Articles by: F. G.

On April 27, ENIT hosted a presentation on the Abruzzo region, a chance for the attending American tourism agents and tour operators to learn more about it.

Located in central Italy, along the Adriatic coast, Abruzzo stretches from the sea to the Apennines. Its territory features 80 miles of sandy coastline and wild and mountainous inlands, and makes it the perfect touristic destination all year round. 

Abruzzo is also a particularly accessible destination: the Aeroporto d’Abruzzo located in Pescara, makes it very easy to fly to the region, and for those who’d prefer traveling from Rome, the most western border of Abruzzo is just a 50 mile drive.

Abruzzo is known as the “European Green Region” because of its three National Parks: Gran Sasso-Monti della Laga National Park, Majella National Park and Abruzzo National Park. The parks occupy most of Abruzzo’s territory and they offer thrilling itineraries for active trips, adventure tours and nature tourism. 

Eugenio Magnani, Director at ENIT New York, discussed the beauties and peculiarity of Abruzzo with a native from the region, ENIT’s Vice-President and Councillor for Tourism of Abruzzo Mauro Di Dalmazio. Di Dalmazio saluted the guests by listing few reasons to choose Abruzzo: “Its untouched beauty, the warm-heartedness and authenticity of its inhabitants, and the unique opportunity Abruzzo offers to enjoy tranquility and find yourself again.”

The spirituality of Abruzzo was further explored by ENIT’s Francesco Bardazzi with a presentation on the region’s numerous medieval hermitages in the mountains, a must visit for avid hikers.

During his visit to the United States, Di Dalmazio was also in Chicago, presenting the Pescara
Jazz festival which will take place next Summer in Pescara. The line-up for this year’s edition of the festival includes world famous artists such as Chick Korea and Stefano Bollani, whom will be the opening act of the festival on July 5, Enrico Rava and the Wayne Shorter Quartet, whom will perform on July 15, and Paolo Conte, closing the 2012 edition of Pescara Jazz on August 3. 

A millenary culture, a breathtaking nature and the inborn sense of genuine hospitality of the region’s inhabitants are equally as enticing as the possibility Abruzzo offers to accomplish different activities in the span of one day: “Everything is so close-by and reachable that you can go to the beach in the morning, go have lunch in a villa on the hills and visit a natural park in the afternoon,” Di Dalmazio stated.
 

“There are so many beautiful places, few of them are unforgettable. Abruzzo is one of those, it is a never ending emotion,” he added.  

Everybody knows Naples. The city is famous for its culture and traditions, for its stunning beauty, for its luscious foods such as pizza and mozzarella, for its music and for its dialect, which is more of a language and a very important key to understanding it fully. 

But Campania, where Naples is located, is much more than just Naples, and representatives from the Region came to New York to shed a light on the most beautiful hidden gems for American tourists who wish to go off the beaten track.
 

On April 18, ENIT hosted an event to present the “We Campania” project, an outreach to American tourism agents and tour operators that had the chance to meet with authorities, hotel owners and representatives from the tourism sector of Campania.

“We Campania” is also a publication and a website, presenting the small historical boroughs of the region to the operators whose customers are looking forward to new and exciting ways of discovering Italy.  
In a very convivial and informal set-up, a recurrent feature of the most recent events at ENIT since the appointment of Eugenio Magnani as Director, American representatives of the tourism sector could sit at a table with the Italian guests and network, while nibbling on Italian delicacies and sipping on fine wines. 

Alfredo Aurilio, President of the Provincial Tourism Board of Caserta, was present at the event and explained the philosophy behind “We Campania” to i-Italy: “Our goal is to promote destinations such as Caserta, Salerno, the Baia Domizia coast and the Cilento area. These areas are exceptional and they have a quality-price ratio that is hard to find anywhere else in Italy.” 

Talking about the reciprocal admiration between Americans and people from Campania, Aurilio mentioned the very recent America’s Cup, which reached its conclusion in Naples: “It was a great success, a great celebration of Naples and Campania as a whole that Americans honored us with.” 

More on the topic, Aurilio told i-Italy about the special connection between Naples and New York, both located on the 41st parallel: “The greatest similarity I found so far is the people’s open-mindedness. We hope to welcome more and more American tourists to Campania, not just to Naples. It’s very exciting to be here and to talk about our region, which will be even easier to reach from June 1st, when Meridiana Eurofly will launch a new direct flight route from New York to Naples.”

Amilcare Troiano, President of the National Park of Cilento and Vallo di Diano, was also present at the event. He gave a speech about the peculiarities of the park, the largest protected area in Italy, which was first designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve Site, then in 1998 was inscripted in the organization’s list of World Heritage Sites, together with the Archeological sites of Paestum and Velia, and the Certosa di Padula.

