Segmento - Unapologetically Italian - Issue XXII - March - May 2021 by Segmento

Issue XXII,Issue March-May 2021 2021 Segmento XXII • March-May

We Choose to Challenge!

International Women’s Day 2021

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Segmento – Unapologetically Italian Issue XXII, March-May 2021

Edit orial I

am sitting by the river in the small town where I live, watching the sun skim across the water and noticing, as always, the cool black greens in the shadows of the surrounding trees. There are people around, some wading in the river, their clothes tucked up above the knees. And there are naked babies sitting on the stones patting the water with flailing chubby arms. This is the summer of 2020-21 in my town. With only one or two confirmed cases of COVID-19, we’ve been lucky so far and life goes on, seemingly normal. But for my partner and I, whose roles (aside from magazine editor) include touring musician, workshop facilitator, field researcher, and event organiser, so much time at home is far from normal. Like so many others in the arts industry, in March 2020 our work calendars suddenly became so obsolete we might as well have gone out to buy brand new empty ones. If we had, April and May might have been filled with notes about gardening and building pizza ovens. June and July might have included deadlines for applications for grants and new study opportunities, as well as a few desperate adaptations of our old lives in the arts, such as Zoom concerts and online work-

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

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shops. In the Spring there was a semblance of normality, with live performances returning - well, at least it did where I live in New South Wales, Australia. By the Summer the uncertainty of it all had people we know in the hardest hit industries (travel, hospitality and the arts), reassessing the work they do, and the way they structure their lives. For us, it took a pandemic to realise that so much time away from home is unsustainable in many ways. One colleague of ours, a beautiful singer, now runs a specialised Argentine bakery from home. Another multi-instrumentalist now teaches music five days a week. A director of a prominent arts organisation now works from home among vegetable gardens and chickens, organising live streaming events from theatres around Melbourne. The pandemic has given some people the rare opportunity to explore their personal lives. And that is making us ask big questions of ourselves, our relationships and our businesses. What is an essential part of my identity? What can I let go of ? What do I want to change? My first opportunity to curate the content for Segmento, a project I have been a part of since 2015, seems to have coincided with this time of reinvention, and that is the idea the writers and I had in mind when putting together this edition for you, Dear Reader, a lover of all things “Unapologetically Italian”. In these pages we read about a city being reinvented through the addition of bike paths. We’ll find a designer who

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goes beyond interiors to restructure every aspect of his client’s life, and another who turns rubbish into delicate shimmering light fixtures. One of our writers rebuilds her own identity through the study of the food, language, music and values of her ancestors. We look at West Australian Opera’s innovative new programme, and the way they are reinventing the artform to be more contemporary and inclusive. We even talk about how Gucci has changed the way we look at a ladder in a pair of tights. Early in the pandemic I read a quote from writer Fran Lebowitz, who told Michael Shulman from The New Yorker, «I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to think about this, because it is a very startling thing to be my age and to have something happen that doesn’t remind you of anything else.» Throughout these last months of collecting and editing articles relating to reinvention, I’ve reflected on Lebowitz’ words, wondering whether the only way to respond to this unprecedented time is let go of the old ways. As some of us create a life that doesn’t remind us of any other life, we have spent the last few months attempting to create a magazine that doesn’t remind you of any other magazine. We hope you enjoy it. A presto. Hayley J. Egan

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

1 st Unapologetically Italian Photographic Competition

Prize AUD 500

•

3 rd P

2 50

1st Prize

•

A ze ri

1.0

Capture in one image Segmento’s “Vision and Mission”

All entries will receive a free copy of Segmento - Unapologetically Italian, June 2021 Edition, with acknowledgment of all participants for their submission, announcement of the winners and publication of their artworks.

Vision Understanding different cultures and traditions in a globalised and multi-ethnic world is fundamental to the development of a peaceful and civilised society

Mission Providing independent views and opinions on all things Italian. It leverages on Italian art, culture and modern lifestyle as sources of knowledge, meaning, value and identity

Condition of Entry: Submission of high-resolution photographs (600 dpi min) at segmento@segmento.com.au by midnight of 30 April 2021. All submissions are to be accompanied by a statement by the photographer to certify the originality of the artworks as previously unpublished on any media or social media outlet. The competition, open to professional and non-professional photographers, will be judged by Segmento’s editorial committee. All material submitted will be owned by Segmento Pty Ltd which retains the right of publishing the photos in its magazine, social media and online on Segmento.com. au. The winners will be announced on Segmento social media/website and magazine on 1 st of June 2021.

CONTENTS

73 LIFSTYLE & TRADITIONS 5

Editorial

by Hayley J. Egan

73 Under the Cover by Raffaele Caputo

14 A Day in the Life of a Diplomat by Hayley J. Egan

11 We Choose to Celebrate

16 Open Minded, Inclusive and Italian at Heart

60 Book Review “L’Architettrice”

18 Necessity is the Mother of (Re)Invention

76 What’s On

20 Politics with Purpose

by Hayley J Egan

by Angelo Pallotta

by Jenna Lo Bianco

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22 West Australian Opera by Daniele Foti-Cuzzola

24 Genuine Swing

by Emiliano Beltzer

26 The Ghostly Steps by Gabriel Arata

by Hayley J. Egan by Hayley J. Egan

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ART & CULTURE

20 FASHION & DESIGN 29 Gucci Climbs the Ladder of Success by Federica Mancusi

31 Fashion, Sustainability and Mental Health by Federica Mancusi

34 The Art of Living Well by Martina Badiali

38 Shining Light on Upcycled Design

42 What’s Up D.O.C? by Raffaele Caputo

47 A Tavola

by Marybeth Bonfiglio

50 The Mysterious World of Mushrooms by Agata Grimali

BUSINESS & TRADE 62 Business is Blooming

TOURISM & PLACES

66 Artisan Paper Marbling

by Agata Grimaldi

by Jenna Lo Bianco

52 Perfumes and Flavours of Calabria

69 The Dragon in the Room

54 Milan by Bicycle

71 A High-Tech Shock

by Martina Badiali

CUISINE & FOOD

by Hayley J. Egan

by Valeria Bisciglia

by Giovanni di Lieto

by Stefano Riela

58 Reimagining Sicily by Caroline Smith

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

We Choose to

Celebrate by Hayley J. Egan

he 8th of March is International Women’s Day, and the theme is “Let’s Choose to Challenge”. Although every day is International Women’s Day here at Segmento, we still decided to celebrate the day with an issue filled with stories of incredible women from around the world. I had the honour of speaking to Her Excellency Ambassador Francesca Tardioli who, undeniably a pretty high achiever herself, listed some of the women who have inspired her throughout her life. Dr. Maria Montessori was one of them. What a great choice! Montessori qualified as a physician in 1896, the first Italian woman to do so since Maria Dalle Donne almost 100 years earlier. She

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became involved in the Women’s Rights movement and then began to study educational philosophy and anthropology. Though Maria Montessori is a household name around the world, not everyone understands the basis of her educational philosophy, which is actually quite radical. Montessori believed that in an intellectually stimulating environment where activities that support natural development are provided, children are able to educate themselves. When compared to the mainstream educational model, this was - and still is - quite a ground-breaking idea. There are now many Montessori schools around the world, and aspects of the Montessori method, (particularly the learning materials she developed) are present in classrooms everywhere. Grazia Deledda, who received the Nobel Prize for literature in 1926, is another of Ambassador Tardioli’s inspirations. Renowned as a writer of place, the Sardinian-born Deledda’s work presents a strong connection with the island. She is one of Italy’s treasures and should have a place on the bookshelf of any lover of literature. Also mentioned in our conversation was the female director general of CERN, the European research organisation that operates the world’s largest physics laboratory. In 2016, Fabiola Gianotti became the first woman to be appointed to the position. What could be a bigger

We Choose to Celebrate

achievement for a molecular physicist? I guess, achieving it twice. In 2019 Gianotti was selected for an unprecedented second term. The Ambassador also gave me some news I must have missed on the ABC. Well, here it is in Segmento: Molecular characterisation of SARS-CoV-2 from the first case of COVID-19 in Italy was successfully achieved by three doctors from the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital in under 48 hours. Their names are Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, Francesca Colavita and Concetta Castilletti. To the names mentioned by the Ambassador, I would add two Italian women

We Choose to Celebrate

who are high achievers in a field that I hold close to my heart: Children’s literature. Have you ever heard of Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo? Their book Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls broke the record for the most crowdfunded book in history, until that record was broken by their second book, Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls 2. I don’t think I know any children under 12 who do not own a copy of either of these books. They are exquisitely written and illustrated. They feature short biographies on 100 inspiring women from around the world, and illustrations by over 50 different female artists. These two books have undoubtedly made an enormous impact on children’s bookshops (and bedrooms) all over the world. So here you have a few inspiring women named by Her Excellency, and a couple of book recommendations from me (which, I’m aware, is effectively a list within a list). At any rate I invite readers of Segmento to take the entire month of March, or maybe the entire year, to be especially inspired by the women featured in this issue.

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

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A Day in the Life of a Diplomat We speak to the Ambassador of Italy to Australia, Her Excellency Ambassador Francesca Tardioli by Hayley J. Egan

hen we speak of the relationship between Italy and Australia there is much going on behind the scenes, and much of this responsibility rests in the hands of Her Excellency Ambassador Francesca Tardioli, Ambassador of Italy to Australia since September 2019. Proud mother of two sons, she’s a keen swimmer and diver, a lover of literature and visual arts, and when asked to name the women who have inspired her, she gives a satisfyingly eclectic list including Amina J. Mohammed, Rita Levi Montalcini, Grazia Deledda and Maria Montessori. She also mentions the molecular physicist, Fabiola Gianotti, first woman to become Director-General at CERN in Switzerland, and three researchers who isolated COVID-19 in early February 2020, Doctors Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, Francesca Colavita and Concetta Castilletti. With pride, she speaks of The Mediterranean Women Mediators Network, with which she has been involved since its inception in 2017. An initiative that involves a gendered perspective of mediation and peacebuilding between nations, the network allows women to share ideas and work together. «Diplomacy is certainly team-

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work» she reminds me. It’s important to her that I recognise that the relationships between nations are maintained by a group of hardworking diplomats. When I ask about their daily workload, I begin to worry that this team might not be getting enough sleep. «A day in the life of a diplomat is characterised by an early start,» the Ambassador says with a laugh, «and this is largely because of the different time zones. The first thing to do after waking is to check the Italian news and find out what happened overnight. Then there is finding out what happened in Australia. There are meetings between state leaders to discuss common interests. Promotional and cultural activities. Communication with the five consulate offices in Australia, two Italian Institutes of Culture and all the other actors of the institutional Italian network, such as the Italian Trade Agency, the Italian National Tourist Board and the Italian Chambers of Commerce. And then there are the things that just come up suddenly, that need to be addressed.» I think about what came up “suddenly” just a few months into Ambassador Tardioli’s most recent posting. «We have all had to adapt our work methods,» she says. «Diplomacy in the past

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has depended on travel. Now with this pandemic, travel is difficult, but we can’t just stop everything. We have used technology as a way to overcome these obstacles». The Embassy’s cultural program has responded in the same way. Things have adapted, but they have gone ahead nonetheless. According to the Ambassador, this attitude gives us the opportunity to streamline working methods. «Technology has helped us adapt, but it is not our human way of socialising, of meeting in person and exchanging ideas. Some of our adaptations will continue after the pandemic as they are more efficient and work better this way. You might ask yourself, is it the same thing to see a theatre show in streaming as it is to see it in real life? You may decide that it’s not the same thing. It’s a good adaptation in these times, but its something that we miss and would like to return to the way it was.» These cultural events, along with science and eno-gastronomy are a large part of the Vivere all’italiana program, the objective of which is «to bring Italy and Italian lifestyle to our Australian friends.» The program is built on the fact that Italy is recognised for innovation, lifestyle, artistic and cultural offerings, and that the Italian way of living is inimitable and unique.

