooked sauce made with lard, garlic, rosemary, and black pepper. This delicacy is made even tastier with a sprinkle of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

There are two other specialties of the region: the cotechino (large boiled pork sausage) and the zampone (front trotter of a pig stuffed with a mixture of lean meats, belly, back skin, and neck fat that is boiled before consumption).

The zampone dates back to 1511, with Pope Julius II Della Rovere’s army sacking Mirandola, near Modena, at the time an ally of France. In order to conserve the precious meat of the pig during warfare, the cooks would stuff the casing they produced with the skin of the pig’s trotter and then cook it. This brilliant idea gave birth to what we now call the zampone, which along with the cotechino, have become staple dishes.

Ermi Bagni adds: “More recently, in Modena, the cotechino has grown in popularity during the summer months of July and August, when it is served lukewarm, cut in cubes, and served with other cold meats, accompanied by an aperitif.”

Another essential dish of the region is freshly made pasta, especially tortellini. This type of pasta has been the basis for arguments between Modena and Bologna. The difference in preparation is essential: in one case (Bologna) the tortellini are served raw, whereas in the other (Modena) they are slightly burned.

After a plate of pasta follows a serving of fruit. Here there are two choices, both designated as IGP: cherries from Vignola (a town outside Bologna) and a jam made with sour cherries. This jam is quite special; it is the only one in Europe to have received the IGP designation, and it’s a delicacy when served on toasted bread.

These culinary treasures can be tasted in many restaurants throughout Modena and are rated as the finest in all of Europe.

deliziosi salumi tipici della zona c’è quello di accompagnarli alle tigelle o al gnocco fritto, che nella vicina Bologna prende il nome di crescentina mentre a Parma viene chiamato torta fritta: le tigelle sono focaccine tipiche dell’Appennino modenese dalla caratteristica forma tonda mutuate dalla tradizione popolare (in antichità le famiglie contadine preparavano l’impasto necessario con ingredienti poveri), mentre il gnocco fritto è un amalgama di farina, strutto di maiale, acqua gassata e sale che dopo la frittura diventa sfizioso snack da farcire con salumi e formaggi.

Tra gli accompagnamenti più prelibati per le tigelle c’è il pesto alla modenese, una tipica salsa cruda prodotta con lardo di maiale, aglio, rosmarino e pepe da spalmare all’interno della focaccina, ancora più delizioso con un po’ di Parmigiano-Reggiano grattato sopra.

Due tipici insaccati della tradizione modenese sono il cotechino e lo zampone: quest’ultimo ha origini storiche che la leggenda fissa all’anno 1511, quando le truppe di Papa Giulio II Della Rovere assediano Mirandola, vicino Modena, alleata fedele della Francia. Nell’ottica di conservare la preziosa carne di maiale durante l’assedio un cuoco la infilò in un involucro formato dalla pelle delle zampe dell’animale, per cuocerla poi in un secondo momento: l’idea che dà vita allo zampone, piatto tipico natalizio al pari del cotechino. «Ma di recente – racconta Ermi Bagni – nel modenese il cotechino ha vissuto i suoi momenti di maggiore successo nei mesi caldi di luglio e di agosto, in cui viene servito tiepido, a dadini insieme ad altri salumi tipici, durante gli aperitivi».

Sulle tavole del territorio modenese non può mancare ovviamente la pasta fresca e in particolare i tortellini, al centro di lunghi e gustosi confronti culinari con la vicina Bologna: la differenza tra le due ricette è che il ripieno del tortellino bolognese è crudo mentre quello del tortellino modenese è leggermente scottato.

Dalla pasta alla frutta, con altri due prodotti del modenese che hanno denominazione Igp: le ciliegie di Vignola, paese della provincia al confine con Bologna, e la confettura di amarene brusche di Modena, l’unica in Europa ad avere il marchio Igp, perfetta per un dolce tipico di questo territorio come la crostata di amarene. Un quadro completo del gusto made in Modena che si può assaporare nei tanti ristoranti della zona che propongono le delizie di un territorio che sul piano culinario è tra i migliori d’Europa.

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Photography by Diego Poluzzi

Massimo Bottura with the staff from Osteria Francescana

Creativity and Innovation at Osteria Francescana Chef Massimo Bottura and Canadian-born chef de partie Jessica Rosval share their passion for food

By Liz Allemang

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hough he may be the chef and owner of Osteria Francescana in Modena, recently voted the second best restaurant in the world (#1 in Italy), and consistently ranked at the top of Best Of round ups, not to mention the bucket lists of countless foodies, Massimo Bottura doesn’t consider cooking to be a job. “Cooking is one of my passions, like art or music,” he explains.

This past summer, he occupied himself with a few pursuits that blurred the line between work and play, representative of the extraordinary and slightly surreal (if you’re not a Michelin-starred chef) life that has stemmed from the extraordinary and slightly surreal food that he creates.

He went on stage at a Counting Crows concert (the band had previously eaten at Osteria and performed an impromptu concert in the street outside of the restaurant at 1 am). Bottura took in some art, including an installation at the Lisa Cooley gallery in New York inspired by “Oops, I dropped the lemon tart,” Osteria’s famous dessert that’s equal parts toothsome and social commentary, or as Bottura himself describes it: “It’s about rebuilding imperfection in a perfect way.”

When chefs at three leading restaurants in Washington, D.C. saw that he was in town, they invited him to dinner because, as Bottura notes, “They respect me.”

One of the more meta meals he had was influenced by his own cooking.

And because he was in the neighbourhood, he visited Sam Cass, better known as President Barack Obama’s chef, who had invited Bottura to the White House following a 4th of July party at the American Pavilion at Expo Milano 2015.

“He was impressed by my project in Milan – the soup kitchen that I did with Pope Francis [Refettorio Ambrosiano, a charity initiative at the Expo supported by the 46

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Archdiocese of Milan and Caritas International], where I invited great chefs to cook the waste from the other pavilions for disadvantaged individuals.”

Bottura’s hope was that the project would support a new culture that relates to what he sees as the changing role of a contemporary chef. “There is a very important social responsibility,” he says. “Ten years ago, it was about showing off technique. Now there’s a different ethical approach and culture that encourage knowledge and consciousness. They’ve moved the spotlight away from their own egos… and towards growing the terroir and not just your own restaurant,” he says. “It’s a big change.”

Bottura has been busy exercising his own social responsibility, in addition to his other ventures like running Osteria, championing Italian ingredients (he helped sell 360,000 wheels of Parmigiano-Reggiano damaged by the 2012 earthquake in Modena), appearing in an episode of the Netflix docu-series “Chef ’s Table,” and promoting his book, Never Trust a Skinny Italian Chef (Phaidon 2014).

He is both, an inherently Italian chef and an international one. He helped to grow the population of white cows in Modena, prized for their concentrated milk, from 89 in 2000 to more than 900. His ability to breathe new life into Italian cuisine through respectful evolution demonstrates a devotion to his homeland. “We have to rebuild tradition through contemporary technique to preserve the quality of the ingredients and not the history,” he says.

