Stagione d’Opera e di Balletto 2011-2012

Dieci opere, sei titoli della grande danza classica con il Balletto del Teatro Mariinskij di San Pietroburgo e, prima dell’apertura della Stagione, un omaggio a Beethoven con le Nove Sinfonie dirette da Gianandrea Noseda.

Una Stagione che ruota, idealmente, intorno al tema dell’amore, non solo quello che l’opera e la danza hanno declinato per secoli dotandolo di infinite sfumature, ma anche l’amore di chi per l’opera, con passione, lavora e di chi, con passione, ne è spettatore.

Sul palcoscenico del Regio si potrà così passare dalle ammalianti atmosfere del Lago dei cigni al sensuale esotismo di Shéhérazade, dalle geometrie dell’eros nel Così fan tutte di Mozart alla tempra del legame coniugale nel Fidelio di Beethoven, dai rocamboleschi sotterfugi nel Barbiere di Siviglia rossiniano all’amore materno della Norma di Bellini e a quello paterno di Rigoletto, dalle trame ordite da Verdi nel Ballo in maschera all’amore “gaio e terribile” dei bohémien di Puccini, capace poi con Tosca e Madama Butterfly di scavare come pochi altri nelle passioni umane, per finire con le diaboliche voluttà dell’Angelo di fuoco di Prokof’ev.

Dal 28 settembre al 6 ottobre, il Direttore musicale Gianandrea Noseda sarà sul podio di Orchestra e Coro del Regio per l’esecuzione integrale, suddivisa in quattro doppi concerti, delle Sinfonie di Ludwig van Beethoven.

L’inaugurazione della Stagione 2011-2012 è invece fissata il 14 ottobre e, per la prima volta nella storia moderna del Regio, si inizierà con la danza. Protagonista assoluto il Balletto del Teatro Mariinskij di San Pietroburgo che presenterà ben sei titoli per un totale di 22 recite che si preannunciano da tutto esaurito. Si inizia con un Omaggio a Fokin (14-18/10) che racchiude il meglio della produzione del coreografo russo: Danze polovesiane dal Principe Igor di Aleksandr Borodin, Le Spectre de la rose di Carl Maria von Weber, La morte del cigno di Camille Saint-Saëns e Shéhérazade di Nikolaj Rimskij-Korsakov. Seguiranno due balletti creati da Marius Petipa: La Bayadère (21-25/10) di Ludwig Minkus, mai eseguito al Teatro Regio e, classico dei classici, Il lago dei cigni (28/10 – 6/11) di Pëtr Il’i? ?ajkovskij.

A dicembre (9-18) uno degli appuntamenti clou, con la messa in scena di Fidelio nel nuovo allestimento coprodotto con l’Opéra Royal de Wallonie di Liegi. L’unico titolo operistico di Ludwig van Beethoven sarà firmato dal regista Mario Martone con le scene di Sergio Tramonti e i costumi di Ursula Patzak. Sul podio Gianandrea Noseda, che prosegue così l’ideale omaggio a Beethoven iniziato a settembre con l’esecuzione delle Sinfonie. Tra gli interpreti, alcuni nomi di spicco del panorama internazionale come Ricarda Merbeth, Ian Storey, Lucio Gallo e Franz Hawlata.

Agennaio (10-22) il sipario si aprirà sulla Tosca di Giacomo Puccini. Sarà un nuovo allestimento – realizzato in coproduzione con Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía di Valencia, l’Opéra de Monte-Carlo e la Fondazione Festival Pucciniano – con la regia del monegasco Jean-Louis Grinda che si avvale delle scene di Isabelle Partiot-Pieri e dei costumi di Christian Gasc.
Gianandrea Noseda dirigerà un cast stellare con Svetla Vassileva, Marcelo Álvarez e Lado Ataneli, che ritorna al Regio dopo il successo di Thaïs.

A febbraio (1-12) andrà in scena L’angelo di fuoco di Sergej Prokof’ev in un allestimento memorabile – mai visto in Italia – che proviene, insieme alla Compagnia di canto, dal Teatro Mariinskij. Sul podio non poteva che esserci uno dei più grandi interpreti del repertorio russo: Valery Gergiev; la regia è di David Freeman. Un’occasione rara per tornare a frequentare, ai massimi livelli, il teatro musicale russo dopo le affermazioni ottenute dalla Dama di picche e Boris Godunov.

Nei mesi di febbraio e marzo si concretizzerà il progetto di costruire “una via italiana” all’opera di repertorio, intrecciando quattro recenti spettacoli del Regio proposti con nuovi direttori e nuovi protagonisti.

Il primo titolo è Il barbiere di Siviglia (19-26/2) di Gioachino Rossini in una produzione tutta “made in Regio” con Alessandro Galoppini sul podio e la regia di Vittorio Borrelli. Il cast, oltre che eccellenza belcantistica, promette sicuro divertimento, annoverando Antonino Siragusa, Roberto de Candia, Paolo Bordogna, Marina Comparato e Nicola Ulivieri.