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How does Vivere all’Italiana apply to a senior career diplomat whose entire professional life unfolds overseas? «It’s quite easy here in Australia to live an Italian lifestyle for historical reasons» she says, noting that the impact of the Italian “stamp” extends to Canberra’s Parliament House, designed by Italian architect Romaldo Giurgola in 1988. «There are also many Italian gastronomical offerings here in Australia and thanks to the fresh homegrown produce it is possible to fully take advantage of the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, although living far from Europe.» Ambassador Tardioli has lived and worked in many countries during her career in diplomacy, including Albania, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Libya. I’m sure that she must have a favourite, so I ask her, and her response is, well… diplomatic. «It’s so hard for me to choose,» she says. «I have had important professional and personal experiences in each of these places, and they are all so different from one another. I’ve met wonderful people in each of these countries. In each country I learnt something that helped me grow as a person and as a diplomat. I remember each of them with nostalgia».

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Open-minded, inclusive, and Italian at heart:

Dr. Teresa De Fazio joins the Segmento family by Jenna Lo Bianco

Her name is synonymous with cultural inclusion, equality and diversity. Many will know her work spanning decades in academia and education, as well as languages advocacy and multiculturalism in Victoria and beyond. We are delighted to welcome Dr. Teresa De Fazio to the Segmento family. She’s eager to share her passion and enthusiasm for her Italian cultural heritage, as well as rich knowledge and deep understanding of Australia’s multicultural landscape. I chatted with Dr. De Fazio, keen to learn more about some of her more formative experiences. Overcoming challenges is something we face in our day-to-day lives, including across professional journeys. What do we stand to learn from these difficult periods? «The Renaissance followed the dark period of the plague. It started with a movement to rediscover meaning, recreate and move to a higher level of understanding humanity. Quite a timely reminder given the pandemic we are currently tackling across the globe. I guess, on a personal level, we all have our “Renaissance” moments too. Times when we rise from our dark periods with

LIFSTYLE & TRADITIONS

a focus more on recreating than the challenge itself. I am happy to share an event with you that, looking back, was such a personal moment. My very young daughter was ill and running a fever. I received “the call” at work in the mid afternoon to advise taking her to the doctor. On informing my supervisor at a large organisation, the response was, “You will never get ahead in your career, you are Italian and an Italian woman. Your family values are too strong. It isn’t your fault that you will always prioritise your family.” With that, my supervisor mapped out an obstacle course that required ninja-like dexterity to overcome.» What was your response to this challenge? «That one event set off a chain reaction of events, and in the end I felt it best to leave the organisation. I was not going to be apologetic about my rich cultural heritage, my choice to be a mother, my gender nor any other aspect of my identity. But I was hurt, bewildered and very wary. I took up a different employment path. The one that I had chosen was blocked. So began my period of remodelling, redesigning and rejuvenation. I can see it now, not then.

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Then, it was a dark period. The only thing that drove me was my own conviction to never be that kind of supervisor, to do all I could to be a change maker for equality, so no one else would ever hear such pazzie (follies)!» Have you always had this sensitivity to and awareness of social injustices? Or did they develop across your professional journey? «Without really consciously realising it, I did and have always challenged injustices – from my beginnings as an English teacher to migrants and refugees, an Italian teacher dealing with school bullies, the topic of my PhD, and then as a Commissioner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission. My work has always been to create and recreate practices, systems and ways of thinking that challenge systemic blocks to inclusion. How have you been able to integrate this philosophy into your work? «It is exciting to work with organisations and teams to understand how to work respectfully and develop strategic equity practices, and I have developed a model of intercultural leadership and cultural inclusion work. Drawing on my background as a teacher to facilitate training and as a researcher to work strategically, as well as leadership experience has meant I have been able to drive some impactful initiatives alongside some incredible people.» Well, congratulations! You have certainly used your life experiences, both positive and challenging, as fuel for good in the work you

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continue to do in the community. «Choosing to challenge oneself, and the world around you so that everyone can take up their place, is critical. I guess I had this value passed on to me by my hard working migrant Italian parents. Interestingly, I am now set for my next renaissance. Stay tuned – more to come!» Thank you for your time. It’s wonderful to have you join the Segmento family. We look forward to learning more from you and what you can offer our wonderful community of readers, collaborators and partners, not only here in Australia, but across the globe.

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Necessity is the Mother of

(re)invention

Mariangela Stagnitti honours her migrant background by creating a framework for global connection by Hayley J. Egan

t turns out women buy Ferraris too. That is what Mariangela Stagnitti learnt when the company consulted her on how to make the brand more approachable. At that point an idea she had in the back of her mind sprang to life, and in October 2019 she organised the launch of her Italian Business Women’s Network at the Ferrari showroom in Brisbane. «I had 240 women,» says Mariangela, «and from that it just grew and grew.» The Italian Business Women’s Network now has over 7000 members. Aside from being the elected president of Com.It.Es for Queensland and the Northern Territory and Vice Secretary for AIM (Associazione per l’Italia nel Mondo), Mariangela has over 35 years experience in banking. Her work has focused specifically on migrants, helping communities with their banking needs and in establishing businesses. «I creat-

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ed the network in order to give women somewhere to go to connect with other women, and to connect with their heritage. We are daughters, granddaughters and nieces of migrant women. We connect with each other, but also with non-Italian professional women. Women who might go to Tuscany to learn cooking, will then return home and want to take their love of Italy a step further by connecting with Italian women in their professional lives.» According to Mariangela, gone are the days when Italian businesses overlooked daughters in favour of sons. «Women have that family tie, a strong sense of family legacy» she says, remembering advice given to her by a Sicilian business owner. «Women will take over a family company and work in it for the right reason. We are softer in character, and we are connected to our fathers, especially in Southern Italy. Men will

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listen to their fathers, but they also have to listen to their wives» she laughs. The Italian Business Women’s Network, after launching at Ferrari, held a second networking event at the luxurious Natuzzi Italia showroom in Brisbane early in 2020. There were plans for continued events, including partnerships with Queensland Ballet and Opera Queensland for elegant nights out, but when the pandemic struck, her plans had to be reimagined. «It started when a friend of mine in New York sent me a video of herself in Central Park,» Mariangela says. «I asked to share it on the Italian Business Women’s Network platform, and I ended up receiving 110 videos from women from all around the world.» The video project became a framework for reinforcing her network of Italian women, who were suddenly dealing with the challenges of lockdown. She was intent on nurturing collective strength in a difficult time, because, as Mariangela says, «No one should ever feel alone.» There are many stories, including a wedding planner from Canada who, rather than lose her livelihood, had to come up with a way to keep booking weddings. Her tactic was to encourage marriages to go ahead but to postpone receptions. Another member of the network in Rome, a fashion designer, was shy about participating, but eventually uploaded a video of herself in front of the Trevi Fountain talking about the pandemic and how she had to keep going. «Some of my friends lost their jobs,» recounts Mariangela. «But they joined in too, and it helped them. So

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many people wrote to them privately and told them to hang in there. It got people out of their shell. When you surround yourself with other women, with positive people, that helps a lot.» Mariangela was awarded one of 14 prestigious Globo Tricolore prizes for the video project. «I am so proud to have received this prestigious award,» says Mariangela. «I dedicated it to my parents, who passed on their Sicilian character and strength in overcoming difficult times. My mother, who was 17 years old when she came here, taught me that as women we just have to deal with the tough times. You’ve got to knuckle down and do something, or you sink into a black hole. Back then, those without jobs just reinvented themselves. They made cakes. They sold their jewellery. You just do what you can. You find something that works, and you do it. For those of us from migrant backgrounds, reinvention is an instinct.»

LIFSTYLE & TRADITIONS

Politics with Purpose

Lina Messina talks about technology,

microeconomies, and making our ancestors proud by Hayley J. Egan

he City of Darebin has a new mayor, and it has to be said that she embodies the Italian stereotype. Passionate, determined, and a little bit fierce, Lina Messina was not going to sit back and do nothing when she heard that the Preston Market was going to close down. «I rang a friend who was a local politician at the time, saying that it just can’t close down,» she says. «And he said to me, “Well, what are you going to do about it?”»

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Daughter of Sicilian migrants, Messina grew up in Darebin, and she is passionate about her corner of Melbourne and the memories it holds. Of particular significance to her and many others, is the hive of shopping activity in the heart of Preston. «The Preston Market reflects so many multicultural groups. It is an inter-generational space that holds the stories of the communities who have come here with hopes and

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dreams,» she says. «So, I ran for council, and we opposed development.» Lina Messina decided to run for council to fight for the Market, but discovered that her plan for Darebin was bigger, and four years was not enough time to get the work done. Especially in the midst of a pandemic, when she felt her community needed her most. When the local traders in Darebin started suffering because of the lockdowns in Victoria last year, Lina Messina was one of the first to propose extending the footprint of hospitality businesses to accommodate more customers safely. Her role, as she sees it, is to listen to the community. «The responsibility of a politician is to spend money wisely, on the things that the community actually wants, and to listen to everyone, not just the loudest voices,» she says. It’s not just the implementation of policy that generates change, but also the behaviour of a community in difficult times, such as shifts in shopping behaviours during lockdowns. According to Lina, this too is something on which local councils need to sit up and take note. «The community understands the importance of a microeconomy. People need to support local businesses, because time and time again, it’s been shown that small businesses generate more jobs than big businesses like Woolworths and Coles. A fairer future is in a local economy.» Messina is also concerned about the impacts of the pandemic on a social and cultural level. «I’m worried about what it means socially for someone to greet you in the community,» she says. «Traditionally Italians are very physical and very warm. Do we change that? Has

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COVID-19 changed that?» She feels the social losses we’ve endured during the year are not to be underestimated, and having become a grandmother during the lockdown, she understands the sacrifices that people have made during the pandemic. «FaceTime was all we had,» she says, and recounts having to isolate before her daughter gave birth, and the agonising wait to meet her grandson. The experience has her reflecting on the digital divide between the generations, noting that parts of the elderly community are disengaged with modern technology, making them vulnerable to social isolation in times of physical distancing. «It’s something we as a community need to address,» she says. «The elderly need to be in contact with their friends, with their families, with their grandchildren.» Of her own grandson, Messina says, «He’s the love of my life. When you become a Nonna, your heart just grows.» The experience has made her reflect on her own Nonna, and the heartache she must have felt after her mother’s migration, and after becoming a grandmother to a child that would grew up in another continent. «My mother landed here in Darebin. How could she have known that one day her daughter would become Mayor? I’d like to have that conversation with my Nonna. I’d like to tell her that all her sacrifices were worth it.»

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Opera In Language, In the Park, On your Screen.

