December 08

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MondoPop Gallery

In via dei Greci, just a couple of minutes from Piazza di Spagna you will find an art gallery unlike any other in Rome. See pg. 9

Rome, sweet home

Here are some tips on how to rent a house in Italy’s most expensive city. See pg. 6

“Sex & Food”

The former AS Roma player Antonio Cassano recently published autobiography. See pg. 15

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Monthly newspaper · year I - issue 2

Doubled VAT on Pay-TV

www.romepost.it · December 2008

Christmas markets in Rome

Deck the stalls with boughs of holly Rome photo: mk media production

Premier and media magnate Silvio Berlusconi was accused of a conflict of interest after his government included a measure doubling VAT on pay TV in its anti-crisis stimulus bill. More than 90% of the Italian pay-TV market is held by Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Italia with its 4.6 million subscribers while Berlusconi’s Mediaset has 5.4% but is pushing for more. See pg. 3

City transport company ATAC will run a special Christmas free shopping shuttle (line 100) over the Christmas period. The new line runs from Termini Station to Rome’s principal shopping streets in the historic center.

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ome is a city to be enjoyed “en plein air” – not just in the summer but also in the crisp bright days of winter. The city is vibrant and alive during the colder months of the year and in the days before Christmas there’s a new feel in the air; the buildings and monuments seem spruced up as festive lights are switched on, red, green and gold decorations are brought out and dozens of little Christmas markets spring up in streets and squares across the capital. See pg. 5

The changing face of Rione Monti

The Roman School Art in the park Until 11 January, the Casino dei Principi is hosting “Scuola Romana. Artisti a Roma tra le due guerre”, an intriguing exhibition of more than 50 works. The paintings, sculptures, drawings and documents on show offer a glimpse of an extremely fertile period for art in Rome.

See pg. 12

Auditorium Music Park Music at Christmas Without doubt one of the

Ten years ago the Rione Monti was a neighbourhood deeply rooted in historic Roman traditions. The area with it’s old buildings is beautiful and typically Roman, and contains some of the most important sites of the city. But what was once a district dominated by craft workshops and small traditional commercial activities has undergone a rapid and startling transformation. See pg. 7

highlights on the musical scene in Rome this Christmas will be the 13th annual Gospel Festival at Renzo Piano’s magnificent Auditorium. The festival gets underway on December 20th with a concert by the Soweto Gospel Choir and will continue

Roman tomb back on show (ANSA) – An ancient Roman tomb went on show to the public again for the first time in 30 years as part of restoration work at the Museo Nazionale Romano at Diocletian’s Baths in Rome. The tomb of Sulpicius Platorinus, one of three coin minters in the city, was discovered on the right bank of the River Tiber in 1880 and contained exquisitely decorated cinerary urns, the bust of a young Advertisement

woman, and two statues of Platorinus and his daughter. The funerary objects have now been reunited with the reconstruction of Platorinus’ 7.5 metre x 7 metre tomb in the museum’s newly renovated spacious Hall X. Rome’s archaeology superintendant Angelo Bottini said the

tomb of one of Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ favourites that was discovered last month will also soon go on show in the hall. Archaeologists recovered parts of the tomb of Marcus Nonius Macrinus, a proconsul for Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD), in October, although some of it is thought to have fallen into the Tiber. Macrinus was at first erroneously identified as the man who inspired the writers of the Ridley Scott Oscar-winning epic, Gladiator.

with performances by different groups every evening until New Years Eve with a special gala concert featuring The Jackson Singers.

See pg. 11


2 ITALIAN JOB Police arrested two Moroccans

“Italy is a terrorist target”

Al Qaeda terror suspects nabbed (ANSA) Milan – Milan anti-terrorist police on 2 December arrested two Moroccans suspected of belonging to al Qaeda who were planning attacks on targets in northern Italy. Police said Rachid Ilhami, 31, and Gafir Abdelkader, 42, had planned attacks on a supermarket and a night club carpark in Seregno and two police stations in Giussano, both towns in the northern province of Monza. Wiretaps revealed the men had initially planned to use a van packed with explosives but then decided on oxygen cylinders after Internet research. Police said the men had revealed their links to al Qaeda during their conversations. A total of ten people are under investigation as a result of the operation. Both Ilhami and Abdelkader are thought to have lived in Italy for several years. Last year police chiefs warned of the risk of attacks in Italy by North African terror groups linked to al Qaeda after a number of arrests in Lombardy. In November last year police arrested 20 people in a crackdown against a sus-

pected Islamic terrorist cell in Milan accused of recruiting would-be suicide bombers and sending them off to Iraq and Afghanistan. The cell was believed to be linked to North African terrorist groups including Algeria’s Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat, known by its French initials GSPC, which recently renamed itself al-Qaida of the Islamic Maghreb. In June 2007 nine arrest warrants were issued for members of the same organisation believed to have offered financial and logistic support to terrorists operating in Tunisia and Algeria. ¶

Italy heads EU Mission

Kercher Murder trial postponed

(ANSA) – Italy took command of the European Union military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Thursday, taking over from Spain. Italian general Stefano Castagnotto will lead the 2,500-strong multinational force in the region until December 2009. The EU operation was launched in 2004 in the framework of the European Security and Defence Policy and replaced NATO-led troops that had operated in the region since 1995. ¶

(ANSA) – The trial of two suspects in the murder of British university student Meredith Kercher has been postponed from December 4 to January 16. The trial of Kercher’s 21-year-old American flatmate, Amanda Knox, and Knox’s 24-year-old Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, has been delayed for “technical reasons”. Kercher, 21, was found in her bedroom semi-naked and with her throat slashed on November 2 last year in the house she shared with Knox and two other Italian women. Last month a third defendant, 21-year-old Ivory Coast national Rudy Guede, was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years for sexually assaulting and murdering the British exchange student. Guede had opted for a separate fast-track trial without a jury to avoid being tried alongside Knox and Sollecito, who his lawyers feared would try to pin the blame on Guede. The prosecution claims Kercher was killed when all three suspects tried to force her to participate in “a perverse group sex game”. Knox, Sollecito and Guede claim they are innocent. ¶

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini photo: ansa

Italy can no longer be regarded only as a “logistical base” for terrorists but must be considered a target, Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said. Speaking a day after two Moroccans were arrested by anti-terrorist police on charges of planning attacks on targets in Milan and towns in the Lombardy region, Frattini said it was necessary to heighten the level of alert in the country. “There are terrorists ready to make attacks on Italy. Until now, Italy was thought of only as a logistical base,” he said. Interior Minister Roberto Maroni described the situation as “new and worrying’’. “We are verifying whether this relates to an extended network or an isolated case,” he added. ¶

Record truffle found in Molise

The gold of the earth

Amanda Knox

photo: ansa

(ANSA) – Italian truffles are enjoying an increase in popularity abroad with exports up 35% in the first eight months of 2008. The union added that the Italian truffle industry will be worth an estimated half a billion euros in 2008. On 29 November a giant 1.080 kg white truffle from the Molise region fetched 200,000 dollars at an international charity auction, snapped up by Chinese business magnate Stanley Ho. In 2007 Ho set the world record price for a single truffle, forking out 330,000 dollars for a Tuscan truffle weighing 1.5 kg – one of the largest truffles found in the last 50 years. As well as providing uplinks for the charity auctions, the web is also feeding the worldwide truffle market. A so-called Truffle Bourse can be accessed at www.albatartufi.com, where you can look at quotes for the main varieties of the white tuber, receive advice from trifoleaux (truffle experts) and get wind of all the promotional events for the underground gems. Then, at www.comune.acqualagna. ps.it, black truffle fans can take part in discussions on their favourite fungus and receive updates on the latest truffle prices. ¶

photo: ansa

PERSONALITIES OF THE MONTH Fellini’s dreams at Oscar Italian movie great Federico Fellini’s dreams will be on show at next year’s Oscars. A Book of Dreams compiled by the director from 1960 until 1990 will be the centrepiece of the exhibition which will also feature about 100 drawings as well as set photos. Entitled Fellini Oniricon, the show will run from January 29, just before the Oscar nominations are announced, until April 19, six weeks after the Oscar ceremony. Fellini won four Best Foreign Film Oscars: La strada (1954); Le Notti di Cabiria (1957); 8½ (1963) and Amarcord (1973).

Artist Botero in tax row World-famous Colombian sculptor and painter Fernando Botero has not paid a cent on his earnings in Italy for the last five years. The undeclared income amounts to some seven million euros, the tax police said. Botero, 76, who has made a career out of painting and sculpting whimsically outsized figures, has lived and worked in the Tuscan village of Pietrasanta near Lucca for 30 years but is officially resident in Monte Carlo.

Grillo to leave Italy Italy’s crusading comic Beppe Grillo has bought a house in Switzerland over fears that his anticorruption blog – the most popular in Italy and among the top 20 worldwide – may be censored or shut down under a new measures being discussed in parliament. Blogs that failed to register with Register of Communications Operators would have been reported for clandestine publishing, a crime punishable by up to two years in prison as well as financial penalties. In 2005, American magazine Time named Grillo one of its European heroes of the year.

New Mr Peperoncino crowned A Romanian man wolfed down half a kilo of fiery Italian chilli peppers in half an hour on Lake Como to become Italy’s latest Mr Peperoncino. With 485 grammes, 22-year-old Christian Szavu pipped six-time champ Adriano Gatto who gobbled down 475g of the red-hot spices in the allotted time. Another veteran peperoncino-munching star, Emilio Volponi, was left fuming far back in third place with just 240g. ansa


ITALIAN JOB

Integration based on shared values

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ECONOMICS IN BRIEF

Italy’s Muslims should have more mosques as long as they are controlled to make sure they are not turned to other ends, the Vatican’s “cultural minister” said. photo: ansa

Farm tourism is a booming business in Italy Rome – From 1998 to 2007 holiday farms authorised for this form of green tourism have increased by 82.3pct to 17,720 total. These businesses are growingly run by women, with 34.9pct of them having woman owners. Tremonti presented Social Card Rome – Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti illustrated the new ‘social card’ to be given to the economically disadvantaged in Italy. The debit-discount card will give holders 40 euros a month to be spent in authorised food supermarkets. The annual cost of the program is estimated at 450 million euros and 1.3 million people are expected to be eligible for the card.

photo: ansa

Vatican: Mosques ok

Consumption will improve end 2009 Brussels – Italian families ”will probably remain cautious” regarding consumption and “the growth in consumption may not pick up until the end of 2009”. This is reported by the OECD in Economic Outlook, which notes a “strong increase” in the number of people on salaries which will force them to make economies in 2008, and an increase in unemployment is expected for the whole of 2009”.

