L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 9, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 4 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS T he new generation of Italians coming to the U S is a w elcomed repeat performance, one that has been ongoing for over 100 years. Ital- ian immigrants have historically brought generous amounts of flair, dedication and creative tal- ent from the old country. Newer arrivals are bringing with them fresh ideas and boundless energy to the San Francisco Bay Area. One example of that new spirit is Mauro Aprile Zanetti. One only needs to sit down with Mauro, in one of North Beach's cafés of course, to quickly realize his creative pas- sion. Recently, L'Italo Ameri- cano had the opportunity to meet and chat with him one on one. Mauro was born in Sicily in 1974 and alludes to his humble beginnings as the catalyst for future success when he says, "My poverty was my richness. I owe everything to that kind of world." At the age of 18, he moved to Tuscany to complete his higher education, cum laude, at the University of Pisa, writing his thesis on the "Theory and tech- nique of film-making, audiovisu- al communication and new media." Mauro's critical essay on Martin Scorsese's remake of the film Cape Fear lead to his selec- tion to join the national jury at the Mostra Internazionale del Cinema di Venezia. In 2004, Mille Piani published his homonym book-catalog. He also wrote and directed a docudrama on people with disabilities, DiversabilMente Uguali, editing a monologue after poet Dario Tumino. In 2006, Mauro collab- orated with Italian singer-song writer Vinicio Capossela for the creation of a video-clip series, Ovunque proteggi, and later directed the live-drama Nel Niente Sotto il Sole. In addition, Mauro is a multi- lingual polymath and published author, San Francisco-based since January 2012, after a ten- year period spent between Milan and New York City. He is also a multimedia brand strategist (writing, film-making, public speaking) spanning diplomatic and art institutions to startups and individuals. Mauro writes for several key national Italian media and also specializes in the "Made in Italy brand," aka, internationalization of Italy: cul- ture, lifestyle, design, fashion, and technology. After moving to San Francis- co, Mauro quickly became a moving force in the City's cre- ative fabric. Of San Francisco he says, "I felt here in the Bay Area I could unleash my Renais- sance background." It was at this time that he met San Francisco landmark, poet, publisher and artist, Lawrence Ferlinghetti. Of this meeting Mauro says, "We met by chance and there was an instant understanding, a sparkle."In 2015 he curated Fer- linghetti's painting exhibition, Fluxare – The European Con- nexion, editing the booklet Il Verbo Fluxare. From there, Mauro and Ferlinghetti devel- oped a strong friendship which continues to this day. He has since become Ferlinghetti's Assistant-Secretary. For the 2013 Year of Italian Culture in the United States, on behalf of the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, Mauro created and directed a video series called, Cultural Ambas- sadors Circle, one of which he dedicated to Ferlinghetti. L'Italo Americano asked Mauro to share his perspective on the new generation of Italian Americans. "According to recently released data from SVIMEZ (Association for the Development of Industry in the Center-South of Italy), in the last 16 years almost 2 million young people between the ages of 15 and 34 (15% of which are highly educated) left Italy, seeking a better life and work abroad. "Recently, Italian mathemati- cian Alessio Figalli was awarded the Fields Medal (often described as the Nobel Prize of mathematics), and he decided, in order to reach his goals, he would need to leave Italy, first coming to the US and now cur- rently working in Switzerland. La fuga dei cervelli is a real, endless 'brain drain,' while at the same time Italy (Europe in general) is struggling to under- stand how to handle new immi- grants arriving into Il Bel Paese, and how to integrate them. "The U.S., and specifically the San Francisco Bay Area/Sili- con Valley, is the center of some of the most dramatic innovations in the history of mankind, hav- ing attracted in the past half-cen- tury, the most brilliant scientists, innovators, and entrepreneurs from all over the world. "In the past ten years, there have been more and more newly arrived Italians at the top of their fields. Just to mention a few, we have Andrea Calcagno, Chair- man, CEO and co-founder of Cloud4Wi, one of the most amazing start-ups San Francis- co-based and worldwide. The Italian Homemade Company, created by Alice Romagnoli and Mattia Cosmi, is actually rock- ing the food scene in the San Francisco Bay Area. Both com- panies proudly count a great number of young Italians and very talented people in their respective international teams. "There are many top man- agers working for some of the top technology companies, such as Luca Maestri, CFO at Apple (the world's first private-sector company worth $1 trillion). And, we also have a young Consul General of Italy, Lorenzo Ortona, who is a superlative 'capitano' of the Italian commu- nity, masterly bridging the past and the future in the best pre- sent." Recently, Mauro Aprile Zanetti was appointed Chairman of the Leonardo da Vinci Soci- ety and is currently Chief Cre- ative Officer at Eva Flair, a fash- ion start-up platform fostering authentic "Made in Italy" prod- ucts. As an international public relations and communications strategist, he has made a number of presentations discussing the meaning of the "Made in Italy" brand in today's highly competi- tive global market. He explains, "The brand began in Florence in the 1950s and exploded world- wide thanks to Italy's fashion export system in the 1980s and 1990s. 'Made in Italy' creations from fashion and design to food and luxury goods symbolize uniqueness and quality that have their roots in the Renaissance culture of the 'botteghe del- l'arte' and patronage of the arts. Today, Italian creations still reflect the Italian life style, which has an enduring allure, even in the midst of political and economic crises." Mauro's creative energy never seems to stop. On Septem- ber 18, at 7:00, he will be lectur- ing at the U.C. Berkeley's Inter- national House discussing his book on Fellini and Morandi titled La natura morta de la Dolce Vita - A mysterious Morandi in the matrix of Felli- ni's Vision (2008). The lecture is a Leonardo Da Vinci Society event launching the Marcello Mastroianni retrospective at the Castro Theatre on September 22. When asked about other ongoing projects, Mauro was particularly excited to share, "These days I am also working with Lawrence (Ferlinghetti) on his copy edited version of the his new novel, Little Boy, which will be published by Doubleday (Penguin), and which will be released for his 100th birthday in March 2019." This is exciting news and L'Italo Americano will feature the highly anticipated new Ferlinghetti novel in an upcoming issue. Throughout our interview, Mauro referred to the philoso- phers that made a lasting impres- sion on him. One in particular was French philosopher Gilles Deleuze. He cites Deleuze when he explains, "The event is not what happens. The event is what happens as a consequence; the result, the outcome. In other words, the event is not that we met today, the event is what hap- pens from our meeting today." Mauro has promised to col- laborate with L'Italo Americano as he continues to be a moving force on the San Francisco Bay Area scene. Mauro Aprile Zanetti & his wife, entrepreneur Eva Flair . © Mauro Aprile Zanetti Mauro Aprile Zanetti & Stephen Luczo, Executive Director of Seagate Techno- logy. © Bloom 17 MauroAprile Zanetti with Maria Manetti Shrem, Consul General Lorenzo Ortona & other Italians. © Bloom 17 CATHERINE ACCARDI Meet one of San Francisco's new generation of Italians - Mauro Aprile Zanetti

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