Toronto Aug/Sept 2016

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

LIVING ITALIAN STYLE

TANGO ALL’ ITALIANA ALL’ ITALIANA

ITALIAN NORTHERN

LAKES COVER: TANGO DANCERS IN BUENOS AIRES AUGUST/ SEPTEMBER 2016 • VOL.6 • NO.4

www.panoramitalia.com

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LANDO LIGHTING GALLERIES

210 Clarence Street, Brampton, Ontario

905.453.6403

www.landolightinggalleries.com Lando Full page.indd 1

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2016 Vol. 6 NO. 4 EDITORIAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Amarcord. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Pomodoro Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Words of Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 A Tribute to Italian Fallen Workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Gina Valle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Mario Calla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Future Leader: Marcus Gagliardi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

LIFE & PEOPLE

Tango all’ Italiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Papa Francesco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The Italian Origins of Boca Juniors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Comida all’ Italiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Flavours from Argentina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Recipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

ITALIAN ARGENTINA

23 40

FASHION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 LIVING ITALIAN STYLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 DESIGN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER & EDITOR Tony Zara

EDITORIAL DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Adam Zara MONTREAL MANAGING EDITOR & WEB MANAGER Gabriel Riel-Salvatore PROOFREADERS Rossana Bruzzone Aurélie Ptito

Como, Maggiore and Garda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Must-see sites in Como and Garda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Lakeside Drinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Unforgettable Ride in Lake Como. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 The Shrine of Italian Victories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

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The Art of Footwear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Maria Saracino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Giorgetto Giugiaro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

ARTS & CULTURE

GRADUATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 EVENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Italy’s Performance at Euro 2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Bianca Farella . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

SPORTS

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Vittoria Zorfini TRANSLATORS Claudia Buscemi Prestigiacomo Athena Mellor

ART DEPARTMENT ART DIRECTION & GRAPHIC DESIGN David Ferreira

PHOTOGRAPHY Giulio Muratori

ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Anthony Zara Gianpietro Nagliati-Bravi Fred Lamberti

VILLA CHARITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 ITALIAN GREAT LAKES

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Pal Di Iulio TORONTO MANAGING EDITOR Rita Simonetta

CONTRIBUTORS Rossana Bruzzone • Daniel Calabretta • Erica Cupido • Agata De Santis Danila Di Croce • Sal Difalco • Dante Di Iulio • Alessia Sara Domanico Beatrice Fantoni • Marco Giovanetti • Stephanie Grella • Marisa Iacobucci Carlotta Morteo • Romina Monaco • Claudia Buscemi Prestigiacomo Alain Raymond • Paul Salvatori • Joey Strizzi • Vittoria Zorfini 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

Publications Mail Agreement #40981004

Printed by: 514.337.7870 www.accentimpression.com Montreal, Québec, Canada

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EDITORIAL

Argentina mi amor!

If

you were a young Italian in post-World War giovani nell’Italia del dopoguerra, con la voglia di scappare da un paese distrutII Italy and wanted to escape a wrecked to dalla guerra, senza lavoro, e pieno di istituzioni che non funzionavano: dove country plagued by war, lack of work, and avreste voluto andare? Francia? Belgio? Germania? Argentina? Canada? E dove filled with non-functioning institutions, where vi saresete sentiti più benvenuti e a casa? Certo, Francia, Belgio e Germania erano would you have wanted to go? France? Belgium? più vicine alla patria, ma non tutti volevano avere da fare con le sfide poste dalla Germany? Argentina? Canada? And where would ricostruzione dell'Europa dopo la guerra. you have felt most welcome and at home?

E il Canada? “Non c'è niente”, come si dice abbiano detto con un minimo di Sure, France, Belgium and Germany were closscoraggiamento alcuni dei primi esploratori e pionieri dopo essere sbarcati. Non er to the patria but not everyone wanted to deal with era la parte più fredda de ‘La Merica’? Anche se è stato un italiano (di quando the post-war reconstruction challenges of Europe. l’Italia ancora era solo un'idea), Giovanni Caboto, ad essere sbarcato per primo How about “Ca nada”? “Nothing here,” as some sulle coste occidentali canadesi il 24 giugno del 1497, in realtà era in missione per early explorers and pioneers were reported to have conto dei sovrani inglesi, che avevano finanziato il suo viaggio alla ricerca di un uttered upon landing. And wasn’t it the coldest part passaggio a nord ovest verso la Cina. Che cosa mai avevano avuto gli italiani dal of “l’America”? Although Giovanni Caboto was the first “pre-Italy Italian” to have Canada se non forse il baccalà di Terranova per mezzo delle flotte da pesca porrecorded his landfall on the eastern shores of Canada on June 24, 1497, he claimed toghesi? E tra l’altro, tecnicamente Terranova non ha fatto parte del Canada fino al the territory for the English king who had sponsored his voyage to find the 1949. E i canadesi di origine italiana non furono internati tra il 1940 ed il northwest passage to China. What did Italians ever get from Canada, except, 1943? In più, i potenziali immigranti italiani erano classificati come ‘stranieri maybe, its baccalà from Terranova via the Portuguese fishing fleets? Besides, ostili’ dalle non troppo incoraggianti leggi sull'immigrazione nel Canada Newfoundland was technically not even part of Canada until 1949. And were not dell'immediato dopoguerra.

Canadians of Italian heritage interned from 1940 to 1943? Moreover, would-be L’Argentina d'altro canto sembrava così tanto più familiare e attraente: una Italian immigrants were listed as “enemy aliens” in the not-too-encouraging terra di praterie verdi e argento, piene di grano, gauchos e mandrie di bovini. Non Canadian immigration laws in early post-war Canada. era l’Argentina la Svizzera del sud America? E poi era più facile immigrare là. C’era Argentina, on the other hand, would have sounded so much more familabbondanza di mare e di acque dolci, praterie, foreste e montagne, per non parlare iar and attractive: a land of silver, green pampas filled with grain, gauchos and del cielo azzurro e del clima più mite. beef galore. Was Argentina not the Switzerland of South America? And besides, L’Argentina era nota agli italiani grazie alle imprese, reali o immaginarie, di it was easier to immigrate there. It had plenty of sea, water, plains, forests and uno dei tre eroi del Risorgimento italiano: Giuseppe Garibaldi, l’eroe dei due mountains, not to mention the azure skies and mondi, che assieme alla sua amata Anita ed alle warmer weather. camicie rosse andò a combattere in favore dei Argentina, on the other hand, would movimenti d'indipendenza del sud America.

Argentina was known to Italians through the exploits, real or imagined, of one of the trilogy of Gli argentini parlavano spagnolo, una lingua have sounded so much more familiar Italian Risorgimento heroes: Garibaldi, “l’eroe dei romanza, più facile da comprendere da parte di and attractive: a land of silver, green coloro che avevano abitato in zone d'Italia goverdue mondi,” who along with his beloved Anita and camicie rosse fought for South American indepampas filled with grain, gauchos nate dagli spagnoli Re di Napoli. Non era una pendence movements. scelta difficile per le migliaia che fuggivano la and beef galore.

Argentines spoke Spanish, a Romance lanpovertà del sud e di parte del nord Italia. E poi guage, more easily understood by those living in c'erano già italiani in Argentina, in particolare parts of Italy that had been ruled by the Spanish kings of Naples. It was not too difgenovesi e siciliani, fin dall'inizio del ventesimo secolo. ficult of a choice then for thousands fleeing the poverty of the south and pockets Dev’essere stato, quindi, un “Argentina, mi amor, arrivo”. of the north of Italy. Besides, there were already pockets of Genovesi and Sicilians Ma nonostante le ottime prospettive nel decennio 1945/55, l’economia living in Buenos Aires at the turn of the 20th century. It must have been, therefore, argentina è passata dal boom alle difficoltà. Una situazione che continua ancora “Argentina, mi amor, here I come.” oggi. Durante lo stesso periodo di tempo il Canada, un posto sulla mappa alla And yet, despite all of Argentina’s advantages between 1945 and 1955, it went ricerca di abitanti per poter entrare nella storia, è cresciuto fino a diventare parte from a booming economy to a struggling one, which is still the case today. During del G7 e del G8 delle maggiori potenze industriali. the same time period, Canada, a geography looking for people to make history, Non possiamo di sicuro incolpare gli italiani immigrati in Argentina per la went on to become part of the G7 and G8 group of the most industrialized nations deflazione economica di quel Paese, ma noi, canadesi di origine italiana, vogliamo in the world. e dobbiamo prenderci qualche merito nell’aver contribuito ad aiutare il Canada a We cannot blame the Italians who immigrated to Argentina for the country’s raggiungere il suo ottimo status nel mondo. Visitando città come Toronto e economic deflation but we, Canadians of Italian heritage, want and must take some Montreal si vedono e si sentono immediatamente il contributo ed il gusto italiano credit for our contribution in helping Canada achieve its favourable standing in the nella vita quotidiana. Ma gli italiani hanno fatto sentire la propria presenza e world. Visit urban centres such as Toronto or Montreal and one quickly sees and influenza nelle Provincie Marittime, nell’Ovest ed in British Columbia. E' qualcosa feels the Italian participation and accent in the lifestyle. Italians, however, have also di cui ci occuperemo nelle prossime edizioni. made their presence and influence felt in the Maritimes, the West, and in British Non intendiamo rispondere a tutte queste domande in questo numero Columbia. It’s something that we will explore in future editions. dedicato all'eredità italiana in Argentina, ma Panoram vuole condividere alcune We will not answer all of these questions in this edition focusing on Argentina’s storie di nostri ‘cugini’ argentini che vi aiuteranno a capire perchè taluni dei Italian heritage, but Panoram shares some stories from our Argentine cugini that will nostri zii e cugini che sono immigrati là negli anni '50 sono venuti in Canada negli help you appreciate why some of our uncles and cousins who went there in the 1950s anni ’60 e ’70, e altri ne stanno arrivando. later immigrated to Canada in the ’60s and ’70s, with more arriving.

Una volta ho chiesto a un amico con un nome meritoriamente romano, nato I once asked a friend with a meritorious Roman name who was born in in Argentina da genitori molisani e immigrato in Canada all'inizio degli anni ’60: Argentina to Molisano parents and moved to Canada in the early ’60s: “If Italy were “Se l'Italia giocasse contro il Canada, tu per chi tiferesti?” “A che gioco?” “Hockey facing Canada, for which country would you cheer?” He answered, “Which sport su ghiaccio”. “Canada”, rispose senza esitare. “E se avessero giocato a calcio?”, ho would these teams be playing?” “Ice hockey,” I replied. He then quickly answered, insistito. “Italia”.

“Canada.” I went on, “What if the game were soccer?” He responded, “Italy.”

Ecco un amico che di sicuro sa fare scelte vincenti, anche nel mercato immoHe certainly knew how to pick winners in real estate as well. I never did ask biliare. Ma non gli ho mai chiesto pareri su Italia vs Argentina nel rugby, l’hockey him about Italy versus Argentina in rugby, field hockey or food! I thank my parsu prato o il cibo! Ringrazio i miei genitori per avermi fatto nascere in Italia e poi ents often for having me in Italy and importing me to Canada. It’s summer, so let’s ‘importato’ in Canada. È estate: festeggiamo insieme le nostre radici ed i 150 anni celebrate together our roots and Canada’s 150th anniversary coming up in 2017. del Canada, nel 2017.

I

Salud y prosperidad and buon appetito Pal Di Iulio, Associate Editor, Panoram Italia 10

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Salud y prosperidad e buon appetito Pal Di Iulio, Associate Editor, Panoram Italia

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AMARCORD

AMARCORD

The Ultimate Celebration View from a rooftop of Italian Canadians celebrating Italy’s World Cup win in 1982. Hundreds of thousands of Italian fans filled St. Clair Avenue in Toronto in the largest post-war gathering of Italian-Canadians.

Photo courtesy of Roberto Portolese, Columbus Centre of Toronto

The Greatest Culinary Ritual in the Italian Culture

Photo by Antonio Cavaliere

It’s 6 a.m. Labour Day Weekend, 1985. My Canadian friends are at a cottage, soaking in what’s left of the summer sunshine, as I am awoken by the clanging of mason jars being retrieved from the cantina to be carried outdoors to the garage. My father is carefully organizing the space in preparation for the greatest culinary ritual in the Italian culture – the making of the annual tomato sauce – the famous ‘salsa.’ One long weekend per year sacrificed for a year’s worth of culinary delight. As an adult, my sentiment is that I wouldn’t exchange those memories for any lakefront view.

Luciana Longo, author of Si Mangia! Memories, Lessons and Recipes from Italian Immigrant Life, Toronto

Che Salsa Delizioza!

I used to make fun of the Woodbridge Italians making tomato sauce in their garage and washing the tomato equipment in their driveway. Now I’m one of them and I’m passing the tradition on to my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. Che salsa delizioza!

Flaviana DiNardo, Woodbridge

Tomato Time On a trip to Leamington, Ontario, in the 1960s we helped relatives bring in their crop of tomatoes. That was not tomato juice being passed around in the gallon jug.

Nick Travaglini, Toronto

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LIFE & PEOPLE

Pomodoro Seas n The tradition of tomato sauce making

By Diana Vecchiarelli abour Day long weekend means only one thing in the Vecchiarelli tomato sauce extractor that he purchased from a local Italian supermarket in household: the making of sugo. After months of tilling the soil of two Scarborough. I remember him bringing it to Nonna’s house five Labour Day large gardens, nurturing the tomato plants day and night as if they were long weekends ago and seeing the astonishment on my family’s faces. It was like our own children, and praying the rosary, the tomatoes are finally ready. Nonna my father had driven a Ferrari 250 GTO into the garage in exchange for Nonno’s Antonietta’s garage is off limits for the week before the “big day” as tables upon old pickup truck. tables of juicy Roma pomodori take their last opportunity to ripen to their Once the juice is extracted, it is poured into large vats and is seasoned with vibrant, red luster. salt, pepper, and several freshly picked vegetables from Nonna’s garden, which At 6 a.m. sharp, everyone arrives at Nonna’s house. There’s no way of include basil, parsley, and onions. While my sister, my cousins, and myself are avoiding tomato juice on our clothes today, so we make sure to not wear our in charge of stirring the boiling vats of sugo, Nonna is the head of quality Sunday best. Even with the shielding of our aprons in years’ past, we’ve control, ensuring that the ingredients perfectly complement the sauce. She takes accepted that the sauce will always find a way to strike, and that the younger pride in her sauce and treats it like gold. She is most proud that her children and ones will experience it the worst from head to toe. Nonetheless, we are prepared grandchildren continue to take part in the century-long family tradition that for the elements. After eating soppressata, proshe and her husband brought over from their sciutto, and pecorino panini for breakfast (which hometown of Campobasso, Molise. Nonna never Nonna believes will give us “la forza” for the day), forgets to give us each a spoonful of sauce to taste, we top the morning off with shots of espresso and being equally interested in her grandchildren’s At 6 a.m. sharp, everyone we’re ready to go. reviews of the sugo. arrives at Nonna’s house.

The stations are meticulously set up and An hour passes and the sugo has reduced we’re all assigned a dutiful role. Like every year, significantly.

Now that it has thickened, it’s ready There’s no way of avoiding everyone helps out. Fourteen people means fourto be poured into the prized mason jars that are tomato juice on our clothes teen jobs – some taking on more than one. From each topped with a stem of fresh basil. My father washing, boiling, and straining the tomatoes to and uncles take on the responsibility of filling the today, so we make sure to putting them through the machine, there’s a lot to jars and sealing them, with the help of my fivebe done. year-old cousin who eagerly passes them the lids not wear our Sunday best.

The assembly line starts in the garage and and rings. A jar is reserved for tonight’s dinner: ends in the backyard. My mother and aunts boil homemade spaghettini with sugo. How Nonna the tomatoes in large vats over gas burners to managed to make homemade pasta at 4 a.m. this ensure that they slide like butter through the machine. After removing the morning is beyond our belief. It must have been the soppressata panino she ate water, the tomatoes are strained through the electric machine that separates the at dawn. seeds and the juice into their own respectable Festa Juice containers. These After indulging in a delicious dinner complemented with homemade wine, durable 21 litre bins are used twice a year: once for the tomato sauce season in we agree that 12 hours of hard work pays off. Another successful tomato sauce September and the other for wine-making season in October. season is now complete. Roughly 400 jars were made this year. Nonna divides The technology used to extract the juice and separate the seeds has come them, giving each family 100 jars and keeping the remainder for herself and her a long way since my father could remember. As a young boy, he used my late regular Sunday family lunches. The adults help to carry down Nonna’s jars to Nonno Libero’s makeshift hand-cranked machine (which consisted of a strainthe cantina in her basement, carefully placing each on the shelves, as if they er and rotating press handle) to extract the tomato juice. Although it was a long, were placing their most prized trophies on a mantle for all to see. tedious, but acceptable method, Nonno wished to increase his family’s efficienI hope to continue my Nonni’s tradition of tomato sauce making and to cy. He invented his own electronic machine by attaching the hand-cranked one pass it on to future generations because it is an integral part of my heritage. It to a used refrigerator generator, cutting the juicing process time in half. represents what it means to be Italian. The product that comes out of this The machine strained thousands of tomatoes for over 30 sauce seasons day’s hard work is the foundation of our family meals, birthday parties, and before the engine gave out. This was when my father decided to invest in the celebrations. Pomodori Day is my favourite holiday because it symbolizes the O.M.R.A New Line #2 2800 Electric Tomato Machine: a state-of-the-art gift of family and the gift of food, making it the most wonderful time of the year.

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Words of Wisdom

WORDS OF WISDOM

Testimonials and photography by Paul Salvatori

Name: Anthony Totera Occupation: Butcher City: Toronto Appreciation for the “old school” butcher is really coming back. I live downtown and there you have all these trendy meat shops, where a lot of young people want their steak cut to specifications you don’t find at chain grocery stores. And usually they don’t want more meat than lasts a day. They’re unlike our suburban clientele, mainly older Italians, who buy for a month. Once they get that pension cheque, they’ll spend $300, maybe $400. They like having the freezer full, the cantina full, everything full! They also appreciate that we’re Italian and serve them in the same language. As for whether being a butcher prepares you for the bigger challenges of life, you learn to communicate with people well, and, in my case, how to run my family’s business.

Name: Ron Oliverio Occupation: Retired School Custodian City: Vaughan (Woodbridge) Things grow, mature properly, if you know the tricks. I mean, with my canaries, you have to know they need the protein they would get from insects if they are going to stay healthy, maintain their colour, sing nice. I make sure to give them egg-meal because they’re always indoors. With my tomato plants, I know I can protect them from bugs if I set up marigolds nearby so they feed on them instead. And the soil! Do you know top soil is not enough? If you want good things to grow from it you have to make sure you mix it well with other things like sand for drainage and manure for fertilizer. There’s a bit of ingenuity to all this. The other day, my friend told me his prosciutto wasn’t turning out right. “Of course,” I said.

“You’re not wetting the floor so the meat can remain humid.” With passion comes patience: the willingness to take time to learn what works, what doesn’t. If you don’t have that, your results are mediocre.

Name: Maria Castelluci Occupation: Community Radio Host & Organizer City: Toronto (North York) In my late 20s, my sister and I decided we were going to look into buying a house together. But we couldn’t really find a place that would allow us to be our own persons.

At some point my sister said, “Maybe we should just find our own place.” I agreed. When our parents heard we were going to rent our own apartments, they weren’t very happy.

