Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Toronto

ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI CULTURA
NEWSLETTER
496 Huron Street, Toronto
 416.921.3802 ext. 221
 iictoronto@esteri.it
Gallery hours:
Monday - Friday: 10:00am-1:00pm;
2:30pm-5:00pm (and by appointment)
Free admission
Infoline: 416-921-3802 ext. 221
The 37 black-and-white photographs of
Aurelio Amendola capture in unexpected
ways the sensuality and tragic force
emanating from the statues carved by
Michelangelo. His lens seems to coincide
and overlap with the sculptor’s eye at the
moment of observing the different angles of
the marble surface. From the Dying Slave
of the Louvre, to the statues of Sagrestia
Nuova of San Lorenzo, to the Pietà
Rondanini of Milano, to the Crouching
Boy of St. Petersburg, Amendola offers a
sophisticated and unexpectedly new vision
of Michelangelo’s works, by being able to
capture every little sign left by the artist in
creating his work.
PHOTOGRAPHY
In concurrence with the exhibition
Michelangelo: Quest for Genius, which
features 30 drawings from Casa Buonarroti
in Florence, held at the Art Gallery of
Ontario (October 18 – January 11), the
Istituto Italiano di Cultura is proud to
present the photographic exhibition
MICHELANGELO’S SCULPTURES
THROUGH THE LENS OF AURELIO
AMENDOLA
Wednesday, October 1
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Through Monday, January 12, 2015.
Bio
Over his long career as art photographer,
Pistoia native Aurelio Amendola has
developed a special sensibility for the world
of sculpture, by documenting the works of
Jacopo Della Quercia, Michelangelo
and
Donatello, and by illustrating
single works and monuments such as the
Pistoiese pulpit of Giovanni Pisano,
the Robbiano Frieze at the Ospedale
del Ceppo, also in Pistoia, Santa Maria
della Spina and the Battistero in Pisa,
St. Peter’s in the Vatican. This last work,
the first of a series dedicated to the great
themes of Italian art visited according to the
photographer’s personal outlook, presents a
completely new iconography, calibrated on
the “taglio”: by taking advantage of a rare
occasion of a contact without restraint with
Bernini monuments, Amendola is able to
capture the most unexpected and detailed
point of view. This becomes his artistic
style in many of his subsequent works. In
1994 his book Un occhio su Michelangelo
– dedicated to the Medici Chapel in San
Lorenzo, Florence – won the “Premio
NOVEMBER 2014
Oscar Goldoni”. In 1995 an exhibition
on this same theme was organized in
Milan at the Palazzo Reale by the City’s
Administration. In 1997 he was awarded
the “Cino da Pistoia”, a prestigious career
prize. In 2014, 23 of his large-format
photographs of Michelangelo’s sculptures
have been exhibited at the Medici Chapels
in Florence to commemorate 450 years of
the great Renaissance artist’s death. On
the occasion the publishing house UTET
Grandi Opere-FMR published the precious
limited-edition volume Michelangelo, la
dotta mano, featuring 83 photographs
by Aurelio Amendola. Contemporary art
represents the opposite pole of great interest
for Amendola, who through the years
has been able to collect a true gallery of
portraits, comprising the most renowned
masters of the twentieth century like
De Chirico, Lichtenstein, Pomodoro,
Schifano, Kosuth, Warhol, to name but a
few. This collection, which is daily refreshed
with unaltered passion, updating the names
and the most cutting-edge artistic trends,
acquires special cultural and human value
thanks to the long friendships between the
photographer and the artists.
ART
The Art Gallery of Ontario, in collaboration
with Casa Buonarroti, Florence, presents
MICHELANGELO:
QUEST FOR GENIUS
An exhibit of 30 drawings by Michelangelo’s
hand.
October 18, 2014 - January 11, 2015
Art Gallery of Ontario
317 Dundas Street West Toronto
For tickets http://bit.ly/Yevw0g
20% OFF WHEN YOU USE CODE ICI
Infoline 1-877-225-4246 or 416-979-6648
These drawings are among the best of the
esteemed Casa Buonarroti’s collection and
represent the range of Michelangelo’s work.