Seguirà, dal 21 al 28 febbraio, Madama Butterfly di Giacomo Puccini nell’allestimento di grande impatto firmato da Damiano Michieletto con le scene di Paolo Fantin e i costumi di Carla Teti, recenti vincitori del Premio Abbiati della critica italiana. L’interpretazione musicale è affidata al giovanissimo Daniele Rustioni, che proprio al Regio fece il suo debutto operistico prima che la sua carriera conoscesse apparizioni di assoluto rilievo nei maggiori teatri del mondo. Nel ruolo di Pinkerton e Butterfly ritornano Massimiliano Pisapia e Raffaella Angeletti.

Terzo, intramontabile, classico, l’altro capolavoro pucciniano: La bohème in scena a marzo (6-17) nella storica produzione ideata da Giuseppe Patroni Griffi con scene e costumi di Aldo Terlizzi Patroni Griffi, spettacolo applauditissimo nella recente tournée in Giappone. Protagonisti di questa edizione: Maria Agresta nel ruolo di Mimì e Massimiliano Pisapia in quello di Rodolfo. Sul podio Massimo Zanetti che torna al Regio dopo aver diretto Tosca nel 2003.

Dal 14 al 20 marzo sarà la volta di Rigoletto di Giuseppe Verdi diretto anch’esso da Daniele Rustioni che, nel giro di un mese, si confronterà con un altro caposaldo della grande tradizione operistica italiana. L’allestimento è quello del team che vinse il concorso La Creatività all’Opera formato da Fabio Banfo, Luca Ghirardosi e Valentina Caspani. Nuovi invece i protagonisti: Désirée Rancatore nelle vesti di Gilda, Giovanni Meoni e Piero Pretti rispettivamente Rigoletto e il duca di Mantova.

Con Così fan tutte, in scena ad aprile (10-22), si passa all’opera italiana secondo Mozart. Lo spettacolo è quello che porta la firma del regista Ettore Scola, dello scenografo Luciano Ricceri e della costumista Odette Nicoletti. Nel cast, alcune delle più belle voci del momento come Carmela Remigio, che torna al Regio per interpretare Fiordiligi dopo la splendida prova nella Clemenza di Tito, mentre l’amica Dorabella sarà Laura Polverelli; la parte maschile del quartetto sarà formata da Marco Nisticò ed Edgardo Rocha.

A maggio (16-30) torna dopo dieci anni Norma di Vincenzo Bellini nell’allestimento firmato da Alberto Fassini con le scene e i costumi di William Orlandi. Sul podio un altro giovane e già affermatissimo direttore: Michele Mariotti. Nel ruolo della protagonista Norma Fantini, completano il cast Marco Berti, Giacomo Prestia e Kate Aldrich.

Infine a giugno (19/6 – 1/7) verrà presentato Un ballo in maschera di Giuseppe Verdi con un grande cast internazionale formato da Gregory Kunde, recente protagonista de I Vespri siciliani, Gabriele Viviani, Oksana Dyka, Marianne Cornetti e Serena Gamberoni. Sul podio un direttore di grande esperienza nel repertorio verdiano come Renato Palumbo. Lo spettacolo, realizzato in coproduzione con il Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino e il Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania, ha la regia di Lorenzo Mariani, le scene di Maurizio Balò e i costumi di Maurizio Millenotti.

L’Orchestra e il Coro del Teatro Regio saranno presenti in tutte le produzioni. Il maestro Claudio Fenoglio dirigerà il Coro e il Coro di voci bianche del Regio e del Conservatorio “G. Verdi”.

Anche quest’anno proseguirà la partnership con Rai-Radio3 per la trasmissione di tutte le opere in cartellone e la collaborazione con la Rai per la produzione di dvd.

Ognuno avrà quindi la possibilità di costruirsi un personale percorso all’interno della Stagione scegliendo tra le varie tipologie di abbonamento a 9, 6 e 4 spettacoli, oppure a 3 balletti o a 3 titoli pucciniani. Prosegue inoltre la formula di abbonamento Armonie pensata insieme al Teatro Stabile.

UFFICIO STAMPA

Direzione Comunicazione e Pubbliche Relazioni Teatro Regio
Paola Giunti (Direttore), Sara Zago (Relazioni con la Stampa)
Telefono: +39 011 8815233 – 8815239
ufficiostampa@teatroregio.torino.it, giunti@teatroregio.torino.it, zago@teatroregio.torino.it
www.teatroregio.torino.it

Così, mentre io nel mio studio di due metri quadri cominciavo a lavorare
al testo, in un deposito del Gittittì di duemila metri quadri una squadra di
operai specializzati cominciava a lavorare ad un vecchio tram in grado di
diventare palcoscenico.

(Giuseppe Culicchia)

Il Gruppo Torinese Trasporti, con i propri lavoratori e la libera partecipazione di Enti e Cittadini, ha costituito l’Associazione Teatro “I Tranvieri e la Città” per diffondere i valori del trasporto pubblico, della mobilità sostenibile e contribuire alla diffusione dell’arte e della cultura, attraverso attività rivolte ai cittadini e a tutte le persone che operano in GTT.

Per raggiungere questo primario obiettivo, il principale strumento di cui l’Associazione dispone è un tram teatro realizzato su progetto di Luciano Filicetti. Si tratta di un tram della serie 3000 ristrutturato e trasformato in “palcoscenico su rotaia” e pertanto in grado di raggiungere i luoghi di lavoro, le strade e le piazze della Città.
Il Tram Teatro ha esordito nel settembre 2007 con uno spettacolo dal titolo “Il ritorno a Torino dei signori Tornio”, da un’idea dello stesso Luciano Filicetti, scritto per l’occasione da Giuseppe Culicchia e con la regia di Mauro Avogadro; successivamente ha ospitato lo spettacolo “Storie di città” Di Esther Ruggiero e Bruno Gambarotta ed altre iniziative in collaborazione con il Teatro dei Ragazzi e nell’ambito delle manifestazioni cittadine.

