At 2.30 on an uncertain Spring afternoon I have a telephone appointment with Yashwant Bajaj. I’d like to do an interview of about 10 questions, but I have to wait until he returns to Italy from Singapore. Yashwant is a businessman who deals with speculative securities in Asia. He’s of Indian origin but grew up in England, travels the world and has a villa in Massa Martana to which he often returns along with his wife and children. He has […]
It isn’t unusual for an Italian artist to perform abroad, especially in Paris, for a recital or even for a production that has been exported, but typically lasting only ”l’éspace d’un matin”. However, this wasn’t the case for the singer Gabriella Zanchi who decamped along with the rest of the cast for the French version of the musical ‘Beauty and the Beast’, already a great success in Italy with over 600 shows in 2 years; 8 month runs in Milan, […]
by Cristina Crisci There is no denying the fact that there is a renewed focus on the work of Alberto Burri. There seems to be an increased curiosity about his genre. One of his pieces recently fetched 5,600,000 Euros at Christie’s, London. These are all signs we should take as a boost with the forthcoming centenary of the birth of the maestro, (March 12th 1915 in Città di Castello). Among the highlights is an exhibition at the Guggenheim in New […]
When you find yourself in front Rocco Siffredi, a type of ‘performance anxiety’ is inevitable. It’s nothing to do with his chosen career or his age. It is however probably something to do with the limelight that has surrounded him over the last thirty years, or even more because, Rocco Antonio Tano (his original name), has turned porn into an art form and his body the prime weapon in a war of the senses. Interview by Sandra Biscarini However, Rocco […]
by Sandra Biscarini They’re called blogs, and represent the digital revolution that has completely changed our way of communicating. Especially in fashion, bloggers have overturned the rules, throwing open a new way of promoting themselves as well as others. With a direct connection to urban style, fashion bloggers can determine either the success or failure of a new collection, launch emerging designers or freshen up an old look. In the undergrowth of creative bloggers, is ‘The Invalid Mode’ blog, a […]
Stylist to American stars, a passion for baking, he loves to travel, thinks that Elizabeth Taylor is the most beautiful woman in the world, (even having a quick Jack Daniel’s with her), and has been behind the scenes at the Oscar’s where he saw naked actresses! For the past few years, however, he has decided to live in Umbertide. by Cristina Crisci & Giovanna Rossi You were born in New York, lived in San Francisco and now you live in […]
It’s not easy keeping up with him what with his artistic notions, exchanges of smiles and fans stopping him in the street. He’s actually an elegant and entertaining conversationalist despite his perennial air of being pissed off. by Massimo Zangarelli Professor, Councillor Bracco states that “The Marriage of the Virgin”, isn’t transportable to Città di Castello due to its being on panel? «It’s all lies; nonsense. You can move anything and it makes sense that these exciting temporary loans are […]
What do Frankie Hi-Nrg, Jovanotti, Subsonica and DJ Ralf all have in common? The answer is simple - Leonardo ‘Fresco‘ Beccafichi; record producer, author, engineer, sound engineer and Upper Tiber Valley DJ. We met him in his Malkovich Studios, (yes, it’s a tribute to the movie ‘Being John Malkovich’), and talked about hip-hop culture, Bob Marley and impor tant meetings. by Marco Polchi Hip Hop – what does it mean to you? «I got into hip hop in the ‘90s, […]
“Right now I don’t have a spare brain cell – they’re all busy!” Giovanna Vignola – generous, sincere, and direct, and who recently made her film debut playing the role of Dadina, a woman with achrondroplasia, in the Oscar winning film “La grande bellezza” (The great beauty). The Mag met up with her in Perugia, where she lives and works, and won us over with her story. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvaRCGRrYlo[/youtube] First of all… congratulations! How does it feel to have been such […]
She left Città di Castello at the end of the ‘90s “with a suitcase full of dreams and few certainties “A woman able to maintain both the desire to write and a passion for fashion, in the days when the internet was just taking off. Arianna talks to The Mag in an interview about her life and work in the fashion capital, Milan. by Cristina Crisci From Città di Castello to Milan with the aim of becoming a fashion journalist… […]
