L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 32 L'Italo-Americano coun cil's memb ers an y time an d an y place. We even sent some by post, to people who expressed their wish to become part of our community: all they had to do was to tell us why they were interested and send us a picture. What's the true mea- ning of your Club today? Our Association is car- rier of an in creasin gly important — fundamental, I would say — message, especially in today's day and age, bombarded as we are by beauty models to "follow," and unrealistic aesthetic canons to meet. Being part of the Club doesn't mean to be aesthe- tically unpleasant, nor does it mean to despise yourself. On the contrary, it means to have the heart and the brains to truly value what is really importan t in a h uman b ein g, an d n ot only appearance. P h ysical b eauty is b oun d to pass an d en d with time. What needs to be nurtured is the beauty inside us, it's the acceptan- ce of one another and of what each and every one of us can give to the world. In the Club dei Brutti, there's plenty of beauty, because we don't fear ugliness nor do we feel threatened by defects: w e play th em down, while trying to give relevance to all that makes a person beautiful inside. Tell us something more about the President of the Ugly… Our president is, above all, a great communicator and the depositary of the Association's philosophy. There's no need to be ugly from an aesthetic point of view, it really doesn't mat- ter. What matters is the spirit with which the soul and heart of the associa- tion are carried. The presi- den t an d th e G ran d Council meet regularly to organ ize ev en ts an d to discuss issues about the association and its mem- bers, and to find new ways to broaden our member- ship, because gaining a different perspective on things from what's shown to us through the media is, today, more importan t than ever. Are there other offices within the association? Beside the President of th e Ugly — curren tly Giannino Aluigi — who is elected by all the members each year at the beginning of September on occasion of th e In tern ation al Festival of the Ugly, we also elect the Ugliest of Italy, who is chosen by our G ran d C oun cil. Th e Ugliest of Italy embodies outer uglin ess, b ut is always characterized by great inner beauty. We also h av e th e Children's President, who is elected by the Council every year. The figure has the duty to represent the Association in schools and among the younger generations: it's a pretty popular position among local kids! Today, your Association has members from every corner of the world, yet it remains strongly linked to its hometown. Tell us something more about Piobbico. Piobbico is a small villa- ge of ab out 2000, b ut it offers so many things to do and see. It's located in a beautiful area from a natu- ralistic point of view, just at th e feet of Monte Nerone, where you can go trekking, walking, cycling, or even do paragliding and visit caves with profes- sion al guides. You can reach th e sea an d th e moun tain s in ab out 30 minutes, and in the same time you'll get to impor- tant historical and cultural centers like Urbino, with its Palazzo Ducale. Piobbico itself is home to a marv elous castle, Castello Brancaleoni, built b y th e h omon ymous family. Around it, lies a beautiful medieval borou- gh, in part still inhabited and of great historical inte- rest. From a gastron omic point of view, Piobbico is part of the tartufo bianco pregiato (w h ite truffle) area, an d it's h ome to some in terestin g an d renowned culinary reali- ties, like the La Triglia del Bosco blog. What can you tell us about local traditions? P iob b ico is h ome to man y tradition s an d events, which take place especially at the end of the S ummer, b etw een mid- August an d mid- September. We have the Palio dei Brancaleoni- Contesa della Pannocchia, our International Festival of the Ugly and the Sagra Nazionale del Polentone alla Carbonara, a typical dish from Piobbico. These events attract thousands of people, eager to discover our reality, cuisine and tra- ditions. Finally, what links together Piobbico and the Association? P iob b ico lov es its Association an d th e Association loves Piobbico and its people. Even thou- gh we have members from all ov er th e w orld, it's here that everything was b orn , an d people from here grew up respecting one another, sharing the same values of respect and tolerance the Association h as b een en dorsin g for more than a century. LIFESTYLE FASHION FOOD ARTS ADVICE Continued from page 30 In typical Italian style, cooking and eating together is a staple for the Club dei Brutti (Photo courtesy of Massimiliano Martinelli/@tumassephoto on Facebook)

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