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taly’s Muslims should have more mosques as long as they are controlled to make sure they are not turned to other ends, the Vatican’s “cultural minister” said. Speaking after two terrorist arrests in Milan sparked calls for a freeze on mosque construction, Vatican Cultural Council Chief Msgr Gianfranco Ravasi said Islamic places of worship must not become “a different model”, such as those that turn out to be preaching extremism. “If (the mosque) does become something different, civil society has a right to intervene,” Ravasi said at a conference on interreligious dialogue. Another influential bishop echoed Ravasi’s call. “We must ensure that the Muslims present in our country can cul-

tivate their religion in an appropriate way,” the No.2 of the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI), Msgr Mariano Crociata said. Ravasi and Crociata were speaking after calls, repeated on Wednesday by rightwing government party the Northern League, to freeze the construction of mosques. Crociata said calls to freeze mosques were “excessive”. But he stressed that suggesting some parts of sharia law should be incorporated into Italian law, as the Anglican Church has in England, was not necessary for integration. Integration should be based on shared values, he said, and Muslims should have enough mosques that they do not have to worship in the street or in other “unsuitable” conditions. ¶

Business is business Doubled VAT on Pay-TV

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t would be interesting to know what the AC Milan’s fans think about the package of measures approved by Berlusconi’s cabinet. We mean the same football fans which are Sky’s subscribers. Until now, the VAT paid by them for this service has been 10%, but Berlusconi’s cabinet doubled it on pay TV from January 1 as part of its anti-crisis measures. So 4,7 million households that have signed up to Sky, will be penalized. More than 90% of the Italian pay-TV market (due to the rights to Italy Serie A football fixtures) is held by Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Italia while Berlusconi’s Mediaset has about 5% – and its subscribers pay 20% of VAT. Berlusconi’s group launched a pay-TV service on a digital terrestrial network two years ago offering mainly soccer, films and serials, the same market Sky appeals to. So Premier and media magnate Silvio Berlusconi was accused of a conflict of interest after his government included a measure doubling VAT on pay TV. Berlusconi defended the move saying that Mediaset was equally affected. He said the pay-TV sector had benefited from the halving of VAT by the previous centre-left government – a move which was now being simply reversed. A spokeswoman for the European commission confirmed that Brussels had told the Italian authorities that it would bring a case against them if they did not do something about the discrepancy. But the spokeswoman added: “The government had to decide if everyone went to 10% or 20%, because it is the [member state] that decides on the rate, and not us”. ¶

photo: ansa

photo: ansa

Orange production down 33% Rome – Italy’s orange production this year will be about a third less than last year but the country has sufficient stocks to meet demand, the Coldiretti farmers’ union said on Monday. This year’s orange crop is running 33% less due to late spring bad weather when trees were already flowering.

Foreign trade: October Balance -380mn with non-EU countries Rome – The balance of trade with non-EU countries was negative by 380 million euro in October, a worse result compared to the deficit of 306 million recorded in October 2007. This has been reported by the National Statistical Institute.

photo: ansa

Emirates choose Italy as European Hub Rome – Emirates, the flag-carrying airline of the government of the United Arab Emirates has chosen Italy to host its hub for European access and will operate, in particular, through Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa and Venice. photo: ansa

Layoffs in 2008 already number over 360,000 Rome – At least 362,000 people were placed on temporary or long-term unemployment rolls in the first 11 months of 2008, a clear indication of the “extraordinary” nature of the current economic crisis, Italy’s biggest trade union said.

Public Accounts: GDP 2009 -0,5% Rome – The Italian GDP will show a reduction of 0.5% in 2009 and the public deficit will rise again above the 3% threshold, reaching 3.2%. These are the forecasts drawn up by NENS, the New Economy New Society research centre founded by former ministers Vincenzo Visco and Pierluigi Bersani. Italy fourth in Country Brand Index 2008 Milan – Italy climbed from fifth to fourth place and was the top European country in the 2008 Country Brand Index. Australia once again topped this year’s list followed respectively by Canada and the United States. After Italy came Switzerland, France, New Zealand, Britain, Japan and Sweden, respectively. Italy was cited for its “mix of art, history, culture, natural beauty, food, design and business”.

photo: ansa

Italy in worst recession since 1992 Rome – Italy is in its worst recession since 1992, national statistics bureau Istat said. GDP fell 0.5% in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter and 0.9% compared to the same quarter in 2007. It is the second straight quarter GDP has fallen – the technical definition of a recession.

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4 ROME NEWS Roma Capitale

What political future for the Eternal City? The Italian government is set to introduce a package of sweeping federalist reforms. One consequence will be radical changes to how Rome is administered and financed. { Emiliano Pretto }

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One of the policy keystones for the centre-right government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is a package of measures grouped together under the title of “fiscal federalism”. Essentially, the aim is to devolve a swathe of financial and taxation powers away from central government towards regional administrations. One major consequence could see significant changes to the administrative status of Rome. Changes which would allow the capital to benefit from extraordinary funding measures and new legislative powers. The legislation is scheduled for approval by January 2009. If it is passed, it will radically change the administrative status of the Italian capital, providing a series of reforms that have long been called for but never realised. Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno Italy, like almost every other western European nation, has a photo: ansa multi-tiered administration: below the national government are regional, provincial and municipal authorities. Each level of government claims a specific range of powers and obligations; municipal councils usually possess limited autonomy. Evidently, from an administrative point of view, Rome City Council is nothing more than a municipal body. But in many countries the national capital enjoys a special status. For example, Paris, Madrid and Berlin are administered as city-regions. Rome is not. Essentially, Rome – a major European metropolis – has the same economic resources and legislative powers as the smallest of provincial Italian municipalities. Proposals to abolish this anomaly and to provide Rome with its own special status have for years been the subject of debate at local and national level. Finally, perhaps, things are about to change. The proposals currently on the table would endow Rome City Council with the same powers as a regional administration. Decision-making procedures would become slimmed down and swifter. And the city coffers would be boosted by around 500 million euros annually, providing much-needed funding for the administration’s ailing finances and kick-starting vital long-term investment in infrastructures. Rome has the same economic resources and legislative powers as the smallest of provincial Italian municipalities

Black Box plans for Rome Horse Buggies

Save the horses Rome city council is mulling plans to install ‘black boxes’ in the capital’s controversial horse-driven buggies after a horse died. (ANSA) – Under new plans, all horses will be equipped with pedometers and microchips in an effort to regulate the buggies, which take tourists on romantic rides through the city’s old cobbled streets. “We will adopt pedometers as a sort of taxi metre that will also work as a black box. It will tell us how many hours a horse has worked and if the obligatory breaks have been respected,” said Rome council’s environment chief, Fabio De Lillo. City law requires drivers to give horses a 30 minute break after every trip they make and in summer months bans the animals from working under the baking sun between 13.00 and 17.00. Controls will also be stepped up, increasing from just once a year to once a month, and twice a month during the summer, De Lillo said. “The police will have a reader for the microchips that all horses will have, and which will contain information on the age of the animal, on the identity of its driver and above all on the number of checks it’s had”. De Lillo said most drivers, vets and animal welfare associations were behind the plans. In November a horse had to be put down after breaking a leg when it slipped and fell, apparently panicked by speeding traffic. Passers-by watched in

There are 90 horses working in Rome photo: ansa

horror as the animal’s body was removed from a road near the Colosseum by a crane. Animal rights group ENPA began lobbying Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno to ban the buggies altogether in July, claiming that the horses were mistreated and locked up in their communal stables “sometimes for weeks” before being “cruelly sent to the butcher when they aren’t needed any more”. Campaigners say that coping with Rome’s smog and traffic-choked streets is also harmful for the animals’ health. ENPA asked Alemanno to convert buggy drivers’ authorisation into licenses to drive taxis and said it would guarantee board and lodging for the restful retirement of the 90 animals currently working in the capital. Buggy drivers hit back at the suggestions of animal cruelty, saying they looked after their horses “as if they were our own children”. All horses in the capital are supposed to wear specially designed nappies to stop them dirtying the city’s streets – but not all drivers abide by the rule. ¶

Italian fashion world

Mattiolo under house arrest

Two proposals are under consideration. The first would expand the present municipal territory to include the area currently administered by the Province of Rome, with the new expanded entity to be known as the “Rome Metropolitan Area”. Under this proposal the Rome Provincial Council would cease to exist. The alternative plan would leave the current municipal boundaries untouched, but would endow the city administration with the same powers as Italy’s Regional governments. This second proposal would certainly be easier to bring into effect and is also the one which currently seems to have most support, including from centre-right Rome mayor Gianni Alemanno, who at the end of November warned that expanding the administrative area, as in the “Rome Metropolitan” proposal would simply lead to the creation of unproductive and time-consuming talking shops between Rome City Council and the other municipalities that would be absorbed by the new body. The centre-left President of the Province of Rome Nicola Zingaretti does not agree and is pushing for the Metropolitan solution. “Many mayors of the municipalities that would be included in an expanded administrative district for Rome are convinced that the creation of the Metropolitan Area could only be positive,” insisted Zingaretti. “We need to look at the capital and its hinterland as one vast area, create the Rome Metropolitan Area in the territory which is currently administered by the Province and provide the Region of Lazio with a special statute.” ¶

(ANSA) – The Italian fashion world was in a spin after the arrest of top designer Gai Mattiolo on charges of financial irregularities. Mattiolo, 40, who has dressed entertainers like Sharon Stone, Geri Halliwell, Pamela Anderson and Juliette Lewis, is accused of shifting cash from his crisishit firm to Luxembourg just before entering an Italian debt-restructuring agreement. The sums came from royalties on his last publicity campaign, investigators said. Though “formally correct”, investigators said, the actions Mattiolo took on the advice of his consultant Giancarlo Tabegna allegedly had “fraudulent ends”. Mattiolo has been placed under house arrest at his villa in Rome. Tabegna, one of Rome’s top corporate lawyers, is also under house arrest. The probe is continuing, police said. Mattiolo, whose birth name was Gaetano, became an overnight sensation when he opened a small Rome atelier at the age of 19 and was soon the darling of Roman society ladies. Dubbed the ‘enfant’ prodige’ of Italian fashion, he created bright, sculpted pieces that had critics reaching for comparisons with Gianni Versace. Mattiolo was the first designer to get permission to stage shows at Rome landmarks like Castel Sant’Angelo and Pizza del Popolo. He rapidly progressed to glitzy shows in Rome, Milan and Paris starring supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Eva Herzigova. Mattiolo’s arrest was flashed across Italian TV and the Internet, prompting Stefano Dominella, head of the noted fashion house Gattinoni, to say the media latched on to entertainment arrests “excessively” compared to those of politicians or businessmen. Dominella added that Mattiolo’s events “gave Rome prestige”. ¶ Gai Mattiolo photo: ansa


ROME NEWS “Limited to investments”

Mafia infiltration in Rome (ANSA) – “There is no real infiltration of organised crime in the city – we’re talking predominantly about investments,” Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno played down the extent of Mafia influence in the Italian capital following a series of police operations uncovering organised crime investments in Rome businesses. The mayor added that the city council would begin a campaign with Rome’s businessmen to “vaccinate the city against the risk of Mafia infiltration”. Anti-Mafia police in November seized assets worth 30 million euros from a drugs trafficking gang

The Rampa restaurant near Spanish Steps involved in investigations photo: ansa whose members had links with both Sicily’s Cosa Nostra Mafia and the Calabrian Ndrangheta. Restaurants, businesses, villas and apartments were among the goods confiscated from the group. Over the last two months a number of Rome businesses, including hotels and shopping centres, have also been investigated. Two popular city centre restaurants – La Rampa, an eatery popular with politicians, TV stars and journalists near the famous Spanish Steps, and the Cafe’ de Paris on Rome’s Via Veneto – have also been involved in investigations because of suspected connections with the ‘Ndrangheta. “In the 1970s the Mafia organisations used to invest predominantly on their own turf, but today it’s more profitable for them to invest in Rome, Milan and abroad,” explained Rome police chief Giuseppe Caruso following the most recent asset confiscation. ¶

Christmas markets in Rome

Deck the stalls with boughs of holly Christmas is coming and Rome is putting on its festive finery: illuminations, decorations and market stalls around the city. { Francesco Paolo Del Re }

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Rome is a city to be enjoyed “en plein air” – not just in the summer but also in the crisp bright days of winter. The city is vibrant and alive during the colder months of the year and in the days before Christmas there’s a new feel in the air; the buildings and monuments seem spruced up as festive lights are switched on, red, green and gold decorations are brought out and dozens of little Christmas markets spring up in streets and squares across the capital. Browsing through the bustling markets is a pleasure in itself but it might also provide some inspiration for last-minute gifts. One of Rome’s oldest and most famous Christmas markets is in piazza Navona. This elegant, elongated piazza which displays the architectural genius of Bernini and Borromini, is one of the finest Baroque masterpieces in papal Rome but it has been at the heart of public life in the city for more than two thousand years. The piazza follows the plan of an ancient Roman circus, the Stadium of Domitian, dating back to the 1st century AD. The Christmas market has taken place in piazza Navona for centuries. Stalls are set out across the square with Bernini’s monumental

Fountain of the Four Rivers at its centre. The market opens on December 1 and runs until January 6 – the Feast of the Epiphany when Italians, especially Italian children, celebrate the arrival of the Befana – the Christmas Witch who brings gifts and sweets for the good and lumps of coal for the mischievous. The stalls are full of sweet treats, chocolate and slabs of torrone – crunchy nut-filled nougat. There’s candy floss too and the scent of roasting chestnuts hangs in the air. There are stalls crammed with toys, craft products and a host of seasonal goods. But the historic speciality in piazza Navona is the hand-crafted figures used to compose nativity scenes – still a common feature in many Italian homes. Less traditional Christmas decorations are also a big seller.