They worried about the stigma: what people were going to say about their daughters. It didn’t help that at the time my cousin – in front of my dad and at a funeral – said to me, “Now you’re going to have all the guys over!” It was a challenge trying to convince my parents they had actually prepared us to live on our own, having raised us to be independent and responsible. I thought instead of feeling hurt, they should feel proud we are taking the next step forward. It was something that just wasn’t done. Today, my parents live on one side of a semi-detached house, which is the home I grew up in. And my sister and I live on the other side, which used to be my grandparents’ home. My sister returned when my grandmother was ill and I joined her later.

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LIFE & PEOPLE

Photography by Tony Pavia

A Tribute to Italian Fallen Workers

From far left: Joe Macinelli of LiUNA Local 506 and Carmen Principato, manager of Local 506

By Danila Di Croce

T

he large wave of Italian immigrants who came to Canada following the Second World War paved the way for a brighter future for all Italians through their sacrifices and hard work. And in some cases, in the course of attempting to make a living for themselves and their families, they also lost their lives. This is what fuelled Marino Toppan to create the Italian Fallen Workers Memorial, a project unveiled April 28 on the grounds of Villa Charities’ Lawrence-Dufferin campus.

Toppan, lead organizer of the memorial, emigrated from Italy in 1955 and worked in construction until the 1960s, when he was approached by Bruno Zanini, then union leader, to join the team as a union organizer. It was through this job that Toppan was exposed to the many Italian fatalities occurring in the workplace. “I was going to a funeral a week,” explains Toppan. “The most common deaths were from those working on the trenches where they put the pipes for the sewers and the water mains. Many were buried alive. Immigrants were given jobs that they weren’t trained for, so they didn’t know how to properly use the material. They came here to work, and they were doing the worst jobs that were thrown at them.” As a result of the numerous deaths, a memorial was designed by Giovanni Fanton, for Italian fallen workers in Vaughan. Although beautiful, the memorial, for which Toppan was a committee member, lacked an essential element: the names of the fallen.

Toppan was motivated to create a new memorial that included names.

“There would be a funeral, people would cry, and then two days later they would forget. That’s why I decided we needed to have a memorial with the names of each individual, so that they would each be remembered.”

It took six long years of research through various methods – advertisements in the media, research of newspaper clippings, and contacting families directly – to obtain the names. While Toppan had done most of the grunt work himself, the research of Paola Breda was integral. Breda, whose family was one of the original donors for the project, was deeply committed from the very beginning. With her technical savviness, many more names were discovered.

The original estimation of 200-300 names was greatly surpassed.

The memorial contains just over 1,000 names of fallen workers, two of which are women. The information is distributed among 11 columns, each representing a decade since the 1900s. The inclusion of additional names is planned for a later date.

The project’s construction was headed by Joe Cordiano, owner of Dominus Construction Group. Cordiano was first approached by Toppan to help raise

funds. However, Cordiano decided to enlist his company to help build the project at no cost. “My father passed away in 1959, due to a construction accident, when I was two years old,” Cordiano explains. “He was only 28 years old.

Helping with the project allowed me to feel connected to my father in some way.

I did it in honour of him and all the others who lost their lives.”

Others involved in the project included Ralph Giannone of Giannone Petricone Associates, the architectural firm who also participated on a pro-bono basis; Villa Charities, who donated land and helped sponsor the project in various ways; and the variety of donors, all of which can be found on the memorial website. Further costs are being covered by community donations. “It’s the largest memorial to fallen workers in Canada, with names and documented evidence,” Breda proudly says. “There are plans to digitize all of the documentation, with the help of COSTI Immigrant Services, and once that’s completed, it’s going to be documented and archived by the Italian studies chair at the University of Toronto, Professore Bancheri. We will also be releasing a commemorative book, entitled, Ontario: Canada’s Land of Sorrow and Triumph, which can be pre-ordered on our website.”

With over 1,000 individuals present at the project’s unveiling, including members of the municipal, provincial and federal governments, it’s clear that Italian fallen workers are now getting their much-deserved recognition and honour. It’s only fitting, according to Toppan, who points out that ItalianCanadians “gave the highest contribution of blood and sweat to build this province than any other ethnic community.”

Cordiano adds, “None of us – my generation, the next, or even future generations – would be successful if it weren’t for them. In my father’s case and the others, they made the ultimate sacrifice in search of a better life for us. We shouldn’t forget them.”

To donate online, please visit www.villacharities.com. Donations can also be dropped off at the Columbus Centre reception, to the attention of “Villa Charities - Memorial.”

To learn more about the memorial, visit www.italianfallenworkersmemorial.com or email info@italianfallenworkersmemorial.com. Videos on this yet-untold story of Canadian history can be viewed on YouTube via the memorial website, and on Facebook by searching Italian Fallen Workers Memorial.

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LIFE & PEOPLE

Gina A leader in cultural diversity

Valle

By Stephanie Grella

T

hrough harnessing children’s understanding of world cultures and promulgating gender equality across the country, Gina Valle has become a leader in celebrating Canada’s multicultural mosaic. With three published books, a world-travelling photography exhibit and her own organization, Diversity Matters, Valle couples her affinity for teaching with determined advocacy, examining the social and cultural diversities that bind us together. “For quite some time, I felt that I was less than because I was a child of immigrants with a funny name and accent,” she says. “But I slowly understood the strengths we bring to this country with two, three languages, and how we contribute to this wonderful country of ours.”

Although the 53-year-old was born and raised in Toronto, she has lived in several cities across the country, from Vancouver and Ottawa to Quebec City and Montreal.

Valle, whose family immigrated to Canada from Cosenza, Calabria, credits her grandmother for being a significant influence on her work and academic life. “My parents were always working, but my nonna was always there,” she points out. “It’s important that we actually look in our immediate environment to see who’s actually a role model for us.”

Valle completed a Master’s in Education in Montreal and a PhD in Teacher Education and Multicultural Studies at the University of Toronto, but wanted to expand her theoretical studies into more practical areas. In 1999, she published her first book, Our Grandmothers Ourselves, which features stories from Canadian women raised in immigrant homes. “The main reason I chose the topic of role model is because it’s important in this age of connecting,” she notes.

The book’s popularity drove Valle to expand the stories into a photography exhibit entitled Legacies, which has been travelling around the world since 2004.

“I look at strong women across many different cultures,” she says. “I thought, if people can’t grasp the stories, maybe the power of the photos will give them access to the same kinds of feelings and awareness of emotion.”

Each of the 24 Canadian women featured in the exhibit was raised in an immigrant home, all representing a different country, including Afghanistan, China, Greece, Haiti, India, Iran, Russia, Sri Lanka, Italy, and more. “In my heart, I felt that in order for us to come to a better understanding of our country, we need to connect with human beings across many spectrums.”

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In the past decade, Legacies has been showcased around the globe, from Asia and the Middle East to European countries like Sweden and Portugal. For Valle, one of the pivotal spots the exhibit visited was right here in Canada: Pier 21 in Halifax, the port where her family arrived from Italy. “It would be great to have it go to Italy next,” she says.

Having been raised in an Italian-Canadian home, Valle says she has often recognized the undervalued contributions of women in the communities in which she lived. She would see the lack of women in leadership roles. “Even in progressive Canada, women still have to work twice as hard to receive half of the recognition. When I was a little girl, my brother and cousins would go outside to play soccer, and I would stay behind to dust. My parents were exemplary role models, but at that time, that’s what they knew. I pushed out of that.”

In addition to her successful book and world-renowned exhibit, Valle has gone on to write two more books: Teachers at Their Best and The Best of All Worlds. As an academic with a specialization in education, Valle focuses on teaching the future generations about cultural diversity and gender equality. She believes language is also at the crux of sustaining a culture. “Culture without the language is diluted more quickly, that’s the approach I’ve taken as a volunteer,” says Valle, whose two sons speak English, French and Italian. “I focus on women, diversity and moving forward, but also on children. We have to be investing in the generations coming after us.”

In the near future, Valle is intent on continuing to focus on getting her most recent book, The Best of All Worlds, in as many schools as possible, aiming to promote cultural diversity among children. She also looks forward to where Legacies will visit next. “When we look at poverty, racism, and other issues, one of the first things we need to keep in mind is being honest,” Valle says. “Looking each other straight in the eye is the start of decent dialogue.”

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LIFE & PEOPLE

Mario Calla

Mario Calla with Governor General David Johnston and his wife Sharon Johnston at a COSTI event celebrating Calla’s work with Syrian refugees

COSTI’s Mario Calla Helping newcomers contribute to a better Canada for 29 years

By Erica Cupido

N

ot all of us can say that our day jobs and personal beliefs align. For COSTI’s Mario Calla, that’s been true for nearly three decades. Today, Calla is the executive director of the largest immigrant service organization in the country. COSTI is made up of 17 locations, 350 employees who speak 63 different languages and serve close to 40,000 immigrants annually in the Toronto region. “I always had a strong interest in social justice,” says Calla, 65, who graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master’s degree in social work.

When the position with COSTI opened up, he recalls thinking, “This is an area where I can make a contribution.”

COSTI was founded in 1952 as the Italian Immigrant Aid Society and took on its current name – which reflects its Italian roots, Centro Organizzativo Scuole Tecniche Italiane – 10 years later. The organization’s initial aims were to assist Italians who were new to Canada by helping them learn English and find jobs and housing. Over time, Italian immigration dwindled and COSTI opened up its services to all new Canadian citizens. Today, it offers newcomers to Canada English language classes, employment assistance, housing programs, and counselling services for the elderly. It also runs a mental health counselling centre for Italian families, as well as a centre for Italian seniors. “My own view is broadly based in terms of identifying core values of what it means to be Canadian,” he says. “My work has been focused on being inclusive, and providing opportunities for everyone to integrate and become productive citizens.”

Calla’s connection to his work goes beyond his years of experience. The Toronto resident knows the obstacles that newcomers to Canada face firsthand. His father arrived on Canadian soil from Mammola, Reggio Calabria, in 1952. “It was a brave move by my father, and by many Italian immigrants who sacrificed so much,” he says. By 1958, an eight-year-old Calla made the same trip with his mother and five siblings. Growing up in Toronto, he faced many of the same issues that the people he helps on a daily basis are dealing with. Having gone through the immigration experience, he says he’s sensitive to what newcomers to Canada go through, especially when they’re under 18. “When I see immigrant youth are not connecting and integrating well, I immediately understand why that’s so,” he says. “As a youth, I didn’t feel part of this society, and at the same time I wasn’t entirely part of Italian society. That, to me, informs how we approach our youth programs.” As part of COSTI’s senior management

team, Calla’s goal is to help young people feel supported and encouraged to complete their studies.

This year, Calla and his team played an integral role in helping close to 2,000 Syrian refugees settle in Canada over the course of three months. He says the influx of refugees required special planning and recruitment to see to it that all of these people could be initially accommodated in five hotels. Despite having helped government-assisted refugees for more than 20 years, this particular initiative called for an alternative strategy that involved more staff, volunteers and resources. COSTI’s services were offered right away, with dental exams, immunizations, ESL classes and children’s programs set up in the hotels.

“We offered a broad range of services that ordinarily would not be provided in a temporary facility,” says Calla, “so that not only would they keep busy, but they could start the integration process, learning English and understanding our culture right from the beginning.”

Throughout his years of community service, Calla has been honoured with the Ontario Newcomer Champion Award, the Calabria-America Prize and the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. “I’m humbled by it, but I don’t feel that it’s for me,” he says. “We’re an organization that has been delivering these services and providing leadership in the field of immigrant settlement. I’m grateful for [these awards] but I feel that they are more reflective of what my staff has been doing to help newcomers settle.” For Calla, the most rewarding part of his role at COSTI is seeing people feel at home in Canada. “To see the people feel at peace and know that there are opportunities for themselves and their children is really satisfying,” he says. “It’s about the gratitude and happiness that they feel once they realize that their lives have really changed for the better.”

Calla cites one of many recent standout moments on the job was seeing 150 Syrian children getting their faces painted during a COSTI activity.

“Children can pick up on their parents’ anxiety,” he says. “They had been through such a difficult time, living in uncertainty. Yet, here they were, enjoying happy moments with new people who made them feel welcome and safe.”

As Calla continues to oversee the implementation of new programs and resources for immigrants, he says the key is to remain focused on the impact COSTI is making every day. “The bottom line is we’re here to serve,” he says, “and build a stronger country in the process.”

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FUTURE LEADER

Marcus

Gagliardi A clear plan for the future

By Stephanie Grella

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Photography by Giulio Muratori

or Marcus Gagliardi, success and hard work go hand-in-hand.

Attempting to fuse his travel experiences with urban planning, the 28year-old hopes to take much of what he has seen in European cities and apply it to the evolving landscape of GTA. As an undergraduate student at York University, Gagliardi majored in Urban Studies and Geography, two subjects that, for him, coincided nicely with what he aspired to do. “I chose to study both because they’re highly related to each other,” Gagliardi says. “I enjoy being hands-on. With planning and land development, you can see a project evolve from the beginning stages to the final product.”

Gagliardi says part of his interest in geography stemmed from his paternal grandfather, an avid National Geographic reader who constantly preached the importance of school to Gagliardi. “Every meal was in some way a geography or history lesson,” Gagliardi laughs. “He was always talking about some event happening in another country. He stressed the importance of an education, and wanted me to go as far as I could in school.”

All four of Gagliardi’s grandparents immigrated to Canada from Italy in the 1950s. Working as a bricklayer as well as an assembly line worker in Oakville’s Ford plant, Gagliardi’s grandfather greatly influenced his grandson’s work ethic in and out of the classroom. “Coming from Italy as immigrants wasn’t easy for them, and they instilled the old-school work ethic of working as hard as you can,” Gagliardi says. “I think I’ve taken that work ethic and applied it to everything I do.”

After graduating from York, Gagliardi pursued a Master’s of Science in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Amsterdam, hoping to gain a global perspective of city development and transportation.

While in Amsterdam, Gagliardi visited several European cities, including Rome, Berlin, Barcelona, London, and Budapest, becoming well-versed in how these European cities were evolving, but also how they were implementing active transportation and creating spaces that positively affected urban citizens.

“The education that I got in class was great, but the education I got from travelling and exploring these cities was even better,” Gagliardi says. “There were a lot of things I learned from travelling and interacting with people that will be very valuable in my career going forward.”

Upon completing his studies in Amsterdam, Gagliardi landed a job at MHBC, an urban planning and design firm in Woodbridge. For the past two years, he has been involved in various aspects of planning, from site-specific development projects to larger community plans in and around Toronto.

“It’s nice to have a hand in an evolving city, seeing the way it’s built and how it’s changing,” says Gagliardi, who grew up in Toronto.

Gagliardi attributes some of his passion for the city to his grandmother, who would take him for walks along Little Italy’s College Street when he was young. “Getting to experience a busy part of Toronto at a young age made me

comfortable with the urban environments, and gave me the opportunity to explore the city first-hand,” Gagliardi says. “I was always fascinated by the structures, transit and the different stories unfolding.”

Over the years, Gagliardi has been able to juggle work with one of his first loves: soccer. He has been coaching young soccer players in the GTA’s International FC Academy for the past four years, striving to improve children’s soccer skills and sportsmanship. “It’s been a learning experience to see how these coaches approach the game and development,” Gagliardi says. “I love coaching and giving back through the game, and I like to think that I have a small impact in their lives on and off the field.”

In addition to coaching, Gagliardi is an active York alumnus, offering his time to speak to students in fourth year classes about his academic and professional careers. He hopes to also set up a small scholarship for prospective students looking to enrol in the university’s Urban Studies program. “I see myself progressing in planning and developing into senior roles. Each day, I learn something new and continue to grow,” Gagliardi says.

In addition to planning, Gagliardi believes he will continue to be involved in coaching soccer at the youth level. “It’s a way to be around the game I love and have some impact on how they develop not only as athletes, but also as individuals.”

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ITALIAN ARGENTINA

Photography by Daniele Tomelleri

Street scene in downtown Buenos Aires

Tango all’Italiana

By Carlotta Morteo

Our cousins from Argentina saliò la tanada!” exclaimed Malco. This expression known only to Argentines is the same as saying “there’s the Italian in you coming out.” The term “tanada” refers to that feeling of turmoil, impatience, nervousness or exasperation that builds up deep inside before exploding, just like your inner Italian.

Isabel and Malco took me on a trek in their muddy jeep to the middle of a Bolivian desert. We were going to share in the daily precarity of rice-based dinners and starry skies, a well-known diet for those venturing across Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat.

For three whole days we travelled across this strikingly desolate landscape, between lagoons of pink flamingos, sputtering geysers, and snow-capped Andean summits. One could imagine being back at the time of the Spanish Conquest.

Like many other Argentines, this young couple chose to spend their summer holidays (between December and February) following an itinerary made famous by Che Guevara, while discovering for themselves a continent that many of their brethren had often disparaged.

Argentines have always looked to the Old Continent, importing from it pretty much everything, mixing it in turn with their own culture: a political system, their architecture, their cuisine, and of course, much of their population. According to Mexican writer Octavio Paz, who won the Nobel Prize for literature: “Argentines are Italians who speak Spanish and think they’re French.”

Isabel and Malco, like 70% of their fellow citizens – nearly 20 million people – have Italian ancestors. This makes Argentina the country with the second largest Italian population after Italy. Isabel has a Croatian grandfather and Genovese grandmother, while Malco is a mix of Italian and Guarani Indian.

In the collective imagination of Europeans, Argentina was a land of opportunity. This reputation enabled the Argentine government to promote mass immigration to populate the country’s agricultural plains, called Pampas.

While the phrase “as rich as an Argentine” inspired many dreams, real life was for the most part much more raw. As a merchant’s daughter, Isabel’s grandmother did not see herself becoming a farmer, especially not in some distant pampa ruled by ‘gauchos,’ said to be even more macho than her compatriots.

“Te

I nostri cugini dell’Argentina saliò la tanada!” disse Malco. L’espressione – comprensibile solo in Argentina – equivale più o meno a dire “tira fuori l’italiano che è in te”. La “tanada” è una sorta di turbamento interiore che corrisponde all’impazienza, al nervosismo o all’esasperazione che sale e risale dal fondo delle proprie origini, vale a dire dall’italiano che è in te.

Ho incontrato Isabel e Malco a bordo di una jeep fangosa nel bel mezzo del deserto boliviano. Stavamo per condividere un quotidiano precario, a base di riso e cielo stellato, tipico di chi si avventura in giro nel più grande deserto di sale del mondo, il Salar di Uyuni.

Tre giorni a attraversare kilometri disabitati, tra i laghi rosa di fenicotteri, geyser e Ande innevate. Per un momento potremmo pensare di essere andati indietro nel tempo, all’epoca della conquista spagnola.

Questa giovane coppia di argentini – come molti altri – trascorre le vacanze estive (tra dicembre e febbraio) sulle tracce di Che Guevara, alla scoperta di un continente da tempo denigrato.

Gli argentini si sono sempre rivolti al vecchio continente, da dove hanno importato quasi tutto adattandolo a modo loro: un modello politico, una architettura, una cucina, un popolo. Il messicano premio nobel per la Letteratura, Octavio Paz, li qualifica così: “Gli argentini sono degli italiani che parlano spagnolo e che si credono francesi.”

Isabel e Malco, come il 70% dei loro concittadini – quasi 20 milioni di persone – hanno ascendenti italiani (sono discendenti italiani o hanno bisnonni italiani). Questo rende l’Argentina il paese più italiano del mondo dopo l’Italia. Malco è un mix tra italiano e indiano guaranì. Isabel ha un nonno croato e la nonna genovese.

L’Argentina è stata, nell’immaginario collettivo dell’Europa, una terra di opportunità. Il governo argentino puntava sull’immigrazione di massa per popolare le terre deserte della Pampa.

