by martagiani

Artemisia Gentileschi comes to Milano

September 22, 2011 in Art Places, Catch It If You Can

Artemisia self portrait

Self-portrait as a lute player, about 1615-1620

The figure of Artemisia Gentileschi is quite well-known—the daughter of Baroque painter Orazio Gentileschi, and a painter herself, she was one of the most prominent artists in her time. However, her artistic pursuits and relevance wouldn’t be really acknowledged by critics until the twentieth century—some three-hundred years later; and even then, the story of her personal life would somehow still ‘interfere’. The victim of a rape by her tutor painter Agostino Tassi, her father brought him to trial when it turned out he wouldn’t marry her. This contributed to make Artemisia a crucial figure to feminism, rather than to painting.

But in fact, her works are as beautiful and striking as any other’s. Influenced by Caravaggio, as well as her own father, her style is quite naturalistic and makes frequent use of chiaroscuro (strong contrasts between dark and light colors). Favorite subjects are Biblical ones, especially strong-willed women (her rendition of Judith slaying Holofernes is famous as it is raw and intense), which is often regarded as an after-effect of her own life experience.

The upcoming exhibition, Artemisia Gentileschi. Storia di una passione (‘The story of a passion’) explores her art throughout her whole life and the cities she lived in most of the time: Rome, Florence, the second Rome period and finally Naples—not to mention her English period at the court of King Charles I.

Starting on September, 22, the exhibit will run at Palazzo Reale every day for the next three months until January 29, 2012. Tickets are 9€ (standard) or 7,50€ (reduced) and an audioguide is included. Below are more details on opening hours and how to get there. It’s a wonderful opportunity to get to know an amazing woman painter—don’t miss it!

Artemisia Gentileschi. Storia di una passione
Palazzo Reale
Piazza Duomo 12 – map
Opening hours: Mon 2.30pm—7.30pm; Tue—Sun 9.30am—7.30pm; Thu and Sat 9.30am—10.30pm. Last admission one hour before closing time
Tickets: 9€ full, 7.50€ reduced and groups; 4.50€ special reduced; +1.50€ advance sale. Audioguide included.

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by martagiani

Elephants are coming!

September 15, 2011 in Art Places, Catch It If You Can

Elephant paradeOnce upon a time, elephants used to be uncommon animals in a city environment. But, starting tomorrow, they will integrate perfectly in downtown Milano.

Elephant parade is an initiative launched in Rotterdam back in 2007, and it was immediately so successful that in the following years other cities repeated the experiment—Antwerp, Amsterdam, London and many others. About eighty brightly colored life-size kid elephants will be scattered throughout the city to promote awareness, and ultimately raise funds for preserving the Asian Elephant. Each of those sculptures is in fact painted by an artist and, at the end of the exhibit, will be auctioned by Christie’s—most of the money going to the Asian Elephant Foundation.

And there’s a perk for this Milanese edition—have you ever dreamed of painting an elephant? Well, ViviMilano magazine has two elephants waiting for you! Design your own decoration and send it in before October, 13. A jury will select the two best proposals, which will then come to life by a ‘ghost artist’. Isn’t this fun? :)

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by martagiani

Time for a gourmet taste!

September 14, 2011 in Catch It If You Can, Eat Out

Taste of Milano map

If you’ve ever wanted to eat at one of the best restaurants in Milano, but you never could because they’re usually less than affordable, now is your chance! For four days, the Ippodromo del Galoppo (the horse racetrack in San Siro) will host Taste of Milano, a food festival where you can try the best of the city’s restaurants, see chefs in actions and participate in many workshops.

Italian and Milanese cuisine, but also Japanese and Fusion: 20 chefs will prepare three of their best dishes every day for you to try and mix (for a grand total of 60 specialties to choose from), which you can accompany with the best wines in the Wine Bar. Cannelloni, lamb, pizza, bucatini, tiramisù, gelato, goose, foie gras, salmon, sushi, you name it—isn’t your mouth watering already?

If so, there are a few things you need to know in order to enjoy the foodfest.

