S E G M E N TITALIAN CULTURE MAGAZINE

January/February 2015 | www.segmento.com.au

IS

SU

E I

II F R E E

ABELLISSIMA

SUMMER!EMMANUELE FORCONE INTRODUCES PASTRY REVOLUTION

Founder: Daniele CurtoManaging Director: Daniele Curto daniele.curto@segmento.com.au 0418891285Editor in Chief: Krish Naidoo, Ivano Ercole editor@segmento.com.auMarketing Support: Anjali Vallabh marketing@segmento.com.auGraphic Artist: Cristoforo Carlei design@segmento.com.auCreative Consultant: Imbarani PoonasamyPhotographers: Paco Matteo Li Calzi, Daniele Curto

EditorialLa Bella Stagione! 3by Daniele Curto

RegularsLiving La Bella Vita 4by Valentina Bonatti

Amalsa: Working Holiday Visa Program 23by Elizabeth Wisser

Roots & Routes 20by Marco Maria Cerbo (Consul General of Italy)

Passione Vintage 28by Laura Vinci

Just Australia 31by Ilaria Gianfagna

Future in their Past 24by Archimede Fusillo

Soggetti Sonori 26by Salvatore Rossano

You “too” Speak Italian 5by Matteo Preabianca

From ItaliaThe Country Where all Things Beautiful 12by Omar D’Incecco

Roaming the Country 14by Mauro Zardetto

Tree-Climbing 33by Daniele Brugiotti

To contact the Segmento Editorial Staff: segmento@segmento.com.au 0418891285For advertising enquiries please contact:marketing@segmento.com.au0418891285Cover photo credits:Photographer: Paco Matteo Li Calziwww.pacomatteolicalzi.comModel: Demelza Reveley , Thomas DavenportHairdresser: Joe MauriSylk Hair Boutiquewww.sylkhairboutique.com.au

Food & Wine Meet Ian D’Agata 9by Daniele Curto

All crazy for Johnny 29by Johnny Di Francesco

Pastry Revolution 6by Emmanuele Forcone

Gelatissimo at Zanini 8

CultureConversing with Archimede Fusillo 30by Daniele Curto

Australian Diaries 30by Ivano Ercole

EducationBravissimi School 17by Laura D’Angelo

TourismSavouiring Sicily 19by Daniele Curto

MusicSanta Taranta 21by Laura D’Angelo

Media Partner of

Official Magazine of

Contributors: Daniele BrugiottiMarco Maria Cerbo Consul General of Italy Omar D'InceccoValentina BonattiJohnny Di FrancescoMauro ZardettoEmmanuele ForconeLaura D’Angelo

Ilaria GianfagnaLaura VinciArchimede FusilloSalvatore RossanoIvano ErcoleMatteo PreabiancaElizabeth Wisser

CONTENTS

CNN recently compiled a list of ten things that Italians do best. Included

in these activities are, adulation, spa, cursing and governments that do

not end the mandate. However there is an Italian virtue that Americans

categorize in fourth place, which has rekindled my childhood memories: lazing

on the beach!

It can elicit laughter and risibility, but… how can I put it? It’s true! We are the best at lying on the beach under the scorching sun like lazy lizards, aiming for the improbable tan, playing racchettoni (big wooden rackets used to play a kind of Tennis without the net on the foreshore) and cooling off in the shade of a kiosk savoring a gelato.

It is not by chance that summer in Italy is synonymous of a ‘bella stagione’ (an expression that has no comparison in the English language).

It expresses not only the arrival of good weather but also those side activities that invite you to leave home, to express your body with exuberance and vitality, which is almost unheard of during the course of other more grey seasons.

I still remember the end of my school years, which in Italy coincides with the beginning of la bella stagione, an eternal three months of pure, absolute, holiday, at the sea.

Those days usually began on the beach at 7 am (according to my mother my brothers and I had to breathe the sea air full of iodine in the early morning, although no one in my family had ever suffered from hypothyroidism), swim-ming at the sea were rigid and rhythmic between meals (not less than two hours after lunch to avoid congestion, according to Italian legend), then back home for lunch, an afternoon rest and back to the beach until sunset.

Three months of hypnotic routine and never growing tiresome of it.

Today when I look at the half-deserted Australian beaches my mind travels back and relives those indelible memories. And very rarely I allow myself the luxury to spend a day at the beach lazing, swimming and tanning. An “activity” that I find

difficult to explain to my Australian wife!

Daniele Curto

LA BELLA STAGIONE EDITORIAL

BUSINESS & EXECUTIVE COACHING

3

New Year and New Year resolution. Have you made your list yet? Is

it a new list or is the on-going list that you simply repeat every year

with the hope that now is going to work?

It is a bit sad to say but 95% of the New Year Resolutions are not going to work

because we haven’t been thought how to set it properly. Therefore, if you want

this year to be different, it is essential you follow those simple steps.

1. Make one at the time

We tend to have a long list of things we want to achieve or to do every single

year and we never focus on the one that we want the most. Energy goes where

focus go. If you want to make some changes, change one thing at the time and

place all your focus and energy on that direction.

2. Make your own resolution

We often tend to “adopt” other’s resolutions that don’t really resonate with us

or we set resolution because of expectation form society, family and friends. If

it’s not relevant for us, chances are we are going to give up very soon. Therefore,

make sure your resolution actually what YOU want and looking to achieve.

3. Get start straight away

How many times we said: oh well, I ‘ll start on Monday? If you want something,

go and get start right now. Procrastination leads to failure.

4. Work hard

Often we work hard the first 2-4 weeks from making the resolution and then

life starts to get in the way and we return to old habits and patterns. If you want

something bad enough, you have to work hard to achieve it, have to persist and

persuade on your journey even when obstacle rise (see point n.5)

5. Be willing to fail when trying

Persistence and perseverance are two of the main ingredient of success; they

allow us to start again even after falls and setback (they just test you on how

much you want it). Use your failure as feedback to learn from it and for not

making the same mistake again next time and be willing to stand only one time

more than your setback. If you failed, then means you have tried; and keep

trying, will reward you.

6. Arrive at the finish line

Related to point 5, many of us try, fail and then never try again. They quit. If

your resolution is very important to you, it is really what you want to achieve,

then you have to keep trying and eventually, you will hit the finish line. A

fantastic quote says: if you are not going all the way, why start?

Write it down

December is often the month when we start to vocalize and think about the

New Year resolution but many of us fail on writing it down and then we forgot

about it very soon. Therefore, make sure it is written down following the steps

above and place it in a spot where you can look at it every single day such as

your computer screen, on your bedside table or the mirror in the bathroom

For any info visit the website www.valentinabonatti.com or email at info@valenti-

nacoachingbystyle.com

Living“La bella vita”

Discover if your New Year resolution will workby Valentina Bonatti

4

A kid would like an ice cream, a girl leaves home without her parents’ permis-

sion, a lonely woman is a glutton. Are you good at keeping secrets? Acqua in

bocca for anybody....

It said that Mum’s the word in English, bouche cousue in French, ¡chitón! in

Spanish and Acqua in bocca in Italian. If you are in Italy and somebody tells

you, after he/she revealed a secret to you, “acqua in bocca”, please do not drink a

glass of water but, keep the secret and do not speak about it with anybody

SECRETS

It is a hot summers day, little Pietro and Maria, his grandma, are having a pleas-

ant stroll among their town’s streets. Dante Gelateria is open, with its yellow

tables and red table covers. A lot of kids que up in front of the ice cream man.

Suddenly, little Peter starts to cry, scream, throwing himself to the ground. The

grandma is embarassed. He throws a tantrum because he wants an ice cream.

Passersby stare at them and shake their head. The grandma gets angry and

grabs little Peter’s hand and heads for the ice cream: “Good day, I would like an

ice cream with strawberries and lemon please”. Afterwards, she whispers to the

kid: “please acqua in bocca with mum and dad, ok?”

Cristina is 13 years old. Her parents are at her grandparent’s house. She is at

home with Mattia, her little brother. Mattia should study his science homework

and she should look after him. Suddenly, the telephone rings: Martina, her

friend, invites her to go out. Immediately, Cristina goes to her room and puts on

her favourite red sweatshirt, a pair of jeans and her fashionable shoes. She pulls

back her long hair into a ponytail and she goes to Mattia’s room. She opens the

door and says: “I am going out with Martina briefly! Please, acqua in bocca!”.

Valeria has been fighting against the pounds all her life. At night she often has

an uncontrollable urge to eat something sweet. She haunts the house, sits on

the couch, drinks a glass of water and then she relents. She opens the cabinet

pantry and finds a Nutella jar. Quickly, she grabs a spoon, unscrews the cap of

the jar, she dips it into the sweet chocolate and, almost without realizing, she is

empties the entire jar.

Lillo, her cat is perched on the couch and rubs his body against her feet. Valeria

looks at Lillo, she is embarrassed and says: “It ‘a secret between us. Acqua in

bocca”.

BACKGROUNDS

The origins of this saying goes back to a remote time. The lexicographer Pietro

Gracchi tells the story of a woman gossip that asks a priest to give her a remedy

to stop talking badly of others. The priest gave her a bottle of water and told

her to pour a few drops in her mouth any time she felt the need to talk badly of

anyone.

If you cannot keep a secret, you can try this ancient remedy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMbk_Un_Hps

www.matteoteachesitalian.com

Twitter: mteachesitalian

Grazie a Elisa Perotti

Ssst.... Acqua in bocca! by Matteo Preabianca

“T O O ”I TA L I A N

SPEAK

YOU

5

In the world of pastry, changes led to a continuous development of taste and decoration. Just in the last few years we have witnessed the evolution of a new and fascinating art that is sugar, which is increasingly improving the standards and

beauty of the decoration.

This art must surely imply a considerable effort on the part of those who perform it, but undoubtedly it is this requirement more common to a few who can make a difference.

The wonder of this “discipline” is that it can make even the simplest cake unique. Adding a flower can make the smallest creation become innovative and generate great interest from the consumer and especially “make him dream…”

A big heartfelt wish from me in the hope that you too you enter the wonderful world of sugar. Welcome to Pastry Revolution!

COOKING METHODTo make a good cooking sugar we have to respect some very important functions:

• Use a clean copper saucepan, since it is a strong conductor of heat and will shorten the cooking time.

• Provide a powerful cooker or a plate of 2.5 KW

• Put water as the first ingredient (35/40% of the total weight of sugar (e.g. 1 kg of sugar 350/400 g water)

• Make syrup with the sugar and water.

