he three day official visit to Israel andthe Palestinian Territories by Italy's

Prime Minister Romano Prodi concluded onJuly 10. During his stay Mr. Prodi heldmeetings with PM Ehud Olmert, DefenseMinister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister TzipiLivni, Opposition Leader Benyamin Netanyahuand President Shimon Peres.

At his meeting with Prime Minister EhudOlmert, Mr Prodi reviewed the strong ties thatlink Italy and Israel in economic, cultural andscientific fields. The Israeli PM thanked Mr.Prodi for having taken the lead in setting up theinternational peace force operating in Lebanon

since last year's war,and for being thefirst to offer troopst o m a n t h econtingent. PrimeM i n i s t e r P r o d idefended Israel'sright to live as aJewish state, inp e a c e w i t h i t sne ighbor s , andreaffirmed Italy'sposition regarding

the Iranian nuclear issue and its oppositionagainst any attempt to deny the Holocaust.

After visiting Yad Vashem and planting a treein the Jerusalem Forest, Mr. Prodi paid homageto Yitzhak Rabin at his tomb on Mt. Herzl,

where he was accompanied by Rabin's daughterDalia.

Mr. Prodi, accompanied by Foreign MinisterTzipi Livni, then flew to Sderot to express hissolidarity with the people of the Negev townbombarded by Palestinian rockets.

Relaunching the peace process was the maintopic of the Prime Minister's discussions withShimon Peres, whom Mr. Prodi warmlycongratulated on hiselection as Presidentof Israel. Mr Peresoutlined his visionof an economicpeace co r r idorintegrating largeareas of Israel ,Jordan and theP a l e s t i n i a nTerr i tor ies . <>

taly’s ‘Festa dellaRepubblica’ was

celebrated in Israel byAmbassador Sandro DeBernardin and his wifeAnna at a reception intheir Residence inRamat Gan on June 4.Over 1100 guests werepresent, includingseveral members of theKnesset and leadingpersonalities fromIsrael’s economic,political, military, religious and social circles,as well as members of Israel’s Italiancommunity.

Minister of Immigrant Absorption Ze’ev

Boim represented theIsraeli government at theevent. In his remarksMinister Boim referredto the strong ties offriendship that havecharacterized Israel’srelations with Italy since1948; a relationship,added the Minister,w h i c h h a s b e e nstrengthened in recenty e a r s b y t h eestablishment of new

areas of cooperation and by the intensificationof political, economic and cultural exchanges.

In his welcoming address, Ambassador DeBernardin thanked the Minister for

he Italian Cultural Institute and theTel Aviv Museum of Art are pleased

to announce the opening of the exhibition‘Mentalgrafie, Viaggio attraverso l’artecontemporanea italiana,’ (‘Mentalscapes:a journey through Italian contemporaryart’) a rich panorama of Italian art fromthe 1960s till today, curated by DemetrioPaparoni.

The exhibition, which was inauguratedon July 19 by Ambassador Sandro DeBernardin and held under the patronage ofthe Foreign Ministry, the Ministry forCultural Heritage and Activities, the Embassyof Italy in Israel and the Italian CulturalInstitute of Tel Aviv, remains open untilOctober 6, after which it will transfer toIstanbul, Ankara and Athens.

The wide ranging selection of artists andworks chosen for inclusion in the exhibitionmake it one of the most importantmanifestations of modern Italian art presentedoutside of Italy in recent decades.

Demetrio Paparoni, critic, essayist andcurator, is one of the most illustrious arthistorians in Italy and author of several booksand monographs on contemporary art. In theearly 1980s he founded the journal TemaCeleste, which he edited for over 20 years,and was a member of the commission of the1993 Italian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.Paparoni teaches contemporary art historyat the Faculty of Architecture of CataniaUniversity and recently curated the TIMERexhibition of contemporary art at theTriennale di Milano, which is currentlyreceiving substantial critical and publicacclaim.

Based on the supposition that Italiancontemporary art takes its inspiration fromthe metaphysical movement of the early 20thcentury, the exhibition is divided into threesections: Literary Metaphysics, AnalyticalMetaphysics, and Tragi-Ironic

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NOTIZIE ITALIANENewsle t t er o f the Embassy o f I ta ly in I srae l No. 46 July 2007

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Italian Prime Minister on official visit toIsrael

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Journey through Italiancontemporary art

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Prime Minister Romano Prodiwith President Shimon Peres

Prime Minister Romani Prodi with PM Ehud Olmert at theofficial welcoming ceremony in Jerusalem

Mario Mertz, Tiger (1983)

The Ambassador and Mrs. Anna De Bernardin with MinisterZe'ev Boim and his wife at the Italian Residence

PM Prodi with Vice PrimeMinister and Foreign MinisterTzipi Livni during their visit toSderot

Metaphysics.Each of these sections presentsthe thoughts and works of threedifferent early 20th centuryartists: Giorgio De Chirico,Giorgio Morandi and AlbertoSavinio and the artists whofollowed in their footsteps.