Attualmente l’Associazione I Tranvieri e la Città sta lavorando affinché il Tram Teatro possa consolidare la propria vocazione nel tessuto artistico e sociale della Città di Torino portando alle persone iniziative culturali e ludiche di interesse per tutti.

Associazione “I Tranvieri e la Città”
www.tramteatro.to.it
Corso F. Turati, 19/6 – 10128, Torino
Tel.: +39 011 5764074 (orari ufficio) – Fax: +39 011 5764703
E-mail: info@teatrotranvieri.to.it

www.vincenzoreda.it

Born in Sila, Calabria, in 1954, Vincenzo Reda has lived in Turin since 1960. He works as a professional in the publishing industry. He has had a long artistic experience, especially in theatre (’74/’75), photography ( Rayogrammi e Pictures Lumieres, Turin, 1976; Il Diavolo ti vuole, with Bruno Chiarenza, Turin, 1980) and avant-guard cinema ( Ogni corpo occupa un suo spazio, with Plinio Martelli, Venice, Biennale del Cinema d’Artista, 1976).
He has painted on paper using wine only since 1993. He started exhibiting his works in Capo Liveri ( Island of Elba) in 1998, convinced by his friend Gino Veronelli. He has been invited to participate in some major wine events in Italy and has shown his works in many national cities.
Permanent exhibitions are those at the restaurants La Taverna del Templare in Palazzuolo (AR) and Li Jalantuumene in Monte S. Angelo (FG).
Some of his works are being shown in New York, South Africa, Brazil and Munich.
He is also Gran Maestro dell’Ordine del PAMPINO.

The wine chessboard is a double crystal square measuring 25.2 x 25.2 in (each square is 3.1 x 3.1 in). The board was made with two different types of wine: Doux d’Henry from Pinerolo and Bombino Bianco from Foggia (Bombino Bianco). The 3 June 2006, the closing day of the Chess Winter Olympics, a chess game was played with glasses of red and white wine that are part of the chessboard. The wine had been provided by Angelo Gaja, a friend of Reda’s. It was an extraordinary event because the game was played by the best chess-players in the World.

“Wine was created by the Gods out of guilt for having given men such a poor and miserable existence. The Gods tried to relieve humans’ suffering and daily strive to survive with a gift.
Wine was made to be drunk.
And I naturally drink wine.
And sometimes – especially at night – after I have had a glass, I pour some wine on some sheets I know well and wait for a miracle to happen – because it is a miracle indeed.
Wine is not a colour or a simple mixture of flavours and smells. Wine is a story that started in the geological eras when rocks began to melt, it continued with the evolution of the climate and the growth of a delicate yet strong plant, and ended with the beginning of another story – a new story populated with people.
I am not an artist who paints with wine.
I am not a painter.
Who am I?
Maybe Aldo Palazzeschi or Marcel Duchamp would have been able to answer that question.”

Info:

Via Piave, 9 10122 TORINO
Tel/Fax. +39.011.4362398
Cell. +39.335.5358828
e-mail: redavincenzo@libero.it
www.vincenzoreda.it

www.vincenzoreda.it

Born in Sila, Calabria, in 1954, Vincenzo Reda has lived in Turin since 1960. He works as a professional in the publishing industry. He has had a long artistic experience, especially in theatre (’74/’75), photography ( Rayogrammi e Pictures Lumieres, Turin, 1976; Il Diavolo ti vuole, with Bruno Chiarenza, Turin, 1980) and avant-guard cinema ( Ogni corpo occupa un suo spazio, with Plinio Martelli, Venice, Biennale del Cinema d’Artista, 1976).
He has painted on paper using wine only since 1993. He started exhibiting his works in Capo Liveri ( Island of Elba) in 1998, convinced by his friend Gino Veronelli. He has been invited to participate in some major wine events in Italy and has shown his works in many national cities.
Permanent exhibitions are those at the restaurants La Taverna del Templare in Palazzuolo (AR) and Li Jalantuumene in Monte S. Angelo (FG).
Some of his works are being shown in New York, South Africa, Brazil and Munich.
He is also Gran Maestro dell’Ordine del PAMPINO.

The wine chessboard is a double crystal square measuring 25.2 x 25.2 in (each square is 3.1 x 3.1 in). The board was made with two different types of wine: Doux d’Henry from Pinerolo and Bombino Bianco from Foggia (Bombino Bianco). The 3 June 2006, the closing day of the Chess Winter Olympics, a chess game was played with glasses of red and white wine that are part of the chessboard. The wine had been provided by Angelo Gaja, a friend of Reda’s. It was an extraordinary event because the game was played by the best chess-players in the World.