L’espressione “ricco come un argentino” era il sogno, ma la realtà era molto più cruda. Figlia di commerciante, la nonna di Isabel non si immaginava di diventare contadina, isolata nella pampa infinita infestata da “gauchos” che, si diceva, fossero più “macho” dei suoi compatrioti.

“Te

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ITALIAN ARGENTINA She remained in the capital, Buenos Aires, a sprawling city which accounts for half of the nation’s population, or 13 million people. Squeezed with 30 Genovesi into a “conventillo” – a two storey building built around a small central courtyard and partitioned in insalubrious 5-square-meter rooms – her “nonna” quickly married a Croatian “nonno” who at the time earned a decent wage working in the textile industry.

In Buenos Aires, Little Italy is called La Boca. While the neighbourhood has always remained relatively poor and disreputable, it is also a hit with tourists. Many make their pilgrimage to “La Bombonera,” where soccer star Maradona once played, and admire the conventillos, whose coloured facades are reminiscent of Ligurian cities.

La Boca sits at the heart of Argentine identity; it was here that intermingled Europe’s many migrant cultures. Both the tango and the “lunfardo” (Argentine slang) were born here in the 19th century. This is also where Italian influences informed the nation’s culinary habits, particularly in the early 20th century.

According to Isabel, Argentines present an example of successful immigration.

“Our origins are European, our culture is a mixture of influences, and yet we are first and foremost Argentines, and proudly so.”

Surprisingly, Argentina feels a lot like Italy. FIATs are ubiquitous, especially those older models that are mostly coveted by automobile collectors elsewhere in the world. Argentines also speak a sing-song style of Spanish with tonal syllables, unlike Castilian Spanish, which is more cryptic and prone to guttural j-sounds.

For most Argentine women, fashion is a way of life. They are sensual and elegant, and endowed with the strength of character required to face the subtle machismo that permeates the national culture.

Argentines enjoy the finer things: eating is, for instance, a sacred ritual of local social life. Breakfast often includes an espresso with a tiny apricot jamfilled croissant. And, if a “media luna” isn’t your thing, there’s always a cupcake to be had.

For lunch, a typical meal consists of “Milanesa” (meat) with “fideos” (local spaghettis) or a thick slice of pizza, on which “muzzarella” is prominently featured. Easter is an occasion for stuffed pasta, to be found in any supermarket or fresh pasta stores; ravioli, sorrentinos, tortellini are all two for one in this land of many discounts.

The financial crisis still endures in the collective mind of Argentina, and no one knows what tomorrow will bring. Prices go up and down from one day to another, which is why every good Argentine has a dozen points cards, which they use to stock up on essentials when stores have sales.

At Cuartito’s pizza restaurant, an institution founded in 1934, one can taste the city’s best “fugazzeta” (a typical Argentine pizza covered with onions).

“

Rimase dunque a Buenos Aires, la capitale che da sola rappresenta la metà della popolazione nazionale, circa 13 milioni di abitanti. Confinata con una trentina di genovesi in un “conventillo” – questi palazzi a due piani costruiti intorno ad un piccolo cortile centrale e divisi in camere insalubri da 5 metri quadri, la “nonna” si sposò presto con il “nonno” croato che guadagnava un salario rispettoso nell’industria tessile.

La Piccola Italia di Buenos Aires si chiama La Boca. Anche se il quartiere è rimasto povero e malfamato, è anche diventato un santuario per turisti. Tanti vengono qui per visitare lo stadio di Maradona, la “Bombonera”, e per ammirare i “conventillos” e le loro facciate colorate tipiche delle città liguri.

La Boca è il cuore dell’identità argentina: lì, al crocevia di culture migranti d’Europa, sono nati il tango e il “lunfardo” (il gergo argentino) nel XIX secolo, ed è anche da qui che l’influenza italiana ha contaminato le abitudini culinarie degli argentini nella prima metà del XX secolo.

Ma Isabel mi assicura, e non è l’unica: “Noi siamo, noi argentini, il risultato di una immigrazione riuscita. Le nostre origini sono in Europa, la nostra cultura è segnata da varie influenze, ma prima di tutto noi siamo argentini e siamo fieri di esserlo.”

La cosa più sorprendente è che l’Argentina è come l’Italia, o quasi. Le Fiat sono ovunque nelle strade, in particolare i vecchi modelli che vedi solo dai collezionisti. Gli argentini parlano uno spagnolo cantato, tonico, con le sillabe marcate, a differenza del castigliano, più sibillino e con la “j” gutturale.

Per la maggior parte delle argentine, la moda è uno stile di vita: sensuale ed elegante, mostrano un carattere forte per rispondere a un certo machismo, comunque ben radicato nella cultura.

L’argentino è un buongustaio : mangiare è un modo locale per socializzare. Al mattino, servono l’espresso con un piccolo cornetto ripieno di marmellata all’albicocca. E se non prendete la “media-luna” vi danno comunque una piccola torta.

Per pranzo, il menu tradizionale prevede una “milanesa” con dei “fideos” (gli spaghetti locali) o un pezzo di pizza molto spessa con sopra “muzzarella” in abbondanza. A Pasqua è un’orgia di pasta ripiena nei supermercati e nei negozi di pasta all’uovo: ravioli, “sorrentinos” o tortellini...due scatole al prezzo di una nel paese dei discount.

La crisi finanziaria è rimasta impressa nella mente, e non si sa mai cosa potrà accadere domani. I prezzi salgono e scendono dal giorno alla notte, e tutti i buoni argentini hanno una decina di carte per gli sconti e approfittano di tutte le offerte per fare provvista.

A Cuartito, istituzione della pizza a Buenos Aires dal 1934, si può gustare la migliore “fugazzeta” della città (una pizza tipicamente argentina

Gli argentini si sono sempre rivolti al vecchio continente, da dove hanno importato quasi tutto adattandolo a modo loro: un modello politico, una architettura, una cucina, un popolo.

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ITALIAN ARGENTINA

Behind the counter, the pizzaioli shout orders and mock each other affectionately. On the walls behind them are posters of Argentina’s most famous soccer and boxing idols.

On weekends, families gather to feast on huge slabs of beef cooked on the “parrilla” (flames) while enjoying a classic derby between River and Boca Junior, the capital’s two rival soccer teams.

With dinner finally over, around 11 p.m., it’s time for a stroll, gelato in hand, during which the men continue to debate the performance of the Argentine soccer stars who play abroad: Messi, Camoranesi, Zanetti, Milito, Cambiasso, Demichelis, Pastore, Lavezzi... many of whom have Italian origins.

Most play in Europe, particularly in Italy, where they are eligible for citizenship because of their Italian ancestry.

Yet, athletes are not the only Argentines who have been tempted by Europe and Italy. After the 2001 financial crisis, many Argentines attempted immigration in the opposite direction, even learning Italian – which most had never spoken – before trying to make lives for themselves in an Italy far removed from what their ancestors might have known. Most eventually returned to Argentina.

In many ways, life in Argentina resembles life in Italy 50 years ago: the nuclear family is falling apart, the national birth rate is collapsing, religion is less and less a part of daily life, its dictatorial past is still relevant, its economy is bankrupt, unemployment is surging, its political class is corrupt, inequality between rich and poor is endemic, and unskilled immigrants abound (today, it is Bolivians who are the new inhabitants of the suburban slums, or “villas miserias”).

Ultimately, the big difference between the Old and the New World is perhaps the attitude of most young people, like Malco and Isabel. Despite expressing with sober clarity the plight of their country, they are imbued with idealism and a disarming sense of combativeness. Instead of fatalism, they prefer humour and insist on making their part of Latin America a true promised land.

“

“

Argentines have always looked to the Old Continent, importing from it pretty much everything, mixing it in turn with their own culture: a political system, their architecture, their cuisine, and of course, much of their population. ricoperta di cipolle). Al banco, i pizzaioli mentre gridano gli ordini si prendono in giro affettuosamente. Sulle pareti sono appesi gli idoli argentini del calcio e della boxe.

Inoltre, nel fine settimana le famiglie si riuniscono per mangiare le “parrilla”, enormi pezzi di carne di manzo cotta sulla brace e per guardare una partita di River o Boca Junior, le due squadre rivali della capitale.

Quando la cena finalmente finisce, verso le 11 di sera, si passeggia con gelato in mano e gli uomini continuano a commentare le performance dei giocatori argentini che giocano all’estero: Camoranesi, Messi, Zanetti, Milito, Cambiasso, Demichelis, Pastore, Lavezzi...Molti giocatori sono di origine italiana. Loro giocano in Europa, soprattutto in Italia, dove hanno potuto ottenere la cittadinanza grazie alle loro radici italiane.

Inoltre gli atleti non sono stati gli unici a essere tentati dall’Europa. Dopo la crisi finanziaria del 2001, molti argentini hanno ripreso la strada dell’immigrazione in senso opposto, cercando di ricostruire le loro vite in Italia, anche se significava dover imparare la lingua italiana – mai praticata da molti di loro – ed affrontare un’Italia molto diversa da quella conosciuta dai loro avi. La maggior parte sono tornati in Argentina.

L’Argentina vive a suo modo ciò che l’Italia ha vissuto cinquant’anni fa: un modello famigliare in decadimento, un basso tasso di natalità, sempre meno credenti, un vicino passato dittatoriale, un’economia in bancarotta, un aumento della disoccupazione, una classe politica corrotta, una forte disuguaglianza tra ricchi e poveri, una forte immigrazione non qualificata (i boliviani in Argentina sono i nuovi abitanti delle «villas miserias», baraccopoli delle periferie urbane).

Ma la grande differenza tra il Vecchio e il Nuovo mondo è forse l’atteggiamento dei giovani. Come Malco e Isabel, loro accettano con lucidità lo stato critico del loro paese, ma sono pervasi da un idealismo e da una combattività disarmante. Piuttosto che la fatalità, hanno scelto come loro cavallo di battaglia l’umorismo e l’America Latina come terra promessa.

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non ha mai fatto segreto del suo “ Il Papa orgoglio italo-argentino, dichiarando

“

il proprio attaccamento ora all’uno ora all’altro Paese, a seconda del caso.

Orgoglio italo-argentino Claudia Buscemi Prestigiacomo

T

ra il 1870 e il 1930 milioni di italiani partirono per l’Argentina. La storia del primo papa latinoamericano, o meglio dei Bergoglio, ebbe inizio proprio in quel flusso: in Piemonte, a cavallo tra le due Grandi guerre.

In una lettera del 1990 pubblicata dall’Osservatore Romano, parlando dell’emigrazione Papa Bergoglio scrive: “Non potete immaginare quante volte abbia ringraziato la Divina Provvidenza!”

Spiega successivamente che i nonni – Giovanni Angelo Bergoglio (Asti, Piemonte, 1884) e Margherita Rosa Vassallo (Plana Crixia, Liguria, 1884), assieme al figlio Mario (Portacomaro, Asti, 1908) – avevano programmato di salpare da Genova nell’ottobre del 1927, a bordo del piroscafo Principessa Mafalda. Tuttavia, pur avendo acquistato i biglietti, dovettero posticipare la partenza a causa di alcuni ritardi imprevisti. Un evento provvidenziale, considerato che quello fu l’ultimo viaggio del piroscafo che affondò vicino alle coste brasiliane, inabissando centinaia di italiani.

Secondo documenti ricostruiti dal Centro Internazionale di Studi sull’Emigrazione Italiana, i tre sbarcarono a Buenos Aires il 12 febbraio 1929. In un’intervista del giornalista argentino Sergio Rubín al Pontefice, si legge che le ragioni del trasferimento differivano dalle consuete. Infatti, i Bergoglio, che a Torino possedevano una pasticceria piuttosto nota, lasciarono l’Italia non per povertà, ma per il desiderio di ricongiungersi con i fratelli trasferitisi a Paraná (Entre Ríos) nel 1922. Oltre ai familiari e a un lavoro da contabile all’interno della loro fabbrica di pavimentazione, li attendeva un palazzo elegante e moderno (con tanto di ascensore) che con la crisi del 1932 la famiglia dovette vendere, ricominciando da zero. “Credo che questa sia una dimostrazione della forza della razza.” – spiega Papa Francesco a Rubín.

All'oratorio salesiano di sant'Antonio, nel quartiere di Almagro, dove per anni l’intera famiglia si distinse per le numerose attività sociali, Mario Bergoglio conobbe la moglie Regina Sivori, argentina di madre piemontese e di padre ligure. Dall’unione tra Mario e Regina, il 17 dicembre 1936, nel quartiere Flores di Buenos Aires, nacque Jorge Mario (Papa Francesco).

Il Papa non ha mai fatto segreto del suo orgoglio italo-argentino, dichiarando il proprio attaccamento ora all’uno ora all’altro Paese, a seconda del caso. Così, ad esempio, con Rubín, definisce la propria concezione di famiglia “particolarmente italiana”, precisando di essere stato “il più italiano di tutti i fratelli perché allevato dai nonni”, dei quali ha imparato “la lingua dei ricordi”, il piemontese. Ovvero, i ricordi delle partite a basket del padre Mario nel quartiere di Almagro, con la squadra del San Lorenzo, la stessa società della squadra di calcio cattolica (maglietta rosse e blu a strisce verticali) di cui ancor oggi il Papa è grande hincha (tifoso), nata per volere di un prete sale22

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siano per togliere i bambini dalle strade.

È probabile che proprio questo valore legato al concetto di famiglia, al gioco, ai bambini abbia contribuito alla sensazione di pace in sua presenza descritta da molti. Il reverendo Thomas Rosica – CSB, CEO della Fondazione canadese Salt and Light Catholic Media – afferma: “Nel parlargli, ci si trova dinnanzi a una persona profondamente umana, affettuosa, gentile e intelligente che trasmette la gioia del Vangelo...Si sente il desiderio insaziabile di raggiungerlo ed abbracciarlo, ma ancor prima di averne l’opportunità, è lui a farlo...”

Il Vangelo e la determinazione, la grande umiltà, l’esperienza della malattia all’età di 21 anni (l’asportazione di una parte del polmone), assieme a incontri con persone speciali, lo avvicinarono talmente tanto alla Chiesa da convincerlo a 22 anni a scegliere la via del seminario. A sostenerlo in questa scelta furono soprattutto il padre e nonna Rosa, già distintasi a Torino per l’attivismo all’interno dell’Azione Cattolica e per discorsi pubblici, non graditi, contro la politica fascista.

Una carriera brillante la sua che, a partire dal 1969 (anno in cui venne ordinato sacerdote), lo ha visto ricoprire ruoli sempre più importanti all’interno dell’ordine gesuita prima, nel clero argentino e nelle varie congregazioni della Curia successivamente. A partire dal 1973, per esempio, divenne il gesuita di maggior livello durante gli anni durissimi della dittatura militare.

Una vita dunque segnata dall’impegno sociale e dal desiderio di seguire la strada di Cristo, anche quando i suoi disegni risultavano incomprensibili agli occhi della gente; una via segnata dalla semplicità e dalla voglia di condividere, in società e ancor prima in famiglia, dove i racconti che vedono i suoi come protagonisti ci offrono quadri di unione e consuetudine. L’etica del lavoro: un padre che lo incoraggiò a trovarsi un lavoretto estivo a tredici anni. L’arte: i sabati ad ascoltare l’opera assieme ai fratelli ed alla mamma, che ne spiegava i passaggi. Il gioco: le partite a briscola e la passione per il basket o, da buon argentino, il calcio. Infine, il cibo: le istruzioni della madre che, avendo avuto una paresi, predisponeva gli ingredienti sul tavolo e indicava ai ragazzi come cucinarli.

Sarà anche per questo che il 13 marzo 2013 ha consegnato alla storia questo papa insolito, magnetico e carismatico. Un papa severo ma brioso, accolto dalla comunità ecclesiastica in modo diverso, come spiega il reverendo Rosica: “Un rivoluzionario sfrontato e coraggioso mandato a dare uno scossone alla routine,” per alcuni; o “lì per provocare un grosso naufragio,” per altri. “Ma, in realtà, – continua – quella inaugurata da Papa Francesco è una rivoluzione di tenerezza...una rivoluzione di normalità.”

Photo credit: Reuters

Papa Francesco

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ITALIAN ARGENTINA Photography Daniele Tomelleri

Mural, La Boca neighbourhood, Buenos Aires

Los Xeneizes (The Genovesi)

The Italian origins of Boca Juniors

By Dante Di Iulio

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stablished on the bank of the Rio de Plata, Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is an absolute gem of a city. While the land of the “Good Air” itself is lavish, it is made up of unique neighbourhoods each carrying their own local landmarks. Amongst them, the district of La Boca certainly draws the most attention for its community, its soul, and most importantly, its soccer team.

At the turn of the 20th century, Buenos Aires was a city of less than a million inhabitants. Arriving en masse, between 1870 and 1920, the vast majority of them were Italian, with a significant amount hailing from Genoa. From one port city to another, it was only natural for the Genovesi to settle along the waterfront. The word “Boca” actually evokes similarities to an area in Genoa called Boccadasse, which is regarded as one of the most beautiful districts in the city of Columbus.

Italian immigrants living in La Boca tried to maintain their customs and social practices. The recently arrived gathered, danced and united in cantinas and shared dishes like polenta and fugazza, which are now recognizable dishes of the national cuisine.

La Boca also played a fundamental part in the creation of the Argentine slang, Lunfardo, which borrows many words from the Genovese dialect and Italian.

It is in this working class neighbourhood, on April 3, 1905, that five young Genovesi: Esteban Baglietto, Alfredo Scarpatti, Santiago Sana, and brothers Juan and Teodoro Farenga, went on to start the most popular Latin American club in the world. Having received football lessons from Patrick “Paddy” McCarthy, an Irish footballer that taught football techniques to immigrants’ children, the young Italian boys desperately wanted a club to call their own.

After several hours of discussion, they were forced to reconvene their project in the Plaza Solís, now recognized as the birthplace of Club Atlético Boca Juniors.

Boca fans are now affectionately known as los Xeneizes, or the Genovesi.

“

Although the streets and houses of the La Boca neighbourhood, especially Caminito, are plastered with vibrant blues and yellows, similar to certain neighbourhoods in Genoa, the team’s colours are actually based on the Swedish flag. The story goes that its founding members decided to adopt the colours of the next ship to sail into the port. The whims of fate dragged in a ship from Sweden, hence the blue and gold jerseys. Today, every store and restaurant has some sort of paraphernalia relating to the Azul y Oro. As the most popular club in Argentina, Boca enjoys the nickname la mitad mas uno (half plus one), despite their fanbase only consisting of 40 per cent of the population. Their stadium, La Bombonera (the chocolate box), is situated in the centre of La Boca district and is continually listed as one of the best stadiums in the world. Any visitor will tell you that the experience of watching a Boca Juniors match will force you to reconsider your concept of sporting passion.

Tireless and effervescent cheering throughout the game and the electric and palpitating atmosphere definitely sweeten the home advantage of playing inside the chocolate box. The love for Boca goes beyond the Sunday match day especially with chants like “even death can’t separate us, I will cheer you on from heaven.” With a passion and love this devout, it is no wonder the club has recently opened a Boca Juniors cemetery.

Although it’s been over 110 years since the foundation of Boca Juniors, the link between Genoa and Boca remains strong. In 2015, Boca Juniors translated the historical section of their official website into the Genovese dialect, as a tribute to their Ligurian roots. Even in Italy, the rivalry between Genoa CFC and Sampdoria intensifies in relation to Boca, with each team claiming better friendships. For one of the most prestigious clubs in the world to feature Xeneizes on the collar of every jersey would make any Genovese inflate their chest and hold their head high. It is this unusual pride and fierce loyalty that helped develop Boca Juniors into the pride of Argentina and Genoa.