Italian Mentalscapes offersa means of approach towards a betterunderstanding of works by major conceptualartists within movements such as ‘Arte Povera’,‘Transavanguardia’ and ‘Outsider’. Artists inthese categories include Maurizio Cattelan,Vanessa Beecroft, Gabellone and some of theyounger neo-conceptualists who are achievinginternational recognition such as Cuoghi,Gennari and Tuttofuoco. In his introductorynote in the exhibition catalogue Arturo

Schwarz, internationallyknown modern art historiana n d P r e s i d e n t o f t h eExhibitions and AcquisitionCommittee of Tel AvivMuseum writes: “The title ofthe exhib i t ion , I ta l ianMentalscapes, came as theresult of a discussion between

Mordechai Omer, Director of the Tel AvivMuseum of Art, Demetrio Paparoni, curatorof the exhibition and Simonetta della Seta,Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, whowere looking for ways to embody the spirit ofthe exhibition in a single word. Its translationinto Italian as ‘Mentalgrafie’, refers to a termconceived by Giuseppe Conte, one of Italy’smajor poets.” www.tamuseum.com <>

attending the event,stressing the importanceattached by the ItalianGovernment to relationsw i t h I s r a e l . T h eA m b a s s a d o re m p h a s i z e d , i nparticular, the close andf r u i t f u l w o r k i n grelationship which Israela n d I t a l y h a v emaintained during thelast year, as well as theItaly’s commitment tothe right of Israel to existin peace and security.

T h e e v e n i n gcontinued with the singing of national anthemsfollowed by a ceremony during which theAmbassador awarded 13 decorations of the

Ordine al Merito dellaRepubblica Italiana andthe Ordine della Stelladella Solidarietà Italianato representatives fromIs rae l ’s economic ,religious, professionaland cultural communitieswith particularly strongties to Italy.

During the eveningguests enjoyed works ofart , taken from the‘ M a s t e r p i e c e s o fEuropean Art’ exhibitionheld earlier this year inRome, on a wide screenplaced in the garden of

the Residence. Guests were also provided witha publication edited by the Embassy providinginformation on the Exhibition and the works of

art displayed. During the course of the eveningthe magazine ‘L’Italia in Israele’ was alsopresented and distributed (see box). <>

old & Silver API Group is a consortiumthat represents more than 150 gold and

silver jewellery companies manufacturingexclusively “Made in Italy” collections andoperating in the Vicenza area.

Famous throughout the world for its GoldJewellery Trade Fairs - Vicenza Oro Winter,Vicenza Oro Spring and Vicenza Oro Autumn- the city of Vicenza is also on UNESCO'sregistry of World Heritage sites, thanks to itsPalladian villas. The beauty of the sites inspiresthe entire production area, which includes about1,200 gold and silver jewellery enterprises.

Gold & Silver API Group’s membercompanies export nearly 90% of their productionthroughout the world and offer the whole rangeof jewellery production for men, women andchildren, and can provide all items, from semi-finished products to finished articles.

The companies belonging to this groupmanufacture articles that meet their customers’needs. For example, they might conform metalpercentages to different regulations in force inthe markets they work in; or, still, they mightmodify their models according to manifoldstylistic needs.

But the main characteristics of theirproduction are Italian quality, creativity, designand style.

Gold & Silver Api Group, which todaynumbers around 75 members, has become theleading export consortium in the Province ofVicenza thanks to the intense promotional effortsit undertakes on behalf of its members. Asidefrom operating in traditional markets theconsortium also specializes in evaluating newmarket opportunities such as in Israel, the Balticcountries, Kuwait and others.