• When the syrup comes to the boil add the glucose and bring it to the desired temperature

• Use cane sugar as it is refined and very clean

• Melt sugar gently, so as to melt all crystals.

• Approximately at 95 ° c the impurities of the sugar will form a froth on the surface of the syrup, which must be removed with the aid of a ladle.

• For best results melt gently and cook quickly.

• Pour the sugar and let it cool on the silpat always bringing the ends toward the centre.

PA S T R Y R E V O L U T I O N

B y E m m a n u e l e Fo r c o n eCh o c o l a t e , S u g a r & Pa s t r y

I t a l i a n M a s t e rWo r l d Ch a m p i o n

6

BLOWN AND PULLED SUGAR (GENERIC FIRST STEPS)400 g WATER

300 g GLUCOSE

1000 g SUGAR

10 g TARTARIC ACID AT 4°C BEFORE THE END

Procedure: put in a pot water and glucose and then add the sugar.

Bake at 152°C.

For bigger items bake at 155°C.

PULLED SUGAR 1600 g WATER

300 g GLUCOSE

1500 g SUGAR

N. 15 TARTARIC ACID DROPS A 160°C

Procedure: Put water into the saucepan with the glucose and then add the sugar.

At 160°C add drops of tartaric acid, baking it up to 166°C.

PULLED SUGAR 21000 g SUGAR

350 g WATER

50 g GLUCOSE

3 g CREAM OF TARTAR

Procedure: Add cream of tartar at the beginning of the cooking.

Bake at 170°C

ROCK SUGAR400 g WATER

1000 g SUGAR

25 g FREEZE REAL SEMIMONTATA

Procedure: Put water in saucepan with sugar. At 143°C add royal icing whip quickly to

disassemble for 2/3 times then pour into a carton lined with baking paper

cover immediately and allow to cool.

Bake at 143/145°C

ISOMALT1000 g ISOMALT

20 g WATER

Procedure: melt Isomalt at 160°C and add water at intervals.

Continue and finish the cooking at 180°C.

BLOWN SUGAR (LARGE PIECES)1000 g SUGAR

500 g WATER

350 g GLUCOSE

6 DROPS TARTARIC ACID (at the end of the cooking time)

Procedure: Put water into the saucepan with the sugar, bring to the boil and add the glucose.

Bake at 168°C and add at the end of cooking the drops of tartaric acid.

SUGARPASTE 1135 g WATER

10 g ANIMAL JELLY

1000 g ICING SUGAR

200 g POTATO STARCH

Procedure: Soften the gelatine in the water.

Melt and pour onto all the sugar and starch. Let stand.

Roll out and cut the desired shapes and allow to dry 2 days in an oven at 30°C.

RECIPE

7

SUGARPASTE 21500 g ICING SUGAR

16 g ANIMAL JELLY

80 g WATER (FOR JELLY)

70 g VINEGAR

Procedure: Rehydrate the gelatine in the 80g of water.

When rehydrated dissolve in vinegar and pour onto the sugar.

Mix and let stand wrapped in film before use.

SUGAR TASSE’1000 g GRANULATED SUGAR

25 g EGG WHITE

Procedure: Mix together the two ingredients and compact into a mould disk.

Smodellare immediately the object and let dry in the air or in an oven at 40°C for

24 hours from both sides.

When the work piece is ready, proceed to glazing with casted sugar.

info@emmanueleforcone.com.au

www.emmanueleforcone.com

P: 1300 871033

Follow us on Facebook : Pastry Revolution by Emmanuele Forcone

Gelato. This wonderfully delectable frozen dessert is a part of all our lives: we

reminisce about our childhood and allow ourselves to savour every mouthful…

hoping to never reach the end!

So, can you find anything better than a deliciously smooth, creamy gelato on a

glistening summers day? This is exactly what Maurizio and Gabriele of Zaninis’

had in mind when creating this genuine gelato artigianale. Zanini has been

offering authentic Italian food in Elwood since 2002 and now adding "gelato" to

their repertoire.

Maurizio was determined to create the perfect gelato, hence both Gabriele and

himself made their way to their home country, Italy in September 2013 to learn

the craft. The following months were dedicated to much training and practice.

Making a fresh and satisfying ice cream is not as simple as it seems. First and

utmost, freshness is paramount: Zanini’s cream and milk is carefully selected

and demands that every drop is optimum. The process follows a traditional

Italian recipe: a creamy milk base to which is added fresh ingredients to create a

gusto rainbow.

Zanini continues to research new flavours and innovate, pushing the boundaries

in search of great taste combinations.

GELATISSIMO

8

at Zanini

Vinitaly, the largest international wine and spirits fair held annually

in the city of Verona in northeast Italy, has a strategic arm abroad

called Vinitaly International. Its task is to facilitate the collaboration

between Italian wine producers and to make Italian wines better known and

appreciated by consumers around the world.

In February 2014 Vinitaly International launched an ambitious educational pro-

ject named VIA (Vinitaly International Academy) with the purpose of selecting

new “Ambassadors of Italian Wine”, i.e. informed and enthusiastic promoters

of Italian wine in the world. The person called upon to manage the courses

and seminars about Italian wine is the current Scientific Advisor of Vinitaly

International and Scientific Director of Vinitaly International Academy, Ian

D'Agata. Surely a wise choice considering the 25 years of experience he spent in

writing and lecturing about food and wine.

We had the privilege to meet and interview this man whose professional

curriculum ranges from journalism, wine expertise, medicine to cellular and

molecular biology.

Meet Ian D'agataScientific Director of VIAby Daniele Curto

Ian D’Agata you are an accomplished wine journalist and one of the major

experts of Italian wines in the world. Why do you think the creation of Vinitaly

International Academy was necessary and how will it operate?

“Vinitaly International Academy is the educational branch of Vinitaly. It was

created to help explain the differences and the quality of the many diverse

Italian wine grapes and wines. Italy is a fascinating country when it comes to

wine, but is a very complex reality. We have, in fact, over 540 grape varieties

from which we make wine. This should not be underestimated if we consider

that in France 90% of the wines are made from 15 grapes and in California 90%

of wines are made from about 8 grapes. The fact that we have so many different

grapes makes it a very complex subject matter.

We decided to establish VIA because we believe that even though there are

many different institutions organizing wine courses, often they are all made

the same way. Since it is a very complex matter everybody tends to be a little

superficial as this is the only way to get these courses done in order to not to

bore the people.

“Our goal is to do something different, using power point presentations and

talking about the science behind the wines and not just about aromas and

flavours.”

What about the courses and seminars on Italian wines? How important are

they for VIA to attain its objectives?

“I think these seminars are important for a variety of reasons. First of all they

help give Italian producers visibility. They do not involve just very well know

producers who may not have trouble travelling the world because they have the

financial power to do so. These courses and seminars, in fact, are very important

for small producers who really cannot afford to travel everywhere in the world

on their own. Vinitaly involves more and more groups (Consorzi) of small

producers and we give them a service they wouldn’t get otherwise.”

“Another reason relates to the fact that, as I said earlier, Italian wine is a complex

industry and many times we get the feeling that foreign consumers know very

little if anything about the real essence of our wines and what makes them so

special. So our seminars aim at educating people and getting them to appreciate

the unique qualities of Italian wines. It requires a little bit of work but it’s an

objective worth pursuing.”

What are the other challenges the Italian wine is facing these days?

“I think Italian producers have to work more together rather than be too

individualistic. They need to associate more and work together as a team. This is

very hard in Italy, a country traditionally divided by never-ending contentions

and rivalries. We are still pretty much a land of “guelfi” and “ghibellini”, the two

factions that fought one another in the Middle Ages. When the “guelfi” finally

won, they split into two further factions, “bianchi” (white) and “neri” (black). It

is just the way Italy is. But to compete on the global market we really have to do

more as a team and more as a united front.

“Another challenge is the production costs. Italian wines are always going to be

more expensive than Chilean or South African wines because the cost of labor

in Italy is so much higher. Either we lower those costs, which is hard to do, or

we have to really explain the quality of our wines and why you should pay more

for them.”

In terms of wine culture what is the greatest contribution Italy can give to a

country like Australia?

“One of the things that make Australia a fascinating and dynamic country is

that it is a melting pot, not just of people but also of habits and traditions. The

great thing of having the Italian wines here is that Australians are always open

to trying new food and new wines. I think Australia is lucky because it has great

wines and can enjoy wines from all over the world. By having Italian wines here

they are exposed to a different culture, different wine making methods and it

just makes Australia richer and a better place to live. In Italy we drink mainly

Italian wine, we have very few Australian and New Zealand wines and that is a

shame.“

How do you see the future of the Italian wine in the world in the next 15-20

years?

“Currently Italy is the biggest exporter of wine in the world along with France.

Things are going relatively well. 10-15 years from now I still think things will be

great because wine is one of Italy’s ten biggest industries. It has to do well. I also

think that Italian wine is renewing and reinventing itself, returning to its roots

(unlike 20 or 30 years ago people now are paying attention to the importance of

native grapes) and it is finding new angles to sell.”

“I suppose the things that need to be considered and evaluated are the prices

(one thing for sure is that we can’t make it too expensive), and the need to invest

in stricter quality controls. In Italy we have controls, we have people who check

on what goes into the bottles but sometimes things leak through the cracks, so

we have to be careful that we always send out into the world great bottles that

really speak well of the D.O.C. and D.O.C.G.”

We reserved the last question to the most growing trends in the world of wine.

What are your thoughts about preservative-free wine?

“There is nothing wrong with preservative-free wine. All wine has to be organic,

pesticide-free, heavy metal free and lower in sulfur. It makes absolute sense.

Where I am having doubts and troubles is when the organic and preserva-

tive-free wines culture becomes a dogma and people are convinced that this is

the only way that wine can exist. Sometimes organic wines are full of flaws and

smell and they cannot be considered good wines just because they are made

with organic grapes. People have to have the courage and the honesty to say that

is a lousy wine even if it is made with an organic grape.”

Do you wish to become an Italian Wine Ambassador?

Visit the website

www.vinitalyinternational.com

Click up high on the word VIA;

On the left side of the VIA page you’ll find all necessary information about the

certification course; To apply, send a CV and photograph to via@vinitalytour.

com.

The CVs will be evaluated and you may be selected to become one of the 50

potential candidates. The candidates will be able to take part in the certification

course to be held in Verona the week before Vinitaly next year, which will take

place from the 22nd to the 25th of March. After four days of course and after

successfully passing the exam, you’ll be ready to become a VIA Italian Wine

Ambassador and broadcast the excellence of Italian wine all over the world.