Moving across the city – and the centuries – the Rome Auditorium, which opened in 2002, has rapidly established a name for itself as a popular venue for seasonal events around Christmas and the New Year. The stunning trio of concert halls and multi-purpose arts centre hosts Christmas at the Auditorium, a month-long celebration with dozens of concerts and special events including this year an international Festival of Gospel Music, gastronomy, craft and fashion products, an ice rink and a feast of entertainment for children. There’s also Il Caravanserraglio or Caravansarai. Centuries ago caravansarais were roadside courts or inns that accommodated caravans

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along trade routes in central and western Asia. The Auditorium’s globally inspired market features an exotic collection of handicrafts, jewellery and accessories, sculptures, clothing, glass items, furniture, paintings and carpets, toys and sweets on exhibit and for purchase. Open daily 10:30am-8:30pm, December 3- January 6. Free admission. www.caravanserraglio.info Without doubt one of the most beautiful Christmas markets in Rome is in piazza Carprera (between corso Trieste and via Nomentana) which on 13-14 December transplants a traditional alpine market to central Rome (www.gentiepaesi.it). It’s also worth visiting piazza Cina (Torrino district, south Rome) where the market features products from dozens of countries. In centuries past Shepherds used to come to Rome at Christmas time to ply the streets and piazzas playing their traditional bagpipes and shawms in the hope of receiving a small reward. On December 20-21 at Palazzo Velli in Piazza S. Egidio (Trastevere) there will be special concerts featuring seasonal music played on the instruments. The concerts are part of a longer festival celebrating Christmas arts and crafts. ¶

Invitation for tenders in January 2009

The Shoah Museum Rome came a step closer to the creation of a National Shoah Museum. (ANSA) – The museum, which still needs to be greenlighted by the city council assembly, will be a built in landscaped gardens of Villa Torlonia, the grand neoclassical residence where Mussolini and his family lived between 1925 and 1943. Designed by Italian Luca Zevi and Giorgio Tamburini, the museum will be in the form of a black cuboid with the names of Italian Jews deported to Nazi concentration camps during WWII etched on the walls. Alemanno said he hoped to announce the invitation for tenders to build the 13-millioneuro museum in January, with completion slated

Dead Sea Scrolls to come to Rome

for 2011. The head of Rome’s Jewish community, Riccardo Pacifici, stressed that plans for The museum designed the museum had been by Zevi and Tamburini announced two years ago and urged the council to speed up its approval. The museum was first mooted under former mayor Walter Veltroni, now leader of the opposition Democratic Party, who initially stayed on as a member of the city-sponsored museum committee after Alemanno became mayor. But Veltroni quit after his successor stirred polemics in September by saying that although Fascism’s racial laws were an “absolute evil”, the movement itself was not. Alemanno later clarified that while he condemned “without hesitation” the antidemocratic and repressive nature of Fascism, this did not stop him from “paying homage to those who fought and died for that cause in good faith”. The mayor has since tried to smooth over relations with the city’s Jewish community and travelled with Pacifici to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi extermination camp. ¶ Pacifici, Alemanno and Zevi

photo: ansa

The Dead Sea Scrolls will come to Italy for the first time in a Rome exhibition next year, the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) spokesman Yoli Schwartz said. Italy’s Central Institute for Restoration and its Institute for Book Pathology are involved in a two-year project to restore the famous scrolls, which have been slowly deteriorating since their discovery 60 years ago. The Dead Sea Scrolls consist of roughly 800 documents, including texts from the Hebrew Bible, discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves at Qumran in the West Bank. The texts, in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, are of great religious and historical significance as they include practically the only known surviving copies of Biblical documents made before 100 AD. They preserve evidence of considerable diversity of belief and practice within Judaism at the time of Jesus. Many of the scrolls are now housed in the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem.

The Dead Sea Scrolls photo: ansa


6 ROME NEWS Gay? No, thanks Looking for rented accommodation in Rome is difficult for everyone. For homosexuals it’s apparently even more difficult. A journalist with a Rome-based TV channel made a series of phone calls to landlords offering apartments, explaining he wanted to share the accommodation with his (male) partner. The negotiations got no further. Excuses ranged from concern over what the neighbours might say to religious difficulties. Many just hung up. ¶

Rome, sweet home Apartment wanted

Are you looking for quality accommodation at a reasonable price? Here are some tips on how to rent in Italy’s most expensive city. { Alessandro Mirra }

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ooking to rent in Rome? Nothing easier. There’s accommodation to suit all tastes. But not all pockets. All you need is money – lots of it. The Italian capital has long surpassed Milan as the city with the highest rent rates in the country. Obviously most tenants have to choose an apartment based on their budget – otherwise everyone would seek a home just a stone’s throw from the Trevi Fountain, around the corner from the Pantheon or with a splendid view over • It’s best to use a rental agency only if you’re looking for very special, exclusive accommodation – and are prepared to pay for it. There’s no shortage of agencies offering luxury apartments and houses.

• At this point, spread your search out along the A and B lines of the metro, avoiding the high-rent districts in Rome’s historic centre. Of central quarters only San Giovanni, Porta Maggiore and Esquilino may offer more affordable rents – and even here expect to pay at least 1,100 euros for a small apartment.

• For everyone else, tried and trusted do-it-yourself methods are more practical: check out the For Rent signs you’ll find on many streets and notice boards; try the want-ads in the twice-weekly newspaper Porta Portese (Tuesdays and Fridays) which is Rome’s oldest and biggest selling small-ad journal. Many, but not all, of the ads can also be found on the paper’s website: www.portaportese.it.

Here’s some advice which should prove useful Betto e Mary: Chow bella

Ultra Roman dining Looking for typical Roman food and no frills? Betto and Mary’s is the place. It’s bustling, it’s loud and the portions are large. But don’t wear a tie… { Francesca Camerino }

R

estaurants specializing in typical Roman cuisine are largely concentrated in the ghetto area behind the Synagogue on the right bank of the Tiber, but to sample one of the most Ultra Roman dining experiences you have to travel away from the historic centre and out to the Casilino-Mandrione neighbourhood, where you’ll find the restaurant run by Betto and Mary at via dei Savorgnan 99. The osteria includes two dining rooms and an internal garden. The

photo: marco fontana flickr / fontanam

• If you’re without private transport, forget the idea of looking for an apartment outside the GRA (Rome’s ring road). Prices are lower outside the Raccordo, but public transport linking outlying districts to the city centre is frequently disastrous. • Along line B, the Tiburtino and Bologna districts should prove a good hunting ground, where monthly rents under 1,000 euros may still be found. Bargains may also be available in the formerly unfashionable districts of Garbatella and Ostiense, where you can still rent a studio apartment for as low as 850 euros/ month. Prices are rising, however, as more and more students enrol at the nearby Roma Tre University.

decor is nothing special; the service is something else. The friendly waiters have a penchant for making fun of unwary newcomers; be warned Roman humour is not “lite”. Often it will be the owner himself who’ll sit down at your table to take your order and trade wisecracks. The walls are decorated with funny posters and there’s also a tie rack labeled ”please leave tie here as they are not allowed in the restauranT”. The atmosphere is robustly Roman – and so is the food. Many of these traditional dishes are no longer easy to find, or are only offered in five-star restaurants that cost ten times as much. There’s coda alla vaccinara (oxtail stew with vegetables), la pagliata (a traditional dish primarily using the intestine of a young calf that has only eaten milk), la coratella (lamb sweetbreads)

• Check out For Rent signs near metro stations. The underground service is far more reliable than the surface transport offered by buses and trams.

• But the best prices are to be found in the Tuscolano district along line A. For example, 750 euros/month can still get you a studio apartment in the Don Bosco/Viale dei Consoli quarter. It’s true, these are unremittingly grey and anonymous working class districts. But it’s also true that here – not far from the Cinecittà film studios – is where Federico Fellini shot many of the scenes for his legendary classic La Dolce Vita. The residents are rightly proud. Who says you have to live in the centre to be part of Rome’s history?

Piazza di Spagna. But how many people can afford, and are prepared to spend, the 2,500 euros a month required to rent a studio apartment near Via del Babuino? Only the (very) lucky few. Would you like something a little (or even a lot) cheaper? Just read on. The first thing to do is to check the rental accommodation listings. The easiest solution would be to contact any of the dozens of rental agencies and let them take care of all the details, from fixing viewing appointments to bargaining over the monthly rent. The problem, of course, is that you have to pay the rental agency their fee. Their services usually don’t come cheap – and do not always provide the swiftest solution. What kind of accommodation is most suited to someone coming to live in Rome for the first time? It seems likely that three basic criteria will apply: you’ll probably be looking for a smallish apartment, you may well not have your own vehicle yet and you probably don’t have vast amounts of disposable income. So what you’ll need is fairly inexpensive accommodation that is well-connected to the public transport system. ¶

Federico Fellini

served with artichokes, granetti impanati (fried bull testicles) and tripe. There’s a huge range of hearty home-made pasta dishes, including a vegetarian carbonara with zucchini instead of bacon. Vegetable specialities include fried broccoli, grilled radicchio and a host of succulent artichoke dishes. If you’re a tad squeamish about the traditional meat dishes, anything grilled like sausage, chicken, and steak is perhaps a safer bet. They also serve a quite exquisite dish of quail. To finish, how about cantucci – miniature, anise-flavored almond biscuits – dipped in a glass of romanella – a locally produced sparkling white wine. Even if you go right through the menu from antipasti to dessert, you’ll find it hard to spend more than 30 euros a head – and the portions are generous. Betto e Mary is definitely worth the trek. Booking is essential. Closed on Sundays. And remember: don’t wear a tie or it will be confiscated at the door! ¶

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ROME NEWS

7

The Rioni of Rome

The changing face of Rione Monti The historic neighbourhood stretching between the Colosseum, Piazza Venezia, the Fori Imperiali and the Quirinale has now become one of the capital’s coolest quarters. { Emiliano Pretto }