West Australian Opera

brings Italian classics and Ground-Breaking New Works by Daniele Foti-Cuzzola | Photography by James Rogers

020 was a trying year for many industries, but one that was significantly affected was the arts and entertainment industry. With live performances halted and congregations of large crowds prohibited, arts organisations like West Australian Opera were required to re-examine how they were going to share their beloved art form and connect with existing and new audiences amid a global pandemic. But with restrictions came innovation, and amidst cancelling and postponing several highly anticipated shows, West Australian Opera launched a series of successful digital initiatives including digital opera The Telephone, virtual singing classes, weekly playlists, a monthly podcast and

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an operatic inspired cooking series. These digital initiatives allowed the company to connect with audiences from Western Australia and beyond. After overcoming such a trying year, West Australian Opera is looking at a brighter 2021 with a new season that will incorporate digital initiatives and the return of live performances, and encourage audiences to colour their world with opera. «We want to celebrate opera’s diversity by presenting many different ways for people to fall in love or reconnect with the artform,» explains West Australian Opera’s Music Director, Chris van Tuinen. «2020 was already quite a big shift from the previous years in terms of the look and the feel and the number of productions that we were doing. That didn’t happen, we had to shut down and of course that was terrible for the industry and we really missed not being able to perform for people. [But] in 2021 we want people to see that we are so well connected and that we have reasons to be joyous, bright, engaging and colourful.» West Australian Opera’s 2021 season includes the Perth premiere of Tim

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Finn’s Star Navigator, which was originally set to be performed last year, and the world premiere of Koolbardi wer Wardong, an original opera commissioned by Wesfarmers Arts and written by Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse. These two ground-breaking works will be performed in Tahitian and Noongar respectively, marking a first for West Australian Opera. While 2021 sees the introduction of ground-breaking new works, this year’s season also includes several Italian operas including Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and a new production of Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro. «Well for me Italian is one of the heartlands of opera,» explains van Tuinen. «Mozart during his time, although he was a German composer, wrote in Italian because he wanted to acknowledge that the Italian style was the dominant style of opera in his time. It wouldn’t be an opera season without that beautiful repertoire.» «Standouts for me are Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci because they are the pinnacle of verismo opera, that warmth of those Italians stories that really puts us in the heartland of 19th century Romantic opera, so if you’ve never been

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to the opera before I would come to Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci. Another highlight for me is Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, because he changed opera forever with the construction of that piece. It is the story of servants and masters and the music is sublime. It’s almost 250 years old and opera was never the same after that.» West Australian Opera’s 2021 season kicked off on February 26 with the City of Perth Opera in the Park, a free gala concert of operatic hits featuring the likes of Puccini and Rossini. This year’s concert featured an allstar line-up of opera stars including Emma Matthews, Paul O’Neill and Sara Macliver. It took place over two nights and commemorated 30 years of Opera in the Park, another remarkable achievement for an artform that is often unfairly dismissed as outdated. «What I always hope people take away from the opera is the idea that using music and text to tell stories is universal, and helps us explain what it means to be human. I feel like there’s an unbroken connection between the art that we witness and our humanity, so I hope people are inspired and entertained, moved and challenged.»

ART & CULTURE

Genuine Swing An Album Review of Genuinely Radiosuccessi by Radiosuccessi by Emiliano Beltzer

hen I think of jazz, I think of the United States, African-American culture, and the complexity and musical virtuosity that are characteristic of the genre. However, since its appearance at the beginning of the last century, jazz has taken many different forms in different parts of the world. Wherever jazz arrived, it mixed with the pre-existing local culture, giving rise to new musical forms (such as bossa nova) or to new versions of American jazz with a different, original local “colour”. Radiosuccessi plays music that could be included in this last category.

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The group was created by legendary drummer, the late Carlo Canevali, who wanted to play Italian music with fellow Italian jazz musicians in Melbourne. Apart from Canevali on drums, the original line-up included Mirko Guerrini on sax, piano, flute and arrangements, Ilaria Croatiani on vocals and Ryan Griffith on guitar and clarinet. The text accompanying their first album, Mr Amore (Independent, 2016) explains that the band “pays tribute to” Italy and to the particular atmosphere that pervades movies like La Dolce Vita or Vacanze Romane, their music being “a nod and a wink” to those cheerful 1950s and 1960s when swing music was at its apex on radio and TV. After the tragic passing of Carlo Canevali in 2019, the music he imagined continues, now with Tom Lee on double bass and Niko Schäuble on drums replacing Canevali. Genuinely Radiosuccessi (2020) was recorded in a single day, at Pughouse Studio. The album has various sounds, from the swing to which it pays homage, to rock and roll, through to European folk, circus music and even soundscape. The tracks Amorevole, and Eccomi, despite having their own arrangements, have a sound that retains a relative closeness to the original versions. In Tua, however (a beautiful version with which the album ends), the arrangement changes from the original not only in its texture, which is present-

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

Album Review

ed here in piano and voice alone, but in its rhythm: changed from the original 4/4 to 5/4, which gives the track an unexpected interest, while maintaining the warmth of the original version. Something similar happens in Le Tue Mani, where the new rhythm chosen is 7/8, instead of the original 4/4. In Fai Male, on the other hand, a swing song is born from a piece that did not originally belong to the genre. Although a bit outside the period to which Radiosuccessi pays tribute, Samba e Amor does not clash with the other songs on the album. It adds the sounds of Bossa Nova, which are already part of the world jazz culture. In this particular version (but also throughout the album) Guerrini's skills as a pianist can be appreciated, though his main instrument is the saxophone. Among the farthest from swing (and perhaps jazz) is La Regina dello Yé-Yé, originally performed in a RAI TV show by Gina Lollobrigida in 1965. A fundamental part of Radio, TV and the culture of those days, the sound of rock and roll appears in the second half of this version. There are two songs on the album that take us to unexpected new places. Il Vino proposes an arrangement that reaches a sound that is both circus and almost experimental music. At the same time, the presence of the accordion and the harmonic and melodic characteristics of the piece maintain its folk spirit. Bing Bang Bong, originally sung by So-

phia Loren in a mix of Italian and English, the rhythm is reminiscent of that of the habanera, and becomes more and more playful, supported by successive key changes. The end of the song reaches dissonance, almost stridency. It is worth stopping to read the album notes (only available on Bandcamp). Here, the band explains that the intention of the recording was never to make an album, but simply to spend a day in the studio to document the work that the band had done during the year. For those readers who are not familiar with the process of recording an album, it is important to note that since the advent of digital technologies, very few discs are made in a single day, with a single take of each track and next to no post-production. In this way of recording, what is played in the take is what is left on the record. It gives a kind of honest freshness to the sound of these records, something that is lost when the recording is manipulated over and over again. That freshness is very clear in Genuinely Radiosuccessi. Throughout the album the band manages to add its colour to the songs with variations that are at times subtle and at others quite drastic. Furthermore, the second album by Radiosuccessi confirms something that seems obvious, but which is nevertheless a recurring preconception not only among the general public but also among fellow musicians: Italian music is extremely multi-faceted and has much more to offer than Tarantella.

ART & CULTURE

The Ghostly Steps The Mystery of Gianfranco Cuccuini

True Crime

by Gabriel Arata

ianfranco Cuccuini is a retired printmaker working casually at the church bookstore Manuelli in Florence. The shop is a landmark for devotees and men of the cloth, selling religious texts and devotional items. Gianfranco never works on Fridays, but that day, 24th March, 1995, he was asked to fill in. It was early in the morning, drizzling. On the radio, Come Mai by 883 plays. In Sesto Fiorentino, a suburb on the outskirts of Florence, the clock marks 07:30 and Gianfranco, always an early bird, climbs onto his trusty moped. In downtown Florence, the day starts early and Manuelli is a very central Bookstore, beside the Curia, in Via del Proconsolo, right behind the Duomo. The cafes are filling with workers and students for their daily caffeine fix. The Arno river flows peacefully. Flocks of tourists swarm undisturbed. At 07:20 the doorwoman opens the front door of the Curia. At around 07:45, five construction workers arrive to fix the sewage system. The last worker to arrive on site will later state that at 07:50 sharp the bookstore’s shutter was already rolled up, and of this he is certain. He vividly recalls adjusting his hat in the window’s reflection.

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Between 08:20 and 08:30, Gianfranco is spotted by the owner of the copyshop across the street as he sweeps. He waves at him, but Gianfranco does not reciprocate, a reaction completely out of character. At 08:30, a woman paces in front of the Curia, waiting impatiently for someone. Something catches her eye. She doesn't know who Gianfranco is, but notices two people walking towards his bookstore. From the description she released to the police, one of the two is Gianfranco himself. She describes the other person as tall, and lean with long hair and outdated clothing, but she is not able to identify as a woman or man. That is the last certain moment in which Gianfranco is still undoubtedly alive. Between 8:40am and 8:45am, Don Boffici, after having unsuccessfully knocked three times at the backdoor, decides to walk in from the front door. Strangely, the light is off. He walks in slowly. He can't explain why, but he is unable to call out Gianfranco’s name. Then he sees a foot sticking out behind the counter. Terrified, Don Boffici tries to scream, but barely a breath comes out. He has a horrifying feeling of not being alone. Don Boffici tears out the front

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door, closing it behind him. He reaches out to Don Giuseppe, his direct superior. They go back into the store and find the body. It's Gianfranco’s. What the police and the forensic will find is baffling. The shop is in unnatural order. The body, still lukewarm, lies in a large pool of blood. There are 15 stab wounds. Whoever stabbed him is no longer in the store, yet, not a single footprint, not a single drop of blood along the only path towards the only accessible exit. The murder weapon will never be found and moreover, the murderer, who must have been covered in blood, apparently manages to get out through the front door, mingling with the crowd and literally vanishing into thin air, still in possession of the murder weapon. Only the woman seen walking back and forth nervously in the proximity was questioned by the police. Searching her purse they find a piece of evidence. An umbrella with a fresh droplet of blood on it. But suspicions lead nowhere. The blood does not belong to the victim. Meanwhile, detectives are studying the crime scene. The only disharmonious note in such a perfect and clean scene is a bunch of keys next to the victim. The money is still accounted for, there is no

Segmento Magazine XVII March/April 2021

sign of struggle. A lightweight chair is sitting right on the pool of blood, seemingly never moved. The only explanation is that the killer was sitting on that chair while executing the crime... Maybe Gianfranco kneeled down to pick up the keys and the killer attacked him, stabbing him in the back from above, most likely with a paper knife, 27 times. To deepen the mystery further, the police find a diary next to the till. It is open on a page where there is handwritten transcription in an unidentified ancient language. Uma harum uma. Could the phrase have roots in Latin? The translation would be The shadow of these shadows. All sorts of leads are followed, including the involvement of satanic cults, and the antique black market but even those leads are a dead end. Will we ever know what really happened in that well-known bookstore in downtown Florence, in broad daylight on a typical March morning? It could very much be a tale by Edgar Allan Poe, a tale yet to be written, in which the mysterious killer is none other than a ghost. Will we ever shed light on this mystery?