Any visitor will tell you that the experience of watching a Boca Juniors match will force you to reconsider your concept of sporting passion.

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Photography Daniele Tomelleri

Classic Argentine pizza at El Cuartito pizzeria, Buenos Aires

Comida all’Italiana Eating like an Italian in Buenos Aires

By Dante Di Iulio

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rgentines, like Italians, are known for their love of food. Wine is always flowing and all social gatherings are commonly centred around the table. Argentine cuisine is so deeply inspired by its Italian counterpart that it could almost be described as an offshoot. There are, of course, many excellent regional dishes to be found, but day-to-day eating is dominated by a definite Italian flavour. Here’s an overview.

Pizza Visitors expecting typically Italian pizza will be surprised by the fare on offer in Argentina. Although pizza is heavily influenced by Italian tradition, Argentines have made it their own. Argentine pie is usually made with a high-rising dough, often features very little sauce, and is enjoyed with or without cheese. As everywhere in the world, it makes a great late-night snack, but if you are looking for something a little different, try a fugazzeta, a typical Argentine pizza covered with onions.

Best Bets: Siamo nel Forno - Costa Rica 5886, Palermo Hollywood Albamonte - Av. Corrientes 6735, Chacarita La Mezzetta - Av. Álvarez Thomas 1321, Chacarita 24

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Pasta Passionate about their Italian heritage, Argentines love their pasta. Locally called fideos, you’ll find pasta on most menus in the country. The majority of restaurants serve fresh pasta, or they offer a hybrid of fresh and dry, mainly using De Cecco or Rummo. Their stuffed pasta (ravioli, gnocchi, agnolotti, cannelloni) is excellent as a result of the freshness of the dough, the high-quality cheese, and the beef or pork stuffing. Although it’s usually served with tomato sauce, creamy variations featuring bacon and mushrooms are also delicious.

Best Bets: La Pecora Nera - Ayacucho 1785, Recoleta L’Adesso - Bulnes 1248, Palermo La Locanda - José León Pagano 2697, Recoleta Milanesa Another staple in Argentina, the Milanesa (breaded veal cutlet) is often assumed by locals to be an original Argentine creation, although it definitely draws its inspiration from the cotoletta alla Milanese. This common Argentine lunchtime meat (chicken, beef or pork), which is flattened, breaded and deep fried, may seem a bit heavy for a midday bite, but it’s

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not. While the traditional Napolitana has tomato sauce or tomatoes, and ham and cheese, there are myriad Milanesa variations: a la suiza (white sauce), a caballo (egg on top), or in a panino for an on-the-go snack.

Best Bets: Don Ignacio - Rivadavia 3439, Almagro Hermann - Santa Fe 3902, Palermo El Club De La Milanesa - Azcuenaga 1898, Recoleta Gelato (Helado) Argentines can compete with their Italian ancestors when it comes to gelato.

Helado, similar to gelato, is served at a warmer temperature, has a denser, silkier texture, and in contrast to regular ice cream, is usually made with whole milk instead of cream. The local ice cream is all natural, high quality, and rarely contains any artificial flavours or preservatives. While the flavours are bountiful, no helado is complete without some dulce de leche, the sweetest and most heavenly of all the ice cream flavours. Surprisingly, most heladerias in Buenos Aires deliver the delcious treat right to your door. Just call up, choose your flavours, and the delivery driver will motor over with the ice cream carefully nestled in his climate-controlled bike.

Best Bets: Freddo – multiple locations (the Baskin Robbins of Buenos Aires) Ferruccio Soppelsa – multiple locations (Mendoza, Argentina) Nonna Bianca – Estados Unidos 425, San Telmo.

Cocktails In Argentina, Malbec is king, but there is one drink that is a perfect ItalianArgentinian hybrid: Fernet and Coca Cola. The famous Amaro, with a black licorice flavour, gained popularity in the late ’80s, and since then has become the perfect accompaniment to Coke – the national drink. Great before, during and after dinner, it’s not a party without Fernet y coca.

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Argentina With Italian flavour

By Marie-Claude Di Lillo

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nlike most Latin American countries, Argentina is strongly influenced by Europe when it comes to its cuisine, wine and artistic traditions, all of which give the country a distinctive flavour.

Once viewed as a promised land, Argentina was a destination of choice for many Italians immigrants during the massive migration waves of the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, their children and grandchildren proudly identify not only as Argentines, but also as descendents of an intrepid and resourceful group of immigrants. Panoram Italia spoke to three who experienced great success in their country.

Chef Fernando Trocca: Inspiring a passion for Italian cuisine Trocca is the head chef and owner of the excellent Sucre restaurant in Buenos Aires. A true celebrity in Argentina, he is an internationally acclaimed chef who also hosts several television shows.

Trocca has always had an affinity for Italian food, especially osso buco.

“My recipe comes from my grandmother, Serafina, who in turn inherited it from her own mother,” he boasts proudly. “It was she who quite literally instilled in me a passion for cooking, and today her recipe is featured prominently on my restaurant’s menu,” he adds.

Trocca explains that his great-grandparents, who were from Piedmont, arrived by boat at the beginning of the last century. Chef Trocca’s grandfather, Pedro Trocca, became a renowned hairdresser in Buenos Aires. The business he opened in 1948, Peinados Trocca (literally: Trocca Hairstyles), has remained family owned for 70 years, making it a historic family institution in Argentina.

Although Trocca does not speak Italian, he wanted to learn more about his

cultural heritage. “25 years ago, I wanted to deepen my knowledge of Italian cuisine, so I went to work in Florence and Modena with chef Massimo Bottura; it was a great privilege to learn the basics from him,” he recalls.

Since then, Trocca has revelled in making dishes using homemade pasta, risotto and osso buco, all of which can be enjoyed at his restaurant in Buenos Aires. Evidently, his meetings with Bottura were very significant for him: “His teachings were like a homecoming for me – something I had in me and that I longed to express,” explains Trocca.

Moreover, diners at his restaurant cannot help but notice that his local cuisine is something of a specialty, paying as much tribute to Argentine cuisine as to Trocca’s Italian heritage. Truly the best of both worlds!

Chef Fernando Trocca

The Zuccardi family: Leading lights of Argentine viticulture Originally from Avellino, the first members of the Zuccardi family settled in the province of Tucuman in northern Argentina, in 1870. Having already earned their chops as professional winemakers, they founded a modest winery in the area.

It took another 75 years before another family member, Alberto Zuccardi, also emigrated from Italy, settling in Mendoza where a burgeoning wine industry was rapidly expanding.

As a civil engineer with a passion for irrigation systems, he started importing high-tech equipment from California, which he sold to local winemakers. It wasn’t long before his systems proved extremely effective. By 1963 they had become so popular that Alberto amassed sufficient wealth to purchase his own vineyard. His son José Alberto Zuccardi joined the family business in 1976, eventually managing Zuccardi vineyards along with his three children, Sebastian, Miguel and Julia.

The company now has four wineries, including the most recent, located in the Uco Valley, which is notable for its modern style, business acumen and community integration. The main grape used in their red wines is Malbec, the national grape. The house’s oenologist, Sebastian, eldest son of José Alberto, aims to produce wines that are as expressive as the terroir that birthed them.

Miguel, José’s youngest son, has developed an olive oil business using olives harvested from the family vineyards. Julia, the youngest, takes care of the restaurant and the Santa Julia vineyards tour. All three siblings deeply value living in harmony with their environment.

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Zuccardi Family

Over time, the Zuccardi family has managed not only to make a name for themselves by producing quality wines that are sold in over 50 countries, they also maintain certain traditions passed down from their ancestors. It’s something the head of the family, José Alberto, is very proud of: “We have certain values at heart. For example, family meals every Sunday are very important, as are the finer things like good wine, olive oils, and the desire to celebrate life each and every day,” he explains. “All of this certainly comes from our Italian roots.”

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The Barbera family: Showcasing their Italian roots in the Argentine Andes Two years after arriving from Italy in 1948 with her family, Maria Teresa Corradini Barbera and her mother Fernanda founded La Marchigiana Italian restaurant in downtown Mendoza. Shortly thereafter, the first Italian immigrants began flocking there. Word spread quickly that their kitchen was a veritable tribute to Italy. “My dream was to welcome people as if they were coming into my own home. We wanted our restaurant to become a major destination where good times, good food, good wine, and a pleasant atmosphere all became our trademark,” says Maria Teresa.

In 1968, her husband, Francesco Barbera, encouraged her to close La Marchigiana for a time, in order to expand its kitchen and dining room. That’s when the cantina Da Nonna Fernanda was born. It was followed a year later with La Vecchia Roma, which inspired a hotel of the same name in 1972.

In 1997, the movie production team of Seven Years in Tibet got wind of the famous cook while shooting in the area. And suddenly, the revamped La Marchigiana came to host a roster of A-list Hollywood actors. “They were all there, Brad Pitt with his then-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow, director Jean-Jacques Annaud, and others. They were so nice. Jean-Jacques wrote me a letter of condolences regarding the recent loss of my son, and Brad Pitt even read me a poem to mark his passing,” she wistfully recalls.

Annaud’s letter and the photographs from this memorable visit now hang on the wall of Maria Teresa’s Francesco Barbera restaurant, which she opened in 2004 with the help of her daughter Beatriz in honour of her late husband who had died a year earlier. She told her daughter, “Let’s open a restaurant together in our house with its garden, and make our customers feel as

Maria Teresa and Beatriz Barbera

welcomed as members of our own family, and it will be happiness just like a Fellini film!”

Over the years, the nonna has been showered with accolades. Today, she is well known in the region, publishing cookbooks and making frequent media appearances.

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Photography by Roland Lee

Ribeye with Mango Salsa, Grilled Asparagus and Roasted Potatoes Ribeye con salsa di mango, asparagi grigliati e patate arrostite Add a bit of Latin flare to your next social gathering with this Argentine-inspired recipe. It’s time to fire up the grill for the starring dish: ribeye, the ultimate cut of meat.

Date un’atmosfera latina al vostro prossimo social party con questa ricetta d’ispirazione argentina. È tempo quindi di accendere il forno per il piatto protagonista: il ribeye, un taglio di carne molto pregiato.

Recipe prepared by Fabio Barenbaum, the chef/owner at Sky Ranch restaurant in Toronto.

Ricetta preparata da Fabio Barenbaum, chef e proprietario del ristorante Sky Ranch a Toronto.

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ITALIAN ARGENTINA (Serves 4-5 / per 4-5 persone)

Mango salsa / Salsa di mango Ingredients / Ingredienti

• 2 mangos, diced / 2 manghi tagliati a dadini • 2 limes (juiced) / 2 lime spremuti • ¼ cup chopped cilantro / ¼ cup di coriandolo tritato • Half of a red onion, chopped / Mezza cipolla rossa tritata • Salt and pepper to taste / Sale e pepe quanto basta Instructions / Istruzioni

In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients. Place in serving bowl.

Mettete insieme tutti gli ingredienti in un’ampia terrina. Servite in una ciotola.

Grilled asparagus / Asparagi grigliati Ingredients / Ingredienti

• 1 bunch of asparagus / 1 mazzo di asparagi • 2 tbsp olive oil / 1 cucchiaio di olio d’oliva • Salt and pepper to taste / Sale e pepe quanto basta • Zest of one lemon / La scorza di un limone Instructions / Istruzioni

Blanch asparagus in salted water for four minutes. Then season with olive oil, salt, pepper and lemon zest. Finish off on the grill.

Sbollentate gli asparagi in acqua salata per quattro minuti. Aromatizzate con olio d’oliva, sale, pepe e succo di limone. Completate la cottura facendo grigliare.

Roasted potatoes / Patate arrostite Ingredients / Ingredienti

• 4 medium-sized potatoes, quartered / 4 patate di media grandezza, tagliate in quattro parti • 2 tbsp olive oil / 2 cucchiai di olio d’oliva • 2 tsp white wine vinegar / 2 cucchiaini di aceto di vino bianco • 2 garlic cloves / 2 spicchi d’aglio • 2 tbsp paprika / 2 cucchiai di paprika • 2 sprigs of rosemary / 2 rametti di rosmarino • Salt and black pepper to taste / sale e pepe quanto basta Instructions / Istruzioni

Preheat oven to 350F. Blanch potatoes in boiling water for eight minutes. Let cool. Combine potatoes and the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Then transfer potatoes to a baking sheet and roast for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Preriscaldate il forno a 350F. Sbollentate le patate in acqua bollente per 8 minuti. Lasciate raffreddare. Mettete le patate e il resto degli ingredienti in un’ampia terrina. Trasferite le patate in una teglia e arrostite per 12 minuti o fino a che diventano dorate.

Ribeye Ingredients / Ingredienti

• 4 eight-ounce ribeye steaks or rib steaks (they are the same cut of meat, how ever, the ribeye steak is boneless while the rib steak includes the rib bone) / 4 ribeye steak o rib steak di 8 ounce (sono lo stesso taglio di carne, ma la ribeye steak è disossata mentre la rib steak comprende l’osso) • Salt and black pepper to taste / Sale e pepe nero quanto basta Instructions / Istruzioni

Season steaks with salt and pepper. Place on preheated grill in a diagonal position for two minutes. Then rotate 45 degrees for an additional two minutes.

Flip steak over and repeat process for a total of three minutes (this will ensure a medium-rare steak). This grilling technique creates crosshatch marks (or searing marks) that elevates the look of the steak. Serve with roasted potatoes, grilled asparagus and the mango salsa.

Aromatizzate le bistecche con sale e pepe. Mettete sul grill preriscaldato in una posizione diagonale per due minuti. Poi ruotate di 45 gradi per altri 2 minuti.

Capovolgete la bistecca e ripetete il procedimento per un totale di tre minuti (questo assicurerà una cottura media). Questa tecnica crea delle linee incrociate che migliorano l’aspetto della bistecca. Servite con patate arrostite, asparagi grigliati e salsa di mango.

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FASHION

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k L Smart 2.

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The best of pre-fall trends

By Alessia Sara Domanico

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lot of different trends have been whipping around the runways this year. As we hit the pre-fall collections of the major design houses, we find that there isn’t any clear consensus on which one to follow. This gives you carte blanche to try out a number of looks this season, mixing summer and pre-fall for any genre, whether it be the vintage-lover or the tech savant.

Warm hues are of course a must this time of year with the chocolate browns, candy apple reds and pumpkin oranges. Hungry yet? Layer on a burnt rust coat à la Diane von Furstenberg, throw your notebooks into a Michael Kors satchel, and slip your feet into some soft leather kicks such as the ballerinas, loafers, ankle boots or moccasins proposed by Tod’s, Hogan, Browns, Geox and Gucci – these brands are going for embellished shoe-bling in their men’s and women’s collections, as well as the safer, classic styles.

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9.

For the retro fan, look to Marni, Tory Burch and Coach for inspired prints to pair with lambswool-lined leather jackets. While denim may have been big in previous fall seasons, we haven’t seen much of it lately other than the classic trouser. In fact, there has been more white, cream and beige than one would expect from the maisons of Max Mara and Ralph Lauren as well as Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s Elizabeth and James label. This can be construed as a nod towards a cooler and more sophisticated style – one where we don’t get spaghetti sauce all over ourselves after a lunch at Nonna’s.

The bi-annual Pitti Uomo men’s trade show in Florence, Italy, proposed cheeky suits for the gents and more demure looks for dressing down.

Back to School is especially exciting for the kiddies; we fell in love with Dolce & Gabbana’s mini-grown up ties, blazers, suits, and polka dot lunchboxes. Backpacks are also seeing a trendy revolution with Italy’s favourite brand (not Invicta), Eastpak, proposing both mature and playful models.

11.

L E G E N D

10.

12.

1. Pitti Uomo trade show 2. Dolce & Gabbana 3. Banana Republic 4. Browns 5. Browns 6. Michael Kors 7. Eastpak 8. Eden Park 9. Coach 10. Diane von Furstenberg 11. Marni 12. Elizabeth and James

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LIVING ITALIAN STYLE

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

Gianluca Saggese Occupation: Teacher/Soccer Coach/Tour Operator Age: 29 Generation: Second Dad from: San Gregorio Magno, Salerno, Campania Mom from: Naples, Campania Raised in: Toronto Speaks: English, Italian, Neapolitan and Spanish Who do you speak Italian to?

Father, friends and relatives, acquaintances, colleagues in Italy.

Passion: Travel, Italian culture, soccer Goal in life: Achieving selfactualization by generating a positive impact in peoples lives by sharing and promoting Italian culture to students and adults here in Canada, which would enable me to continue to travel to Italy several times per year.

What’s your typical lunch?

Panino or pasta with a choice of meat or fish and salad.

Your best dish: Scialatielli ai frutti di mare Your favourite ItalianCanadian expression: “Stai senza pensier” 32

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Main difference between first generation and second/third: Fluency in the Italian language, interests such as politics (voting), sports & culture.

Interpretation of Italy and Italian identity may vary as well between the different generations.

Who is your role model?

My parents Most important family value: Respect and loyalty What does Panorama Italia represent to you? An enriching expression of Italian identity in our community.

Best memory growing up Italian-Canadian: Any kind of family reunion. Spending quality time making wine, tomato sauce or anything with my family and friends.

Photography by Giulio Muratori

Michelle Lea Doyle Nickname: Meech, Michie Occupation: Teacher Age: 24 Generation: Second Dad from: Toronto Mom from: Corleone, Palermo, Sicily Raised in: Toronto Speaks: English and Italian Who do you speak Italian to?

La mia bella mamma and zii Passion: Cooking is my passion! I love trying new recipes and making some of my own.

Goal in life: To make a difference in the lives of students I teach.

Your best dish: My eggplant parmigiana Your favourite ItalianCanadian expression: “Chi dorme caldo, mangia freddo.”

Main difference between first generation and second/third: The Italian you learn in Canada is completely different than what someone who was born and raised in certain parts of Italy speaks.

Who is your role model?

My mom and Nonna. They deal with everything life throws at them with more strength than I can ever imagine.

Most important family value: Respect and empathy. It is important in my family to treat each other respectfully, with an open heart and an open mind.

Do you identify as ItalianCanadian or Canadian-Italian?

I honestly see both my Canadian heritage and Italian heritage as being so intertwined in my life it’s very difficult to say one over the other.

What does Panoram Italia represent to you? Panoram Italia represents a culturally pleasing mix of both my Canadian and Italian heritage.

Best memory growing up Italian-Canadian: I loved coming home from school to a house that smelled of fresh sugo and having my Nonna greet me with a huge plate of pasta, and a million kisses!

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Makeup by Monica De Las Casas Rosati

Location: Liberty Village

Giuseppe Commisso Nickname: Joe, Giu, Giuse, Peppi, Pe Occupation: Real Estate Investor/Contractor Age: 23 Generation: Second Dad from: Marina di Gioiosa Jonica, Reggio Calabria, Calabria Mom from: Marina di Gioiosa Jonica, Reggio Calabria, Calabria Raised in: Mississauga Speaks: English and Italian Who do you speak Italian to?

My parents and extended family Passion: Renovations, gym, basketball Goal in life: To expand my business and have a family What’s your typical lunch?

Panino with soppressata Your best dish: Pasta e Fagioli Best Italian Neighhourhood: Woodbridge Your favourite ItalianCanadian expression: “Bro, let’s go for an express.”

Main difference between first generation and second/third: Taking the time to make traditional dishes.

Who is your role model?

Drake Most important family value: Respect and honour your mother.