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en years ago the Rione Monti was a neighbourhood deeply rooted in historic Roman traditions. The area with it’s old buildings is beautiful and typically Roman, and contains some of the most important sites of the city. But what was once a district dominated by craft workshops and small traditional commercial activities has undergone a rapid and startling transformation. The inhabitants of Monti once vied fiercely with the residents of Trastevere as to who were the most quintessentially Roman. In the 1980’s and 90’s the robustly working-class district across the Tiber rapidly went radical chic and now Monti is enjoying its own new lease of life as its narrow alleyways, winding flights of steps and oddly shaped piazzas are home to jazz clubs, fashion ateliers for international designers, bijou boutiques, a dazzling array of ethnic restaurants and food stores, tea shops, winebars and music schools. The authentic essence of the old quarter nestling between via Cavour, via Nazionale and via delle Quattro Fontane remains, but the area now moves to a more modern, cosmopolitan beat. By day even the most inveterate shopaholics will find a bustling embarrassment of riches: interesting, small boutiques are popping Film Director up everywhere, often Mario Monicelli with young emerging designers; within clothes, furniture and handicrafts. By night you can visit winebars, pubs, traditional trattorie or ethnic restaurants, listen to live music or dance till the small hours in any number of clubs. A stroll through Monti offers a unique experience. The best place to start is without doubt the charming little piazza Madonna dei Monti, home to the 16th century church of the same name. There’s also a beautiful fountain designed in 1588 by sculptor Giacomo della Porta for Pope Sixtus V and the 9th century church of Santi Sergio e Bacco dedicated to the Roman martyrs Sergius and Bacchus. It is one of the three national churches of the Ukraine, and belongs to the Ukrainian National Church. The church is also known as the Madonna del Pascolo, after an icon kept there. The piazza opens onto one of the most interesting streets in the neighbourhood, via dei Serpenti. In the past this was home to carpenters Monti is an and blacksmiths. Now invigorating mix you’ll find some of the of proletarian best ethnic restaurants pride and in all of Rome. At via Boho-chic dei Serpenti 27, is Hasekura, one of the first Japanese eateries to open in the Italian capital and still one of the best places to eat sushi in Rome. Food lovers adore the dazzling variety of restaurants in Monti. Unsurprisingly the quarter’s few remain-

Queen Elizabeth II, US Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, former French head of state Jacques Chirac, Cuban leader Fidel Castro and the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Before taking up residence in the Quirinale Palace Italy’s current president, Giorgio Napolitano, a former Senator for the Italian Communist Party (PCI), was a long-time resident of Monti. “He’s a personal friend,” continues Secchiotti. “He lived just a few hundred meters from here and came in here to buy his meat – and we used to go to the same local headquarters of the PCI.” Mr Napolitano may have been forced to move out of the neighbourhood but Monti can still boast many notable longterm residents including film directors Mario Monicelli and Roberto Faenza, actor Raoul Bova and ballet dancer Carla Fracci. New and intriguing shops and clubs are opening up throughout the quarter. For example, at via dei Serpenti 32 there’s Galleria dei Serpenti, a discobar where you can dance ‘till late Via dei serpenti photo: flickr/greko spqr which is also an art gallery. If you are in the mood for love, or at least sensuality and an insight into your most secret desires, stop off at Misty Beethoven ing traditional craftsmen are less enchanted. “There’s nothing at via degli Zingari 12. we can do about it. In the space of four or five years the old Jazz lovers will enjoy the Charity Caffé at via Panisperna 68 professions have more or less died out. Here they used to work which is open till late and also offers an early evening concert wood or produce wrought iron, now it’s all ethnic restaurants (with aperitivo) on Sunday at six. and clothes shops,” laments one tradesman. There’s a clear feelMonti is renowned for its ethnic restaurants, but Italian cuiing that the old craftsmen are an endangered species. sine, both traditional and innovative, is by no means neglected. “By now we’re rarities, but I for one am proud of my trade,” Urbana 47 (no surprises: it’s at via Urbana 47) offers an imsays Andrea, the owner of a blacksmith’s and metalworking aginative menu featuring only organic ingredients in a stylish shop in via Madonna dei Monti. “This business has been in my setting. family for more than fifty years, but lately it’s been getting hardAt via Panisperna 75 there’s er and harder simply to survive.” Le relazioni culinarie which Of course the economy is not Cutting-edge Fashion and specialises in traditional food flourishing in any sector, but acEthnic Chic in what was formerly from southern Italy, in particucording to Andrea the biggest blow lar Sicily. The homemade pasta to traditional craft workshops has a historic quarter thriving with dishes are excellent – and don’t been the increase in the big retail craft workshops miss the grilled swordfish with chains which have forced craftscitrus fruit. men out of the historic centre and Still in via Panisperna (no. 225) there’s organic eating – towards the outskirts of the city. “Craftwork will not disappear,” and shopping – on the menu at Mia Market. You can drink, continues Andrea, “But to stay here in the centre we have to grab a quick lunch with bread and cheese, eat sushi, buy a focus on product quality and the special relationship with our vast assortment of fresh, locally produced organic fruit and customers. But if it just comes down to economics, there’s a real vegetables and shop for a gorgeous range of designer homerisk we’ll go to the wall,” – or at least out to the suburbs. ware and gifts. They also serve Sunday brunch. Walking up via dei Serpenti towards via Nazionale you Mia offers the perfect example of how changing times have pass some of the many Indian restaurants which now thrive come to the ancient quarter of Monti, where even a centuriesin the quarter, including Mother India (no. 147), Il Guru old trade like selling fruit and vegetables can be switched on, (via Cimarra 5) and Maharajah (via dei Serpenti 124), stylish, innovative and intriguing… ¶ which many consider the finest Indian restaurant in Rome. You then reach a small but elegant boutique which typifies Advertisement the transformation the area has undergone. Le Gallinelle (via del Boschetto 76) now sells one-off designs by ownerdesigner Vilma Silvestri. Twenty years ago the shop housed a poultry butcher, but it then became the first traditional old shop in Monti to be reconverted to a more upmarket activRome Walks Inc., an English language company ity. Amidst the stylish displays of Le Gallinelle’s intriguing mix of new and vintage clothing and accessories you can devoted to helping the busy traveller make the still glimpse traces of the shop’s former trade: the huge remost out of their visit to the Eternal City. frigerator (now a storeroom) behind the cash desk and the We help visitors escape the chaos with wrought-iron hooks in the ceiling where the chickens were carefully designed group and private tours. hung after having their throats cut. We also offer country walks. Not all the district’s tradesmen have closed down or moved on. Piero Secchiotti has run his quality butcher’s store in via Panisperna 245 for over half a century and has no intention of ed by Please visit mend quitting. His customers not only include inhabitants of Monti’s m o c e , s R e v e www.romewalks.com t bustling streets and lanes, but also a more sedate and elegant Rick S Fodor’s , s to learn more ’ r residence a stone’s throw away: the Presidential Palace on the e m From thers. o y or call directly: n Quirinale Hill. “I’ve been supplying the Quirinale for 25 years,” a and m +39 347 795 5175 says Secchiotti with pride. Monarchs and heads of state who dine at the Quirinale invariably feast on meat from Secchiotti’s store. They have included


8 GREEN TOURIST Dogs given place on trains

Pineta Sacchetti Park

In good company Italian dogs of all sizes will continue to be allowed to ride on Italian trains but will have to travel outside the morning rush hour.

(ANSA) Rome – Italian dogs of all sizes will continue to be allowed to ride on Italian trains but will have to travel outside the morning rush hour. Under new rules that come into force on December 1, dogs will be banned from rail travel between 7.00 and 9.00, while during the rest of the day they must ride in the last compartment of the last carriage of trains. Dogs must still be muzzled and on a lead, as is cur-

New Car Emission Rules

Slow Motion Rome – The EU Nations reached a compromise deal on greenhouse gas emissions for European Union carmakers. Under the agreement, carmakers would have to ensure that all new cars emit only 120g of carbon dioxide per kilometre by 2015. This target would be phased in gradually. Manufacturers that fail to meet the restrictions after 2012 would be fined five euros for each extra gram of carbon dioxide per car sold and 95 euros for each extra four grams. From 2019, each extra gram would cost 95 euros per car sold. The decision to extend the deadline by three years was introduced in response to complaints from manufacturers of luxury, gas-guzzler cars, which said they could

Traffic or Trees?

rently the case, and dangerous breeds will not be admitted. Animals will still be banned from high-speed Eurostar trains, but small dogs, cats and other small pets will now be allowed to ride free on all other types of trains. The government stepped in to negotiate the new rules following a public furore over plans by Trenitalia to ban “big” dogs – or those weighing over six kilogrammes – from travelling on trains altogether. Trenitalia said they had decided to crack down on medium-sized and large dogs in September after efforts to clean up carriages failed to stop passengers from being bitten by parasites aboard trains. But the train company quickly buckled under pressure from the government, animal rights activists and pet lovers, who were furious that dogs were being made the scapegoats for Trenitalia’s bug troubles. Bug problems on Italian trains are infrequent but well publicised. A 62-year-old female passenger started legal proceedings against the company in September after allegedly being bitten on a Rome–Agrigento train, while in October last year three women sued the company after discovering their compartment was “hopping with lice”’ on a night train between southern Italy and Rome. ¶

not afford to develop new technologies during a period of economic downturn. Legambiente, Italy’s largest green group, described the deal as “a step in the right direction”. Andrea Lepore of Greenpeace Italia’s climate section was more scathing, claiming the agreement had been “dictated by the very industry it is meant to be regulating”. “The current targets will allow manufacturers to continue making pollution-emitting cars for the next decade,” he said. ¶ Vatican goes with Solar Power

Holy Green Spirit

Environmental associations and Rome City Council are drawing up battlelines over plans for a road expansion that would cut through the pinewood reserve at Pineta Sacchetti. { Aniko Horvath }

Rome – In a city where traffic chaos is the norm, the area around the Parco del Pineto in northern Rome is infamous for its bottlenecks and congestion. The pinewood park, an integral part of the Pine Forest Urban Regional Park, spans roughly 240 hectares and is divided into two areas on two levels. The first The Pineta Sacchetti in northern Rome area, the higher one, is relatively level and contains hundreds of Domestic Pine trees, many of which are as tall as 30 meters. The lower level is a long, wide valley, often called “La Valle dell’Inferno”, or “The Valley of Hell”, which extends towards the centre of Rome just four kilometers away. At the moment, around 650 species of plants and over 70 species of birds have been documented within the boundaries of the park. The park is a perfect place to get away from the hustle and hassle of Rome’s trafficclogged streets and take a relaxing walk immersed in nature. At the weekends families and groups of friends meet for a stroll through the shady pinewood. It’s also a favourite destination for dog-lovers to exercise their pets. In recent years the park has also become a meeting place on Sundays for dozens of immigrant domestic workers who picnic beneath the pine trees. But this peaceful green oasis is now threatened, as the City Council seeks to ease the district’s chronic traffic congestion. Next to the park runs a narrow road, via Pineta Sacchetti, along which every day thousands of cars crawl bumper to bumper. Apartment buildings, hotels and offices mean it’s impossible to widen the road opposite the pinewood and the council has decided the only solution is to cut through a swathe of parkland and chop down dozens of age-old pine trees to turn via Pineta Sacchetti into a six-lane highway. In the 1970’s the Council saved the park from property developers who wanted to build luxury condos. The city fathers blocked the construction plans and purchased the land and turned it into the popular reserve it has become today. The Council’s dilemma is not easily solved. On the one hand it desperately needs to reduce the city’s chronic traffic chaos. On the other it is coming under increasing pressure to protect and save the pinewood reserve. Dozens of local groups have formed an action committee to save the parkland. The City Council has allocated 21 million euros for the highway project. Protesters are demanding the funding be used to improve public transport in the area. ¶