For the first time, thanks to cooperation withthe Italian Trade Commission of Tel Aviv,directed by Mauro Poli, Gold & Silver APIGroup organized the participation of severalItalian gold & silver jewellery manufacturers atJovella 2007 in Tel Aviv, which was held on July10 - 11. The delegation also held a fruitfulmeeting with representatives of the ShenkarInstitute to study future possible cooperation.www.goldsilverapigroup.it <>

NOTIZIE ITALIANE July 2007

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GVicenza’s API Group exhibits at Jovella 2007

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Italy Celebrates National Day

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Italian PM visits IsraelItaly celebrates Republic DayItalian contemporary art expoAPI Group exhibits at Jovella 2007Mayor of Milan visits IsraelBilateral Commission meets in Tel AvivConference on E-Health‘Israel Is Us’ by Fiamma NirensteinLombardy health mission visits IsraelMovint and Expologistica exhibitionFarewell to Prof. Lucio IzzoAnna Maria Castelli TrioPromos and Chamber of Commerce strengthen tiesEuro-Mediterranean Laboratory conferenceItalian-Israeli seminar on terrorismItaly at the Jerusalem Film FestivalIl Trittico at the Israeli OperaMusica Ficta at the Israel FestivalCinema under the skies of Tel AvivEvents in IsraelSummer at the Nahon MuseumEvents in ItalyItalian Trade Fair Calendar

Trade Tower, 25 HaMered Street, Tel Aviv 68125Te l : 0 3 - 5 1 6 . 1 7 4 4 F a x : 0 3 - 5 1 6 . 1 7 5 5www.ambtelaviv.esteri.it Sportellounico.telaviv@esteri.it

Journey through Italian contemporary art(cont. from p. 1)

From left: Dr. Angelo Ragusa, President of API Group, Dr.Maurizio Castro, Director General of Fiera Vicenza andEugenio Marotta of SpedIn

Right: Enzo Cucchi, Bestemmia (1996),Left: Sandro Chia, Meditazione (1981)

The first edition of ‘Italy in Israel’, clarifying the extentand magnitude of Italy’s presence in Israel, was publishedin English in 2005 and in Hebrew last year. This year’sedition, which is bilingual, contains contributions fromeconomic, academic, scientific, literary and artisticfigures in Israel who have been asked to address thequestion “Why Italy?” from both a personal andprofessional perspective. Authors include, among others,David Grossman and Alex Ansky (culture), Michael Sela(science), Dani Caravan (art), Ahinoam Nini(entertainment) and Oozi Cats (entrepreneurship).

he Mayor of Milan and former Ministerof Education and Research Letizia

Moratti, on a brief but intense visit to Israelpromoting her city's candidacy to host theUniversal Exhibition "Expo 2015", heldmeetings with President Shimon Peres, ForeignMinister Tzipi Livni, Agriculture MinisterShalom Simhon and Tel Aviv Mayor RonHuldai.

Mayor Moratti's first priority was to informher interlocutors about Milan's proposal to hostthe Expo and the city's readiness to put itsexpertise in research, technological innovation,project management and public exposition atthe service of the international community.

Mayor Moratti repeated on every possibleoccasion that the guiding principle behindMilan's candidacy is the desire to establishcommon projects in selected areas, in accordancewith the UN’s Millennium Development Goals,for inclusion in the future Expo.

The Mayor held a particularly warm andfriendly meeting with President Shimon Peres,outlining the scope of investments alreadyunderway or about to be authorized and theunique characteristics of Milan as a Europeaneconomic, technological and cultural center.

The Mayor's meeting with Shalom Simhon,

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,touched on specific questions relating to themain theme of the Expo “Feeding the planet,energy for life.” The Minister thanked MayorMoratti for visiting Israel and underlined how,as always, Italy represents for Israel a model tofollow in terms of agricultural progress but alsofor its attention to environmental protection andits defence of citizens' rights.

The Mayor held a particularly cordial meetingwith Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni with whomMrs. Moratti reviewed the deep cultural,scientific and technological ties existing betweenthe two countries. <>

n July 19th the joint Italian IsraeliCommission for the application of the

Bilateral Agreement on Cooperation inScience, Technology and Industry, signed inBologna in 2000, assembled in Tel Aviv todiscuss, evaluate and approve a series of jointcollaborative projects for 2008.

The Italian delegation was led byAmbassador Sandro De Bernardin andincluded First Counsellor Luciano Pezzotti andSecond Segretary Giorgia De Parolis of theMediterranean and Middle East Department ofthe Foreign Ministry, Dr. Tullio di Pietro,Alfonso Mazzaccara and Rosanna Paiolo(representing respectively the Ministries ofProduction Activities, Health, Education andResearch), Coordinator of the Italian BusinessDesk Dr. Tiziana D'Angelo and Dr. StefanoBoccaletti, Scientific Attaché at the Embassy.

