L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2015 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 9 Italian Ambassador's Historic Visit to Oregon Highlights Growth Opportunities 2015 Italian Film Festival USA is a first for Portland (The Portland Italian community is grateful to publish a guest post from Italy's Consul General in San Francisco, Mauro Battocchi, drawn from his blog www.sanfrancis- coitaly.com. You can follow the Consul General on Twitter @MauroBattocchi) On a recent spring evening, leaders and personalities of the Portland Italian community gath- ered in the ninth floor offices of Ater Wynne, LLC, to welcome Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero to the city. The reception celebrated a historic meeting – the first official visit of an Italian Ambassador to Oregon. Ambassador Bisogniero was accompanied by Consul General of Italy Mauro Battocchi and Honorary Consul of Italy Andrea Bartoloni. Never had an Italian Ambassador officially set foot in Oregon. Therefore, the visit of Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero on March 10 and 11 had a histor- ical character. He came to meet with Governor Kate Brown and Portland Mayor Charlie Hales to illustrate the wide array of coop- eration opportunities that Italy can offer to Oregon business, culture and society. He also came to see the vibrant Italian commu- nity in the Beaver State. There are 1,100 Oregon-based Italian citizens in our vital record reg- istry, while the number of Americans of Italian descent in the state is around 40,000. They have key positions in society, and are well organized in several associations and cultural groups. They can be great allies in our efforts to bring Italy and Oregon together. In his official meetings, Ambassador Bisogniero high- lighted that Italy shares many values that are well cherished by Oregonians, such as attention to sustainability, quality of life and social inclusiveness. Portland has already developed a Sister City relationship with Bologna, a sus- tainable city par excellence. "Expo Milano 2015, the great World's Fair on 'Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life' that will be open May 1st to October 31st," Ambassador Bisogniero pointed out, "is a unique platform for Oregon institutions and com- panies to let the world know about Oregon's leadership in sus- tainable life and food, and to explore new joint projects." The Ambassador also pointed at the potential gains in trade and investment that may arise from the TTIP, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, cur- rently being negotiated between the United States and the European Union. As the two blocs harmonize their standards and bring down barriers to investment, the Oregon economy is set to reap considerable bene- fits. These messages were very well received, as you can imag- ine. The reception was even warmer when he met with several leaders of the Italian community. There are several layers of Italianità in Oregon, spanning from the descendants of the first generations of Italians that landed there in the early decades of the 20th century to the professionals that arrived in recent years, drawn by the opportunities in the realms of high-tech, sports appar- el, and scientific research. They are organized in several organiza- tions, such as Festa Italiana Association (which every year takes over the main square of Portland), Italian Business Club of Portland, UNICO-Portland, MAURO BATTOCCHI Consul General of Italy in San Francisco Tuscan Association of Oregon, Amici d'Italia, Club Paesano, Associazione Culturale Italiana di Portland, and the Portland Bologna Sister City Association. Ambassador Bisogniero praised our fellow-citizens for their activities and dynamism. He also invited them to consider stepping up their efforts to net- work among different clubs, to take advantage of all possible synergies. He hinted at the Scuola Italiana of Portland led by Grazia Solazzi as a flagship Italian project in Oregon that all should consider supporting. "We started with a Piccola Scuola in San Francisco too," he explained. "And look now, La Scuola is an International Baccalaureate bilingual school. That's the model for Portland." When the Ambassador left the reception in Portland, every- body was energized. I am confi- dent that new amazing projects will come out of the Italian com- munity there in the coming months. One of them is already in the making - an Italian Film Festival on April 11-12 at the PSU Fifth Avenue Cinema, with the local premiere of five criti- cally acclaimed Italian movies. The Ambassador has planted many seeds in Oregon. It is up to all of us here on the West Coast to help them grow into new projects of trade, invest- ment, cultural exchanges and more. Ambassador Bisogniero stands with members of the Associazione Culturale Italiana di Portland. Photo credit - Andrea Scasso The Associazione Culturale Italiana di Portland is excited to announce the 2015 Italian Film Festival USA of Portland, run- ning Friday, April 10 through Sunday, April 12. Sponsored b y t h e N a t i o n a l I t a l i a n American Foundation and the Italian Cultural Institute in col- laboration with Portland State University, this first-time event will feature the local premieres o f f i v e r e c e n t , c r i t i c a l l y acclaimed Italian films. All films show at the Fifth Avenue Cinema on the campus of Portland State University. A d m i s s i o n i s f r e e a n d e a r l y arrival is encouraged! Shown in their original lan- guage with English subtitles, KERRY-LYNNE DEMARINIS BROWN films include the 2014 comedy In Grazia di Dio by director Carlo Mazzacurati; the 2013 c o m e d y S o n g ' e N a p u l e b y directors Antonio and Marco Manetti; the 2013 comedy Ti R i c o r d i d i M e ? b y d i r e c t o r P i e r f r a n c e s c o D i l i b e r t o ; t h e 2 0 1 3 c o m e d y C i V e d i a m o D o m a n i b y d i r e c t o r A n d r e a Zaccariello; and the 2014 drama Allacciate le Cinture by director Ferzan Ozpetek. The film festival is the cul- mination of months of planning by the Associazione Culturale Italiana di Portland. Sponsors include Anthony Michaud Real E s t a t e , C a s t e l l a n o C u s t o m Furniture, A Cena Ristorante, C a f f e A l l o r a , K e n ' s A r t i s a n P i z z a , P i a z z a I t a l i a , C a f f e Umbria, Gallo Nero Ristorante, C a s a B r u n o L L C , N o s t r a n a , Oven & Shaker, Mucca Osteria, Z a n c a n e l l a W i n e s , F e s t a Italiana Association, Portland- Bologna Sister City, and La Scuola Italiana di Portland. Formerly the Azzurri Club, t h e A s s o c i a z i o n e i s a s o c i a l organization of Italians who want to promote Italian culture in Portland. " T h e A z z u r r i C l u b w a s mostly a soccer club that played i n o n e o f t h e P o r t l a n d C i t y l e a g u e s , " e x p l a i n s S e r g i o Pellecchia. "Over time, every- body got somewhat too old to play the game. After one year or so of being inactive, the club evolved into the Associazione Culturale Italiana. One of our first projects was to sponsor the film festival." Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero, second from right, next to Oregon Governor Kate Brown. Also in the picture: left, Andrea Bartoloni, Honorary Consul of Italy in Portland; Mauro Battocchi, Consul General of Italy in San Francisco; right, Carlo Mannocci, former Honorary Consul in Portland and Vice-President of the Comites of San Francisco. Photo credit - Carlo Mannocci

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