L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 4 and the Adriatic Sea. But we know it mostly as the beach of La Serenissima, t h e p l a c e w h e r e l o c a l s enjoy the sun during the summer months, as well as a very elegant holiday des- tination for the rich and beautiful of times gone by. You can imagine the Great Gatsby-esque parties that once must have animated the interior of the many liberty (the Italian equiva- lent of Art Nouveau) villas on the island and, natural- l y , o f t h e H o t e l E x c e l - sior, the very first see of the Mostra del Cinema, in 1932. Nothing quite com- pares, even today, to the glamor of having an aperi- tivo on its terrace, perhaps savoring the cocktail creat- ed expressly to celebrate the Festival, aptly named 1932, a luscious concoc- t i o n o f I t a l i a n v o d k a , chocolate liqueur, white c h o c o l a t e p o w d e r a n d cream, with a dark choco- late "1932" to top it all off. I n 1 9 3 7 , t h e F e s t i v a l moved to a new location, created ad hoc for it, the P a l a z z o d e l C i n e m a , w h i c h r e m a i n s i t s m a i n location still today. Inau- g u r a t e d o n t h e 1 0 t h o f A u g u s t , i t w a s b u i l t i n record-time in a rationalist style: the original structure comprised just over 1000 seats in the Sala Grande, but the Festival's populari- ty grew so much, and in such a short time, that the building had already to be expanded in the 1950s. Just a year after the inaugura- tion of the Palazzo del Cine- ma, it was the Palazzo del Casinò's turn, one of the most photographed build- i n g s a t t h e F e s t i v a l . D e s i g n e d b y E u g e n i o Miozzi, it bore the artistic influence of the architecture of the fascist regime typical of those years, with particu- larly lavish interiors, deco- r a t e d w i t h m o s a i c s a n d plenty of Murano glass. But there are plenty of places associated with the Festival off the Lido, too. How couldn't we mention, f o r i n s t a n c e , t h e i c o n i c Caffé Florian? Located in Piazza San Marco, it opened in 1720 and it is considered t h e o l d e r s t c a f é i n t h e world; with its beautifully painted rooms, the Sala del Senato, the Sala Cinese, the S a l a O r i e n t a l e , t h e S a l a d e g l i U o m i n i , i t ' s b e e n a favorite destination among artists and writers for cen- turies. In fact, it is here, in the Sala del Senato, that the idea of a "biennale," an art exhibition to be held every two years in Venice, came to be. At its tables, the likes of Giorgio de Chirico, Amedeo Modigliani, Charlie Chap- lin, Ernest Hemingway and Andy Warhol enjoyed cof- fees, drinks and chats. Dur- ing the Festival, its frescoed walls glanced at Grace Kelly a n d P a u l N e w m a n , C l i n t Eastwood and Liza Minelli, V i t t o r i o G a s s m a n a n d Michael Caine. Then, more r e c e n t l y , S a l m a H a y e k , Matt Damon, Gwyneth Pal- trow and Jude Law: all of them immortalized in pic- tures. The Hotel Danieli, on the other hand, is where e v e r y t h i n g h a p p e n s … before the Festival begins. Some of you may recognize it as the location of Angeli- na Jolie and Johnny Depp's m o v i e T h e T o u r i s t , a n d with rooms going for a min- i m u m o f 1 , 0 0 0 d o l l a r s a night in low season – hint: not now – it probably will remain the stuff of dreams f o r m o s t u s . B u t f o r t h e VIPs of the Festival, that's w h e r e t h e f u n b e g i n s because it hosts, every year on the night before the start o f t h e c o m p e t i t i o n , a n exclusive private party in honor of the jury's presi- d e n t , w i t h a f u l l m e n u , i n c l u d i n g c o c k t a i l s a n d desserts, inspired by their work. This year, it was ded- icated to American actress Julianne Moore. The Sina C e n t u r i o n P a l a c e i s a n o t h e r k e y l o c a t i o n , a t least according to the Ital- ian press: charmingly locat- ed on the Canal Grande, it is where the rich, talented a n d f a m o u s s p e n d t h e i r spare time during the Festi- v a l , i n a b e a u t i f u l s u i t e turned into a lounge for the occasion. B u t t h e r e a r e n ' t o n l y places, we said. There are also anecdotes and tales, moments to remember and others to forget related to the Festival. Its first edi- t i o n , i n 1 9 3 2 , w a s n ' t a n independent event but part of the Biennale: it is for this reason that there were no prizes and no Leoni that year. However, the story goes, people were so keen on the movies they saw that a jury of viewers ended up voting the best of six cate- g o r i e s , b e s t m o v i e , b e s t director, best actor, best actress and, curiously, fun- n i e s t a n d m o s t m o v i n g m o v i e . A n d s o , t h e f i r s t (unofficial) award for best film went to René Clair's A Nous la Liberté, while Sovi- et director Nikolaj Ekk won for his Putjovka v Zizn. T h e f i r s t f i l m t o b e shown, on the evening of the 6 th of August 1932, at 9 : 1 5 p m , w a s R o u b e n Mamoulian's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde its protagonist, F r e d r i c M a r c h , w o n t h e non-official prize of best actor and, later, also the Oscar, starting up a popular tradition that sees movies Luchino Visconti, awarded at the 26th edition of the Festival (Photo: Bernardi/Archivio Storico della Biennale di Venezia, ASAC) In 2022, the Festival celebrates its 79th edition even if, to be truthful to its history, it has been running for longer. Each edition is a mirror to the styles, trends and aesthetics of the times in which it had taken place Carla del Poggio and Alberto Lattuada at the Festival in 1948 (Photo: Giacomelli/Archivio Storico della Biennale di Venezia, ASAC) Continued to page 8

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