10

Fyodor Dostoevsky once wrote: “Beauty will save the world”.

Paraphrasing the great Russian writer, we could say: “Beauty will save

Italy”.

Beyond the events of recent decades, beyond the incessant crisis that has pulver-

ized wealth and dreams, beyond barbarization of morals and the total lack of

common purposes, Italy has at its disposal a historical, artistic, and cultural

heritage that is unrivaled in the world. On this uniqueness Italy is basing its

new foundation, which could mark the beginning of what some futurologists

anticipate as a New Renaissance!

The suggestion is not as unreal as it may seem: the priceless heritage settled for

thousands of years by the Italian genius is not yet exhausted, it is just manifest-

ing itself in other forms and more slowly. Therefore, the question to ask is how

can Italy reinvents itself or, more precisely, how can it raise again from the ashes

of its economic downfall?

For a great portion of the last century, with acceleration since the last World

War, Italy has chased (with great success) the dream of industrialization tout

court. It has adopted, very lightly, lifestyles and behavioral patterns that were

alien to its culture, but were part of the new sociology of consumerism. In a few

decades the small boot lying on the Mediterranean Sea has managed to emerge

from the ruins of World War II and become the seventh industrial power in the

world, reaching levels of excellence unthinkable. Such as the furniture industry

and design, the fashion industry and jewelry, the motors industry, the film

industry, the food industry and tourism.

In short, for the sake of synthesis, in those years was born what has been

described as the Italian economic miracle. All these industries have produced

cars such as Ferrari and Maserati, bikes including Guzzi and Ducati, furniture

and design objects that are now exhibited in major museums around the globe.

They have imposed world style in fashion and jewelry and brands of eternal

charm such as Valentino, Armani, Versace and Bulgari. They turned Cinecittà

into the second largest film production precinct in the world after Hollywood

(at least until the 1970s) and made Italy for decades the most popular destina-

tions for tourists from all over the world.

The Italian food industry made the Italian cuisine popular in the whole world.

Parmesan cheese, prosciutto, pizza, pasta and all sorts of other Italian specialties

are eaten and enjoyed everywhere. Through its excellent products the Italian

cuisine is practiced in the entire planet.

The most interesting aspect of this diverse reality is that all these industries,

all these companies have reached the highest levels only when they have been

faithful to what they had been initially inspired by: la bellezza (beauty).

If we try to focus on the link between all the little great stories of success, we

realize that they are the result of the perfect combination of intuition, elegance,

charm and quality. For instance Ferrari cars are loved for the dynamic elegance

of their design and for the refined technology of their engines, but they are also

adored for the sense of power they transmit to those who own them or dream of

owning them.

This mix of tangible and evocative beauty expresses all the great Italian produc-

tion of the past, and it is from here that took shape the epic of Made in Italy.

Marcel Proust is the author of the thought: “The real voyage consists not in

seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes”. Exactly! New eyes. The

wonderful epic that launched Italian products in the international market was

followed by two decades of stagnation. The global financial crisis, the wide-

spread corruption, the absence of any new project for economic growth, and,

more generally, the lack of a governing class able to spearhead thoroughgoing

reform, crushed a system that had deteriorated following twenty years of politi-

cal instability and economic decline.

The country where all things beautifulwere and will continue to be created

by our correspondent in ItalyOmar D'Incecco

12

Yet, notwithstanding the harshness of Italy’s problems, there are encouraging

signs of a slow but steady recovery. People and particularly the new genera-

tions are looking at the future with “new eyes” and want to rebuild something

new from what already exists. The vision is to place side-by-side new products

with those widely known and abandon the idea that the luxury segment of the

market is enough to support the country’s economy. After years of loss of iden-

tity crisis and endless apocalyptic visions, finally something has changed and a

new path seems ready to be walked, a new story told to the world.

At the core of the political and social debate, there are topics such as the

development of renewable energy, the conversion of old industrial equipment

in places of art, the upgrading of the archaeological sites, the expansion of the

museum system, natural environment reclamation and urban renewal. In short,

for the first time in centuries, the beauty is back at the center of the controversy

as a driving force of the culture and ethic revival.

The philosophical and economic assumption, which underpins this new princi-

ple, is that excellence stems from the place that generates it and for this reason

the place must be protected and beautified.

The idea is to enhance not only the beauty of cities like Rome, Venice, Florence,

Naples and Palermo which already have a strong fascination at the interna-

tional level, but also the small country towns where rare artistic treasures are

preserved and amazing quality products are created.

It is not by chance that Italy is at the top of Unesco World Heritage list.

The Expo 2015 in Milan is the chance to show the world this revamped identity

of Italy. Its theme is “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” and heralds a New

Renaissance based on the awareness that in a globalized world Italy has an

important role to play not just in terms of quality food production but also has

the country where all things beautiful were and will continue to be created.

“Photos That Tell Photography”by Rob Chiarollihttp://www.redbubble.com/people/robchiarolli"

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Fila Half Page Advertisment 9.10.2014.pdf 1 9/10/2014 1:10:07 PM

The first instalment of a fascinating journey into the Italian food & wine culture

ROAMING THE COUNTRY OF THE ART OF TASTE

Lots of words have been spent about the need to protect authentic Italian food products from being confused with their cheep imitations bearing Italian sounding names. Even so, it will never be possible to truly protect

their origin and identity if consumers don’t learn to connect every product with the land they come from and belong to. Italy, perhaps more than any other country, is rich in delicacies that make it “a table to be seated at all year round”. Season after season, from the mountains in the north to the sun-drenched seasides of the Mediterranean sea, an array of exquisite specialties give credit to a food culture that can be breathed walking through the vineyards, the alpine huts and the country farms.

The French call it the “terroir”, an untranslatable word that is the result of the union of three elements: the plant, its land and the experience of those who raise it. It is a word used to define that complex range of factors that combine in defining the originality of a product. Words such as “belonging” and “identity” are essential to understand how, today, experiencing a “food culture” can trans-form the act of eating into an emotional sensorial journey within a world where arts and history represent the ultimate nourishment.

We start our journey from Melbourne, paying a tribute to the Veneto Club that has recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and has become an important symbol of an Italian regional culture that has succeded in Australia. In the following issues, moving from region to region, we will be able to get to know all the big Italian clubs, which are the carriers of that sense of “belonging and identity” that will be our true compass. Nevertheless, what we would like to remember of Veneto Club, is the so-called “Baracca”, its first bare edifice, clinged to the big eucalyptus, an outright totem of an ancient culture with roots that go deep down into history and earth.

Following the big tree, embracing it to feel it breathe, gazing at its branches towards the sky, until you get dazed; or imagining to enter into it to read the tale of a whole life, we find ourself to walk through the slopes of the “pedemon-tana trevisana”. They mark the area protected by the two Consortiums of the Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG (Controlled and Guaranteed Designation of Origin) and the Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG, where the octogenarian vines, protected and looked after as wise old men, hand down an identity-making DNA of a wine that is by now the symbol of the Italian lifestyle around the world.

From the hills, where the woods are accompanied with the vines that draw neat embroideries, looking toward the sea, from the east to the west, it extends the land that was of the Most Serene Republic of Venice and that nowadays, from Friuli Venezia Giulia and the town of Prosecco to all the Province of Vicenza, identifies, in Veneto, the big and fecund land of Prosecco DOC (Controlled Designation of Origin). The landscape is so polychrome that, even on the hills, protected by the iron production specifications of DOCG (speaking of which, both DOCG and DOC identifications must be always checked in the num-bered collar tag that seals the bottle, as a warranty of origin and quality), the expert tasters will know how to recognize and discern the ethereal perfumes of Prosecco, that come from the vineyards of Valdobbiadene; the complexity of the flavours of Prosecco produced in the hills of Conegliano; or rather the drier, austere, ancient character of Prosecco that is born under the shelter of the magnificent Rocca d’Asolo, the medieval fortress that protects a jewel town the whole world regards with envy.

The refined fragrance and the delicacy of Prosecco DOCG and DOC can only find their correspondence in the neoclassical beauty of the statues created by Antonio Canova, one of the greatest sculptors of all times. In Possagno, the town where is was born, 30 kms north-west of Treviso, there is a splendid museum dedicated to all his plaster preliminary models and drawings.

Without forgetting the Venus or the Dancers. Slender figures and diaphanous, an absolute and timeless beauty.

From Prosecco DOCG and DOC territory to the riverside of Piave

by Mauro Zardetto

Passage of the Piave river by a German PatrolArchive Centro Studi Storico Militari della Grande Guerra “Piero Pieri”

Plateau CansiglioPhoto taken by Galifi

14

In Possagno, the slopes of Monte Grappa (the scene of fierce battles during the First World War) the arcaic knowledge of the “casari” (dairymen) have handed down the production of two kinds of cheese absolutely unique and inimitable: the “Bastardo del Grappa” (so called because it also contains variable portions of goat milk) and “Morlacco del Grappa”, whose ancient history takes us to the end of the Fifteenth Century, when the Morlachs, community of woodcutters and coalmen from the balcanic region nowadays known as Dalmatia but native of the Caspian See, arrived on Mount Grappa under the service of the Venetian Republic.

And in the Most Serene Republic of Venice is soaked all the history of these fertile lands, so that is easy to come across, amidst the vineyards, with the imposing architectures of the Venetian noblemen’s villas such as the Villa di Maser, one of Andrea Palladio’s masterpieces, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the middle of the Fifteenth Century the villa is inhabited. Since then the people were able to benefit from the splendid, and unique fusion of art and architecture, thanks to the successful dialogue between two artists: Andrea Palladio and Paolo Veronese, the first being the most influential architect in the history of Western architecture and the latter being the undisputable master of the imaginary perspectives, and of the tridimensional depiction of reality. Here, within a single perspective game, the painted architectures lie over the real ones, and turning away the eye, you can see a child appear from the doorstep or fine noblewomen lean forward, looking at you from the heights of brush-painted balcony.

The beautiful tridimentional decorations of the facades of those villas and of many palaces of Venice, were realized with a peculiar kind of stone, particularly mallealbe by the handwork of the master stonecutters, and hence called “Piera Dolza” (Sweet Stone). And the research of the origin of this stone brings us now towards the east until the magic Grotte del Caglieron, where these ancient caves, today in disuse, but so evocative that they seem to be the caverns of prehistoric giants, anticipate a naturalistic trail amidst grottos, ravines and delightful pud-dles of spring water.