ART & CULTURE

Gucci climbs the ladder of success by Federica Mancusi

GUCCI Black Distressed Tights

ver the years I have carried emergency hairspray and clear nail polish in my bag. Why? To fix my tights in case they ripped. It was a real nightmare, I even got to the point of wearing nude tights instead of the dark ones, so that any breakage would be less noticeable. This coming autumn and winter though, I can leave the hairspray and nail polish at home. I am confident I won't feel ashamed if my tights are ripped. Because that ladder in my tights will be something stylish and on trend, after the famous Italian brand Gucci turned a pair of laddered tights into a statement piece in the maison's most recent collection. These Gucci tights are torn in more than one spot. And they sell for just under $300 and have already completely sold out everywhere! Alessandro Michele, creative director of Gucci since 2015, has been responsible for getting the public used to the fashion brand’s unconventional designs and concepts. Ads for Gucci Beauty have featured the model and singer Dani Miller proudly showing an

imperfect smile. Michele has repeatedly veered from traditional beauty standards by bringing the unusual looking model Armine Harutyunyan to the catwalks, immediately sparking a nation-wide debate in Italy on feminism, modelling and body-shaming. He also emblazoned the words “Fake” and “Not” in yellow on either side of shoes, outerwear, scarves and other accessories, to mock the counterfeit culture the brand was becoming a victim of. To be objective, this time the designer has not invented anything original (if we think about what Alexander and Wang Heidi Slimane, to mention one example, did on runways in 2008 and 2015), but what is original are the ways in which Gucci continuously, without a doubt, attracts people’s attentions, their opinions and judgments, and gets everyone talking about the brand - and often without the need to advertise. Nowadays Gucci’s mission seems aimed at impressing or shocking the public, and that is the reason for such brave choices. Of course the more traditional, classic items can still always be found in a Gucci store, so that any customer can find a garment or accessory suitable to their taste. The shock of the new and the comfort of tradition - both are keys to the success of this Italian brand.

GUCCI Men's “Fake/Not” print Ace sneaker

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

FASHION & DESIGN

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Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

Lucy Laurita

on Fashion, Sustainability and Mental Health by Federica Mancusi | Photography by Maurice Rinaldi

ell me about your label Lucy Laurita «Lucy Laurita the brand is a constantly evolving project, an achievement resulting from experiences. The aim of my collections is to be there at a special occasion or event of someone's life. To be a part of someone else's journey. To help create their story. My design aesthetic has always been simple, classic, comfortable event wear that makes a statement. Feminine, flowy styles to suit all shapes. Actually, Lucy Laurita is the result of a rebranding. In 2005 Leièla was launched. The name is composed of three Italian words, lei è là, which translates as “she is there”. This name was significant to my style, I was very proud of it, and I still am. The fact is, for a long time I never imagined using my personal name as a label.» But then Leiela became Lucy Laurita? «In 2016 I did a major and intense mentoring program with Henry Weinreich, after meeting him at a function the previous year. His mentorship led me to understand many things, break down a lot of barriers and, eventually, to my rebrand in 2017. Rebranding was also a way for me to let go a lot of negative things. Henry pushed me

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hard and this is exactly what I needed. We both look back on that time as an incredible experience. The main idea I learnt from him is that “We are the sum total of our experiences.”» Does your passion to create run in the family? «My mum was a highly skilled dressmaker in Viggiano, Italy. She was trained by another dressmaker. As I grew up I was dressed up in her creations, she was always busy making outfits for us and for her friends, which on the one hand would motivate me, but on the other hand upset me as a child, because I wanted her to teach me, but she did not want to. At the start I didn't receive much support from her. It was only after I finished studying at Melbourne Institute of Textiles (taken over by RMIT), that she started to really supporting me, and this led me to graduate from the Associate Diploma of Fashion Design & Production (she suggested that if I really wanted to be a fashion designer, I had to do it properly). Eventually she was very proud of me, and she helped me manage my family and career.» What do you think of the latest trends in Italian fashion? «I don't follow anything 100%. People assume that being a fashion designer means I

Eryn Saunders

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Lucy Laurita

am following a particular trend, when I don't. What I like about fashion globally is that now there is more freedom of accepting and showing ourselves and expressing our personality.» Who inspired you the most throughout your career? «I have always admired Anna Molinari, and Bluemarine, of course. I love that style because it is soft and feminine, without being overdone. That simple classic look which is never pretentious or intimidating, something every woman can wear.» What are the biggest challenges of being a woman and a fashion designer? «In my opinion, women feel deeper, we think a lot more, we have to take a lot more into consideration. So everything is a continuous challenge, and now I have finally accepted that this will be a lifelong challenge. I also stopped constantly trying to make a decision about being either this or that and have accepted that I will constantly be growing into myself, and this is okay.» What are some elements which are never missing in your collections? «Comfort, my styles suit all shapes without restrictions. And timelessness, to this day I still sell designs from my very first collection, that is what I mean by classic. How do you see fashion after COVID-19? «I hope there is going to be a lot more conversation about sustainability. It is a movement we have to embrace as a society, it needs to be a cultural movement, and this is going to take a long time. We surely have to shift our behaviour as far as fashion is concerned, but sometimes it is not the consumer to blame. It’s the fact is that

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there is too much disposable fashion on offer. Another thing I see as a post COVID-19 trend is that we are becoming more appreciative of art, in all its aspects. The ways of communicating fashion have changed too as a result of the pandemic. All we did in the past may be irrelevant now. Some advice to an emerging fashion designer: believe in the importance of connection and don’t get fixated on becoming a big name overnight. That is just an illusion. Being a fashion designer is hard work. Always get support, get a mentor. And, last but not least, set your purpose.» What's your next step? «I am working on a few projects, which I am really excited about. First of all, I am currently showcasing a new collection. I am also creating a Little Book Of Perfection, where beautiful pictures of women accompany quotes and remind us that we are important and valuable. It is a little way to re-train our mind to positive thoughts. Mental health is always a priority. I will also be part of a television show, Adventure All Stars, supporting Project Karma in the battle against the exploitation of children. I have been able to focus on topics of relevance moving forward, investing my time and energy gaining knowledge on social issues such as child exploitation and Mental Health (I am a Multicultural Ambassador for Mental Health Foundation Australia). Our community is what really matters. Finally, I am planning a trip to Italy next year. I understand how lucky I am having an Italian background. I am never static, I will be forever evolving.»

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tommaso

SPINZI The Art of Living Well by Martina Badiali

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telephoned Tommaso Spinzi on a rainy day in December 2020. I would have liked to have visited him in his studio-showroom in Affori and personally meet this flâneur of the 2020s, a person who has made good taste and the “art of living well” a human and professional manifesto. Unfortunately, the pandemic held me back, so we had a long chat on the phone. I was immediately conquered by the words with which he defined “his” Affori (a suburb of Milan), which he says, «will be the new Isola (one of the trendiest suburbs in Milan)». «It’s the home of Bosco Verticale and has undergone profound redevelopment in recent years. [Affori] is buzzing, it gives you a true sense of country, also of safety. And the architectural style, made up of small villas… I love it.» Tommaso is an Italian designer originally from Lake Como, the enchanting landscapes of which have certainly in-

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fluenced his style. He lived and worked for years in Australia and the USA before returning to his homeland, where he divides his time between Lake Como and Milan. His work involves but is not limited to interior design. His creative and curious personality, his unique way of looking at the world and his refined sense of aesthetics allow him to cross over into collaborations with public and private initiatives - for example, the Milano Music Week, and the design of tourism offices in St. Moritz. He also provides design services to private clients among whom I was able to guess prominent personalities of the city, but whose names he wanted to keep confidential. This service is not limited to the organisation of the spaces in a house and the objects that inhabit those spaces, but involves reinventing everything around the individual’s or the family’s lifestyle. Speaking of his path, Tommaso says,

FASHION & DESIGN

«What should have been just a yearlong sabbatical in Melbourne, Australia, turned into eight years full of experiences and encounters with people with whom I am still in contact. For me the link with Australia has not been interrupted, I will always return to Australia every year (pandemic permitting), and although I am now in Milan, I still have customers in Australia. But I decided to come back to my origins, to my food, to my land. In Italy we have a unique lifestyle, because we are at the centre of the world. We can travel from one country to another in a very short time, we have cultural contamination and different energies and this conditions our approach to life and style.» This hybrid dimension, between Italy and Australia, is reflected in his work, which he lives in a completely personal way with respect to colleagues and professionals who offer similar services. «I have a slightly different approach from that of other interior designers and architects. During my eight years spent in Melbourne, I learned a lot about lifestyle, how to live life well, not only in terms of the private space of the house, but also in terms of time for oneself and one's passions. For example, in Melbourne, I would accompany the client to express their personality and style to the fullest in every aspect, for example, choosing their car, buying clothes, or accessories to go to the races. It was a 360° job to show the identity of the person.» With his return to Italy, he was faced with different projects and challenges. The first assignment entrusted to him was the restyling of a 5-star hotel in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, the Salotto

FASHION & DESIGN

Buono of Milan, a glittering succession of high-fashion designer windows, star-rated restaurants and historic shops. «I furnished 50 rooms, all different, involving 90 artists, and eclectically mixing a mid-century style with key pieces that have made Italian design famous around the world.» Speaking instead of his work with the Milanese clientele, he says, «the premise is that those who come to me already want something sophisticated. People do not necessarily come to me with needs, problems to be solved, but are instead interested in my vision of things, my aesthetic, attracted by a workflow that has to do with design, but also with art and crafts. I wanted to set up my work a little differently from the classic interior designer who works in Milan, who generally renovates apartments from A to Z, working a lot on their own identity rather than on that of the client. I focus much more on the stylistic code and identity, studying the client's lifestyle. For me it is important to understand the approach to life of those who will inhabit the space when I go to design an interior. That approach is what I try to reflect in the final result.» The personality of an individual or a family is really the essence of Tommaso's work, and it shows in the objects, colours, and furnishings, but more importantly, in the combination of all these elements, the concept of an office or a lifestyle. Speaking of how the pandemic has affected the lives of his customers, he says, «the natural consequence of spending more time inside is much more research and greater attention to interior spaces. And the way of planning spaces has also

changed, it is much more transversal. For example the kitchen also becomes an area that has office characteristics, because people work from home now.» When I ask him if he thinks that there is a tendency in Italy to leave the historic centres in favour of the greener suburbs, his opinion is completely affirmative. «Without a doubt, I chose Affori precisely because it offers the perfect lifestyle for me. Halfway between Brianza where my furniture is made, and a few Metro stops from my Milan office. I find a superior quality of life here than in the centre, where I don't know where to park, where loading / unloading is complicated. [Affori] offers a better quality of life for me. At the moment the centre of Milan is deserted. There are only walls and closed shops. It’s much sadder than going out in a suburb like Affori, where you can have contact with nature in the large surrounding public parks. There is almost a rush to experience the suburbs. I also saw this in Melbourne, where for example there is a place like Brunswick, which, despite being a few kilometres from the centre has a very defined identity. All the suburbs of Melbourne have their own different identity. In my opinion the only neighbourhoods in Milan that have defined themselves in this sense are Isola and only recently NoLo.» Our conversation goes on, talking about Milan and Melbourne, about our projects, about design, the home and lifestyle. As we are about to hang up, Tommaso leaves me with a statement that is truly the manifesto of this designer-artist, «Italy is known all over the world for beauty, so we must bring out the beauty in all things.»