The Israeli side, led by Chief Scientist Dr.Eli Opper, included Mina Goldiak, responsiblefor international relations at the office of theChief Scientist, Yair Amitay, Director ofMATIMOP (with collaborators Haya Miller,Israel Shamay and Ilana Gross), Leora Hadar,Counsellor for Economic Affairs at the Embassyof Israel in Rome and Mordechay Rodgold,Advisor at the Economics Department of Israel’sForeign Ministry.

The meeting opened with a generalevaluation of the application of the agreementover the last 6 years, the positive consequencesof which continue to bear fruit. Both sidesexpressed their complete satisfaction with theprojects realized during this period, which havestimulated a growing cooperative networkbetween institutions of the two countries andenabled the planning of bilateral strategies thatimpact the economies of both countries. Bothsides strongly support the extension of theagreement in the future.

The two delegations then compared andconcluded the evaluation and approval ofprojects presented in the 2007 tender, in fieldssuch as alternative energy, alimentation,environmental technologies, new materials,information technology and biomedicine, sectorsin which international cooperation is consideredof vital and strategic importance to bothcountries.

After careful evaluation the two delegationsapproved 8 particularly promising scientificresearch and industrial development projects,with medium or long term prospects ofcommercialization, for financing in 2008. It isworthwhile recalling that this is the largestnumber of projects ever approved within theframework of the Cooperation Agreement. <>

O

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NOTIZIE ITALIANE July 2007

TMayor of Milan Letizia Moratti visits Israel

he second Italian-Israeli seminar onelectronic healthcare (telemedecine

and e-health), organized by the ItalianBusiness Desk, took place in Tel Aviv onJune 1. The seminar was presented as aspecial event within the framework of the“Biomed Israel” expo that was held on June5-7.

The main aim of the seminar was toexamine the problems encountered by theimplementation of electronic health systemsin the two countries and to identify new areasand opportunities for collaboration andexperimentation. Presentations were givenby representatives of universities, industryand public administration from bothcountries.

Participants on the Italian side includedDr. Giuseppe Martini, Director of theDepartment of Life Sciences at CNR(National Research Council), as well asrepresentatives from leading industriesoperating in the sector such as TelecomItalia, Insiel, Telemedicina Rizzoli, Metedaand Gruppo Lombardia Informatica.

This was the first time that a seminar onelectronic healthcare and telemedicine washeld at the Biomed expo and served tocomplement efforts by the EU, which haspicked these two sectors as key elements ofhealthcare policy over the next few years, tostreamline services between differenthealthcare facilities and to identify methodsand systems aimed at better serving thegrowing population of elderly citizens.

Approximately 80 professionals took partin the seminar, including Dr. Claudio Clini,Director General of the Lazio Region's HMO,who announced his intention to promote andinitiate a pilot project to introduce technologypresented at the seminar into his region'shealthcare system. <>

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Italy-Israel seminaron e-health

Mr. Ronni Benatoff, President of the Israel-Italy Chamberof Commerce, addressing the Biomed Conference

The Mayor of Milan, Letizia Moratti, meeting with PresidentShimon Peres

Bilateral Commission for Scientific, Industrialand Technological Cooperation meets in Tel Aviv

he singer/actress Anna Maria Castelli(photo) and members of her trio, Simone

Guiducci (guitar) and Stefano Caniato (pianoand accordion), presented their show 'Genova,la città della canzone d’autore' (‘Genoa, cityof the singer-songwriter’) during their tourof Israel which ended on July 15 at Maa’lia,an Arab-Christian villiage near the Lebaneseborder.

T h e t o u r ,organized by theHaifa branch oft h e I t a l i a nCultural Institutedirected by Dr.E d o a r d oC r i s a f u l l i ,attracted a variedpublic of Jewish,Christian andMuslim citizensfrom all over the north of the country.

The Trio performed songs by the mostcelebrated Genoese singer-songwriters (Bindi,Lauzi, De André, Tenco, Paoli, Fossati, Conte),in newly realized jazz arrangements by AnnaMaria Castelli, whose virtuoso singing andacting was highly appreciated by her Israeliaudiences. Italian texts of the songs werepublished together with translations in Hebrewand Arabic in a booklet distributed at theconcert, which received public and criticalacclaim after repeat performances in evocativesettings that included Haifa and Nazareth.

One of the aims of the tour was to promotea less well known but fascinating aspect ofItalian culture: music to harmonize texts ofpoetic, literary stature.

