L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 the local institutions. Among them were Roberto Ciccutto, CEO and President of Luce Cinecittà; Consul General of Italy in Los Angeles, Antonio Verde; Franca Sozzani, Chief Editor of Vogue Italia; Trade Commissioner Carlo Bocchi; Paolo Del Brocco, CEO RAI Cinema; and singer Eros Ramazzotti. Hosted November 13 through 18 by the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica and featuring a special selection of last year's best Italian films, Cinema Italian Style 2014 was introduced by a press conference at the Mr C Hotel in Beverly Hills, with the participation of director Paolo Virzì, actors Matilde Gioli and Francesco Scianna, and renowned filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore. The Italian delegation was welcomed by Consul General Antonio Verde and CIS artistic director Laura Delli Colli. Following the success of 3D- restored The Last Emperor by Y ear: 1934. Region: Abruzzo, Italy. You: A poor farmer plow ing your field. Discovery: One of the most archeologically significant finds in your country's his tory. Amidst the Gran Sasso National P ark in the P rovince of L'Aquila, a nearly 7-foot lime- s tone s tatue know n as The Warrior of Capes trano w as unearthed and became the old- es t archeological find in Abruzzo to date. The statue depicts a man of strength, arms crossed over his chest holding a dagger, a s mall axe and a sword. His posture, dress and tools suggest only one thing: high military status. Completing the warrior's wardrobe is the armor affixed to his chest and back: round breastplates pro- tecting vital organs from enemy attack. His arms covered by a jacket, fully carved with images of people and perhaps ritual ani- mals point to a high s ocial standing as well. Not with- standing its imposing nature, what is still so exciting about this discovery even today, is the fact that it cannot be traced back to either G reek or Etrus can roots, which make up the major- ity of archeological finds from this region. Instead, the statue is believed to derive from a civ- ilization that thrived in north- east Italy around the early 6th century BC called the Piceni. Findings from this Italic tribe, like the warrior's headgear (a wide brimmed hat that strongly resembles a Mexican sombrero) believed to be a type of battle helmet, continue to challenge scholar's previous beliefs about the origins of P re-roman Italians. Adding to the intrigue are two inscriptions on the war- rior himself, only one of which has been deciphered. It reads 'Me, a beautiful image made Aninis (the sculptor) for King Nevio Pompuledio' making it one of the earliest examples in history of an artist marking his work. This singular statue con- tains a wealth of clues, leading archeologists on an Indiana J ones like adventure for answers pertaining to our lesser- known ancestors. To see The Warrior in person, each brave soul must make the voyage to the N ational A rcheological Museum in Chieti, Abruzzo. Or, just roam the farmlands of Capestrano where along with tombs and other ritual objects excavated over the years, it is now believed by archeologists to be the s ite of an ancient necropolis belonging to the Warrior's people, the Piceni. The roots of Italian bravery, dug up in Abruzzo Bernando Bertolucci, launched in 2013 in partnership with AFI Film Festival, a digitally restored version of Giuseppe Tornatore's masterpiece Cinema Paradiso premiered on November 10 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, presented by American actor Danny DeVito (read more on page XX). The restoration was made possible thanks to the support of Italian stylists Dolce&Gabbana in asso- ciation with Luce Cinecittà and Cineteca di Bologna, and the worldwide preview was intended to honor the 25 th anniversary of the Academy Award-winning film produced by Franco Cristaldi. "For 90 years, we have been the keepers of Italian mem- ory, and we do this by spreading our historical and contemporary heritage incorporating new tech- nologies," commented Luce Cinecittà CEO Roberto Ciccutto. After the L.A. debut, Cinema Italian Style 2014 also reached Seattle November 14 through 20, thanks to the collaboration with the Seattle International Film Festival. Fabrizio Bentivoglio and Valeria Golino starring in The Human Capital Consul General of Italy, Antonio Verde. Photo credit Stefania Rosini. Photo cour- tesy of Kika Press Capestrano Warrior Chieti, Museo Archeologico Nazionale d'Abruzzo PAIGE HOFFMAN Continued from page 2

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