“Wine was created by the Gods out of guilt for having given men such a poor and miserable existence. The Gods tried to relieve humans’ suffering and daily strive to survive with a gift.
Wine was made to be drunk.
And I naturally drink wine.
And sometimes – especially at night – after I have had a glass, I pour some wine on some sheets I know well and wait for a miracle to happen – because it is a miracle indeed.
Wine is not a colour or a simple mixture of flavours and smells. Wine is a story that started in the geological eras when rocks began to melt, it continued with the evolution of the climate and the growth of a delicate yet strong plant, and ended with the beginning of another story – a new story populated with people.
I am not an artist who paints with wine.
I am not a painter.
Who am I?
Maybe Aldo Palazzeschi or Marcel Duchamp would have been able to answer that question.”

Info:

Via Piave, 9 10122 TORINO
Tel/Fax. +39.011.4362398
Cell. +39.335.5358828
e-mail: redavincenzo@libero.it
www.vincenzoreda.it

Il Direttore Musicale Gianandrea Noseda ha diretto l’Orchestra e il Coro del Regio in un Gala dedicato a Giuseppe Verdi, compositore di alcune tra le più belle opere del melodramma e ambasciatore dell’Italia nel mondo.

Sorto nel 1740 come teatro della corte sabauda, fra dominazioni napoleoniche, guerre di indipendenza e unificazione nazionale, il Teatro Regio non ha mai interrotto la propria attività conoscendo un periodo di grande lustro alla fine dell’Ottocento con la presenza di Arturo Toscanini e la prima rappresentazione assoluta dei grandi capolavori di Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut e La bohème.

Nel 1936 un incendio ha distrutto l’antico Teatro, successivamente riedificato per opera dell’architetto Carlo Mollino. Inaugurato nel 1973 dai Vespri Siciliani con la regia di Maria Callas, il nuovo Teatro Regio, caratterizzato dall’esclusivo design curvilineo, è dotato di uno dei palcoscenici più grandi d’Europa e di tecnologie all’avanguardia per la realizzazione di spettacoli complessi e innovativi.

Dal punto di vista artistico il Regio combina oggi il grande repertorio operistico con proposte di teatro musicale innovative, avvalendosi delle più prestigiose firme della regia come Luca Ronconi, Robert Carsen, Hugo de Ana, Jonathan Miller e Graham Vick, talvolta coinvolgendo grandi nomi del cinema come Ettore Scola, Ermanno Olmi, William Friedkin e Jean Reno. Sono inoltre regolarmente ospitate le più importanti compagnie di balletto del mondo, dal Royal Ballet di Londra al Bol’šoj di Mosca e al Kirov di San Pietroburgo. Del 2006 è l’entusiasmante avventura dei XX Giochi Olimpici Invernali, che hanno visto Torino sotto i riflettori dei mass media di tutto il mondo.

Negli ultimi anni la produzione del Teatro si è notevolmente incrementata in termini quantitativi e qualitativi, assicurando al Regio un indiscusso ruolo di primo piano nel panorama artistico internazionale, come testimoniano le diverse coproduzioni con alcune delle maggiori istituzioni europee e le presenze di pubblico da record con oltre 225.000 spettatori paganti all’anno e oltre 13.000 abbonati, quota che attesta il Regio come il teatro lirico italiano con il più alto numero di sottoscrittori.

Piemonte has nowadays over 4 billion inhabitants. The territory is wide and differentiated: mountains (the Alps), hills (Langhe, Roero, Canavese), flat land (Val Padana). The Alps are massive, rocky and covered in snow: on those sparkling peaks, we know, “leaps the chamois and thunders the avalanche” (Carducci). The scenery of the hills of Langhe and Monferrato is gently melancholic, with its fog, truffles and vinic rarities.

Early populated in the Neolithic Age, later occupied by Celts and Ligures, and eventually colonized by Rome (200 B.C.), Piedmont saw – through turbulent centuries and their alternating vicissitudes – irruptions and rules by various ethnic groups: Burgundians, Gothes, Byzantines, Longobards, Francs. As well as lordship battles, among Viscounts, Hapsburgs and Valois. Eventually, between 17th and 18th century, it started to unite under the lead of Savoy. The process came to an end in the 19th century, by the Risorgimento and the Union of Italy.

Nowadays the region, past a dropping cycle, is back on the run with businesses and initiatives.

Agriculture includes cereals, vegetables as well as grapevines, along with a flourishing oenogastronomy. Prospering and active as always the zootechnics. An excellent production of chocolate, with its everlasting Gianduiotto. The output of the mechanical sector (plastics, paints, tyres), once concentrated in the chief town, has later been throughout decentralized. A brisk financial and banking sector (assurance and credit companies), and a busy tourism.

A remarkable output of wool and textiles in Biella, Novara e Vercelli, a city that holds the European primacy for rice. Cuneo, founded in 1198, is a city with a strong patriotic tradition, with its magnificent town centre. Obviously geographic position and means of communication shape trades and activities of the various towns. Therefore Novara is a satellite of Milan and Lombardy, whereas Asti can be considered inside the area of Turin, whilst Alessandria (birth place of Umberto Eco), risen again after the terrible floods of the 90′s, is affected by the region Liguria.

Torino, or else Augusta Julia Taurinorum of Romans, kept the square and straightforward plant of the “Castrum”, that is the military camp. With its 900,000 inhabitants it is the third Italian city, after Milan and Rome, as for productivity and wealth. Though it was the Capital city during the Risorgimento, with liberal agitations and patriotic pushes: here in 1848 Carlo Alberto issued the Statute, and in those years Piedmont under the Savoy and Cavour did put Italy together.