Meanwhile, his opinion that not all Italian food has to happen in Italy, drawing ideas and inspiration from travels abroad, and his role as an esteemed ambassador for the present and future of modern Italian cuisine, attests to the latter.

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MODENA In this capacity, he has formed collaborations with those keen to learn from his unique approach, among them Dario Tomaselli, coordinator of the Post Diploma program of the Chef School at George Brown college in Toronto, who will be heading to Refettorio this fall to cook “the waste.”

Another Canadian connection is filmmaker Peter Svatek who has been following Bottura since February, filming the process of transforming a 1930s theatre in Milan into a soup kitchen. Bottura hopes that this documentary will capture the equalizing effect of his project. “[Fragile individuals] can walk in and have rights, the same rights as rich people: to live and eat surrounded by beauty. [We are] going to change people’s minds and how they think.”

And on board to bring about that change is Osteria Francescana’s chef de partie Jessica Rosval.

Following stints at Chez L’Épicier in Montreal and Bearfoot Bistro in Whistler, the 29-year-old Montrealer moved to Milan with her thenboyfriend who was pursuing an MBA there. “I didn’t have a plan. I went for the bella vita,” she says. And she found her version of it after a fateful birthday meal two years ago. “We went to Osteria Francescana. I think I spent pretty much every last dollar I had at the time,” says Rosval, admiringly recalling Bottura’s “Eel swimming up the Po river” and other dishes she ate that night.

It was worth it. She contacted Bottura and they met a week later. Within a few months, Rosval went to the restaurant for a trial. “For those 10 days I immersed myself doing anything they asked. I told them I would have been happy in the dish pit.”

She has continued to immerse herself – learning Italian, the official language of the kitchen, working from 9:30 a.m. until midnight six days a week, and even living with a couple of other cooks about 50 metres from the restaurant. She quickly became the first female chef de partie in Osteria’s history.

Reflecting on her experiences, she echoes Bottura’s devotion to the food and the movement that they are sustaining. “Everything we have, we are giving to the restaurant. If we’re not working, we’re sleeping.”

Photography by Carolina Vargas

Jessica Rosval (middle) PANORAMITALIA.COM

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La torta di tagliatelle Photograpy by Giulio Muratori

Karan Mahimkar is a graduate of George Brown College’s Italian Culinary Arts program, and he currently works at dbar in Yorkville.

Tortelloni (a larger version of tortellini) is a beloved pasta from Modena. In this recipe, the tortelloni are stuffed with squash and topped with a meat sauce that provides the perfect comfort food for the fall.

What better way to cap off this meal then with another Modena staple: tagliatelle cake, which makes clever use of the thinly cut pasta that here is revitalized as a sweet.

Ingredients for the filling • 200 g amaretti biscuits • 300 g almonds • 250 g sugar • 1 tbsp. flour • 1 lemon • 2 tbsp. of sweet cocoa powder

• 3 eggs • 300 g fresh homemade tagliatelline • 400 g unsalted butter • 1 glass Sassolino liqueur (anise-flavoured liqueur similar to Anisette)

Ingredients for the pasta dough • 200 g 00 flour • 50 g butter • 2 eggs • 100 g sugar Ingredients for tagliatelle • 200 g 00 flour • 2 eggs (or 200 g fresh thin tagliatelle) 48

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• Grated zest of 1 lemon • Spoonful of Sassolino liqueur (or Anisette) • Powdered sugar

Instructions for pasta dough Start with the pasta dough for the bottom of the cake. Mound 200 g of sifted flour, forming a well on your work space. In the centre of the well, add softened butter, eggs, sugar – about 100 g – a little bit of grated lemon zest, and 1 glass of Sassolino liqueur. Work the dough with your hands. Once the dough is smooth and without lumps, roll out with a rolling pin. Form a disk slightly larger than the quiche pan that will be used to bake the cake. The pasta dough has to cover both the bottom and sides of the pan. The dough has to be occasionally flipped because the sugar and butter can make it very flimsy.

Instructions for tagliatelle Now proceed with the preparation of the classic thin tagliatelline, like the ones cooked in the broth. They can be prepared in advance if kept in a cool place the fridge for example - to avoid them becoming too crumbly. This recipe, in fact, requires fairly soft tagliatelline.

Mound sifted flour on the work surface. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add in room temperature eggs, one at a time. Starting from the inner rims, mix the eggs with a fork or with fingers, progressively pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. Start kneading the dough by hand, folding the outside edge over the inside one, incorporating all the flour on your work surface.

If the flour doesn’t stick completely, or if the dough is too dry, add one or two tablespoons of warm water and continue kneading until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 1 hour in a cool, dry place.

After allowing the dough to rest, flour the working surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Flatten it with a light pressure of your fingers before stretching it out. One of the best methods to stretch the dough is to roll one of its edges up onto the rolling pin, holding down the other edge of the dough sheet with one hand, and letting the rolling pin move. Turn the dough for one-quarter turn, and repeat the procedure until the desired thickness is reached. Continue kneading with the spinning roll, keeping in mind the dough sheet should be about 0.5 mm thick.

Cut the dough into 5-7 mm ribbons, unroll them and put them on a tablecloth or a floured surface.

Proceed layering uncooked tagliatelline on a layer of almond mixture.

Complete the recipe with butter – 400 g – used to cook the tagliatelle, and one glass of Sassolino poured into the mixture before placing in the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes at a temperature of 180ºC (365ºF). Dust the cake with some powdered sugar before serving.

Instructions for the filling Shuck the almonds and roast in a pan at a low temperature for a few minutes.

Once slightly toasted, remove the pan from the heat and rub the almonds with your hands to remove their skin. Chop them finely, using a very sharp knife, or break them apart and crumble them with the palm of your hands. To prepare the filling, crumble the amaretti biscuits, adding them to the almonds and sugar, and a tablespoon of flour (to bind all the ingredients), lemon, cocoa powder and 3 eggs. Once ready, layer the filling on top of the dough disk previously greased with butter.

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MODENA

Squash filled tortelloni with ragù ‘alla modenese’ Ingredients for the pasta dough • 400 g 00 flour • 4 eggs and 1 yolk

Ingredients for the filling • 1.5 kg squash • 300 g grated ParmigianoReggiano cheese

• Bread crumbs (as needed) • Salt, pepper, a pinch of nutmeg

Ingredients for the meat sauce • 800 g mixed ground meat (lean beef, pork sausage, pork loin) • 100 g ground pancetta/bacon • 500 g strained tomatoes • 1 onion • 2 carrots

• 2 celery stalks, chopped • 1 garlic clove, chopped • 50 g unsalted butter • 3 cloves • A pinch of pepper

Instructions for the filling Cook the squash for about 15-20 minutes. Let the squash cool down, then peel the skin. Mash the squash using a fork until it turns creamy. Add some bread crumbs (about 100 g.), depending on squash’s tenderness. Add some Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (2 generous handfuls), salt and pepper to taste. While stretching pasta, let mixture rest, thus making sure ingredients blend well.