Do you identify as ItalianCanadian or Canadian-Italian?

Italian-Canadian What does Panoram Italia represent to you?

The Italian-Canadian community coming together in the GTA. Best memory growing up Italian-Canadian: Getting zeppole on San Giuseppe Day.

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DESIGN

Flou

Behind Closed Doors Wardrobe and storage solutions from Italian trendsetters

By Alessia Sara Domanico

W

ith space at a premium in Italy, Italian craftsmen are getting ever more ingenious with how to make the most of space. As fall descends upon us, you may be moving into a new place, heading off to school, or marrying off your last kid and looking to reclaim your space.

Whatever the case, before you start looking at the usual suspects, here are some of the premium exports we’ve spotted coming from Italy’s top furniture brands.

Flou: luxe wardrobes Known as one of the country’s most innovative design houses, Flou’s latest range of 16 cm wardrobes incorporate precious materials and an intelligent rationale when it comes to the design of the interior compartments. There is also a wealth of selection when it comes to doors and handles in order to customize your own style to match the personality of your bedroom. The Epoque line uses sharp relief wood-effect carvings that embellish the surface of the wardrobe doors for a simple, yet elegant finish. The Vogue line goes further with leather-covered doors that intermix with beveled mirror inserts framed with leather trim, and aptly-named Condotti handles finish the look off perfectly with their ribbon style fashioned out of metal and leather. The wardrobe interiors are just as swoon-worthy with their precise cuts, LED lighting and ordering of spaces – it might make organizing a joy rather than a chore…

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DESIGN

Misuraemme CrossingTeka

Misuraemme: slick shelf spaces If you are looking to update your family room, then take a gander at what Misuraemme are doing. Never before has shelving been this sexy. For books, photo frames and art objects, the Crossing Teka system from the brand creates a visual composition with alternating shelving, hanging units with soft-closing flap doors, and 3D glass doors that keep storage solutions looking light and transparent, while also providing stability. The internallyfitted LED lights make the set-up look enviably high-tech. For TV and sound system solutions, the Urban System comes in either freestanding or wall-mounted compositions with the option of different elements such as coloured metal boxes, fitted drawers, TV panels, and glass sliding doors. The storage boxes can be ordered as either push or handle opening.

Rimadesio: supreme minimalism For a bit of both trendy freestanding shelves and super clean and simple wardrobes, Rimadesio has it all. Their Eileen living area storage solutions use more future-forward alloy and aluminum and a mix of tempered, laminated and reflective glass together with wood for solid and attractive pieces that would look good no matter the colour of your walls or whether you have hardwood, carpet or tile. We fancied the Opus Stele bookcase, which uses an extruded profile with tempered glass and lacquered glass finishings. Optional accessories such as drawer units and back panels (both with glass fronts) and aluminum flap doors mean that you can make an otherwise bare canvas your very own.

Flou

Misuraemme

Flou

POAWTOIPO EN N

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Venetian Ball to Set Stage for Columbus Centre Redevelopment A journey back to the Jazz Era, a path to Villa Charities’ future The countdown has begun to the return of one of Toronto’s premier fundraising galas, the Venetian Ball.

The Jazz Era-themed gala is scheduled for Spring 2017, in anticipation of the start of construction on the new Columbus Centre later next year.

The 2017 Venetian Ball marks the return, after almost three years, of Villa Charities’ pre-eminent annual fundraiser as the organization embarks on the redevelopment of the Columbus Centre and charts a new course to the future. Funds raised by the event will help to support the Columbus Centre revitalization as the cultural heart of the GTA’s Italian community and the home of Villa Charities’ many cultural, athletic and other programs.

The Ball will offer a glamorous evening of food, entertainment and friendship inspired by the magic, mystique and sounds of the jazz lounge.

“We’re excited to go back to our roots with a fresh new take on Villa Charities’ signature event,” says Eligio Gaudio, President and CEO of Villa Charities Inc. “More importantly, the Venetian Ball marks an important milestone in the lead-up to the Columbus Centre redevelopment.”

Villa Charities staff and event planners have been hard at work to make the Venetian Ball a special and memorable evening.

An on-site production team of more than 50 people will take a full day to stage the gala, to be held at the Metro Toronto Convention

Centre. Technicians will lay more than 5 km of cable and trussing, and in the kitchen, many chefs and their assistants will prepare about 2,400 plates.

Tickets and Sponsorship Opportunities Individual tickets can be pre-purchased now for $1,000 each.

Sponsorship opportunities range from $10,000 to $250,000.

To purchase your ticket or become a sponsor, please contact Jean Jarvis at the Villa Charities Foundation office, at (416) 789-7011 ext. 321 or visit www.villacharities.com.

The Summer Fun Continues at Columbus Centre Day Camps Fun activities, animated counsellors, warm weather and great kids got Columbus Centre Summer Day Camps off to an excellent start this year.

The kids have kept busy with sports, cultural programs, special activities and outings. There is something for every child: Dance, Arts & Crafts, Kitchen, Drawing & Animation, Tennis, Karate, Soccer, Extreme Sports, Ultimate Experience, Triple Threat and Jewellery Making.

Half-day and full-day camps led by qualified instructors and counsellors at the Columbus Centre continue to Sept. 2.

Some space remains available during August. Register your kids today!

Session 3: Aug. 2 to 12 Session 4: Aug. 15 to 26 Session 5: Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 (Ultimate Experience and Tennis camps only) Contact us today at 416-789-7011 ext. 248 / cultural@villacharities.com or visit us online at www.villacharities.com.

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Spring Events Raise $290,000 for Villa Charities and Villa Colombo Four golf and cycling events held in support of Villa Charities and Villa Colombo this spring raised almost $290,000 combined.

The fundraisers included two Villa Charities Foundation events – the 40th annual Villa Charities Golf Classic and 10th annual Giro cycling event – along with the 21st annual Pizza Nova golf tournament, held on behalf of Villa Charities Foundation, and the 27th annual Villa Colombo Toronto Auxiliary (VCTA) golf tournament.

While raising funds for a great cause is the main reason for each event, they also provided fun and enjoyment for every participant. The hospitality, naturally, was Italian-style, with many mangiare e bere stops, excellent meals and lots of community spirit.

The generosity of many sponsors added significantly to the funds raised and participant experience. Dozens of volunteers ensured that each event ran smoothly.

“It is important to give back to the community and to support organizations like Villa Charities that enrich so many people’s lives,” says Domenic Primucci, President of Pizza Nova. “That’s why we are proud to host the golf tournament and to contribute to Villa Charities’ success.”

“Mille grazie to our fundraising event participants, sponsors, organizers and volunteers,” says Eligio Gaudio, President and CEO, Villa Charities. “These events not only support Villa Charities’ important work on behalf of our community, but they also bring community members together to share great experiences.”

Save the Dates Looking ahead to 2017, Giro will be held on May 28 and the Villa Charities Golf Classic is on June 22. We hope you can join us next year!

SPECIAL

SECTION

Funds raised by and on behalf of Villa Charities Foundation help to support Villa Charities’ cultural programs and services to seniors.

The VCTA golf tournament benefits Villa Colombo Toronto residents and community programs.

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; 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

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Columbus Centre Gears Up for Fall Cultural and Athletic Programs They round out the Aquatic Centre’s ever-popular Aquafit programs, Red Cross swim classes for all age levels and Masters Swim.

Registration for fall Aquatics programs starts Sept. 6 for Athletic Club members and Sept. 8 for non-members. For more information, contact Masha Reshetnikova at 416-789-7011 ext. 215 or masha@villacharities.com.

Cultural Arts Programs The Cultural Arts department will offer its popular mix of music, art and dance programs once again this fall.

The Columbus Centre will step into high gear after Labour Day, when fall Cultural Arts and Athletic programs get underway. The program lineup includes a mix of perennial favourites and several new ones.

Athletic Club and Aquatic Programs Columbus Centre Athletics offers a large variety of fitness programs, from hard core training classes to gentle yoga. Among the many options are spin, extreme boot camp, fencing, boxing, karate, several types of yoga for children and adults, and many more.

One of the new programs coming this fall is children’s non-contact boxing, for kids 8 to 12 years old. Led by Erico Mancini, a veteran instructor who has coached provincial and national teams, the class is a non-competitive program that promotes proper technique, fitness and fun.

Registration for fall Athletics programs starts Sept. 5 for Athletic Club members and Sept. 7 for non-members. For more information, contact Gabriella Lalli at 416-789-7011 ext. 229 or lalli@villacharities.com.

New at Columbus Centre Aquatics this fall are lifeguard certification training programs. Bronze Star, Bronze Medallion and Emergency First Aid classes will be offered individually and in combination packages.

In music, instruction is available in piano, string, woodwind and brass instruments as well as drums, voice, theory and more. Classes begin the week of Sept. 12.

Fall art classes kick off Sept. 19 with Painting, Acrylic & Oil Workshops.

To register for music and art classes, or for more information, visit www.villacharities.com or call 416-789-7011 x244/248 or cultural@villacharities.com.

Dance programs get underway Sept. 12 at DanzArts Toronto. The company offers recreational and competitive programs for all ages and in a variety of dance styles, from September through June. Classes include ballet, pointe, jazz, hip hop, tap, acrobatics and musical theatre, along with kinderdance/creative movement for 3-4 year olds.

Register online at www.danzartstoronto.com, or contact DanzArts Toronto at dance@danzartstoronto.com or 416-789-7011 ext. 250.

Fall/Winter Program Guide Information on all Columbus Centre fall programs will be available soon in the Fall/Winter Program Guide, in print at the Columbus Centre or online at www.villacharities.com.

Fall Dining Events at Ristorante Boccaccio Ristorante Boccaccio will usher in the fall season with a series of three themed dinners.

The special dining events get underway on Sept. 16th with a culinary visit to Sicilia Bedda. Chef Gino Marchetti and his team will prepare a multi-course menu that celebrates the region’s famous cuisine, paired with a selection of excellent Sicilian wines.

On Oct. 14th, Ristorante Boccaccio presents Panarda Abruzzese, and then on Nov. 18th, diners will be treated to the cuisine of Friuli.

In the meantime, please note that the restaurant is on its annual summer break, from July 31 to Aug. 16.

To learn more about Ristorante Boccaccio, visit us at www.boccaccioristorante.com or phone 416-789-5555.

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La Basulata Concert at Villa Colombo Vaughan: Italy’s La Basulata folk music group included a stop at Villa Colombo Vaughan during a recent Ontario tour. The group treated residents, families, friends and staff to an entertaining concert of traditional Italian folk music and dancing. Villa Colombo Vaughan hosted the event as part of its Culture and Diversity month celebrations.

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Villa Colombo Toronto Volunteers Awarded for Outstanding Community Service Years of dedicated service to seniors at Villa Colombo Toronto has earned recognition for Giulia Villa and Rosa Vedrame as “Outstanding Volunteers.”

The selfless commitment of volunteers like Rosa and Giulia is invaluable to the many seniors served by Villa Colombo, and is appreciated by seniors and staff alike.

Giulia, who has served for 13 years in Villa Colombo’s community day programs, and Rosa, a fixture in the Villa Colombo Toronto Auxiliary (VCTA) Gift Shop for more than 11 years, recently received the Outstanding Volunteer Award from Eglinton-Lawrence MPP Mike Colle.

Congratulations to Rosa and Giulia on a wonderful and well-deserved accomplishment. Auguri!

Giulia helps seniors participate in and enjoy the many programs offered in the Elderly Person Centre by interacting with them, escorting them on outings and accompanying them to meals. Rosa helps residents, staff, community clients and visitors alike at the VCTA gift shop.

She is a reliable presence, no matter the weather, and always greets shoppers with a smile and her bubbly personality.

Volunteers Needed! Abbiamo Bisogno di Volontari!

Villa Colombo needs more volunteers like Giulia and Rosa.

The ways you can serve seniors include assisting with resident/client programs, religious/mass escorts, meals on wheels delivery, arts and crafts programs, escorts and outings, and feeding assistance. The benefits are many: helping seniors, giving back, learning new skills, challenging yourself, making friends, and having fun.

Manage Stress Through Athletics and Wellness Programs Stress, anxiety and depression are more common than you may think. In fact, one in five Canadians suffers from one or more of these disorders.

If you are one of them, there is good news: non-medicinal methods of managing stressrelated disorders, such as exercise, yoga and meditation, are proven to be effective and are widely available, including at the Columbus Centre.

According to Gabriella Lalli, Athletic Program Consultant at the Columbus Centre, good health means more than feeling well physically; it also means feeling well mentally.

Columbus Centre Athletics offers a wide variety of programs that can help manage stress, anxiety and depression. They include fitness classes, yoga and meditation.

Learn more at www.villacharities.com/fitness or contact Gabriella Lalli at 416-789-7011 ext. 229 or lalli@villacharities.com.

To learn more about volunteer opportunities, please contact the Villa Colombo Toronto volunteer office at 416-789-2113 or bevacqua@villacolombo.on.ca. at www.villacharities.com.

UPCOMING EVENTS Carrier Gallery Franco DeSimone’s Frida Kahlo: to Sept. 6 South of Italy: Aug. 10-31 Dianne Fine/Susanne Clark: Aug. 10-Sept. 6 Eighteen After the Bell: Sept. 8-Oct. 3 John Wallace: Sept. 8-Oct. 3 Dianne Fine: Sept. 8-Oct. 3

Athletics Fall Program Registration Members: starts Sept. 5 Non-members: starts Sept. 7 416-789-7011 x229/ lalli@villacharities.com

Aquatics Fall Program Registration Members: starts Sept. 6 Non-members: starts Sept. 8 416-789-7011 x215/ masha@villacharities.com

Music & Art Fall Program Registration 416-789-7011 x248/ cultural@villacharities.com

DanzArts Toronto 2016/17 Program Registration 416-789-7011 x250/ dance@danzartstoronto.com

Ristorante Boccaccio Reopening: Aug. 16 Sicilia Bedda theme dinner: Sept. 16 416-789-5555

Columbus Centre Fall/Winter Program Guide www.villacharities.com

Summer Day Camps - August Registration 416-789-7011 x248 / cultural@villacharities.com

Venetian Ball Coming Spring 2017 Tickets & sponsorships: 416-789-7011 x321

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ITALIAN GREAT LAKES

Photography by Giorgio Majno - Fondo Ambiente Italiano

Villa del Balbianello, Lake Como

Escape to Italy’s Idyllic Northern Lakes Fuga tra gli splendenti laghi del nord Italia

By Alessia Sara Domanico

Tranquil nature, chocolate box villages, wining, dining, and even a few thrills: the Northern lakes of Como, Maggiore and Garda have a bit of everything for all ages.

Lake Como Things tend to go a bit more slowly in the sleepy communes of Lake Como and the locals are just fine with that. “From the moment I push open the shutters each morning and look out over the beautiful lake, espresso in hand, to the moment the sun sets in front of me behind the opposing mountains, I regularly have to pinch myself and think just how lucky we are to call this our home,” gushes Gemma Aurelius, owner of My Lake Como Wedding, a boutique wedding planning service.

It takes four hours to travel from one end of the lake to the other by ferry with a number of different routes and stops along the way. The most popular destinations are Tremezzo, Menaggio, Bellagio and Varenna. The area’s namesake capital is situated at its southwestern tip, and while it is less picturesque than the other towns that dot the circumference, Como is the economic centre of the area. It holds a small medieval quarter and a pretty waterfront with shops, cafes and restaurants. A 10-minute cable car ride up the hilltop of Brunate will take you up to wooded hiking trails that go all the way to stunning Bellagio.

Bellagio is truly the personification of Lake Como: exotic gardens, colourful villas, winding cobblestoned roads that lead up through residential areas and stone walls. The further up you go, the better the lake views. It all culminates at the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, which is the undisputed jewel in the town’s crown with a Michelin-starred restaurant and all of that old-world glamour.

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Natura tranquilla, paesini come cittadelle di panpepato, vino da sorseggiare, cibo prelibato, e brividi garantiti: i grandi laghi di Como, Maggiore e Garda dell'Italia settentrionale offrono di tutto per ogni età.

Lago di Como La vita trascorre lentamente negli assonnati comuni del lago di Como, un ritmo con il quale la gente del posto convive benissimo. “Da quando apro le finestre la mattina, con il caffè in mano, e appare il meraviglioso lago, a quando il sole tramonta davanti a me dietro le montagne, ogni volta devo darmi un pizzicotto per ricordarmi quanto siamo fortunati a poter chiamare questo posto casa nostra,” racconta tutto d’un fiato Gemma Aurelius, proprietaria di My Lake Como Wedding, una boutique e attività di wedding planning.

Ci vogliono quattro ore per attraversare il lago da una sponda all’altra con il traghetto tramite diversi percorsi e fermate lungo la strada. Le mete più conosciute sono Tremezzo, Menaggio, Bellagio e Varenna. Anche se meno suggestiva delle altre città circondanti, Como, l’omonima capitale situata sulla punta sud-occidentale del lago, è il centro economico della zona. Possiede un piccolo borgo medievale e un lungolago con negozi, cafè e ristoranti. Con 10 minuti in funivia si arriva in cima della collina di Brunate da dove si possono imboccare sentieri boscosi che arrivano fino a Bellagio.

Composto da giardini esotici, ville colorate, serpeggianti stradine acciottolate che portano verso centri abitati e mura di pietra, Bellagio è davvero il simbolo del lago di Como. Più in alto si va e più bella è la vista. Il tutto

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ITALIAN GREAT LAKES

“

“

Bellagio is truly the personification of Lake Como: exotic gardens, colourful villas, winding cobblestoned roads that lead up through residential areas and stone walls.

Lake Maggiore To the west of Como lies lake Maggiore, Italy’s second largest in scale. Fed by the River Ticino that leads on to Milan, it is divided across the Piedmont and Lombardy regions, with part of its northern section standing in Switzerland.

Stresa is Maggiore’s largest town and makes for an excellent base from which to go exploring nearby island attractions, taking woodland walks with panoramic lake views, and visiting botanical gardens, churches and local markets. Directly opposite of Stresa are the Isole Boromee (Borromean Islands), a cluster of three picturesque islands: Isola Bella, Isola Madre and Isola dei Pescatori, and two islets: Isolino San Giovanni and Isolino Malgera. b

culmina al Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni, che senza dubbio è il gioiello della città con un ristorante stellato-Michelin e tutto il fascino del vecchio continente.

Un altro posto di notevole pregio è la Villa del Balbianello, residenza rinascimentale e museo in riva al lago. La proprietà viene spesso usata per riprese cinematografiche. La riconoscerete in diversi film fra i quali James Bond: Casino Royale e Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Il luogo è anche noto come posto ideale per celebrare matrimoni: “Il lago di Como ha qualunque cosa si possa desiderare per realizzare il matrimonio da sogno: paesaggi mozzafiato, un’atmosfera tipicamente romantica, cibo e vino incredibili, un clima accogliente e alcune ville e alberghi veramente stupendi,” aggiunge Gemma Aurelius.

“

Composto da giardini esotici, ville colorate, serpeggianti stradine acciottolate che portano verso centri abitati e mura di pietra, Bellagio è davvero il simbolo del lago di Como.

“

Another place of notable grandeur is the Villa del Balbianello, a lakeside Renaissance residence and museum nestled at the centre of Lake Como. The property is often used for film shoots. You’ll recognize it from films such as James Bond: Casino Royale and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The site is also a popular wedding venue: “Lake Como has everything you could possibly want when creating that dream destination wedding for someone: breathtaking scenery, a naturally romantic atmosphere, incredible food and wine, a warm climate, and some truly beautiful wedding villas and hotels,” adds Gemma Aurelius.