Dating from before and after the completion
of the Sistine Chapel, the works on
display include preliminary drawings
–both architectural and figural sketches– as
well as presentation drawings. Organized
thematically, the exhibition takes a critical
look at the notion of the genius at work,
locating the creative search at the axis
of ambition, exploration, frustration,
defiance and unrealized dreams. Drawings
will be grouped according to these
issues. Developed by Lloyd DeWitt,
curator of European Art at the AGO,
and David Wistow, interpretive planner,
Michelangelo: Quest for Genius will
feature computer animations that bring to
life some of Michelangelo’s most ambitious
and ultimately unfinished designs.
For more info. http://bit.ly/1qzi39K
SPECIAL EVENTS
The goal of this screening is to embrace
those nations that for different reasons
were involved in historical events which
has marked humanity. Some of them are
still today involved in strong conflicts. All
are the recipient of a message for peace
that the Italian director sends through his
latest movie that will be screened in: Paris,
London, Peking, Washington, Pristina,
Bethlehem, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Algiers,
Khartoum, Bogotá, Seoul, Islamabad, and
Cape Town. These are only a few of the
cities worldwide participating in this event.
Torneranno i prati (2014)
Directed by: Ermanno Olmi
Duration: 80min Country: Italy
Language: Italian (with English subtitles)
Cast: Claudio Santamaria, Alessandro
Sperduti, Francesco Formichetti
Synopsis:
We are at the North-East frontline, after the
last bloody battles of 1917 on the Plateau.
Events happens always in an unpredictable
succession: sometimes there are long waits,
where fear makes you count each moment,
until it’s your time. So that the peace of
the mountain becomes the place where
you find death. Everything in this film has
actually happened. Since the past belongs
to memory, everyone can recall it according
to their sensations.
Press Kit available at http://bit.ly/iictoronto.
On the occasion of the First World War
Centenary, the Presidenza del Consiglio
dei Ministri – Struttura di Missione per
gli anniversari di interesse nazionale,
Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali
e del Turismo, Cinemaundici, Ipotesi
Cinema, Rai Cinema, in collaboration with
the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Toronto and
the Columbus Centre, present the screening
of
FOOD AND WINE
A JOURNEY THROUGH ITALIAN
CHEESE
With Gaia Massai
Thursday, November 6, 2014 - 6:30 pm
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
RSVP to iictoronto@esteri.it
“TORNERANNO I PRATI”
A $10 contribution will be accepted at the door
A movie by Ermanno Olmi.
With more than 500 surveyed cheese
varieties, Italy presents one of the most
diverse- and tasty- scenarios in the world.
How cheese was initially made and how
has it evolved in the centuries? What is
the difference
bet ween
Tuesday, November 4, 2014 – 6:30pm
Columbus Centre, Lower Gallery
901 Lawrence Ave W, Toronto
Free admission
Infoline: 416.921.3802 ext. 221
This worldwide event premiering in Rome
with the attendance of the President of
the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano,
will take place simultaneously in 120
Italian centres abroad.
artisanal and industrial cheese making?
What is the best way to store, serve and
pair cheese? We will talk of these and
many other aspects of this key ingredient of
Italian cuisine. At the end of the lecture we
will taste 5 different cheeses, all imported
directly from Italy.
Gaia Massai is an expert on modern Italian
wine and olive oil production and their
cultural ramification. She helps managing
the Fattoria di San Quintino, her family’s
200 hectare estate that comprises 20
hectares of vineyards and 3000 olive trees,
situated between Florence and Pisa. Gaia is
also the founder of Gaia’s Plate, a company
through which she brings her Tuscan Extra
Virgin Olive Oil into Canada and that is
focused on traditional Italian food and
culture education. She obtained her Ph.D.
in Environmental Science and Conservation
of Nature (University of Florence) in 2003
and has been living in Toronto since the
end of 2007.
