Monthly Archives: March 2002

First Gay TV Channel Based In Milan

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Europe’s first television network aimed at gays, based in Milan, will hit the airwaves in April. The Gay TV satellite channel broadcast in English, Spanish and Italian, beats out the American version slated to debut by the end of 2002. So far the initiative has provoked more criticism by television executives than Catholic authorities who, in the past, vigorously protested Gay Pride marches and the Gay Street in Rome.
“It’s likely to end up as a kind of Indian reservation for gay culture,” said Giorgio Gori, former director of commercial network Canale 5. “It’s really just a marketing operation.” A market niche that Italian cable Canal Jimmy is also trying to fill: starting this week the network will air a kind of “gay night” with imported sitcoms, a talk show and film on gay themes. “Gays are already being ghettoized in mainstream television,” said activist Imma Battaglia, president of the Digigay Project. “The television market could use more specialization — gays providing objective information for gays is a positive thing.”

Related resources:
www.gay.it
Italy’s most popular portal for gays…

Mafia Town Becomes a Brand Name

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The town of Corleone, considered home to some of Italy’s most infamous Mafia families, will soon become a brand name. “It’s useless to deny that it’s a very powerful name,” commented mayor Pippo Cipriani.”We’ve verified that it attracts the public, so we’re in the process of registering it.”
The Corleone brand will likely be used for a line of dairy products from the town’s creamery, which is in the process of being privatized.

Notable residents of the town of 11,000 in the province of Palermo include fugitive boss Bernardo Provenzano and clan head Totò Riina, currently serving several life sentences. Corleone will also ring a bell with consumers because of "the Godfather" films, thanks to the fictional family called of the same name. It isn’t the first time the town name has been used for publicity, it was also the subject of a much-contested campaign for Benetton clothes.
In other Corleone business news, Totò Riina’s son Giuseppe is appealing Italian courts for refusing to give him a "Mafia-free" business certificate. Giuseppe and his brother-in-law Tony Ciavarello sell agricultural equipment; Giuseppe had asked the courts to certify the business was clean from Mafia ties to dispel suspicions that the business is a front for illegal activity. ?1999-2004 zoomata.com

Zoomata is the brainchild of a bilingualjournalist based in Italy who thinks out of the box. This brain is for hire.

Related resources:
Rebels & Mafiosi: Death in a Sicilian Landscape
An investigation of the historic orgins of the Mafia….

Italy by Numbers: Birth Rate Rises

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544,000 births, 2001
+ 1,500 from 2000
-16,000 fewer deaths
18.5% population + 65 years old

For the first time in 9 years, the number of births were higher than deaths in Italy. The preliminary report from national statistics institute ISTAT, has more than a few surprises: the central-north takes over from the south as the most ‘fertile’ region and the increase is not due to immigrants. Experts say the country may have come out of a “winter” phase where deaths were more numerous than births.
A drop in the death rate also contributed to the trend, the average Italian has a longer life expectancy: men 76.7 years, women 83.

Related resources:
www.auguri.com/nascita.htm
Italian e-cards for new babies….

Taking Communion with Real Wine

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Lifting a ban of centuries, Italian Catholics will soon be taking communion with red wine. First banned for non-clergy by the Council of Constance in 1415, the use of wine is currently only permitted in special circumstances such as weddings and adult baptisms and confirmations. The note from the Vatican states that the symbolic body and blood of Christ can be taken two ways: with the host dipped into a cup of wine or through a sip from a communal cup. Bishops will decide which way and so it will at least be uniform in each jurisdiction. The change, which could come into effect with in the year, may also mean big business for vintners if it is adopted by the thousands of Catholic churches in the country.

Web-wise: March 12-18

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Italian practice: what’s good for us ? Keeping track of Berlusconi’s Conflict of Interest ? San Remo music fest roundup? Visit Artisan’s workshops in Venice’s ‘700

Keeping track of Berlusconi’s Conflict of Interest…
Alarmed Italians are downloading this Flash clock to remind themselves of Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s ongoing conflict of interest…
www.clarence.com/misc/berlusclock

Visit Artisan’s workshops in Venice’s ‘700
Take a video visit to the shops of artisans & painters of the 1700s in Venice…Requires real video…The exhibit is on in Crema til June 2002…
www.kwart.kataweb.it

Italian Practice: New Portal Knows What’s Good for Us
Good, clean living, made fun with the Lupo Alberto comic book character: columns include animals, ecology, biotech, healthy living & cooking…
www.buonpernoi.it

San Remo Wrap-up
Get the skinny on the 52nd annual songfest which has dominated Italian media for the last 10 days…Take a listen to the funky pop stylings of Alexia & Nino D’Angelo’s Neapolitan-funk
www.italica.rai.it

One of the reasons for the bru-ha-ha was Tuscan comic Roberto Benigni’s Saturday appearance, check out the video & photo galleries, here:
www.corriere.it

Mafia Kids Set up Shop, Advertise on Internet

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Two children of jailed Mafia boss Toto’ Riina have opened up shop and advertise on the web. Agrimar, which specializes in farm machinery, took out a banner on the town of Corleone’s home page. Maria Concetta Riina and her brother, Giuseppe Salvatore (called “Salvo”), are described as “highly-qualified staff” on the site. In business for about a year, the venture sounds like any other new-economy outfit: “a dynamic, cutting-edge approach” “average staff age 23” “free consultations…” Maria Concetta may have steered clear from the other family business though her relationship with Tony Ciavarello, suspected of Mafia ties and a partner in Agrimar, has raised doubts. “The image of Corleone is changing thanks to enterprising young people,” remarked mayor Giuseppe Cipriani, who gave permission for the banner on the city’s home page. “Before tourists expected to find women dressed in black, men with sawed-off shotguns. It’s not that way–thanks to these young people, there’s a bit of bustle, nightlife.” Salvatore “Tot?” Riina is trying to appeal a life sentence. He’s serving time for the 1993 bombings of the Uffizi, which killed five and injured 29, as well as the car bombings that same year in Milan and Rome. 1999-2004 zoomata.com

Related resources
www.corleone.it
More on today’s town from the web site….