Solar panels on the roof of the Paul VI auditorium

Benedict XVI reconfirmed his reputation as the “green pope” when the Vatican inaugurated its first solar power energy system. (ANSA) Vatican City – Some 2,400 solar panels have been installed on the roof of the Paul VI auditorium, which is used for papal audiences in the winter and during bad weather the rest of the year. The official Vatican newspaper, Osservatore Romano, said the panels will generate around 300 megawatt hours of clean energy each year which will go towards providing lighting, heat and air conditioning for the auditorium and several surrounding buildings. The system will also cut down on the Vatican’s annual carbon dioxide emissions by 225,000 kg and save the equivalent of 80 tonnes of oil, the newspaper said. Built in 1969, the auditorium is one of

the Vatican’s more modern buildings and can seat around 6,300 people. The dark solar panels supplied by German company SolarWorld have replaced the old concrete tiles on the auditorium’s 5,000-square-metre roof, but are almost invisible from the ground. Environmentalists have praised Pope Benedict for repeatedly seeking to focus world attention on environmental problems. Although the Vatican was not

asked to sign the Kyoto Protocol, it has pledged to cover 20% of its energy needs with renewable sources by 2020 – roughly in line with the European Union’s climate change recommendations. In a symbolic gesture last year the pontiff accepted an offer from a Hungarian company to plant a 15-hectare forest which would offset all the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the 44-hectare.


I ♥ Christmas

Auditorium Music Park

If you’ve run out of ideas for christmas gifts, La Chiave might be the place for you. photo: flickr - krisdecurtis See pg. 12

The holiday programme at the Auditorium offers music and events to suit all tastes. See pg. 11

MondoPop International Gallery

the flow of daily life, of today’s younger generations. It is an art which includes elements of design and merchandising and which lends itself to serial production. It’s art to go, to wear, or to play with. Don’t expect the beauty of ancient art; the new forms of pop art have revolutionised traditional concepts of beauty, leaving room for the bizzarre, the eccentric and the grotesque. Entering this exhibition space is like plunging into a swirling whirlpool where the Surrealism of Salvador Dalì is mixed with the cinema of horror, cartoons with vintage graphic art, street art with the visual imagery of advertising. For Italy, the homeland of classical beauty, it’s a shock to be faced with art that is often ugly, dirty, disturbing! MondoPop has also lined up an innovative series of special events. Until January 2009 visitors can enjoy the “Sketchel Group Show”, an exhibition playing with the union between fashion accessories and art. A sketchel, the brainchild of Australian pop artist Jeremyville, is a shoulder satchel concept that houses original art on flexible canvas panels by both up and coming and leading international artists and designers. 37 artists have created their one-off Sketchels for the show in via dei Greci. Apart from Jeremyville, other major foreign artists to have their work featured at MondoPop include the Berlin-based pop artist Jim Avignon, his compatriot Boris Hoppek who now works out of Barcelona and Gary Baseman from Los Angeles: a trio of enfants terribles who might make Andy Warhol seem sedate and suburban, as they seek new ways to celebrate the complex and contradictory reality of contemporary life. ¶

Art on the move

In via dei Greci, just a couple of minutes from Piazza di Spagna you will find an art gallery unlike any other in Rome. { Francesco Paolo Del Re }

M

MondoPop Internartional Gallery & Art Shop, Via dei Greci 30

ondoPop International Gallery&Art Shop was opened on 19 October 2007 by three friends who share a passion for modern art: Serena Melandri, Ilaria Beltramme and David Vecchiato. In just over a year the trio and their shop have made their mark on the Rome art scene. Mondopop has displayed works from some of the most significant contemporary US artists working in Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow art – and has also provided exhibition space for Italian underground artists whose fields move between illustration, comics, street culture and urban art. MondoPop is also the first gallery in Rome selling designer vinyl toys and accessories that have proved a huge hit with kids of all ages. Whereas abroad street art has been recognised as a valid and vital artistic current for more than 20 years, the Italian art world is only now starting to sit up and take notice. MondoPop is providing a hugely important shop window for the latest urban graphic art and the language of tattoos, cartoons and comics. The spirit of the gallery is multicoloured and playful. You might find works that would not be out of place in the big museums or major auction houses, but there’s also much, much more. MondoPop’s art is an integral part of

Made in Rome

No country for young men In Italy, a country still governed, ruled and dominated by old men, being young is not always an advantage. But despite all the obstacles, some do manage to make a name for themselves before it’s time to collect their pension. { Francesca Camerino }

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Up and coming talents are trying to make their own way in the world of the arts, show business and fashion in Rome. It’s not easy. Finding your own space among the big names is an arduous task, but despite all the difficulties, a few new faces have managed to come through. Rome still produces a number of homegrown talents.

Just think of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli, the new creative directors for Valentino. The couple of designers, relatively unknown to the public, have been working for years designing Valentino’s accessories collection and also the clothing line Red. They arrived at Valentino after gaining useful experience at luxury goods brand Fendi and after studying under the Maestro, who stepped down in January, they will now have sole creative control of the Romebased fashion house. Or Maria Carla Boscono, the 28-year-old Rome-born super model whose bewitching dark looks have made her one of the top Italian fashion faces of the new generation. Boscono, who has lived much of her life in the United States, has featured numerous times on the cover of Vogue and has been the Silvio Muccino

face of a host of top brands including Chanel, Blumarine, D&G, Givenchy and Yves SaintLaurent. Boscono has been chosen – for the third time – by Pirelli to be among the superseven top models featured in its 2009 calendar. In the world of cinema there’s Silvio Muccino, one of Italy’s most up and coming young actors. He broke into the movie business thanks to his big brother Gabriele, now an established international director. But Muccino Junior quickly made it clear he had arrived on merit and soon was making a name for himself. As well as acting, Muccino has also directed video-clips and written screenplays. He has recently finished shooting Tutto e subito for director Giovanni Veronesi. Among the Roman writers making a name for themselves is 33-year-old Andrea Bajani who this year claimed one of Italy’s top literary prizes, the Premio Mondello, for his novel Se consideri le colpe, which focusses on the stories of Italian entrepreneurs relocalising their businesses in Ro-

Pirelli Calendar 2009

photo: ansa

mania. His earlier work included a 2006 report on the world of low-paid temporary employment in Italy entitled Mi spezzo ma non m’impiego and, together with playwright Marco Paolini, the script for theatrical piece Miserabili – Io e Margaret Thatcher in 2007. ¶


X Focus on Francesco Zizola

Despatches from the real world Images that hark back to Caravaggio and Antonio da Messina, but Francesco Zizola frequently works in black and white rather than colour. An interview with one of the world’s top photojournalists. { Emiliano Pretto }

10b Photography Gallery via San Lorenzo da Brindisi 10b, Rome www.10bphotography.com

– Since then you’ve come a long way. But what drove you to choose photography as your way of documenting the world around you? What made you a photographer? – I believe taking pictures is a way of communicating, of discovering the world, other people – and myself. Essentially it’s a means of awareness and knowledge. – Can photography also be a means of making political or ethical statements? – Historically, photography has found a vast array of uses. Here in the West it has become so pervasive that the idea of a society without images is inconceivable. Photography is used by scientists as a means of documentary proof. It’s used to provide legal evidence. In the past it has been used as a tool for propaganda, to support consumerism or political ideologies. And, of course, it still is. So clearly the answer to your question is “yes”. But a more complex, multi-layered and less superficial vision is necessary. For example, many photojournalists would accept they have an ethical imperative to investigate the reality they see through the lense of their camera. That is how I work. To do this, however, I believe you must act according to the principles © francesco zizola / noor, khodjely city, uzbekistan, aral sea. october 1997. of ethical journalism: interpretation, but not mystification. republican recover school for children with serious malformations – Your comments help to explain why your work as a photojournalist is so different from that of many of your colleagues. Do you think that in today’s world a photographer can rancesco Zizola is widely considered one of the greatest contemporary photogreally be a watchdog for democracy? raphers, ranking with Sebastiao Salgado and James Nachtwey. Born in Rome in 1962, – With the advent of photography there developed for the first time the idea that it was possiZizola has been covering international news for major Italian and international magable to capture reality. That’s why the relationship between politics and photography has always zines since 1986. Recognition for his work includes seven World Press Photo awards, including been ambiguous, even conflictual. The idea that photography can affirm reality does not always World Press Photo of the Year in 1996 for his photograph documenting the tragedy of land sit well with political power. Power frequently seeks to use it to mystify, to distort. One simple mines in Angola and three Pictures of the Year Awards from the National Press Association example: just think how the US government banned photographers from taking pictures of (1997, 1998, 2003) and, in 2004, a Special Recognition Award from the Alexia Foundation for the coffins of American servicemen and women killed in Iraq or sought to block publication of World Peace. pictures showing Iraqi or Afghan civilians killed and wounded in US military operations. Our meeting took place in Zizola’s studio at his recently opened “10b Photography Gallery” in – One last question. Why did you decide to be based in Rome rather than in London or New York via San Lorenzo da Brindisi 10b in the heart of Rome’s Garbatella quarter. where you would certainly have found a better, more receptive working environment? The images from his photographs are at once beautiful and haunting, frequently dramatic – Now there are fewer practical difficulties to working here. Thanks to the internet and new like those from his most recent reportage in famine-stricken areas of Ethiopia or those from his technology I can send and receive photos anywhere. Conferencing means we can hold staff prizewinning odyssey through war-torn Angola. Zizola recounts some of his story, of his links meetings of my agency without problems. And anyway I was born in Rome, it’s a very special with Rome and above all what drives him to capture the world around us through the lense of place for me. It’s a unique city, with an incomparable history and culture. In many ways it has his cameras. contributed to making me the person I am. That’s why I wanted to stay here and to open the – Today you’re an internationally acclaimed photographer, but what sparked your passion for tak10b Photography Gallery: to offer the city a space, a venue that celebrates the cultural posing pictures? sibilities of photography. I hope it’s a step that helps Rome move towards other European – I became interested in photography when I was still a small kid. At middle school I started capitals where photography is a living and valued cultural presence. This has not always been attending practical lessons in the afternoons. Right away I had the sense that photography the case: just think of the so-called Rome International Photography Festival, which is intercould be much more than a simple hobby, but a way of getting beneath the surface of things. It national only in name… ¶ was this discovery that made me want to learn more.

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Coming soon

The House of Photography

The House of Photography is still just an idea, but the blueprint could soon become reality in the Italian capital. { Emiliano Pretto }

The project for a new photographic arts centre was commissioned by Rome City Council in 2006 and awarded to the studio run by acclaimed French architect Jean-Marc Schivo. It calls for the redevelopment and expansion of an abandoned school building in the Flaminio quarter

of the city, transforming it into a flexible and luminous space equipped with exhibition areas, labs, rooms for experimental screenings, media library, library and offices. Above the existing structure will be a sinuous glass construction for temporary exhibition space that will look out onto the nearby Music Park. Major photographic galleries are rare in Rome. Perhaps the centre with the highest international profile is Francesco Zizola’s 10b Photography in via San Lorenzo da Brindisi in the Garbatella district which recently held a major retrospective on the work of the great French photographer Alexandra Boulat who died last year. If the project goes ahead, it would provide a

welcome home to Rome’s International Festival of Photography, an important meeting opportunity for photographers from all over the world, whose future has been in doubt because of financial problems, but which it is hoped will resume activity by the end of 2009. ¶

photo: enzo d.


