L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 the mission – in July 2012, and since then she had been training on Station systems, the Soyuz spacecraft, robotics, and space- w a l k s . T o g e t h e r w i t h N A S A a s t r o n a u t T e r r y V i r t s a n d Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton S h k a p l e r o v , S a m a n t h a a l s o endured a two-week quarantine a n d a f i n a l q u a l i f y i n g e x a m before taking off to Space. A s t r o n g m o t i v a t i o n a n d determination are essential com- ponents to fulfill such an ambi- tio u s d r eam, an d th ey n ev er failed her. Born in Milan on April 26, 1977, Samantha com- pleted secondary education in Trento in 1996 and spent a year in the U.S. as an exchange stu- dent. After graduating from the Technische Universität Munich, Germany, in 2001, with a mas- ter's degree in mechanical engi- neering, she joined the Italian Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli, Italy. In order to complete the A i r F o r c e t r a i n i n g , s h e a l s o De Niro. He is recognized as one of the most successful Italian Americans in the world today, with a set of unmistak- ably dark inky eyes, which con- vey everything from calm mur- derous rage to pure tenderness. The actor, who is regarded by many to be the best of his gen- e r a t i o n , i s f i n a l l y s h e d d i n g some light on his highly guard- ed personal life by inviting the world to get to know the man who influenced and supported h i m t h e m o s t : h i s f a t h e r . " R e m e m b e r i n g t h e A r t i s t , Robert De Niro, Sr." which pre- m i e r e d a t t h e R o m e International Film Festival this November 17, 2014, was origi- nally intended to be viewed only by his family, a way of introducing his younger chil- d r e n t o t h e g r a n d f a t h e r a n d painter they never knew. Using mostly original footage, the actor tells family stories and reads from his father's personal diaries, leading us through the struggles of a brilliant artist, later abandoned by his own artistic community for not con- f o r m i n g t o t h e p r o g r e s s i v e movements occurring in the painting world of the 1960's. The film marks a shift in the usually tight-lipped star, who on several recent occasions, broke down in tears while dis- cussing the documentary and the pain it reveals lived inside h i s f a t h e r u n t i l h i s d e a t h . Robert De Niro, Sr. was a con- temporary of Jackson Pollack's and rose to fame in the late 1940's and early 1950's as a s t u d e n t o f H a n s H o f f m a n . Resentment seemed to swallow the elder De Niro, however, as the art world began to favor pop art and reject his own brand of p o s t - i m p r e s s i o n i s t w o r k . Adding to his feelings of alien- ation, De Niro, Sr. was a gay man in an era of absolute intol- erance and with a failed mar- riage, his feelings of loneliness led to outbursts of rage and d e p r e s s i o n . T h e s e f a m i l i a l secrets De Niro shares are only a l l t o o f a m i l i a r t o m o s t American families today and s e r v e t o h u m a n i z e b o t h t h e genius painter and his cinematic icon son. To enjoy De Niro's loving ode to his father, check out hbo.com. The Depths to which a De Niro will go obtained a bachelor's degree in a e r o n a u t i c a l s c i e n c e s a t t h e University of Naples in 2005. As part of her studies, she spent 4 months at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de l'Aéronautique et d e l ' E s p a c e i n T o u l o u s e , France, working on an experi- mental project in aerodynamics, a n d 1 0 m o n t h s a t t h e M e n d e l e e v U n i v e r s i t y o f C h e m i c a l T e c h n o l o g i e s i n M o s c o w , R u s s i a , w h e r e s h e wrote her final dissertation. Besides traveling and learning foreign languages, including French, German, and Russian, Samantha also enjoys outdoor activities like hiking, scuba div- ing, and of course flying. She specialized at the Euro-Nato J o i n t J e t P i l o t T r a i n i n g i n W i c h i t a F a l l s , T e x a s , a n d became a fighter pilot capable of operating six different types of military aircrafts. She is also Captain of the Italian Air Force. I n M a y 2 0 0 9 , S a m a n t h a Cristoforetti joined the ESA, and now she has embarked on the second long-duration mis- s i o n o f t h e I t a l i a n S p a c e Agency, whose objectives range from biological to 3D printing e x p e r i m e n t s . O n t h e International Space Station she will meet with Russian Elena Serova: it will be the second t i m e i n 1 6 y e a r s t h a t t h e S t a t i o n ' s s i x - m e m b e r c r e w includes two female astronauts. O n m a n y o c c a s i o n s , Samantha stated her enthusiasm and pride in representing Italy a n d E u r o p e i n t h e S p a c e endeavour, and she is keen on i n t e r a c t i n g a n d s h a r i n g h e r extraordinary experience with t h o s e w h o f o l l o w h e r s o c i a l p a g e s . E v e n I t a l i a n P r i m e M i n i s t e r M a t t e o R e n z i u s e d Twitter to express his apprecia- tion and to wish a safe trip to t h e f i r s t I t a l i a n w o m a n i n Space. And we all look forward t o h e a r f r o m " @ A s t r o Samantha" and to watch more stunning pictures of the Blue Planet taken from the Space. Samantha Cristoforetti Awaits the Start of a Spacewalk Training Robert De Niro attends the HBO reception for "Remembering the Artist Robert De Niro Sr." at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images PAIGE HOFFMAN Continued from page 1

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