Lago Maggiore A ovest di Como si trova il lago Maggiore, il secondo d’Italia per importanza.

Alimentato dal fiume Ticino che arriva fino a Milano, è diviso tra le regioni Piemonte e Lombardia, con una parte settentrionale che si estende in Svizzera.

Stresa è la più grande città del lago Maggiore ed è un ottimo punto di partenza per esplorare le attrazioni delle isole vicine, o imboccare sentieri boscosi con viste panoramiche sul lago e visitare i giardini botanici, le chiese e i negozi della zona. Dalla parte opposta a Stresa vi sono le Isole Borromee, un gruppo composto di tre isole caratteristiche: l’Isola Bella, l’Isola Madre e l’Isola dei Pescatori, e due isolotti: Isolino San Giovanni e Isolino Malgera.

Quality Craftsmanship and Exceptional Value

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ITALIAN GREAT LAKES

www.gardalombardia.com photography by Maurizio Rovati

Panoramic view, Lake Garda

The Baroque Palazzo Borromeo on Isola Bella is not to be missed. The estate covers over 10 tiers of terraced gardens with the odd peacock strutting around. The first floors are open to the public and include guestrooms, studies and reception halls. The Sala di Napoleone is aptly named for the Emperor Napoleon as it is where he stayed with his wife Josephine in 1797.

Other pretty towns to visit along Lake Maggiore are Verbania and Cannobio, while southeast is one of its most famous religious sites: Santa Caterina del Sasso. The construction of this monastery and Church began in the 13th century. It sits atop a rocky cliff looking out onto the water and is famed for its frescoes and interior courtyards.

Lake Garda Italy’s largest and cleanest lake is surrounded by three distinct regions: Trentino Alto-Adige, Lombardy and Veneto, taking the best of all three regions in a triumph of tourism. Garda is one of Italy’s greenest areas with an abundance of gardens and forests chock-full of pine trees, cypresses and olive and lemon groves.

It is also the richest in terms of activities with a plethora of things to do such as swimming; windsurfing on the Riva del Garda – Europe’s windsurfing capital, believe it or not; thrill seeking at Gardaland amusement park; or relaxing at spas in the town of Sirmione, which is known for its natural hot springs.

Main sights include the Palazzo Ducale and Palazzo Te in Mantua; the Giardino Botanico Fondazione André Heller gardens in Gardone Riviera; the ruins of the Villa Romana in Desenzano del Garda from over 2,000 years ago with surviving mosaics that depict hunting, fishing and chariot riding; and the Parco Archeologico Rocca di Manerba in Valtenesi. The latter is protected by UNESCO and contains the remaining walls of a Medieval castle, a nature reserve, orchid meadows and walking trails. It also boasts some of the lake’s best beaches.

Da non perdere il palazzo barocco Borromeo sull’isola Bella. La tenuta si estende con oltre 10 livelli di giardini terrazzati con l’eccentrico pavone albino che si mette in mostra. Il primo piano è aperto al pubblico e comprende camere, studi e le sale da ricevimento. La sala Napoleone è così chiamata per via dell’Imperatore che soggiornò qui insieme alla moglie Josephine nel 1797.

Altre città carine da vedere sul lago Maggiore sono Verbania e Cannobio, mentre a sud-est del lago si trova il sito religioso più famoso: Santa Caterina del Sasso. La costruzione del monastero e della chiesa ha avuto inizio nel XIII secolo. L’insieme si trova su una scogliera rocciosa che si affaccia sul lago ed è famoso per i suoi affreschi e cortili interni.

Lago di Garda Il lago d’Italia più grande e pulito è circondato da tre regioni distinte: Trentino Alto Adige, Lombardia e Veneto, cogliendo il meglio delle tre regioni in un trionfo turistico. Garda è una delle aree più verdi d’Italia con un’abbondanza di giardini e foreste piene di pini, cipressi, ulivi e limoni.

Il primo lago d’Italia è anche il più ricco in termini di attività, con una miriade di cose da fare come il nuotare; praticare il windsurf su Riva del Garda – capitale europea del windsurf, che ci crediate o no; visitare il parco divertimenti Gardaland; o rilassarsi in una spa nella città di Sirmione, conosciuta per le sue sorgenti calde naturali.

Le principali attrazioni includono il Palazzo Ducale e il Palazzo Te in Mantua; il Giardino Botanico Fondazione André Heller in Gardone Riviera; le rovine della Villa Romana a Desenzano del Garda di oltre 2,000 anni fa con mosaici sopravvissuti al tempo raffiguranti scene di caccia, pesca e passeggiate sul carro; il Parco Archeologico di Manerba in Valtenesi. Quest’ultimo è patrimonio UNESCO e ospita i ruderi delle mura di un castello medievale, una riserva naturale, prati di orchidee e sentieri per camminare. Vanta inoltre alcune delle migliori spiagge del lago.

www.gardalombardia.com, photography by Marino Colato

S. Felice del Benaco, Lake Garda

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CURIOSITÀ

Lake Como You can dine on sushi in a grotto at the luxury hotel Casta Diva in Blevio, the former residence of opera soprano Giuditta Pasta.

Lago di Como Si può fare una cena a base di sushi in una grotta all ll’hotel di lusso Casta Diva a Blevio, ex residenza della cantante lirica Giuditta Pasta.

Celebrities that own homes here include George Clooney, Sylvester Stallone, Donatella Versace, Madonna and Sir Richard Branson.

Tra le celebrità che hanno casa qui ci sono George Clooney, Sylvester Stallone, Donatella Versace, Madonna e Sir Richard Branson.

Silk production has been part of Como’s history for over 500 years. Villa Sucota is a great place to start your silk hunting.

Lake Maggiore Featured in Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms.

Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana stayed at the Palazzo Borromeo in 1985.

Lake Garda The water from Sirmione’s Terme di Catulla is used for health treatments because it is mineral rich and at a natural temperature of 70°C when it leaves the rock.

Benito Mussolini headquartered his Republic of Salo here.

The maximum depth of the lake is about 350 meters.

La produzione della seta è parte dalla storia di Como da oltre 500 anni. Villa Sucota è il miglior posto per iniziare la caccia alla seta.

Lago Maggiore È in primo piano nel romanzo di Ernest Hemingway Addio alle Armi.

L’annuale Film festival di Locarno attira nella città del versante svizzero, registi da tutto il globo.

Nel 1985 il principe Carlo e la principessa Diana sono rimasti a Palazzo Borromeo.

Gargnano, Lake Garda Photography by Samantha Palmieri

The annual Locarno Film Festival draws filmmakers from around the globe to the lakeside town of Locarno, on the Swiss side of the Lake.

Photography courtesy of www.gardalombardia.com

FUN FACTS

Lago di Garda L’acqua delle Terme di Catullo a Sirmione è usata per i trattamenti di benessere, perché è ricca di minerali e ha una temperatura naturale di 70 ° C quando lascia la roccia.

Benito Mussolini scelse questa come sede del suo nuovo governo e vi creò la Repubblica Sociale Italiana, conosciuta anche come Repubblica di Salò.

La profondità massima del lago è di circa 350 metri.

Villa Carlotta, Lake Como

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Photography courtesy of www.gardalombardia.com

Limone sul Garda, Lake Garda

Must-see sites around Lakes Como and Garda Delve deeper into these lake regions with our top picks

By Alessia Sara Domanico Como The perfect lakeside capital to stroll through as you shop for silks and souvenirs.

Cool your heels at a charming little café in one of the main piazzas (Cavour, Alessandro Volta or San Fedele) and watch the crowds go by. Light a candle in the Duomo with its mix of Gothic, Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque styles. Bask in the loveliness of the surrounding villas such as the Neoclassical Villa Olmo, which often holds exhibitions, and finish off with a stroll along the lakeshore.

Photography courtesy of www.gardalombardia.com

Tremezzo You will feel as though you’ve taken a step back into the 17th century when you visit this sought after area. The grand Villa Carlotta, which was a wedding gift to a Prussian princess in 1847, boasts botanical gardens including olive and citrus groves. The villa is open to visitors and features artwork by the likes of Antonio Canova and Francesco Hayez. After you’ve toured the villa, head to the waterfront where plenty of restaurants await at Cadenabbia. Try La Cucina della Marianna for a romantic setting with consistently superb food or something sweet at Bar Victoria.

Limone sul Garda One of Lake Garda’s most popular destinations, this area is known for its famous lemon cultivations, but most likely takes its name from the Latin limes referring to its surrounding boundaries. With plenty of charming little churches and watersports to dabble in, you can definitely make lemonade here!

Sirmione, Lake Garda

Malcesine Picturesque Garda at its best, this seaside village has tiny cobblestoned streets that are the marvel of many a tourist, while the neighbouring hills hide the charming everyday life of the locals. The best beach is located south of the town centre, tucked away in the Val di Sogno.

built at the city’s entrance complete with a moat and footbridge; the 146 steps up to the top are well worth it for the bird’s eye view of the surrounds. La Rucola is one of the town’s most elegant eateries, while La Fiasca is a more traditional trattoria.

Sirmione Absolutely stunning in every way, this is Garda’s most visited village that is famous for its natural hot springs. Make sure to check out the historic Grotte di Catullo, which are the remains of a Roman villa and the Rocca Scaligera castle

Spa and thermal baths of Garda Famous since Roman times, the thermal baths are great for relaxing, socializing and curing all of your aches and ails. Here are a few top spots to check out: Parco Termale Del Garda, Terme di Sirmione and Spa Termale Aquaria.

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Photography by Merighi

Lake Iseo

Lakeside Drinking An overview of the Valpolicella and Franciacorta wine regions

By Marco Giovanetti

T

he beautiful lakeside towns around Lake Garda have been charming visitors for centuries. Even the ancient Romans considered the region a luxury summer destination where they could taste some of the best wines of the Empire. Today the areas alongside Lake Garda and Lake Iseo, located midway between Como and Garda, are home to two of Italy’s most important wine appellations: the famous Valpolicella, renowned for its luscious Amarone, and the Franciacorta, a posh countryside venue acclaimed for its upscale sparkling wines.

Part of a string of fresh water reservoirs interspersed between the Prealpine foothills, straddling the border with Switzerland, Garda is Italy’s largest lake.

Located between the regions of Lombardy and Veneto, its northern tip also ventures into parts of Trentino-Alto Adige. Just off Milan to the west, it is bound to the east by the cities of Verona and Venice. The areas bordering the lake’s impressive shoreline benefit from its seaside influences, creating microclimates remarkably suited for wine-making.

Lake Garda is especially celebrated for its Bardolino and Valpolicella wines, which are produced in the Veneto region near Verona. While both are made using the same local grape varieties (Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara), Bardolino wines are generally lighter. Grown on the classic zones of Bardolino, Affi, Cavaion Veronese, Costermano, Garda and Lazise, Bardolino was one of the first wines from Veneto to obtain a DOC certification in 1968. Bardolino can also be found in the Chiaretto variety, a very nice rosé, which has recently been experiencing an increase in popularity. Since 1987, it is also marketed as Bardolino Novello, a light, fruity wine, similar in style to Beaujolais nouveau.

The name Valpolicella literally means “the valley of many cellars.”

Bordered to the west by the Bardolino territory, this hilly landscape extends east of the Adige River. Its classic medium-bodied, soft fruity reds are some of Italy’s most famous and coveted wines. More muscular and full-bodied, the wines of Amarone della Valpolicella are probably the most well known of the region.

Made following the appassimento method, using sun-dried grapes aged in barrique, Amarone wines are deep-coloured and display rich and complex flavours often recalling liquorice, vanilla, tobacco and fig. They can be enjoyed young,

“

but will age for up to 20 years. Recioto is a sweet dessert version.

South of Bardolino, straddling the border with Lombardy and Veneto, stands the wine region of Lugana, prized for its lively, textured, fruity whites.

Fairly unknown to the North American public, these wines are a wonderful complement to antipasti and fish. The proximity of the region to Lake Garda ensures a mild climate ideal for growing vines of Trebbiano di Lugana, also known as Trebbiano di Soave. Like in most other parts of Bardolino and Valpolicella, the many wineries of the region offer wine tastings, especially during the sunny months with events such as the “Cantine Aperte” and “Italia in Rosa” festivals.

An hour away east of Milan sits the charming Lake Iseo with its crystalline waters protected by wooded mountains and ancient medieval hamlets. Formerly a rural escape for Milanese aristocrats and industrialists, its shores now host one of Italy’s youngest and most promising wine regions. Franciacorta is home to what many wine connoisseurs are calling Italy’s best sparkling wine.

Like Champagne, Franciacorta refers to both the geographical region and the wine itself, which was given DOCG status – the highest level of Italian wine classification – in 1995.

Though it is produced using the méthode champenoise and almost with the exact same grape varieties (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Blanc) Franciacorta is distinctly Italian and a proud expression of the region’s unique terroir.

The charming Franciacorta wine region is a perfect jumping point for visiting Verona, Mantua and Venice. Just down the road is Brescia, with a Roman temple built by Emperor Vespasian. A short bus or car ride can take you to Lake Iseo and the Camonica Valley, whose rock carvings date back as far as 8,000 years. You can even spend a day skiing in the Dolomites and return in time for an après-ski glass of Franciacorta.

The autumn months are busy with wine tasting events; the Consorzio per la Tutela del Franciacorta holds a weekend wine tasting event every September, giving participants a chance to find out more about the wines and the land of the region.

The charming Franciacorta wine region is a perfect jumping point for visiting Verona, Mantua and Venice.

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Far right: Lancia Stratos, a three-time World Rally Championship winner, seen here with two other rally legends, the Alpine Renault A110 and the Ford Escort RS 1600

An Unforgettable Ride Through Time in Lake Como Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este combines engineering power with natural beauty Text and photography by Alain Raymond

H

olidays. Breathtaking vistas. Scenic roads. Remarkable automobiles. Is there a magic formula to unite all four while you enjoy delicious cuisine and superb wines? This traveller, automobile enthusiast, and lover of all things Italian has a suggestion: Northern Italy.

The beauty of Lake Como Starting in Milano, program your on-board GPS to avoid the dull highways and expensive tolls and head for Como and the Lombardy region. Snaking between lake and mountain and through sleepy and charming villages, the road is a driver’s dream. Sure, it’s narrow at times and the many traffic circles will challenge your driving skills, but isn’t that what it’s all about?

Magnificent Lake Como will take your breath away while you drive North on SS340 through towns like Moltrasio, Ossuccio facing famous Isola

Comacina, all the way to Onceta, and then South on SS36, all along the lake, to Varenna and Lecco. There, you can enjoy a well-deserved meal facing the lake and the majestic glaciers in the background. If you succeed in tearing yourself away from the waterfront terrazza, a short drive will take you back to Como.

Why Como? Because if you travel there in mid-May, you’re just in time to experience a few of the world’s most beautiful and exclusive automobiles gathering for the annual Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, in Cernobio, a private, by invitation only affair held on Saturday and followed on Sunday at nearby Villa Erba by a public showing. Whether you attend the event at Villa d’Este or Villa Erba, the result is the same: superb historic machinery and the latest concept cars by world-famous designers in a setting even Hollywood cannot duplicate.

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ITALIAN GREAT LAKES

From past to future Honoring the past, Villa d’Este also looks to the future by presenting a number of concept cars and prototypes. This year, we were treated to six such futuristic studies by Alpine, Aston Martin, Bugatti, Pininfarina, Alfa Romeo and Mazda. The Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award went to the achingly beautiful Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spider Superleggera, a concept designed by Touring and inspired by the historic Disco Volante of 1952. Clothed in a striking blue dress “honouring the colours of Mediterranean sky and water,” the Spider joins the Coupé also built by Touring Superleggera in 2013.

On Sunday, rounding the memorable weekend at Villa Erba, the 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV won the Trofeo BMW Group Italia by public referendum, while a 1929 Grindlay-Peerless 100 model motorcycle took the honours at the Concorso di Motociclette beauty contest for classic motorcycles.

Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is but one of the countless events celebrating the automobile all around Bella Italia. Milano, Arese, Torino, Modena, Brescia, Monza, Sicily and many others have all made significant contributions to the endless history of the automobile, an on-going story that is part and parcel of the rich and varied culture of Italy.

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The People’s Choice, timeless beauty of the 1933 Lancia Astura Serie II, bodied by Castagna, brings the Coppa d’Oro to its proud owner

Whether you attend the event at Villa d’Este or Villa Erba, the result is the same: superb historic machinery and the latest concept cars by world-famous designers.

“

“Back to the future – the journey continues” This was the theme of the 87th edition of the event, sponsored by BMW Group Classic. A total of 56 exceptional historic automobiles were invited to attend, ranging from a stunning 1920 Delage 4.5 Litre Salamanca to a raging 1975 Lancia Stratos, designed by Bertone.

Coming from as far as Thailand, New Zealand, the U.S. and from all over Europe, the cars were tastefully exhibited on the impeccable grounds of Villa d’Este, built in 1568 as the summer residence of Cardinal Tolomeo Gallio. Favourite playground of royalty and aristocrats for centuries, the princely residence, surrounded by 25 acres of gardens, is today a choice resort for the rich and famous.

Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este was held for the first time in the heyday of aristocratic cars in 1929. Since its revival in the 1990s, the Concorso ranks among the top three world-class events, the other two being Pebble Beach Concours d’élégance in California and Amelia Island Concours d’élégance in Florida.

As for every genuine Concours, expert international judges are asked to assess each of the 56 cars divided into nine carefully selected categories. Judges look for excellence in design, originality, perfect preservation and the “spirit of nobility.” The top car is awarded the very coveted Best of Show prize: the Trofeo BMW Group.

This year, the Trofeo went to the 1954 Maserati A6 GCS from the Destriero Collection of Monaco. It was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October 1954 and lined up at the start of the Mille Miglia race in May 1955. Powered by a 2-litre six-cylinder engine producing 190 hp, the awarded Maserati is one of very few such examples built.

The public at Villa d’Este is also invited to voice its opinion and to cast their votes towards the Coppa d’Oro, the most traditional prize of the Concorso. Antonius Meijer from the Netherlands collected the prized trophy for his sublime 1933 Lancia Astura Serie II, bodied by legendary coachbuilder Castagna. This was the car’s second showing at Villa d’Este, since it was presented 81 years earlier, in autumn of 1935, a testament to the Lancia’s timeless appeal.

The superb Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spider Superleggera by Touring wins the Concorso d’Eleganza Design Award

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Photography by Marco Beck Peccoz

Bird’s eye view of the Vittoriale

The Shrine of Italian Victories Poet Gabriele D’Annunzio’s legacy on Lake Garda

By Vittoria Zorfini mongst the many wonders of the “Bel Paese” you can’t miss the Vittoriale degli italiani (The shrine of Italian victories), a complex of buildings, amphitheatre, majestic gardens, and war relics celebrating the heroic deeds of the Italians during the First World War and the genius of 19th century Italian poet, novelist, dramatist, journalist, military hero and political leader Gabriele D’Annunzio. Set on the banks of Lake Garda, this incredible residence was designed by architect Giancarlo Maroni in memory of the “inimitable life” of this unique Italian historical figure of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The Vittoriale estate, built between 1921 and 1938, is today open to the public, receiving around 180,000 yearly visitors. But let’s take a step back. On February 1, 1921, D’Annunzio rented this country estate – belonging to the German Henry Thode – for 600,000 lire per month, thinking that he would stay there just until he had finished one of his poetry works, “il Notturno.” But you could say that it became his everlasting home. Even today, in fact, the Vittoriale – donated to the Italian people by the poet on December 22, 1923 – depicts the incredible enterprises of D’Annunzio and transforms his life into a tangible memory.