Interview by Sandra Bischarini Talent is a blessing, but even such fortune needs to be nurtured with hard work. It wouldn’t be any different for the young man who left Monte Santa Maria after finishing his high school diploma, clearly determined to follow his life’s dream – “I wanted to be an actor”. This determination was the recurrent theme with which he built on his talent through study and dedication. The 29 year old started out as a model; favoured […]
‘Willpower is strength’ This is the motto of Giulia Mercati, a designer of some 30 years from Sanseplocro. Clothing, for her is not merely a passion, but her achievements in the design world are something she works towards every day. ‘The Mag’ met with Giulia to hear her tale. by Marco Polchi We begin her story in 2009 – with a plain white T-shirt. “Yes, that was the first step. I had the idea of writing the words ‘Che Fico’ […]
by Massimo Zangarelli “La Ragazza di Bube, the fundamental turning point in my career ” Half a century after “La Ragazza di Bube“ shot in Anghiari, Claudia Cardinale, has returned to the film locations, chatting amiably with the audience that flooded the Theater Ricomposti, he was triumphantly received by the Upper Tiber Valley including many extras from that time who have never forgotten the star. In those years she was conquering the international silver screens and Luigi Comencini ‘s film, […]
On the Anghiari stage, tradition and innovation. An interview with Andrea Merendelli, manager and artistic director of the tuscan Theatre by Marco Polchi A live, open stage becomes a focal point for the community, how do they respond in Anghiari and the surrounding area? The answer is very different and not always corresponding to the organizational efforts. A side event that captures the audience’s imagination, as it takes a massive effort to bring a great international artist to Anghiari and […]
by Cristina Crisci For 30 years, Paolo Rossi has traveled from the atmosphere of the club to the big stage, with a leap into the theatre, winking at the cabaret. His forays into television have become a cult hit as he does not even mind the circus tents. We had a curious conversation with Paolo Rossi on the phone lasting about fifteen minutes, interspersed with some good laughs, at 11, one morning on the eve of the show “ L’amore […]
Giorgio Borghetti - Città di Castello, my shelter by Lorenza Mangioni In 1982, Universal Pictures released E.T. the Extra - Terrestrial , directed by Steven Spielberg. The film destined to become a real cult, centered on the friendship a little alien establishes with Elliot, a 9 year-old child. The bond becomes strong beyond the barriers of language, origin and the typical innocent trust that is to be found in childhood. In Italy we have known the story through Giorgio Borghetti who […]
From music to theatre, rock to Pasolini’s poetry, via Majakovskij verses, Pierpaolo Capovilla is an all-round artist; eclectic and bold - a ‘hybrid’ that moves easily between musical notes and words. He is the lead vocalist and songwriter for Teatro degli Orrori, one of the most important alternative rock groups in Italy, who is currently touring the country with his reading of three acts ‘La Religione del mio tempo’ written by Pier Paolo Pasolini. The Mag caught up with him […]
In the heart of London - Vasco Matteucci by Giovanna Rossi and Marco Polchi Vasco Matteucci left the Upper Tiber Valley in search of his fortune when he was just a lad. He arrived in London when the Beatles and Rolling Stones were just beginning; when the English capital was ‘swinging’: it was beautiful and creative and difficult. But, he conquered it with style and professionalism. For the last 40 years his restaurant – Vasco and Piero’s Pavillion’, (now managed by […]
Filippa Lagerback - A blonde for bicycle I wrote her an email. She replied in that nice way of hers; rare, polite but not over the top. Then we spoke on the phone: a conversation that lasted half an hour, where we talked about the countryside, children, fashion, work and future projects… in an informal but direct way. How women chat normally. Filippa Lagerbäck is in real life, how you imagine her to be looking at her photos - a sense […]
Although born in Palermo, Sicily, Maestro Salvatore Sciarrino chooses to live in Città di Castello, as he told in a recent interview from The Guardian. He is widely considered Italy’s most important modern composer. His music has been played all over the world at the most renowned venues, from La Scala in Milan to Lincoln Center in New York City. The Mag met with the Maestro for a personal chat about his own development as a composer, and what it […]
