Gelato Festival in Florence, Rome

Author: Gayane Simonyan

On 1 May, 2014 Florence Gelato Festival opened its doors to ice-cream lovers at Palazzo dei Congressi gardens, opposite the Santa Maria Novella station. Gelato Festival was born 4 years ago in Florence and habitually the festival starts from Florence. It usually takes four days and at the end of the fourth day, the Best Italian gelato Parlour 2014 is elected.

“The festival is quite famous. After Florence we go to around ten cities in Italy like Turin, Rome, Naples, etc. and then we move to five cities in Europe: Paris, Cannes, Barcelona, Munich, and Amsterdam,” said Luca, the project leader.

The idea of the festival was to celebrate the Florentine origins of gelato and introduce it to the world. The creation of Gelato is attributed to Bernardo Buontalenti, after whom the biggest home -made gelato mobile lab ever built in the world is called.

“You can start your tour with buying a Gelato Card with 10, 12 euros, which you can use for tasting the BUONTALENTI, a bunch of different ice-creams and then a cocktail, water and then you can follow the activities held there. These activities include watching the cooking shows and workshops: how to make an ice-cream or what kind of ingredients to use with ice-cream. In other words everything about ice-creams,” he said.

 

Luca mentioned that some cities are not quite certain yet because every city has its own rule, for example in Munich they don’t allow to stay more than three days, so fare like this can’t be held in just three days; they need one week- 2 days to build up, 4 days to present and then 1 day to pack up.

“There is also a voting option at the festival- a possibility to vote for the ice-cream you liked most of all, and the winner flavour would get an award. So it’s a good opportunity for the ice-cream makers to become famous because we have also Social Media accounts, pages or just Media partners we share information with. That’s why many ice-creamers come here from different cities to prepare their best one or create a special flavour for the fare, to become known,” Luca added.

The project leader showed the glassy booth at the fare where the ice-creams are made and it’s open to public to watch the preparation system, the conditions, the machines, techniques and the like.

“We have a special high school for cooking called “Alberghiero” where you can learn everything about cooking- no matter you want to be a cooker or a waiter - just anyone in that field. So we offer the school to cooperate because the students don’t have an opportunity to have the practical part of their studies. So this is a great opportunity for them as well but we choose only the best students, the ones who are faster, cleaner, more professional,” summed up Luca.

He also told that in other cities they choose students and ice-cream makers from “local players”. The revenue stream mostly comes from the people who buy the card and also from the sponsors like Fabbri, Algida, Nutella Ferrero.

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A trip to Rome by Gayane Simonyan (third part): My visit to Roman Forum

Author: Gayane Simonyan

Roman Forum (Italian: Foro Romano) lies in the small valley between Capitoline, Palatine and Esquiline hills. Today it’s an expansive ruin of architectural fragments and remittent archaeological excavations attracting around 4.5 million tourists a year.

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum/ plaza/ square surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome.

It was for centuries the center of Roman public life: the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; the nucleus of commercial affairs and the site of triumphal processions and elections.

The statues and monuments on the Forum commemorated the great men of the city. It has been called to be the swarming heart of ancient Rome - the most celebrated meeting place in the world, and in all history.

Using the same card for Colosseum, you can enter Roman Forum as well. There you can find Roman kingdom’s earliest shrines and temples located on the southeastern edge. These included the ancient former royal residence, the Temple of Vesta (7th century BC), as well as the surrounding complex of the Vestal Virgins, all of which were rebuilt after the rise of imperial Rome.

The most attractive and interesting story was about the house of Vestal Virgins. The structure that can be seen today was built in brick-faced concrete after Nero’s fire in AD 64. It was then reconstructed by Trajan and restored by Septimius Severus. In AD 394 Theodosius I, a Christian emperor, ordered it to be abandoned. Bedrooms, reception rooms with heating systems and marble paving, and service areas such as kitchen and a mill were arranged on several levels around an arcaded courtyard, decorated with statues and fountains of the most famous Vestals of the past.

 

The priestly order of Vestals dates back to Romulus or Numa (8th- 7th centuries BC). Priestesses had to be aristocratic virgins, and were chosen by the Pontifex Maximus when they were between the ages of 6 and 10. Their service as priestess lasted for 30 years and brought them wealth and privilege, but also required chastity and observation of rituals. The Vestals kept alight the public fire that burned in the temple of Vesta, looked after sacred objects and celebrated annual festivals. On these occasions the Vestals prepared the mola salsa, a mixture of flour and salt, which was sprinkled on sacrificial victims.

