Episodio Speciale in Italiano – Special Episodio in Italiano

“C’è tutta una serie di connessioni bellissime che Michelangelo mi ha passato. Lui mi insegue, io inseguo lui piuttosto. Siamo sempre in connessione.” Tommaso Brogini  

Questa settimana vi porto di nuovo con me nella bottega dell’artista fiorentino, Tommaso Brogini, per la seconda parte della nostra conversazione su Michelangelo e il rapporto intimo che Brogini ha tutt’ora con il grande genio. 

Parliamo anche di altri artisti, luoghi e cose che sono d’ispirazione per le opere di Tommaso, e di alcuni posti speciali e un po’ meno conosciuti di Firenze, del concetto del non finito, e su come visitare la città in modo studiato.  

Links 

Non Finito Art Gallery Studio –  https://www.nonfinito.it/en/

Biografia –  https://www.nonfinito.it/lartista/

Corsi – https://www.nonfinito.it/corsi-di-disegno-e-pittura/

La Bottega - https://www.nonfinito.it/la-bottega/

Disegni - https://www.nonfinito.it/disegni/

Michelangiolo – http://www.nonfinito.it/michelangiolo/

Social - https://www.instagram.com/nonfinitoartgallery/

https://www.facebook.com/nonfinitobrogini?locale=it_IT

“Il Moro aims to be an ode to self-love for Black-Italians, Afropeans and the African diaspora, a reminder that we are an integral part of European history beyond the way it has portrayed us up until now.” Daphne Di Cinto, Il Moro – The Moor: a Real Black Duke, Beyond Fiction. The Los Angeles Tribune, April 19, 2022.

In this very special episode, recorded via Zoom, I speak with Daphne Di Cinto, director, screenwriter, and producer of the ground-breaking short film Il Moro - The Moor, winner of the Oscar Qualifying Reel Sisters Film Festival.

Il Moro - The Moor, Di Cinto’s directorial debut, is an enthralling film that explores the extraordinary life of the first Duke of Florence in 1530, Alessandro de' Medici, the first black man to ascend to the position of head of state in early modern Western Europe. The film presents a compelling narrative and sheds light on an often-overlooked historical figure and his significant role in European history. 

Join Daphne di Cinto and me for a truly interesting conversation about Il Moro -The Moor, and its significance and relevance to the present, and to the lives of generations of Afro-Europeans. The film speaks to critical issues that still plague our society today and we touch on crucial questions related to identity and belonging, to what diversity in Italy looks like right now, and to the importance of ensuring that these missing historical key players, their stories, and their truth, are finally told and brought to light.

Useful Links and Background Information 

Support the film

www.ilmorofilm.com

Il Moro has partnered with Creative Visions in its race to the Awards! 

Read more about the project and how you can support Il Moro with a tax-deductible donation here: https://creative-visions.networkforgood.com/projects/204674-il-moro-the-moor-s-fundraiser

Daphne Di Cinto Biography

Daphne Di Cinto is a Black-Italian screenwriter, director, actor, and producer born and raised in the North of Italy. She begins her film and theatre studies in Rome, where she focuses on acting at the Scuola di Cinema, while getting her degree in Communication Science at Roma Tre University. She attends the faculty of cinema at the Sorbonne in Paris before moving to New York for her master’s in fine arts at the Actors Studio Drama School. She is currently based in London. 

Il Moro-The Moor, her directorial debut, has won several accolades at international film festivals, including Best Short Film at the Italian Black Movie Awards and at the Fabrique du Cinema Awards, Best Acting Ensemble at Venezia Shorts and Best Director of a Foreign Language Short at Madrid International Film Festival, in addition to winning the Academy Awards Qualifier Reel Sisters Film Festival. 

Daphne received the Cultured Focus Visionary in Film Award during the 79th Venice Film Festival and the Leader of Change in Creativity Award at the 2023 Black Carpet Awards. 

As a screenwriter, she is interested in themes of identity, belonging, migrations and the female gaze. 

Daphne played Sarah Bassett, the Duchess of Hastings in the Netflix series Bridgerton. 

