Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

Lorenzo Bartolini

Thursday, September 3rd, 2015

Non avevo mai sentito dello scultore italiano “Lorenzo Bartolini”. Comunque la settimana scorsa il suo nome è stato nei giornali inglesi perché una delle sue sculture è stata salvata per la nazione.
La scultura è “The Campbell Sisters Dancing a Waltz” (Le sorelle Campell ballando un valzer). Il sesto duca di Argyll ha commissionato la scultura nel 1821 e l’importanza dell’opera è che rappresenta o illustra le vite dei ricchi britannici alla moda a Firenze durante il diciannovesimo secolo.
L’opera era stata data in prestito permanente alla Galleria Nazionale di Scozia ma l’anno scorso la famiglia ha deciso di venderla all’asta. Un Americano l’ha comprata ma il governo ha rinviato l’esporto dell’opera dal paese per dare un’opportunità al pubblico e/o alle associazioni benefiche di raccogliere denaro sufficiente per comprarlo per la nazione. La campagna per raccogliere il denaro ha avuto successo e oggi la statua è nel Museo Victoria e Albert.

lorenzo Bartolini

lorenzo Bartolini


I had never heard of Italian sculptor “Lorenzo Bartolini.” However last week his name was in English newspapers because one of his sculptures was saved for the nation.
The sculpture “The Campbell Sisters Dancing Waltz”. The sixth Duke of Argyll commissioned the sculpture in 1821 and the importance of the work is representing or illustrating the lives of the rich and fashionable British in Florence during the nineteenth century.
The work had been on permanent loan to the National Gallery of Scotland but last year the family decided to sell it at auction. An American bought it but the government postponed the export of the work of the country to give an opportunity for the public and/or charities to collect enough money to buy it for the nation. The campaign to raise the money was successful and now the statue is in the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Cilla Black

Sunday, August 30th, 2015

In Italia era il funerale di Vittoria Casamonica, il capo mafioso che è stato sulla prime pagine dei giornali. In Inghilterra era il funerale di Cilla Black che era famosa qui sia come una cantante sia come una presentatrice alla tv.
Cilla Black è nata a Liverpool e negli anni sessanta lavorava nel guardaroba del famoso club “The Cavern”. Voleva diventare una cantante e qualche volta ci ha cantato. Conosceva i Beatles e John Lennon ha presentato Cilla a Brian Epstein che è diventato il suo manager. Ha cominciato a registrare alcune canzoni e il suo secondo disco è stato al primo posto nella classifica. Durante gli anni sessanta e gli anni settanta ha avuto una serie di successi. Nei primi anni ottanta la sua carriera aveva avuto meno successo ma nel 1985 ha cominciato a presentare alla tv lo spettacolo “Surprise, Surprise”, la quale formata è stata usata per “Carramba che Sorpresa” in Italia. Dopo Surprise Surprise ha avuto ancora più successo come presentatrice di “Blind Date” (Appuntamento al Buio). Blind Date è finito nel 2003 e da quel momento Cilla Black è apparsa solo occasionamente alla tv. Ma lei era sempre nel cuore del paese. Infatti era considerata un tesoro nazionale e l’anno scorso alla tv fu mandato in onda un dramma sulla sua vita. Alcune settimane fa in Spagna Cilla è caduta, ha avuto un ictus ed è morta. Per il paese era certamente una “sorpresa, sorpresa” e perciò il suo funerale è stato sulle prime pagine di tutti i giornali.
Ma che cosa ha Cilla Black da fare con l’italia? La terza canzone che ha registrato è stata “you’re my world”. La canzone era originalmente una canzone italiana – “il mio mondo” di Umberto Bindi. Benché non sia stata un successo in Italia, la versione inglese di Cilla Black è stata il suo secondo numero uno in classifica.

