Simple Italy

Celebrating Your Inner Italian

Chuck Olson: Art and Parma

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Artist Chuck Olson conducts a Springtime in Parma arts program for St. Francis University students.

Artist Chuck Olson conducts the Springtime in Italy arts program in Parma for St. Francis University students.

By Walter Sanders

We can find Inner Italians almost anywhere. And so it was that we encountered artist Chuck Olson’s Italian connection in Old City Philadelphia at the opening of his most recent exhibit at the Rosenfeld Gallery.

Sharon’s alma mater St. Francis University in Loretto, PA, hosted the event for Olson, 56, who is Chair of the school’s Fine Arts Department. He has been teaching there since 1976.

Look at Chuck Olson and you see a confident, polished and worldly gentleman. Yet, until he was 29, he had never traveled further from his western Pennsylvania home than Youngstown, Ohio. To polish his pronunciation skills of French artists and authors, he took an elementary French language class, then an additional 27 credits in French. “Studying a foreign language helped me understand and appreciate the power of a new cultural dynamic,” Olson said.

He met Marie, a French woman, in the United States and in 1987 they married. Marie shared her roots in western France with Chuck, and eventually, their two children. Every summer, the family rented a French farmhouse. “We prefer really experiencing a place, rather than collecting destinations.”

In 2006, Olson was given the opportunity to direct the Springtime in Italy arts program in Parma. “I took a risk. Many people in their 50s tend to withdraw but I jumped at the chance. Initially I didn’t know the language, I didn’t know a soul in Parma, but the journey has been amazing. After three years, I can stroll into the Mayor’s office after a warm welcome by his security people and discuss our programs,” Olson said.

“Italy was a different experience for me . . . the light, the foliage, the language. The food was different, even the bread. The people were more open and sharing. That helped me shape my teaching philosophy. My students’ experiences won’t be limited by lack of imagination. So I encourage them to travel on the weekends, participating in and sharing every cultural difference they can. The students come away with experiences that are legitimately their own.”

Italy has been fertile ground for Olson to develop interpersonal relationships. “I enjoy making connections between good people. Many of these relationships blossom, and a few whither on the vine.”  It is the magic of Italy that inspires people to connect with others.

To view more of Olson’s acrylic paintings, visit The Rosenfeld Gallery.

Tuscany in Texas?

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I sniffed to myself when I scanned this morning’s Wall Street Journal “Relative Values” real estate column. A 3,700-square-foot house resembling a casa colonica with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, and one powder room on 60 acres-in a development called the Vineyard at Florence-is listed for $5.5 million. “Hah,” said I, “if I had 5-and-a-half mil, I’d high tail it to Tuscany, not the Texas hill country.”

Since the aforementioned assets are not even a blip on my radar screen, I took a free trip to The Vineyard at Florence. Gorgeous scenery, fabulous amenities, 30 acres planted in vines  . . . what’s not to like?

The site explains that the developers are The Dionysus Group, LLLP, comprised of “members who share a desire to combine the best elements of life-community, exceptional living, natural beauty and wine.”

Guess they’re nurturing their Inner Italian-just like I am . . . albeit with much better funding.

Earthquake in L’Aquila

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L'Aquila's Palazzo Civico in better times.

L'Aquila's Palazzo Civico in better times.

Our plan to begin posting stories of our recent Puglian adventure is delayed by the horrible news of the earthquake in L’Aquila, Italy, that occurred during the pre-dawn hours on Monday, April 6.

This one strikes home to us because we drove past L’Aquila, the capital city of the region of Abruzzo, on March 24 while on our way to the Gran Sasso in the Apennines. We then continued south to the town of Sulmona for the evening.

The territory near L’Aquila is stunning. Snowcapped mountains soar more than 2,900 meters into the sky and I, for one, had a sense of solidity from all that formidable rock. But the region is prone to earthquakes and this terremoto registered a reported 6.3 on the Richter scale. Sadly, there are many fatalities, including children, although accurate numbers are still sketchy.

