L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano O n March 8, the Ital- ian Cultural Insti- tute observed Inter- national Women's Day with best-sell- ing author, Dianne Hales. Ms. Hales' revealing presentation about the life and achievements of Luisa Spagnoli was a perfect complement to International Women's D ay. Th is s tory is actually about two extraordinary women, Luisa and Dianne. Luisa Spagnoli created the Perugina Chocolate Company, famous for its Ba cio candy (Bacio is Italian for "kiss"), and for her pioneering work with tex- tiles. This remarkable Italian bus ines s w oman w as born in Perugia, Italy, in 1877. At 21 years old, she married Annibale Spagnoli, and in partnership with Francesco Buitoni, opened a confectionary factory in Perugia. In 1922, inspired by a passion for chocolates, Luisa conceived the Bacio. In the late 1920s, with her undaunted entrepreneurial spirit at an all-time high, Luisa began breeding angora rabbits in order to obtain yarn by using a tech- nique of combing ins tead of shearing the rabbit to collect the wool. She developed Angora rabbit wool at a time in Italy when this fiber was not yet popu- lar. Luisa is also known for her high regard for her employees, establishing nursery daycare for her women workers. By 1928, her clothing enterprise was well under way. When Luisa died in 1935, her son Mario continued her work transforming the busi- ness from handicraft to an indus- trial enterprise and the business still carries her name. Dianne Hales' presentation highlighted the fascinating life and legacy of a brilliant woman. At the end of her presentation, Dianne introduced Julia Schloss and Irene Oykhman, mother- daughter team and owners of the Luisa Spagnoli clothing store in the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto, California. Julia and Irene described the Spagnoli gar- ments on display. A notable figure in her own right, Dianne Hales is a widely published journalist and author. H er book, La Bella Lingua, placed her on the New York Times best-seller list and the President of Italy awarded her an honorary knighthood in recogni- tion of her work. Dianne says of La Bella Lingua, "I never expected to fall madly, gladly, giddily in love with the world's most luscious language. But fall I did. Over the last twenty-some years, Italian has become my passport into Italy's culture, his- tory, lifestyle, traditions—and its CATHERINE ACCARDI New York Times best selling author, Dianne Hales, celebrates International Women's Day with Luisa Spagnoli Lingua's publication, the Italian- A merican community has offered tremendous support— even though I am not Italian by birth. (My friends in Italy tell me that I have acquired an Ital- ian spirit.). My 93-year-old Dad accompanied me on part of my book tour for La Bella Lingua in 2009. One of my fondest memo- ries is dancing with him—for the last time, as it turned out—at a Sons of Italy banquet in my hometown of Scranton, Pa. Julia Schloss, Irene Oykhman, Sheila Ortona, Consul General Ortona, Diane Hales & Paolo Barlera. Photograph courtesy of Catherine Accardi SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY very soul. Italy's language has taught me about its greatest art: the art of living." Her other works include, Just Like a Woman, Caring for the Mind, and the leading college health textbook, An Invitation to Health. She has written for many national publications , including Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, The New York Times, and Woman's Day. Dianne is currently working on a new book called LA PAS- SIONE: How Italy Seduced the World, w hich w ill include impressions and images from her recent interview with the great-grand-daughter of Luisa Spagnoli. L'Italo-Americano was fortu- nate to meet and interview Dianne. You are a presenter at the Italian Cultural Institute's International Women's Day event. This seems a perfect fit. Could you elaborate on the connection. A few years ago in Italy, I met s everal members of the Buitoni family, including a won- derful chef named Silvia Buitoni of Perugia. When she realized that I'm from the San Francisco area, she introduced me to her sister Viola, another fabulous chef. Both of them have told me the story of Luisa Spagnoli's affair with their uncle (or grand- uncle, I'm not sure) Giovanni Buitoni. Silvia drove me to the home and laboratorio of the "other" Luisa Spagnoli, named for her great-grandmother and the maker of the best chocolates I've ever tasted. What motivated your inter- est in Italy and all things Ital- ian?  On my very first, impromptu trip to Italy more than three decades ago, I was captivated by the Italians—but unable to speak w ith them becaus e the only phrase I knew was, "Mi dispi- ace, ma non parlo italiano." As soon as I returned to the United States, I set out to learn Italian in every way I could find—from classes to audiotapes to flash cards. After many years, my lit- erary agent s ugges ted that I write about Italian "because you light up when you talk about it." When I turned to Annamaria Lelli, the former director of San F rancis co's Italian Cultural Institute, she said, "Knowing Italian simply opens a door. Now you have to walk through it and discover our culture." And so began a never-ending jour- ney. Tell us about your inspira- tion to w rite La Bella Lin - gua, Mona Lisa: A Life Dis- covered , an d you r n ew es t book, La Passione: How Italy Seduced the World.  All truly stemmed from a passion—for the Italian lan- guage, for Renaissance art, and for Italian creativity and culture. When I was interviewing a for- mer attorney who became a chef in Florence years ago, I asked how her passion for food devel- oped. "We don't choose our passions," she told me. "Our passions choose us." In each case, a passion for Italy seized me, and I couldn't resist. From the time of La Bella Dianne Hales' International Women's Day Presentation. Photograph courtesy of Catherine Accardi

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