Organizing the event were the InternationalCultural Union, the Italian Hospital ofNazareth, the ‘Dante Alighieri’ Society and theMayors of the cities and villages of Galileewhich hosted the concerts. <>

delegation from theLombardy Region,

led by its Counsellor forHealth Dr. LucianoBresciani, concluded animportant four day visitto Israel on July 26. Thed e l e g a t i o n , w h i c hincluded leading officialsfrom the Region’s Healthd i v i s i o n , m e d i c a lpractioners and academics, were invited toIsrael by Health Minister Yacov Ben Yizri.

During the course of the mission delegatesvisited the Italian hospitals of Haifa andNazareth, as well as the Rambam Medical Centerin Haifa, the Emergency Station at Magen DavidAdom and the Sheba Medical and SimulationCenter at Tel Hashomer.

The main aim of the mission was to examinemethods and opportunities for research projects,

industrial telemedicineand e-health strategies aswell as applications fort r a u m a t o l o g y a n demergency procedures.

The highlight of thevisit was the meeting inJe rusa lem be tweenm e m b e r s o f t h edelegation and HealthMinister Yacov Ben Yizri,

who agreed to accelerate cooperation betweenthe two countries. In this regard CounsellorBresciani confirmed that the President of theLombardy Region, Roberto Formigoni, wouldsoon pay a visit to Israel.

Counsellor Bresciani also reminded MinisterBen Yizri about Milan’s candidacy to host the2015 Universal Expo, whose central theme"Feeding the planet, Energy for life" is closelyl inked to the problems of heal th.<>

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NOTIZIE ITALIANE July 2007

he Israel Italy Chamber of Commerceand Industry participated in the 13th

edition of Movint, the International Industrialand Mechanical Handling exhibition andExpologistica, the Exhibition of IntegratedMeans, Systems and Services for Logistics andTransport.

These two leading fairs, integrated into asingle exhibition, took place on May 9-12 inBologna. Four days of shows, initiatives and

meetings for tens of thousands of trade operatorsin contact with the latest technology andorganizing innovations that have made logisticsa strategic tool for corporate management.

The Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerceorganized business meetings between the Israelidelegation, composed of four companies fromdifferent sectors, and leading Italian andInternational companies.www.italia-israel.com <>

Movint and Expologistica exhibitionsT

n July 3 the Italian Cultural Institute ofTel Aviv organized and hosted the

presentation of Fiamma Nirenstein's new book'Israele siamo noi' (Israel Is Us), publishedby Rizzoli.

Ms. Nirenstein, author, editor and MiddleEast correspondent for the Italian daily IlGiornale, was introduced by Simonetta DellaSeta, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute.

Present at the event were Avi Pazner, formerIsraeli Ambassador to Italy and presently WorldChairman of Keren Hayesod-UIA, andAmbassador Sandro De Bernardin. The

Ambassador introduced the book, commentingon the importance of informing Italians aboutthe reality of life in Israel from a socialperspective. Fiamma Nirenstein herself outlinedher reasons for writing the book, to betterexplain and describe the youthful, secularcharacter of life in Israel and “the struggle tomaintain a dynamic democracy in a societyfaced with the continued threat of war.”

The meeting with Fiamma Nirensteinfollows previous encounters at the Institute withMagdi Allam, winner of the 2006 Dan DavidPrize; Beppe Severgnini, writer, journalist and

wry observer of Italians living abroad; and GadLerner, journalist, television personality andauthor of a book on the problems of identity incontemporary society. <>

O‘Israel Is Us’ by Fiamma Nirenstein

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Anna Maria Castelli Trioperforms in the NorthA

Lombardy health delegation visits Israel

he Italian Cultural Institute, Ambassador Sandro De Bernardin andstaff at the Italian Embassy and Consulate, together with many Israeli

friends, have bid farewell to Prof. Lucio Izzo and his wife Antonietta who,after four intense years of activity, are preparing to leave Israel. Prof. Izzo(photo, with Simonetta Della Seta) has been appointed Director of theItalian Cultural Institute in Seoul, South Korea, and will take up his dutiesthere in September. Our best wishes to Lucio and Antonietta! <>

Farewell to Prof. Lucio IzzoT

From left: Avi Pazner, Simonetta Della Seta, FiammaNirenstein and Ambassador Sandro De Bernardin

First Counsellor Davide La Cecilia (4th from left)welcomes Lombardy Region's Health Counsellor Prof.Luciano Bresciani (3rd from left) at his residence

n May 20 - 21 ani m p o r t a n t

commercial delegationfrom the LombardyRegion participated inbusiness to businessm e e t i n g s w i t hn u m e r o u s I s r a e l icompanies in fieldssuch as biotechnologyand waste treatment.This was the second oftwo events organized bythe Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce incollaboration with Promos, the special agencyfor the internationalization of companies atMilan's Chamber of Commerce.