Main topics
• Brief history of cheese
• The good, the bad and the ugly:
from artisanal to imitation cheese
• How is cheese made?
• Why cheese makes people happy
• How to taste and serve cheese
• Italy’s fabulous five:
Piave, Pecorino Toscano, Taleggio,
Parmigiano Reggiano and Gorzonzola
MUSIC
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura is pleased to
support the Memorial Concert for Massimo
Nosetti, organized by Organix.
MEMORIAL CONCERT FOR
MASSIMO NOSETTI
November 12, 2014 - 7:30pm
St. Paul’s Anglican Church
227 Bloor Street East, Toronto
Tickets: General Admission $30, Seniors:
$25 and Students/RCCO/RSCM or
AGO Members: $20 (plus HST)
Tickets: www.organixconcerts.ca/tickets.php
Details at: www.organixconcerts.
ca/program.php?id=32
Thursday, November 13: 4:00pm-6:00pm
100 St. Joseph Street
Carr Hall 404
Free admission
Massimo Nosetti - Bio:
Organist, Composer, Conductor, ORGANIX
alumnus and friend, Massimo Nosetti
died November 12, 2013, of cancer at the
age of 53. Born in Alessandria, Italy, he was
titular organist of the Cathedral of St. John
the Baptist and the Church of St. Rita in
Turin. He taught organ and composition
at the conservatory of Cuneo, and led
numerous masterclasses in romantic and
post-romantic organ literature, especially
in Japan, Korea, and the United States.
He conducted both orchestral and choral
groups, including Cantus Firmus, the
choral group he founded. Nosetti was also
a composer, primarily of organ and choral
works. A member of the diocesan sacred
music commission, Nosetti was active in
the Associazione Italiana Santa Cecilia,
of which he served as vice president from
1999 – 2004. Massimo participated in
ORGANIX three times with his last
performance in ORGANIX 12 when
he performed a major concert program
(Bossi Concerto in A minor, op. 100 and
Rheinberger Concerto in G minor, op.
177) with a 33 piece orchestra under the
direction of Maestro Philip Sarabura and
virtuoso trumpeter, Michael Barth.
PUBLISHING
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura and the
Department of Italian Studies at the
University of Toronto are delighted to present
FROM PINOCCHIO TO HARRY
POTTER, FROM 1862 TO 2014:
The World of Publishing in Italy Through
the Eyes of the Adriano Salani Editore
The lecture will give an overview of the
publishing market in Italy –dominated
by large editorial groups but also a huge
number of small family imprints– through
the publications of
Adriano Salani
editore. Established in Florence in 1862,
Salani is one of the oldest publishing houses
still in business. Its catalogue includes
international authors and Italian authors
translated into many languages. Its history
is the history of a country through two
centuries. Its illustrations anticipates the
arrival of new media.
Mariagrazia Mazzitelli graduated in
Foreign Languages and received her
doctorate in Russian Literature in 1985.
In the same year she started working in
publishing as editor at Electa, leader in art
and architecture books; later she continued
in the educational division of Elemond
(Electa, Einaudi, Mondadori) in charge
of a cultural review. Since 1995 she joined
Salani (an imprint of GEMS Gruppo
Editoriale Mauri Spagnol, the first
independent publishing group in Italy), and
in 2000 she was named editorial director
for adult and children’s books. In the recent
years she has been invited to take part in
many international and national literary
and editorial events. She lives and works in
Milan.
INSPIRE!
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL BOOK
FAIR, 2014
With Mariagrazia Mazzitelli.
Adriano Salani Editore.
Mariagrazia Mazzitelli, publisher of
Adriano Salani Editore, will participate in
the publishing industry panel at INSPIRE!
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL BOOK
FAIR (November 13-16, 2014).
Saturday, November 15,
11:00am - 12:00pm
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
(N. Building)
For tickets: http://bit.ly/1xhVyeD
The topic of the panel is “The State of
the Publishing Industry Today, including
successes and challenges”, and it is
moderated by David Caron, Co-Publisher
at ECW Press.