This is the land of Torchiato di Fregona DOCG “Piera Dolza”, a passito wine of absolute quality and uniqueness because it is made from the union of three grapes: Prosecco, Verdiso and Boschera (so called because it is a quality resist-ent to elevate heights…up to the woods, precisely). The peculiarity of this wine, characterized by a beautiful amber colour, is that the grapes are dried thanks to a peculiar microclimate which characterize the territory of the town of Fregona, located right under the plateau of Cansiglio which, with its huge forest (whose woods were used by Venice for the construction of the planking and the oars of its powerful fleet), sets fluxes of dry air which cannot be found in the surround-ing areas. This is the sense of belonging and identity. This is the magic and the emotion which delights the competent taster when he brings this nectar to his mouth..

From the woods of Cansiglio and, further north, from the woods of Cadore and the Dolomites of Belluno the lumbers for the Venetian fleet were transported along the Piave as far as the Laguna. The Piave is a river with tormented water, which only the masterful “Zattieri” (raft drivers) were able to tame its transport, together with the wood, flour, oil and wine to nourish the big and magnificent Venice. A river with a strong character, as the Raboso, the wine that was and still is born from a sober land of rocks and slime, deposited through the centu-ries by the river’s overflows.

And with the Raboso DOC, a wine that could live for a hundred years, so strong is its body, we arrive at the village of Malanotte. It once was the outpost of the Austro-Hungarian troops during the First World War, and now is a memomo-rial place which gives its name, as Malanotte DOCG, to a big red wine, perfect for meditation. This is an evolute and modern version of the traditional Raboso, obtained with the masterly practice of the union of different types of passito wines, capable of softening and making even more complex the aromas of the variety of underwood red fruits, as long as to grasp, for the most experienced tasters the notes of dark chocolate and rhubarb.

What do you say? Shall we stop our wandering about the vineyards, villas and landscapes on the banks of the Piave? I would say so…but just for now, because I notice that we have skipped a great white wine, the Incrocio Manzoni 6.0.13, but from here our journey will start again to discover other treasures of the art of taste.

Translated by Giorgia Zardetto, edited by Segmento staff.

This feature article has been written in collaboration with Veneto Club, Zanchi Imports, AIS (Associazione Italiana Sommelier), Gruppo Ristoratori della Marca Trevigiana, IFM Italian Food Master and Consorzio Tutela Prosecco DOC

Info for Masterclass: cesare@zanchiimports.com

Gipsoteca MuseumAntonio Canova-Ala Ottocentesca

Torchiato di Fregona HillsPhoto taken by Galifi

Dryng grapes Torchiato di Fregona Hills D.O.C.G.Photo taken by Casagrande

15

When, with some hesitation, the Italo-Australian writer

Archimede Fusillo applied for a scholarship in literature from

ISSI (International Specialized Skills Institute, sponsored by the

Italian Services Institute) he did not expect his application to be successful.

Appearing before the interviewing panel, Archimede put forward his case more

or less in these terms: “If I get the scholarship, I'll travel to Italy and gather sto-

ries from people who, after migrating to Australia, decided to repatriate. What

were the reasons that made them change their mind and how did their return to

Italy turn out to be? What do they think of their decision in retrospect? Do they

have any regrets?”

Archimede Fusillo's books deal with the problems Italian migrants and their

children faced in adapting to the Australian way of life and he was now inter-

ested in writing about those who, for whatever reason, opted to go back.

Archimede's proposal had all the qualities to make him a serious candidate

for the scholarship. It was original and innovative in that it introduced a new

area of investigation into the experience of migrants, yet he did not anticipate

a positive outcome. Despite his success as a writer, he is an unassuming and

unpretentious guy and when he learned that he had won the scholarship, he

couldn't believe it. “I was thunderstruck by the news”, reveals Archimede. “To

obtain a scholarship to go to Italy and meet people to hear their stories… it's

just wonderful. To me it has been priceless to have this sort of recognition.”

Archimede recently returned to Australia and he is currently writing the stories

he heard during his stay in Italy. “After an initial difficulty in getting contacts,”

he recalls, “the trip to Italy was in many ways a lot better than I thought it would

be. I met people, mostly very elderly, with fascinating stories. The meetings

were for the most part informal, usually on a bench in the piazza of the village

or at a kitchen table. For some, it turned out, Australia has remained a country

of hardship and tribulation. Unlike their compatriots who managed to emerge

and create their identity as immigrants, many of these people could not find

reason enough to overcome the initial difficulties. I think it is important and

vital to write their stories and have them read by high school students as part of

their multicultural studies. They might contribute in stopping or slowing down

the process of loss of identity experienced by the second and third generations

Italo-Australians.”

Archimede began his career writing stories about migrants growing up in

Melbourne. “For people of my generation,” he says, “when we were at school we

did not read books about Italian immigrant families, the extended family with

nonno and nonna making salami and sauces. We read books about the child-

hood of English children who lived in houses with beautiful gardens, children

with ponies and nannies. We did not see ourselves reflected in literature, and so,

in some sort of way we felt like outcasts. For this reason many of my stories are

based on the Italian experience.”

Born in Melbourne in 1962, Archimede was able to live the experience of a

child of Italian immigrants firsthand. The leitmotiv of several of his novels is

“what it means to be Italian in Australia.” “As the generations move on, we lose

the original concept of being Italian in Australia” he says. It seems to Archimede

that although there is a lot of talk about the value of what Italians have brought

to Australia, people don’t really know much about it. “I think people pay atten-

tion to the more grandiose and tangible things and are much less interested in

the cultural impact Italians as a group have had in Australia. In fact there hasn’t

been near enough research or debate on what contribution Italians have made

to the law and to academia, how they have influenced the politics and the legal

professions in Australia. I am convinced that this is an area worth exploring.”

As we grow older the cultural legacy of every human being is an inner voice

that cannot be neglected and Archimede is going to uphold it more than ever:

“I see Italy as a touchstone of my life, a place that I would love to visit repeatedly

so that I am always in touch with my roots. Those roots, through my parents,

have shaped who I am today. As writers, human beings and children of migrants

to this country it is our responsibility to preserve their stories: why they came,

what they gained, what they lost, but also what happened to those who went

back to Italy.”

Uncovering the Experience of Italian MigrantsWho decided to Return to Italy by Daniele Curto

16

The lady who loves takingBioArchimede (Archie) Fusillo was born and grew up in Melbourne. His

parents migrated to Australia in the 1950s from the town of Viggiano

in the Basilicata region. After graduating with honors in Psychology

at the University of Melbourne, he gained a Diploma of Secondary

Education and worked as a high school teacher.

He soon developed a passion for storytelling and the success of his first

short stories about growing up in a multi¬cultural Melbourne led him

to try his hand at writing a novel. In 1997 his first novel, Sparring With

Shadows, was a Notable Children's Book Council of Australia book

and went on to be shortlisted for Italy in the World Literature Awards.

His second novel, The Dons, a glimpse of contemporary life in

Australia seen through Italian eyes, was awarded a Book of the Year

Award and his latest novel, Dead dog in the still of the night has

received praiseworthy reviews, while another novel has just been

released on-line by his US publisher Solstice.

Apart from writing full time, Archie presents workshops and author

talks all over Australia, and more recently overseas.

Bilingual Kids Heading to Become Stars at Bravissimi School!An Italian pre-school, called Bravissimi, has been opened at Airport West in Melbourne since January 2012. Run by Giusi Galbo, coordinator and staff trainer with over 20 years of experiences in Education, and Sebastiano Motta, game developer and marketing director, Bravissimi is a colorful and fun envi-ronment, which promotes bilinguism as a new productive approach to early learning and development. Based on the Montessori Italian method, this school aims to educate children in a natural way, boosting their innate abilities through a complete immersion within the Italian language and culture, including art, history and geography. A wide range of opportunities are offered: morning classes for children aged 6 months to 5 years of age, thematic school holidays programs and afternoon private lessons open to all.

A big success considering that 150 students are enrolled and 50% of them are Australian!

Learning a new language helps to improve cognitive functions as the ones involved with language and concentration, enriches intelligence and, according to several scientific surveys, slows brain ageing. So, even if you are in adulthood you have no excuse about joining a course at Bravissimi! It may be useful during your next trip to Italy!

But which are the main daily activities?

Giusi: Playful activities that follow a theme each term like use of nursery rhymes and carols, puppets, group games and psychomotor development exercises. The most loved ones are when we use the “Bravissimi teatrino” or drama. In such a

way children learn the Italian language effortlessly and build their own confidence.

What do School Holiday Programs consist in?

Giusi: our programs are held the first week of each school holiday. On these occasions lessons are oriented toward an understanding of the culture through tra-ditional Italian games and many more activities like cooking sessions, gardening, craft, songs.

Which is the latest news at Bravissimi?

Sebastiano: We have been providing all the equipment kids need since the begin-ning. Now we are proud to announce the opening of our store selling educational tools to further improve the language like posters, books and cards. I recommend visiting us at www.bravissimi.com.au!

by Laura D’Angelo

17

There are people who are born to share their passions and culture

heritage and convey them to the world. One of these is certainly

Enza Centorame. A woman with a bright and tenacious character,

just like the sun of Sicily. I met Enza in her home in which I savoured Sicilian

pastries, all rigorously prepared by her. Transported by the aroma and taste of

a genuinely divine cannolo (which triggered in me a range of emotions and

memories very difficult to turn away), I asked Enza to share with me some of

her memories related to her childhood in Sicily. “I had the happiest childhood”,

Enza says promptly. “I come from a very poor family, but a very happy one”, she

continues. “I still remember joyfully when my father used to read us books and

stories, all sitting around the fireplace. The warmth would comfort us from what

we called the conca, a big brass plate in which my father would put some coal.

And to keep us warm the bread was toasted and dipped into wine and sugar.

“If I ever happen to feeling blue, lost or a little bit sad Aidone is where I go with

my thoughts.”

Enza Centorame was born in 1945 and came to Australia when she was 16 years

old. She met her husband at the age of 17 and got married by the time she was

20. “I was born in Aidone, which is a small town in the province of Enna, in the

heart of Sicily. It is situated 830 meters above sea level.

“It has beautiful views and because of that is called the “Balcony of Sicily”.

After her sweet childhood, Enza's adolescence had to deal with the first defiance

of her life: leave her adored Aidone and move overseas.