  1. It runs from Thursday, 15 to Sunday, 18 and it is scheduled in sessions—lunch or dinner. Check this page for all details. You have to choose when you want to go, and you have to do that in advance because—
  2. You’ve got to buy a ticket (standard fare is 25€, more expensive packages are available) in advance. You can do so on the Taste website by clicking on the ‘acquista ora’ (‘buy now’) link. The ticket allows you to enter the event, visit the many attractions and participate in courses and workshops.
  3. Once in, you have to know the event has its own currency: the ducato, which you have to have in order to buy your food and drinks. As soon as you enter, you’ll see the counters where you can get the amount of ducati you desire. Exchange rate is 1€ = 1d, and they’re non-refundable. (If at the end of your food tour you have some left, you can give them to charity before leaving). Consider that dishes cost between 4 and 6 ducati each.

Taste of Milano
Ippodromo del Galoppo
Entrance: Piazzale Lotto – corner Via Diomede, Milano
M1 (red line) Lotto; BUS 90-91
See the ATM Giro Milano website to calculate your route

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by martagiani

From the Laguna to the Navigli

September 13, 2011 in Catch It If You Can, Movie Night

Terraferma

Emanuele Crialese, Terraferma – Special Jury Prize

Now that the glamorous Venice Film Festival is over, those of you who couldn’t attend have the opportunity to see its films in Milano, from September 15—21, in original version with Italian subs well before the official Italian release date.

The event’s title is Le vie del Cinema. I film di Venezia (‘Roads of the Cinema. Venezia’s films’) and features a selection of both competing and out-of-competition films. The complete program can be found as a pdf here, whereas if you’re looking for a specific film, this is the complete list of what you will find.

Tickets are generally 7€. Corriere della Sera, among the initiative’s sponsors, is offering a coupon every day with its Milano edition to buy tickets at 2€. You have to buy the newspaper, cut the coupon and give it to the ticket seller once you go buy your seat—or when you collect your tickets if you bought them online.
There’s also a Cinecard Venezia at 32€ that gives you access to eight films (you’ll still have to go collect your tickets!).

You can buy your tickets or Cinecard Venezia and convert coupons at the Infopoint (at the Apollo spazioCinema, galleria de Cristoforis 3), open 1pm—8pm. Or you can buy tickets directly at the venue, on the same day of the show. A third way would be to get them online from the Lombardia Spettacolo website (which is unfortunately only in Italian): on the homepage click ‘acquista on-line’, then on ‘acquista’ at the bottom of the page—then just follow the instructions.

Participating theaters are listed below:

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by martagiani

Fall 2011 Concert Season

September 10, 2011 in Catch It If You Can, Music in the City

Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler

Here’s our usual calendar for this fall’s major rock/pop dates. Tickets can be generally found at TicketOne – adequately in advance – and at the end of the article you’ll find details about the venues and how to get there.

SEPTEMBER

Sunday, 11 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Avril Lavigne
Tuesday, 13 @ Teatro Arcimboldi: MiTo: Franz Liszt, Les Prèludes & Gustav Mahler, Symphony n. 5 in C# minor
Saturday, 17 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: MiTo: Carl Orff, Carmina Burana & Igor Stravinsky, Le sacre du printemps
Friday, 23 @ Teatro Arcimboldi: PFM in Classic
28—29—30 @ Teatro Arcimboldi: Notre Dame de Paris 10th Anniversary

OCTOBER

1—2 @ Teatro Arcimboldi: Notre Dame de Paris 10th Anniversary
Monday, 3 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Modà
Friday, 7 @ Teatro Arcimboldi: Tori Amos
Monday, 10 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Bruno Mars
12—13—15 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Negramaro
Friday, 21 @ Teatro Arcimboldi: Mario Biondi with Big Orchestra
28—29 @ Teatro Arcimboldi: Raf

NOVEMBER

Monday, 7 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Zucchero
11—12 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: George Michael
Monday, 14 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Bob Dylan + Mark Knopfler
Tuesday, 15 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Incubus
Monday, 21 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Lenny Kravitz
Saturday, 26 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Marco Mengoni
Monday, 28 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Smashing Pumpkins

DECEMBER

Sunday, 11 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Red Hot Chili Peppers
Monday, 12 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Rihanna
22—23—25—26—28—29 @ Mediolanum Forum, Assago: Laura Pausini