In order to discuss different means ofcollaboration the Israel-Italy Chamber ofCommerce organized very productive meetingsbetween representatives of the Universita'Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, the Politecnico diMilano and leading figures from the Hebrew

Universi ty, Tel-AvivU n i v e r s i t y , t h eInterdisciplinery Center ofHerzliya, the BezalelAcademy of Art andDesign and the D-visionProgram of Keter Plastic.

On the morning of May21 the Italian CulturalI n s t i t u t e h o s t e d apresentation given byLucia Sersale, ProjectM a n a g e r o f t h e

Postgraduate Programme Division of Universita'Cattolica and Michelangelo Balicco, Head ofInternational Project Service at the Politecnicodi Milano, where local graduate students learnedabout the opportunities available to them in Italy.

The Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce andPromos also organized a study tour mission inthe flowers and plants sectors, focused mainlyon water, energy and fertilizer technologies,that took place on May 29-31. The Italian

delegation included 8 representatives from 7companies, led by the President of the LombardyRegion's Flower Nursering, Greenhouses andGarden Centers Association. Delegates wereable to meet their Israeli counterparts and learnabout local technology through variouscommercial and institutional meetings organizedby the Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce, inclose collaboration with the Israeli Export andInternat ional Cooperat ion Inst i tu te .www.promositaly.comwww.italia-israel.com <>

OClose ties between Promos and the Israel-Italy Chamber of Commerce

ommercial ties between Italy and thecountries of the Mediterranean area are

worth around 50bn., a figure that involvesover a thousand enterprises with revenues ofover 10bn., confirming the country’s role asa leading commercial and industrialpowerhouse in the region. Because of its historyand i ts search for synergy betweencomplementary elements, Italy consitutes aprivileged interlocutor in regional dialogue.The f i f th conference of the Euro-Mediterranean Laboratory, dedicated this yearto the theme ‘Ways to Integrate’, was held inMilan on July 16 – 18.

The annual conference of the Euro-Mediterranean Laboratory, from its inceptionin 2003, resulted from the desire for inter-regional cooperation and constitutes a jointapproach to specific intitiatives, developing newprojects for regional integration and facilitatingdialogue between public and private operatorsat the highest levels.

The primary aim of this initiative is toprovide, first and foremost, a service to Italiancompanies wishing to internationalize theiroperations, a process partly achieveable by thediverse origins of those attending the Laboratory.Entrepreneurial missions, joint participation inexhibitions and attendance at seminars areorganized annually by Promos, the internationaldivision of Milan’s Chamber of Commerce,which in 2006 rendered services in these areasto over 300 enterprises.

The conference is today considered one ofthe most important in Italy, an occasion toconsider the country’s position within theMediterranean area. Since its inception theLaboratory has held 9 plenary sessions and 11workshops, over 2 weeks of reflection on theMediterranean, has included over 3000participants addressed by around 300 speakers,many of them government ministers and leadingentrepreneurs from the principal countries ofthe region, and has encouraged the establishmentof a wide variety of joint business activities.

Over 600 participated at the 4th edition ofthe conference, on 17 – 18 July 2006, who wereaddressed by over 60 Italian and foreignspeakers. The 2007 edition of the conferencewas addressed by Prime Minister RomanoProdi, Minister of International Trade EmmaBonino and Minister of Infrastructure AntonioDi Pietro.www.euro-mediterraneo.com <>

NOTIZIE ITALIANE July 2007

5th Euro-Mediterranean Laboratory Conferenceheld in MilanC

he first bilateral seminar on the 'TheThreat of Terrorism to the Stability in

the Middle East', organized by the ItalianEmbassy in collaboration with the Institutefor Counter-Terrorism (ICT) of Herzlia'sInterdisciplinary Center (IDC), was held onJune 11-12.

The aim of the seminar was to analyze theinfluence of acts of large-scale terrorism andviolence on political processes, on nationalpolitics and on regional stability. The sixItalian experts on Middle Eastern terrorism,on their first visit to Israel, and eight Israeliswho took part in the event expressed theirsatisfaction with the high level of discourse,the free exchange of ideas, both in the seminarand during private discussions, and with thequality of personal contacts made 'in the field'.The two sides resolved to maintain contacts,find ways to strengthen cooperation betweentheir respective institutions and expressed adesire to repeat the event next year.