Instructions for the pasta dough Mound sifted flour on the work surface. Make a well in the center of the flour and add, one at a time, room temperature eggs. Starting from the inner rims, mix the

eggs with a fork or with fingers, progressively pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. Start kneading the dough by hand folding the outside edge over the inside one, incorporating all the flour on your work surface. If the flour doesn’t stick completely, or if the dough is too dry, add one or two tablespoons of warm water and continue kneading until the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Bundle the dough in plastic wrap and allow it to rest for about 1 hour in a cool, dry place.

After allowing the dough to rest, flour the working surface and roll the dough out with a rolling pin. Before stretching the dough, flatten it with a light pressure of your fingers. One of the best methods to stretch the dough is to roll one of its edges up onto the rolling pin, holding down the other edge of the dough sheet with one hand, and letting the rolling pin move.

Turn the dough a one-quarter turn, and repeat the procedure until the desired thickness is reached. Continue kneading with the spinning roll, keeping in mind the dough sheet should be about 0.5 mm thick.

Be careful not to stretch the dough sheet too thin. Otherwise, tortelloni could open while cooking. Cut the dough into squares of about 6 x 6 cm using a pasta cutter, and place the filling in the center of each square. Close the dough giving it a triangular shape, pressing the edges very firmly so that the filling cannot come out when cooking. To create the classic navel-shaped tortellone, lift up each lower corner of the triangle and fold them over the rounded part, then bring them towards each other so they can meet, and squeeze the points together between the thumb and the index finger to form the ring of the tortellone. Repeat until all the ingredients are used.

Instructions for meat sauce Brown ground pancetta in a pan with some oil, and sauté onion, carrots, celery and garlic. When the vegetables become tender and soft, add ground meat with 50 g of butter, and let it brown. Once the water has evaporated, add cloves. Now pour “conserva” (strained tomatoes), stir, reduce heat and let simmer for at least 2 ½ hours.

While cooking, if necessary, season with a pinch of salt, depending on how savory pancetta and sausage are, and some pepper to taste.

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Newlyweds Sposi novelli 2015

Send us your Mandateci le vostre wedding pictures! foto di matrimonio!

Submit your picture on www.panoramitalia.com click on ‘Magazine’ followed by ‘Newlyweds,’ or by mail, and include their names and wedding date. To be published in our December/January issue.

Cost: $35 (tax incl.)

Deadline: Wednesday, November 11

Gabrielle D'Elia & Matthew Carozza May 31, 2014

Si prega di inviare la foto a www.panoramitalia.com e cliccare prima su ‘Magazine’ e poi su ‘Newlyweds’, oppure spedirla per posta con i nomi degli sposi e la data di matrimonio. Per l’edizione di dicembre/gennaio.

Costo: $35 (tax incl.)

Scadenza: mercoledì, 11 novembre

Melissa Grisolia & Joseph Rizzuto August 2, 2014

Amanda Borsellino & Marco Ruggi September 13, 2014

9300 Henri-Bourassa West, suite 100, Montreal, Québec H4S 1L5 info@panoramitalia.com

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FOOD

Delicious Anytime A taste of the best ice cream shops in the GTA

A

lthough the summer heat has come and gone, a taste for frozen treats hasn’t waned with the coming fall weather. According to the Canadian Dairy Commission, Canadian per capita consumption is at 5.50 litres per year, which places us in seventh position worldwide. Not bad considering our short summers and long winters. Indeed, whether it’s in the form of ice

Crepe Delicious Vaughan Mills Shopping Centre (1 Bass Pro Mills Road, Vaughan), Toronto Eaton Centre (220 Yonge Street, Toronto) “Since 2010, Crepe Delicious has offered a contemporary North American take on the Italian gelato bar,” says Lea Palazzi, Marketing and Operations Manager for Crepe Delicious. The gelato is handcrafted on-site daily with an endless menu of flavours, from traditional tiramisu to more original offerings. When it comes to hit ice cream flavours, cheesecake ranks number one.

Additionally, customers can opt for sorbets, which are sugar and lactose free, popsicles, gelato shakes and premium beverages from a full espresso bar. Made to order customized gelato cakes are also available at Crepe Delicious in Vaughan Mills, Ontario.

cream scoops, frozen ice cream cake or other frozen desserts, Canadians’ love affair with treats on ice shows no signs of slowing down – whatever the season.

Here’s a list of the best ice cream shops in the GTA, so you can satisfy your ice cream cravings all year long.

Dolce Gelato 697 College Street, 414 Danforth Avenue and 234 Augusta Avenue, Toronto

Dolce Gelato opened in 2006 at its current College Street location and has since then grown to a total of three locations in the GTA. “We have always strived to provide an authentic Italian gelato by using only the best and the most natural of ingredients in our recipes,” says Dolce Gelato’s Ivonne Luca. “Over the years we have grown our fruit-based and milk-based gelato selection to 65 different flavours from the basic lemon to the well-known dolce roche.” Luca points out that despite the bevy of offerings, good ole’ chocolate still comes out on top with customers. And Luca knows just how to keep the autumn and winter blues away: “with our strong customer commitment we are fortunate enough to have many people come in, even on the coldest of days, to enjoy an espresso or a hot latte with a warm crepe and maybe even a gelato.”

G for Gelato 75 Jarvis Street, Toronto G for Gelato & Pizza Bar has been in business for just over four years. After a change of ownership in 2012, one year after opening, new owner Shant Behesnilian has reinvented all items with his own touch.

“Our secret gelato base is the foundation for our success; and our ingredients, which come either straight from St. Lawrence market, or imported from Italy, are the reason why we have such a popular following,” he says. There’s a long list of customer favourites, including O.M.G. (salted chocolate peanut butter hazelnut caramel). “Our only wish going into the winter is that Toronto starts realizing that gelato is not just a summer dessert, but something to be enjoyed for all occasions and celebrations, year round,” says Behesnilian.

FRESHLY BAKED ARTISAN BREADS, TRADITIONAL BREADS, BUNS, ROLLS, FOCACCIA & FLAT BREADS

Tel: 905.607.2835

Fax: 905.607.2838

glenabbeyitalianbakery@bellnet.ca

3770B Laird Rd, Unit #5 Mississauga, Ont. L5L 0A7

Always Fresh, Always Delicious.

A Leone Family Tradition.

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FOOD Hotel Gelato 532 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto

Ice ’n Cake Gelato & Patisserie Shops at Don Mills (30 Clock Tower Road, Toronto)

Hotel Gelato opened its doors in 2010, and since then has been welcoming customers who keep returning for favourite gelato flavours like salted caramel, dark chocolate and pistachio, and chocolate hazelnut. The gelateria, bakery and espresso bar also has a food menu (featuring options for breakfast, lunch and weekend brunch) and offers off-site gelato catering.

Dan Hoffman, owner, says that Old Man Winter won’t put a damper on Hotel Gelato’s sweet disposition: “Our wish for the winter is always the same: a mild winter with lots of sunshine that keeps people coming out for a treat or lunch and brunch.

That being said, our gelato gets more popular year after year even if it’s snowing!”