UmbertoBindi-crop cilla black-crop

In Italy it was the funeral of Victory Casamonica, the Mafia boss that was on the front pages of the newspapers. In England it was the funeral of Cilla Black who is known here as both a singer and a TV presenter.
Cilla Black was born in Liverpool and in the sixties she worked in the cloakroom of the famous club “The Cavern”. She wanted to be a singer and sometimes she sang there. She knew the Beatles and John Lennon presented Cilla Brian Epstein who became her manager. She began to record some songs and her second record was number one in the hit parade. During the sixties and seventies has had a string of hits. In the early eighties her career was less successful, but in 1985 she began to present the TV show “Surprise, Surprise”, the format of which was used in “Carramba che Sorpresa” in Italy. After Surprise Surprise she had more success as the presenter of “Blind Date”. Blind Date ended in 2003 and since then Cilla Black has only occasionally appeared on TV. But she was always in the national consciousness and was considered a national treasure. In fact last year there was a tv drama about her life. A few weeks ago in Spain Cilla fell, had a stroke and died. For the country it was certainly a “surprise” and therefore her funeral was on the front page of every newspaper.
But what has Cilla Black to do with Italy? The third song she recorded was “you’re my world.” The song was originally an Italian song – “my world” by Umberto Bindi. It was not a hit in Italy but the English version of Cilla Black was her second number one in the hit parade.

Patek Philippe

Sunday, June 28th, 2015

Patek Philippe è un’azienda svizzera che produce orologi. È una marca di lusso che è famosa in tutto il mondo. Recentamente a Londra c’è stata una mostra dei loro orologi, antichi e moderni. Nel 1851 a Londra c’era la Grande Esposizione dove Patek Philippe ha mostrato un orologio che si poteva caricare senza chiave. Regina Vittoria ne ha comprato uno per sé e un altro per suo marito, Alberto. Patek Philippe aveva ricevuto l’approvazione reale. Questi due orologi sono in esposizione nella mostra a londra. Ci sono altri orologi reali incluso un orologio fatto per Vittorio Emanuele, re d’Italia. Se questi orologi illustrano la storia dell’azienda, c’era anche in esposizione un orologio fabbricato l’anno scorso per celebrare il 175° anniversario dell’azienda. Ha 43 complicazioni per esempio un calendario perpetuo ed é il più complicato orologio meccanico mai costruito. Solo 7 orologi sono stati fabbricati. Sei sono già venduti e il settimo era nella mostra.
C’erano molti stupendi orologi in esposizione. Spesso gli orologi avevano troppi diamanti ecc. ed era impossible vedere i loro quadranti. In realtà erano bracciali. Qualche volta gli orologi avevano così tanta ornamentazione che erano un po’ volgari. Per me gli orologi semplici erano più belli e più eleganti.

Orologi comprato da Regina Vittoria

Orologi comprato da Regina Vittoria


Patek Philippe is a Swiss company that manufactures watches. It is a luxury brand that is famous all over the world. Recently in London, there was an exhibition of their watches, both old and modern. In 1851 there was the Great Exhibition in London where Patek Philippe showed a watch that could be wound without a key. Queen Victoria bought one one for herself and one for her husband, Alberto. Patek Philippe had received royal approval. These two watches are on display in the exhibition in London. There are other real watches including a watch made by Vittorio Emanuele, king of Italy. If these watches show the history of the company there was also on display a watch made last year to celebrate the 175th anniversary of the company. It has 43 complications such as a perpetual calendar and is the most complicated mechanical watch ever made. Only 7 watches were manufactured. Six are already sold and the seventh was in the show.
There were many beautiful watches on display. Often the watches had too many diamonds etc. and it was impossible to see their dials. In fact they were bracelets. Sometimes the clocks had so much ornamentation that they were a bit vulgar. To me the simple watches were more beautiful and more elegant.