“The decision to move to Australia was not mine”, Enza confesses. “In those

times, at the age of 16, I was not able to make any independent choices. I was

too young to disobey the wishes of my parents. I had already two sisters and a

brother in Australia, my parents made this decision to give us a better life, but

above all, to reunite the family. It was about bringing our family back together.”

As it is easy to imagine the barrier of language represented the major chal-

lenge. “As I could not speak any English”, she recalls “my first resolution once

in Australia became to learn the language as quickly as possible. I was so

determined that I decided to learn a word a day, an exercise on which I am still

working on today!”

The cannolo was now over but the creaminess of the ricotta was still hanging on

in my taste buds and gustatory neurons in my brain. At this point my curiosity

headed to Enza’s tour operator business.

“Savouring Sicily”, in fact, is a very particular tour company.

As indicated in the name, it is specialized in trips to the Italian’s largest island.

“Convey my cultural heritage has always been an important hobby related to my

state of migrant”, she says. “Years before establishing the business I was seriously

committed to giving Italian language and cooking lessons to non-Italian speak-

ers. My students and my friends started encouraging and spurring me to take

them on a voyage of discovery to Sicily.

“In 2007 a journey to Sicily with an old friend of mine definitively inspired me

to embark on this adventure called “Savouring Sicily”.”

The lady who loves takingPeople to her native Sicily

by Daniele Curto

Enza Centorame

18

EASTER IN AIDONE2nd to 16th of April 2015 These days Enza is occupied in preparing trips for 2015. “The tour that excites

me the most is the one that I will embark on at Easter to my hometown Aidone

and Morgantina (an archaeological site few kilometres away from Aidone). A

spiritual experience that transcends religious boundaries and that everyone can

enjoy regardless their religious beliefs.

“The Santoni, 12 giant statues of the Apostles are the main attraction of the holy

week at Aidone.

“Each Apostle is 3.5 metres high, with a hollow frame of wood and papi-

er-mâché head and hands; the clothes are brightly coloured and each Apostle

carries a symbolic object. The tradition dates back to the 1600s, and the parade

through the streets of Aidone on Palm Sunday and Easter Day is something that

I wish anyone to experience.”

Her next tours will be in:

May 16th to 30th and

September 5th to 19th

Enza is also looking forward to welcoming you at her cooking classes and

“Italian for travellers” classes held at The Cottage Kitchen at the S.H.N.C.

To book contact the Office on (03) 98902467

assistantmgr@surreyhillsnc.org.au

www.surreyhillsneighbourhood.org.au

Enza Centorame is the author of the travel, autobiographical and cookbook

named: “The Ingredients of Influence” and can be purchased on line through

www.savouringsicily.com or call Enza on her mob. 0419 116 974

Other points of sale:

Books for Cooks 233 Gertrude St Fitzroy (03) 84151415

Tim’s Book Shop 121 High St Kew (03) 9853 5634

Tim’s Book Shop 143 Mailing Rd Canterbury (03) 98363007

Price $39.95

But immediately after the return from the trip to Sicily, Enza faced her second

and most dramatic trial of her life “I was diagnosed with breast cancer”. With

a few months to live, according to the doctors, Enza, understandably, recon-

sidered her plans and put on hold any aspiration to start up the tour operator

business.

“The dismal news cut my wings”, Enza admit “but I slowly got better and

stronger, and, in spite of any medical prediction, I survived.”

“During my convalescence my daughter once asked me: “Mum, if you really had

six months to live what would you do?” The answer just came straight to me:

I would take these beautiful people to Sicily.”

With the perseverance and tenacity that always distinguished Enza, in

September 2008 the first trip to Sicily under the seal of “Savouring Sicily” was

embarked on. “I remember that I took away ten beautiful people and we had the

best of time.”

But what makes these tours different from others?

Is it the sailing out to the small islands north of Sicily on a catamaran? Is it the

savouring of the delicious foods and wines of the island? Is it the climbing up of

Mount Etna? Or the warmth of Sicilian hospitality, which the people experience

being invited into some local homes? It is, surely, all the above, but more than

anything else is Enza’s love and enthusiasm that ensure a memorable trip.

“Every time”, Enza says with eyes bright with passion, “I leave as if I go away

with friends. We go to people places, as I have hundreds of friends over there.

I want to give my groups the experience of local families, of restaurants and

agriturismi (rural retreats). We pick vegetables from their garden, we go to

market and then we cook. For those who are not cooking enthusiasts I organize

a tour guide to take them for different experience making sure that they are

back on time for lunch. They have the chance to mix with the locals and despite

the language barrier at the end of the day everyone learns something.

“The tour groups are small. The minimum number of 8 and maximum of 12

people ensures that the experience will be personal and that individual needs

are accommodated in a way that is impossible in larger groups.

“That is what I like to call it the “Sicilian experience”.

Morgantina,. The Greek Theater

Easter in Aidone

19

A YEAR OF CONSULAR

Melbourne is an international metropolis, which has built its

identity due to the contribution of immigrant communities, which

commenced settling here since its founding in 1835. Among these,

the Italian community is undoubtedly the largest. Holders of an Italian passport

registered at our Consulate General are 51084 (+ 3.35% in a year), while accord-

ing to the census conducted in 2011, there are 327 thousand people of Italian

origin residing in Melbourne - almost as many as the inhabitants of the City of

Florence. According to official estimates, the real dimension of our community

would even surpass half a million. In other words, one out of eleven people in

the State of Victoria is Italian or has Italian ancestry.

We are here to respond to their needs.

I spent my first year first as Consul General trying to improve the operating

conditions, redefining internal procedures and roles of the Consulate. The

results are a source of pride. Even if faced with a reduction in staff, the number

of applications processed has increased exponentially. I would like to share with

Segmento’s readers some figures: in 2014, we issued 2571 passports, over five

hundreds more than the previous year, when they were 2045 (+25%); we also

issued 1084 Visas (+11%, up from 976 in 2014). Such a remarkable increase

in productivity paid off financially too, as our Consulate could contribute to

the national budget with an amount of 610.000AUD (292.000 more than last

year, when 368,000 AUD were collected). I would like to think that the salary

of a team of new teachers in Italian schools was paid for with that extra money.

These numbers are the result of a greater commitment, and my staff and I were

able to reverse a decline in productivity which started in 2010.

All other things being equal, further improvements can be expected in 2015.

In fact, on December 1st, an agreement to outsource some visa-related services

with VFS Global Services entered into force. VFS is a private company operating

worldwide and collaborating with over 40 Italian Embassies and Consulates

abroad. In Australia, it collaborates with the United Kingdom, Germany and

India. As a result, I anticipate that visa applications will be processed faster and

our staff will be able to dedicate more time to the increasing requests of Italian

nationals. Moreover, this year the Italian Government has appointed a new,

proactive and brilliant Honorary Consul in Hobart, Mr. Elvio Brianese.

Today, we are witness to a new wave of Italian migration to this country. Several

thousand Italians arrived in Melbourne in 2014, mostly on the working-holiday

visa program. The majority of these new comers are young compatriots wishing

to settle here with their specific needs and requirements. They bring with

them new challenges to the Consulate General which is called upon to both

ensure an adequate flow of information is provided and to intervene in difficult

situations. On the one hand we consolidated our agreement with Nomit, an

association made up of new migrants, which runs a popular information space

within the Consulate General’s office; on the other we started making use of

funds for consular assistance. Our agreement with Nomit has been recognized

as a “best practice” by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International

Cooperation among many initiatives undertaken by Embassies and Consulates

abroad. An important Consulate should not limit its activities to ensuring

timely and regular services are provided. It should be capable of stepping in and

supporting the promotion of our language, culture, and economy. In Melbourne

our language, after English, is the most studied and spoken. There are entire

neighborhoods where people use it alongside English and every year 130,000

students take Italian classes. We have worked in partnership with the Italian

Cultural Institute, Coasit and Dante Alighieri Society. The Italian Government

allocated more than forty language assistants, who are sent to local schools

to offer their assistance and ensure that Italian classes are run effectively.

More activities are going to be undertaken in 2015 thanks to the signing of a

“Memorandum of Understanding for the promotion and teaching of the Italian

language” with the Department of Education on June 20th, 2014. Negotiations

were underway for a few years, but through the instrumental involvement of the

Consulate General they were fast-tracked and brought to their conclusion in a

short time at the beginning of this year. At the same time, our Cultural Institute

organized 34 successful events and all of them were enjoyed by attendants.

On top of all that, the Consulate General has tried to support economic rela-

tions, aiming to translate the large Italian presence in this State into a driving

force for the growth of trade. The one billion three hundred million AUD

Victoria-Italy bilateral trade figure is significant but stagnating. The combined

efforts of the Consulate General, where a trade office was created last year,

Chamber of Commerce and Trade Commissioner might facilitate a trend

reversal. We have already undertaken a number of promotional initiatives, such

as the publication of technical guides - on intellectual property rights and how

start a business -, revitalization of an agreement between Melbourne and Milan

Wholesale Markets and promotion of Milan Expo 2015, an event that will surely

be a driving force in boosting bilateral economic relations.

In short, the Consulate General now provides a higher number of services,

intervenes in new areas, such as trade promotion, and is a constant participant

in community events. Our daily activities are now published through social

media - we have a Twitter profile and a Facebook page, which is the most

followed among those of other European Consulates - and through traditional

press, this year alone three hundred articles mentioned our work.

We look forward to further improve the quality of our services and better assist

the Italian community in Victoria and Tasmania in the upcoming year.

by Marco Maria Cerbo Consul General of Italy

&Roots

Activities At a Glance

Routes

20

SANTA TARANTAJoyful Sessions of Folk

Music Therapy

The South of Italy is famous for its thousand-year old and long-lasting tradi-tions, where music plays a preminent role being, nowadays, synonymous of cultural identities and values. “Tarantella” is an evocative word that holds a whole heritage made of music, dances and rites: it refers to an extended range of newfound, folk musical styles widespread in southern Italy along the centuries. According to historiography, tarantella was born to heal country people bitten by a taranta, a poisonous spider whose bites caused hysterical crises and convul-sions. Later on, the dance started to be associated with convivial events, always accompanied by playful dances.

As Italian, freshly migrated to Australia and strongly connected with my own roots, I am eager to introduce you Santa Taranta, a quartet band placed in Melbourne, which performs traditional music from southern Italy, as its name, recalls. This band was created two years ago by Salvatore Rossano, an ethno-musicologist and professional musician from the Italian region of Puglia and a new enthusiastic and vibrant Melbourne resident ready to enrich the city music scene. He is a natural talent with a first-class academic background. After grad-uating in Ethnomusicology in Italy, he moved to the Spanish city of Valladolid where he studied for a PhD in Musicology with a thesis on “Music of Buenos Aires Carnival.”