This European-inspired gelateria and patisserie is the creation of Chris Christidis and Robert Schmitt. “We always had a love for gelato, desserts and great coffee from our travels to Italy and Europe,” say the duo. “We took a little something from all the places we visited over the years and created Ice ’n Cake.” The shop serves gelato created on-site using elements like imported chocolates and exotic fruits and nuts. Also on offer are homemade crepes and waffles dressed and topped to suit each taste. “When we started to create the store we knew we had to keep our customers coming back in the winter...so we introduced waffles, crepes and cakes to our menu. We are showing our clients that gelato is not just a summer treat.”

La Vizziata Gelateria & Dessert Bar 2986 Dundas Street West, Toronto

Lola’s Gelato 6 Brookers Lane, Etobicoke

“I grew up spending my summers in Italy and nothing was more enjoyable than the fresh gelato, both as a child and as an adult,” says Melissa Blasio of La Vizziata. “My vision with La Vizziata is to bring that original old school method of making ice cream to Canada for that healthy natural delicious treat that is bursting with flavour. We make everything onsite, one batch at a time.” When it comes to customer faves, Blasio says top marks go to salted caramel, chili chocolate and mojito. La Vizziata also offers other traditional Italian products all year round such as panini, coffee, cannoli and dessert waffles with fruit and gelato.

La Dolce Vita 22 Lakeshore Road West, Oakville

It’s only fitting that an ice cream shop with a decidedly Italian name would count Sicilian pistachio as its most popular gelato. Owned by an Italian-Canadian family in Oakville, La Dolce Vita offers gelato made by a gelato chef who hails from Naples, Italy. Owner Chris Iannuzzi says that as the temperature cools, La Dolce Vita aims to keep spirits warm by “developing new seasonal gelato flavours like pumpkin pie, candy cane, gingerbread, and panettone for customers to enjoy.”

La Paloma Gelateria & Café 1357 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto, Yorkdale Shopping Centre (3401 Dufferin Street, Toronto), Piazza Del Sole (200 Windflower Gate, Unit 1,Woodbridge)

Entering the yummy world of ice cream was a dream come true for Daniela Zomparelli of Lola’s Gelato. “I needed a change after 20 years as an accountant in the film industry,” she recalls. “It was time to live my dream of owning a business. I wanted to make food that put a smile on people’s faces. It took me five years to figure it out, but here I am.”

The Etobicoke ice cream shop’s claim to fame is a banana gelato with peanut butter crunch and grape jelly that is endearingly known as Elvis.

“The first time we made it, it was to celebrate his birthday in January and it was a hit,” says Zomparelli. “Now Elvis never leaves the building.”

Touti Gelati and Café 1865 Queen Street East and 550 Queens Quay West, Toronto Touti Gelati and Café is a family-operated business that offers a full range of gelato and coffee styles, suitable for any taste. It also serves signature gelato flavours or coffees that customers can enjoy in the comfortable and casual dining room area. When it comes to popular flavours, manager and owner Ashraf AlThaher cites pistachio, salted caramel, hazelnut, and cheesecake as top picks.

“Customers come in and tell me, ‘I remember when I was a child and my nonno brought me here for a gelato,” says Salvatore Iannone, owner of La Paloma. The ice cream shop launched in 1967 on St. Clair Avenue West; Iannone took it over in 1988 with a mandate to revamp it into a place the whole family can enjoy. And that philosophy has resulted in sweet success with a total of three locations in the GTA area. “We have 75 flavours but the most requested is Sicilian Pistachio,” says Iannone who points out that beyond ice cream, there are plenty of other tasty edibles to enjoy, from pannini to wraps to biscotti, and of course, a yummy cappuccino to sip on. The long-standing business (and its offshoots) have brought great satisfaction to Iannone. “I have been able to make people happy, and I have a lot of good memories,” he says. “Gelato is for everyone.”

Available at

3645 Keele St., Toronto, Ontario M3J 1M6

(416) 630-1870 w w w. l u x u r y b a t h c e n t e r. c a Mon-Fri 9am - 6pm 52

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Sat 9am - 5pm

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ARTS & CULTURE Photograpghy by Salazar Film

Vancouver’s Pinball Wizard Robert Gagno is one of the top players in the world

By Salvatore Difalco

B

urnaby, B.C. native Kathy Gagno recalls a ferry trip from Vancouver to Vancouver Island, where she, her husband Maurizio, and their nineyear-old son Robert planned to vacation for the summer. Robert, diagnosed with autism when he was three, had developed a passion for pinball and quickly found his way to the pinball machine in the ferry’s small arcade area.

“For 25 cents he played the entire hour-and-a-half of the trip,” Gagno attests. “A crowd gathered, cheering him on, saying things like, ‘Look at that kid play!’ It was wonderful.”

Lyrics to The Who’s rock opera Tommy come to mind: ‘How do you think he does it?/I don’t know!/What makes him so good?’

To be fair, although autistic, Robert, now 26 and rated the sixth best pinball player in the world, successfully navigated his way through the public school system and is high-functioning enough to work as a general office assistant with a financial co-operative in Vancouver. And far from being deaf to the buzzers and bells and blind to the flashing lights–like Tommy’s insensate wizard–Robert loved it all. “It was so much fun,” he says, “the music, the lights ...” As for the mystery of his skill, he summarizes it simply: “I played a lot.”

A psychologist for the Burnaby School District, Kathy Gagno says that Robert picked up pinball at the age of five. “There was a hamburger joint close to our home in East Vancouver that had a pinball machine, Twilight Zone, which helped quell Robert’s hyperactivity,” she recalls. “It was a place to sit down and relax while he hammered away. From then on,” she adds, “whenever he went on outings to bowling alleys, roller rinks or arcades, he headed straight for the pinball machines.

The Gagnos bought Robert his first machine, Whirlwind, when he was 10. He played one or two hours a day for six months and then abruptly stopped. “I don’t know why,” his mother says. “But Super Nintendo reactivated his passion, and he also got into electric Pokémon and broke the world record score for Pokémon pinball. But he didn’t play real pinball for a long time. Whirlwind was covered up, with the cat sleeping on it.”

When he was 19 Robert decided to put Whirlwind on Craigslist, but when it didn’t sell, he started playing again, running up big scores, and fueled his passion.

On a business trip to Toronto in 2008, Robert’s father Maurizio brought him along and entered him in his first tournament, The Canadian Pinball 54

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Championships. Maurizio, who was born in Treviso and came to Canada in 1965, thought this baptism of fire would spur his son to new pinball heights.

“Meeting people with the same interest was great,” Robert concedes, but admits the experience was nerve-wracking. “It took a while to get comfortable. But I finished 12th, not bad for my first tournament.” Two years later, jitters assuaged, he won his first tournament.

Soon, Robert discovered the local Vancouver Regional Pinball Association and a network of pinballers via the Internet. He entered more tournaments, progressively improving and winning enough to achieve world-class standing. There were family-based vacations around pinball, travelling to cities like Seattle and Portland, and getting as far as L.A. and San Jose. But Pittsburgh, a mecca of pinball activity, has always been a favourite destination. “I love it,” Robert enthuses. “The people are friendly, neat bridges, few tourists, and I’m a big Sidney Crosby fan.” No surprise, given Sid the Kid’s commensurate single-mindedness and passion.