The American Red Cross Web site states that they have not yet been called upon in the relief effort. The New York Times is reporting that the Italian-American Museum in Manhattan is collecting donations for earthquake relief in L’Aquila.

Kiwi l’italiana

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kiwi2

I was surprised when I read the sticker “produce of Italy” on the kiwi fruit I’d popped into my bag at the local supermarket. It was so unexpected . . . like encountering Andrea Bocelli at the dry cleaner. The context seemed all wrong.

The kiwi got me to thinking about fresh food imports from Italy. I don’t believe I’ve ever encountered any before, with possible exception of blood oranges. The familiar foodstuffs from Italy that I know and buy (and consider essential for “genuine” tastes) are cured, dried, or preserved in some way: Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, canned San Marzano tomatoes, salted capers from Pantelleria, dried pasta from Abruzzo.

Yet, here was this fresh Italian kiwi, now in my kitchen. Not a typically “Italian” ingredient but, then, neither was citrus fruit when it came to Rome from southern China during the time of Emperor Augustus.

Kiwi probably also comes from China but didn’t make an impact on Western cooking until it was cultivated in New Zealand in the early 20th century. During the 1970s in France, kiwi became the darling of nouvelle cuisine, probably in large part to its startling green color. It’s been a constant in U.S. supermarkets since then.

I actually have seen kiwi growing in Italy. In June of 2002, while visiting an olive grower in Tuscia, a historic Etruscan area that comprises southern Tuscany and northern Latium, I noticed a verdant field of plants that I didn’t recognize. “Kiwi,” my host explained. “Wow,” I thought, “I didn’t expect that answer.”

A visit to the Italian Trade Commission Web site produced a link to a consortium Kiwi Latina (IGP). Latina is a province south of Rome. I doubted my kiwi could have been cultivated in March in central Italy unless in a greenhouse. On Italian Google, I searched the other name on the sticker “Star” in conjunction with “kiwi” but all I got for my effort was a link to famous movie directors from New Zealand.

Guess I won’t know where my Italian kiwi came from and I’m still uncertain whether it’s a good thing that it came so far. The 3-ounce kiwi cost 50 cents. If the kiwi were an 125-pound person flying one-way from Rome to New York, its air fare would be $334.

Have you seen any fresh foods from Italy in your supermarket? Tell us about them.

Philadelphia Fiori

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cherubJust got back from a whirlwind trip to “Bella Italia,” the 2009 Philadelphia Flower Show produced by The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. The show, which runs through Sunday, March 8, supports the many greening programs of the Society.

neptune

Stepping through the main doors, I felt like Dorothy when she was transported from drab Kansas to Technicolor Oz.

A massive fantasy rendition of an ancient Roman garden, created by J. Cugliotta Landscape Nursery, brimmed with roses, ageratum, delphinium, wisteria, pink marble walls, imperial columns, statuary and reflecting pools, crowned with a stage where acts from opera singers to Italian folk musicians perform.

Wow, and that’s just the grand entrance.

[Read more…]

Remembering Amarcord

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By Walter Sanders

Maybe the greatest cinematic love letter ever filmed, Federico Fellini’s 1973 Amarcord is a special treat on Valentine’s Day.

amacordIt’s a multi-layered, lasagna-like love story-a good looking taste treat of Fellini’s remembrances of growing up in Rimini. Through the eyes of his alter-ego teen character Titta Biondi, Fellini tracks a year (from spring to spring) in pre-WW II Fascist Italy.

Amarcord, dialect for “I remember,” is about his love of youth, his love of the seasons passing, his love of women, his love of political folly, his love of the foibles of love, his love of Rimini, and his love of being in love, his love of memory and how it expands some images…and laughs at others.

The characters are lush and over the top. Zio Teo, the crazy uncle, sprung from the asylum for a family picnic, climbs a tree and howls for hours like a horny wolf “Voglio una donna!” (I want a woman.) [Read more…]