XI MACRO: First Glass

Museum of Contemporary Art: Rome

Spring 2009 will see the inauguration of Paris-based architect and urbanist Odile Decq’s magnificent redevelopment and expansion of the Roman Museum of Contemporary Art. { Emiliano Pretto }

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n asymmetrical glass cage floating above the solid concrete geometry of a massive industrial building from the beginning of the 20th century. A convergence of ramps, illuminated staircases, a bamboo garden, roof terraces and transparent spaces with multiple cross-flows of visitors moving through the building. Perspectives are tangential, offering sequential points of view. Space is not centred and static but in constant tension, expressing the sense of a dynamic equilibrium.The spacious foyer at the entrance will lead to a large exhibition hall, to the Art Café’ and bookshop. The central volume of running water over the centre of the foyer intends to create a sensation of mobility and flowing freshness. Macro – the Museum of Contemporary Art: Roma – will feature more than 10.000 square meters of new exhibition space for contemporary art in what, along with MAXXI – the Museum of Arts for the 21st Century – will be the second showpiece centre for modern art to open in the Italian capital in early 2009. Following the lead in 1999 of then Rome mayor Francesco Rutelli, French architect Odile Decq was formerly com-

missioned with the redevelopment and expansion of the Roman Museum of Contemporary Art in 2001 by Rome City Council. The main site of the museum was already the product of the restoration and redevelopment of the old Peroni brewery, an important industrial building from the beginning of the 20th century. Faced with the complex challenge to introduce a Contemporary Art Gallery in an old mixed industrial building, Decq welcomed the opportunity to transgress more conventional attitudes towards the integration into a historical context and chose to base her fresh approach on one material: glass. The new museum is intended as a space where the pleasure of the visit and the promenade reinforces and increases the pleasure of

Music at Christmas

Auditorium Music Park

The Gospel Festival is just one of a whole host of special events throughout the month of December at the Music Park which has set up an enchanting christmas village under the fir trees. There’s an ice-skating rink (which will stay open until 6 February) and stalls laden with food products and ideas for last minute gifts. There will be games for children and a dazzling array of special events. A beautiful christmas market has been set up in the pedestrian zone, while in the foyer you’ll be able to hear selections

of christmas carols sung by boys and girls from the choir of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. On 23 December Italian singing star Irene Grandi will give a concert of christmas songs backed by one of Italy’s best orchestras, the Parco della Musica Jazz Orchestra (PMJO). On Christmas Day itself there will be a special performance (in Italian) of Charles Dickens’ festive classsic A Christmas Carol. The show will be repeated on Boxing Day and 27 December. Top line pop concerts during the christmas period include performances by Noa and Dianne Reeves, while for lovers

of light classical music the Roma Sinfonietta conducted by Karl Martin will present “Gala Viennese”, a celebration of music from the Austrian capital, on four evenings from 29 December to 1 January. On 29 and 30 December the gala evenings will include a special guest performance by the acclaimed Academy Award-winning composer Ennio Morricone. Jazz concerts are a key feature of the Auditorium’s musical programming all year round and this December is no exception. On the 13th there’s an extraordinary appointment when two of Italy’s best jazz musicians – Fabrizio Bosso and Antonello Salis – will perform together. On the 19th it will be the turn of Antonio Figura, whom American jazz legend Ahmad Jamal

discovering the exhibits. Included are vast “exhibition suites” which will host largescale installations and a multi-level roof garden for open-air exhibits which will also offer visitors an unparalleled panorama of the Eternal City skyline. Macro’s permanent collection will be broadly divided into two sectors: the first featuring paintings, sculptures and installations produced from 1960 to 2000. Among the artists on show will be repOdile Decq resentatives of the “Piazza del Popolo” school including Schifano, Rotella, Maselli and Pascali, as well as works by members of the “Forma 1” Group like Accardi, Sanfilippo, Perilli and Dorazio. The second section will host the best of innovative new art produced since 2001 including works by Gianni Asdrubali, Giovanni Albanese, Cristiano Pintaldi, Claudio Abate and Leandro Erlich. The new museum will also feature a host of works that have rarely – if ever – been exhibited before, after Rome City Council’s culture spokesman Umberto Croppi recently announced that dozens of paintings and sculptures that have been hidden away for years in overcrowded museum storerooms will finally go on show at Macro. One thing is sure: from 2009 Romans and visitors to Rome will be able to marvel at two magnificent new museums designed by world renowned architects: Odile Decq’s Macro just behind the central Piazza Fiume and

Dee Dee Bridgewater

has described as “one of the best jazz pianists of the new generation”. Another unmissable appointment for jazz lovers is on the 20th when the extraordinarily talented young singer Cinzia Tedesco will interpret

some of Bob Dylan’s best-loved songs. Tedesco’s concert will also feature scenes from Martin Scorsese’s tribute documentary: “No direction Home: Bob Dylan”. Right after Christmas on the 27th and 28th the PMJO will be back on stage for two concerts with the two-time Grammy Awardwinning singer-songwriter Dee Dee Bridgewater. The new year kicks off with a series of concerts of traditional Italian christmas songs every day from 3-6 January by folk giant Ambrogio Sparagna’s La ChiaraStella and a series of guest singers. The holiday programme at the Auditorium offers music and events to suit all tastes. In a marvellous setting you too can enjoy some special moments at the Music Park. ¶

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Christmas Market Sweets and Hand-crafted Toys

Gospel Festival

Theatre viale Pietro de Coubertin • Rome • Info 06 80.241.281 Tickets and bookings: Tel. 199.109.783 (toll service) A Line Flaminio Station + No. 2 tram; M line bus from Termini Station (from 17.00).


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rt in the park

Villa Torlonia and an exhibition on the Roman School The Roman School is not well-known outside Italy, but is currently enjoying { Francesco Paolo Del Re } a renaissance. Informations Scuola romana. Artisti a Roma tra le due guerre 1 November 2008 – 11 January 2009 Casino dei Principi Via Nomentana 70, Roma Opening hours: 09.00-16.30 (Closed Mondays) 24 and 31 December 09.00-14.00 The exhibition will be closed Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Tickets: € 9.00 (reduced: € 5.50) (The ticket office shuts 45 minutes before the museum closes.) Tickets allow admission to Casino dei Principi and the exhibition, as well as to Casino Nobile and Casina delle Civette. info: tel. 06 0608

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ust a couple of kilometers from the start of the arrow-straight ancient Roman road of via Nomentana lies one of Rome’s least known but most enchanting public parks, Villa Torlonia, which offers the visitor an extravagant mix of admirable buildings set in gorgeous English-style landscaped grounds. The villa itself is a splendid neo-classical residence designed in 1802 by the Italian architect, urban planner and archeologist Giuseppe Valadier, who today is perhaps best remembered for his elegant makeover of one of the Italian capital’s most beautiful public spaces, Piazza del Popolo, giving the square its current elliptical plan and linking it via stairs and terraces with the Pincio and the Borghese Gardens. Disused for a time, Mussolini rented the Villa from the Torlonia family for one lira a year to use as his state residence from the 1920s onwards. It was abandoned after 1945, and allowed to decay in the following decades, but the Villa was bought by the Municipality of Rome in 1977 and a year later it was opened to the public. A series of major restoration projects was initiated in the 1990s to both the park and buildings. Just one of the park’s architectural gems is the Casino dei Principi, or House of the Princes. Rich in internal and external decoration, this small and graceful building now houses the archives of the Roman School, an association founded in 1983 by a group of intellectuals and artists dedicated to preserving the memory and celebrating the artistic ferment that flourished in Rome in the interwar period. Until 11 January, the Casino dei Principi is hosting “Scuola Romana. Artisti a Roma tra le due guerre”, an intriguing exhibition of more than 50 works curated by Francesca Romana Morelli. The paintings, sculptures, drawings and documents on show offer a glimpse of an extremely fertile period for art in Rome; a portrait of the cultural life of the capital that attracted artists with distinctly different characters and sensibilities including Scipione, Renato Guttuso, Carlo Socrate, Afro Basaledella, Mirko Basaldella, Giuseppe Capogrossi, Francesco Trombadori, Mario Mafai, Cipriano Efisio

How to get there: With public transport departing from Roma Termini Bus line 36 (Destination: PAMPANINI) for 6 stops Get off at NOMENTANA/ TRIESTE 150 meters on foot along via Nomentana to reach the park entrance.

It’s a gift! Christmas Present { Francesca Camerino }

Scientific research has shown at least one person in two suffers from CCGI – Chronic Christmas Gift Indecision. If you’ve run out of ideas for christmas gifts, La Chiave might be the place for you. Christmas is bearing down on us relentlessly and as the holidays get closer, the annual December dilemma of just what presents to buy is back with us again. La Chiave, a

Villa Torlonia

specialist gift shop just around the corner from Largo Argentina, might have the keys to the solution. The window displays are tempting, the interior is warm and welcoming; there’s a mind boggling

array of objects and accessories on the shelves and a tempting selection of wooden furniture. Craft products from South America are a speciality of the house as are household accessories and stationery products. The ceiling is decked with paper lanterns and advent calendars in the shape of christmas trees. There are tables covered with hand-crafted wooden toys, miniature cars and tin models for children of all ages. You’ll also find knitwear, scarves and a witty col-

Renato Guttuso: Fucilazione di patrioti

Oppo, Antonietta Raphaël, Giuseppe Capogrossi, Pericle Fazzini, Antonio Donghi, Fausto Pirandello, Corrado Cagli and more – all worthy of rediscovery and renewed attention. Many of these artists have fallen into obscurity, but the exhibition at Casino dei Principi brings them back to life in arresting fashion, thanks to a number of portraits and self-portraits of the protagonists. The works on show also offer glimpses of how these artists lived, worked and worked out their own creative processes in what was a turbulent period in Italian history and a rich, exciting time for Italian art. One section is dedicated to the Roman School artists’ fascination with the body, either in its physical state or as a metaphoric exploration – visions that coalesce between sensuality and abstraction. The result of patient and painstaking research, this is a captivating and enticing exhibition. Some of the works have never been seen in public before, many have not been on display for decades. It should especially be welcomed by foreign visitors, who will enjoy the opportunity of getting to know the work of a group of artists who are intimately linked to the Eternal City. For Rome itself is a recurring subject and an enduring source of inspiration for many of these artists. History, legend and daily life have all been captured and enriched on their canvasses, offering us a vibrant and enchanting portrait of a magical city, as seen through the eyes of a group of artists who loved and dreamed it. ¶

lection of headgear. A display cabinet features an array of ear rings of both contemporary and classic design. There’s a host of articles for home-lovers and the houseproud including blankets, plaids, quilts, curtains, and furnishing foulards to drape over sofas and chairs. The prices are very reasonable and even if you’re only looking for the smallest of gifts there’s a good chance La Chiave will have what you need. ¶

La Chiave Largo delle Stimmate Opening hours: 10.00-19.30 (In December until 20.00)


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A brief entertainment guide HAPPY NEW YEAR – 31 December 2008 Here are some of the special events for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day Te Deum

Odysseus Dance Opera

Gala Viennese

Amore Festival 09. Electronic music and digital art

Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. Piazza della Repubblica, tel. 06.4823401 Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Santa Cecilia Viale Pietro de Coubertin 30, tel. 0680241281

Concert by Gianna Nannini Colosseum

photo: flickr/lanci daniele

NEW YEAR’S DAY CONCERT by the Accademia Filarmonica Romana Teatro Quarticciolo, Via Ostuni 8, tel. 06.45460705, 1 January 2009

EXHIBITIONS For the Christmas holidays Rome’s public museums will offer specially extended opening hours. For more information: Tel. 06.0608

Chiostro del Bramante The Myth of Julius Caesar, first ever show focusing exclusively on him alone; until April 5. Via della Pace, tel. 06.68809035

Vittoriano Picasso 1917-1937, the Harlequin of Art; until February 8. Via S. Pietro in Carcere, tel. 06.6780664

Scuderie del Quirinale Giovanni Bellini, biggest show in 50 years; until January 11. Via XXIV Maggio 16, tel. 06.39967500

Teatro Greco, Via R. Leoncavallo 10, tel. 06.8607513

Nuova Fiera di Roma, Via Portuense 1555, tel. 800.907080

Firework Display – The Pincio Piazza del Popolo

Aeros – Performance

Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano, tel. 06.3265991

And we wish you a very Happy New Year!