Anne Masters, President at Travel Italy Now, told i-Italy how useful she deemed such a meeting occasion: “I have talked to some wonderful hotel owners,” she commented. 

The event was a very special chance to get acquainted with new touristic destinations to propose to customers who want to travel to Campania but have already visited the most well known areas of the country: “Everybody wants to go to Italy. People who have been there before are interested in seeing places that are more authentic than say the Amalfi Coast, now so crowded and touristy. I believe places like Salerno, Paestum and the Cilento National Park are marvelous, less expensive and more real.”

According to the Italy Report 2012 published by Eurispes (European Institute of Political, Economic, and Social Studies), almost 60% of young Italians are ready to move abroad to start a new life.

59.8% of the interviewees between the ages 18 and 34 and 57,1% of those aged 25 to 34 wouldn’t hesitate to leave Italy. The percentage of Italians willing to relocate abroad is lower among the interviewees aged 35 to 44, 45.2% of which would leave the country. The figure drops to 35% for the 45-64 age group, and it’s the lowest among the interviewees over 65 years of age, only 20.5% of which would still move abroad.

When Italians are asked to elaborate on the reasons why they would leave their homeland, 22.9% mentions the availability of better employment opportunities in other countries, 14.1% refers to better opportunities in general and 11.8% believe the cost of life would be lower abroad.

63.2% of Italians are often or always discouraged about the country’s overall situation. 57.7% feel helpless and believe that their actions have little or no power to reverse the critical condition of their nation. One third of the interviewees declare they never feel optimistic or serene when judging Italy’s present state.

Most of the interviewees are not willing to personally engage in attempts of ameliorating the situation, 59.6% of them in fact feel “not” or “scarcely” motivated to do so, 30% feel quite motivated and only 8.3% of them are “very” motivated. Even so, 53.1% of the interviewees believe that sacrifices must be done to overcome the present moment of crisis -- 41.3% are quite convinced of their future effectiveness, and 11.8% are strongly convinced about it – but the percentage of skeptical Italians is still 45%.

The majority of Italians don’t feel represented by any political party, and among those who feel this way, 73.2% also feel constantly discouraged about the future.

The feelings of discontent and disheartenment are particularly diffused among young Italians, 75% of the interviewees between the ages of 25 and 34 in fact state that they “always” or “most of the time” feel discouraged about their future in Italy. 58.9% of the Italians aged 18 to 24 share this feeling, and 60.7% of them feel  “always” or “most of the time” impotent about the situation.

Surprisingly, the most optimistic interviewees are the ones residing in Southern and Insular Italy, where the percentages of people feeling “always” or “oftentimes” positive about the current state of Italy and its future are consistently high.

Jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava is by far one of Italy’s contemporary national glories.

It’s not just because of his signature style -- which combines traditional atmospheres with a twist of fresh wryness, a pinch of burnished sensations and an intensely solid lyrical sound -- but especially because, in his 40 years of career, he helped a new generation of Italian jazz talents developing their own sound, while they infused Rava’s music with new flavors and charms.

Rava’s talent scouting skills birthed musical phenomena such as pianist Stefano Bollani, trombonist Gianluca Petrella and guitarist Roberto Cecchetto, just to mention a few. His latest finds are two extremely young performers: pianist Giovanni Guidi, born in 1985, and even younger bassist Gabriele Evangelista, born in 1988.

The two artists, under Rava’s leadership, together with jazz veterans Gianluca Petrella and Fabrizio Sferra, released “Tribe,” the quintet’s first album.

Rava’s new record is an intergenerational work, full of fresh improvisations and multifaceted expressions. Everything is well harmonized with Rava’s main influences, Miles Davis and Chet Baker, and those free avant-garde musicians who influenced him so much at the beginning of his own career.

As Rava puts it: “I simply love playing with young musicians. As I continue to develop, I need to be surprised. When I notice the gifts of a young musician, I immediately involve him in my groups.”

“Tribe” will soon be performed in the US, where the Rava Tribe Tour will start on February 2nd from San Francisco, and move to Portland, OR on the 18th, to New York City from the 21st to the 25th, and end in Buffalo on the 26th.

Rava’s return to the Big Apple is more of a homecoming than anything else. It was in the mid-Sixties New York City that Rava came in touch with artists Roswell Rudd, Marion Brown, Rashied Ali, Cecil Taylor, Charlie Haden and Marvin Peterson. Rava lived in New York City for eight years, in which he worked and played with the greatest artists on the jazz scene, while directing quartets, touring the world and receiving prestigious awards.

In 2004 Rava performed in the temple of contemporary jazz, the Blue Note, and in 2009 he dedicated to New York City an entire record, titled “New York Days” recorded with an all star quintet: Mike Turner, Stefano Bollani, Larry Grenadier and Paul Motian.

Rava’s declaration of love to New York will perpetuate this year at the Birdland Club.
We recommend you don’t miss it.