L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 10 THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 2021 L'Italo-Americano T h e c i t y o f Rome has more than 2,000 years o f h i s t o r y ( a s s u m e d t o have been founded on April 21, 753 BC) and it is full of ancient, or very old (his- toric) buildings, churches and monuments. The whole world knows the Colosse- um, the Trevi Fountain and t h e S p a n i s h S t e p s b u t strangely, there is a modern street which is as famous as t h e R o m a n s , o r m a y b e more: Via Vittorio Veneto – or as is said by most, sim- ply, Via Veneto. Via Veneto extends like a b i g s n a k e f r o m P i a z z a Barberini to Porta Pinciana, w h i c h i s o n e o f t h e e n t r a n c e s t o V i l l a B o r g h e s e (Rome's most beautiful and famous park). The street was designed in the late 19 th century, and its c r e a t i o n s a w i t w i n d through the grounds of what was once Villa Ludovisi. Villa Ludovisi was built in the 17 th century and, when we talk of "villa," we imply a v a s t p r o p e r t y i n c l u d i n g beautifully architected gar- dens and many buildings. When Villa Ludovisi was created the owner, Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, had the main villa buildings built to house his large collection of ancient Roman antiquities. Over the years, the property c h a n g e d h a n d s s e v e r a l times and, in 1885, its final o w n e r D o n R o d o l f o Boncompagni Ludovisi sold V i l l a L u d o v i s i t o t h e S o c i e t à G e n e r a l e Immobiliare. It was then d i v i d e d u p i n t o b u i l d i n g lots, and subsequently many buildings were destroyed. Via Veneto was created and the neighbourhood known t o d a y a s t h e R i o n e Ludovisi was born. A t f i r s t t h e s t r e e t w a s called just Veneto, after one of the regions of Italy (as are all the other streets in Rione Ludovisi), but after the first World War it was renamed in honour of the battle of Vittorio Veneto (won by the Italians). But Via Vittorio Veneto isn't famous today because of its history, but for the life it enjoyed in the 1950s and, p a r t i c u l a r l y , i n t h e 6 0 s . Imagine Via Veneto at that time as a large open-air the- atre, or better still, the play- ground where actors and famous people from all over the world recited to perfec- t i o n L a D o l c e V i t a . T h e street was nick-named "the street of the cinema," and this is also thanks to one of t h e m o s t l e g e n d a r y f i l m - m a k e r s o f a l l t i m e - Federico Fellini. His film, La Dolce Vita was a per- fect (involuntary) marketing c a m p a i g n t h a t h e l p e d t o s p r e a d t h e n a m e o f V i a Veneto internationally. D u r i n g t h a t t i m e , V i a Veneto was crowded, tables spilled out from the bars and restaurants to occupy a large part of the footpath a n d t h e a t m o s p h e r e w a s lively and party-like. These were crazy times: imagine seeing Clint Eastwood rid- ing a Vespa while he was in R o m e s h o o t i n g S e r g i o Leone's movies, or Richard Burton having a heated dis- c u s s i o n w i t h E l i z a b e t h Taylor, only to make peace b y p r e s e n t i n g h e r w i t h a wonderful exclusive piece of f i n e j e w e l l e r y f r o m Bulgari… Imagine the tables a l s o b e i n g f r e q u e n t e d b y B u r t L a n c a s t e r , A v a Gardner, Arabian Princes, E g y p t i a n K i n g s o r t h e Iranian Shah with his wife S o r a y a . O n e c o u l d h a v e really spent hours "people watching," or sitting to see and "be seen." It would have been similar to sitting in a cinema watching a movie, w i t h t h e h o p e o f b e i n g a part of the stories that were p u b l i s h e d i n t h e m o s t important magazines of the world: a photo or a scandal could be the turning point for a career, or could even lead to being called for an audition. Opulent times they were: wealth, fashion and fame were all displayed on Via Veneto. This was also the t i m e w h e n t h e f a m o u s paparazzis became a legend: i n t e r e s t i n g l y , t h e w o r d p a p a r a z z i w a s a F e l l i n i invention. In Fellini's film La Dolce Vita, it is the scene of the meeting between the main character Marcello (played b y M a r c e l l o M a s t r o i a n n i ) , a n d h i s father at an outdoor table at Café de Paris on Via Veneto t o t r u l y i m m o r t a l i z e t h e lifestyle of those times. It would be remiss of me not t o n a m e s o m e o f t h o s e famous bars. Harry's Bar, C a f é d e P a r i s a n d C a f é D o n e y w e r e t h e m o s t famous and the most vied for locations to have a table. C a f é D o n e y w a s w h e r e Federico Fellini spent many an evening, and Harry's Bar was made famous, back in t h e d a y , f o r h a v i n g h a d Frank Sinatra entertain the bar's clients by playing the piano. Both Harry's Bar and Doney Cafè & Restaurant are still there. It would also be remiss of m e n o t t o m e n t i o n t h e h o t e l s t h a t V i a V e n e t o i s also famous for. Via Veneto h a s a l w a y s b e e n s y n o n y - mous with luxury and excel- lence, so it is obvious that some of Rome's best hotels a r e a l s o s i t u a t e d t h e r e . There is the Hotel Excelsior, w h i c h w a s f r e q u e n t e d b y hundreds of local and inter- national actors and direc- tors during those magical, golden years of the 50s and 6 0 s . T h e r e i s a l s o t h e G r a n d H o t e l P a l a c e , Baglioni Hotel Regina – The L e a d i n g H o t e l s o f t h e W o r l d , a n d T h e W e s t i n Excelsior. Sadly and slowly though, f r o m t h e l a t e 1 9 7 0 s , t h e street began to die. No more Hollywood by the Tiber, no more kings, just bars and r e s t a u r a n t s f o r t o u r i s t s , e s p e c i a l l y A m e r i c a n Via Veneto in the 1960s (Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons License. Author: Paolo Monti, Available in the BEIC digital library and uploaded in partnership with BEIC Foundation. The image comes from the Fondo Paolo Monti, owned by BEIC and located in the Civico Archivio Fotografico of Milan. License: CC BY-SA 4.0) LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE TONI BRANCATISANO Via Veneto: still waiting for a Renaissance Continued to page 12

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