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A trip to Rome by Gayane Simonyan (second part): My visit to Coliseum

Author: Gayane Simonyan

The largest amphitheatre of the Roman Empire and one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering is the Colosseum or Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre. It is the largest amphitheatre in the world built of concrete (a deposit of cement) and stone.

The Colosseum - used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, reenactments of famous battles, executions, and dramas based on Classical mythology - could hold between 50 - 80,000 spectators. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era.

Getting off the metro station called “Colosseo” in Rome, Italy you will see a huge antique building standing boldly in ruins that will definitely attract your attention. This is called Colosseo in Italian. Seeing a long- long queue in front of the two ticket spots and the entrance during tourist season, makes you more and more willing to enter it.

If you want to get familiar with the history of Colosseum, the guides are always there for you. Getting inside you will find yourself as a participant of the famous movie called “Gladiator” where Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murder of his family and his emperor.

Walking around you can find patterns of ruins with specific description that will help you have a general idea about the building and the stages it has gone through.

Enjoying the panorama, taking as many photos as possible you will spend around an hour and a half to explore it and then you will go out impressed and encouraged to share your impression and rapture with the others who didn’t have a chance to see it yet.

Getting out you will see a beautiful place with different columns, old structures and a bunch of tourists waiting for their turn to enter: this is a plaza, a square called Foro Romano or Roman Forum.

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Italian Companies responding to the crisis through hard work and commitment: an interview with Antonella Rossi

(Transcript translated)

Who is Antonella Rossi? Could you tell us about your current company?

Beginning professionally as a tailor in the family, from 1950 in Empoli, in a drapery shop run by Rino Rossi and Anna Fabiani Rossi. Together with my sister Lina, I created my first collection of hand-made and embroidered couture bridal gowns called “AnnaLina”. We use the art of cutting and embroidery; elements that have always characterized the production in the workshop, which is now in its third generation. This is a tailor shop where the search for fabrics, fancy embroidery, love for lace, and the frills and ruffles are the rouches and volants and the key features in the construction of a dress. Be it wedding, cocktail or ceremonial; we use traditions handed down over time, with pride, from mother to daughter.

Today the Antonella Rossi brand is present in many countries. This is with the help of my three daughters, Erika, Anna and Julia. The distribution is in selected, upmarket shops, scattered around Europe, the United States, the Middle East and China. For the more discerning customers, a "tailor one-to-one" service is offered within the customer’s home in every corner of the world.

The workshop, located in a charming building in the heart of Rome, includes a very feminine and glamorous collection, designed for the modern and dynamic woman, committed to work and family. 

Strong points: the lines are wrapped and sexy, using soft and delicate fabrics like jersey and lightweight satin or taffeta, and the Mikado

Can you separate your public and private lives; can you disconnect from work or is it with you 100% of the time?
During working hours, my work absorbs me completely and I am unable to attend to my personal life. In my free time though, I devote myself to my passions: painting, sculpture, music and theatre.

How has your job changed since you started?

I started to work early because I found myself catapulted from morning to evening, having had a significant loss in the family, I tried to follow my way of doing business by associating the concept of art, fashion and culture. The biggest change occurred in the last two years because the aim of my project is to gain visibility abroad and thus open up new markets.

What are the biggest problems in running a business as an entrepreneur?

The main problem is access to credit facilities and European funding: Unfortunately in this society, the entrepreneur is often alone and has to deal with an important sense of responsibility towards people who work for them.  So two aspects: difficulty finding investments for growth and sense of responsibility toward employees.

You've been struck by the "disease of the century." Do you want to talk about this? And especially how it changed your relationship with your work?

Regarding this question my answer is "yes", it has changed my relationship with work, both physically and financially: surely I can testify on both issues that I came out stronger and more determined.

What are the future projects for your company?

The biggest project that I'm pursuing right now is to present the Antonella Rossi brand as a brand of the world.

This question is quite rhetorical but inevitable: that this country needs to become modern? Especially that politicians should?

From my point of view, the way in which the Italian system was brought forward does not work. To improve our country's system we should leverage on what we are good at: tourism, cuisine, the arts, and, last but not least, fashion. Fashion is where I wish to move up to place me in an important position amongst the small and medium enterprises in crafts and ultimately, our story will be… The excellence of MADE IN ITALY.

You live in Rome: how is your relationship with this city? You're not originally from Rome ...