MEDIOLANUM FORUM
Via G. Di Vittorio, 6 – map
20090 Assago (MI)
Tel: 199128800 – Fax: 02/48844.898

TEATRO DEGLI ARCIMBOLDI
Viale dell’Innovazione, 20 – map
20126 Milano
Tel: + (39) 02.64.11.42.200 (Mon-Fri 10am—6pm)
Tickets: + (39) 02.64.11.42.212/214 (Mon-Fri 10am—6pm)

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by martagiani

9/11, Ten Years After

September 9, 2011 in Art Places, Catch It If You Can

Picture by Peter Morgan – Reuters

Picture by Peter Morgan – Reuters

This coming Sunday is the tenth anniversary of 9/11, a day that’s marked in world history as one of the most shocking events in recent years—to the point that the date alone, ‘nine eleven’, is enough to elicit acknowledgment and bitter memories. Besides the inherent tragedy, the fact that the whole world practically could see it happening live on the TV and online just added to the collective anguish—and so it was with the aftermath.

The City of Milano has organized two exhibitions and other events to commemorate the day. Opening tonight (invite-only), 11.9, Il giorno che ha cambiato il mondo. Dieci anni dopo. Documenti e immagini (‘9/11, The Day that Changed the World. Ten Years After. Documents and images’) is a photographic exhibition that tells the story of the day, and those immediately following, through a selection of pictures from the greatest photographers—James Nachtwey, Steve McCurry, Susan Meiselas among others. It is held in the ground floor rooms at Palazzo Reale. In the building’s inner courtyard, there’s also a contemporary art installation by Antonio Paradiso called L’ultima cena globalizzata | Global Last Supper, made up of 20 tons of Twin Towers debris, while the history behind this work is shown in another room with 70 pictures. Both exhibitions last until October, 2 and entrance is free.

Two concerts are also scheduled for Sunday, September 11:

  • 5.30pm, in the courtyard of Palazzo Marino
    Civica Orchestra di Fiati di Milano: New York, New York (music by Kander, Bernstein, Barber)
  • 8pm, at La Scala
    Orchestra laVerdi, directed by Zhang Xian: Schicksalslied op. 54 for mixed chorus and orchestra by Brahms, and War Requiem op. 66 by Britten.

Finally, tonight at 6.30pm at Palazzo Clerici a panel (in Italian) will revolve about the themes in Britten’s War Requiem. Entrance is free.

11.9, Il giorno che ha cambiato il mondo and L’ultima cena globalizzata | Global Last Supper
September 10—October 2
Palazzo Reale
Piazza Duomo 12 – map
Opening hours: daily 9.30am—7.30pm except Mondays: 2.30pm—7.30pm; Thursdays and Saturdays: 9.30am—10.30pm. Last admission: one hour before closing
Entrance free

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by martagiani

Milano Film Festival 16

September 8, 2011 in Catch It If You Can, Movie Night

September in Milano is a hot month if you’re into movies! Just as the Venice Film Festival is about to close in the laguna, Milano takes over with a lot of retrospective screenings (we’ve told you about the Locarno selection) and a festival of its own: the Milano Film Festival.

Born in 1996 as a short film competition for young Milanese filmmakers, the event has gradually grown during the years and is today a renowned indie and multicultural festival, able to spot young talents as well as to attract established authors and artists. This year’s official selection includes fifteen feature films, mostly first works, while fifty-five short films compete in their own sections for the Cavallo di Leonardo, a reproduction of the genius’ famed horse statue (a copy of which is located at the San Siro racetrack). Beside those two sections, there are many others, dedicated to particular genres or subjects.

I'm not there

This year’s retrospective features director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia), who’ll also deliver a masterclass on Saturday, 17. A special tribute is dedicated to music supervisor Randall Poster, who worked on and helped shape films like American Graffiti, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and I’m not there. He is also going to deliver a masterclass, on Wednesday, 14. The Outsiders is the official section for out-of-competition films, and includes Life in a day (at its Italian première), a social-cinematographic experiment by Kevin MacDonald who collected 4,600 hours of youtube users talking about their average day in ten minutes—all shrank to tell the story of a day in the world.

