L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 Culture and innovation: Italian Prime Minister's visit to the U.S. started in San Francisco and Consul General in San Francisco Mauro Battocchi, Premier Renzi and his team of experts began their tour at Stanford University in Palo Alto, meeting with Stanford President John Hennessy and Ronald Spogli, former U.S. Ambassador in Italy. The exclusive dinner at the University was also attended by some Italian leading figures from the hi-tech sector on the West Coast, including Apple's finan- cial director Luca Maestri and Amazon's VP Diego Piacentini. On Monday, Matteo Renzi visited San Francisco, participat- ing in a meeting at the Yatch Club with Italian start uppers and researchers from the Bay Area, attending the opening ceremony of the International Italian School, and visiting Twitter's headquarters. At the Yatch Club, in the presence of the Mayor of San Francisco Ed Lee, Mr. Renzi addressed over 150 Italian entre- preneurs who work in the high- tech sector. In his speech, he stated the commitment of the Italian government to changing the Country's current situation by building upon the successful example and international expe- rience of fellow Italians abroad. "San Francisco represents the capital of the future for many of us," said the Premier. "Italian cities are extraordinarily beauti- ful but too often stuck in the past. The real challenge is to transform ourselves: jealous of the past and in love with the future. I ask you to move for- ward, not to return home. I ask you to change the world with your ideas, your passion and determination. On our end, we'll do our best to change Italy and to make it an easier country with a different labor market, politi- cians we wouldn't be ashamed of, better institutions and public administration." Accompanied by his wife, Agnese Landini, who teaches in a Florentine high school, Matteo Renzi then attended the opening ceremony of the new International Italian School, a bilingual institute based on the model developed in Reggio Emilia. They were welcomed by young students singing the Italian hymn and, congratulating with headmaster Valentina Imbeni, the Italian Premier underlined that "The quality of the Italian school system is con- nected to one of the best cities in the world, San Francisco. Italy is the capital of the past because of its rich historical, artistic, and cultural heritage; whereas this area of the United States is the capital of the future. The link between the two is represented by the high quality education that they offer: by investing in initiatives like this School we can create great opportunities for Continued from page 1 If you are a fan of La Dolce Vita and dream of the Italian hill landscape, the perfect house for you has just been put on the market. Of course, you must be able to afford the over $1.5-mil- lion price. An 18th-century villa locat- ed in northern Tuscany, the property was owned by interna- tionally famed actor Marcello Mastroianni, star of La Dolce Vita and many other classics of 1960s Italian cinema. The villa has been recently listed by his daughters, Barbara and Chiara, almost 20 years after Mastroianni's death in 1996 - when even the Trevi fountain was temporarily turned off and draped in black in his honor. Born in a small village in the province of Frosinone, Lazio region, on September 28, 1924, Marcello Mastroianni would have celebrated his 90th birth- day this year. Son of carpenters and nephew of sculptor Umberto Mastroianni, Marcello was working in Rome during World War II, when he was captured and imprisoned in a German labor camp. He managed to escape and eventually returned to Rome and joined a theater company, until he was noticed by director and screenwriter Luchino Visconti. After a few appearances in minor productions, he per- formed several big roles in movies directed by renowned filmmakers, such as Mario Monicelli's Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958); Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) and 8 ½ (1963); Pietro Germi's Divorce, Italian Style (1961); Vittorio De Sica's Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963) and Marriage Italian-Style (1964) with Sophia Loren; and Giuseppe Tornatore's Everybody's Fine (1990) - just to name a few. He was nominated 3 times to the Academy Award for Best Actor, and awarded at Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globes as Best Actor. His most famous interpreta- tion - an elegant, vain, and detached reporter in a decadent Rome - gained him the fame of "Latin lover", and his personal life didn't contradict this repu- tation. Despite being married to actress Flora Carabella since 1950, Marcello Mastroianni had several love affairs with other women, including Faye Dunaway, Catherine Deneuve, and Anna Maria Tatò. sILVIA sIMONETTI Mastroianni's Tuscan retreat for sale in the 90th anniversary of his birth these kids' future. This is why I decided to start my official visit to the U.S. from this city, where brilliant ideas are supported by very good schools and universi- ties. The mission of the Italian government is to invest in many sectors in Italy with a different approach. This School is a model of innovation not only for this city but also for the whole country." Afterwards, Matteo Renzi headed to Twitter's headquarters to discuss with CEO Dick Costolo the opportunities that Twitter can offer to promote tourism in Italy or to improve the public administration. In fact, among the priorities of Premier Renzi's visit to the U.S. there is "The need to change the relationship between the citizens and public administration by using information technologies and more streamline virtual resources." The Premier's next stop was the Silicon Valley and major American corporations Google and Yahoo!, where he met respectively with co-founder Larry Page and CEO Marissa Mayer. Finally, he visited the state- of-the-art Singularity University, which hosts many Italian stu- dents and international projects, and the NASA headquarters. "I am impressed by the talent of Italian scientists who work in the Silicon Valley, a treasure that we can't waste," he said. Prime Ministrer Renzi's 4- day tour also included his partic- ipation to the UN conference on climate change and to the UN General Assembly in New York. After his meetings with U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle, and with Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Italian Premier ended his visit at the Fiat-Chrysler office in Detroit to discuss with Sergio Marchionne the future of the historical Italian company. Translation by Silvia Simonetti Prime Minister Matteo Renzi during his speech at Stanford University, where he has begun his tour of the U.S. (Photo Ansa) Marcello Mastroianni had bought the house in Pescaglia, in the province of Lucca, in 1974

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