Coming from a situation where one breathes the Tuscan Renaissance, living in Rome means living in a city where the empire is felt in every corner. The best thing to do is to see it again through tourists’ eyes, and then discover the wonders and enjoy all that surrounds me... no wonder it is called the Eternal City

A word of advice to young people who are looking for work

The youth are our future and our hope. I would advise them to study and enter the workforce during university to pursue the goal they have set; always aim high; and that any job will do.

The Florence Newspaper: Rome and Florence at War over Statue of David

As you marvle at the masterpieces of the Renaissance abundant throughout Florence, you probably never stop to contemplate the question: who owns these great works of art? But this question is a very pertinent one to Florentines at the moment. Who owns the statue of David and the estimated 10 million Euros he brings in per year? This very issue is under consideration by the State government in Rome and discussions are underway between the national government and the commune. The question, raised in response to the State's request for a larger share of the revenue the famed statue brings in to the Galleria dell'Accademia, can be viewed as part of a larger issue concerning who owns the cultural heritage and artwork throughout Italy, and, similarly, who should be responsible for the maintenance and management of the objects. What the matter really comes down to, though, is who should be on the receiving end of the income?

So who are the contendors in this match-up? On one side of the ring we have the mayor of Florence, Matteo Renzi, and Cristina Acidini, superintendent of the Polo Museale Fiorentino, the organization that manages the state museums in Florence. On the other, we have Sandro Bondi, minister of the Beni or cultural heritage and art of Italy. Acidini and Renzi claim unequivocal ownership of the statue created by a Florentine for Florentines some five hundred years ago, and, therefore, control of the funds the statue brings in from the flood of tourists who flock to catch a glimpse of Il gigante. The David alone reportedly brings in approximately 12% of the total tourist revenue for the city. Let's stop to think about this: start with the almost one million paying visitors who went to the Accademia last year, multiplied by the 6.50 euro price paid for the entrance ticket, which does not take into account the 4 euro reservation fee most visitors pay. If only half of the 1 million visitors pay the reservation fee, a low-end estimate, the Galleria dell'Accademia makes a grand total of 8.5 million per year - at least. And this amount still does not account for the countless David souvenirs sold in Florence - anything from statuettes to men's underwear - which also constitues a part of the tourist revenue the statue draws in for both the Accademia and the city itself.

Now to the prize in question: Michelangelo's nude masterpiece. For almost three hundred years, David stood in all his glory in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria, the paramount symbol of Florence's republican spirit. Here, in the palace then known as the Palazzo dei Priori, lived the priors of the city and here the basic civic functions of the republic took place. In 1873, to protect David's perfection from the elements, he was transported into the Gallerie dell'Accademia for preservation purposes. Carved from a 16-foot slab of white marble over a period of three years and completed in 1504 when Michelangelo was a mere 29 years old, the David represented the patriotism of Michelangelo and his fellow Florentines and the triumph of the commune over domination and tyranny from outside threats. Originally meant to stand atop the roof of the Duomo, David's oddly disproportional hands and head are less the effect of any anatomical miscalculation on Michelangelo's part, as proof of the artist's profound understanding of sculpture and perspective. Few would dare contest the beauty and perfection of this 14-foot statue.

But what can be disputed, and which currently stands trial, is the proprietà, or ownership, of the statue. However, a twelve-page document dating from November 9, 1871, between the Regio Governo and the Municipio di Firenze, attests to the commune's ownership of the Palazzo Vecchio, the Piazza della Signoria, and the adjoining objects of art, including Michelangelo's masterpiece. Hard to argue against original documentation. Except for when the government has spent money on preserving, maintaining, and protecting the object in question. After cutting state funds for the maintenance of the cultural sites and artifacts of Italy, such as the David, the government now asks for a larger cut of the revenue these objects bring in, to which Florence has responded with a resounding, No, the David is ours.

Florentine legislators have submitted two proposals in Parliament to handle the situation in Florence, hoping to gain a special law regulating the relationship between city and state as well as the ownership of the statue. As discussions proceed between Florence and the national government, the parties involved recognize the potential applicability of the solution to the larger issue pertinent to all of Italy, of the ownership of and responsibilty for Italy's history. In addition to Florence, the legislation could affect other cities with a strong cultural heritage and may affect all state museums using government money while pocketing the proceeds.

Regardless of which side prevails, the David will remain safely where he stands in the Galleria dell'Accademia. His revenue, though, may no longer be contained within the walls of Michelangelo's beloved city, which mighty David continues to watch over and protect against outside intruders.

Written by Jessica Card
Art History Intern at The Florence Newspaper

Original Article
www.florencenewspaper.it/vediarticolo.asp?news=b0.06.23.15.49