A Piazza in Italy is a sacred thing; a special place. All public squares, especially those in Italian cities, are the center of social life, a place to hang out with friends, a place to exchange ideas. They deserve to welcome all opinions, even dissenting ones – but what happened in Rome a few days ago […]
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Picture Tuscany; and images of natural beauty come to mind… And now imagine Tuscany, only imagine it … well, improved. Tuscany is land of countless treasures and picturesque beauty… yet incredibly someone in Tuscany’s tourism promotion bureau had seen it ok to approve a new promotional campaign called “Divina Toscana” riffing on Dante’s admonishments and featuring […]
One chance in 50. Those are the odds of getting hired at the new McDonalds, opening in Montecatini – a city located between Lucca and Florence, in Tuscany – for those that applied for a full-time position with the American fast food giant. It looks like the prospect of a job, any job, is a mouth-watering draw for […]
Florence, under the rule of its Mayor, Matteo Renzi, has released the “Price List” for renting the city’s historic treasures – for cultural events, Theater plays… and for Cocktail Parties – so reports the “Fatto Quotidiano” daily. Here is the “Tariffario per la concessione in uso dei beni culturali per eventi” – what it’ll cost you […]
Aberration or Tip of the Iceberg? The “Fatto Quotidiano” daily reports on a particularly troubling legal affair. It seems particularly galling that in today’s Italy, where reform (and the ensuing austerity measures) are the talk of the Piazza, that the corruption we’ve been treated with on the political level seems to pervade Italy’s legislative branch as […]
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Unesco recently threatened to remove the ancient site of Pompeii from elite World Heritage catalog, if the government of Italy does not do more to help preserve the Roman city, which was buried by a cloud of hot ash in 79ad. Massimo Bray Italian Culture Minister says he hopes that the warnings will lead to […]
The basic premise was satire… although the effect of this one ad comes off with slightly more bite than the previous ads featuring Michael Schumacher holding Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso prisoners or Paris Hilton kidnapping the Kardashians in Ford’s new Fiesta. This ad features Italy’s former president with some of his galpals stowed away in the […]
“IT takes a certain talent to live in happy denial, to slide toward the edge of a precipice and be perfectly relaxed about it. Of all the talents that Italians are renowned for, such nonchalance is perhaps their greatest. Their economy is in deep recession; more than one in three young adults are unemployed; they […]
Pietrasanta is close to losing the “Enoteca Marcucci,” one of the city’s more distinctive hangouts. The Archdiosis of Pisa has prevailed in a legal battle against Michele Marcucci, the owner of the beloved Enoteca. It looks like the fabled bistro will either have to close, putting its staff of nearly 20 out of work – […]
^ We post a rare English-language version of Lina Wertmullers devastating “Travolti da un Insolito Destino Nell’Azzurro del Mare D’Agosto “ – in English: “Swept Away.” You can watch the original in Italian, linked here. We link to the wikipedia article on Wertmuller’s outrageous, often wry, sublimely funny – and still painfully relevant – 1974 […]
Nichi Vendola, an Italian left-wing politician – and LGBT activist – has come out swinging against the austerity measures imposed by the technocratic (read “un-elected”) government of ex-Premier Mario Monti in an interview with Italian TV. The piece, which came out today, is part political hit, part high-art. Nichi Vendola (read the wikipedia article on […]
The mausoleum of Marcus Nonius Macrinus unearthed in 2008, in an industrial neighborhood in Rome, might be re-buried due to austerity cuts… Italy’s financial woes are yet to be fully experienced, this must be stated upfront. The technocratic (that means UNelected) government of Mario Monti is having a hard time whipping Italy into gear. Monti […]
Last Wednesday, the 14th of November, La Dolce Vita took to the streets. There were “anti-austerity” demonstrations in 87 Italian cities. 10,000 people reportedly marched in Rome, 3,000 in Florence. Some 150,000 all told. The protesters – students – who were contesting “il governo dei banchieri” (the rule of the bankers) were met with a […]