Robert’s most ambitious trip was with his father to the European Pinball Championships in Rimini, Italy, where he placed in the classics division. “I enjoyed Italy,” he says. “We visited my father’s hometown, and Florence, beautiful, and Venice–no traffic!” he exclaims.

Despite having a banner year, Robert feels he’s been in a slump lately.

“Trouble getting in the zone,” he admits, “and I can’t figure out why.” Except, he notes, that even Sid the Kid suffers the occasional dry spell, and “you just have to work through it.”

Although the Gagnos own 12 machines, Robert prefers old-school presolid state models like Twilight Zone, still a favourite. “I love the way they feel,” he says, “the animation, the sound. When I get in the zone on one of those, it feels like I’m playing a musical instrument, a church organ or something, and hitting every note perfectly.”

Needless to say, Robert Gagno must have heard the music again, winning the Northwest Pinball Championship held in Seattle August 28-30 (shortly after we interviewed him), and officially ending his slump.

Salazar films will be producing a documentary featuring Robert Gagno’s inspirational rise through the pinball ranks.

For more information visit: www.wizardmodefilm.com

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ARTS & CULTURE

By Erica Cupido

Photography by Giulio Muratori

Sal Difalco Pays Homage to his Hometown in Mean Season M

eet Bobby Sferazza. He’s a born and bred Hamiltonian who is studying at the University of Toronto, where he’s shaking off his suburban ties and soaking in everything the campus has to offer. Despite relishing his new city life, Bobby returns home for the summer to look after his teenage brother, who has begun mixing in dangerous social circles. It’s 1980. Disco is dying and local gangs are wreaking havoc in Hamilton. Bobby’s a high school football hero, a gym rat and loving son. He’s also the protagonist in Salvatore Difalco’s first novel, Mean Season. “It’s a snapshot of a time period,” says Difalco, 56, of the book, which hits shelves in October. For the author – who has previously published three collections of short stories and one book of poetry – writing a novel wasn’t always a goal, but it was a challenge worth tackling. “I’ve written everything from journalism to book reviews and even a poker blog,” says Difalco, who currently works as a freelance writer, editor and Italian translator with The Interpreters’ Group.

An idea for the plot came easily. But when editing and rewriting Mean Season, he knew to look to his literary predecessors for inspiration. During the process, Difalco reread The Great Gatsby and kept F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of language in mind.

There was never any question as to where it would be set. “Hamilton is a character in the story. If you set it in any other Canadian city it wouldn’t work,”

says the author, who was raised there by his Sicilian father and Calabrese mother.

In Mean Season, the suburb is both a tight-knit Italian-Canadian community and a gritty playground for gangs, where violence and drugs are common. It’s an entertaining read that combines recognizable characters with edge-of-your-seat action. “It really comes from a deep affection for the city and its people,” says Difalco. “From my perspective, it’s a love letter to Hamilton.”

Difalco grew up in a Sicilian enclave in the north end of the city, where almost everyone spoke Italian. He describes his first language as a “mix of Sicilian and Calabrese dialects,” and says he hardly knew any English when he started school in Grade 1. “It’s funny because I ended up becoming a writer and someone who is very passionate about my second language,” adds the author.

As a result, Difalco became a voracious reader. He says he first knew he wanted to be a writer when he was asked to read a story he’d written aloud, and it enthralled his fellow sixth-graders. “Everything I did was ultimately with that goal in mind,” he says. “My passion for writing is what got me through high school and university.”

Like his fictional lead Bobby, Difalco studied at the University of Toronto, where he earned his undergraduate and Master’s degrees. He began working on his PhD and was headed toward an academic career, but abandoned his thesis after four years to focus on writing full-time. “Despite the sacrifices you make, you do what makes you happy,” he says. “If that’s what you commit yourself to, then do it whole-heartedly.”

Difalco did just that, devoting his time to developing his craft and getting his work published in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. While his decision to leave academia behind may have worried his mother at the time, he points out that no risk he’s ever taken compares to her decision to marry his father by proxy and move to Canada from Italy.

Italian-Canadian readers will no doubt see reflections of themselves and their families in Mean Season. Scenes that play out at Bobby’s childhood home, in his mother’s kitchen, or at the family picnic feel familiar. In his work as an Italian interpreter, Difalco has noticed the experiences and qualities Italians share no matter where their roots lie. “There’s something Italian in all of them,” he says, of the seniors he works with. “A love of family, a certain warmth and generosity of spirit. We really share something…It translates to the way we handle ourselves at home, around the kitchen table, or when we’re celebrating.”

Next, Difalco will mark the release of the book with launch events in Toronto and Hamilton. He’s also working on a new collection of poems and a second novel. His intention is ultimately to keep readers entertained. If his forthcoming fiction is anything like Bobby Sferazza’s homecoming, the lifelong storyteller will have accomplished his goal.

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ARTS & CULTURE

T

he Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) celebrated its 40th anniversary this past September with nearly 400 films from over 70 countries. For its banner year, TIFF offered a selection of Italian films that were as varied and thought-provoking as ever. Audiences took a voyage to Italy in the heart of Hogtown’s entertainment district and experienced TIFF’s seven-film survey of contemporary Italian cinema.

TIFF 2015 saw both the return of seasoned masters, including Paolo Sorrentino and Nanni Moretti, and the debuts of first-time filmmakers, such as Piero Messina (The Wait) and Federica Foglia (Exit/Entrance Or Trasumanar), the only female director who represented Italy at the Festival.

Using a variety of forms including docu-fiction shorts as well as the avant-garde (The Other Side; Lost and Beautiful), the films probe universal themes of death (Blood of My Blood), aging (Youth), politics, and perhaps the most Italian of traditions: famiglia (My Mother). As the selections look forward to the future of Italian cinema and its next generation of directors, the films also pay homage to their past, evoking literary traditions such as Commedia dell’arte and Neorealism.

TIFF’s Cinematheque programme included free screenings of Luchino Visconti’s Neorealist classic, Rocco and his Brothers, and the French New Wave co-production, Adieu Philippine, directed by Jacques Rozier.

The Best of Italy at TIFF 2015

By Daniel Horowitz

The Wait (L’Atessa)

Margherita Buy and John Turturro

My Mother (Mia Madre) Lou de Laâge

The Wait (L’Atessa) In TIFF’s Discovery programme, famed French actress Juliette Binoche (Chocolat, Clouds of Sils Maria) stars in Piero Messina’s directorial debut, The Wait (L’Attessa).

Evoking both L’Avventura and Waiting For Godot, The Wait unfolds in a house in Caltagirone, Sicily, against the festivities of Easter celebration. Binoche plays Anna, who receives an unexpected visit from her son Giuseppe’s girlfriend Jeanne (Lou de Laâge) of her son, Giuseppe. Neither Anna nor Jeanne have previously met. Neither know if or when Giuseppe will return home, and yet, as the two wait with tense expectation, a blossoming friendship evolves between two women separated by a significant age gap.