Sonia Delaunay

Sunday, June 28th, 2015

Recentamente sono andato ad una mostra nel Tate Modern, il museo d’arte moderna a Londra. Era una retrospettiva del lavoro di Sonia Delaunay che è stata una figura chiave dell’avanguardia parigina e èd diventata la europea decana dell’arte astratta. Durante la prima metà del ventesimo secolo, ha celebrato il movimento, la tecnologia e la vita urbana del mondo moderno. Ha esplorato, insieme a suo marito Robert Delaunay, nuove idee della teoria del colore. Questa è la prima retrospettiva a valutare la larghezza della sua vibrante pratica artistica attraverso un ampio raggio di media. Include i quadri innovativi, tessili e vestiti che ha creato in una carriera di sessant’ anni e anche i risultati delle sue collaborazioni innovative con poeti, coreografi e artigiani, da Diaghilev a Liberty.
Mi è piaciuta molto la mostra. Conoscevo già i quadri di suo marito , Richard Delaunay. Infatti quando ho comprato la mia prima casa e volevo comprare alcune stampe per decorare le pareti, ne ho comprato una stampa di un suo quadro che mostrava un aeroplano vicino alla Torre Eiffel. Mi è piaciuta perché era piena di colori vibranti. I quadri di Richard e Sonia sono simili. Questa non è una sorpresa o una coincidenza perché insieme hanno sviluppato una teoria sul colore: simultanism cioè l’idea che la intensità o la luminosità di un colore dipende dagli altri colori che lo circondano. Nella mostra c’erano molti esempi dei suoi quadri dagli anni venti in cui i curvati blocchi di colori vibranti sono visti come circoli di luce intorno alle luci elettrice recentemente installate a Parigi. Se la mostra fosse stato solo di quadri in questo stile, non sarebbe stata molto interessante. Ma c’erano bei ritratti di amici dall’inizio della sua carriera e anche due o tre sale dedicate ai suoi vestiti e ai suoi tessuti che erano molto interessanti. I suoi disegni sembrano ancora freschi e moderni.

Sonia Delaunay Exhibition

Sonia Delaunay Exhibition


Last week I went to an exhibition at Tate Modern, the Modern Art museum in London. It was a retrospective of the work of Sonia Delaunay who was a key figure in the Parisian avant-garde and became the European doyenne of abstract art.
Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, she celebrated the modern world of movement, technology and urban life, exploring new ideas about colour theory together with her husband Robert Delaunay.
This is the first UK retrospective to assess the breadth of her vibrant artistic practice across a wide range of media. It features the groundbreaking paintings, textiles and clothes she made across a sixty-year career, as well as the results of her innovative collaborations with poets, choreographers and manufacturers, from Diaghilev to Liberty.
I loved the show. I already knew the paintings of her husband, Richard Delaunay. In fact, when I bought my first house and wanted to buy some prints to decorate the walls, I bought a print of a Richard Delauney painting showing an airplane and the Eiffel Tower. I liked it because it was full of vibrant colours. The art of Richard and Sonia are similar. This is not a surprise or a coincidence because together they developed a theory of colour – simultanism i.e. the idea that the intensity or brightness of a colour depends on the other colours around it. In the exhibition there were many examples of her paintings in the twenties where the curved blocks of vibrant colors are seen as circles of light around the electric lights which had recently installed in Paris. If the show had been only this style of painting, it would not have been very interesting. But there were interesting portraits of friends from the beginning of her career and also two or three rooms devoted to her clothes and his textiles which were very interesting. Her designs still seem fresh and modern.

Dante

Thursday, March 26th, 2015

Ci sentiamo molto tristi perché abbiamo sentito che Dante, il cane dei nostri amici Mike e Monique è morto. Mike e Monique  sono una coppia americana che abbiamo incontrato in Italia.  Loro, come noi, hanno una casa a San Giorgio di Pesaro e per anni con il figlio Luke e Dante sono venuti in Italia durante l’estate.

