To our readers, the Best of 2012 – Happy New Year!

Here we are with L’Italo-Americano last issue of 2012. Another year has gone and we couldn’t be happier with what we –you readers and we the staff- have done together.

 

We are here to capture all the best of our Country and share it with you, and for the second year we have selected the top 5 events we had the pleasure of being involved in. Enjoy the Best of 2012 … according to L’Italo-Americano!

 

N.5) August 2012. Major of Rome Gianni Alemanno visits Los Angeles, where he meets Major Antonio Villaraigosa; at the same time, the Getty Villa discloses the exhibit Lion attacking a Horse that hosts a statue from the Capitoline Museums in Rome, on view outside the capital for the first time in over two millennia. The event aims at strengthening the collaboration between Italy and the US, two “globus-cities” that can share and learn a lot from each other in terms of history, environment, technology and arts. The meeting between Alemanno and Villaraigosa will hopefully lead to future initiatives and exchanges between two of the most fascinating cities in the world.

 

N.4) November 2012. Italian Ambassador in Washington Claudio Bisogniero arrives in Los Angeles for his first official visit. His attention goes to the many Italians who live and work in California as researchers and specialized workers, and to the numerous Italian-American communities based here, which are incredibly active in the preservation and promotion of the Italian heritage. “I just want you to know you can rely on the Italian Institutions and on the entire Sistema Italia” declared the Ambassador.

 

N.3) February 2012 – Dante Ferretti and Francesca Lo Schiavo win their 3rd Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Production Designer him, and Set Decorator her), this time with Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. The winning couple –in cinema and life- had already won the award for Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator and Tim Burton’s Sweenie Todd. Proud of the results achieved, Lo Schiavo publicly dedicates her award to Italy.

 

N.2) November 2012 – LACMA and the Getty Center simultaneously unveil exhibitions featuring seven paintings by Giotto di Bondone (1267-1337) and eight by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), showing the strong influence Italians had in painting. No other foreign country ever hosted before the same number of paintings by incredible Giotto and Caravaggio.

 

N.1) May 20, 2012 – A magnitude 6 earthquake hits the Italian region of Emilia Romagna, the worst earthquake to strike the area in more than 700 years.

June 29, 2012 – L’Italo-Americano joins forces with Consulate General of Italy, Italian Cultural Institute, Italian Trade Commission, Italy-America Chamber of Commerce West, COM.IT.ES. and ENIT to raise funds for the reconstruction works of the Ferrara City Theatre, a beautiful historical site and among the most important centers of the cultural life in northern Italy.

 

The theatre receives from Los Angeles over $19,000.00. We are proud and happy of the support demonstrated by Italians and Americans. Even if so far, we can make a difference for our country.