L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 8, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 An exhibition celebrates the A z z u r r i, waiting for Brazil 2014 Hidden treasures were brought to light in Mozia countries finally join their pas- sionate voices — when a goal is scored by the Azzurri – the Italian national team. This summer the Azzurri of soccer will face a new challenge: the 20 th World Cup to be played in Brazil. The long-awaited event will be accompanied by the exhi- bition "La Nazionale tra emozioni e storia. Un secolo di calcio azzurro" (The National team: emotions and history of a century of Italian soccer), which runs from May 6 through July 27 at Rome's Auditorium, not far from the Olympic Stadium. Promoted by the FIGC (Italian Soccer Federation) and the tech- nical sponsor Puma in collabora- tion with the City of Rome, Fondazione Museo del Calcio, and Fondazione Musica per Roma, the exhibit is meant to celebrate the 104 th anniversary of the Azzurri team, and was pre- sented by President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano. Over a century of success will be showcased through trophies, balls, shirts, documents, videos, and pictures – including those of all the 760 players who have worn the azure shirt so far -, closely tied to Italy's social, political, and cultural history. The Italian national team debuted on May 15, 1910 defeating France, and today it is among the best in the world, boasting 4 World Cups (in 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) as well as many other titles at an interna- tional and European level. The nickname Azzurri refers to the color of the shirt, which was changed from white to azure in 1911 on the occasion of the team's third official match, this time against Hungary. Azure or blue was the color of the Kingdom of Italy, in fact it was known as "Savoy blue" in honor of the royal dynasty that unified the country in 1861. Since then, the color azure has represented Italian national teams and ath- letes in all major sports. After World War II, when Italy became a Republic, the Italian tricolor shield replaced the royal standard embroidered on the shirt. Among the most striking memorabilia on view - some of them never seen before, and coming from different soccer- themed museums across Italy - are Silvio Piola's shirt that was hand-embroidered by his moth- er; soccer player and manager Enzo Bearzot's pipes; the black shirt imposed by Benito Mussolini in 1938; a model of the Olympic Stadium from the 1990 World Cup; and of course the replica of the cult 2006 World Cup in a special display case. For those who didn't know, the prestigious Cup was designed by Italian artist Silvio Gazzaniga in the early 1970s, and the original remains in FIFA's own possession in order to prevent it from being stolen again, as happened in 1966 and 1983. Thanks to modern technolo- gies and interactive devices such as touchscreen monitors, but also to the availability of origi- nal audio recordings, the public will be offered the opportunity to experience again or for the first time the unique emotions that this sport can arouse. The World Cup in France in 1938, the captains of the Italian and French national soccer teams, Giuseppe Meazza (L) and Etienne Mattler with the referee Baert, shakes their hands before the start of the game Continued from page 1 Sicily is a beautiful land, rich in vineyards producing fine quality wines highly appreciated across the globe. And yet, those vineyards can also hide other treasures that are of a different nature but as much emblematic of Italy's heritage. The small island of Mozia, located just in front of the big- ger and better-known Trapani, has recently revealed the remains of a Phoenician-Punic quarter buried under acres of vineyards of Marsala wine. In ancient times, approximate- ly from 1550 BC to 300 BC, Mozia was one of the most important Phoenician and Carthaginian settlements in the Mediterranean area. Nevertheless, only a limited part of the island has been explored so far, and certainly a great number of treasures are still to be found under its fertile ground. Today, Mozia is owned by the Whitaker Foundation that bought it in the early 20th centu- ry. Archaeologist Joseph Whitaker, native of England, started both the production of Marsala wine and the first exca- vation on the island, carried out from 1906 to 1929. It brought to light part of the necropolis and precious artifacts that were pre- served in the newly-founded local museum. These historical and artistic remains are particu- larly fascinating as they show the combined influence of dif- ferent ancient civilizations also including the Egyptian, Roman, and Hellenic ones. The urban area in the south- western part of an ancient sanc- tuary was identified by a team of researchers from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology during an investi- gation carried out in collabora- tion with the University of Rome "La Sapienza", the Soprintendenza for the Arch- aeological and Environmental Heritage of Trapani, and the Whitaker Foundation. Thanks to advanced and non- invasive magnetometers, ground penetrating radars, and other electromagnetic devices, the image of a complex road sys- tem, walls, and buildings was clearly highlighted. This archae- ological study enabled to collect more information regarding the original conformation of the ancient district, which is similar to other Phoenician structures previously discovered on the island, and it also allowed the researchers to outline a map that will guide future excavation interventions on the site. SILVIA SIMONETTI Mosaic floor, House of Mosaics, Mozia, Sicily

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