Mediating Cultures

“Caspita, chesto è ccafè... È ciucculata! Vedete quanto poco ci vuole per rendere felice un uomo: una tazzina di caffè presa tranquillamente qui fuori.”

“Damn, that is coffee… It’s almost chocolate! See how little it takes to make a man happy: just a leisurely cup of coffee outside.”

Rather than with a canonical poem, this issue begins with an excerpt from a comedy by the great Italian dramatist Eduardo De Filippo. What I wouldn’t give to introduce his work and its daily life philosophy to the world!  But let’s cut to the coffee, that very Italian (Neapolitan, in De Filippo’s case) source of joy.

Starbucks or No Starbucks?

With a spring this unpredictable, coffee is increasingly called for. In the following pages you’ll find a list of places where you can sample Italian coffee. It may not be Naples, but New York still has some great finds. 

While your cup of Joe is brewing, enjoy our takes on the media controversy surrounding the opening of Starbucks in Italy (Will it work?) … and tell us what you think using the ashtag #iItalyStarbucks on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram! 

Stars, pizza, and much more…

There are a lot of great stories in this issue. First up is a feature of two Italian women, an astronaut and a pizza chef, who may appear worlds apart yet who bring the same determination to professions typically believed to lie outside the female domain.  Nor could we neglect to commemorate another recently departed Italian legend, Umberto Eco, here remembered by fellow semiotics scholar Anthony J. Tamburri. 

Also in this THICK spring issue, Lucia Pasqualini profiles Alberto Cribiore in her “My Mentors” series and Joe Bastianich talks about his new trattoria in New York. Professor Jerry Krase and his Palermitan colleague Marcello Sajia also pick up where they left off with their discussion of immigration. 

The issue also marks the debut of our new columnist, CEO of Cinecittà Giuseppe Basso, who spotlights the rebirth of Hollywood on the Tiber. 

Design Talk

Our special section about Italian design coincides with Milan’s re-opening of the Triennial Exposition – after a 30-year hiatus – and New York’s Design Week.

We open with a remembrance of Massimo Vignelli, an icon of Italian design in New York and around the world. Vignelli remains a constant, enduring presence in this city and in our hearts, for his friendship, the generous advice he provided as we were just starting out, and for designing our logo and our Fiat 500. 

We also sit down with three acquaintances readers will remember from past issues: Ferrari design head Flavio Manzoni, guru of radical design Gaetano Pesce, and an emerging star in the field, Antonio Pio Saracino.  

Our best wishes to New York’s new Consul General 

So, we continue our work as communicators and cultural mediators by reporting the Italian presence in America. And it is in that spirit,  that we present you our exclusive conversation with Consul General Francesco Genuardi. We wish him well as he sets to work in this diverse, spirited and very Italian city.  

Now, on our next project 

News. We just wrapped up our first installment of “Grandparents and Grandchildren in Italian America.” Produced by i-Italy TV in collaboration with ANFE and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the series examines the transitions between generations of Italian Americans as told by five sets of grandparents and their grandchildren: Matilda Raffa Cuomo and Amanda Cole, Joseph Tusiani and Paola Tusiani, Aileen Riotto Sirey and Emma Bankier, Rosaria Liuzzo and Mara Sparacino, John P. Calvelli and John D. Calvelli.

Catch it this spring every Sunday at 1 pm on Channel 25/NYC Life, or on-demand on our WebTV and YouTube channel. Stay tuned for more info…and maybe a book!  

Thanks, NIAF!

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank President of NIAF John M. Viola and his splendid team for welcoming us in Washington DC for a cycle of excellent interviews, about which more soon. We particularly appreciate the trust NIAF placed in us by launching a joint program for Journalism and Italian-American Affairs. NIAF is offering two 10-month scholarships for young Americans of Italian descent to intern at i-Italy! The application deadline isJune 30. So, guys—hurry up! 

And Last…

… but not least, a special thanks to everyone following us on the web (www.i-italy.org), on TV (NYC Life) and in print (hint: you’re just holding it!). Our readership keeps growing by the day and we now have +180,000 followers on Facebook alone. Did I say that i-Italy rocks? 

(letizia.airos@i-Italy.org)