Turin is a multi-faced city. Sober and weighted in the literary fascination of the 19th century, with ist long avenues covered in trees, monuments, museums and old pastries. Here, in the early nine hundred, were born Eiar and movie industry. The cultured, dignified and bourgeois birth place of Gozzano, Pavese, Primo Levi, Arpino, Calvino. Vivid as always the cultural tradition of the city and region, thanks to its politic and philosophic intellectuals, with liberal (Giolitti, Gobetti, Einaudi) and socialist (Gramsci, Bobbio) members.

On the other hand Turin is an industrial and technological pole, leading actor of the national economic boom in the sixties, it attracted manpower from the south and brought out runabouts for the Italians. Nowadays, after the 2006 Olympic Games, it’s coming out as a dazzling and metropolitan city, dusting away its industrial past in order to praise a mighty touristic-cosmopolitan calling. A workshop for innovative solutions: with an advanced and refined electronic and aerospace industry, the brand new underground, the original Museum of the Cinema which is brilliantly set up inside Antonelli’s Mole. And Fiat itself, after years of economic depression, is back on the run over the world market with new cars and enviable financial plans.

At last, the usual and beloved paramount institutions: the Lingotto (periodically hosting Artissima, the Salone del Libro and Salone del Gusto), the Egyptian Museum, the Museum of the Risorgimento and of the Automobile, the Teatro Regio and Teatro Carignano, as well as Palazzo Reale, with many more monuments and magnificent Savoy residences.

Venice and Veneto colours and imagination

Venice, the Serenissima of the Dogi. A maritime Federal Republic, and a great Mediterranean power. A florid and powerful empire of commerce since the 1400 and 1500. ‘Fantasy of the Orient’ of Sultans and Emperors. ‘Powerful in strength… and huge in virtue’ (Petrarca, writer). Listed by the UNESCO as Heritage of Humanity in 1987, it is the most appealing Italian city to tourists. It includes 150 channels and 120 isles and islets, like Chioggia, Torcello, Burano (lace crafts) and Murano (glass crafts). Canal Grande is the main intersection, while beautiful Piazza San Marco, with its Greek-cross plan Basilica, is a central rendez-vous. Next to the Basilica we find Palazzo Ducale, seat of the Dogi and a precious work of International Gothic art, made of luxurious rooms furnished with paintings by Titian, Gianbattista Tiepolo, Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese.
But Venice is also events: the Venice Biennial Art Exhibition, the Cinema Festival and Carnival, which celebrates popular yet refined marks, and has become a quite fashionable occurrence.
The entire Region is a prosperous and serene land. Praised by writers like Goethe, Shakespeare and Thomas Mann, in early history it had been dominated by the Euganei, later chased away by the Veneti. Then it went through a gradual and peaceful romanization. In fact Romans and Veneti formed a successful alliance against the Gaulish. The entire region shows traces of the splendour of Venice both from an artistic and historical point of view. Cities like Verona (Roman, then Medieval and finally governed by the Della Scala; the Arena, Piazza delle Erbe and Juliet’s house…), Padua (the University, theScrovegni Chappel with frescoes by Giotto), Vicenza and Treviso. Then Rovigo, Chioggia, Bassano del Grappa, San Donà di Piave. Palladian villas, Goldonian style masks and the ‘colorismo veneto’, in other words the use of bright and vivid colours in paintings, which express both aesthetic measure and joie de vivre.

Piemonte, the land of the XX Olympic Winter Games. And much more: it’s also the realm of flavors, mountains, technology, automobiles, art and culture. A whole world to discover, whith all its marvels.

www.piemonteitalia.eu
www.regione.piemonte.it

An untouched land, rich in tourist routes and and unique landscapes, Molise has about 320.000 inhabitants (the population including Croatian and Albanian minorities as well). As far as the administration is concerned, the region was established in 1963, when it separated from Abruzzo. Mountainous and hilly (Appennino Campano), rich in luxuriant Mediterranean scrub and varied savage fauna (wolves, foxes, chamoises, birds of pray), its low and sandy Adriatic coastline covers some 38 kilometres.
A renowned culinary tradition includes delicious oils, home-made bread, handmade pasta (cavatello), and a huge range of desserts like the Cancelle, the Cipollati (baked ravioli with a black cherry jam filling) and the Pigna (a crisp doughnut).
Campobasso, the capital of the region, has a precious historical centre with the imposing Castello Monforte, national monument and magnificent military construction built in 1459, perhaps on the grounds of an old Norman or Lombard plant. At the foot of the castle we find the medieval village, made up of countless alleys and winding stairways. The city, which has an 1800 part as well, has had different names throughout the centuries (e.g. Civitas Castrum and Universitas Hominum), depending on the historical period: a Samnite settlement in the beginning, it later became part of the Roma, Lombard and Norman domain.
Then, the feudal fights and the battles between the Angevin and the Aragonese, gave birth to a resourceful and productive bourgeoisie, who guaranteed thriving financial and commercial operations, which set the grounds for a modern cultural and urban structure. Now the city has very good University, one of the best ones on Central-Southern Italy, and it is at the forefront of several branches of highly specialized medicine and high technology.