FASHION & DESIGN

Shining Light on Upcycled Design “Aluminate” by Massimo Corsini

by Hayley J. Egan | Photography by Philip Greenwood

elbourne Design Week, delivered by the National Gallery of Victoria, will this year include in its programme the work of Sicilian-born designer Massimo Corsini. His exhibition “Aluminate” (sponsored by Segmento, Nixora and NOMIT) will open at Museo Italiano on the 26th March. In Australia since 2015, Corsini, who studied at the academy of Fine Arts in Milan, is making a shimmering impression on the Australian design scene. «Art and design play a very important role in my life», says Corsini. «For this reason, I have always followed these

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two disciplines assiduously, keeping upto-date on what is considered new or recent.» From light fixtures to armchairs and installation, Corsini takes upcycling to a new level with his elegant creations that are made entirely from aluminium cans. Each element of the rejected can is separated and takes on a new function in the design piece, which is composed of thousands of hand-carved cans. The idea came to him when a surprise inspection from a landlord pushed him to clean up very quickly. Now, the concept of making something

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new from waste has become central to his work, which explores environmental impact and the perceived social value of a discarded object. «Upcycling is a process of reinvention and transformation applied to a post-consumer or waste material,» he explains. «This process therefore gives the waste a new life, drawing benefits for us and the environment that surrounds us.» In the context of climate change and the waste crisis, Corsini’s work imparts this increasingly poignant ecological message while simultaneously taking the viewer to a sparkling, magical place. «I would place my personal project at a central point between art and design. Art, as my work is the expression of a sort of social revenge on behalf of the world we live in, unfortunately still burdened by infinite ecological problems. At the same time, my style, forms and creative processes are embedded within a rigorous design study and method. My intention is to bring a clear message of

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change through a post-consumer material that has become an aesthetically plausible and functional object.» That the works are created in defence of the entire world is clear. The pieces evoke neither “Italianness” nor “Australianness”, but are cutting edge and distinctly global. Of his experience living and creating in both Italy and Australia, Corsini speaks positively. «Italy has a rich and vast history of design and art and throughout my studies I was exposed to this. In Italy, there is a sense of tradition and respect for the masterpieces created centuries ago. They still influence our emotions, ideas and creations. On the other hand, Australia is open to all existing artistic forms, with a special eye on contemporary approaches. In fact, in the field of art and design, Australia is really growing, as shown by the countless large design events and art fairs. Naturally, Melbourne and Sydney are the two main centres of experimentation and action.»

FASHION & DESIGN

Melbourne Design Week will run from 26 March to 5 April 2021. Massimo Corsini’s exhibition “Aluminate” is at Museo Italiano - 199 Faraday St, Melbourne - from 26 March to 23 May 2021. 40 Section

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What’s Up

D.O.C? by Raffaele Caputo | Photography by Giorgia Maselli

t was a rare event when in 2005 D.O.C Espresso opened its doors on Lygon Street in Carlton. Long considered the “Little Italy” of Melbourne, by the early 2000s Lygon Street had become a kind of museum piece, a street that seemed to trade on the memories of a once-vibrant community fuelled by the hopes and dreams of a generation of post-war Italian immigrants. At that time Lygon Street attracted mostly out-of-towners who were comfortable sitting at restaurant tables covered by a red and white gingham cloth; and who may have indulged in a carafe of house red while eating a rather antiquated pizza or pasta dish. The street was stuck in a past that neither belonged to subsequent generations - the kids of the kids of the Italian post-war diaspora - nor did it resonate with a new wave of Italian migrants who were young, worldly and aspirational. Michele Costanzo, founder of the D.O.C Group, must have sensed that a wind carrying seeds of change was approaching - that people’s palettes had already changed for the better, that young people in particular had become more sophisticated in their tastes, and that these same people were seeking to experience authentic Italian food rather than

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a mere semblance of it. Adopting the initials D.O.C said as much - the letters stand for denominazione di origine controllata, one of several designations within Italy’s classification system for guaranteeing the provenance and quality of its foods and wines. It basically means that consumers are getting the real thing, not a clone. Costanzo was intent on giving people an experience that would be indistinguishable, if not better, from one to be had in Italy. And he was convinced that such an experience could still be had in Carlton. It’s surprising to think that a café can change the mood of an entire neighbourhood. But D.O.C Espresso did just that, for the wind began to drop its seeds of change further afield. Not long after opening D.O.C Espresso, the Group opened D.O.C Delicatessen next door and, around the corner on Faraday Street, D.O.C Pizza & Mozzarella Bar. The popularity of the latter also spread beyond the Carlton precinct and found homes at Southbank and Mornington, a pop-up version in Mordialloc, and even

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one across the border in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills. D.O.C Pizza & Mozzarella Bar took Melbourne’s predilection for artisan pizza - a trend that was spearheaded in the early 2000s by the likes of Elena Bonnici at Pizza meine liebe in Northcote, Rita Macali at Ladro in Fitzroy and Karen Martini at Mr. Wolf in St Kilda - to a new level with its emphasis on…well, mozzarella! Not the yellowy, industrially-produced mozzarella, which is made from off-cuts and was used ubiquitously as a pizza topping in Melbourne’s pizzerias from the 1950s onwards, but the soft, springy and snow-white variety, of which the most prized is made from buffalo milk and, if lucky, hand-wrought. Artisanal Italian fare made with high-quality produce is nothing if not everything for the D.O.C Group. Its concept venues were so thoroughly embraced by the community at large that the Group is now intricately woven into socio-historical fabric of Carlton. Which brings us to the Group’s most recent masterstroke, Bio by D.O.C, a vege-

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tarian restaurant that is also gluten-free and vegan-friendly. Bio by D.O.C opened last December in Carlton’s Drummond Street, a stone’s throw from D.O.C Pizza & Mozzarella Bar, and at a locale that was once home to The Town Mouse, one of Melbourne’s favourite eateries. But when Costanzo first brought the concept to D.O.C’s long-standing chef, Tomaso Bartoli, the chef turned up his nose at the idea. Bartoli was of the opinion that the concept would not take root in Carlton simply because Italian cuisine does not equate with vegetarian dishes. Bartoli’s opinion was a knee-jerk reaction and, in retrospect, an egregiously naïve sentiment, and for two reasons. One is because of the growing trend towards adopting a plant-based diet on the grounds of both personal health and the health of the environment. The second is because seasonal, locally grown and fresh vegetables are at the very heart of Italian cooking, even though Italian cuisine is by no means vegetarian. Costanzo, like others of his generation, remembers eating dishes made solely from vegetables grown in the backyard of the family home - and it was not for ethical or environmental reasons, but because these dishes were enjoyed. It did not take long for Bartoli to be convinced that one could cook creatively on vegetables alone. Nor did it take long for Bio by D.O.C to whet the appetites of Melbournians. How could it not? For here’s the thing: the menu at Bio by D.O.C has been designed not only for gastronomes of the vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free varieties, of whom many are from culturally-diverse backgrounds, but to cater also to lovers of Italian cuisine.

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BIO BY D.O.C. 2

1. Mini Parmigiana This follows the traditional recipe of using mozzarella and grilled eggplant, but with one variant - instead of basil Bartoli uses a Tuscan kale pesto, which is a touch more bitter and gives greater flavour. 2. Vegan Lasagna Bartoli created a substitute béchamel by using soy milk, and the ragù, which is typically made from beef and pork meat, is replaced with a slow-cooked lentil ragù. 3. Vegetable Tartare Grilled pumpkin, zucchini and eggplant, finely cut and then seasoned with mustard, truffle salt and spring onion, which are typical ingredients of a classic meat tartare.

4. Sweet Potato Pancakes These pancakes are made from sweet potato that slow cooked at a low temperature, cream and homemade date syrup. 5. Gnudi This dish hails from Bartoli’s hometown of Florence. Gnudo in the Florentine dialect means naked, which essentially refers to a pasta dish without pasta. Which is to say that the typical filling for ravioli (ricotta and spinach) are made into balls bound by a little gluten-free flour and egg, and are then cooked in a sauce of burnt butter and crunchy sage.

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signature dishes by Chef Bartoli Section

A Tavola Honouring

our Nonni every day by Marybeth Bonfiglio

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

should start out by saying my nonna Salvatrice died before I was born. She never cooked her soft biscotti for me. But these cookies live on, and they have always reminded me of her, and represented our culture. They symbolised togetherness and rite of passage in my community in New York. They were made any time a baby was baptised, whenever there was a first communion or a confirmation, every high holiday. Of course, hundreds and hundreds were made before weddings. If you know anything about Italian-American Weddings, you know they are a big deal. When I was a kid, months before the nuptials, the female elders, the Zie and all the old godmothers gathered in the kitchen (usually my kitchen, as there were five daughters in the family who got married over the years). I realised that all of these women gathering in the kitchen with zero volume-control in their voices, spending an entire day making hundreds of these cookies, was not an American thing. It was an Italian thing. I knew we were different. While my friends had quiet kitchens with sugar cut-out cookies, I had a kitchen filled with cigarette smoke and yelling in English and dialect. The kitchen was packed with people wearing crosses, or red horns around their necks, making cookies that fed hundreds of people. The biscotti were made from three simple ingredients that every single immigrant had access to: sugar, flour, and eggs. Other flavours were infused in icing: Rose water, pistachio, anise, fennel, lemon, orange, and almond. These flavors represented Sicily. They were complex and deep in history, but also easy to find

CUISINE & FOOD

in the new world. They would roll out these little balls, tray after tray. They’d line boxes with parchment paper and store them one of the many freezers that lived in the basement of my damp, turn-of-the-century New York home, until the Big Day. When nobody was looking, I would sneak into the basement, open one of the freezers, reaching under all the parchment and pull out handfuls of them, as many as I could. Then I would run outside and sit under my favorite chestnut tree and stuff them in my mouth. I was sure nonna, who brought this recipe to our family, was in support of me doing this. I was sure nonna wanted me to do it, to help me get to know her. My nonna Salvatrice was born 130 years ago. She died 49 years ago, and was renowned in our small community for making bread. People gathered and offered her whatever they had to trade for her loaves. She was also known for

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drying squash blossoms, cardoon, and fish, and of course, soft biscotti. I wonder if it ever occurred to her that one of her Grand-daughters would be making these exact biscotti for her kids all these years later. I hold her recipe for her biscotti close to my heart, on tattered paper. I sit in the kitchen and roll out memories of her and ice them with the flavours of the land she was born on. When we look closely at ancestral traditions, habits and foods passed on to us, we can discern something magical buried deep inside, a hidden message sent across the ages in honour of our ancestors. Between the lines of a worn recipe, I read: What we were made from, you are made from too.

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Section

The Mysterious World of

Mushrooms by Agata Grimaldi

It’s Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere which is optimal time for Mushroom foraging. The Pine Mushroom (or Saffron Milk Cap) is a great mushroom to start your funghi foraging journey! As the name suggests, these mushrooms are found growing under Pine Trees. Some species can look very similar to poisonous ones, so always forage with an experienced guide until you are confident making an identification.

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have been fascinated by mushrooms. These mysterious little things come in so many different colours, textures, and shapes. They have been very much alive since life started 1.3 billion years ago. Mushroom spores, their reproductive bodies, can remain dormant for several years and then grow when conditions are right. We know so little about them, even though genetically we are closer to them than to plants. In fact we share with them 50% of our DNA. Out of 14,000 identified species, almost 2000 are edible and in the western traditions we consume only a few. In several Asian cultures they play a major role, not only for their culinary uses, but also for their health benefits. The Chinese pharmacopeia in particular has been relying on mushrooms for centuries, for all sorts of healing including fighting cancer, to reducing high cholesterol, to balancing blood sugar, and boosting low immune systems. Only recently medical research communities have been paying attention to mushrooms and started validating their acclaimed healing properties. Several studies have confirmed that they can help

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are trackable by MRI scanners. These sophisticated machines show that high levels of glucose induce a shrinkage of the hippocampus, a crucial region of the brain for memory and learning, as well as a reduction of the blood flow. In the long run this can lead to cognitive decline and other mental health conditions. Something all edible mushrooms have in common is that, apart from their richness in minerals, vitamins, fibres etc, they have a number of compounds that affect positively the brain and the body. In particular Maitake, a polypore mushroom, which grows at the base of trees in Asia as well as Europe, and Northwestern America has gained the attention of several medical researchers thanks to its potential nootropic effects. One trial conducted on the elderly proved an improvement in cognitive abilities due to an increase in neurite growth, the process of regenerating and growing brain cells1. The benefits of mushrooms are not limited to cognitive functions. In fact, a compound called beta-glucans seems to have mood-boosting properties and implications on emotional regulation according to another study2.