The conference was open to the widerpublic, which numbered around 100academics and diplomatic personnel whoparticipated in the Q&A sessions. The eventreceived extensive media coverage in bothcountries.

The conference, coordinated by Dr. EliKarmon of ICT and First Counsellor DavideLa Cecilia, was inaugurated by Prof. RafiMelnik, Chairman of the Lauder School ofGovernment at IDC, who welcomed theparticipants and thanked Ambassador SandroDe Bernardin for having made the eventpossible. In his greetings to the conferencethe Ambassador underlined the importanceof an exchange of views between Italian andIsraeli experts on terrorism and thesignificance of collaboration and dialoguebetween research centers in the two countries,which would enable a better understandingof the phenomenon and strengthen our abilityto face common challenges. <>

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Member of the flowers and plants study tour missionduring their visit to Israel

Prime Minister Romano Prodi addressing the Euro-Mediterranean Laboratory Conference

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Italian-Israeli seminaron terrorism

new production of Giacomo Puccini'sgroup of three one-act operas, the verist

t r a g e d y ' I ltabarro', thelyrical ‘SuorAngelica’, andt h e c o m e d y‘ G i a n n iS c h i c c h i ’ ,k n o w ncollectively as IlTrittico (The

Triptych), went on stage at the Israeli Operaon July 7-21. The production forms part ofthe solid and growing collaboration betweenthe Italian Cultural Institute and the IsraeliOpera.

The Director of this production, GiancarloDel Monaco, invited to Israel with the supportof the Italian Cultural Institute of Tel Aviv, isa close collaborator of the Israeli Opera, havingalready directed Andrea Chenier, La fanciulladel West and Cenerentola in past seasons. Thisoccasion was a perfect Italian Israeli fusion:an important Italian artist directing the bestIsraeli soloists in operas by one of Italy's

greatest composers under the baton of AsherFish, a celebrated Israeli conductor, on the eveof his debut at Milan's La Scala Opera.

Continuing the collaboration between theItalian Cultural Institute and the Israel Opera,next season will see the inclusion of five moreItalian operas: La forza del destino, Lagioconda, Turandot and Madama Butterfly, aswell as a new production of Rossini's Viaggioa Reims.www.israel-opera.co.il <>

taly enjoyed a significant presence atthe recently concluded Jerusalem

International Film Festival, the mostimportant cinematic event in Israel, whichevery year sees an extraordinary influx ofdirectors, producersa n d o t h e rprofessionals, bothforeign and local,w h o a t t e n d t h eexceptionally rich andstimulating programoffered by the festival,together with all them a j o r c r i t i c s ,journalists and alarge and variedpublic.

Opening the event was the latest film by theTaviani brothers, La masseria delle allodole(The Lark Farm) which recounts the story ofthe Armenian Genocide of 1915-17. The filmwas screened twice to packed houses thatincluded members of Jerusalem's Armeniancommunity.

Strong impressions were left by two otherItalian films engaged, each in its own way, withthe subject of spirituality and the significanceof life in contemporary Italy: Centochiodi by

Ermanno Olmi andIn memoria di me bySaverio Costanzo.

Another Italianfilm that attractedmuch attention wasLettere dal Sahara,by director VittorioDe Seta , whichp o r t r a y s w i t hprofound compassiont h e d r a m a se n c o u n t e r e d b y

foreign migrants to Italy.At a reception offered by the Director of

the Italian Cultural Institute, Simonetta DellaSeta, unanimous satisfaction was expressedfor the choice of Italian films presented at thefestival this year, and for the smoothcollaboration between the organizers, includingthe Italian Cultural Institute, the Jerusalem FilmFestival/Cinematheque and Cinecittà. Presentat the reception were Lia van Leer, SaverioCostanzo and Raz Degan, as well as thedirectors of the Cannes and Toronto FilmFestivals, two representatives from the FilmFestival of Rome, the Arab Israeli writer SayedKashua as well as an assorted crowd of Israeliand Italian film producers. <>

he concert by the Musica FictaEnsemble, held on June 2 in

Jerusalem as part of the Israel Festival,garnered outstanding public and criticalacclaim.

Organized byt h e I t a l i a nCultural Instituteand held at theHenry CrownAuditorium of theJ e r u s a l e mTheater, the eagerly anticipated concertattracted a large crowd which appreciatedthe group's performances of Renaissancevocal music, rarely heard in Israel outsideof the Christmas period, of works by suchcomposers as Palestrina, Victoria andMorales.