The panelists are: Neeta Gupta, Yatra Books
(India); Mariagrazia Mazzitelli, Salani
Editore (Italy); Tanya Batson-Savage, Blue
Moon Publishing (Jamaica).
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura together
with EUNIC, the network of the European
cultural institutes of Toronto formed by
Alliance Française de Toronto, Camões
Toronto, Goethe-Institut Toronto and
Istituto Italiano di Cultura, will be sharing
a stand on the following days: Nov. 14, 15
and 16. Come and visit us!
INSPIRE!
Toronto International Book Fair
Canada’s book exposition for all things print
and digital.
November 13- 16, 2014
Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
A lecture by Mariagrazia Mazzitelli,
editorial director of Adriano Salani.
The lecture is part of the Goggio Lectures
and International Conferences hosted by
the Department of Italian Studies at the
University of Toronto.
Proud member of the
Bloor Street Culture Corridor
Synopsis:
Elena and Antonio are not made for each
other: they are too different, in terms
of character, life choices, worldview
and the way they relate to others. They
are total opposites. However they are
overwhelmed by a mutual attraction
that they should avoid. Not only because
they are not compatible, but also because
Elena is engaged to Giorgio, and Antonio
is engaged to Silvia, who is Elena’s best
friend. Plus Fabio, Elena’s best friend, hates
Antonio because he is openly homophobic.
However, everyone will have to deal with
the unexpected in a sudden storm of passion
that changes all the rules of the game of
their relationships. This will not be the only
turbulence in Elena’s life.
The Royal Cinema
608 College St. West, Toronto
EUROPEAN UNION FILM FESTIVAL IN
TORONTO 2014 - 10TH ANNIVERSARY
www.eutorontofilmfest.ca
15 days of festival plus 1 for the screening
of the Audience Choice Award, Best EUFF
film.
This year’s edition presents a line up of
28 features from different EU member
countries and 3 documentaries.
EUFF screenings are FREE with the
exception of the Opening Night, an
exclusive VIP event that includes a reception
at Mod Club. Open to the public for $25.
For tickets: http://bit.ly/1zpdBVK
Opening Night film will have a FREE
encore screening on November 30
Entrance on a First Come, First Served Basis.
All films subtitled in English unless noted.
All films 18 and over unless noted
CINEMA
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura is proud to
announce the
EUROPEAN UNION FILM FESTIVAL IN
TORONTO 2014 - 10TH ANNIVERSARY
The Festival kicks off with the Canadian
Premiere of renowned Italian-Turkish
filmmaker, Ferzan Ozpetek’s highly
anticipated 10th feature
ALLACCIATE LE CINTURE/
FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS.
Saturday, November 15 - 9:00pm
Sunday, November 30 - 3:00pm
ALLACCIATE LE CINTURE
(FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS)
Country: Italy
Director: Ferzan Ozpetek
Cast: Kasia Smutniak, Francesco Arca,
Filippo Scicchitano
Genre: Drama
Language: Italian
Runtime: 110 minutes
Release Date: 2014
www.allacciatelecinture.com
Vote for the EUFF Audience Award
after each screening: the winner will be
announced on Saturday, November 29 and
the film screened the following day.
Advance Reservation: $10 (all
service fees included)
MUSIC
INTRODUCTION TO
ROSSINI’S ‘WILLIAM TELL’
By IAIN SCOTT at the IIC
On Friday, December 5, 2014 Teatro
Regio di Torino hosted by the Toronto
Symphony Orchestra will perform
Rossini’s William Tell with
Mo.
Gianandrea Noseda, conductor (http://bit.
ly/1tFKYPQ). On this occasion the Istituto
Italiano di Cultura will host a presentation
of Rossini’s William Tell by Iain Scott as
part of a special ticket package.