A

The monumental entrance The personality of the poet is present in every corner of the Vittoriale. At the entrance between two arches, suspended in a metaphysical and evocative atmosphere, D’Annunzio’s engraved inscription dominates the scene: “I have what I have given” (“Io ho quello che ho donato”). From here it is already 48

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evident that right from the very beginning the poet wanted to create something great to leave to Italians.

The Prioria D’Annunzio made this residence into a real-life museum of his “inimitable life.”

The curtains and the stained glass create a real sense of gloominess in the rooms. Another particular element is the quantity of objects kept inside. We’re talking about 10,000 furnishings, works of art, relics and 33,000 books, all of which remind us of Gabriele d’Annunzio’s heroic life. On the internal and external walls of the building, one can also find many famous quotes from the celebrated author.

The amphitheatre Amongst the main features of the park is the amphitheatre. “A marble basin under the stars,” explains the poet who chose the spot where he wanted to build the theatre himself. A scenic point in the park from which you can see Garda Island, Mount Baldo, the Sirmio promontory, and the evocative Rocca di Manerba (Manerba rock) – the place where Goethe seemed to recognize Dante’s profile.

The military ship Puglia You may expect to find everything in the park, except a ship... This is a ram torpedo boat known as Puglia, dismantled and rebuilt here to remember the sacrifices and the martyrs who fought to preserve Dalmatia’s Italian identity. Inside

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ITALIAN GREAT LAKES the vessel, a permanent exhibition is set up to explain the great engineering feat that took the ship from Tirreno to Vittoriale.

The Laghetto delle Danze From the military ship Puglia just follow the Pazza and Savia streams to reach the Laghetto delle Danze (“Pond of the Dances”), taking the shape of a violin in honour of Gasparo da Salò, inventor of the instrument. Just like in every part of the Vittoriale, here you can discover another of the poet’s great passions: music.

D’Annunzio “wanted to create a place where the flowing harmony and rolling waters would suggest the free movements of dance performers.”

The lemon groves This is a part of the garden inundated with flowers, magnolias and embellished by statues, bronzes and memorabilia from the First World War. But this part of the Vittoriale is actually most distinguished for its spectacular view of the lake and for the lemon groves adorned with antique statues. Orchards surround this enchanting corner of the Vittoriale.

The Schifamondo (Escape from the World) Designed by the architect Giancarlo Maroni, the building was initially meant to be the new home of the poet-hero, but D’Annunzio never saw its completion.

The main room is unique for its interior, designed as if it were an ocean liner with round windows and wooden upholstery. It contains the War Museum, dedicated to Gabriele D’Annunzio’s military experience and the Auditorium that hosts the airplane, Ansaldo, which the poet used in 1918 to fly over the city throwing leaflets that read (in part):

People of Vienna!

Get to know Italians. We are flying over Vienna; we could launch tons of bombs at you. We launch nothing but a salute at our ‘tre colori’ Italy: the three colours of liberty. […]

People of Vienna!

You have a reputation for your intelligence. But why are you wearing the Prussian uniform? By now you will see that the whole world has turned against you.

Do you want the war to continue? Let it continue and it is your suicide. What do you hope for? A decisive victory promised to you by Prussian generals? Their decisive victory is like Ukrainian bread; you die waiting for it.

People of Vienna, think of your homes. Wake up! Long live freedom! Long live Italy! Long live the Triple Alliance!

Today the Schifamondo houses the “D’Annunzio Eroe” museum.

The heroes’ mausoleum Today the Schifamondo houses the “D’Annunzio Eroe” mausoleum, which is situated on the top of the highest hill of the domain. The mausoleum contains d’Annunzio’s tomb and the urns of his wartime companions who took part in the conquest of Fiume, in former Dalmatia, now known as Rijeka, the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia. Built by the architect Giancarlo Maroni after the death of the poet-hero, it is made up of three marble circles that respectively represent the victories of the Humble, the Artisans, and the Heroes and Fiume Legionaries, particularly Guido Keller, Giuseppe Piffer, Ernesto Cabruna and the very same Giancarlo Maroni.

Photography by Marco Beck Peccoz

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ARTS & CULTURE

Mirella and Emilia

Thong Sandals

Self portrait

Marco Sassone

A Passion for the Art of Footwear Marco Sassone shares stories through His Boots and Other Works

By Daniel Calabretta

E

nsconced in a cubic glass box, within the lower level area of Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum, is a pair of high-heeled snakeskin boots standing at attention, their polychromatic and sectional design analogous to parts of a colourful thematic map. To the average museum spectator, the boots may seem a bit antiquated.

However, for award-winning artist Marco Sassone, they not only serve as the focal point of his new exhibition, His Boots and Other Works, but they also symbolize the genesis of his professional artistic voyage. It’s a voyage that began in 1967, shortly after he purchased the boots while visiting the psychedelic London boutique Granny Takes a Trip (a store The Beatles and The Rolling Stones would frequent).“I think shoes are a part of your identity [and] who you are,” Sassone says. “They are not just an item that are protecting your feet.

They’re something that’s with you and are a part of you.”

In the late ’60s, the boots followed Sassone to North America, bringing him good fortune. In 1978 he received a gold medal from the Italian Academy of Arts, Literature and Science; in 1982 he was knighted into the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and in 1994, San Francisco recognized March 30 as “Marco Sassone Day” to honour the artist’s contribution to the city. Needless to say, Sassone’s boots are special to him.

The exhibition, running until September 5, features 10 large oil paintings, nine of which were completed over the past 18 months. It launched on June 9 as part of Italian Heritage Month in Ontario, a celebration that Sassone fully embraces. “I’m so well connected to Italy; I’ve been like that all my life,” says the artist, who visits the country each year to see family and friends. “It’s difficult for me to go to some other place because you want to keep your relationship with the food, the fashion, the arts and footwear.”

Sassone, 74, has always expressed an appreciation for footwear. It blossomed while growing up in what is arguably known as the art capital of Italy: Florence.

Born in the quaint Tuscan village of Campi Bisenzio in 1942, Sassone and his family moved to Florence in 1954. “Florence is a very special place. I would 50

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say [a] unique [place] in the world. And as you grow up, the fashion and the art – you are breathing them [in],” the former Istituto Galileo Galilei student says.

Aside from his fervent passion for the art of footwear, Sassone wanted to convey the theme of travel in his latest exhibition, which is predominantly apparent through his painting entitled, Journey. This painting depicts a pair of boots (similar to Sassone’s) on a large railroad track. “There is much with me regarding travelling, departures, arrivals and so forth – because I’ve been travelling all over the world,” says Sassone, who has exhibited in Italy, Japan, the U.S. and Canada. His Boots and Other Works will be Sassone’s sixth solo exhibition in Toronto since moving here in 2005.

It’s vividly apparent that the city has a special place in Sassone’s heart.

“Toronto is a major metropolis with a large Italian population. There is a big connection with the Italian community,” he says. Toronto also offered him inspiration as an artist. “From the moment I arrived, I got involved with the industrial landscape.”

For now, it’s Sassone’s affinity for footwear that is making all the clatter in his new exhibition – one that representatives and the Bata Shoe Museum are excited about. “What makes this exhibition really interesting is the fact that we’re showcasing some of Marco’s beautiful art,” says Emanuele Lepri, the director of the Bata Shoe Museum. “But, at the same time, you get to see these boots that love followed him since 1967.”

Lepri says Sassone’s thought process, creativity and intricate details are what attracted him to the artist’s work. “I find that Marco’s art is extremely powerful and in some ways, it’s very much about storytelling. With Marco’s works, you really need to keep looking. And then a story unfolds.”

Both Sassone and his boots have logged a lot of miles. If you listen closely, they could tell some incredible stories.

His Boots and Other Works runs until September 5 at Toronto’s Bata Shoe Museum, 327 Bloor Street West.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Maria Saracino with Feeding the Pigeons

Maria Saracino Capturing life’s moments in clay

By Agata De Santis

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ttawa-born Maria Saracino spends her days staring at small faces. That is, the faces of her unique polymer clay figurines that look so human you almost want to touch them to see if they’ll move.

The artistry behind those faces is undeniable. If art were a barometer, Saracino’s creations would fall somewhere between fine art sculpture and figurine doll.

Her clay of choice is a fairly new invention. Introduced in the 1980s, the oil-based PVC plastic polymer clay doesn’t dry out, which allows artists like Saracino the flexibility to work on a detailed sculpture for days on end. It’s the same plastic used to make the pipes under our kitchen sink – the end result is somewhat more beautiful.

Before her foray into figurative sculpturing, Saracino worked as a graphic designer for an ad agency. “It was a very old school agency,” she muses. “I worked with pen and paper.”

But after 18 years in the field, Saracino was burnt out. Things were changing in the industry and in the agency itself. This was the time to try something different – clay sculptures. Soon she was working on small projects and winning awards. Next came the exhibits.

In 2003, Saracino was part of a year-long exhibit called Presenza: A New Look at Italian-Canadian Heritage at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau.

Three of her pieces were on display at the special exhibit. It was an important stepping stone for Saracino. “It’s not an easy way to make a living. When you are in the art industry, it’s like selling yourself every day,” Saracino comments.

Today, her work is represented by three galleries: Orange Art Gallery in Ottawa, Ontario; Gallery on Gore in Perth, Ontario; and Rimawi Art Gallery in Rosemère, Quebec. Her work is often on exhibit and she teaches sculpturing workshops. Saracino also works on commissioned works. “I get asked to work on all types of pieces for retirements, special birthdays, a grandfather that wants to commission a piece of him and his grandkids, a piece that will be on the wedding cake,” Saracino explains. “It’s a lot nicer than a bobble-head. It’s a whimsical yet realistic characterized sculpture.”

Saracino has often been commissioned to create figurines of La Befana, the legendary old woman who delivers gifts to children throughout Italy on the night of the Epiphany. “In Italy, no one can find this type of Befana figurine,” Saracino adds.

Over the years she has created about 40 Befana figurines that can now be found in homes and the occasional exhibit in Canada, the U.S., Italy, and even as far as Australia.

Miniature Christmas figurines, including the nativity crèche, were part of Saracino’s early undertakings.

Saracino’s talents run in the family. Her father was a sculptor in Italy, specializing in marble and stone funeral monuments, vases, and oil and water containers. “But there wasn’t much of a demand for his work in Canada. Dad’s generation was in survival mode. So when he came to Canada, he took a job in construction, in tiling,” she explains.

A few months ago, Saracino’s latest collection of sculptures was featured in a solo exhibition at the Orange Art Gallery in Ottawa. Entitled Moments in Time, the collection featured pieces inspired by life’s everyday candid moments. “Some of my favourite happy memories are not found in a photo album, they are mental snapshots of a particular moment. The image comes with a feeling, a reaction, and a story. It’s those candid ‘moments in time’ that inspired my new collection,”

Saracino explains in a recent blog post. “Most of my work is happy and upbeat. It’s really everyday people that inspire me,” she continues. “The Vintner, the wine maker, comes up quite a bit in my work,” she explains.

Saracino’s inspirations might even come from a conversation with a complete stranger. A recent piece called “The Selfie” features an elderly couple attempting to take a selfie with their mobile phone. That project was inspired by a discussion Saracino had with a young adult on the difficulty older people have with new technology – a chat that started when the young adult teased Saracino about her “ancient” flip phone.

From October 21-23, Saracino will showcase at the Dimensions sculptural exhibit, which takes place in the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa.

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ARTS & CULTURE

Car Designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, car designer

By Sal Difalco

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erhaps it should come as no surprise that Italy’s most famous automobile designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro – named Car Designer of the Century in 1999, and synonymous with such icons as Ferrari, De Tomaso, Maserati, and even DeLorean – took at stab at designing a better pasta. He had already dabbled successfully designing everything from motorcycles and cameras to office furniture and even firearms, so designing pasta, another exercise in structure, seemed right in his wheelhouse.

As he half-jokingly explained during an interview with Panoram Italia in Toronto this past May – where he was in town for a “Colloquia” staged by Italy Inspires Canada, which showcased Italian science, art and technology – it took more time to design the pasta than to design a car. To demonstrate, the vibrant 77-year-old pulled out a thick tome profiling his work, including some of the most dazzling vehicles ever manufactured, and flipped to a section featuring his pasta design, entitled “Marille,” complete with detailed text

and sketches. “Engineering drawings for pasta!” he quipped, pointing out that his novel design allowed the pasta to remain al dente even if overcooked.

When asked what engendered his passion for cars and design, Giugiaro explains that growing up in Piemonte, with its FIAT automobile factory in Torino, it was impossible not to be influenced by cars and car culture.

Moreover, born into a family of artists, Giugiaro inherited a creative bent that ultimately went beyond painting or sculpting. “My father told me,” he says, “that in addition to artistic training, I also needed a technical background, and needed to learn to work in three dimensions – artistic but also technically sound. So I took an interest in engineering.”

While Giugiaro acknowledges the raw force of creativity in painting and sculpture, for instance – and has even on occasion beautifully put his own brushstrokes to canvas – he was drawn to designing products outside of traditional art but still imbued with the creative spirit. Creativity matters, he

DREAMS ROMANCE MEMORIES

CUSTOM DESIGNING FOR ALL OCCASIONS

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“

My father told me,” he says, “that in addition to artistic training, I also needed a technical background, and needed to learn to work in three dimensions.

“

agrees, but he emphasizes a sharp contrast between art and design.

“Design has an artistic component,” he says, “but it must be practical. It is not, and should never be confused with, art.” Not that design is somehow inferior to art. “We can sketch,” Giugiaro says, “and we can represent, not necessarily art, but we can do something functional that is also beautiful. But optics aside, the car has to work.” With a smile, he concedes that although just about anything can be identified as art these days, for design to be successful, to “work,” it fundamentally has to be useful.

When asked about the ubiquity and pre-eminence of design in a 21st century where everything from cinema seats to cup-holders evidence a designer’s influence, Giugiaro laughs. “A famous architect I know,” he states, “said he doesn’t want to hear that word ‘design’ anymore. Like art, the word has been worn thin.” But semantics aside, advances in design, he asserts, represent advances in human evolution, stemming from a desire to improve functionality and at the same time beautify. Married to technology, design is always moving forward, adapting, changing, improving. “Tutto diventa vecchio,” as he succinctly summarizes it.

Simply put, Giugiaro believes that design makes life better.

“We humans are always improving and adapting,” he says. “We can accomplish extraordinary things with creativity, continuing to adjust until aesthetics, pragmatics, and economics come into balance. And it’s often a question of what client and creator can compromise in terms of technology, economics, and existing laws.

At the same time, we are also faced with adapting to design.” He holds up his smartphone as an example. “I can’t go anywhere now without everybody being able to reach me.”

ARTS & CULTURE

Brivido, 2012

of the Century Just as we can create and design powerful and beautiful products, Giugiaro warns that “we can also become imprisoned by technology, inventing our own prisons, practical but also confining.” As he sees it, the key to avoid being prisoners of our own designs is maintaining balance with our lives, and allowing these technologies to help and not impede our progress.

Asked which of his creations ranks as his Mona Lisa – surely the De Tomaso Mangusta, or, at the very least, the Ferrari 250 Berlinetta – Giugiaro gives a deferential wave and says he doesn’t keep a single photograph of his cars around his house. “I have always given importance to the project,” he insists, “to the work itself. The process, the creativity, was and is paramount to me, not the car or the final product.”

That said, one can’t help but wonder if Giugiaro has his pasta blueprints hanging anywhere in his house, or a canister of the actual pasta, ready for consumption, gracing his kitchen.

Alfa Romeo GTV, 1963

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GRADUATES

Congratulations to all our graduates!

Auguri ai nostri laureati e diplomati!

Alyssa Marie Nicosia University of Guelph Humber Honours Bachelor of Commerce 2016

Deanna Spagnuolo University of Toronto Honours Bachelor of Arts 2016

Claudia DiGirolamo University of Toronto Honours Bachelor of Arts 2016

Matthew Martino George Brown College Construction Engineering Technology 2016

Aidan Danielle Alberico University of Guelph Sociology & Anthropology 2016

Adriana Maria Magazzeni Brock University Honours BA Child & Youth Studies 2016

Jason Paul Cinelli Ryerson University Business-Finance 2016

Christina Callegari University of Guelph Marine & Freshwater Biology 2016

Natasha Richichi-Fried University of Toronto History & Jewish Studies 2016

Michelle Galeotalanza Ryerson University Social Work 2016

Inez Caterina deBraga University of Toronto Bachelor of Kinesiology 2016

Luca Tonin Schulich School of Business Finance 2016

Stacey Svihla Seneca College Interior Decorating 2016

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Bianca Nadia Guzzo Ryerson University Bachelor of Journalism 2016

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Natasha Soda Ryerson University Media Production 2016

Rebecca Zseder St Marcellinus Secondary School 2016

Christian Domanico York University Bachelor of Human Resource Management 2016

Daniela Roscetti Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School 2016

Sabrina Bilotta University of Toronto Honours Bachelor of Arts 2016

Julia Giacomelli Emily Carr Secondary School 2016

Alessandra Mazzolin Dassios University of Toronto French, Victoria College 2016

Isabella Comello Father Clair Tipping Catholic School 2016

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EVENTS

50th Anniversary of CHIN Picnic Photo Credit: CHIN Radio/TV International

Thousands upon thousands flocked to Toronto’s historic neighbourhood of Little Italy from June 17 - 19 to experience one of the most exciting festivals of the summer. Originally held on Toronto Island and then the Canadian National Exhibition, all has come full circle with the CHIN International Picnic now finding its home on College Street and the place where it all

By Romina Monaco began. The multicultural event presented by CHIN Radio/TV International, marked its milestone 50th anniversary by celebrating alongside the annual Taste of Little Italy and featured headlining performers, Bobby Solo, as well as famed Latino artist, Henry Fiol.

“We are proud to recognize that something special has occurred since the time of our humble beginnings in 1966,” expressed CHIN President, Lenny Lombardi. “No one thought when my father, Johnny Lombardi, first conceived the model of multicultural radio broadcasting, that it would take flight with such a profound and lasting impact on the cultural fabric of Toronto and in turn, Canada. I’m so proud of this legacy.”

Grace Fusillo-Lombardi, Lenny Lombardi, Theresa Lombardi

A Look Back at Italian Heritage Month

Castello Italia photography by Tony Di Zio

From left: Giuseppe Pastorelli (Consul General of Italy to Toronto), Tony Rizzo, recipient, Franco Di Girolamo, recipient, S. E. Lorenzo Cornado (Italian Ambassador to Canada), Pal Di Iulio, recipient, Luigi Sanvido, recipient, L’On. Francesca La Marca

Consul General Giuseppe Pastorelli helps raise the Italian flag at Queen’s Park

The month of June in Ontario was dedicated to Italian Heritage Month (IHM), which has grown leaps and bounds since its creation in 2010.

The month-long celebrations were kicked off with the annual raising of the Italian flag at Vaughan’s City Hall. Renowned artist and poet, Massimo Lippi, told attendees that he felt “more Italian here” than in his home country of Italy.

The Italian flag was also proudly raised outside the Ontario Legislative Building at Queen’s Park in Toronto, where government officials and members of Ontario's Italian community came together to mark the beginning of IHM, which featured more than 30 events celebrating all things Italian in Canada.

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From left: Diana Panacci, Silvana Tibollo, Mario Paura, Alessandro Ruggera, Tanya Phillips, Ken Cancellara, Consul General of Italy Giuseppe Pastorelli who also served as Castello Italia co-chair along with Nick Di Donato, Pasquale Bova, Fabio Gesufatto (Executive Producer ofCastello Italia), Eddy Burello and Michael Tibollo

Photo Credit Blu Stella Entertainment Group Inc.