Giffoni Valle Piana Art and Architecture

Giffoni is a ‘Land of Temples’, as it is so rich of churches and places of cult. The Convent of Padri Cappuccini, the Temple of Santa Maria a Vico and the Convent of San Francesco are just a few examples of the numerous art buildings scattered all over the town. And the frescos tell us about an all-Christian art that has been preserved, vivid and unspoiled.

Visiting Todi

The visit can start from the majestic Tempio di Santa Maria della Consolazione, situated along the main road and built from 1508 to 1607. The design was suggested by many artists such as Donato Bramante. Towards the centre, past the public gardens and Via Ciuffelli, it is possible to admire Jacopone’ s monument. Climbing up the stairs one can visit Tempio di San Fortunato, whose façade has not been finished and where Jacopone’s mortal remains lie. On the left of the church there are the Archive and the Public Library. On the right there is Piazza Pignattara It is close to the site of Liceo Classico and Linguistico, formerly a monastery where Friar Jacopone meditated on his conversion. Climbing up on the left there is a Roman tank called San Cassiano prison, because San Cassiano is thought to be imprisoned there and later killed in 304 A.D.

So one can visit Parco della Rocca ( 411 m. on the sea level) where a temple dedicated to Jove lay in Roman times. Eventually it became a stronghold. Going downhill behind the monastery there is an arch on the right: it is Porta Libera, a Roman gate belonging to the second circle of walls. Going downhill along Via SS. Filippo e Giacomo, one can reach the church Santi Filippo e Giacomo, built in 1276 and then desecrated. Going along Via L. Leonji one returns to Piazza Jacopone.

Going towards the main square one can pass by Teatro Comunale, designed by the architect Carlo Gatteschi and built in 1876, and reach Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Here the symbol of imperial power, represented by Palazzo del Popolo (1213), Palazzo del Capitano ( 1293), and Palazzo dei Priori ( 1293) and the symbol of papal power, represented by the Cathedral (11th century), superbly join together. On the second floor of the Palazzi Comunali there is the Town Museum. Under the square there are Roman tanks. On the left of the Cathedral one can admire the bishop’s building, built in 1593 by Angelo Cesi. Walking through Via Morandi one can reach Monastero delle Lucrezie, built by the Tertiary Order who lived there. Coming back to the main square, on the right of the Cathedral, a street leads to Palazzo Landi Corradi, whose portal is supposed to be made by Vignola. Close to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II there is Piazza Garibaldi, so-called thanks to the statue dedicated to Garibaldi.. Here one can admire a building belonged to the family Viviano degli Atti.
Coming down Corso Cavour on the right there is Fontana Cesia, built in 1606 by bishop Angelo Cesi. Then there is Porta Marzia which belongs to the first circle of walls. Walking along Corso Cavour a road leads to Piazza Mercato Vecchio where Nicchioni Romani lie.

A wooded road leads to San Carlo church ( formerly Sant’Ilario), which was built during the 12th century and which was thought to be the former cathedral. Nearby there is Fontana di Scarnabecco ( Scannabecco). The name derives from the podestà Scarnabecco ( Scannabecco) who finished it in 1241.

Then it is possible to visit Santa Prassede church ( XIV ) whose façade is characterised by white and red horizontal stripes. If one climbs up along Via S. Prassede it is possible to reach Piazza del Popolo; but the street on the right leads to Porta Perugina, belonging to the third circle of walls, the medieval one. Walking through Via Roma it is possible to admire the medieval Porta Catena. Then turning right along Via Santa Maria, the street leads to the church of Santa Maria in Cammuccia, an ancient Dominican monastery, dating back to 1394. Inside the church there is the beautiful wooden statue Sedes Sapientiae ( XII century). At the end of this street one can visit the church of San Giorgio, and Porta Amerina, or the so-called Porta Fratta ( or destroyed). Nearby there is the church of Santo Stefano and the small fountains of Sant’Arcangelo, belonged to the first Franciscan Monastery in Todi. Walking along the walls, to the east, one reaches Porta Romana, the medieval gate. On the inside along Via Ulpiana, there is the church dedicated to San Filippo and in front of it the church of San Nicolò ( XIV century). The street on the right of the church leads to the remains of a Roman amphitheatre and to the church of San Nicolò in Criptis, still existing since 1093.
Outside the walls there is Tempio SS. Crocefisso, built by Angelo Cesi, where there is an ancient majesty depicting the image of the crucifixion.
Going to lake Corbara, close to Santa Maria della Consolazione, a wooded road leads to the Monastery of Montesanto, formerly Monte Mascarano ( which means of the spirits), built to protect Todi from the attacks of Orvieto.

Le immagini, i testi e i marchi sono tratti dal sito www.comune.todi.pg.it a cura del Comune di Todi