Messina previously worked as an assistant director to Paolo Sorrentino (The Great Beauty, Il Divo), who also attended the Festival to premiere his new film, Youth.

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My Mother, the new film by Nanni Moretti, explores the hectic life of a female movie director (Marguerita Buy) struggling to balance duties to her troubled film production and dying mother. Moretti himself plays opposite Buy as her on-screen brother, contrasting the doting son he portrays with Buy’s stressed daughter, her time between film sets and bedside hospital visits.

While many films-on-film privilege the male writer or director, a sad example of art imitating industry, Moretti offers not only a refreshing reversal in its protagonist’s gender, but also in the emotional crux of the film, which explores the fundamental but complicated relationship between daughter and mother, a professor of classical literature portrayed by Giulia Lazzarini.

The film’s transitions between commedia and drama may seem jarring at first, but in service of a greater effect. Not only is Buy’s frenzied state reflected in the film’s form, but also the suggestion that comedy and tragedy are more closely aligned then we think, confronting viewers with questions of what is priority and distraction: Family or work?

My Mother made its North American premiere at the Festival in the Special Presentations programme and represents a co-production between Italy and France.

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ARTS & CULTURE Youth (La giovinezza)

Exit/Entrance or Trasumanar Directed by emerging filmmaker Federica Foglia, Exit/Entrance Or Trasumanar is the sole Italian film in TIFF’s Short Cuts programme.

At a concise seven minutes, the film’s ambitious scope more than compensates for its brevity, as it melds visual and verbal elements in an experimental and avant-garde experience that tells the story of an immigrant artist’s journey through the town in which he lives.

As he draws and paints his way through interior spaces and exterior landscapes, the traveller, played by Antonio De Luca, expresses and encapsulates his detachment, not only artistically, but aurally as well, through voiceover narration.

Foglia, who was born in Naples and lives in Toronto, conveys the universal immigrant experience of feeling divided between places, the push and pull factors that espouse a desire to assimilate and a longing for home. It is no surprise, then, that the film is also a co-production between Italy and France.

Despite making her directorial debut, Foglia is no stranger to the world of film, having assisted famed Indo-Canadian director, Deepa Mehta, on her most recent film, Beeba Boys, which also played the Festival this year.

Lost and Beautiful (Bella e perduta) Lost and Beautiful, which borrows its title from the lyrics of Verdi’s Nabucco opera, explores an Italy ravaged by corruption and economic instability, as viewed through the eyes of a foolish stock character and his travelling companion – a young, talking buffalo. (Yes, you read that correctly.)

Filmed on expired 16 mm film, director Pietro Marcello spins a docu-fable that is both aged and timely in its homage to Tommaso Cestrone, the Campanian shepherd who volunteered to safeguard the abandoned palace of Carditelli, despite political indifference and threats by the Mafia. The film’s representation of ruptured time and memory reflects Cestrone’s untimely death (from a heart attack) during filming.

When Pulcinella, the foolish, beak-nosed figure of commedia dell’arte emerges from Mount Vesuvius, he is tasked with fulfilling Cestrone’s final wish: to rescue Schiarpone, a young buffalo who guards Carditelli, from its ruined remains.

As the unlikely pair traverses contemporary Campania, familiarizing themselves with the landscape and each other, both viewer and traveller discover the importance of duty and hope in an equally beautiful and disturbing world.

Two years after premiering The Great Beauty at TIFF, which would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, director Paolo Sorrentino returns to Toronto with yet another meditation on aging – Youth.

On vacation at a spa in the Swiss Alps, retired music composer Fred (Michael Caine) crosses paths with the medley of colourful characters who populate the resort, including actors, football players, models, and masseuses. He is joined by his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and waxes nostalgic with his son in-law, Mick, an American film director working on his new script.

Unlike the majority of the Napoli director’s features, Youth showcases an ensemble English-speaking cast, and an all-star one at that, including Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel, Rachel Weisz, Jane Fonda, and Paul Dano. Although the film’s cast is largely American, his aesthetic is stylistically European, whimsically Felliniesque, and unmistakably Sorrentino.

Youth is Sorrentino’s second English-language film, following This Must Be The Place, starring Sean Penn. Sorrentino is also known for directing Il Divo, which details the political history of Italian Prime Minister, Giulio Andreotti.

The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 2008.

Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel

The Other Side Documentary filmmaker Roberto Minervini travels to Louisiana (a change from his Texas-set trilogy) and investigates the effects of modern America on its troubled citizens who, by choice or circumstance, are forced into society’s fringes. Much in the style of Gonzo journalism, Minervini combines elements of documentary and fiction, having his subjects play themselves and re-enact their trials and tribulations.

Among the dark people on which Minervini shines a light include libertarian radicals, civilian military forces, and most prominently, a drug dealer and his addict girlfriend.

Although born in Italy, Minervini, who attended New York’s New School University, is well-known for his insightful observations of American culture through unique means of presentation. He has directed both short and feature films, including past Festival pick, Stop the Pounding Heart.

The Other Side, which is a co-production between France and Italy, had its North American premiere in the Wavelengths programme.

Blood Of My Blood (Sangue del mio sangue) In his enigmatic and unsettling new film, director Marco Bellocchio probes a mysterious monastery while tracing the parallel histories of those who inhabit it.

In the 17th century, during the Inquisition, Federico Mai arrives at the monastery in search of his sibling’s lover, Sister Benedetta, whom he hopes will confess her sins so that his brother, despite committing suicide, might be buried in consecrated ground. As Federico watches Benedetta’s interrogations and trialby-fire (and water), Bellocchio upsets the stability of his environment by shifting focus onto the present day, where a Russian man arrives at the same monastery with an offer to purchase it and its new inhabitants include a woman whose husband has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

From its shocking opening image, which depicts a dead nun hanging upside down by her feet, Blood of My Blood will continue to confound and ultimately leave you scratching your head long after the credits roll.

Blood of My Blood is a co-presentation between Italy, France, and Switzerland. The film made its international premiere in the Masters programme.

Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Alba Rohrwacher and Federica Fracassi

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ARTS & CULTURE

The Journey into Light of Filmmaker Nicola Zavaglia

By Antonio D’Alfonso

T

here are two kinds of filmmakers: those who hire actors to portray members of our families and those who film our family members directly. Born in Calabria in the 1950s, Nicola Zavaglia belongs to the second group. Like a magician, he pulls out his camera and starts to record our conversations, shooting some of the most beautiful images in Canada today.

This filmmaker poet is so much in love with this world of ours that we can actually hear the heartbeats and breaths of the men and women he interviews.

What we see in his movies are souls opening up and blossoming like magnolia trees. Right from his first film, A Poet in the Family (1978), one notices themes

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reappearing in the half dozen films Zavaglia directed afterwards: young boys and girls addressing the viewer; voices answering questions whispered to them off-camera; seascapes just before the sun sets; fingers running on accordions mysteriously threading out age-old incantations; women steering the family rooms bathing in sunlight; men siphoning homemade wine from demijohns; images from books; poetry from every part of the world. Zavaglia has become the Italian-Canadian filmmaker that documents our presence here.