Because Italy needs ANOTHER law… Gianni Alemanno, Rome’s Mayor has introduced a new city ordinance that would make it illegal – and punishable with a fine up to $650 – to consume food or drink in its public spaces, more specifically its areas of “particular historic, artistic, architectonic and cultural value,” which includes the Colosseum, […]
Lambretta was a line of motor scooters produced in Italy by Innocenti – based on a WWII Cushman scooter – its design was licensed the world over. It was an immediate success… the blending of art, design and the need for cheap transportation – it became the symbol for freewheeling fun “Made in Italy” for […]
Disco godfather Giorgio Moroder reissues rarities and oldies on his Soundcloud page. His carrer spans decades and included stints with Donna Summer, Blondie, and Sparks. We post “Mah-Na-Mah-Na” from 1969 – it was composed for the italian mondo movie “Svezia, Inferno e Paradiso.” SPIN magazine discusses Moroder’s Disco deluge: Giorgio Moroder is nothing if not […]
Google sets forth an ambitious project – as a Cultural Institute – documenting people and events of the last century – and celebrates Italy’s “Dolce Vita,” the years between 1954 to 1965, in conjunction with the Istituto Luce. Italy experienced an economic boom after the Second World War that shook it to its very soul, […]
Staged almost concurrently with the opening of Captain Schettino’s trial for sinking the “Concordia” off the shore of the Isola del Giglio, Thomas Hirschhorn’s life-size replica of the liner’s upended Casino Room, at the Gladstone Gallery, bewilders and informs – it’s a cutting comment on the current state of things in Italy, … and at […]
THIS is a link to a page that updates the image on the Piazza del Duomo … every couple of seconds. Not as good as the live streaming webcam that worked previously… but close. THE USER NAME IS: guest THE PASSWORD IS: pietrasanta Here is a webcam trained on the Piazza del Duomo, the heart […]
20 sculptures produced as part of this year’s “Digital Stone Project” go on view at Pietrasanta’s M.U.S.A., the city’s virtual art and architecture museum. “Rock Stars” is the name of the show, and it features the work of the American students: James Carl, Matthew Cornelius, Kathryn Cook, Miles Driscoll, Lauren Ewing, Jon Isherwood, Evan Waldo […]
Structures at Pompeii continue to fall down in piles of rubble while politicians continue to establish new rules and newer initiatives for the site’s restoration. The weather has been blamed for the collapse, last week, of wall at a shop on Via Stabiana and plaster in the House of the Small Fountain. Massimo Bray, Italy’s […]
“The Death of Procris” (c. 1500) By Piero di Cosimo, based on one of Ovid’s tales. Oil on panel, probably meant as a decoration in a renaissance Palace in Florence. An “extraordinary” discovery was made during the real-estate development of a field near Rome, according to La Repubblica newspaper… Valerio Messalla Corvino’s Villa – rather its […]
UPDATE: Some foreign visitors to the City of Art have experience trouble logging on to the WIFI… we inquired with the Comune and they assure us that all one needs is either a computer or a smart phone – they suggest that one make sure to search for the APUA COM network, and follow the “easy” […]
Have you, dear reader, ever felt awkward when trying to communicate while in Italy? Italians are generally very good at understanding foreigners, and making themselves understood – this is the country where hand-gestures count as much as words, after all … buuut, if you think you might benefit from knowing the basics, or perfecting your […]
| Relations between Italy and Germany are on the tense side these days – difficult economic reforms are on the table – Germany who “pays more towards the European Union” wants Italy to clean-up its books. The video is produced by Franz Baraggino and Alessandro Madron and appeared on the “Fatto Quotidiano” website. Comments on […]
Another “Aperitivo con l’Artista” takes place in the cool shade of the Chiostro di Sant’Agostino, tonight at 7:30pm. The Peruvian sculptor Melitón Rivera, meets the art critic Costantino Paolicchi. The subject is art, sculpture and “la dolce vita” … the aperitivo is offered by Serendipity. Melitón has worked in the area for over thirty years, […]
We post a post about posts, our top posts for yesterday, to be precise, … a meta-post of posts recently read, of sorts. The list gives you – and us – an idea what folks are reading ’round these parts. We invite you dear reader to tell us your thoughts regarding this here blog, to […]