By Marco Polchi Movies are a form of artistic expression but can also be a way to bring residents of the Upper Tiber Valley together. The Umbria Film Festival has happened every summer since 1997 in Montone and is one of the most interesting Film events in Central Italy. The Mag met the Director, Marisa Berna. This is the Seventeenth year for the Umbria Film Festival, can you tell us about its beginnings? «I have been living here for twenty […]
Biodiversity is the variety of species on Earth. We hear about having to save it but what can we do to avoid the extinction of species? In San Lorenzo’s farm at Lerchi there are about 400 varieties of fruit trees which would otherwise have been lost. Livio Dalla Ragione, and now his daughter Isabella, found each of these varieties and planted it in order to preserve unique genetic and historical samples. It is an open air Museum called “Tree Archaeology” […]
His uncle was the renowned movie director Elio Petri whose 1972 film “La Classe Operaia Va In Paradiso” won both the Golden Palm at the Cannes Festival as well as the Donatello David from the Academy of Italian Film. He is Giordano Petri, both a child of the arts and a new television star. But more than anything else he is a passionate actor whose career is really taking off. “Rosso San Valentino” is the Rai Uno show which got […]
Erika Calleri taught me as much about Arab culture in my first hour with her as I’d picked up throughout my life as a curious person. She is a dance instructor, not a university professor, and she specializes in Mid Eastern dance, what we like to call Belly Dancing. Erika is the embodiment of the potential the arts has to bring people from different cultures together, lift spirits and create unity. By Breon O’Farrell She cuts an impressive figure with […]
In 2004 an Exodus of U.S citizens was reported in the media. Michele Thyne was among this number of discontented citizens. They were essentially frustrated by the political situation: the second election of George W. Bush as President; the creeping infringement of civil liberties implied in the Patriot Act which followed the 9/11 attacks; 30 years of hard won environmental law being weakened, and a war in Iraq started under false pretenses. “It was leave, or contract high blood pressure.” […]
Seven years ago my son started taking cello lessons. That is when I met Cecilia Berioli. At first she was “the music teacher” but I quickly got to know her as a woman, a mother, a gentle human being, a friend and a warrior. Named after the Patron Saint of musicians, this native Umbrian is on a lifelong mission. Her message is: “Music must be more a part of our daily lives!” I see her as a mythological hero wielding […]
Michele Bendini is a local veterinarian with star qualities, a charismatic nature, crystal clear eyes and a vivid smile. And like a dream come true this local boy has gotten his big break in the form of an appearance on MasterChef Italia, the Sky Television talent show that has taken the country by storm. His profession is pets, but his passion is in the kitchen. The Mag: Tell us about these last frenetic months Michele Bendini : «We shot the […]
“Calibro” is a Book Festival organized in Città di Castello from the Association “Il Fondino”, which operates in the Tiber Valley since 2005. The event will be going on from March 28th until March 31st all over Downtown. The Mag has Interviewed the organizers. The Mag:When did you come up with the idea of organizing a Book Festival? Il Fondino: «Ever since we started our Association “Il Fondino” in 2005, our intension has been to organize a project that would […]
Imagine the studio of an artist who rejected the art scene in England twenty five years ago, escaped to Italy and went into a relative state of isolation with the singular purpose of producing his art. Each completed piece of work, after an impressive series of elaborate and expensive processes (including being printed on his own antique printing press) is put into its private hiding place, away from the eyes of the world. After so many years of production there is not […]
There is a reason why we at The Mag love Gilly and Gordon so much. They are positively overflowing with ideas for creating more unity in our community and improving our part of central Italy. So we are real pleased to have the chance to feature their home in this Christmas and New Year edition of the ”Our Home” section. They have an unusual amount of experience building homes, and all of their homes have been photographed for important magazines. […]