I met Zavaglia in the early 1970s, before Loyola College and Sir George Williams merged to become Concordia University, where we both studied at the Communication Arts Department. It was the autumn of 1974. As young men wishing to become artists, we discussed the best way to depict our Italian culture. Zavaglia would conclude by saying that Italians in Canada had more in common with Italians from New York than English- and French-Canadians.

Controversial as always, he alone could tackle the Canadian internment of Italians during the Second World War in the must-see Barbed Wires and Mandolins (1997).

One of his tougher films is L’espoir violent (1988), where he takes his camera into a mental asylum and removes, one brick at a time, all our preconceptions about mental illness. I particularly loved Mediterraneo Sempre (2000), and dedicated one chapter of my PhD thesis to analyzing this amazing baroque jewel. In this unforgettable document, Zavaglia comes to master the overlapping image in a way that had never really been done before (with the exception of Jean-Luc Godard). Anyone interested in Italians in Canada must visit the National Film Board website where Zavaglia’s most important works can be found and screened for free.

Zavaglia’s latest work, entitled Journey to Ithaca (2015), takes us back to Loyola College in the 1970s, which was the only place that offered a diploma in Media Studies in Canada at the time. Young minds were fortunate enough to be taught there by some of the finest professors in the country: Father Jack O’Brien, Father Marc Gervais, Father Clare Fischer, John Buell, Charles Gagnon, Denis Diniacopoulos, and a few others. These handpicked young men and women from the Communication Arts Department would later start working in the radio, T.V. and film industries. Zavaglia revisits their life course in an ode celebrating education. “No matter how different or meandering an odyssey, the journey to Ithaca remains our one essential voyage,” Zavaglia says in reference to his film. “The quest to reach Ithaca being not only in Ulysses, for there is an Ithaca to reach inside us all.”

Similar to his other films, Zavaglia approaches his subjects in Journey to Ithaca as though they were keeping a diary about the West end of Montreal, where Loyola College is located. Though a very specific theme, this song to education is one for every young person to watch. As adults looking back, Zavaglia admits that those years were the best years of his life. How good it is to be reminded that we do not know everything. Life is about learning and art is about teaching us what is important about night and day. Poets specialize in the study of night, filmmakers in the study of day. Nicola Zavaglia, being a poet of light, sings the praise of enlightenment. www.nfb.ca/explore-all-directors/nicola-zavaglia/

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EVENTS

Mississauga ITALFEST - Ferragosto in the City It was a record-breaking attendance when 18,000 people of all ages and backgrounds gathered at the 3rd Annual Mississauga ITALFEST - Ferragosto in the City. Held August 22 at the city’s majestic Celebration Square and presented by Solmar Development Corporation, the outdoor festival celebrated all things Italian and raised proceeds benefitting

By Romina Monaco Tomorrow’s Community of Hope (TCOH).

“It’s a family-oriented event and we work really hard to get funding and sponsorship to make sure it remains that way. We also want to transcend Italian pride to following generations,” explains event Executive Co-Chair, Tina Colalillo. “Our goal is to celebrate Italian heritage and share our culture with others. The event’s success indicates that Italian culture is loved by so many and it was great seeing people of various backgrounds enjoying our food, music and history”. Other than preserving and promoting Italian heritage, the organization also feels it is important to give back. Volunteer-based

and not-for-profit, TCOH has raised $250,000 for the Trillium Health Care Centre and its Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. “We chose cardiac care because collectively as an organization we've all been affected by heart disease in some way,” says Colalillo, who also serves as TCOH Chair of Finance and Governance.

In recognition of those exemplifying Italian spirit, the festival presented its Johnny Lombardi Family Heritage Award to Carmela Liparoti, President of the Mississauga Italian Canadian Benevolent Association and its Louis Jannetta Youth Heritage Award to Kristian D’Amore. The event also included collaborations with the ROM and Heritage Mississauga, who provided mini exhibits such as Pompeii - In the Shadow of the Volcano and Pier 21 Halifax passenger lists with accompanying photographs as well as a history of Italians in Mississauga. Meanwhile, legendary Italian performer Sandro Giacobbe graced the stage with a repertoire of songs spanning his decadeslong career. And lastly, an Italian festival would not be complete without dancing, pasta and pizza eating contests, cooking demonstrations and activities such as Bocce, Scopa and soccer tournaments.

Photography by CrazyK Photography

Lenny Lombardi, CHIN RADIO/TV (Media/Entertainment Sponsor), Carmela Liparoti – 2015 recipient of The Johnny Lombardi Family Mississauga ITALFEST Heritage Award, Patti Jannetta Baker

The Old Timers Band

Sandro Giacobbe

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EVENTS

AMBI Gala Photography by Fabio Gesufatto

Celebrity glitz and glam hit the red carpet as Hollywood North kicked off its premiere 10-day TIFF with the inaugural Cinema to Help the World - AMBI Gala. Held September 9 at the spectacular Four Seasons in Downtown Toronto, the A-list charity function not only raised proceeds for the Prince Albert II Monaco Foundation but it also attracted the best in film. Along with Monégasque royals HSH Prince Albert and Princess Charlene, the star-studded guest list included Paul Sorvino, Mischa Barton, James Franco, Danny Trejeo, Gowan, Michael Madsen and special guest, French actor Omar Sky. The evening, which was considered to be the film season's must-be-seen-at event, was emceed

by Canadian comedian Martin Short and included a rare performance by singer Diana Ross.

The event was hosted by AMBI Pictures, a film company financing, producing and selling feature films to a worldwide market and sold out dispite of tickets going for a staggering $2500 each. AMBI Pictures founders, ItalianCanadian producer Andrea Iervolino and philanthropist Lady Monika Bacardi, are equally passionate about using the gala as a platform to raise awareness and funds to support global charitable initiatives. "We are grateful for the generosity and support of all our partners, sponsors and friends,” they said. “Toronto was the perfect place to host our first AMBI Gala. We are making our new animation movie here, Arctic Justice, which has environmental themes like our gala."

By using film as an instrument, Iervolino and Lady Bacardi hope to be catalysts for change, and with future galas on the horizon, this year's chosen beneficiary is a an environmental-based foundation inspired by Prince Albert. In light of alarming scientific research, he made a personal commitment to act against dangers threatening our planet and its sustainability. So far, 100% of donations, now totalling $33.6 million U.S., have supported 340 various projects directed to climate change, water resource management and biodiversity. Influenced by Iervolino's strong Canadian connection, the Prince will this year allocate funds to charities in this country.

Elena Seminika

Actor Paul Sorvino and wife, Dee Dee Benkie

Gary Lacobaccio, Michael Madsen, Bruno Rosato

Andrea Iervolino, Lady Monika Bacardi, Prince Albert of Monaco

Ontario Soccer Centre Stadium Grand Opening

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Photography by Martin Bazyl Photography

Councillor Gino Rosati, Councillor Mario Ferri, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, OSA President Ron Smale, Toronto FC General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko, OSA Director-At-Large Joe Camacho

Vaughan’s field of dreams became a reality this summer when the new Toronto FC II (TFC II) team kicked off an exciting first season. With home games held at the Ontario Soccer Centre in Woodbridge, the Ontario Soccer Association (OSA) chose to celebrate the venue’s new outdoor stadium with a ribbon cutting and official grand opening on August 30.

