L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2016 www.italoamericano.org L'Italo-Americano 7 SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY W e a r e a b o u t t o s a y goodbye to 2016 and w e l c o m e t h e n e w year. For Italians and Italian- Americans in the Bay Area, this has been an intense year, thanks to a variety of events and cele- brations. After the 100 years a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h e I t a l i a n C o m m u n i t y S e r v i c e s a n d BAIA's 10th birthday; the warm farewell to former Italian Consul Mauro Battocchi and an enthusi- astic welcome to Mr Lorenzo Ortona, 2016 closed its doors but not before a brilliant holiday season, just before 2017 official- ly kicks off. O n D e c e m b e r 3 , T h e Leonardo da Vinci Society held an elegant Christmas Gala in the beautiful and historic setting of the Century Club of California. The dinner also welcomed leg- endary Educator, Businessman, C u r a t o r a n d P h o t o g r a p h e r Alessandro Baccari who had a lifelong interest in preserving the history of North Beach and I t a l i a n i m m i g r a t i o n i n S a n F r a n c i s c o . T h e e v e n i n g w a s e n h a n c e d b y a c o n c e r t o f Baroque music of Italian grand masters with selections skillfully interpreted by soprano Christine Branes, Mary Springfels playing v i o l a d a g a m b a a n d R i c h a r d Savino with his unique instru- m e n t s , t h e T h e o r b o a n d Chitrone. The great success of the Gala, which exceeded expec- tations, was possible thanks to the event coordinator, Paola Tonelli, and her committee, as well as Amelia Antonucci and t h e L e o n a r d o D a V i n c i Society's Board. Italian artist Francesco Zurlini exposed his w o r k d u r i n g " O r d e r a n d Disorder", a two-person exhibi- t i o n f e a t u r i n g a l s o S a r a h R a t c h y e ' s a r t . T h e e x h i b i t o p e n e d a t t h e M c L o u g h l i n Gallery in November and closed e a r l y i n D e c e m b e r w i t h Z u r l i n i ' s p r e s e n t a t i o n . A s explained by the Bologna-born artist, objects, signs on a wall, geometric figures, masterpieces of the past, anything can inspire him. By recalling abstract art from the past, he explains how he tries to not organize art into a representative framework, to not copy objective reality or imitate anything as figures, countryside or recognizable forms. The Mercatino di Natale at the Museo Italo-Americano on 3-4 December represented the cheeriest Italian tradition in the B a y . T h e c o m m u n i t y h a d a whole weekend of celebrations while choosing gifts among arti- sanal food, handmade jewelry, latest Italian fashion, trendiest accessories, all made by Italian artisans. The market was fol- lowed by another event, "Italian Style and Gusto - A Holiday Market": on December 14, some Italian businesses made guests d i s c o v e r t h e I t a l i a n s t y l e o f clothing, shoes, leather hand- bags, jewelry, art, and the taste of wine and chocolate, hosted b y t h e I s t i t u t o I t a l i a n o d i Cultura in San Francisco. On December 8, more than twenty San Francisco Bay Area artists and friends gathered for an exhibition and auction to b e n e f i t t h e v i c t i m s o f t h e A m a t r i c e e a r t h q u a k e . T h e event, hosted by IIC Director Paolo Barlera and the Consul General Lorenzo Ortona, has been endorsed by Amatrice's M a y o r , S e r g i o P i r o z z i , w h o extended his personal gratitude during a visit by Aldo Blasi, owner of Ristorante Milano in Russian Hill. From Federico Arcuri to Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Anthony Holdsworth, all artists donated their works for sale in order to help the humani- tarian efforts and the reconstruc- tion of the little Italian village. Diego Calaon, a Venetian w h o i s n o w a p o s t - c l a s s i c a l archaeologist and the site direc- tor of an archaeological project in Torcello for the Venice's Ca' Foscari University and Stanford University, delivered a very interesting presentation called "Wood, Water, and Slaves: How Venice Came into the World". The lecture, organized by BAIA Geeks Meetup on December 8, introduced a new and fresh ver- sion of the history of Venice, different from the version creat- ed by official historians of the Italian city. Diego's study is based on archaeological excava- tions in the Venetian laguna, a n d o n t h e r e s u l t s o f t h e G e o g r a p h i c a l I n f o r m a t i o n Systems analysis of the area. A fascinating way of seeing tech- nology's impact on all aspect of people's life, including history. As explained by BAIA Geeks' SERENA PERFETTO Ciao Ciao 2016: The Bay Area Says GoodBye To A Vibrant Year of Culture, Art, and Gusto Founder, Franco Folini, "There is a match between the Silicon V a l l e y t e c h n o l o g y a n d t h e Italian history and culture. And the success of this event proves t h a t m a n y p e o p l e s h a r e t h e same enthusiasm too." Pizza, gnocco fritto, Italian music, and lots of visitors: the first edition of the Italian Street Fest in Berkeley gathered Italian c u i s i n e l o v e r s f o r a s p e c i a l Holiday Season opening on the East Bay. The event was orga- nized by Alessio Zanotto and Antonio Sala who explained more about the unusual Italian Sunday in the Bay: "We are just passionate about food and espe- c i a l l y t h e I t a l i a n t r a d i t i o n s a r o u n d i t . " A n t o n i o s a i d . "People in the Bay Area are lucky to have a few really good Italian restaurants, however a lot of Americans do not know the cultural aspect that food has for Italians. That's what we were trying to do during the fes- tival: showing our authentic love for good food and explain how, in the Italian culture, food can bring people together. We also raised money for a great local project called Food Shift that fights against food waste, which is a message that really resonates with all of us." The events that closed 2016 in the Bay Area

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