The tech giant behind the popular search engine – and much of the advertising on webpages such as youtube, unveils a new project as part of their so-called “Street-view treks:” … a canal-by-canal tour of Venice Italy. All 117 islands, 409 bridges, and “The City of Water’s” 150 canals were captured by the Google cameras […]
The summer art season has come to a close… the piazzas in Italy were filled with art – and people mingled and met – sharing Campari and soda, and discussing the finer points of “what is Art in today’s world?” There’s more just ahead, as Pietrasanta, the “City of Art” never rests… and we’ll do […]
The path to lunch has led many a great artists to the Apuan Alps and the marble quarries of Carrara – from the Ancient Romans to Michelangelo, and from Henry Moore, in the 60s to those master sculptors working in stone, today, in Carrara and Pietrasanta. A Path To Lunch – an interesting blog about living […]
The Costa Concordia Recovery continues – with hours of delay – into the night. We link to a LIVE VIDEO STREAM on the Guardian site. http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/sep/16/costa-concordia-live-stream Previously on Art is Life: The Costa Concordia Recovery ____________ Watch the LIVE VIDEO FEED on this RT channel La Dolce Vita: Capsized! – Thomas Hirschhorn’s helter-skelter “Concordia, Concordia” upsets […]
… The ‘parbuckling’ – righting – of the Costa Concordia Cruise ship is a herculean feat. It is in fact the greatest naval recovery ever attempted. 500 people are involved in the project – at an estimated cost of $600 million. The ship, the largest Italian Cruise Ship ever conceived, has lain in the shallow […]
Echoing the Italian people’s rage, readable daily, on the front pages of the local dailies, the new game-app “Angry Italians” pits opposition-comic-turned-politician Beppe Grillo against the whole lot of Italian politicos. Ok, so the game, designed by Fabio Pallini, is a shameless rip-off of “Angry Birds” (and apparently not a very compelling one, at that) […]
We link to the webcam trained on the Piazza del Duomo, Pietrasanta’s main square, where today one can see the installation of the exhibition “Homo Faber.” The show celebrates the artigiani – the artisans who work in the city’s marble studios and bronze foundries. It starts tomorrow, the 15th of June and goes until the […]
In 79 CE, in just 24 hours, the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum – two bustling Roman cities in the bay of Naples, were buried by a catastrophic eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius. It took nearly 1700 years for the ancient sites to be “re-discovered” by archeologists. What they found was a remarkable snapshot of daily life […]
Chances are that if you see a monumental sculpture on a Piazza or square – anywhere in the world – that it was made in Pietrasanta. Artists have come to Pietrasanta, for decades, and have worked with the artisans in the studios and foundries to produce their works in marble and bronze. The charming medieval […]
Summer is just beginning! Here are a few events of potential interest to art lovers and culture aficionados happening this weekend in the Versilia area… – and Wikipedia helps us with the “where is the Versilia” part… We quote: “The Versilia … is a part of Tuscany in the north-western province of Lucca, and is named after the Versilia river. Known for […]
They say that laughter is therapeutic – if that’s so, then Mauro Biani, Italian cartoonist and satirist is a “doctor in deed,” as Italy’s economic … “issues” loom dark over the national mood, and the technocratic government of Mr Monti tries to prevent the collapse of Italy’s financial markets… the question on everyone’s lips on […]
“Temptations” by Andy. Lots of (art, music) temptations in the list of events below! The sun is shining, the Piazzas are full, the exhibition spaces a cool respite from the summer heat. The beach beckons young and old. La Dolce Vita is in full swing. We’ve put together a partial listing of some of the […]
Spring is springing, the sun is shining – we’re well into Lent and still the Carnevale di Viareggio haunts the seaside boardwalks of the beach resort town. And a haunting phantasmagorical vision it is. The floats in this years event are particularly grim… and scary. Werewolves, skulls, demons, bats and rats feature prominently in this […]