And this is not all! More sections are dedicated to animated films, documentaries (this year on the subject of State (T)error), cinema and contemporary art, immigration, classical music, the work of international organizations and NGOs and a parallel section for children.

From September 9—18, hundreds of films will be screened in ten venues across the city—including a big open air screen in Parco Sempione. The complete program is really rich with screenings, guests, masterclasses and many other events sponsored by partners. Have a look on the official website for more information:

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WOW Spazio Fumetto celebrates dogs in comics

September 7, 2011 in Art Places, Catch It If You Can

In Milano, so rich with museums and art places, you can find many exhibitions all year round. Beside Palazzo Reale, la Triennale (with a Bovisa branch too) and Castello Sforzesco – just to name the most known venues – a brand new museum opened not more than six months ago, of quite a different kind. Wow Spazio Fumetto is entirely dedicated to comics and their history, with a focus on Italian comics and frequent exhibitions.

Snoopy by Armani

The one opening tomorrow is dedicated to dogs. Or, better, the two exhibits: BAU! 88 cani col resto di 1 (literally: ‘WOOF! 88 Dogs and 1 Remaining’—a reference to a popular children song… about cats!) and Snoopy… è di moda! (‘Fashionable Snoopy’).

The first one, BAU! 88 cani col resto di 1 revolves around famous dogs in comics, from the one that appeared in Italy on the first issue of Corriere dei Piccoli, a kids’ magazine, through to Pimpa, Hello Spank, Goofy, Scooby-Doo and many others. You will find them on original pages, movie posters, gadgets old comic books and many more incarnations.

The second exhibit, Snoopy… è di moda!, is smaller and more focused. As appetizers to the upcoming fashion week, Charles M. Schulz’s world-famous beagle (and his sister Belle) accepted to be dressed up by six world-famous fashion designers: Armani, Versace, Lagerfeld, Guess, Rykiel and Basile. And to have their fashion photograph taken by other famed designers. The result is extremely cute and comes in the form of six stuffed Snoopys and several beautiful pictures.

Lastly, on September 24-25 (Saturday and Sunday) visitors will have the opportunity to have either a professional photographer take their picture with their own dog, or two illustrators draw their six-legged caricature. The exhibits last until October, 2 and tickets are 5€ or 3€.

BAU! 88 cani col resto di 1 and Snoopy… è di moda!
WOW Spazio Fumetto
Viale Campania 12 – map
From September, 8 (opening night at 6.30pm) to October, 2
Opening hours: Tue—Fri 3pm—7pm; Sat—Sun 3pm—8pm; Monday closed
Tel. 02.49.52.47.44
Tickets: 5/3€

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I Pardi di Locarno – September 8-11, 2011

September 6, 2011 in Catch It If You Can, Movie Night

That branch of the Lago Maggiore, which turns towards the north cutting into the Italian-Swiss border, is graced on its utmost tip with a beautiful town that every year, in August, is home to one of the oldest film festivals in Europe.

Held since 1946, Film Festival Locarno is perhaps less known to mainstream audiences than Cannes or Venezia – whose red carpets easily sweep all the attention – but among film lovers it is acknowledged as one of the most innovative and talent-ridden events around. A number of today’s most reputed directors were first introduced here, including the late masters Claude Chabrol and Stanley Kubrick, but also Miloš Forman, Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, Gus Van Sant and Kim Ki-Duk, not to mention charismatic actors the caliber of Michel Piccoli, Susan Sarandon, Carmen Maura and John Malkovich.

For about ten days at the beginning of August, an audience of thousands assembles in the Swiss town to enjoy the films on the open air screen in Piazza Grande—which is among the biggest screens of its kind, and a true spectacle in itself.

Piazza Grande screen Locarno

Locarno's famous open air screen in Piazza Grande

Now, those who couldn’t attend the festival but hang around Milano in September, have the opportunity to see a selection of those films before they are released (only on somewhat smaller screens). The event, called ‘I Pardi di Locarno’, will run every night from Thursday- Sunday, 8-11 September at Apollo spazioCinema and AriAnteo Umanitaria. All films are in their original language plus Italian subs. Tickets are 6.50€; a ‘Pardo Card’ is available at 15€ for up to 6 films.

Here follows the complete program, along with venue and ticket details. Enjoy!