“We are very excited to be part of the official grand opening of the stadium. Our partnership with the City of Vaughan and the OSA has brought professional soccer to a very passionate and dedicated market in our province,” said Toronto FC General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko. “As we continue toward our vision of becoming a leader in player development in North America, having a permanent home for TFC II is a giant leap forward.”

The stadium, whose adjacent centre is headquarters to the Ontario and Canadian Soccer Associations as well as the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame, can accommodate up to 2,000 fans and boasts a FIFA 2-star quality turf. According to the OSA, this season marks the end of the first phase of the stadium’s rebuild with further expansion to follow. To celebrate the occasion, the association held a grassroots festival, a Hall of Fame showcase, and offered soccer activities for all to enjoy. TFC II’s match against Charlotte Independence was attended by Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua. “Since becoming Mayor, I’ve had the dream of bringing a professional sports organization to Vaughan and now that dream is a reality for soccer fans in our city and beyond,” said Bevilacqua, who has played and been a lover of the sport his entire life. “It will also offer the continued development of homegrown players who dream of one day playing in the major soccer league.”

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SPORTS

Shooting Hoops, Changing Lives North Region Basketball Association offers Toronto youth new direction

By Chelsea Lecce

B

asketball wasn’t always a focus for Italian-Canadians Joe Gagliardi and Nick Biagini, but now as the directors and co-founders of North Region Basketball Association (NRBA), the sport has become their passion.

The NRBA is a not-for-profit league in North York that provides youth living in Toronto’s Jane and Finch priority neighbourhood the opportunity to be a part of a community that promotes healthy and active living through basketball.

“The ability to help others, to see their potential, is truly the greatest gift that this league has given us,” says Biagini.

What started out as a basketball school with 18 players in the Jane Street corridor has grown to be a well-known organization with around 450 registered players and 12 competitive teams, says Gagliardi.

Providing a place for children between the ages of four and 18 to play a game that teaches the basic movements and fundamentals of basketball while also encouraging a focus on school studies is what has made the NRBA successful.

Prior to games, registered players who are struggling academically also have access to a homework club headed by senior players and university students. A few players from the league have received athletic scholarships to play basketball at an elite level within Canada and the U.S. Others have received their coaching certificates in efforts to give back to the league by returning and assisting in coaching the teams. “I love the idea that we can provide jobs and many volunteer opportunities for young, energetic people,” says Gagliardi.

The duo founded the NRBA in the fall of 2000. Gagliardi, an elementary school teacher, and Biagini, a program coordinator for health and physical education with the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formed a coaching team over a mutual goal of inspiring positivity and fitness through the game of basketball.

In 2013, the league received an $80,000 grant from the Trillium Foundation. The endorsement was presented to Gagliardi and Biagini for NRBA’s efforts in promoting healthy active living in Ontario’s youth.

Gagliardi, whose parents are from Simbario, Calabria, and Biagini, who was born in Gioiosa Maria, Sicily, find themselves influencing characteristics of Italian culture amongst their players. “The strong sense of family and community within the Italian culture is the same atmosphere we aim to instill in our players, their families and our coaching staff,” says Biagini.

Gagliardi grew up playing hockey; never crossing paths with basketball until the day he was offered a position as the new basketball coach for the girl’s

team at St. Cecilia Catholic School. Biagini says he owes his love for the sport to his coach Peter Gain in Sicily, who taught him the work ethic and basketball fundamentals that have allowed him to relate with his players over the 25 years he has been coaching basketball. “The game requires a strong connection between the coach and his/her players,” Gagliardi says. “Good communication and respect is crucial for the goals of the team to be reached.”

The NRBA has provided students in one of Toronto’s priority neighbourhoods with a chance to be involved in a popular sport and to be a part of the tradition of hard work, family values, commitment and dedication Gagliardi and Biagini aim to promote. “Ultimately NRBA hopes that when our players leave us, they leave as much better people than when they came to us and that they leave with positive memories and virtues that they can use to help others,” says Gagliardi.

Gagliardi and Biagini say they look forward to the NRBA growing each year to include young people from different cultural backgrounds, along with kids who have never played the game, and those who play every day.

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ONE MORE DAY

One More Day with a loved one What I miss most about my mother The hardest thing about losing your mother is the feeling you have no one to turn to. Since my mother passed just over a year ago, I have never been so alone.

When I had a personal problem, I would go to her. I was not afraid to show her my vulnerability. I fully trusted that, though the problem might disappoint her, she would only want to help me and never fail to show that in her actions.

I still feel guilt for how my problems, especially the small ones, worried her sometimes.

My mother did not simply feel for me. She suffered with me. And now that she is gone, I do not feel that love anymore. The memories I cherish of her are not enough; they console me along my grief journey, but cannot rebuild my courage when I fall, like my mother’s actual presence.

My mother taught me to be strong but I am weaker, a faded version of my former self, without her. If people were mean to me (and so “mortificato” as Italians say) my mother would bring me back to life. She reminded me, more than anyone else, my worth and that it was not right for others to hurt me. My mother could always see what I could not.

Friends are wonderful. But you never know how much they might be judging you when you bring a problem to them or how much they might be holding back from commiserating with you, in fear that they may reveal the frailty of themselves.

They may listen to and then advise you. But, in my experience, they do not suffer with you like your mother – in your corner before you even get there.

They will not make it a priority that the pain in your life diminishes.

When your mother dies it is YOYO (You On Your Own). The kindness of others will not save you from despair like your mother’s love. That can never be replaced. You have it but once.

Time does not heal. It drives home the reality of my mother’s permanent absence. As days go by, more things happen to me that my mother cannot help me through. I have to learn somehow to pick myself up, to be more resilient, without my mother or this life will destroy me.

You made me a man, mom, but it hurts to be learning this now. It is too early and you deserved more. There was so much left I wanted to do to make you happy.

I was not finished being your son.

Dr. Paul Salvatori, PhD Toronto

Luigi and Esterina If I had one more day with a loved one, it would be with both my mom and dad. My mom Esterina was so happy when the family was together especially at Christmas time. She would make homemade pasta, and my father and brother would play music and sing. They immigrated to Canada not knowing the English language and raised 10 children. We had a variety store and my mom would make pizza everyday for the kids at the local school. We also had a fifty-acre farm and on weekends we had to go there and help pick the vegetables. My dad Luigi died at the young age of 59 and after his death, it was like my mom lost her best friend. My mother did the best she could without him until she passed away so suddenly in 1996. I was just so happy that she was able to see my son Giancarlo born. Her strength as a woman really made me the woman I am today and if I had one more day with both my parents laughing together, words cannot describe the feeling. I miss them both so very much. They will always be loved and remembered.

Tanya Massaro-Francioni Toronto 62

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