MPP Steven Del Duca, NCIC Toronto Chapter President Silvana Tibollo, Consul General Giuseppe Pastorelli and MP Francesco Sorbara.

The 2016 edition of Castello Italia on May 29 was Italian Heritage Month’s premiere event with 4,500 guests in attendance, making it the largest Italian National Day celebration outside of Italy.“ I’m privileged have been born in Italy and to come to a great country like Canada, which allows me the opportunity to celebrate my heritage,” said Nick Di Donato, Castello Italia co-chair and President & CEO of Liberty Entertainment Group who, along with Consul General of Italy Guiseppe Pastorelli, made this free event possible. “It’s wonderful to collaborate on this signature celebration and elevate this annual event to world class.”

The event, presented by Pizza Pizza, included the participation of numerous Italian-Canadian organizations and showcased all things Italian including a Ferrari display, an assortment of wines, as well as food stations serving samples from noted restaurants like Buca. As part of the festivities, the president of Italy and Minister of Foreign Affairs, as per protocol of Ordine della Stella d’Italia, conferred the title of Commendatore to four local Italian-Canadians (Tony Rizzo, Franco Di Girolamo, Pal Di Iulio, Luigi Sanvido), for their distinguished work in the community toward the enhancement of Italy.

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EVENTS

Peace Through Valour Monument Pullano Photography www.pullanophotography.com

Canadian soldiers who liberated Italy during the Second World War finally have a symbol recognizing their courage and sacrifices. The Peace Through Valour monument was officially unveiled at Nathan Phillips Square outside of Toronto City Hall on June 25. The sculpture is dedicated to the 93,000 Canadian soldiers who fought throughout Italy against German forces in what has become known as the Italian Campaign. It was made possible by donations received from the Peace Through Valour Committee of Villa Charities.

Consiglio Di Nino, who heads the committee, told Panoram Italia, “This has been an emotional journey for me,” adding he was inspired over 10 years ago when he began visiting Italian cemeteries where Canadian soldiers are buried. “The journey has been truly magical,” he told the crowd. “We did it.”

The bronze sculpture, created by artist Ken Lum, shows the destruction of the coastal town of Ortona in Abruzzo, the fiercest battle of the Italian Campaign, which was also the biggest victory. A statue of a Canadian solder stands at each of the four corners.

There were dozens of Italian Campaign veterans present at the ceremony. Including retired sergeant Herb Pike, who fought in Italy, attended the ceremony. “I’m not going to tell you it was enjoyable, but it wasn’t all blood and guts,” he said, adding that the Italians he encountered during the Second World War were thankful for the efforts of the Canadian soldiers.

Toronto Deputy Mayor and Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong was on hand to accept the monument on behalf of the City of Toronto, calling the sculpture “a generous and meaningful art work.” EglintonLawrence MP Marco Mendicino, said the sculpture serves as a “reminder to all Canadians of our shared past.”

(Rita Simonetta)

Unveiling of the Peace Through Valour Monument at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square

Sam Ciccolini, Toronto City Councillor and Deputy Mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong , Terry Nicholson, Director of Arts and Culture at the City of Toronto, and Consiglio Di Nino who spearheaded the project

Ordine al Merito Awards

From left: Silvana Tibollo (President NCIC - TD) and recipients Michael De Gasperis, Paula Brancati, Daniele Monticelli and Rossana Magnotta

In conjunction with Italian Heritage Month, the National Congress of Italian Canadians - Toronto District (NCIC - TD) once again honoured outstanding individuals at the Ordine al Merito and Youth Achievement Awards 2016.

“The Ordine al Merito and Youth Achievement Awards are merit based awards. Our four recipients this evening are exemplary leaders in our community who have gone above and beyond their call to service,” said NCIC TD President, Silvana Tibollo, as she addressed guests at the awards ceremony held June 2 in Vaughan.

Since 1974 the purpose of the NCIC - TD has been to represent, promote and as act as an advocate for Italian Canadians residing in and across the GTA with its prestigious awards given to those making valuable contributions to this community and to the overall betterment of society.

Recipients of the 2016 Ordine al Merito were real estate developer Michael De Gasperis in addition to Rossana Magnotta, President and CEO of Magnotta Winery. This year’s Youth Achievement Awards were presented to musical artist Daniele Monticelli, and actress Paula Brancati.

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EVENTS

Vaughan Mayor’s Gala Inspired by Vaughan’s 25th anniversary, this year’s “Making Modern History Gala” on May 25 raised a record-breaking $2 million benefiting over 100 non-for-profit organizations.

“I am proud to host the Mayor’s Gala each year because of what it represents and who it supports. Vaughan is a socially responsible community with people who genuinely care about each other,” expressed Mayor Bevilacqua who, along with donations made to his Annual Golf Classic, has raised a total of $5 million since 2011. “We made history and thanks to our caring and generous citizens, we have raised millions of dollars to help tens of Fourth from left: Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, Members of Council, City Manager Daniel Kostopoulos (far right) and thousands of people.” presenting sponsor Greenpark Group of Companies Chairman and CEO Carlo Baldassarra at the 2016 Mayor’s Gala.

A live auction, featuring dinner with the Mayor and the these funds allocated to Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, a generous pledge of opportunity to name a street in the Vaughan Healthcare Centre Precinct, $1.2 million was also made by Greenpark Group of Companies. closed at a record bid of $400,000 from Liberty Development. In addition to

Second Annual Million Dollar Challenge

Italian Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards Photo credit Life through a lens Studio

From left Corrado Paina, Executive Director of the ICCO with this year’s Business Excellence Awards recipients Pal Di Iulio, Gian Luigi Ongaro, Antonio Di Domenico, Linda Bertoldi, Tullio Bugada, Dr. Antonio Finelli and John Ruffolo From left Ken Shaw, National Editor & Anchor of CTV News Toronto, Dr. Rueben Devlin, President & CEO of Humber River Hospital, Heather Hurst, President & CEO of Humber River Hospital Foundation and Peter Eliopoulos, founder of byPeterandPauls.com

Nothing is more important than good health and understanding this better than anyone were the leading medical professionals who gathered June 15 for the 2nd Annual Million Dollar Challenge in support of the Humber River Hospital Foundation. Raising $416 000 in addition to the $1 million collected last year, the evening was made possible through the generous contribution of byPeterandPauls.com. “I visited the Humber River Hospital before it was open and knew I wanted to be a part of it,” said Peter Eliopoulos, byPeterandPauls.com founder. This is about giving back to the community and raising money for the hospital so that it can continue to be a leader in healthcare.”

Eliopoulos showed his commitment to the new Humber River Hospital (HRH) by not only presenting the event but also donating the use of the Paramount EventSpace in Vaughan, including all food and beverages.

“It was also a very special celebration as it is Rueben’s retirement after being with the hospital for 17 years,” added Eliopoulos, honouring Dr. Rueben Devlin for his outstanding work as HRH President and CEO. Under Devlin’s direction, HRH has received numerous awards as a top performing hospital and his vision has led to the creation of North America’s first fully-digital hospital.

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It was an evening of champagne toasts and congratulatory wishes as the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Ontario (ICCO), in collaboration with Air Canada, celebrated its 55th anniversary while presenting its 14th Annual Business Excellence Awards (BEA). The May 26 event recognized seven Italian Canadian individuals and groups who have made valuable and innovative contributions in the business, academic and scientific communities. “ I was lucky that I was born in Molise, Italy, and further lucky that my parents, Filomena and Giuseppe, had the foresight to import me to Canada at a young age,” said Community Building Award recipient, Pal Di Iulio, who was honoured for his past work as President and CEO of Villa Charities and the development of Toronto’s Villa Colombo (including Vaughan) as well as its adjacent Columbus Centre. “I was most fortunate to marry Mary Grace Labricciosa and produce three children, and again, most lucky that my wife allowed me to run around GTA for over 30 years doing community development work for Villa Charities with the knowledge and comfort that she, with the help of my in-laws, were at home looking after our most important assets: Stefania, Davide and Dante.” Di Iulio joined Panoram Italia as Associate Editor in October 2015.

Other recipients of the prestigious BEAs were John Ruffolo (Business Excellence), Linda Bertoldi (Businesswoman of the Year), The Ongaro Family (Italy-Canada), Tullio Bugada (Environmental Leadership), Dr. Antonio Finelli (Arte, Scienza eCultura) and Antonio Di Domenico (Next Generation).

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EVENTS

Hamilton Salutes Daybreak

Celebriamo Insieme L’Italianità Photography by Robert Palmese

From left: Sam Esposto, Nick Barbieri, Teresa Cirillo, George Furlanetto, Robert Palmese and Mike Uggenti.

Members of the TDSB Italian Heritage Committee

Hamilton’s Daybreak band received an Italian Heritage Award of Distinction in the Arts, Culture and Entertainment category this June. The musicians were recognized for their contribution to the city’s music scene and economy for more than 35 years.

The six Italian-Canadian members of Daybreak started as a basement band in the north end of Hamilton in the 1970s. They are made up of singer, Nick Barbieri; saxophone player, Tony Sciara; drummer, Mike Uggenti.

Guitarist, Roberto Palmese, joined the band in 1978, and bassist, George Furlanetto, joined in 1979. Tony Sciara played with the band until his passing in 1999. That year, Daybreak added a female singer to the roster: Teresa Cirillo.

The band sings traditional and contemporary Italian song, and they also perform music in Spanish, Portuguese, French as well as English. Additionally, Daybreak also plays their own original songs with Italian lyrics such as “Anima e Pelle,” which can be found on their website: www.daybreakmusik.com.

(Rita Simonetta)

The Toronto Catholic District School Board (TCDSB) and the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) joined forces June 7 to honour Italian culture at the 2nd Annual Celebriamo Insieme L’Italianità event in Downsview.

Staff of both boards, along with family and friends, feasted on Italian cuisine and danced to traditional music in commemoration of June’s Italian Heritage Month.

“Last year we had approximately 130 people attend our gala, but this year we had over 210 guests with the TCDSB joining us for the first time to make our event even more special,” said Rita Gallippi, Principal of Gateway Public School and co-chair of the TDSB Italian Heritage Committee.

Knights of Malta Photography by Francesco Vennare

From left: Chev. Joseph Wellman (Prior Central Canada), His Excellency Chev.

Mario Cortellucci (Grand Prior Canada) His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins, Chev. Andre Vezina (Prior Eastern Canada), Chev. Tony Nalli (Aide-de-Camp, Grand Prior of Canada), Chev. Renato Baldari (Deputy Prior Central Canada)

Regal and centuries-old traditions benefiting modern philanthropy was the order of the day at the Spring of Hope Gala. Held June 3 in Vaughan and sponsored by the Sovereign Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights of Malta (SHOSJ), recognized the investiture of new Knights and Dames and the elevated status of Knights while raising funds for the Archdiocese of Toronto.

“It is an honour and privilege to be the Grand Prior of Canada to the Order of St. John of Jerusalem Knights of Malta, a group of good Christians whose only interest is to help people in need all over the world,” said H.E. Chev. Mario Cortellucci.

The Order of St. John, which assisted Christian pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land, is one of the most ancient in all chivalry tracing its origins to 11th century. Today it is represented worldwide with a mission to raise funds for humanitarian projects.

In attendance was His Eminence Thomas Cardinal Collins who, in addition to a previous donation of $500 000, was presented with $200 000 to support Camp Ozanam, an initiative of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and one of the numerous charitable undertakings of the Archdiocese.

330 University Avenue, Suite 506 Toronto, ON M5G 1R7 T: (416) 629-7022 F: (416) 204-1846 marco@marcosciarralaw.com

marcosciarralaw.com PANORAMITALIA.COM

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SPORTS

Photography from Reuters

Italian team celebrating win against Spain

Italy’s Gutsy Performance at Euro 2016

By Joey Strizzi

P

undits called this edition the worst Italian team on paper in over 50 years.

After a difficult performance at the 2014 World Cup, that didn’t bode well for the Azzurri at the 2016 Euros. Yet, naysayers became believers when the Italians came within a hair’s length of reaching the tournament’s semi-final round, pushing Germany – the defending World Cup champions and tournament favourites – to penalty kicks. “Regrets can arrive when you feel you didn’t give everything,” goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon told members of the media after the game, “but that’s not the case. We were a step away from a great feat.”

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Expectations were really low for this Italian side. Injuries to key members Claudio Marchisio and Marco Veratti left the midfield in doubt, especially considering stalwart general Andrea Pirlo was left off the roster, winding down his career with New York City FC. Questions about where the goals would come from were whispered by many. But what ended up happening was a team lacking outright star power came together, and when everyone buys into the system, success will follow.

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SPORTS

Photography provided by UEFA

Regrets can arrive when you feel you didn’t give everything, but that’s not the case. We were a step away from a great feat.

“

– Gianluigi Buffon

Italy 2-0 Belgium Although Germany was the unanimous pre-tournament favourite, Belgium was the highest ranking country entering the competition, holding the number 2 spot on the FIFA World Rankings (behind Argentina). The Belgians, counting on 7 Premier League players in its starting 11 and a lot of fire power, were shut out by an Italian side that played stingy defence and scored opportunistic goals.

The win over Belgium set the tone for a very determined Italian squad.

Italy 1-0 Sweden Italy’s second group stage game was a little less exciting than its first, but the strategy was just as successful, topping Sweden 1-0. The Italian team showed unwavering commitment to defending, holding the Swedes to zero – yes zero – shots on goal. Despite the lack of quality for most of the game, the Azzurri were all on the same page and managed to find a way to grind out the game, and ultimately secured first place in Group E. Italy 0-1 Ireland As top of their group, Italy approached the game versus the Republic of Ireland a little differently. Italian bench boss Antonio Conte made eight changes to the lineup that beat Sweden, resting his regulars and giving some minutes to younger, less experienced players at the international level. But Ireland was resolute, absolutely needing a victory to advance out of the group. Thanks to a Robbie Brady header in the 85th minute, the Irish handed the Azzurri its first defeat.

Italy 2-0 Spain The reward for finishing top of the group was a date with the defending Euro champs, Spain. Yet, it seemed like the Italians were the ones donning the crown, playing an inspired game full of discipline and personality.

Under the rain, Italy made La Furia Roja look slow and predictable. The Italians were first to every ball and probably should have won the game by a bigger score line. The Azzurri’s attack was relentless, flooding the box with crosses after playing down the wings, while Spain could not figure out Italy’s defence. Goals by Chiellini in the 32nd minute on a rebound off of an Eder free kick and a Pelle volley in the 91st minute sent the Spaniards home and the Italians into the quarterfinals against Germany.

Italian team celebrating win against Belgium

Italy 1-1 Germany (5-6 on PKs) Although Germany had never beaten the Azzurri at a major tournament in its previous eight attempts, Die Mannschaft were heavy favourites at the start of this tournament and looked to be in the driver’s seat coming into this matchup. Yet again, the Italians defied the odds and pushed the defending World Cup champs to a heartbreaking nine-round penalty kick shootout loss. Germany had been the best team at the tournament up until this point, yet forced to play a gruelling 120-minute game against a defiant Italian side, who had come to play.

Both teams missed three times – a couple of those in horrendous fashion, before Manuel Neuer stopped Matteo Darmian’s effort in the ninth round. Jonas Hector struck the winning kick, the 18th of the shootout, putting the Germans through to the semi-finals and ending a courageous run by an understated, yet dogged Italian side that no one expected to be where they were.

Secret to their success Head Coach Antonio Conte, who has left the national team for club duty at Chelsea now that the tournament is done, talked about values on the pitch and in the locker room. Some of his decisions to leave certain players off the roster for this competition left many people questioning him, yet he let the results answer for him. All good teams bear the mark of their coach. Conte was the best manager at this tournament, and it showed. With a roster lacking the big name talent, he led the team to what ultimately had the feel and intensity of a final against the Germans in the quarters.

He played three at the back, which a number of people questioned. He made adjustments based on his opponents, whether to clog the middle versus Germany or double team Ibrahimovic against Sweden. His decisions had an impact on every single game. He built a squad that outworked its opponents, statistically outrunning every other side that made it to the quarterfinals.

And he managed to get everyone to buy into his system. “To have a hardworking and united group is our greatest victory,” added Buffon.

“It paves the way for future successes.” Maybe that path to success can see its ultimate prize at the legendary goalkeeper’s final international tournament at World Cup 2018.

The perfect urban destination to shop Italian style!

torontocorsoitalia.com On St Clair between Westmount and Lansdowne PANORAMITALIA.COM

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SPORTS

Bianca Farella Part of historic rugby team in Rio

By Marisa Iacobucci

Photography by Lorne Collicutt

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dozen dreams have been realized for 12 women on the Canadian women’s rugby sevens team playing in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games this August. And if that wasn’t sweet enough, they’ve also made history. They’re the first ever Canadian women’s rugby sevens team to compete on the Olympic pitch.

That’s quite a feat, particularly for 24-year-old Bianca Farella, who joined the national team in Victoria, B.C. less than four years ago. When the roster was officially announced in early July, Farella was thrilled.

“Our coaches were about to make 12 dreams come true,” said the Montreal native. “A couple of girls have been training 10 years for this. After all of our hard work, it’s just wild that this was happening.”

Rugby fifteens (composed of 15 players) have been a part of the Olympics as far back as the 1920s. But this will be an inaugural event for a sevens rugby team (consisting of seven players on the field on each side) that play for two halves of seven minutes each.

“It’s fast-paced, exciting rugby and very much a spectator sport, which is why I think it will be a fun introduction to the Olympics,” said Farella, who’s one of the best scorers in female rugby sevens and the second best in Canada (her teammate Ghislaine Landry is first).

Following the announcement of their selection for the Olympic team, team members celebrated the news as only athletes living in Vancouver Island’s beautiful capital city would – by driving up island to exercise.

“We wanted to celebrate, but what we also wanted was to focus and go train,” said Farella. “So, as excited as we were, we were also aware that we have a job to complete. I think most of us are trying to think of the Olympics as another tournament in our season. We still have to perform and I have to do my role as do the other six people on the field.”

Heading to the Olympics was the team’s biggest and latest accomplishment in an impressive 2015-2016 season. The squad competed in five tournaments and placed second overall. It served as the culmination of more than a decade of sacrifices, hard work and training that began when she was only 13.

Farella had always enjoyed team sports while she was growing up, but she wanted to try something new. One of her friends convinced her to go out to the rugby try outs. The then-13-year-old Farella instantly found a new passion.

By 2008, she was playing for U17 Quebec. In 2011, the U20 Canada team called on her for the Nations Cup (a tournament with USA, South Africa and England). A year later, the rugby player was showcasing her skills for Concordia University. The same year, she joined the Senior Canada squad and helped them reach first place.

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Bianca Farella

“What draws me to the sport mostly is that each role requires a certain strength so you have a lot of different people on the field with different strengths,” explained Farella.

While the Montrealer said she loves living in Victoria and appreciates the global experiences she’s gained by being a member of the national team, her heart will always be in her hometown of Côte St Luc. Her father’s parents moved to the city from Bari, Puglia; her maternal grandfather was born in Avellino, Campania, while her mother’s grandmother hails from Le Marche. Farella’s parents and her younger sister Julia (who is a student at Concordia University) still live in Montreal, and she speaks to them often, adding that she misses her mom’s and nonna’s homemade meals.

But Farella said she’s grateful she’s found a second family on the pitch.

“We’re all pretty close,” she pointed out. “We’re together all the time and we all moved away to Victoria from our loved ones. Rugby has a family-like atmosphere and camaraderie because if I do my job right, then the person next to me can do her job right.”

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