After wonderful experiences and unforgettable seven years in Spain, Salvatore settled in Melbourne with his Australian partner and their two children: “I wanted to embrace the possibility to promote traditional Italian music in this new, huge continent... and to my fortune this is really happening!”

As a matter of fact Australia welcomed Salvatore right away. Being a pro-fessional with wide music knowledge, he was offered a partnership at the University of Melbourne in a project based on musicology of the Renaissance. Even more, Melbourne happened to be the perfect spot to promote tarantella and show his talent to the big aussie audience. Just two months after his arrival in Australia in 2013, Salvatore (who sings and plays accordion and frame drums) formed Santa Taranta, excited to share his musical passion with a new group of interesting and music-addicted fellows: the versatile Australian performer Nara Demasson (mandolin, guitar and voice), well-known jazz manouche and blues artist of Melbourne, who is also a sculptor and ukulele

maker; the Argentinian guitarist Emiliano Beltzer (guitar and voice), great and famous performer of the live latin Melbourne music scene; the young and lively Italian barber Davide Ierardi (harp, diatonic accordion, ciaramella and voice), who grew up in Viggiano, a small town in Basilicata region home to an ancient harp tradition.

“I met all my band mates quite randomly”, says Salvatore with a smile of grati-tude on his face. “My first encounter was with Nara, introduced by the founder of the Melbourne School of Tarantella, which is a mutual friend. Then I ran into Davide, who was promoting musical lessons on Gumtree and eventually I found Emiliano on Facebook. The result? An international quartet united since the beginning by a spontaneous, reciprocal respect, ready to conquer Australia!”

Despite its young age Santa Taranta’s success has been largely fulfilled, with its members performing at some of the biggest music shows in Australia such as Pier Festival, VIVA Victoria Festival, National Folk Festival, Brunswick Music Festival. In particular Salvatore remembers a special night he spent with the band: “Last April we took part at the National Folk Music Festival in Canberra: after the gig we joined the musicians offstage in thrilling and extemporized jam sessions and we kept playing all night long! At Canberra the environment was so moving, we will never forget it!”

The band also loves performing in smaller stages, private parties and weddings, every location is a chance to promote tarantella and enjoy good time. They even played in a bowling club, “a weird experience” Salvatore recalls, a group of men in their seventies as audience, a proof that their supporters are many and heterogeneous.

by Laura D’Angelo

21

Music is a wide world of sharing and pleasure, creativity and emotions but for the quartet music means also commitment. They have already released six brand new records all gathered in “Santa Taranta. Music from Southern Italy” compilation, but the desire to create and produce their own music is over-whelming. “We don’t want to merely reproduce the already existent traditional Italian music, we want more... record our own songs and find that special, unique sound able to stand us out”, Salvatore says. So, while the quartet is busy to find its own mark, Brunswick Music Festival announced the headliner group for the next season... guess who? Santa Taranta! And even more, the Brunswick staff proposed the band to attend the Melbourne version of Balcony TV, another satisfying goal in terms of artistic recognition and visibility.

Let’s go now into detail about some bizzarre musical curiosities. Santa Taranta reproduces traditional music from southern Italy such as tarantella, pizzica, “serenate d’amore” or love songs and “stornelli”. The repertoire also includes “polkas from the barbershop”. What’s that? “Until not long ago many barbers were also musicians, in many cases fine mandolinists or violinists with knowl-edge of an extensive repertoire that included valzer, polkas, scottish, canzonette, serenate, barcarole or well known opera arias. If that was the case, the bar-bershop became a place for males to share stories and music, like an informal music school”, Salvatore explains. “We play some music that comes from this

large repertoire, and we feel lucky to have with us a musician, Davide, that is also a barber. If you go to his barbershop in Preston you can have a music lesson or listen to him playing and verify that the barber tradition is still alive.”

I then ask Salvatore about any particular, weird moment related to his Australian musical experience. “We decided to organize music workshops on how to play a tamburello, which is frame drum... but we only had one! So Nara and me started making them from scratch... it was such a good, primitive expe-rience! I was responsible for the jingles and the goatskin tanning while Nara was assembling the frame. It was a great fun, long and smelly work, but in the end we got new instruments!” he tells. “In that period a funny episode occurred at my place... an electrician come and watched me taking off hair from the goat skin. Then he saw the other skins clamped to the fence... I could see the fear on his face, it was so hilarious!”

Salvatore still laughs recalling those amusing experiences when he reveals to me the desire to plan new workshops... and new records are also upcoming. In the meanwhile I want to wish the quartet good luck, hoping Santa Taranta to become one of the all-time folk greats in Melbourne, ‘cause keep the roots alive is a must! And don’t forget to check out new gigs on www.santataranta.com!

Salvatore Rossano

Emiliano Beltzer Davide Ierardi

Nara Demasson

22

THE FUTURE

Makes the LawWork for You

AMALSA

The Working Holiday Maker (WHM) program’s purpose is to foster

closer ties and cultural exchange between Australia and partner

countries, with particular emphasis on young adults. It has been in

existence since 1975. Today, the WHM program is comprised of the Working

Holiday (subclass_417) and the Work and Holiday (subclass_462) visa

programs. Partner countries initially comprised a relatively small number of

Commonwealth countries, but the program has since grown to encompass 31

partner nations and regions from across the globe.

Australia has an overarching bilateral arrangement, usually in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding with each partner country. Of the 31 partner countries, 19 are Working Holiday (subclass_417) visa arrangements, and 12 are Work and Holiday (subclass_462) visa arrangements. The key difference between the two visas is that Work and Holiday visa arrangements generally have caps on the number of visas granted annually and additional eligibil-ity requirements. The Work and Holiday visa arrangements that Australia has signed with Greece, Papua New Guinea and Poland are not yet in effect, these arrangements will be implemented once both Australia and the partner country have the necessary legislative and administrative system in place. Announcements will be made on the department’s website once implementa-tion processes are complete, enabling participants to lodge visa applications.

WHM arrangements are reciprocal in nature, providing Australians with similar opportunities overseas. In considering whether to add new WHM partner countries, the Australian Government considers a range of factors including the ability of the prospective partner to offer reciprocity to Australian, and the strength of any cultural and people to people links.

Eligibility Requirements

All WHM (both Working Holiday and Work and Holiday) Visa applicant must:

➢ Be aged 18-30 at time of application

➢ Hold a passport from an eligible partner country

➢ Not be accompanied by dependent children during their stay in Australia

➢ Meet health and character requirements

➢ Meet financial requirements

Work and Holiday visa applicants must meet additional requirements, including:

➢ Functional English

➢ Successful completion of at least two years of undergraduate university study

➢ A letter of home government support in association with their visa application

The Working Holiday (subclass 417) visa is available to passport holders from:

Belgium, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom.

The Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visa is available to passport holders from:

Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Greece, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Thailand, Turkey, United States of America, Uruguay

Countries with witch Australia is currently negotiating new Work and Holiday (subclass_462) arrangements:

Andorra, Brazil, Czech Republic, Fiji, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Mexico, Mongolia, Portugal, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Spain, Vietnam

Working while in Australia

All WHMs may work for the full duration of their 12 months stay in Australia, but may not remain with any one employer for longer than six months (Mandatory Visa Condition-8547).

Study while in Australia

All WHMs are entitled to study for a period of up to four months during their 12 months stay in Australia

Second Working Holiday

Participants are generally limited to holding only one Working Holiday Visa or Work and Holiday in their lifetime.

However, on 1st November 2005,the second Working Holiday visa initiative was introduced. This initiative allows first time Working Holiday (subclass_417) visa holders who undertake 88 days “specified work” in regional Australia, during their stay to acquire eligibility to apply for a second such visa. The initiative is not available to Work and Holiday (subclass_462) participants.

“Specified work” includes work in the agriculture, mining and construction industries. For the purposes of the second Working Holiday visa initiative, regional Australia includes large parts of rural and regional Australia, which are identified in a list of postcodes available on the department’s website at: http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/417.aspx

The number of second Working Holiday visa grants has grown rapidly since the program commenced in late 2005.There were 2692 grants in 2005-06,compared with 45,950 grants in 2013-14,approximately one in four first-time Working Holiday visa holders went on to acquire a second Working Holiday visa.

The second Working Holiday visa program had grown to constitute 20 per cent of the overall Working Holiday program by 30 June 2014.This compared with just a 3.3 per cent share of overall Working Holiday visa holders in Australia as at 30 June 2006.

Processing Time

The visa processing service standard for first Working Holiday (subclass_417) visa application is that 75 per cent are finalized within six calendar days of lodgment. In 2013-14,78 percent of first Working Holiday visas were finalized within service standards. The service standard for second Working Holiday (subclass_417) visa applications that 75 per cent are finalized within 21 calendar days of lodgment. In 2013-14, 68.8 per cent of second Working Holiday visa applications including a larger proportion of applications requiring health clear-ances contributed to the reduction in service standards during the period.

The visa processing service standard for work and Holiday (subclass_462) online visa application (USA national only) is that 75 per cent are finalized within six calendar days of lodgment. In 2013-14 84.5 per cent of online Work and Holiday visa applications were finalized within service standards. The service standards for Work and Holiday (subclass_462) paper visa applications is that 75 per cent are finalized within 14 calendar days of lodgment.in 2013-14, 52,6 per cent of paper Work and Holiday visa applications were finalized within service standards. The temporary decline in service standards was partly due to unexpected systems issues that required a larger than usual number of appli-cations to be processed manually. The Department has addressed these issues during the period.

Processing times may be affected by factors such as the completeness of applications lodged and additional checks performed by visa processing officers, such as those relating to health and character.

Key Points

➢ In 20013-14, a total of 239,592 Working Holiday Maker (WHM)(subclass_417 and subclass_462) visa were granted, a 7,2 per cent reduction compared to 2012-13

➢ There was a 12.8 per cent reduction in first Working Holiday (sub-class_417) visa grants to 183,428.However, second Working Holiday visa grants increased 18.2 per cent to 45,950. There was also a 13.3 per cent increase in Work and Holiday (subclass_462) visa grant to 10,214

➢ There were 151,201 WHM visa holders in Australia at 30 June 2014, a 5,8 per cent reduction compared to 30 June 2013

by Elizabeth Wisser LL.B, GDLP, Registered Migration Agent

MARN: 0959122

23

It is said that a journey begins with a single step. The people I met during

my sojourn in Italy on a Fellowship to collect the stories of Italians who

had migrated to Australia and then returned to Italy to live, suggests these

same people took giant leaps of faith.

