- FEBRUARY 2018 -
Usa
People
Nine decades for Mario Fratti
by Maria Lisella The volcanic playwright from L’Aquila, resident of New York since the early Sixties, turns 90 He has over 90 works to his name, including the pluri-award-winning musical, Nine, played by Raul Julia in 1982 and by Antonio Banderas in 2003 September 2017
Monda’s world
by Flavia Pankiewicz The friend of many celebrities, the reigning master of cultural encounters between Italy and America, the teacher, writer and journalist Antonio Monda opens up about himself in an interview with Bridge.“What I like about Italy is the elegance and the relaxed attitude, about America it’s the pragmatism and energy”.
“Without my wife I wouldn’t have achieved anything” December 2013
Movies
Behind the scenes of It and Thor: Ragnarok
by Giovanni De Benedictis A conversation with Christian Cordella, Apulian costume illustrator living in Los Angeles, who created the costumes for the two cult movies. “For Pennywise in It I made 123 sketches” November 2017Italian American World
Italian-American writers on parade
It happened in New York, where for the 73rd Columbus Day Barnes & Noble, the famous chain of US bookshops, invited Italian-American writers to take part in the parade to promote their books. The Barese-American writer, Annie Lanzillotto, tells why she was enthusiastic about marching November 2017
Licia Albanese New York’s unforgettable queen of Opera… with Bari in her heart
by Franco Chieco The great singer died in the US metropolis in August 2014, at the age of 105.Franco Chieco remembers her life and extraordinary career.
She performed at the Metropolitan for 26 seasons running and the great Toscanini chose her for La Traviata.
In 1999 she was presented with an award by Bridge Apulia USA at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York December 2014
Michael Fiore The American wizard in the fight against smoking with Puglia in his heart
by Vincenzo Zagà Doctor Vincenzo Zagà, co-ordinator of the Anti-smoking Center of the AUSL in Bologna, interviews Professor Michael Fiore, an American of Italian and Apulian origins, world-renowned expert in the battle against tobacco addiction.From the memories of visiting his grandparents, in Terlizzi, to his pride in having worked, as national consultant for health and the fight against tobacco addiction, in the Clinton and Obama administrations May 2014
Licia Albanese The living legend of opera’s 100th birthday
by Ugo Sbisà The celebrations in New York, with a concert of young voices, holders of awards from her Foundation.Born near Bari, with an extraordinary career achieving international success, she became an American citizen in 1945.
She has never forgotten the dialect and the cooking of her home land November 2012
Fiorello La Guardia The legendary Italian “Little Flower” who governed New York
by Joseph Tusiani Son of an Apulian immigrant from Cerignola (Foggia), he is remembered for his strong sense of justice and his commitment to the defense of the poor.One of New York’s airports bears his name July 2012
Italian American Writers Association Twenty years of meetings in Greenwich Village
by Flavia Pankiewicz Thanks to the charisma of a writer like Robert Viscusi, chairperson of the association, Italian American writers and poets meet every month and organize promotional activities December 2011On the road
From the Atlantic to the Pacific through the eyes of an Apulian
by Paolo Mele A superb photographic report with brief comments on one of the world’s best loved journeys: il coast to coast.“In Cape Leuca – where I come from – to go from the east coast to the west it’s only a few hundred meters, in the USA it’s 2,691 miles (4,692 kilometers)” January 2016
Italian Monuments in New York
Hero and Superhero The Guardians of New York speak Italian (and Apulian)
by Tiziano Thomas Dossena Since the end of 2013 two impressive new statues stand in Bryant Park, in the heart of Manhattan.Their creator is the Apulian designer and architect Antonio Pio Saracino, who has been living in the Big Apple for ten years March 2014
Verdi Square In a precious corner of West Side the music goes on...
by Tiziano Thomas Dossena In Manhattan’s luxurious West Side there is a square dedicated to the famous Italian composer, Giuseppe Verdi. A small green area surrounds his statue and those of four characters from his operas.The ups and downs of the place from the end of the 18th century to the present day April 2012
“But for Columbus there would be no America”
by Tiziano Thomas Dossena An imposing statue of the great navigator from Genova dominates the beautiful square in Manhattan named after him: Columbus Circle. It was sculpted by Gaetano Russo and strongly solicited by Carlo Basotti, editor of Il Progresso Italoamericano.Many Italian artists among the talented creators of famous statues in the great American cities.
And the statues of Columbus are countless... February 2012
That bronze of Garibaldi in New York Village …a long story
by Tiziano Thomas Dossena The sculptor’s original project was different but the funds did not suffice.Although highly criticised by the Press the statue has become, for students of New York University, a point of reference for a good luck rite January 2012
That statue of Dante in the heart of Manhattan
by Tiziano Thomas Dossena It stands in Dante Park (or Dante Square), a short walk from the Lincoln Center. And in New York there are many monuments dedicated to great Italians. Credit is due to Carlo Barsotti, the illustrious founder of Il Progresso Italoamericano, which, between the end of the 19th century and the first years of the 20th, succeeded in collecting funds to execute the works and have them erected in strategic points in the city November 2011Native Americans
At Sedona, in search of the shaman Uqualla
by Stefania Dodge An International tourist destination for views like the one over the Grand Canyon, Sedona also gives the opportunity to learn more about the culture and spirituality of the Native Americans.Uqualla, chief of the Havasupai and spiritual leader, will be in Italy in June April 2016
The man from Gallipoli who told the story of the Native Americans
by Dino Levante Congedo Editore has just published, for the first time in Italian, the essay Gli indiani Pellerossa Abnaki e la loro storia (The Abnakis and their history), a precious document on Native American culture, published in New York in 1866 by the Jesuit Eugenio Vetromile, a native of Gallipoli October 2015
…On the trail of American Indian art
by Lorena Carbonara Just off the printing press comes Per i sentieri dell’arte nativa americana, a volume care of Emanuele Arciuli, pianist of international renown and refined expert in Native American art.The focus is on an almost unexplored panorama “midway between tribal belonging and americanness” January 2015
Native American art Tips for collectors
by Emanuele Arciuli Concluding his series of “Portraits of the artist” the pianist and expert on the culture and art of the Native Americans, Emanuele Arciuli, identifies the various genres of their work and gives suggestions about what to buy.At auction, for prices between € 1,000 and € 5,000, you can snap up some important works December 2013
Portrait of the artist Nicholas Galanin “Ceremony”
by Emanuele Arciuli He is one of the few artists in Alaska who have achieved international prestige.Photos, videos, sculptures and installations to portray the American Indian identity. Through irony and unexpected encounters between differing cultures October 2013