Notes: 1 Vikineswary Sabaratnam, et al. Neuronal health - Can culinary and medicinal mushrooms help?, J Tradit Complement Med. 2013 2 Khawaja Muhammad Imran Bashir, et al. Clinical and Physiological Perspectives of β-Glucans: The Past, Present, and Future,Int J Mol Sci. 2017

with fighting inflammation, boosting the immune systems, bringing oxygen to the cells, regulating sugar in the blood, and balancing hormones, along with other physiological benefits. A strong correlation between low rates of cancer and the consumption of mushrooms have been reported in several clinical studies across the world. Although most of the research on mushrooms focuses on their physiological benefits, there is a growing body of literature that is exploring mushrooms as a potential nootropic (a drug used for improved cognitive function) and their use for a number of mental and emotional conditions. An emphasis should be put on the interconnection between brain and body. In fact, these two are linked through pathways made up of chemicals, neurotransmitters and hormones. This is something the early Romans already knew: Mens sana in corpore sano. A healthy mind is an essential part of physical well-being. So, for instance, keeping blood sugar stable is not only important to maintain the body's energy throughout the day, but also to optimise brain function. Our brain runs on glucose, if we have surges of glucose, different parts of the brain get affected by receiving different electrical impulses. These imbalances

CUISINE & FOOD

Calabria

Perfumes and Flavours of

by Valeria Bisciglia

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uido Piovene, an Italian writer and journalist, in his Journey to Italy published in 1957, wrote: “Calabria seems to have been created by a bizarre God who, after having created several worlds, enjoyed mixing them together.” Compared to other regions of Southern Italy, Calabria seems a harsh and merciless land, but at the same time is rich, generous and authentic. Travelling through Calabria is indeed like travelling through many worlds. Le Vie della Perla is a small tour operator specialising in holiday packages in Southern Italy, and its mission is to make known the many worlds of Calabria. Among its varied itineraries, Perfumes and Flavours of Calabria is perhaps the one that best reflects the diversity of this region: tourists get to discover the rugged beauty of the landscape, its unique gastronomy, and experience first-hand the industriousness of the locals. At the heart of this itinerary is the extraordinary fact that Calabria boasts flora that is highly sought by cosmetic companies as the base for perfumes and

other beauty products. And indeed such is the quality of the vegetation there particularly its herbs, plant roots and fruits - that it is also prized as cooking ingredients in dishes that tell much about the region and the people who live there. No wonder the program for Perfumes and Flavours of Calabria is dedicated to four plants - or plant extracts, to be precise - that have bewitched and drawn people to the region for decades: liquorice, bergamot, lavender and cedar. Calabrian liquorice, as claimed by the Encyclopedia Britannica, is “the best in the world”. It grows mainly on the northern Ionian coast in an area known as Corigliano-Rossano, which is where the Amarelli family has processed and transformed the liquorice root into an assortment of confectionery since the 1500s. Part of the tour takes you to the Giorgio Amarelli Liquorice Museum, a charming old palace that fronts the factory, for a heritage-rich history of the Amarelli family and their product. Cosmetic creams and perfumes containing liquorice essence - those of international brands Biotherm and Kenzo

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in particular - are also on display at the museum. Then it’s on to the historical centre of Rossano, located on the Sibari plain where spectacular vistas of the Sila Mountains and the Ionian Sea are abundant. Calabrian bergamot is grown in the province of Reggio Calabria along the coast which goes from Scilla to Monasterace. It is a citrus fruit of ancient origin, and many legendary tales are told about it, but the first bergamot orchard in Calabria only dates back to 1750. Bergamot has great organoleptic properties and for that it is beloved by perfumers all over the world. It is also used to prepare juices and jams and as flavouring for confectionery and teas, most famously Earl Grey. One of bergamot’s most fascinating uses is as a natural anti-depressant, its smell apparently stimulates serotonin, which is proven to induce a feeling of well-being. The bergamot farm we visit on the day is located within a vast area known as Grecanica where inflections of an old Greek language can be heard in the local dialect. Then we continue with a sightseeing tour of Reggio Calabria and conclude the day with a visit to the Museo Nazionale della Magna Graecia, one of the most prestigious museums in Italy. This is where the famous Riace bronzes - two full-size ancient Greek statues of naked bearded warriors - have been housed since they were discovered fully intact in the sea near the town of Riace in 1972. Loricanda lavender grows naturally between 900 and 1700 meters above sea level. The name pays homage to the loricate pine, the monumental tree of the Pollino National Park. In the “50s” lavender was the main business in Campotenese and it was sold to several pharmaceutical and cosmetic

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companies, including Carlo Erba. Then, because of the reforestation of the National Park, the plant disappeared and only grows in some open sunny areas. In 2007, however, Selene Rocco and her family started to grow this same wild lavender and have now created a Lavender Park on their property in Campotenese. Their botanical garden contains the Loricanda lavender and another 70 species, which produce a pure essential oil used in various cosmetic products and herbal teas. It is a magical place, resplendent with the colour purple. This part of tour concludes with a leisurely walk to Morano, a strong contender the most beautiful village in Italy. Diamante Liscio, also known as the cedar of Calabria, is a citrus fruit that grows along the stretch of the northern Tyrrhenian coast from Tortora to Cetraro. That stretch of coast is known as the Riviera dei Cedri and where is grown the finest variety of cedar in the world, the fruit of which is sought for use in food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals because of its exceptional properties. The tour of course includes a visit to a cedar field, where more can be learnt about this very delicate plant. One surprising bit of knowledge is that farmers must grow and care for the plant on all fours due to its low size. The day also includes a sightseeing tour of Diamante, a village famous for its murals and for the Hot Pepper Festival held in September. Perfumes and Flavours of Calabria can be experienced almost all year round, from April through to November. What makes this tour so distinct is not only because it opens us to some of the hidden worlds of Calabria, but also because those worlds fully involve all of our senses.

Above: Lavander Park in Campotenese; Diamante Liscio Calabrian Cedar Left: Spezzata Amarelli box and the Inside of Giorgio Amarelli Liquorice Museum

TOURISM & PLACES

Milan by BicyclE

It’s hardly reinventing the wheel by Martina Badiali

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y name is Martina. I'm 34 years old, I have two schoolage daughters, a husband, a mortgage, and a great passion for cycling. Not (only) the competitive type, you know, the Giro d'Italia, but also (and above all) as a lifestyle. Urban mobility and cycle tourism are, for me, a way of life. I own an embarrassingly large collection of bicycles, including a cargo longtail, purchased in 2017. It’s a kind of muscle-powered van with which I take my daughters to school, go shopping, go for trips away for the weekend. The cargo bike is a substitute for a second car. I live in Milan, the city that before the COVID-19 emergency was considered the country's “innovative locomotive”, an Italian city but also a ‘European’ one, offering many services and a good quality of life. Unfortunately, Milan has

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also had the reputation for being ruined by the traffic: hundreds of thousands of cars that transport people from homes to work every day. All poisoning the air. Then came the pandemic, which locked us in for months, and frightened us, but also presented us with a strange novelty: the city began to breathe again. The air had never been so clear. In the meantime, the Milanese have rediscovered the humble bicycle, and have done so en masse. Getting around by bicycle in Milan is easy. It’s a flat city. The climate is mild for most of the year, and the city is very small compared to other European metropolises, in fact it is possible to cross the whole city by pedalling for about an hour. A few years ago, the AbbracciaMi cycling route was created. The city is literally embraced by a cycle path of about 60 km, connecting the parks that surround

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the city and making stops in significant historical and natural landmarks. My favourites: Chiaravalle Abbey (with the excellent beers produced by the friars!) and the Bosco in Città, one of the first (and most successful) examples of urban forest in Europe. The bike is an economic and safe means of transport, because it allows active mobility without coming into contact with other people, and it must be said that the local administration has made sure to encourage its use by creating new cycle paths, much discussed, but constructed in a relatively short time. And they have proved very popular.

TOURISM & PLACES

Chiaravalle Abbey

Slowly but surely, the culture of cycling, of living at a different speed (that is in any case higher than the average speed of crawling cars through city traffic) is gaining momentum. And us? We continue pedalling almost every day, both on vacation and in the city, hoping to raise our daughters in a city that is aligned with our values a little more each day.

Instagram profiles to follow to better understand the many faces of

Italian Cycling Culture

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@BikeItalia

@PinarPinzuti

Turkish expat in Milan, Online newspaper founded the @Fancyfounded in 2013, whose WomanBikeRide, an annual event motto is: "Let's transform Italy for women only, held in the into a cycling country". Slowly, world car free day. but surely, they are succeeding! Well done!

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Bosco in Città

@OmarDiFelice

@CiclistePerCaso

Two women who have An Italian cyclist who made the bike their is not afraid of the means of daily transport and great cold, who will make you dream with his adventures on two leisure: it is wonderful to follow them on their travels. wheels.

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@LifeInTravel A couple and their dog around Italy and around the world.

