L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano PAGE  18 THURS DAY,   JANUARY  3,   2013 Riparte il Futuro – Italy online campaign against corruption ALESSANDRA MASTROIANNI In a few months, Italians will be electing their new Prime minister. Italians all over the world will also have the chance to vote from abroad. It's the first election since the collapse of the financial crisis; this is not only a choice of ideals and political views, but a chance for Italy to re-emerge from one of the worst phases of the latest history. In this social climate and hope for a change is born Riparte il Futuro (Restart the Future), the first entirely digital campaign against corruption signed by Gruppo abele and Libera, two important associations well known for their activism against organized crime. This last one in particular is associated with the name of Luigi Ciotti, leader of several campaigns against organized crime, including the 1,200,000 postcards of "corrotti" addressed to President Giorgio Napolitano last year. Differently from many other previous campaigns, Riparte il Futuro faces corruption as a real economic and financial issue that is mining Italy's stability, rather than a social problem. To fight crime and corruption means to fight a money waste scenario. a few months ago, Transparency International, the global civil society organization leading the fight against corruption, released the official world ranking of corruption, placing Italy at the 72nd place on the list (http://www.transparency.org/cp i2012/results). alberto Vannucci, director of the master in analysis, Prevention and Fighting of the Organized Crime and Corruption at the University of Riparte il Futuro logo Pisa, recently stated that there are no clear data regarding the money Italy wastes or must pay every year because of corruption; however, money wasted for corruption is money taken from citizens' salaries. Each politician running for this upcoming election has now the chance to join the campaign and commit against corruption, offering the electorate a proof of transparency, integrity and responsibility. Politicians' involvement will also give a signal of interest in filling the gap between institutions and citizens, a relationship undermined by a reciprocal lack of faith. How it works. Joining the campaign is very easy. Politicians willing to commit can easily do it through www.riparteilfuturo.it starting January 8, 2013; the list of those joining the campaign will be constantly updated on the website, where everyone will be able to see who is in and who is not, even from abroad. Everyone interested can also subscribe to the website, in order to receive updates. Each politician who intends to participate will be asked to make public on Riparte il Futuro website these basic information; a) his/her detailed resume, including educational and professional career; b) any legal action against him/her, both ongoing or concluded (if at fault); c) his/her income and assets. This point is already mandatory in many other countries and has the only purpose to verify the congruence between income, financial asset and occupation; d) any situation of potential conflict of interest. Currently, Italy doens't have a law that regulates this issue, therefore we think this should be a voluntary act through which a candidate shares with the electorate any situation of potential confict between his own interest and the interest of citizens. e) as last step, we ask the candidate to include as part of his political campaign the commitment to reinforce the law 416, which regulates the connections between politics and mafia. Furthermore, each politician will be given a blank page to share opinions and to propose more commitments he's willing to take. Once completed the procedure, the name of the candidate is added to the list available at www.riparteilfuturo.it. By looking at the list, voters will have the opportunity to make a more conscious choice. 100 days. Riparte il Futuro will support and monitor the adhesions from inside the institutions, to make sure each petitioner is keeping up with his commitment. We expect hundred days to be sufficient to start realizing the and by monitoring institutions and politicians. There's a lot to work on to bring Italy back to a country based on legality. "We truly believe that through Don Luigi Ciotti, leader of Libera association promises made. In fact, each candidate will be given a white bracelet with the 100 days logo, a symbol of the politician's commitment in facing corruption. "The more we are, both at the Parliament and all over the cities of Italy, and the more chances of success we'll have" say the promoters. But their job will continue even after the 100 days; the first results will only be a starting point to enhance and improve the campaign. Starting in Fall 2013, they will focus on new commitments related to the fight against crime, by launching further campaigns the white bracelets the future can start again" declare the organizers. Visit Riparte il Futuro, and don't forget to vote! For information on how to vote from abroad, please visit the webpage of the Consulate General of Italy athttp://www.conslosangeles.est eri.it/Consolato_Losangeles/me nu/I_Servizi/Per_i_cittadini/Serv izi_elettorali/Elezioni_politiche/. On the website the updated list of politicians officially committed against corruption in Italy. This way, every voter will have the chance to make a more transparent choice. Disegno: Drawing in Europe, 1520–1600 Contorted, elongated forms and dramatically animated compositions characterize the emerging artistic style of the late Renaissance. Concerned with grace and virtuosity in the depiction of the human figure, this new style is best identified with the rise of the Italian concept of disegno, referring not only to the physical act of drawing but also to the essence of creative design. The Getty Center of Los angeles is currently hosting Disegno, the exhibition that explores various radical iterations of the style from its origins in Florence across Europe, featuring rare drawings by Italian, French, and Netherlandish artists. Florentine artists such as Jacopo Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, and Giorgio Vasari were at the forefront of the new style that reflected disegno, as they combined energy with elegance, approaching traditional motifs with a novel playfulness. In 1568, Vasari wrote that disegno, in the sense of "drawing," was the father of the three arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Yet he also emphasized that the term should also encompass the concept and spark of creation - it was "the animating principal of all creative processes." Several decades later, with some clever wordplay, Federico Zuccaro used disegno as evi- dence that all artistic design was divinely inspired: it was the segno di Dio (the sign of God). Jacopo Pontormo's creative process took place directly on paper in a frenzy of drawing. In the male Nude he captured the motion and dramatic pose of a young model in a rapid succession of bold strokes. The shadow is conveyed by powerful, iconic gestures. Florentine art of the period was dominated by such turbulent yet studied compositions. The image seems to drip with the dense media of fluid wash and thick white highlights, but the complex decorative treatment is at odds with the speed with which it was made. Naldini Christ Raising the Son of the Widow of Naim, about 1570–1580, Giovanni Battista Naldini on the back of the model's left side is conveyed through its reinforced outline. Such studies of figures from life formed the basis for the characters in Pontormo's paintings, which sometimes became exaggerated assemblages. In this drawing by Giovanni Battista Naldini, the biblical miracle of a son brought back to life created the drawing in preparation for an altarpiece that he painted for the church of Santa maria del Carmine in Florence, which was later destroyed by a fire in 1771. Enjoy this and much more at the Getty Center; Disegno: Drawing in Europe, 1520-1600 is on view only until February 3rd, 2013.

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