How else to explain the decision of men like Gaetano Deluisi and Tommaso

Angerami, who both left families behind to cross a vast ocean in the hope that

prosperity and good fortune awaited them in a land of which they were largely

ignorant.

Gaetano left his native town of Montemurro, Basilicata, in 1954 as a 28 year old

after being sponsored by a brother who had gone ahead of him years earlier.

Leaving behind a wife and two young children, Gaetano spent 7 years in

Australia, sending back what earnings he could, at one stage working long hours

under savage heat on the unforgiving cane fields of Queensland after a stint in

Mildura in Victoria’s north.

“Era una vita da cane,” (It was a dog’s life) he told me, in a soft voice that spoke

of his dignity in the face of a harsh past. “Se avessi conosciuto l’Australia prima

di andare, non sarei andato. L’Australia era più indietro del resto del mondo per

conto mio.” (Had I known the lifestyle there before I left I wouldn’t have gone.

Back then Australia was more backward than other countries in the world, in

my opinion.)

Gaetano bemoaned the lack of English as a factor in making his time in

Australia less pleasant than he had expected. He found himself constantly

having to be conscious of not offending people with what little English he had

gathered here and there.

“Sei schiavo delle tue circostanze,” (You are a victim of your circumstances) he

uttered at one point. “Avevamo debiti da pagare, la famiglia lontana.” (We all had

debts to pay, our family far away) Gaetano closed his eyes and stared off into the

far distance of the valley spread out before us from our overlook on a bench in

a tiny public garden in Montemurro where he elected to meet me. “Era una vita

superficiale, per me almeno.” (It was a very superficial life, for me at least.)

I asked him to tell me about being separated from his wife and children for such

a long period of time, and he whispered, “Ho fatto il mio dovere.” (I did what I

had to do.)

I got the impression that Gaetano found Australia less a place of opportunity

and more a place of sacrifice. When I put this to him he smiled knowingly

and added, “Se sei analfabeta, non fai bene. Sei sempre maltrattato.” (If you are

illiterate, you don’t succeed. You are always treated badly.)

His decision to return to his homeland wasn’t difficult to understand in light of

his belief that Australia had not met his expectations as the land of promise he

had imagined it to be.

Also from Montemurro was Tommaso Angerami, now in his 80’s, and a proudly

successful man of enterprise. His reason for making the long trek to Australia

in the mid 1950’s echoed that of so many I spoke with. The need to find work,

given the scarcity of it in Italy at the time, particularly in the south.

Tommaso too went to the Queensland cane fields to work, and like Gaetano,

repeatedly made reference to the harshness of that life. Long days, blistering

sun, snakes and crocodiles.

“Un lavoro bestiale. Non ci fossi mai andato,” (It was beastly work. I wished I’d

never gone.) Tommaso said, his voice barely above a whisper as he struggled to

catch his breath due to a pulmonary illness.

He decision to go to Australia was the result of having ‘paesani’ there who

sponsored him out, and helped him find work and accommodation. But as with

so many others he also left a young wife and family behind him, for almost five

years. Ultimately however, Australia proved not to have the long-lasting appeal

Tommaso had anticipated, and so he decided against bringing his family out

and instead returned to Italy, financially more secure, but more importantly for

him at least, sound in the knowledge that when all else was equal, his homeland

was the better choice.

“Meglio comandare che essere comandato,” (Better to lead than follow)

Tommaso whispered to me as we parted at his front door. And when one con-

siders the success Tommaso made of his life in Italy, and the success that in turn

brought his family, it would appear to be a sound sentiment indeed.

THE FUTUREIn Their Past Gaetano Deluisi

Tommaso Angerami

by Archimede Fusillo

24

by Salvatore Rossano

It is with great pleasure that I present this new column dedicated to Italian

musical instruments. I recognized the need for a discussion about Italian

music shortly after my arrival in Australia, when I realized that not many

people in this country have had the opportunity to listen to the music played by

our grandparents or the new interpreters of the ‘new’ traditional music. This

is not for lack of interest, as most of my audiences have been very enthusiastic.

Unfortunately, however, I noticed that the stereotype of the easy come tarantella

tends to dominate, at the expense of the great variety of our music. I've often

found myself explaining that, as well as the accordion and mandolin, in Italy

we interpret and build instruments such as the harp, that there are more than

ten kinds of bagpipes (called zampogna) or that there are amazing instruments

called chitarra battente or launeddas.

Starting from this issue we will enter into the world of some Italian instruments,

giving clues on how, why, when and where they are played.

The title “Soggetti Sonori” (Sounding Subjects) is not accidental. Although it

may seem strange, I consider musical instruments real living beings. Obviously

they don't breathe (except when they are being played), but, like us, they play

different roles in the cultural dynamics of the society in which they live. Very

often they contribute to the process of the formation of our identity, both per-

sonal and collective: in a mysterious way they form part of our stories. Yes, I like

to consider instruments as magic entities, a treasure box in which we deposit

passions, ambitions, adventures and wishes. They can, in turn, profoundly

change the lives of those who play them and those who listen.

Therefore we begin this journey of musical discovery with one of the most

common percussion instruments used in Italy: the tamburello (Italian

framedrum).

Please forget tambourines made with skins of paper and painted with Sicilian

carts or landscapes of the Vesuvius. Those toys are for tourists, nobody plays

those. The drums I am talking about are from the family of membranophones

and consist of a circle of wood (usually beech) covered by an animal skin. This

is usually goat but sometimes mule, dog or cat. The frame is perforated to hold

a variable number of jingles, usually made with recycled materials: oilcans, beer

caps, canned tomatoes. A tip for those who want to make these jingles: Spanish

oilcans, I do not know why, are perfect for this use!

The Tamburello

The fascinating stories of Italian musical instruments

“Soggetti Sonori”

26

Regarding the history of the instrument, it is assumed they were introduced by

peoples of Asia Minor and Greece. There is iconography portraying them since

the seventh century BC confirming the great influence of Greek and Arabic -

Islamic culture in southern Italy.

They have various names: tedazzeddu and tamburellu in Sardinia, tammurro

or tammorra in Campania, tammariëdde in Puglia, just to name a few. The

differences with other similar instruments outside of the peninsula are various:

the contexts of use, the materials and construction techniques but, mainly, the

different ways of playing them. It's hard to believe, but it is not an easy instru-

ment to play. Moreover, from region to region, little town to little town, there

are substantial differences, even in terms of size of the instrument. Usually in

the Marche, Molise, Abruzzo and Lazio, they are used to accompany the dances

of the saltarello, in Campania the tammurriata and around the centre and south

of Italy the famous tarantella (I want to remember that tarantella varies greatly

according to geographical areas, both in the style of dance and in instrumental

techniques). In the past, especially in Puglia, the tamburello was also used as

ritual instrument: as a matter of fact it was one of the essential elements for the

cure of tarantismo. It's hypnotic beat was used to create the state of trance in

the person bitten by the deadly tarantula. Only through prolonged dances she/

he could be cured from the venom of the spider. The rhythm became the centre

of this ancestral ritual, in which chaos, silence and malicunia (sadness) were

defeated.

I remember when I was a child I began to attend the workshop of Lu marinaro

(tambourines maker and maestro di vita); the stories of tarantate (name given

to the women bitten by the tarantula) were distant but alive tales. It was back in

the 1980s and we were only a bunch of kids in love with traditional music. The

villagers looked at us with suspicion. We were considered rude, vulgar, impolite

children. No one imagined that just a few years later this music would conquer

the masses and large festivals.

Now in the summers of southern Italy the incessant sound of many tamburello

skins fills the festive nights everywhere. It blends with cicadas, laughter, clinking

of glasses, the water lapping the shore. It's a sound that always comes back,

cyclically, reminding us that music and dance are the cure for every illness.

Wether you are a collector or keen user, Rolleiflex TLR film is one of those

cameras that has a deserved, legendary reputation.

Rolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras

originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-

Werk. The “Rolleiflex” name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei’s premier

line of medium format twin lens reflex (TLR) cameras.

The Rolleiflex TLR film cameras were notable for their exceptional build

quality, compact size, modest weight, superior optics, durable, simple, reliable

mechanics and bright viewfinders. They were popular and widely imitated. The

high-quality 8 cm focal length lenses, manufactured by Zeiss and Schneider,

allowed for a smaller, lighter, more compact camera than their imitators.

The highly regarded Zeiss Planar f2.8, 80mm focal length and fast in compari-

son, is it state of the art optics. Unique of the Rolleiflex cameras, the mechanical

wind mechanism is robust and clever. Some amateur and fine-art photogra-

phers still shoot Rolleiflex TLR film cameras with colour transparency, colour

negative, or black-and-white film. The later f2.8 and f3.5 letter models (Planar

or Xenotar lens) are highly sought after in the used market, and command the

greatest price.

Rolleiflex TLRs are still manufactured in Germany by DHW Fototechnik.

Although all Rolleiflex cameras can be fine user cameras, there is also an active

market for many Rolleiflex models as collectables, and this adds (greatly in

some models) to the end price paid, particularly in Japan.

A pinnacle of rollfilm camera manufacture: sublime engineering coupled with

the Carl Zeiss Planar 80mm f2.8. It doesn’t get much better than this.

This is the pride of the collectors. It’s very hard to find this one cosmetically and

optically in stunning condition inside and out but about 2 years ago I have had

the pleasure to have this one in my hands in excellent condition. Having not

been used for a number of years, the slow shutter speeds of 1/15th and below

were a little sticky, but every other mechanical function was as smooth as it

could be wished for. Just opened and collapsing the viewfinder hood felt like

it was new. The case and strap were superb and it had the original shade, with

keeper, and the white diffuser. In retrospect we are proud to say that it has been

purchased and it has travelled from Italy to Japan, through our online store, to

end up in the hands of its current owner.

Laura Vinci

PASSIONE VINTAGEBy Luxita

ROLLEIFLEX TLR FILM CAMERAA legend that lives on

28

Tortelli mix 150 grams pork loin

50 grams prosciutto di Parma, chopped

50 grams freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1 farm chicken (about 2 kg) cut into pieces

About 500 grams well marbled beef with bone

1 celery stick

Filling preparation Cut the pork loin into cubes. Heat 1 Table spoon butter in a small frying pan and add the pork loin. Once cooked place aside. Soak the chicken and beef in cold water to remove any traces of blood. This helps to make a clear broth. Put the chicken and beef in a stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and remove the scum that will rise to the surface. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours. Add the celery, carrot, onion, and bay leaves and simmer for 1 extra hour.