Daphne di Cinto on Instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/daphnedicinto/

Daphne di Cinto’s Linkedin Profile

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daphne-di-cinto/

Il Moro on Instagram 

https://www.instagram.com/ilmorofilm/

Il Moro Official Trailer

https://vimeo.com/573594129

Il Moro Linktree

https://linktr.ee/Ilmorofilm

EPISODIO SPECIALE IN ITALIANO – SPECIAL EPISODIO IN ITALIANO

“La musica deve essere qualcosa in grande evoluzione, oggi lo è più di prima perché

il mondo è più velocemente in evoluzione.” Maurizio Tomberli

Oggi a 15 with Fosca ho il piacere di avere di nuovo con me due ospiti fantastici, Maestri Eric Buffat e Maurizio Tomberli, fondatori di Florence Academy, un’accademia di musica pop nel centro storico di Firenze. In questa seconda parte della nostra conversazione parliamo di quello che succede alla loro scuola, della comunità che si è creata e che si crea, e delle lezioni “custom” che loro offrono alle persone che hanno bisogno di flessibilità perché si fermano in città per un periodo limitato ma non vogliono smettere di fare musica e vorrebbero poter suonare in un ambiente autentico italiano. State con noi mentre parliamo del paesaggio musicale italiano attuale, quali artisti italiani amano, seguono e consigliano a chi sta venendo in Italia per capire meglio la musica e la cultura italiana. Commentiamo anche i Maneskin, e perché e come sono riusciti a raggiungere un livello di successo planetario e l’effetto che hanno avuto e che hanno tutt’ora sui giovani musicisti in Italia.

Links Florence Academy https://www.florenceacademy.it/

Eric Buffat https://www.ericbuffat.com/

Maurizio Tomberli http://www.mauriziotomberli.it/index.php

University of the West of Scotland https://www.uws.ac.uk/

Palazzo Taddei https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo...

Laboratorio Musical Walter Savelli https://www.laboratoriomusicalewalter...

“Francesca once wrote that she wanted to write her autobiography. I hope that by writing the definitive narrative of her life, Francesca will finally have this desire fulfilled, and the world can know her as she was: multifaceted, on fire about life and art, and solare.” Amy Love Tomasso 

Warning: This episode discusses suicide.

In this week’s episode my special guest, Amy Love Tomasso, and I delve into the life and work of the iconic photographer Francesca Woodman. More specifically, we talk about her relationship with Italy. Amy first discovered the artist as a young college student studying abroad at Cornell’s Art, Architecture & Urban Planning Program in Rome. Since then, she has been on a mission to locate Francesca Woodman’s voice and speak her truth. As Amy says, “I believe that her formative year in Rome has not been adequately explored in the literature (at least not in English). The correspondences contained in Giuseppe’s 2011 exhibit and accompanying catalog Francesca Stern Woodman Roma 1977-1981 are an important window into Francesca’s animus, and inspirations during her time in Italy, that have not been widely introduced to an audience beyond Italy. So much of Francesca’s truth, as well as her rigorous artistic foundation, is contained in her time in Rome.”

Further Reading and Links 

Amy Love Tommaso’s Biography 

Amy Tomasso grew up in a large Italian-American family in central Connecticut. When Latin was cut from her high school’s budget, she taught herself Italian at age 15 using her father’s college textbook and honed her speaking skills that year with the first of many visits to her relatives in Italy’s Abruzzo region. On this formative trip to Italy, Amy fell in love with the piazza, the quintessential Italian public space, which led her to major in Urban Studies and minor in Italian at Stanford University. While studying urbanism and photography abroad in Rome her junior year, Amy was introduced to the work of the photographer Francesca Woodman, who would become a central research and writing subject. Amy went on to receive her MFA in Creative Writing from Hollins University in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where she continued researching and chronicling Woodman’s life, artistic contributions, and time in Italy. A lover of storytelling and community, Amy currently works for the Vermont Department of Housing & Community Development and works on her creative writing by night. In her free time, Amy is an avid triathlete, traveler, and Italophile. She plans to return to Italy to complete her book project about Francesca Woodman next year. 