Program

  • Thursday, 8
    @ Apollo spazioCinema
    —7.50pm and 10.10 pm
    SUPER 8 (J.J. Abrams, USA, 111’, English)
    @ AriAnteo Umanitaria
    —8.15pm
    BEIRUT HOTEL (Danielle Arbid, Lebanon, France, 98’, French, English, Arabian)
  • Friday, 9
    @ Apollo spazioCinema
    —8pm
    ABRIR PUERTAS Y VENTANAS (Milagros Mumenthaler, Argentina, Switzerland, 99’, Spanish)
    —10.10pm
    THE LONELIEST PLANET (Julia Loktev, USA, Germany, 113’, English, Georgian)
    @ AriAnteo Umanitaria
    —8.15pm
    BEST INTENTIONS (Din dragoste cu cele mai bune intentii) (Adrian Sitaru, Romania, Ungheria, 105’, Romanian)
  • Saturday, 10
    @ Apollo spazioCinema
    —8.15pm
    POLICEMAN (Hashoter) (Nadav Lapid, Israel, 107’, Hebrew)
    @ AriAnteo Umanitaria
    —8.15 pm
    ANOTHER EARTH (Mike Cahill, Stati Uniti, 92’, English)
  • Sunday, 11
    @ Apollo spazioCinema
    —1pm
    ANOTHER EARTH (Mike Cahill, Stati Uniti, 92’, English)
    —3pm
    BEIRUT HOTEL (Danielle Arbid, Lebanon, France, 98’, French, English, Arabic)
    —5pm
    BEST INTENTIONS (Din dragoste cu cele mai bune intentii) (Adrian Sitaru, Romania, Ungheria, 105’, Romanian)

Tickets

Available at the venues (each venue sells only for its screenings).
Full ticket: 6.50€ (reduced if you own AGIS, Amici del cinema or FNAC card)
Pardo Card: 15€ for up to 6 admissions (2 at a time maximum)
Should screenings be canceled for any reason, tickets will be reimbursed.

Apollo spazioCinema
Galleria de Cristoforis, 3 – Milano
Tel. 02.780390
MM 1/3 Duomo/San Babila

AriaAnteo Umanitaria – Chiostro dei Glicini
Via San Barnaba, 48 – Milano
MM3 Crocetta/Tram 9, 12, 16, 23, 27 / Bus 73, 84, 94

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by martagiani

A month in music

September 5, 2011 in Catch It If You Can, Music in the City

If you like music in all its forms, September is a very good month for you to be in Milano or Torino (well, a better month than usual). The two cities will host three weeks’ worth of events and concerts, featuring the best of Italian and international musicians in the classical, jazz, rock and ethnic genres.

Born back in 1978 in Torino, the festival was originally called ‘Settembre Musica’ and aimed to spread classical music outside of highbrow and expensive music halls and to meet a new public—which it did, and steadily went on doing during the following decades. Until, in 2007, the city of Milano joined forces: the festival was renamed MiTo (from Milano and Torino) Settembre Musica, and basically doubled its musical offer across the two cities.

This year, as usual, a wide array of concerts is scheduled, starting on September 3 in Torino and September 4 in Milano—to end in both cities on September 22. Highlights include – but are not limited to – conductors Daniel Barenboim and Zubin Mehta, violinist Salvatore Accardo, pianists Bruno Canino and Stefano Bollani, and singers Ornella Vanoni and Massimo Ranieri, just to name a few. Special relevance is also given to Haitian music, with a series of dedicated concerts starting on Sunday, Sept. 18; and there are shows for children and ‘educational’ events, where musicians meet the audience and discuss their music. And, as 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of Italy’s unification, many concerts celebrate the Italian tradition and history.

You can find the complete program on the website (be careful as to the location though, because the calendar shows events in both Milano and Torino at once!) or in pdf format (and I’m sure you already found this version somewhere around you in the city).

Admission is either free or up to 30€, depending on the event (though very few concerts charge maximum price, while most of the paying ones are 5€ or 10€). You can also buy a carnet or a pass in advance, which gives you admission to 3-18 concerts, depending on how much you’re willing to spend.

MiTo Settembre Musica
69 venues across the city of Milano
September 3 to 22, 2011

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