Strain all the meat and vegetables from the broth. Allow cooling then pull all the meat off the bone. Don’t throw the broth; place the prosciutto cotto in the broth and cook for an hour. Once cooked transfer the meat and some of the cooking juices to a food processor or blender.

Blend all the meat and add salt, pepper and Parmesan to taste.

TORTELLI ALL’EMILIANA

ALL CRAZY FOR JOHNNY

1 onion 1 bay leaf 1 carrot Salt Pepper

(1kg pasta dough recipe)800g Le 5 Stagioni Fresca pasta flour

200g semolina

30g salt

30ml olive oil

10-12 whole eggs

Place the flour in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs into it. Add salt and olive oil. Beat the eggs with a fork until smooth. Using the tips of your fingers, mix the eggs with the flour, incorporating a little at a time, until everything is combined. Knead the pieces of dough together until smooth. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and silky. Then cover

with cling wrap.

HOW TO ROLL YOUR PASTA Lightly dust both sides of the pasta with a little flour every time you run it through. Once you’ve rolled your pasta you need cut it straight away, to avoid it from drying out, cover with a damp cloth. Roll your pasta around 5cm wide; place your filling in the middle of the pasta leaving roughly 5cm between each filling. Then place another layer of pasta on top. Press firmly around the filling ensure no air pockets then cut with a pasta cutter leaving 3cm square around the filling. All the excess pasta add to your mix. Place in a lightly floured bowl

and cover with a cloth. Ready to cook

Cooking pasta Bring to boil salted water.

Add the tortelli; allow rising to the top. Drain and add to the sauce.

Cream 500ml

Truffle paste 1 tea spoon

Parmigiano Reggiano

Asparagus

Peel asparagus and boil but keeping them crisp

Put the cream in a pot and cook on low heat for 20 min, add the truffle paste and stir.

Add the asparagus and pasta. Cook for 1 min. Take off heat and add Parmigiano to taste.

FRESH PASTA

SAUCE

BY JOHNNY DI FRANCESCO

Dead dog in the still of the nightAuthor Archimede Fusillo “There are two wolves inside us all. One is evil”

Thus reads the sub-title of this novel. A fearsome warning for the young

protagonist of a modern “Shadow line” set in the Italian suburbs of

Melbourne.

Primo, is the last of four children, is about to end his final year of school and to

embark on a trip to Europe with his girlfriend Maddie. Primo’s adolescent life

seems to run smoothly, but adulthood is around the corner and is in no way a

free ride.

Trouble begins when he manages to dent the Fiat 500 Bambino, the pride of his

sick father relegated to a nursing home. This incident triggers a series of bad

decisions. In the attempt to secretly mend the car, it will lead Primo to a point

in his life in which he becomes aware that adult life comes with a heavy price. It

requires choices, right and wrong, and ruthlessly demands responsibility. Primo

does not hold back.

In Primo’s eyes, his father, now ill, is responsible for the unhappiness of his

mother. His two brothers are a younger personification of his father. One is

recovering from a troubled marriage and he is back home temporarily, while the

other older one is busy trying to start up an improbable business.

Relations among Primo, his brothers, his father and others are at the heart of

everything. Firstly they clash, they develop, and transform. The only relation-

ship that does not undergo changes is the one with his friend Tone. He is the

one person who is alongside Primo at all times, for better or worse.

Primo, eventually, will feed the good wolf inside him, as the subtitle of this

novel prevails. He will make the right choices, but above all, he will take respon-

sibility and control of his life. Adulthood is deep rooted in Primo’s existence and

he is free, while the evil wolf is starved.

Ford Street Publishing

$18.95

BOOKWORM’S VIEW

In the last few years a sizeable number of young Italians have come to

Australia in search of a future. The so called GFC (Global Financial Crisis)

has taken a heavy toll on Italian economy and almost half of the youth pop-

ulation of Italy is unemployed with little if any hope of finding a job in the near

future. As a consequence of this bleak reality, many young Italians go abroad to

seek employment and Australia has become one of their favorite destinations.

However, while it is easy for people under the age of 30 to get a one-year work-

ing holiday visa, it is extremely difficult to become a permanent resident and

most of them are bound to be disappointed.

Nevertheless spending a year in Australia can be a life-changing expe-rience especially for those who have been living under the protection of their parents. Being so far away from Italy forces them to deal with life on their own, which often means doing the humblest of jobs and

accepting a most frugal way of life. It’s tough but it generally changes the life of a young person for the better. One learns not only to rely on oneself but also to appreciate the good things of life and not to take them for granted. Yet the most significant reward is one’s inner growth that comes only by experiencing life alone with all the hopelessness and sense of despair that come with it. There is no other way around

the process of acquiring full adulthood. Remember young Buddha departing his parents’ household or young Jesus leaving home and retreating in the desert? These legendary examples seem to go to far

but they actually tell us something real about the trials of the inner growth for a young individual. A year in Australia can do the trick for an Italian young man or woman and give him/her the strength to find a future not here but in their native country. It may well be that in years to come Italy will have a prime minister who spent a year in Australia as a young person or an Italian Steve Jobs who started developing his ground-breaking ideas while washing the dishes in a Carlton restaurant.

Ivano Ercole is an Italian-born journalist and writer who has spent most of his adult life in Australia. He worked for ten years as a radio broadcaster at SBS in Melbourne and until 2012 he was the director of an Italian radio network in Australia. He has written many newspaper articles on Italian and Australian cultural matters and a few books on the history of Italian immigration in Australia. His email address is ivanoercole@gmail.com.

DIARYAustralian

by Ivano Ercole

30

Italianis the second most spoken language in Australia. A good reason not to learn English for the new migrants...?by Ilaria Gianfagna

Australia is probably the most multicultural country in the world.

Although English is the official language in Australia, there are

more than 200 languages spoken in Australian households. The

second most spoken language is not surprisingly Italian: almost 317,000

of Italians live permanently in Australia. To this number it is necessary to

add the 17,000 Italians who live in Australia on temporary visas, per year.

According to Wikipedia, ‘the 2006 Census counted 199,124 people were

born in Italy. In 2011, 916,100 people identified themselves as having Italian

ancestry, either alone or in combination with another ancestry (4.6%)’. Most

of the Italians in Australia (48%) live in Victoria. It is evident that Italy has

a significant role in Australian society, but even if the numbers are huge,

there is still a big gap which divide Italians and Australians: the language.

More than 1 million of Australians have Italian ancestors, so there are many

Australians who can speak Italian or at least they can understand it. But the

opposite is not necessarily true.

Italians face a big difficulty in learning English and in most cases they prefer

learning it at work, rather than taking an English course. It is a shame, because

learning English is fundamental to obtaining better opportunities from a social

and professional perspective. In Australia diplomas, degrees and certificates, still

matter. More than 70% of the young people who complete Year 12 get a job in 4

months and the minimum salary of a professional graduate is $52,000 per year.

That is why studying is still important in a country such as Australia. Education

is a big business and recently has reached a figure of 12.5 billion dollars, accord-

ing to research at the University of Melbourne. There are hundreds of schools,

institutes and universities, for every budget, time, passion and goal. The courses

most requested are the English ones, because they are a good option not only

for tourists who want to study English abroad for a few months, but also for

international students who want to experience life in Australia for one year or

more. All the courses of General English offer 20 hours of lessons per week, so

that all students can experience and are fully immersed in the language: writing,

speaking, reading and listening. Normally there are courses in the morning,

afternoon and nights as well extra curricula (and free activities) to all students.

So there are no more excuses not to learn English!

www.justaustralia.it

P 9421 5411w www.sylkhairboutique.com.auE info@sylkhairboutique.com.au

Shop F36 Victoria Gardens Shopping Centre620 Victoria Street

Richmond 3128

www.romadeli.com.au

32 Gladstone Road, Dandenong North

9794 9692

Tree-Climbing might sound like the latest trendy extreme sport for people

in search of excitement. It is on the contrary a recreational activity for

people of all ages that allows ascending to and moving around the crown

of a tree.

The equipment consists of a rope, a helmet and a harness and the activity is totally

safe as well as respectful of the natural environment. The technique was invented

in the early 1980s in the United States and over the years it has spread all over the

world, especially in urbanized environments where the maintenance of large trees

requires the use of conventional mechanical elevators.

It has become quite popular both in Italy and Australia and has established itself

in the field of arboriculture. It is a well-founded activity, which can also be very

useful. In fact it allows to carry out with maximum mobility all those operations

(like pruning, felling, removal of dangerous branches) necessary for proper tree

maintenance and management. The purpose is a safe and healthy coexistence in

full compliance with the requirements of the tree and beneficial to the community

as well.

It is, in short, a working arboriculture method "compatible" with the environment

and with the life of trees.

A Tree-Climber must not only be a good "climber", but also knowledgeable about

arboriculture in order to operate properly on our "green friends" and protect their

health according to the natural laws of stability and safety. A person that practices

tree-climbing should be aware of all the need of trees especially when they are

forced to live in unnatural conditions (in cities, between buildings, under the

cables of trams, in compacted soils). He has to be able to do what it is essential to

grant a tree a dignified existence and he will gain in return a sense of communion

with the tree and harmony with nature.

The psychological well being emanating from the presence of trees in urban envi-

ronments cannot be measured with any scientific instrument but its therapeutic

benefits can be clearly perceived by any person with a minimum of sensibility.

The mere sight of a tree or trees along the roads or between the concrete buildings

makes us feel good. It's a view that generates a synthony with nature and with our

inner self.

Trees do not need human beings to grow up and live but they also feel better when

we come into contact with them and take care of them. After learning the proper

technique, tree climbing can become a source of joy both for the trees and us.

www.vasopoliconico.it

www.forestaurbana.com

is becoming a most popular & healthy activity all around the world

Climbing Trees

From our correspondent in Italy

Daniele Brugiotti- Arboriculturist, Grower

33

526 La Trobe Street I Melb 3000

03 9329 7771www.spencerprint.com.au

Melbourne

•BUSINESSCARDS

•LETTERHEADS

•ENVELOPES

•FLYERS

•CARDS

WE PRINT•BROCHURES

•BOOKLETS

•PRESENTATIONFOLDERS

•POSTERS

•WITHCOMPLIMENTSLIPS