Francesca Woodman’s Official Biography (The Woodman Foundation)

https://woodmanfoundation.org/francesca/biography

The Woodman Foundation 

https://woodmanfoundation.org/

The Tate’s Finding Francesca

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/francesca-woodman-10512/finding-francesca

Francesca Woodman’s Biography (Gagosian) 

https://gagosian.com/artists/francesca-woodman/

Francesca Stern Woodman Roma 1977-1981: Exhibit at Il Museo del Louvre

https://www.ilmuseodellouvre.com/2011/05/23/francesca-woodman-photographs-1977-1981/

Public Collections

https://woodmanfoundation.org/francesca/public

Exhibitions

https://woodmanfoundation.org/francesca/exhibitions

https://gagosian.com/news/artist/francesca-woodman/museum-exhibitions/

Global Suicide Hotline Resources

https://faq.whatsapp.com/1417269125743673/?helpref=uf_share

Episodio Speciale in Italiano – Special Episodio in Italiano

La bottega del pittore

“Mi piace relazionarmi con le persone lasciando la mia bottega aperta alla

strada e a tutti coloro che desiderano e amano l’arte; un luogo dove ognuno è

libero di esprimere se stesso sotto la mia guida, accompagnato dai miei

consigli e dalla musica che rende l’atmosfera famigliare e accogliente.”

Tommaso Brogini, Non Finito Art Gallery Studio

Un pomeriggio di primavera arrivo in anticipo per un appuntamento nel

caratteristico quartiere fiorentino di San Niccolò. Assonnata, vado a

prendere un caffè e con la coda dell’occhio noto una cartella appesa

nella vetrina di una bottega dove c’è scritto che si possono fare lezioni di

pittura. Prendo il telefono per fare una foto e mentre cerco di guardare

meglio lo studio, mi sento chiamare e così ho conosciuto Tommaso, che

mi ha invitato a parlare e a entrare nella sua magica bottega dove vi

porto oggi con quest’episodio.

Links

Non Finito Art Gallery Studio – https://www.nonfinito.it/en/

Biografia – https://www.nonfinito.it/lartista/

Corsi – https://www.nonfinito.it/corsi-di-disegno-e-pittura/

La Bottega - https://www.nonfinito.it/la-bottega/

Disegni - https://www.nonfinito.it/disegni/

Michelangiolo – http://www.nonfinito.it/michelangiolo/

Social - https://www.instagram.com/nonfinitoartgallery/

https://www.facebook.com/nonfinitobrogini?locale=it_IT

In this episode I share some very personal experiences and stories that strive to give global expats, expat families, digital nomads, temporary visitors, and permanent international residents some hints and tips for making meaningful connections and creating and building community in Florence and in Italy. This solo podcast is a response to the many queries I receive from clients as well as expats I encounter in Florence, who ask me for advice on how to feel a true sense of belonging when living in Italy as a foreigner.Tune in for some thoughts and strategies on getting out there and investing time and energy in something that you love and about which you care and that will ultimately bring you closer to the people and the culture. 

Links Progetto Itaca Firenze - https://www.progettoitacafirenze.org/ (in Italian) 

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/progettoitacafirenze/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/progettoitacafirenze

Keep those questions coming and I’ll be sure to address them in future podcasts. 

@askfosca

[email protected]

Episodio speciale in italiano – Special episode in Italian

Join me for the first part of an informative and lively conversation with musicians Eric Buffat and Maurizio Tomberli, founders of Florence Academy, a modern music school, housed in a Renaissance palazzo in the heart of downtown Florence.

In this episode, we talk about how Florence Academy shapes young musicians and transforms them into savvy artists able to navigate skillfully all aspects of today’s music industry. We also converse about the many ways that Florence inspires musical creativity and why the city is an ideal place to study, write, and make music.

We also provide details on how to enroll in their BA Program, as well as how to do what they call their “DIY Program” for those coming to Florence for a short period of time and would like to continue learning and playing music in this harmonious and uplifting community of artists.

Links

Florence Academy

https://www.florenceacademy.it/

Eric Buffat

https://www.ericbuffat.com/

Maurizio Tomberli

http://www.mauriziotomberli.it/index.php

University of the West of Scotland

https://www.uws.ac.uk/

Palazzo Taddei

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palazzo_Taddei

Laboratorio Musical Walter Savelli

https://www.laboratoriomusicalewaltersavelli.it/

Tanti Auguri Babbo, Happy Birthday Dad!