Museo del Corso Golden Age of Dutch Art shines in Rome; until February 15. Via del Corso 320, tel. 06.67862098

Castel Sant’Angelo Logos of Italy; Stories in the Art of Excellence; iconic Peroni bottles, Olivetti typewriters, Buitoni pasta, Perugina chocolate ‘kisses’; until January 25. Lungotevere Castello 50, tel. 06.681911

“Buon Natale Signora Musica” Christmas Concert

Happy Christmas from...Rome with Montserrat Caballé

Roma Ostiense Railway Station 17 December

Chiesa Santa Maria Madre del Redentore, viale Duilio Cambellotti 18 – Tor Bella Monaca 22 December 20.30

Christmas Village Christmas Market, Live music, entertainment for children including puppet theatre Piazza Risorgimento 13–31 December

TEATRO DELL’OPERA The Barber of Seville Music by Gioachino Rossini Conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti Teatro Nazionale, Via del Viminale 51 20–28 December

The Nutcracker Music by Tchaikovsky Choreography Jean-Yves Lorneau Conductor Andriy Yurkevych Teatro dell’Opera, Piazza Beniamino Gigli 7 21–30 December

Othello Music by Giuseppe Verdi Conductor Riccardo Muti, Director Stephen Landgridge Teatro dell’Opera, Piazza Beniamino Gigli 7 11–14 December Riccardo Muti

Museo dell’Ara Pacis Bruno Munari, retrospective on one of the 20th century’s most interesting and eclectic Italian artists and designers; until February 22. Lungotevere in Augusta tel. 06.0608. photo: ansa

Villa Torlonia La scuola romana; until January 11. Via Nomentana 70, tel. 06.0608

MUSICALS & SHOWS High School Musical

Palazzo delle Esposizioni • Etruscans, The Ancient Metropoli of Latium; until January 9. • Exhibition on video artist Bill Viola; until January 6. Via Nazionale 194, tel. 06.39967500

Teatro Brancaccio, Via Merulana 244, tel. 06.98264500 3 December–11 January

Mary of Nazareth an ongoing story. Musical

National Modern Art Gallery (GNAM) major Giorgio de Chirico exhibition marking 30 years from artist’s death; until January 25. Via delle Belle Arti, 31, tel. 06.3221579

Fondazione Memmo Basquiat, 40 works; until February 1. Via del Corso 418, tel. 06.6874704 photo: ansa

Santa Maria in Aracoeli

Major music concerts in churches Basilica di Santa Maria in Aracoeli, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, SS. XII Apostoli, Santa Maria del Popolo, San Salvatore in Lauro 20 December–6 January

AUDITORIUM Christmas at the Auditorium The programme includes concerts and special events of which only some are listed below. For full programme details contact: Infoline: tel. 0680241281 Viale Pietro de Coubertin 30 www.auditorium.com 22 Dec. Sala Santa Cecilia 21.00 Orchestra dell’Accademia nazionale di Santa Cecilia, conductor Antonio Paparo 23 Dec. Sala Santa Cecilia 21.00 “Canto di Natale” – Irene Grandi & Parco della Musica Jazz Orchestra (PMJO) 27 and 28 Dec. Sala Santa Cecilia 21.00 Christmas in Jazz – Dee Dee Bridgewater meets PMJO 29 and 30 Dec. Sala Santa Cecilia 21.00, 31 Dec. 17.00, 1 January 18.00 Gala Viennese – Orchestra di Roma Sinfonietta From 3 to 6 January, Sala Sinopoli 21.00 La ChiaraStella. Traditional Italian Christmas Songs 9 January, Sala Santa Cecilia 21.00 Verdi: Requiem – Orchestra e Coro dell’Accademia di Santa Cecilia, conductor Antonio Paparo

GOSPEL FESTIVAL

Teatro Tenda, Via V. Lamaro, tel. 06.85301758 8–14 December

Capitoline Museums

Notre Dame de Paris. Musical

Sévres, 1920/1980 The conquest of modernity; until November 23. Piazza del Campidoglio 1, tel. 06.0608.

GranTeatro, Via di Tor di Quinto 69 www.ticketone.it 18 December–11 January

Museo di Roma

Aeros – Performance

“Roma, la magnifica visione” Panoramas of Rome as seen by visitors in the 18th and 19th centuries; until April 19. Piazza San Pantaleo 10, tel. 06.0608.

OPEN AIR SPECIAL EVENTS I colori dell’Ara Pacis: special illumination of the marble altar in the Ara Pacis Museum Lungotevere in Augusta 26 December – 6 January

Premio Terna 01 video-projections of the winning entries for the Terna Award for Contemporary Art Piazza di Pietra, Piazza della Minerva, Piazza Colonna 23 December – 1 January

Teatro Olimpico, Piazza Gentile da Fabriano, tel. 06.3265991 22 December–6 January

Sleeping Beauty: Moscow on Ice Teatro Tendastrisce, Via G. Perlasca, tel. 06.25391562 23 December–11 January

Winx on ice Palalottomatica, Piazzale dello Sport (EUR), tel. 199128800 2–6 January

SACRED MUSIC Seasonal Organ Recitals Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri Piazza della Repubblica, tel. 06.4823401 6–31 December

Soweto Gospel Choir 20 Dec. Sala Sinopoli 21.00 Soweto Gospel Choir (9) Soweto Gospel Choir 21 Dec. Sala Sinopoli 21.00 Anthony Morgan’s Inspirational Choir of Harlem 23 Dec. Sala Sinopoli 21.00 Donald Woods & His People 26 Dec. Sala Sinopoli 21.00 Joshua Nelson & The Klezmatics 28 Dec. Sala Sinopoli 21.00 Sjuwana Byers & Children of God 31 Dec. Sala Santa Cecilia 21.00 The Jackson Singers


14 NOT ONLY ROME Arts

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It a l y

The following is a city-by-city guide to some of Italy’s top art exhibitions Same venue:

Same venue:

Madre modern art gallery:

The Other Face Of The Soul, 60 portraits by Giovanni Fattori, some unseen, showing other side of 19th-century artist famous for military subjects and Maremma landscapes; until January 25.

Georges Seurat, Paul Signac and the neoImpressionists; over 100 works from major international museums; until January 25.

Robert Rauschenberg, Travelling 1970-76; until January 19.

Archaeological Museum:

Tiepolos and Canalettos from the Terruzzi Collection; until January 11.

Retrospective on British sculptor Matthew Spender, who has lived in Tuscany for the last 40 years; until December 30.

Arnaldo Pomodoro Foundation:

Same venue:

‘Great Works 1972-2008’; until March 22.

GENOA Palazzo Ducale:

BOLOGNA Pinacoteca Nazionale:

Van Gogh, Masterpieces from the KroellerMueller Museum in Otterlo, Netherlands; until January 25.

CORTONA Etruscan Academy Museum (MAEC): 30 masterpieces of Etruscan art from Russia’s Hermitage museum including the only Etruscan bronze funerary urn ever found; until January 6.

FERRARA Palazzo dei Diamanti: Turner and Italy; until February 22.

National Gallery: Without title

Mario Schifano 1934-1998, Selected Works; major retrospective marking 10th anniversary of artist’s death, previously at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome; until February 1.

BRESCIA Museo di Santa Giulia:

Fondazione Mazzotta: Shozo Shimamoto

LUCCA Palazzo Ducale: show marking 300 years from birth of Grand Tour portraitist Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787); until March 29.

MAMIANO DI TRAVERSETOLO (PARMA) Fondazione Magnani-Rocca: Giovanni Fattori, The Poetry of Truth; until November 30.

MANTUA Ducal Palace:

Ethnic art from Peggy Guggenheim collection; until February 22.

Museo Poldi Pezzoli: Japanese ‘netsuke’ mini-sculptures from four Italian collections and Stuttgart’s Linden Museum; until March 15.

Teatro Filodrammatici: Federico Fellini’s sketches of secretary Liliana Berti; until December 14.

MONTECATINI TERME Ex-Terme Tamerici: Boldini Mon Amour; 180 works by Parisian School portrait painter Giovanni Boldini (18421931), many unseen including three portraits of secret lover Countess Rastj; until December 30.

first major show on Jacopo Alari-Bonacolsi aka Antico, an acclaimed sculptor in Mantegna’s time; until January 6.

FLORENCE Palazzo Medici-Ricciardi:

Palazzo Baldeschi al Corso: From Corot to Picasso and Fattori to De Pisis, modern Italian and European art; until January 18.

REGGIO EMILIA Palazzo Magnani Matilda and the Treasure of Canossa, 200 works of Medieval art; until January 11.

TURIN Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli: 164 works from the famous Bischofberger collection showing artists promoted and befriended by Swiss art dealer and gallerist Bruno Bischofberger and his wife Christina, including Miquel Barcelò, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Mike Biblo, Francesco Clemente, George Condo, Enzo Cucchi, Dokoupil, Damien Hirst, David Salle, Julian Schnabel and Andy Warhol; until March 1.

Palazzo Grassi: Giovanni Boldini: Madame Michelham

Palazzo Strozzi:

NAPLES Archaeological Museum:

Caterina and Maria de’ Medici, Women in Power; until February 8.

The Gladiator, weapons and armour found at Pompeii; until December 31.

Palazzo Pitti:

Same venue:

The Medicis And Science; large collection of scientific writings and tools; until January 11.

Herculaneum: Three Centuries of Discoveries; until April 2009.

Magritte: The Married Priest

PERUGIA

Carlo Cardazzo (1908-1963), A New Vision Of Art, major pieces from his collection including de Chirico, Sironi, Campigli, Scipione, Marini and the architect Carlo Scarpa; until February 9.

Rene’ Magritte and the Mystery of Nature; around 100 paintings featuring Magritte’s signature apples, blue skies and birds; one of Italy’s largest-ever Magritte events. until March 29 .

Raphael’s Madonna del Cardellino (Madonna of the Goldfinch) on show until March 1 after eight-year restoration.

