LA SCALA RENOVATIONS

Nearly three years after closing its doors for a major renovation, Milan’s La Scala is almost complete, and officials promise that the largest stage inEurope will be ready for its opening night gala on December 7th. While its interior still looks like a construction site, more than 150 workers are on site from dawn to nearly midnight every day preparing La Scala for its opening show, “Europa Riconosciuta.” Theater officials insist that the project is going better than predicted.

The $67 million renovation, which began in December 2001, added storage space where moveable sets are kept, allowing the opera house to put on more, and larger productions. Other upgrades include small simultaneous translation screens mounted on the 1800 seats which will display text in English, French, German or Italian.

La Scala was constructed by Giuseppe Piermarini from 1775 to 1778 afterMilan’s Royal Ducal Theater burned down. Several well-known operas, including Verdi’s Otello and Falstaff have premiered there. While La Scala has undergone renovation, performances have been held on the outskirts ofMilan at the Teatro degli Arcimboldi.

Source: National Italian American Foundation

Some call NIAF Board Member Robert Cuillo a renaissance man. Cuillo, president and CEO of Cuillo Enterprises based inWest Palm Beach, Fla., is a car mega-dealer, a Broadway producer, a community theater owner, and now an Italian wine maker.

In the center of Tuscany on top of a hill lies the medieval hamlet of Livernano where Cuillo and his wife can be found when not in Florida or New York. Originally inhabited by Etruscans and later occupied by the Romans, it was used as a stronghold in the Middle Ages. The small church dates back to the 11th century. After the quarrels between Siena andFlorence in the 17th century, Livernano turned into a quiet farming village which was abandoned in 1953 as a result of World War II. It regained new life in 1990 with a complete restoration.

Today, Livernano is a winery that also produces olive oil and other natural products. New vineyards were planted containing nine different varieties of grapes. Two houses have also been completely redesigned as bed-and-breakfast guest homes.

For more information on Livernano, its products and accommodations, visit www.livernano.it.

Source: National Italian American Foundation

A little bit of Italy has cropped up in a most unlikely spot – Stillwater, Minnesota, which now has its own Venetian-like gondola available for romantic forays on theSt. Croix River. Lumber mills once lined the banks of the river; today the lumber barons’ Victorian homes have been preserved and turned into bed-and-breakfast inns. Stillwater’s downtown includes Minnesota’s oldest standing courthouse, a logging and railroad museum, restaurants, shops and art galleries. And now, an authentic Venetian gondola can be seen gliding down the city’s main river.

Inspired by a photo of a gondola in a newspaper, John Kershbaum spent about $25,000 to buy and fix up a used one which he had shipped fromItaly in 2001. On theSt. Croix tours he wears a Venetian gondolier outfit – blue-and-white striped shirt and flat-brimmed straw hat with orange ribbon.

Source: National Italian American Foundation