The second largest city in Sicily by population, Catania spreads out over the Plain of Catania, between the Ionian Sea and the slopes of Etna. The surrounding countryside, which the volcanic eruptions have made very fertile, is mainly given up to the cultivation of citrus fruit. The close link between the city and the volcano is also visible in the buildings, many of which are constructed in lava stone. According to Thucydides, Katane was founded after 729 BC by the Chalcidian settlers from Naxos, on the hill now known as the “Colle dei Benedettini”. In the 7th c. the legislator Caronda gave the city a moderately inspired government, half-way between oligarchy and democracy. In 476 BC Catania was conquered by Hieron of Syracuse, and the inhabitants were deported, only to return after 15 years. During the Punic Wars the town was conquered by the Romans (263 BC) and it succeeded in maintaining a position of considerable affluence until the Imperial Age. After the decadence caused by the invasions of the Barbarians and the Byzantine conquest, the town was occupied by the Arabs, who redistributed the land and promoted agriculture and commerce. In 1071, after the Norman conquest, construction began on the cathedral, and numerous country villages were founded, each under the jurisdiction of a monastery . Under the Swabians, Frederick II built the Castello Ursino here, in order to complete his fortifications in this part of Sicily. The arrival of the Aragonese in Catania, which the Court often chose as a centre for its activity, led to the foundation of the Siculorum Gymnasium, the first prestigious Sicilian university. The great eruption of 1669 and the terrible earthquake in 1693, which affected all E Sicily and destroyed most of the city, annihilated an economy that was already in a critical state. Catania was eventually rebuilt, and it spread considerably; it then suffered the effect of a new agricultural crisis, before recovering yet again. It was elected provincial capital in the 19th c. and again began to expand towards new zones, until it achieved in our own days its present-day image of a modem city.

testi sono tratti dalla “Sicily and its islands” Ugo La Rosa editore.

The second largest city in Sicily by population, Catania spreads out over the Plain of Catania, between the Ionian Sea and the slopes of Etna. The surrounding countryside, which the volcanic eruptions have made very fertile, is mainly given up to the cultivation of citrus fruit. The close link between the city and the volcano is also visible in the buildings, many of which are constructed in lava stone. According to Thucydides, Katane was founded after 729 BC by the Chalcidian settlers from Naxos, on the hill now known as the “Colle dei Benedettini”. In the 7th c. the legislator Caronda gave the city a moderately inspired government, half-way between oligarchy and democracy. In 476 BC Catania was conquered by Hieron of Syracuse, and the inhabitants were deported, only to return after 15 years. During the Punic Wars the town was conquered by the Romans (263 BC) and it succeeded in maintaining a position of considerable affluence until the Imperial Age. After the decadence caused by the invasions of the Barbarians and the Byzantine conquest, the town was occupied by the Arabs, who redistributed the land and promoted agriculture and commerce. In 1071, after the Norman conquest, construction began on the cathedral, and numerous country villages were founded, each under the jurisdiction of a monastery . Under the Swabians, Frederick II built the Castello Ursino here, in order to complete his fortifications in this part of Sicily. The arrival of the Aragonese in Catania, which the Court often chose as a centre for its activity, led to the foundation of the Siculorum Gymnasium, the first prestigious Sicilian university. The great eruption of 1669 and the terrible earthquake in 1693, which affected all E Sicily and destroyed most of the city, annihilated an economy that was already in a critical state. Catania was eventually rebuilt, and it spread considerably; it then suffered the effect of a new agricultural crisis, before recovering yet again. It was elected provincial capital in the 19th c. and again began to expand towards new zones, until it achieved in our own days its present-day image of a modem city.

testi sono tratti dalla “Sicily and its islands” Ugo La Rosa editore.

Italian Design, a matter of style

Design isn’t purely drawing, it is industrial planning. In time, moreover, the term gained wider meanings, where style and utility, beauty and industry, creativity and functionality do meet. In the meantime, the concept of art itself evolves, towards a wider-range and more manifold utilization. After all, with the industrial revolution, even the beauty can be replicated, mass produced and above all become an object of everyday use. The idea of art goes beyond the artisan sphere, and it contaminates with success into the vast production process. So it was that, in the twentieth century, rose that Italian Style, which would impose on the world for decades.

In the fifties, after World War II, style and customs were affected by a new idea of elegance and originality. Hollywoodian and baroque cars came from America, with showy colours and a style, which appeared flashy to the Europeans. At our place it was still time for the two wheels: scooters like Vespa and Lambretta, often prepared in short time using war surpluses were appreciated for their agility in style and in control. As for the cars, here’s the Topolino, the Seicento, the Cinquecento: small, handy, a smooth design and a polished style. In a word: beautiful. Coachbuilders like Ghia, Bertone and Pinin Farina marked the triumph of the Italian car of those years, from the cheap runabout to the luxurious “Gran Turismo“, as they used to say.

In the meanwhile, during the decade fifties-sixties, a new and catching vogue spread over objects of everyday use, from furnishing to household appliances. Today a prototype of the legendary Lettera 22 Olivetti is on display at the Modern Art Museum in New York. But who forgets the pieces of furniture by Kartell, or Artemide lamps? And the immortal Eclisse of Magistretti, in 1967. The industrial design is entitled with important names, as the architects Gio Ponti and Gae Aulenti, while the technologic society democratically merges high culture and mass consumption. And in the same time, tight and strained lines prevail from architecture to kitchen or office utensils, inspired by a rationalistic order, absolutely free from frills and trinkets.

A few know that the revolutionary designs of Citroen DS and 2CV are works of a brilliant Italian model maker and sculptor: Flaminio Bertoni. From Brionvega appliances to the legendary beige Gelosino, we are dealing with somewhat precious and already revalued articles, representing the modern antique collecting of our times. Happy and farseeing the one who kept those objects.

Today Turin is the World Capital for Design 2008, while Murano’s lamps by Andromeda are about to enlighten the Olympic nights of Peking. Then it is worth to think over this Italian taste for the beauty, characterized by simplicity and soft elegance, just when, from other ways, seem to reappear tendencies for mawkish frippery and superfluous forms. But this is another story.