On the eve of a milestone birthday, I sat down with my father, Pellegrino D’Acierno, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature and Italian Studies at Hofstra University, for an unscripted and unedited talk about his life as a “professional Italian”.

In this special episode, streaming on his 80th birthday, we have a father daughter heart to heart that spans everything from the great auteurs of Italian cinema, to aesthetics, the notions of the bella and the brutta figura, and “cafone radar”.

We also touch upon our love for Italy, our special connections to Venice and Naples, how to outfox sommeliers, the beauty and significance of the caffè sospeso, and the importance of Xenia in Italian culture.

Finally, we grapple with problems related to over tourism and the idea of killing one’s inner tourist by engaging with Italy and Italians in a profound way.

Some notes and further resources

View Pellegrino D’Acierno’s Biography, Author Page and Frank Lentricchia’s preface to the Fat Man Arpeggios

https://drive.google.com/file/d/10LkDJNffU2kWrImIDVU_yaWfsqj34on3/view?usp=sharing

Xenia - The law/custom of offering protection and hospitality to strangers (cf. its opposite: xenophobia). The law/custom was felt to be so fundamental to human civilized life that its patron was Zeus xenios: "Zeus the god who protects strangers."

Source: http://www.princeton.edu/~aford/terms.html

Sgraffito - (Italian: “scratched”), in the visual arts, a technique used in painting, pottery, and glass, which consists of putting down a preliminary surface, covering it with another, and then scratching the superficial layer in such a way that the pattern or shape that emerges is of the lower colour.

Source: https://www.britannica.com/art/sgraffito

The Caffè Sospeso

Caffè Sospeso - Coffee for All (2017 Documentary, Fulvio Iannucci, Roly Santos)

https://filmitalia.org/en/film/120681/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6721132/

In Naples, Gift of Coffee to Strangers Never Seen https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/world/europe/naples-suspended-coffee.html

The word pellegrino translates to pilgrim in English

Lucio is Lucio Pozzi, one of Italy’s most important contemporary artists, who illustrated both The Fat Man Arpeggios and 13 Ways of Crossing the Piazza.

I think Giada was actually around 7 years old when she steered that Gondola!

Embracing Florence

Join me for part 2 of my chiacchierata with Elisabetta Verdone, founder and owner of Florence’s Monnalisa Italian Language and Culture School. In this episode, we’ll continue our conversations about the learning journey and talk about Italian study as a moveable feast happening in special places throughout the city. We’ll also touch on favorite Italian words and songs and what they say about the culture and speak about future plans for this jewel of a language school.

Join Francesca Lupia and me for part two of our conversation as we discuss the LGBTIQA+ community, as well as broader questions of gender and identity in Italy today. We also cover where Italy is in terms of these important questions, what’s going on with young Italians today, how to fight brain drain, and why this is a do or die moment for the country.

Further Information and Resources 

Arcigay - Arcigay is Italy’s main LGBTI not-for-profit. It is also the largest in terms of number of volunteers and activists throughout Italy.  

ILGA’s (The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Report on Italy.

LGBT rights in Italy – Wikipedia’s overview on the status and history of LGBT rights in Italy.

Equaldex LGBT Rights in Italy – A quick look and statistics on the LGBT community in Italy. 

Expatica, LGBT+ rights in Italy – Expatica’s detailed summation of the current situation for Italy’s LGBT+ community.   

LGBTQ Florence - From Feel Florence, the Official Tourism website of the Metropolitan City and the Municipality of Florence. 

ANNUAL REPORT 2022 - THE STATE OF THE NATION - In its 30th Report, Istat (the Italian National Institute of Statistics) provides a snapshot of Italy today, in light of its recent history, highlighting the steps forward and the obstacles still to be tackled.  This is a great site for all of Italy’s “numbers”. 

Gay Friendly Italy – An LGBTQ+ travel guide to Italy  

Is Italy LGBTQIA+ Friendly? - Intrepid Travel’s guide for LGBTQIA+ travelers with guides to queer culture in Rome and Milan.  

Quiiky Magazine’s quick history of LGBT Culture in Italy