L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2021 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 2 L 'Italo-Americano could launch an international prize in Italian identity. And we could do it with good reason, considering we've been promoting and giving voice to Italian culture, language, identita- rian dimension, and the immense he- ritage of the Italian-American commu- nity for 113 years. In this year of rebirth, of slow but confident recovery after the heavy pandemic setback, we could be- gin to consider October, the Month of Italian Heritage, as the right moment to thank, from these pages, those who give excellent reasons to be proud of our tricolore. This year, Italy and the West Coast have good reasons to celebrate: the Nobel Prize in physics Parisi and Piano: worthy of L'Italo-Americano's Italian Identity Award From the Editor went to Giorgio Parisi and Italy's research, while the LA skyline can be proud of its new, wonderful Academy Museum, a symbol of new beginnings for the cinema, culture and tourist industry, which is key to the city's identity. Yes, we could award the Nobel-winning theoretical physicist and starchitect Renzo Piano. Two personalities doubly connected. First in their origins. Parisi's father and grandfather were construction workers and young Giorgio was encouraged to become an engineer. But he was more attracted by the com- plex abstractions of his science and mathematics books and wanted to study something innovative. He was attracted by the adventurous nature of researchers, who consider physics the field where the most difficult intellectual challenges are played. Renzo Piano also comes from a family of construc- tion workers that allowed him to understand "construction site life" at a very young age and to practice the profession. He was selected as one of the 100 most influential people in the world and won the Pritzker Prize, which is considered as a Nobel in architecture: to win it, you need a combination of talent, vision, and commitment, and you must be able to give consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the environment through the art of architecture. The second connection comes from their award-winning career: both, to achieve their precious results, always had their heads in the clouds. Yes, we could launch L'Italo- Americano award by transforming that "... and the Oscar goes to ..." into " … and the head in the clouds goes to ...". This is a beautiful Italian expression we use when someo- ne is thinking about something, distracted, absorbed in their thoughts, disconnected from reality, and we want them to come back to earth and get back in touch with the world around them. But it's amazing to think that up there, in the clouds, lies the visionary ability to find solutions and ideas that no one has ever had, and there is enough distance to analyze problems, to evaluate and ponder them, to find the right solution. Up there, where we can breathe oxygen and not pollution, our eyes enjoy a panorama that goes well beyond what has been seen, built, discovered, and known already. Basically, among those clouds, we can be creative and genial, we can fly and we can think deeply. But after the illumination, it's time to come back to Earth. Abstraction, intuition, geniality must set down their roots somewhere, just like an absent- minded person must return to concentrate on the work they were doing. Yet, that look, that staring into space with a dreamy or thoughtful expression is precious, because it heralds something new, it heralds creative outcomes. Parisi and Piano, each in their field, are just like that, with their heads up in the clouds, ready to write new stories, to trace new avenues for the world to follow. Just like Socrates in Aristophanes' The Clouds, represented for the first time in Athens in 423 BC. Back then, philosophers and thinkers were leading an intellectual revolution that was at the origin of European culture as we know it, but that was viewed with suspicion in the city's most conservative circles, which consi- dered it a threat to official religion and traditional values. Aristophanes, who was a traditionalist and against new phi- losophies, gave us a Socrates suspended in the air inside a basket. The philosopher would explain that being up there allowed him to free his mind and let his thoughts fly high up in the air, and that, by doing so, he could make incredible discoveries. Almost 2500 years later, it's evident that Aristophanes has been punished by his own very parody and the lesson to learn is clear: not everyone can overthrow tra- ditional values systems, but who does it leaves a mark, just like Socrates. Simone Schiavinato, Editor Simone Schiavinato NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Member of FUSIE (Federazione Unitaria Stampa Italiana all'Estero), COGITO L'Italo-Americano 610 West Foothill Blvd. Unit D, Monrovia, CA 91016 - Tel.: (626) 359-7715 PLEASE SEND CORRESPONDENCE TO P.O. BOX 6528, ALTADENA, CA 91003 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano Newspaper (a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization), www.italoamericano.org, is the largest and longest-running Italian newspaper in America, not to mention the cultural and news resource for all things Italian in the US. A bilingual newspaper which represents an historical landmark for the Italian American Communities in the West Coast and throughout the US. L'Italo-Americano benefits from subsidies by the Italian Government, Memberships and Donations intended to support and not interrupt a mission that began in 1908 to preserve and promote the Italian language and culture in the USA Periodicals postage paid at Monrovia, California 91016, and additional mailing offices. PUBLISHER Robert Barbera Grande Ufficiale EDITOR IN CHIEF Simone Schiavinato ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Patrick Abbate EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Barbara Minafra COPY EDITOR Francesca Bezzone LOS ANGELES CONTRIBUTOR Silvia Giudici SAN FRANCISCO CONTRIBUTORS Catherine Accardi Serena Perfetto SEATTLE CONTRIBUTOR Rita Cipalla CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Mariella Radaelli, Francesca Bezzone, Luca Ferrari, Stefano Carnevali, Chiara D'Alessio, Paula Reynolds, Nicoletta Curradi, GenerosoD'Agnese, Fabrizio Del Bimbo, Maria Gloria, Alfonso Guerriero Jr., Anthony Di Renzo Serena Perfetto, Kenneth Scambray, Chiara D'Alessio © 2020 L'Italo-Americano Membership: One year $59 - Single copy $2.25 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to L'Italo Americano PO Box 6528 Altadena, CA 91003 Mail form and check to L'Italo-Americano, P.O.BOX 6528, ALTADENA, CA 91003 Selling Homes Throughout The Bay Area Adele Della Santina "The Right Realtor makes all the di昀erence." 650.400.4747 Adele.DellaSantina@compass.com www.AdeleDS.com DRE# 00911740 Expert in preparation, promotion, and negotiation!

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