‘Correggio’, biggest exhibit on once-neglected artist in years; around 80 works flanked by 40 by contemporaries, plus chance to see three most important frescos up close in city churches; until January 25.

VENICE Guggenheim Museum:

MILAN Palazzo Reale: Turner. The Grand Canal

PALERMO

PARMA

Brera Academy and Palazzo Stelline (Credito Valtellinese):

Amico Aspertini (1474-1552), A Bizarre Artist in the Age of Durer and Raphael; until January 26.

Man Ray, Unconcerned but not indifferent. 300 pieces from his private collection; until January 6.

The Fantastic World of Picasso, 66 works; until March 8.

Museo d’Arte Contemporanea di Villa Croce: Shozo Shimamoto 1950-2008; until March 8.

MAN gallery:

Palazzo dei Normanni:

‘Lucio Fontana Light and Colour’; until February 15. Amico Aspertini: St. Albert the Great and Duns Scotus

NUORO

Italics, Italian contemporary art 19682008; until March 22.

VICENZA Palazzo Barbaran: ‘Palladio 500’, 200 works including 30 models of Palladian architecture plus art by Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian celebrate Andrea Palladio on the 500th anniversary of his birth; until January 6.


SPORTS

Sex plus food: the perfect night.”

Genius and Intemperance

”I was poor, but I have to be clear that I have never worked a day in my life. Because I don’t know how to do anything.”

The former AS Roma player Antonio Cassano is one of Italian football’s most naturally gifted and talented players. He also has a talent for getting into trouble on and off the pitch. His recently published autobiography will do nothing to calm the controversy which has bedeviled his career.

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assano was born in the southern Italian city of Bari on 12 July 1982, the day after Italy’s win over Germany in the World Cup Final. His father left the family shortly after and he was raised by his mother in the tough working-class neighbourhood of Bari Vecchia. He began playing street football at an early age and was spotted by a scout for the local club AS Bari and brought up through the team’s youth system. He made his Serie A debut for Bari in 1999 at age 17. Many of Cassano’s street urchin friends got into trouble with the law, some wound up on the fringes (or worse) of organised crime. The supremely talented striker says soccer saved him from a similar fate. “There’s no doubt that had it not been for football, I would have become a hoodlum,” admits Cassano in the book entitled “Dico tutto (e se fa caldo gioco all’ombra” ), [“I’ll tell all (and if it’s hot I’ll play in the shade)”]. Cassano to Luciano Spalletti: In the summer of 2001 when Cas“You’re not coaching the sano was just shy of his 19th birthsame rubbish you had at day, Roma outbid rivals Juventus and Udinese. This isn’t your house, it’s my house.” paid a transfer fee of €28 million, making him the most expensive teenage signing in the world at the time. The move marked the start of a stormy relationship with Roma’s disciplinarian coach Fabio Capello, which continued when both were later at Spanish giants Real Madrid. An exasperated Capello even coined the word Cassanata to describe the player’s petulant outbursts of insubordination and outrageous behaviour. Cassano’s antics eventually tired the club management, his team-mates and even Roma’s passionate fans. In January 2006, he acrimoniously parted ways with the giallorossi and signed

Capital clubs in opposite directions

AS Roma & SS Lazio Giallorossi and Biancoazzurri towards winter break after derby.

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oma and Lazio are heading towards Christmas and the Serie A winter break in decidedly different frames of mind after a month of action which saw a complete turnaround in the teams’ form and fortunes. Lazio shot out of the gates at the start of the season with a string of fine results that launched them into the top three ahead of

AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti photo: ansa

many far more fancied clubs. The team, built on a shoestring by club president Claudio Lotito, made no big-money signings during the off-season - but it bought wisely; notably Argentine striker Mauro Zarate, who arrived in the Italian capital to widespread scepticism but has since shown such scintillating form to attract the interest of Real Madrid. While Lazio were flying high, Roma – last year’s runners-up – were slumping to a series of disastrous results. Poor form and a plague of injuries, especially to talismanic playmaker and captain Francesco Totti, left coach Luciano Spalletti’s side on the edge of the relegation zone. The two sides clashed in the first Rome derby of the season on November 16 with Lazio brimming with confidence and Totti warning that defeat would be a “catastrophe”. Roma won the game 1-0 and have since racked up three straight wins in Serie A as well as crucial Champions League victories over Cluj and Chelsea. Lazio have picked up just one point in their three league games. The giallorossi’s injury worries have eased, notably to Totti who seems finally to be returning to form after a devastating knee injury had kept him out of the side for months. The team has also been helped by

15

with Real Madrid. Roma’s loss cannot be said to be Real’s gain. The tantrums continued but the stunning plays became a rarity. Cassano made no secret of his love for junk food and Real Madrid fans quickly began to ridicule his ungainly girth. From his autobiography we learn that Cassano is not only passionate about football and food, he also loves sex. And like every passion in his life, he seems driven to excess. “Dico tutto” claims he has slept with “between 600 and 700 women.” When Cassano was at Real, he would pay the bellboy to sneak a woman into his hotel room late at night on the eve of each home game. “I played my best games after having sex until six in the morning and then breakfasting on three or four cream pastries,” reveals Cassano. “Sex plus food: a perfect night.” Buffon talks about Depression In August 2007 Real dealt Cassano to the Genoa-based (ANSA) – Juventus and Italy Serie A club Sampdoria. He goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has for the first time spoken about of clinical now says he has found an depression he suffered four years ago. “ideal home” with SampdoThe depression lasted from late 2003 ria and feels he has become until summer 2004 when he came out a more mature and settled of it during a European championship player. But in a game in match, Buffon says in an autobiography, ‘Numero 1’. “I never understood why it happened to me then... My March this year he earned legs started to shake suddenly. It was a very dark period because I’m a a five-match suspension for sunny and optimistic person”. He emerged from the depression in the histrionically insulting the 2004 European championships. “It happened quite suddenly, in the match referee and we may place where I had been afraid of going, Euro 2004 in Portugal. During well not have seen the last of Italy-Denmark, a horrible match, I was the only one smiling”. his Cassanate. ¶

Dear Diary...

Spalletti’s decision to switch to the solid 4-4-2 formation they have been using in recent weeks. The change has helped derby goal-hero Julio Baptista (a summer signing from Real Madrid) and fellow striker Mirko Vucinic to play in the positions they prefer. Both look far more comfortable and effective and, with Totti improving, the Roma attack is finally firing. The recent run of form has seen Roma climb the table and the wins in their last two Champions League games mean a draw with Bordeaux in their final group match will secure qualification to the knock-out phase of the competition. December began with the two teams continuing on their separate ways. Roma claimed a 1-0 win at Chievo Verona while

Lazio Chairman Claudio Lotito photo: ansa

Lazio slumped to a 3-0 defeat at home to Inter. After the loss with Inter, Lazio coach Delio Rossi denied his club are in crisis. “Our form has taken a dip, that’s all. We just need to keep our heads and look to the future.” ¶

Moggi 6-yr Sentence asked (ANSA) – Rome prosecutors asked for a six-year sentence for former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi on charges of manipulating the transfer market. A five-year term was sought for Moggi’s son Alessandro in connection with the activities of GEA World, a players’ management agency run by Alessandro Moggi, Prosecutors are seeking a 16-month penalty for Davide Lippi, the son of Italy’s World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi, who worked at the agency. The other three defendants, including Lippi, are accused of aiding and abetting. All six deny wrongdoing. A sentence is expected to be returned in January. ¶

Former Juventus GM Luciano Moggi photo: ansa


16 SPORTS Rugby

Sailing

Mascalzone Latino bows out of LVPS (ANSA) – The Naples-based America’s Cup team Mascalzone Latino has decided to drop out of this winter’s Louis Vuitton Pacific Series (LVPS) in New Zealand for financial reasons. Syndicate chief Vicenzo Onorato, who had brought the team to two America’s Cup events, said he was forced to make the decision “due to the difficult international economic situation, which is making IT nearly impossible to find sponsors that would cover, even partially, the operational costs for a participation aiming at a good performance”. The LVPS will see 12 America’s Cup teams face off against each other using boats loaned by Team New Zealand and America’s BMW Oracle Racing. Organizers said this will lower operating costs and highlight the skills of the crew over technological advantages. Until the last America’s Cup, when Switzerland successfully defended sailing’s most prestigious trophy in the Mediterranean in 2007, Louis Vuitton had sponsored a cup series which determined the official challenger, a format which the Swiss then abandoned. The LVPS is designed to keep up interest in big boat sailing until a new America’s Cup can be staged, once disputes over format have been resolved. In announcing his decision to withdraw from this winter’s event, Onorato said “my great sorrow in giving up is mostly for Louis Vuitton which is, in my opinion, the only depositary of the Cup’s tradition and dignity”. Onorato also confirmed that his team in 2009 will take part in the Farr 40 Class championship, which it has won for the past three years. Aside from New Zealand and Oracle, the other participants are Alinghi; Italy’s three-time America’s Cup entry and Louis Vuitton Cup-winner Luna Rossa; an Italian team headed by Vasco Vascotto; France’s KChallenge; Britain’s Team Origin; China Team: South Africa’s Team Shosholoza; and Greek Challenge. Mascalzone Latino’s place in the series will now be taken by one of the two teams on the waiting list: Team French Spirit-Marc Pajot and an Italian team headed by former Luna Rossa skipper Francesco de Angelis. ¶

Rome 2009 Italy – Ireland STADIO FLAMINIO 15 February 2009 Italy – Walles STADIO FLAMINIO 14 March 2009 Italy – France STADIO FLAMINIO

FOOTBALL Champion’s League Final 2009

STADIO OLIMPICO 27 may 2009

SWIMMING The 13th Fina World Championship FORO ITALICO 18 july – 02 august 2009 www.roma09.it

I

talian rugby is reeling after a trio of Test Match defeats in November that leaves coach Nick Mallett’s plans in tatters for their 2009 Six Nations campaign. While losses to Australia and Argentina were no disgrace, the shock 25-17 defeat in Reggio Emilia (22-14 era il risultato della sconfitta con Argentina) to the Pacific Islanders was a huge upset and a massive blow to the Azzurri’s morale. For the Pacific selection it was the first Test victory of their fouryear existence. The combined Tonga, Fiji and Samoa side had lost their previous eight Tests. South African Mallett has said he believes his players need stiffer regular competition if they are to improve their form and increase their strength in depth before the next World Cup in 2011. During the Autumn Tests only a handful of Italy players – the veteran trio of Mirco and Mauro Bergamasco, Sergio Parisse and talented youngster Andrea Marcato – looked capable of competing on the international stage. Officials from Italy’s Rugby Federation are to meet to discuss the recent defeats. And Mallett now faces an uphill task to prepare his team for their Six Nations opener against England at Twickenham on February 7. ¶

The coach Nick Mallett photo: ansa

2009 promises to be a golden year for sport in the Italian capital with a string of high-profile international events. Here’s a look at some of the biggest dates in next year’s sporting calendar.

capital of sport

RUGBY Rugby 6 Nations 2009

Italy stumble towards Six Nations

ATHLETICS Maratona di Roma 2009 22 march 2009

BASEBALL World cup Baseball 9-27 september 2009

www.maratonadiroma.it

www.2009baseballworldcup.com

Golden Gala 2009 STADIO OLIMPICO 10 july 2009

TENNIS Internazionali d’Italia FORO ITALICO 25 april – 9 may 2009 www.internazionalibnlditalia.it

www.goldengala.it

21 march 2009

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