Presentation:
Monday, November 24 – 6:30pm
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
$500 ticket package includes:
• A pre-concert reception with Piemontese
wine and food specialties
ART
On the occasion of the exhibition
Michelangelo: Quest for Genius, which
features 30 drawings from Casa Buonarroti
in Florence, held at the Art Gallery of
Ontario (October 18–January 11), the
Istituto Italiano di Cultura presents
• Premium seating at the performance
MICHELANGELO:
HIS POETRY AND HIS WORLD
• A post-concert toast with Maestro
A talk by Sarah Rolfe Prodan (University of
Toronto).
(and two intermission receptions)
Noseda and the artists
To purchase tickets, or for more information,
please contact Kate Millar at 416.593.7769
(261); kmillar@TSO.CA by November 14,
2014. 6:00pm 7:00pm 11:00pm
William Tell (French: Guillaume Tell,
Italian: Guglielmo Tell).
Music composed by Gioacchino Rossini.
Libretto by Étienne de Jouy and HippolyteLouis-Florent Bis based on Friedrich von
Schiller’s Wilhelm Tell.
First Performance: Aug. 3, 1829, Paris Opéra.
The overture, with its famous finale, “March
Of The Swiss Soldiers,” is a major part of
the concert and recording repertoire.
Synopsis:
Arnold, a Swiss patriot and son of the
venerable Swiss
leader, Melcthal,
has saved from
drowning Matilda,
daughter of the
Austrian tyrant
Gessler, whom
the Swiss abhor.
Arnold and
Matilda have
fallen in love
with each other.
Wed., November 19 - 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Free admission
Infoline: 416-921-3802 ext. 221
In addition to being an artistic genius,
Michelangelo was a determined and
distinctive poet. The verses he left behind
include spontaneously scribbled fragments
near drawings and on the reverse of letters
as well as more laboriously developed
compositions, written and re-written
multiple times and in different conceptual
directions. Ranging broadly from highly
expressive and entertaining ludic pieces,
through philosophically profound and
technologically precise reflections on art
and artistic creation, to some of the most
complex and compelling spiritual poetry
and amorous verses in the Italian language,
Michelangelo’s writings were put to music
by two of the foremost composers of his day.
Since the public first received his poetry
in this way, it has been seen as a personal
diary, on the one hand, and as a serious
literary corpus on the other. Through an
examination of Michelangelo’s poetic
activity – his verses, the pages on which
they were composed, and their fortune–
this talk will shed light on the artist, his
work and his world.
LITERATURE
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura, along with
EUNIC, the network of the European cultural
institutes of Toronto formed by Alliance
Française de Toronto, Camões Toronto,
Goethe-Institut Toronto and Istituto
Italiano di Cultura, invites you to their next
book club meeting for the presentation and
discussion of
MY BRILLIANT FRIEND
By Elena Ferrante
Moderated by Franco Gallippi.
Saturday, November 29 - 2:00 pm.
Istituto Italiano di Cultura
Free admission
Infoline: 416.921.3802 ext. 221
RSVP: iictoronto@esteri.it
Both the English and the Italian editions
are available at the Toronto Public Libraries
Ferrante, Elena. My Brilliant Friend.
New York. Europe Editions, 2011.
The city of Naples seen through the
friendship between Elena and Lila.
About the book
The novel begins in the present. After the
prologue, the entire story is a flashback that
feeds on the memories of Elena, narrator
and character. The event that triggers
Elena’s memory is the disappearance of Lila,
her best friend. Elena tells the story of their
childhood and adolescence growing up in
a working-class neighbourhood in Naples.
The many episodes described are like an
itinerary of the various stages that lead Elena
and Lila to the threshold of adulthood. The
city of Naples is seen through the filter of
their experiences, and everything they do is
conditioned by the limits and possibilities
imposed by the context in which they live.
Going to school, for example, is considered
an opportunity for redemption, escape,
emancipation, but also an abstract entity
that is too distant from the everyday
social problems of a city like Naples.
Consequently, the exchange between Elena
and Lila is often manifested through the
contrast and interaction between life and
books, practice and theory. The book can
be divided in several dominating themes:
the art of writing, the question of the past
compared to the present, the relevance
of school, and the city of Naples. Among
these, the theme that is most prominent
concerns the art of writing; particularly the
gift of writing that Lila seems to possess,
and Elena admires and eventually acquires
after years of study. It is that special kind
of writing that readers experience when
reading Elena Ferrante’s novels.