City Provides Dates for Women’s Day

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So much for hands-off government: a city council is organizing dates for single women to celebrate national Women’s Day March 8.
The idea came from the culture councilor of a town called Cernusco sul Naviglio near Milan. The holiday, meant to celebrate emancipation, in recent years has become an occasion for a girl’s night out — preferably in a trendy ethnic restaurant or at a male strip show rather than for any serious discussion on women’s rights.

“We’re against women by themselves in pizzerias on March 8,” joked Daniele Cassamagnaghi, who invented the free date scheme. “It’s sad, really. Why not spend the evening with a blind date, do something a bit different?”

So far there are over 25 men available, including city council members, who have met minimum requirements: "a pleasant appearance and the capacity to speak at least four words," explained Cassamagnaghi. To take the city up on the offer, women ring the town hall specifying age and other prerequisites. The town council will play matchmaker for the evening’s festivities that include an aperitif and a cabaret show.

A letter of protest, signed by 20 townswomen, asserted the right to go out without men every once in a while. "Thanks but no thanks," said the letter. "At least once a year it’s great to go out with only women…It doesn’t mean we don’t like men or can’t get dates."

Related resources:
www.donnamimosa.com/home.asp
However you decide to celebrate March 8, try sending these animated greetings in Flash…

Italy by Numbers: “Brick Fever”

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60% Italians think home buying is best investment
14.1% Italians currently interested in buying homes
+17% home price increase (1999-2001)
Casa dolce casa. Italians are increasingly more afflicted by "brick fever" (la febbre del mattone), and national statistics institute Censis predicts the frenzy will last until 2004. Some 800,000 Italians bought homes last year, causing a price increase of about eight percent. Inhabitants of the Bel Paese were less interested in investments considered riskier, like stocks, which dropped by 5.9% in 2001. More than half of all Italians, 67.6%, live in a home they own and only 22% are renters.

Restoring a Home in Italy
Live the dream of owning an home in Italy….

Web wise: March 5-12

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Chocolate Feast/Fest in Rome ? Italian practice: city residents publish personal diaries ? Barilla Celebrates 125 Year Anniversary ? What’s underneath next winter’s collectionsChocolate Feast/Fest in Rome
Not just Perugia: Italy’s most famed chocolate feast has doubled the dates…For a dietetic look at what’s going on in Rome (the edible Vespa & chocolate architecture exhibit are just a few winning ideas) until March 10.
www.eurochocolate.roma.it

What’s underneath next winter’s collections
Get an eyeful of the slinky lingerie looks presented by Italian designers in Milan during the 2003 winter collections….Photos & video (requires real video media player).
http://valeoggi.tiscali.it/news/200202/28/3c7ce66405aa5
www.tg5.it/cgi-bin/video/video?mms://video.jumpy.it/tg5/verissimo/0228sfilata.wmv

Italian practice: city residents publish personal diaries
A fascinating look at daily life of Italians with this diary project: since 1984 the town of Pieve Santo Stefano has collected over 4,000 autobiographies..The online version publishes a one new each month, from the self-proclaimed "City of Diaries."
www.archiviodiari.it/primapersona.htm

Barilla Celebrates 125 Year Anniversary
One of Italy’s most famed pasta companies celebrates a landmark anniversary with a deviation from its usually sticky sweet commercials: this one was written by author Alessandro Baricco & directed by Wim Wenders. The image of a wheat harvest is overrun with surreal images of Italy’s recent history…Runs on Media Player, Quick Time,
Real player.
www.barilla125anni.it

Museum Prices Post Euro

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The Italian government made a solemn promise to protect consumers from unfair price hikes because of the changeover from lire to euro. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in state-run museums: some ticket prices for star attractions increased by 25%. To be fair, some ticket prices were rounded down, but for venues such as Rome’s Museum of Musical Instruments.
Here’s an overview of what it will cost you to visit some of Italy’s most interesting attractions — the sites totaled would run almost 70$ (77.5 e). Keep in mind the list is fairly short because the multitude of private museums and churches which charge entrance fees did not release new price lists.
To convert into your currency:

www.x-rates.com/calculator.html

Florence Ticket Price Galleria dell’Accademia
www.sbas.firenze.it 6.50

Galleria degli Uffizi  http://musa.uffizi.firenze.it

 

6.50

Medici Chapels
www.sbas.firenze.it

4.00

Boboli Gardens

 

2.00

Rome

Ticket Price

Coluseum/Palatine gallery

www.archeorm.arti.

8.00

Domus Aurea

 

5.00 Baths of Caracalla 5.00 Galleria Borghese
www.galleriaborghese.it
   6.50 Venice Ticket Price Galleria dell’Accademia 6.50     Pompei 8,50 Paestum 6,50 Capri (Blue Grotto) 4.00

Ercolano

 

8.50