TOURISM & PLACES

Reimagining Sicily One tour at a time by Caroline Smith

For almost thirty years, the Sicilian antimafia movement has been working to not only challenge the domination of organised crime, but also to promote a different narrative of the island’s history and attributes- a struggle which continues, despite the ravages of COVID-19.

n the early 1990s, Palermo was a city in crisis. Following a long series of trials against mafia figures across Sicily, its two key prosecutors Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were assassinated within months of each other, in May and July 1992. In the days and weeks afterwards, waves of spontaneous protest gripped the city: women hung bedsheets from their balconies, daubed with images of the prosecutors, together with slogans proclaiming “Non li avete uccisi: le loro idee camminano sulle nostre gambe” (you have not killed them: their ideas walk on our legs). A tentative antimafia movement – which had first emerged in the previous decade, amongst graduates of the University of Palermo, and in the poorer districts and parishes - found its “second wind”. Organisations such as Libera were set up in the following years to coordinate activity protesting organised crime, with a specific branch Libera Terra, coordinating the reallocation of mafia assets. The women who had displayed bedsheets went on to form a committee, focusing on education and social change to challenge Cosa Nostra (their pamphlets, entitled “9 uncomfortable guidelines for the citizen who wants to confront the mafia” became a starting point for

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school programs). One organisation set up in the wake of this offensive was Addiopizzo, which aimed to take on one of the thorniest aspects of organised crime in Sicily - the protection rackets. This initiative too, began with a protest: one evening in 2004, a group of young friends began posting stickers around the city, each proclaiming “Un intero popolo che paga il pizzo e un popolo senza dignità” (a people that pays protection money is a people without dignity). With a website and media campaigns, Addiopizzo built most of its work around support for businesses in Palermo which did not pay the pizzo, and in 2007, extended into the tourism industry, offering a series of walking and cycling tours which introduce visitors to a renewed and defiant Sicily. According to president of Addiopizzo Travel Dario Riccobono, the organisation seeks to both develop ethical economics in tourism industry, and also use tours as a means of changing common narratives about the region. «Addiopizzo Travel has made it possible to make tourists protagonists in this struggle to liberate Sicily from Mafia control, creating a circuit of virtuous economy that rewards entrepreneurs who say no to the mafia - such as hotels and restaurants - and guarantees that tourists will

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not support Cosa Nostra, not even indirectly,» he said. «In addition, our goal is to overcome some clichés that see our island as a land of mafia, with no possibility of redemption. Sicily is a land that can boast many beauties and different stories of excellence: Addiopizzo Travel seeks, finds and enhances these stories of resistance and excellence.» The most popular tour, he added, was Palermo No Mafia, a one-day walking tour which takes in major sites of the city (Teatro Massimo, the Duomo, City Hall, the Piazza Beati Paoli) as well as those with specific relevance to the antimafia movement, such as Piazza della Memoria - which is dedicated to prosecutors and judges killed by the mafia, and the Antica Focacceria San Francesco - a restaurant which gained a high profile in the early noughties for its owners’ resistance to paying protection money. But tourists can explore Sicily through a number of other guided tours, on foot or by bicycle, offered by Addiopizzo Travel. These include Corleone: Beyond the Mafia, a walking tour which introduces the city and its history - examining peasant protest, the artwork of Gaetano Porcasi, and the work of local antimafia activists at the Laboratory of Legality - as well as highlighting the beauty of the Sicilian countryside. Other tours are defined by theme or historical figure, rather than location: such as One Hundred Steps, a guided tour focusing on the life of Peppino Impastato, a journalist and political activist assassinated in 1978 for drawing attention to organised crime in his hometown of Cinisi. Here, visitors can meet people who knew Impastato, and trace the “one hundred steps” from his home to that of Gaetano Badalamenti, the

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boss who ordered his killing. (This also includes sites used in the 2000 film of Impastato’s life, I Cento Passi. In addition to tours which tie Sicily’s landscape to its struggle against organised crime, there are also two which highlight its long-recognised importance to the arts, for which Addiopizzo Travel was awarded a grant in 2010. The Sea by the City explores Palermo through its literary connections (with references to sites beloved by Tommaso di Lampedusa, Goethe and Guy de Maupassant); while Palermo Theatre Noir- A Death Show takes visitors through sites of justice in the city, while examining what writers such as Leonardo Sciascia, Dacia Maraini and Luigi Natoli have said about the dark side of its history. In the wake of COVID-19, tourism in Sicily - as elsewhere - has been dealt a body blow. But the situation has also threatened the core of Addiopizzo’s activity: building an economy outside the system of extortion by Cosa Nostra. «The situation is difficult - some companies have failed, others are in great difficulty,» Riccobono said. «And in this context, the mafia becomes a key figure, being able to provide assistance to the most fragile, with the capital it has.» But having made inroads into the community’s awareness of this new social approach, and its benefits, the organisation would continue to provide help and encouragement in Palermo and elsewhere. «Addiopizzo has tried to maintain links with entrepreneurs, guaranteeing, as far as possible, support. It also sought to intensify street education actions with young people in the most vulnerable neighbourhoods, also seeking to promote actions to assist families in difficulty.»

TOURISM & PLACES

L’ARCHITETTRICE

by Angelo Pallotta

ome. 1624. Giovanni Briccio, a plebeian genius in a Rome both bigoted and libertine, takes his eight-year-old daughter Plautilla along the beach of Santa Severa, north of Rome, where she encounters a whale. A chimerical creature never sighted off the coasts of Italy, right there in front of her eyes, proving to her the existence of a world unseen, beyond the horizon. It is precisely this understanding, impressed upon her from a young age, which makes that child an artist, a mysterious painter and architect in the murky splendour of Rome’s baroque 17th Century. The first female architect in European history. Her father Giovanni Briccio, is a talented painter, playwright, poet, writer and journalist, but hides behind a myriad of pseudonyms, rejected by Roman Letterati and ignored by Roman nobility on account of his humble origins. A mattress maker by trade, he imparts upon

Section Book Review

his daughter a sound education and instils in her the importance of chastity, projecting her into the tightly-held, highly-classed Roman art circle as a child prodigy, chosen by the Madonna herself as a messenger, in an attempt to make her the artist that he himself was never able to become. Plautilla, doubly disadvantaged by her low class and her gender, thanks to her father’s sound teachings, as well as some fortuitous encounters along the way, will reach a fame far greater than her father had dared imagine. Suffocated by her father’s overbearing presence, she will sacrifice her youth, living through prejudice, regime changes, the plague and resigning herself to a clandestine love. Melania Mazzucco, Premio Strega 2003, paints an intricate and brutally realistic portrait of a unique woman. Held together by an unpretentious prose, her book weaves art, ostentation, intrigue, bigotry and violence through the dense

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tapestry of Roman society. She offers precious insight into seventeenth-century Rome, with all its extremes and contradictions, from the filthy vicoli where beggars and penniless artists make their home, to the sumptuous palaces of the aristocracy, in a world in which extreme poverty and wealth coexist. The author also facilitates encounters between the protagonists and world-renowned historical characters such as Bernini, Pietro da Cortona and Francesco Borromini. Mazzucco takes the reader on a journey through Rome, as it evolves into the beautiful city we know today, narrating, with impeccable historic precision, the creation of well-known monuments and

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

Book Review

L’ARCHITETTRICE Einaudi, November 2019 560 pages Historical novel by Melania G. Mazzucco

landmarks, including Saint Peter’s Basilica, Piazza del Popolo and Piazza di Spagna, exploring every corner and alley of the city, painting a vivid and evocative picture in the reader’s mind. This novel, while not exactly a page-turner or a mindless piece of escapism, contains all the elements of a great historical novel. Mazzucco succeeds in combining art history with the love story, detailing the main events of the 1600s in Italy through the accurate description of artists and their works, skilfully interweaving the story of Plautilla and Elpidio. Most importantly, Mazzucco brings to life an artist who, though still admired today, never received the same attention as her contemporaries, portraying a woman who, with apparent meekness and resignation, took possession of her life with audacity and determination to become the first female architect of modern history.

Book Review

BUSINESS IS blooming Spotlight on Florens Cosmetics by Agata Grimaldi

Beatrice Anzuinelli grew up in a small rural town in Italy. She spent her early years outdoors exploring and discovering the light, colours, and perfumes of the flora of her homeland. Her love and appreciation for botany and flowers, led her to enrol in chemistry at university. Flōrens, a small Italian artisan cosmetics

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company, was born from combining the rigour of scientific methodology Anzuinelli learnt in chemistry with her interests in dermocosmesis and herbal medicine. In Latin flōrens means blooming, flourishing and thriving. It is also the root of the Latin name for Florence (Flōrentia), a city synonymous with

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Renaissance art, as well as one of the main centres in Europe for the study of ethnobotany during the 16th century. The products rely on natural ingredients native to Tuscany with no testing on animals or the addition of synthetic components. We spoke with Beatrice Anzuinelli about her passion for botany, her journey as a young entrepreneur, and the challenges she has had to overcome. Have you always been entrepreneurial? «Yes, I have. Both of my parents are entrepreneurs, they started their own business when I was just a kid. I grew up absorbing all the basics from them, in a very dynamic environment.» What are the most common mistakes novice entrepreneurs make? «I can only speak for myself. My mistake initially was to be scared of other people's judgement and to be held back by this thought. I soon realised that the creator needs to be seen and discovered by the public to gain the trust of the future clients. Is there a female figure who inspired you? Or have you had a mentor? «Aside from my parents as strong mentor figures, my Nonna inspired me to follow my dreams and pursue what makes me happy. She was the one who taught me the basics of how to create homemade cosmetics. Where did you get your idea for the business? And when did you feel it was time to contact manufacturers to create the business? «My passion for natural remedies stems from the teachings of my grandmother Ileana, born in her father's estate sur-

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rounded by gardens of colourful flowers. I learned then about their use in cosmetics in the early 1900s. I learned how to create scented bath water using rose petals, how to make a brew extracted from the heart of the chamomile flower, how to make a hair dye by boiling the shells of nuts. With these teachings in my heart and with a passion for botany, I attended the Faculty of Chemistry when I went to university. Studying dermocosmesis and herbal medicine, creating unguents and creams with my own hands in the university laboratories made me happy. I started researching online about the cosmetic and skincare market, believing that I could try to create a natural brand myself. I contacted the first laboratory after one year of research and getting familiar with the cosmetic field. It was the first one I contacted and I’m still working for them. Becoming an entrepreneur involves a large number of skillsets. How did you prepare yourself to deal with all of the elements that go into a new business? «My first rule is to never be afraid to fail. Sooner or later something will go wrong but that’s just a way to learn, it’s how entrepreneurship works! Never lose the hunger to learn. I adore creating new products and formulations, but I also had to learn how to create an invoice and keep track of a warehouse, and I had to learn it from scratch. It’s also important to get advice from experts and create relationships with people in the same sector, who speak the same language and can give you valuable points of view.»

Beatrice Anzuinelli and her Flōrens artisanal cosmetic products

BUSINESS & TRADE

What was the most euphoric moment? «My happiest moment was when I presented my caviar-based cream, Preziosa. I had a nice meeting with a few selected spa owners in Singapore and that was a moment I treasure because I was very proud of my creation and I actually started working with a spa which placed its trust in me and my products. Another special moment was when I received the very first batch of completed products. To see the end result after all of the hard work in the planning and development was very exciting.» What are the products you are most proud of ? «Behind every formulation and creation there is a story and a different feeling. Preziosa, the black caviar cream, was the most difficult to formulate. We had to add argan oil and shea butter to achieve the perfect smoothness and softness. But in the end,

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this is probably the most appreciated product for its effect, texture and scent. The other product is the Illuminating Serum, which was developed later after collecting direct feedback from our customers and community. It is popular because it is not a harsh whitening product but can remove dark liver spots without irritating the skin like other products do.» What challenges have you experienced as a woman in business? «During events and exhibitions, I have been mistaken for the event “hostess”, and clients would not assume that I was the actual creator. Most of the time those people would ask for the manager. The most difficult thing is that in a world which is seen as “feminine” like cosmetics and skincare, some people still stereotype the business owners as being male.»