Bios
Elena Ferrante is author of L’amore molesto
(Troubling Love), which was adapted
for the screen by Mario Martone. Her
subsequent novel, I giorni dell’abbandono
(The Days of Abandonment) was also made
into a film by Roberto Faenza, starring
Luca Zingaretti and Margherita Buy. In
the book La frantumaglia (Fragments) she
shares her experience as a writer. In 2006,
Edizioni E/O published the novel La figlia
oscura (The Lost Daughter), in 2007 the
children’s story La spiaggia di notte, and
in 2011 the first volume of L’amica geniale
(My Brilliant Friend), followed by the
second volume in 2012, Storia del nuovo
cognome (The Story of a New Name), and
the third in 2013, Storia di chi fugge e di
chi resta (Those Who Leave and Those
Who Stay) (Dalla copertina Edizioni E/O).
SCIENCE
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura in
collaboration with the Royal Canadian
Institute (RCI) for the Advancement of
Science presents
ITALY:
THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN
THE FIGHT AGAINST HIV/AIDS
A lecture by Professor Arnaldo Caruso.
Sunday, November 30 - 2:00pm.
J.J.R. Macleod Auditorium, Medical
Sciences Building, University of Toronto
1 King’s College Circle
(Queen’s Park Subway Station)
Free admission
Infoline: 416-921-3802 ext. 221
A solution to prevent the devastating effects
of the HIV virus has been studied for the
past 30 years. Finally the international
team of researchers coordinated by Dr.
Arnaldo Caruso in collaboration with
Robert Gallo (director and co-founder of
the Institute of Human Virology at the
University of Maryland School of Medicine
in Baltimore, Maryland) created a vaccine
called AT20 - that is able to both suppress
the HIV-1 virus replication and improve
the immune system response. The medical
magazine Vaccine recently reported the
results of research conducted by the Section
of Microbiology of the University of Brescia
in Italy.
Prof. Caruso will hold a lecture about this
topic for the first time in Canada.
Abstract
Highly active antiretroviral therapy
(HAART) has been effective in suppressing
HIV-1 virus replication and improving
immune system response, leading to
reduced mortality among HIV positive
patients. However, this therapy requires
lifelong use, creates side effects and is costly.
Therapeutic vaccination is a promising
novel approach to treat HIV-1-infected
patients. This therapy boosts or redirects the
immune system to neutralize critical HIV1 proteins, including p17, a protein with
an important role in triggering immune
system problems. We have evaluated a
vaccine in a Phase-1 clinical trial in which
HIV-1 patients developed antibodies that
neutralized the effects of the p17 protein.
Bio
Arnaldo Caruso born in Cosenza (Italy)
in 1957, became Medical Doctor at the
University of Milan in 1982; Specialist
in Microbiology and Virology at the
University of Brescia in 1988; Visiting
Fellow from October 1983 to October 1985
at the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology
and Biology, National Cancer Institute,
National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,
Maryland, U.S.A.. Full Professor of
Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology
at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of
Brescia University from October 2001 to
date. He became Director of the “Laboratory
of Pediatric Microbiology and Virology”,
Hospital Umberto I, Spedali Civili of
Brescia, from January 1, 2003. He is one
of the founders of the Italian Society for
Medical Virology (SIVIM). His scientific
activity is documented by more than 130
publications on international Journals.
He is Responsible for different Research
projects supported by grants of the Istituto
Superiore di Sanità, MIUR and privates.
He realized scientific collaborations with
different National and International
Research Institutes.
The Istituto Italiano di Cultura and the
RCI have been partnering for a number of
years featuring Italian scientists. Among
them mathematician and popular science
essayist Piergiorgio Odifreddi, sociologist
and a scholar of the relationships among
science, technology and society Massimiano
Bucchi, forensic engineer Donato Firrao.
EVENTS ELSEWHERE

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