L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 27, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano T he Italian Cultur- al Institute of Los A n g e l e s w e l - c o m e s i t s n e w d i r e c t o r , Emanuele Amendola. He takes up the position after h a v i n g h e l d t h e s a m e i n W a s h i n g t o n , s i n c e 2 0 1 7 . T h e r e , h e o r g a n i z e d a n d curated a wide cultural offer in coordination with the Ital- ian Embassy, aimed at pro- moting Italian arts and tradi- tion, as well as developing collaborations between Ital- ian and American cultural institutions. Amendola takes over the reins of the Italian C u l t u r a l I n s t i t u t e i n L o s A n g e l e s f r o m V a l e r i a Rumori, who directed the institute from 2015 to 2021. A m e n d o l a j o i n e d t h e Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in 2014. During his first assignment in Rome, between 2014 and 2017, he worked at the Directorate General for the Promotion of the Sistema Paese, in the office for the coordination of all cultural programs orga- nized by the Italian Cultural Institutes around the world, and part of the Farnesina network. Among its main activities, the programming of theatrical performances, exhibitions, and concerts, as well as language promotion activities and coordination of cultural exchange programs. Before joining the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l Cooperation, Mr. Amendola g r a d u a t e d i n C l a s s i c s a t U n i v e r s i t y C o l l e g e o f L o n d o n , i n t h e U n i t e d Kingdom. Director, how did your studies and subsequently your professional path start? I graduated in classical lit- erature in Rome and later I s p e c i a l i z e d i n L o n d o n . I always had a great interest both in the ancient world and in modern and contemporary culture. One of the areas of research to which I devoted myself the most was the sur- v i v a l o f a n c i e n t R o m e i n modern culture and, in par- ticular, the traces of Rome in Washington DC, which is a city that drew a lot of inspira- t i o n f r o m R o m a n u r b a n planning. After the London e x p e r i e n c e , I r e t u r n e d t o Italy in 2014 after winning t h e c o m p e t i t i o n o f t h e Ministry of Foreign Affairs a n d I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o o p e r a t i o n f o r C u l t u r a l Promotion. I began my jour- ney at the then Directorate General for the Promotion of the Sistema Paese, which deals with cultural promo- tion in the Farnesina net- work. After this first stay of a b o u t t w o y e a r s , I w a s a s s i g n e d t o t h e I t a l i a n C u l t u r a l I n s t i t u t e i n Washington in 2017. What kind of experi- ence did you have in DC? It was a very important experience, as it was the first time for me as a director and in such a prestigious loca- tion. In DC, there is a very well-defined taste towards cultural subjects and there are also a series of expecta- tions regarding Italian cul- ture and related programs. T h e r e f o r e a t t h e I t a l i a n Cultural Institute, we certain- ly focused on satisfying these expectations but we also tried to break the mold and intro- duce new things. Italy is very f a m o u s a n d l o v e d f o r i t s great tradition, and over the years there have been many i m p o r t a n t a n n i v e r s a r i e s , from Raphael's to Dante's. At the same time, we also tried to enhance contemporary I t a l y s o , i n a d d i t i o n t o Leonardo and Michelangelo, we also talked a lot about contemporary art, for exam- ple. In addition to opera and classical music, we also paid a lot of attention to jazz and songwriting. In short, we tried to combine our tradi- tion with an image of Italy that is perhaps less known, but equally important and fascinating. Which events gave you the most satisfaction? Every program I worked on and created left a mark on me, and I must say that this is one of the most beautiful aspects of my profession, because there is a constant enrichment both on a profes- sional and personal level. I was particularly happy with the musical season we dedi- cated to Italian musicians and music artists. That year, classic musicians such as Maria Perrotta, famous jazz m u s i c i a n s s u c h a s R i t a Marcotulli and Maria Pia De Vito, and songwriters such as Carmen Consoli performed for us. In your opinion, what i s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t role of the IIC in a coun- try like the USA? Our role is to make people understand how varied and nuanced Italian culture is and to promote even what is not widely known by the gen- eral public. We want to show that Italy is a lively and bub- bly reality, especially today. O u r c o u n t r y c a n o f f e r s o much, not only because of our past and our traditions but also for our future. What kind of impres- sion did the city of Los Angeles make on you? I have only been here for about ten days but I under- stand that it is a very lively reality, attentive to sectors such as design, fashion, cine- ma. It seems obvious to talk about cinema in Los Angeles, and this is a driving sector for the cultural industries of our country, for which we are known around the world. There are obviously the great classics, but - and I repeat m y s e l f - e v e n i n c i n e m a , today's Italy has a lot to say. It will be a sector that we, as an Institute, will continue to promote. What projects are you working on at the begin- ning of this new adven- ture? One of the first events we are focusing on, which will be held both face to face and online, is Filming Italy, an event organized in collabora- tion with Tiziana Rocca's Agnus Dei under the auspices of the Consulate General of Italy in Los Angeles. It is a film festival that will bring the best of Italian cinema and series to Los Angeles. This year the honorary presi- dency of the festival will be e n t r u s t e d t o G i a n c a r l o Giannini. We are working on the definitive programming and, in a few days, we will announce the titles and the guests of our program. What do you personal- ly like about the USA? I really appreciate the US. T h e r e h a v e b e e n g r e a t changes and the evolution is constant, but what I noticed i s t h a t t h e U S r e m a i n s a country of opportunities. Giving a definition is always reductive, but this is truly a place where everything is possible. And then, the love for Italy here is immense. The new director of the Italian Institute of Culture in LA, Emanuele Amendola (Photo: Stefano Paltera / Istituto Italiano di Cultura Los Angeles) T h e I t a l i a n I n s t i t u t e o f C u l t u r e welcomes its new director SILVIA GIUDICI LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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