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Caring for your baby naturally since 1994

The Transporting World of Florentine

Artisan Paper Marbling by Jenna Lo Bianco | Photography by Giorgia Maselli

aking the journal from my hands, Maria Gentile pulls back the covers and selects a single sheet of paper from the binding. Standing tall, she holds the paper to the warm light from the ornate glass sconce. As if by magic, the form of a papyrus flower suddenly appears, deeply engrained in the rich fibres of the paper. Unseen by the naked eye, hiding quietly and confidently between the pages of this intricately decorated marbled journal, lies a filigrana, a watermark of quality and traditions old. In that moment I fall in love. On a mission to answer the question, “What place does artisan paper marbling have in today’s technologically driven society?”, I find myself at an odd juncture. With my laptop beside me, and my smart phone in hand, I laugh at the clash of simultaneously existing worlds. Sitting with Romina Beltrame, owner of Il Papiro Melbourne, and Ma-

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ria Gentile, her long-term colleague and dear friend, I am no longer in a store on Degraves Street, one of Melbourne’s oldest and most iconic streets. I am thousands of kilometres away in Florence, many centuries earlier. Paper marbling is an art once reserved for decorating the end pages of books - books, which were rare and only for the use of noble families and Kings. It is an art that is still alive, and very much sought after in Melbourne, of all places, explains Romina. Not limited to paper, marbling can also be applied to leather, silk and ceramics. To my right sits a bagno (bath) used in the marbling of paper following artisan techniques, learned from Il Papiro “Masters” in Florence. The bagno is filled with a secret solution which Maria has been carefully tending to, as we chat in the quiet store hours before opening. Like an alchemist, Maria begins mixing paints in small glass jars, swirling

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

across the surface of the bagno, rolling it out smoothly with one swift motion. I half expect it to sink, or immediately absorb the paint, or simply begin to disintegrate into the solution. Neither occurs. It simply takes on the colour. It attracts the paint, adopts it to its own form, transferring the newly designed aqua-birthed artwork to its underside. Dragging the paper to the end of the bagno, Maria presses the centimetre edge down onto the brass rod, and with one continuous action, she drags it over the rod, relinquishing any excess solution back into the bagno. She holds up her design proudly, eager to inspect the marbled pattern before hanging it to dry on the racks behind her. «How can we make this more beautiful? Italians always have that pursuit for beauty,» Maria muses, appreciating her work. My laptop can’t do this. No filter on my phone can create such beauty. This centuries-old artisan technique is truly mesmerising. I look to the shelves of marbled covered journals. Romina says, «I think these days, and with the use of computers, the “norm” and everything being so disposable, it’s actually lovely and really appreciated that (a) something is hand-crafted, and (b) that it is designed to last. It’s beautiful now, and perfect for the next generation.» Both delighted and terrified I step up to the bagno. Gazing into the solution, and overwhelmed by the nimble-fingered confidence assumed of my shaking hands, I take a deep breath. «Verde, bianco and rosso, please, Maria», I ask, appraising the assortment of colours at my disposal. «Allora…» I exhale.

@ilpapiromelbourne www.ilpapirofirenze.com.au

and testing the contents as she goes, as they clink merrily against one another. She presents me with a set of two pettini (combs), one finer-toothed than the other, and a long brass rod with wooden handle; the implements required to make marbling magic happen. Maria moves with the dextrous ease of hands that intimately know the rhythm of this art. She loads the first brush with coloured paint, holding it poised precisely over the bagno, strategising her first move. With a small hammer-like tool in her opposite hand, she gently taps the handle of the brush, coaxing the coloured flecks to fall gracefully to the surface of the bagno’s solution. There, they lie. As she repeats the process with other colours, some choose to mix and spread, others remain stubbornly steadfast, choosing to plant themselves proudly in their original positions. I am asked if we should create a pavone (peacock), the signature curled design of Il Papiro, or a fiamma (flame), finer and more rigid in presentation. She goes on to demonstrate both, utilising the pettini and a small wooden stick to drag and manipulate the paint as needed in the solution. The mixing of paint across the surface of this bagno is reminiscent of elderly Italian women checking for signs of the malocchio (the jealous eye) by examining the mixing oil and water. Though the outcome is very different, the same mystifying, somewhat spiritual process is taking place in front of me. A sheet of specialised Fabriano cotton-based marbling paper is presented. Maria, taking the bottom left corner in her hand, lays the sheet confidently

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The Dragon in the Room What lies ahead for the economic partnership between Italy and Australia? by Giovanni Di Lieto

hat the Italo-Australian trade relationship will look like by 2030 will depend on China. Here’s why. Despite the vast distance between Italy and Australia, as well as structural differences in their respective political and socio-economic systems, both countries share similar geopolitical dynamics in the fracturing world trade system. To begin with, both countries are caught between a rock and a hard place as the past decade saw the US-China competitive cooperation turn into a hostile contest for economic hegemony over Asia and beyond. Long gone are the days when Italian and Australian firms could trade freely and sometimes sell out to China while enjoying the protection of the USA’s security patronage across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Since the dawn of the century, while the US was distracted with the war on terror, China strived to make significant geopolitical advances in Asia, Europe and Africa. With the more assertive leadership of Xi Jinping beginning in 2013, China made it clear to trading partners that it was never just about the money. In the 2020s, US-aligned middle powers like Italy and Australia find themselves on much shakier ground, as it becomes increasingly untenable to have their cake and eat it too - that is, to trade with China without giving up support of US hegemony over Asia and Europe. It is rather ironic that this external change of circumstances to the Italo-Australian trade relationship comes at a time of

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

historically high diplomatic relations between Australia and the European Union, with Brexit having at last occurred and the EU-Australia free trade agreement negotiations well under way. However, the main problem today is that between Italy and Australia there is China, literally as a geographic and diplomatic presence. This means that any meaningful development in the economic partnership between Italy and Australia in the coming decades is entirely dependent on how each country is going to deal with China’s rising power and the US reaction to it. To be pessimistic, it is quite possible that the US-China contest could become an insurmountable trade/security wedge - if not a new iron curtain - between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that will force Italy and Australia even further apart, to a place not seen since the 1930s. But even from an optimistic view we face a tricky scenario, as Italy and Australia could grow closer only if they braced together in a fight against a common enemy - be it China or the US. I don’t need to list the many ways in which the geopolitical relationship between our two countries deeply affects our material consumptions, life choices and financial investments, as any Italian-Australian individual surely and sometimes sorely knows. In other words, the geopolitical posturing and positioning towards China of both Italian and Australian governments is poised to make us all closer to or further away from Italy or Australia, as the case may be.

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To help frame this poignant discourse, let’s take a broad-brushed picture of four possible scenarios that could unfold over this decade. I outline them below

Scenario 1 (duopoly)

sees a grand US-China bargain that rewrites the world trade rules in more favourable terms for the two superpowers and to the detriment of everybody else, essentially splitting the world into two interlocking spheres of influence and domination. In this case, Italy and Australia would both be greatly damaged commercially in the short term, while in the long term they might further align diplomatically and join forces in a multilateral coalition of middle powers striving to break the Sino-American duopoly. Otherwise Italy and Australia face a serious risk of falling under the grip of different masters.

Scenario 3 (big China)

This scenario plays out as in scenario 2 but with China winning the power clash and replacing the US as the hegemonic power in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In this case, even if Italy and Australia sided with China there would be great uncertainty and risk in dealing with a new world hegemon, potentially with a cultural backlash related to different degrees and pace of de-westernisation in Australia and across Europe.

Scenario 2 (small China)

sees an open Sino-American confrontation with proxy military conflicts (e.g. in Taiwan or Iran) or even open war between the US and China, with the latter ultimately losing and being carved out with regime change and separatism like the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Notwithstanding the misery and destruction brought about by such hot wars, in this case both Italy and Australia might come out on top as long as they fully aligned with the US, which would seem likely. However, there could be the possibility of separate choices that would make Italy and Australia enemies, just like in the last world conflict.

Scenario 4 (restoration)

the Joe Biden administration achieves a détente with Xi Jinping to wind the clock back to the US-China competitive cooperation of the early 2000s. In this scenario of more of the same, Australia would fare much better than Italy, as the economic trajectory of both countries in the past three decades clearly shows. Thus Australia and Italy would not grow much further apart, but neither would they get closer, as Australia would keep riding on China’s back and Italy, in direct competition with China’s industrial compact, would be pushed to the periphery of the world economy and further impoverished.

Only time will tell, but we’d better brace for a decade fraught with insecurity and turbulent change. “May you live in interesting times” is a

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in descending order of likelihood. The underlying reasoning is quite simple: the key variable is the ongoing relationship between the US and China.

spurious Chinese curse. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the curse has fallen on us.

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

A High-Tech Shock

for High-Value Traditional Italian Agriculture by Stefano Riela

f in this very moment you are enjoying a traditional Italian Aperitivo, it is probable that you are surrounded by red and blue dots. Take a close look at the packet of your Parma ham and on the label you will spot a red logo that reads “Protected designation of origin” (PDO). You will find the same symbol on your Prosecco bottle. If instead you are accompanying the Chocolate of Modica with a glass of Grappa or limoncello, the logos are blue and read “Protected geographical indication” (PGI). Those symbols have been adopted by the European Union as geographical indications (GIs). The main function of GIs is to identify the origin of goods, as they point to a specific place of production that gives particular characteristics and qualities to the product. This uniqueness linked to a terroir is gen-

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

erally the mix of physical characteristics as well as human factors such as knowhow and culture. The red logo is for PDO products, the ones with the strongest connection to the place where they are made. Every part of the production, processing and preparation must take place in the specified geographical area, and the products must adhere to designated specifications. PGI products use the blue logo and for them, it’s enough that at least one stage of production, processing or preparation takes place in the specified geographical area. Nothing in GI rules prevents anyone anywhere to produce balsamic vinegar adopting the same techniques specified for Aceto Balsamico di Modena (PGI) and Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena (PDO). However, producers outside Modena cannot use those names or the blue

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and red logos. In times when globalisation and its over stretched value chains have cancelled political geography and lowered the obstacles posed by physical geography, GIs allow consumers to make a more informed choice and producers to differentiate their products. Among the 3,304 GIs registered in the EU, more than 26% are Italian. Italy, in fact, sports the largest portfolio of GI products(870) followed by France (743) and Spain (358). Along with the products already mentioned in this article, other household names are Prosciutto di Parma, Grana Padano, Parmigiano Reggiano, Mozzarella di Bufala Campana, Gorgonzola, Aglianico del Vulture, Prosecco, Dolcetto d'Alba, Primitivo di Manduria, Brunello di Montalcino, Mirto di Sardegna, Vermouth di Torino. Other famous European GIs are Greek Feta, Cypriot Halloumi, French Champagne, Spanish Queso Manchego. The more successful a GI is, the more likely it is exposed to misappropriation and counterfeiting. The EU is committed to “exporting” the protection granted to GIs at home, at international level also via bilateral trade deals such as the ones with Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand (the last two still under negotiation). Notwithstanding this legal framework, cases of counterfeiting can jeopardise consumers’ trust, a prerequisite for a GI to thrive. Enter the blockchain. This is

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a technology that creates a set of information that anyone can see and add to, but cannot retrospectively alter thanks to the use of decentralisation and cryptographic hashing. The blockchain can track things like medical records, land titles, votes, and, of course, supply chains. The latter involves frequent transactions as products flow to market, so a complete and accurate record of those transactions is important. Due to strict specifications of GIs, blockchain - especially when it records relevant information such as location, people involved, temperature, humidity - can strengthen trust in a product’s origin, authenticity, and quality. In Italy there are already some pilot projects that use blockchain in agriculture such as the one developed by Tokenfarm, a firm owned by Coldiretti, the national agriculture entrepreneurial body of Italy. Farmers will be required to make a digitalization effort to convey all the information that defines a GI and that builds its value in the perception of the consumer. We cannot hide that there is a trade-off between the effectiveness delivered by the blockchain (the security of the information provided) and its efficiency (the energy required to manage its transactions). But we still believe that this new technology is a game changer for consumers that are placing more value on knowing the source of their food and how it was produced.

Segmento Issue XXII • March-May 2021

Undercover

the

Undercover by Raffaele Caputo

Segmento - Unapologetically Italian - Issue XXII - March - May 2021

Articles inside