The “Royal Venaria” of Amedeo di Castellamonte. In 1659 the grandiose project of the Duke Carlo Emanuele II came true by building a fixed abode for hunting (lett. Venatorial) in order to celebrate through the rituals of hunting the magnificence of the Duke. So he built this Palace as a design of the “delitie” of the 17^th century and as a crown of Turin the capital. The work of Castellamonte, which began in 1659 and was ended in 1675, was an “unicum” and consisted of a Village, Royal Palace and Gardens and extended for an axis of 2 Km. The Village had in the center a quadrioval square which reproduced the “Collar of the order of Annunziata”. The Royal Palace included two courts and had in the center the “Diana Room”. Towards south west we can find the stables, kennels, orangerie, the “upper park of the deers” and, in front of the Village the Chapel of S.Rocco.
The new project for the Royal Palace of Michelangelo Garove. The distruction of the palace in some parts caused by the French troops of Catinat in 1693 was the reason to begin a new project of restoration (1699-1713). Michelangelo Garove expressed in his project the new reference of the Court of Vittorio Amedeo II: Versailles. But only the south-west part of the Garove’s project was realized while the north part wasn’t built because of the untimely death of Garove in 1713.

The “big dimension” of Filippo Juvarra. In 1716 the building site was assigned to Filippo Juvarra. He worked on some principal elements of the building: the arrangement of the hunting services at south east, the building of the Royal Chapel, and the formal recomposing of a single court in front of the Village. In order to define this huge space, Juvarra raised the gallery by opening towards the outside with scansion of large windows. Juvarra’s works continued between 1717 and 1722, with the accomplishment of the Chapel dedicated to S.Uberto, a building of smoothed greek cross and diagonally circular chapels (a similar building to Superga but richer and more well-constructed than it). The building called “Big Stable” o “Orangerie”, but really including both functions was built by Filippo Juvarra between 1721 and 1727 and it is situated at the extreme south east of the complex.

The stables and the completing work of Benedetto Alfieri. Benedetto Alfieri was charged, after the death of Juvarra, to continue the work at the Royal Palace. In 1751 the construction of the “L” building, the church and the Garove’s pavillon towards the Village, the new “Belvedere”, and the large stairs to the church tribuns was started.Between 1754 and 1755 the little Alfieri’s gallery was built which connected the church to the Orangerie. In 1757 the buildings behind S.Uberto were built and they had the function of a coach house.

(this text was taken from www.reggiavenariareale.it)

Castello aristocratico e splendida residenza signorile settecentesca nel contado perugino, circondata da grandiosi viali di cipressi e ippocastani, parchi e giardini, con motivi stilistici di ispirazione mediorientale.

www.vincenzoreda.it

Born in Sila, Calabria, in 1954, Vincenzo Reda has lived in Turin since 1960. He works as a professional in the publishing industry. He has had a long artistic experience, especially in theatre (’74/’75), photography ( Rayogrammi e Pictures Lumieres, Turin, 1976; Il Diavolo ti vuole, with Bruno Chiarenza, Turin, 1980) and avant-guard cinema ( Ogni corpo occupa un suo spazio, with Plinio Martelli, Venice, Biennale del Cinema d’Artista, 1976).
He has painted on paper using wine only since 1993. He started exhibiting his works in Capo Liveri ( Island of Elba) in 1998, convinced by his friend Gino Veronelli. He has been invited to participate in some major wine events in Italy and has shown his works in many national cities.
Permanent exhibitions are those at the restaurants La Taverna del Templare in Palazzuolo (AR) and Li Jalantuumene in Monte S. Angelo (FG).
Some of his works are being shown in New York, South Africa, Brazil and Munich.
He is also Gran Maestro dell’Ordine del PAMPINO.

The wine chessboard is a double crystal square measuring 25.2 x 25.2 in (each square is 3.1 x 3.1 in). The board was made with two different types of wine: Doux d’Henry from Pinerolo and Bombino Bianco from Foggia (Bombino Bianco). The 3 June 2006, the closing day of the Chess Winter Olympics, a chess game was played with glasses of red and white wine that are part of the chessboard. The wine had been provided by Angelo Gaja, a friend of Reda’s. It was an extraordinary event because the game was played by the best chess-players in the World.

“Wine was created by the Gods out of guilt for having given men such a poor and miserable existence. The Gods tried to relieve humans’ suffering and daily strive to survive with a gift.
Wine was made to be drunk.
And I naturally drink wine.
And sometimes – especially at night – after I have had a glass, I pour some wine on some sheets I know well and wait for a miracle to happen – because it is a miracle indeed.
Wine is not a colour or a simple mixture of flavours and smells. Wine is a story that started in the geological eras when rocks began to melt, it continued with the evolution of the climate and the growth of a delicate yet strong plant, and ended with the beginning of another story – a new story populated with people.
I am not an artist who paints with wine.
I am not a painter.
Who am I?
Maybe Aldo Palazzeschi or Marcel Duchamp would have been able to answer that question.”

Info:

Via Piave, 9 10122 TORINO
Tel/Fax. +39.011.4362398
Cell. +39.335.5358828
e-mail: redavincenzo@libero.it
www.vincenzoreda.it