Dante, un norfolk terrier, era bellissimo con una grande personalità.  Secondo il internet il Norfolk Terrier è senza paura, felice, amabile e vivace.  Dante aveva tutte queste caratteristiche e anche di più. Era molto felice in Italia – c’erano lucertole da cacciare e fichi da mangiare. Siccome Dante era un cane di piccola taglia, ha potuto viaggiare con loro quando sono venuti in aereo da New York in Italia. Poteva stare con loro nella cabina perché stava in una borsa per cani che era messo sotto il sedile. Negli ultimi anni Dante ha cominciato ad ingrassare un po’ e la borsa era diventata troppo stretta. Quattro anni fa sono arrivati in aeroporto  a New York ed un impiegato dell’ Air France ha chiesto che Dante venisse pesato prima di imbarcarlo sull’aereo. Era troppo pesante  e l’impiegato disse che Dante avrebbe dovuto viaggiare nella stiva. Invece di fare cosi Mike e Monique hanno disdetto il volo e ne hanno prenotato un altro con Delta Airlines dove un impiegato ha chiuso un occhio sul peso di Dante. Ma fu l’ultima vacanza in Italia per Dante. Da allora poiché Mike e Monique erano in Italia Dante è andato a vivere con la sorella di Monique nell’New Hampshire. Forse a Dante non mancava troppo l’Italia perché nella casa della sorella di Monique c’erano altri cane e anche una piscina.

 

Dante

Dante

We are very sad because we have heard that Dante, our friends Mike and Monique’s dog has died. Mike and Monique are an American couple who we met in Italy. They, like us, have a house in San Giorgio di Pesaro and for years they and their son Luke have come to Italy for the Summer.

Dante, a Norfolk Terrier, was lovely with a great personality. According to the internet a Norfolk Terrier is fearless, happy, loveable and lively. Dante had all these characteristics and more. He was very happy in Italy – there were lizards to chase and figs to eat. Since Dante was a small dog it was possible for him to travel with them when they came by plane from New York to Italy. He was able to be with them in the cabin as he had a “dog carrier” that was put under the seat. In recent years Dante began to put on weight and the bag was too tight. Four years ago they arrived at New York Airport and an employee of Air France asked for Dante to be weighed before getting on the plane. He was too heavy and the employee said that Dante would have to travel in the hold. Instead of doing this Mike and Monique cancelled the flight and booked on another flight with Delta Airlines where an employee turned a blind eye to Dante’s weight. But it was the last time holiday in Italy for Dante. From then on when Mike and Monique were in Italy Dante went to stay with Monique’s sister in New Hampshire. Perhaps Dante didn’t miss Italy too much as in Monique’s sister’s house there were other dogs and even a swimming pool.

Uomo e Superuomo (Man and Superman)

Sunday, March 8th, 2015

Giovedì siamo andati al Teatro Nazionale dove c’era un allestimento di “Man and Superman”, una commedia di George Bernard Shaw. La stella di questa rappresentazione era Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort nei film di Harry Potter) e perciò tutti i biglietti erano esauriti. Un’ amica aveva comprati i biglietti ma all’ ultimo momento a causa di una malattia non poteva andare e ce li ha dati.

In questa commedia Ralph Fiennes recita il ruolo di Jack Tanner, un ricco intellettuale che  è innamorato di Anna. Comunque, Jack è un filosofo che vuole cambiare il mondo e crede anche che le donne, attraverso il matrimonio, vogliano intrappolare gli uomini. È possibile essere un rivoluzionario e un marito?

Questa commedia non è spesso rappresentata. Prima perché è molto lunga. Questa rappresentazione, per esempio,  era lunga  tre ore e questa era una versione ridotta. Secondo, la commedia è complessae perché in realtà ci sono due drammi in uno. Da un lato c’è una tradizionale commedia di maniere e dall’altro una commedia di idee con tante discussioni filosofiche. Per me era a volte molto divertente  e altre volte, particolarmente  durante le discussioni, un po’ noiosa. Anche se non é piaciuto il dramma si deve lodare Ralph Fiennes per la sua interpretazione che era un tour de force.

I posti nel theatro erano molto scomodi. L’amica che aveva comprato I biglietti ci ha consigliato di portare un cuscino. Pensavamo che esagerasse. Ma era vero. I posti erano duri e dopo trenta minuti, tanto meno tre ore, si aveva bisogno di muoversi per essere più comodi.

Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes

On Thursday we went to the National Theatre where there was a production of “Man and Superman”, a play by George Bernard Shaw. The star of this production was Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter films) and therefore all the tickets were sold out. A friend had bought the tickets but at the last moment, because of illness, she couldn’t go and she gave us the tickets.

In this play Ralph Fiennes takes the role of Jack Tanner, a rich intellectual who is in love with Anna. However, Jack is a philosopher who wants to change the world and also believes that women, through marriage, want to entrap men. Is it possible to be a revolutionary and a husband.

This play is not often staged. First because it is very long. This production for example was three hours long  and it was a shortened version.  Secondly, the play is complex because in reality there are two plays in one. On one hand there is a traditional comedy of manners  and on the other hand a play of ideas with many philosophical discussions. For me it was, at times very funny and at times, particularly during the discussions, a bit boring. However, even if you didn’t enjoy the play one must praise Ralph Fiennes performance which was a tour de force.

The seats in the theatre were very uncomfortable. The friend who had bought the tickets advised us to take a cushion.  We thought she was exaggerating. But it was true. The seats were hard and after 30 minutes, much less 3 hours, one needed to move in order to get more comfortable.

Today the field, tomorrow San Giorgio

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

fire in the field

We have, sorry had, masses of cuttings to get rid off. I had arranged for the commune to come and take some away but they limit this to 2 cubic metres and we had much more. So this afternoon, noticing that our neighbour Sanzio, was buring some stuff, I decided to do likewise. Going into the unused field next to our garden, I set fire to a small piece of fire lighter and added a couple of small pieces of dried cuttings and watched in horror as it began to spread quicker than I was expecting, much quicker than I was expecting and in all directions. Bill and Sanzio responded to my calls for help . Bill arrived with a hose which allowed us to put out the fire but not before it had burn all of the cuttings and about a quarter of the field.

Bill made the quip “today the field, tomorrow San Giorgio”. I didn’t laugh, I just felt stupid.

English class lunch

Wednesday, March 21st, 2012

 english class lunch

The English class had been planning a lunch for before Christmas but it was difficult to find a date suitable to everyone. So it was decided to postpone it until after Christmas but then the snow came and it was cancelled again. Finally, the event happened last Sunday (18th March). This time we went to Stacciola. We had a great lunch. Real nice starters and very good pasta. Needless to say we ate too much. There were 5 different starters, followed by 2 different pastas, followed by roast meats, chips, vegetables and all rounded off with very rich, creamy desserts and coffee. Everyone had a good time.

English flowed like wine and hardly a word of Italian was heard.

I am very lucky to  have such a great class. We always have a good time whether in the class or on social occasions.  In the class we work our way through books from the Oxford Bookworm Series. We started on level 1 and are now on level 4. On Sunday Germana said that she had started to read the early books again and was surprised how simple they seemed. So even if they sometimes think they are not making much progress it is not true especially when we consider that it is only 90 minutes per week.

One of these three paragraphs is false, the other two are true.

St Patrick’s Day

Friday, March 16th, 2012

st patrick’s day

Here in Italy the television equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing is a programme of over 3 hours every Saturday evening. It seems impossible for Italians to take a programme or event from abroad and keep it to a reasonable length. They really believe in milking events. The same is true for St Patrick’s Day which instead of being celebrated on one day in Urbino is now being given the 5 day treatment. We have opted not to go but we know some friends who are planning to go and we will look forward to a report particularly on the quality of the irish stew.

A break at the cinema

Sunday, February 12th, 2012

 hugo

After surviving the snow we were blessed with a beautiful sunny day on Thursday. We decided to celebrate by going to the cinema and opted for the 3D movie Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese. It  has been nominated for 11 oscars and so we were expecting great things. Most of the reviews had been ecstatic. However, we both found the film too long and rather boring. Couldn’t understand how it was being nominated for so many oscars although some of the 3D effects were outstanding. We can’t even blame the italian as the dialogue was pretty simple and easy to follow. So 22 euros wasted.

When we left the cinema there was no snow and we thought the weather forecasts of heavy snow for the next couple of days were wrong. Oh, no they weren’t!