Attending the event were the director ofthe Italian Cultural Institute Simonetta DellaSeta and the Director of the Israel FestivalYossi Tal Gan.

The Musica Ficta ensemble, directed byMaestro Andrea Angelini, was founded in2001 in Rimini to explore the rich area ofsacred polyphonic vocal music, and performsall over the world, including under guestconductors such as Peter Phillips and AlbertoTurco.www.musicaficta.org <>

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NOTIZIE ITALIANE July 2007

Tel.03-5161361

ItalianCulturalInstitute

APuccini's Triptych at the Israeli Opera

IItaly at the Jerusalem Film Festival

n July 1 Ambassador Sandro DeBernardin and his wi fe Anna

inaugurated an Italian film retrospective heldin the open in the garden of the Tazza d'Orocafe in Tel Aviv's trendy Neve Zedekneighborhood.

The initiative, organized by the ItalianCultural Institute of Tel Aviv in collaborationwith the Italian Business Desk, provides foropen air screenings of selected Italian films,held every Sunday evening between July and

September, followed by the introduction of afavorite Italian recipe presented by membersof the Institute (writers, artists, chefs, designersetc.).

The open air screenings, heavily publicizedin the local press, were warmly received bypacked crowds, which quickly formed longlines of people outside the cafe hoping to geta seat.

The first film to be screened was the classicCinema Paradiso by Giuseppe Tornatore. <>

OItalian cinema under the skies of Tel Aviv

Musica Ficta at theIsrael FestivalT

Ambassador Sandro De Bernardin wuth the managerof Tazza d'Oro Yotam Cohen (left)

A rare color photographof Giacomo Puccini

Late MarriageAugust 7 – 9The exhibition is open from 9:00am to 10:00pm.

Summer Activity for the FamilyThrough AugustJoin an artworkshopinsp i redb y t h eexhibition,take a tourt h r o u g ht h eexhibition and then make your own personalpizza. Wednesdays at 11:00am

HillelujahThrough AugustGuided Tour of Hillel Street, its history and how

it has changed over the years, as well as a tourof the Museum of Italian Jewish Art. The tour,every Tuesday at 4:00 pm and every Friday at10:00 am, is free of charge.

Arts and Pasta – Italian FestivalAugust 14 – 16The sixth Artsand Pasta –I t a l i a nFestival, withan emphasison Jewish-Italian culture,o f f e r sperformances of Italian music and theater ofvarious kinds, delicacies from the best Italianrestaurants, workshops for children, pasta-making on the spot, and a breathtaking exhibitionat the museum. The magical museum piazza will

become Italy in the heart of Jerusalem duringthree summer eves full of joy and beauty.

Italian MarriageEnds Sept. 26Rare and wonderfulnew objects haverecently been added tot h e m u s e u m ’ scollection, including100 year old Bridaldresses , weddingpictures from a 19thcentury family album,Ketubot and ancientlove songs, illustratingthe special nature ofmarriage in ItalianJewish culture.Please reserve in advance at 02-6241610 <>

Summer at the Museum of Italian Jewish Art August-September, 2007

Animation, Comics & CaricatureFestivalAugust 25-28, Tel AvivA comprehensive overview of the work of fiveItalian masters is the focus at this year’sAnimation, Comics & Caricature Festival, a fourday event which takes place at the Tel AvivCinematheque in August. The featured artists areBruno Bozzetto, Vittorio Giardino, Giulio Gianini,Emanuele Luzzati and Sergio Staino. The ItalianCultural Institute has also invited cartoonistVittorio Giardino, illustrator Sergio Staino andthe Artistic and Administrative Directors of theinternational animation festival ‘I CastelliAnimati’, Luca Raffaelli and EmanuelaMarrocco, to take part in the festival.

Sergio Staino (photo),one of Italy’s mostpopular satirists, iscreator of Bobo, thecharacter which madehim famous. Besidesworking as an artist,Staino founded anddirected Tango, a satirical weekly, has collaboratedwith national dailies such as Il Messaggero andl’Unità, and is active in television, theater andcinema.

Bruno Bozzetto has produced three animatedfeature films West&Soda, Vip my brother superman,Allegro non troppo and many animated shorts. Hehas been awarded many prizes and, together withPiero Angela, has also directed many animatedshorts of educational scientific matter. BrunoBozzetto's best known character is Mister Rossi,

who has become a symbol for middle aged Italians.Since 2000 he has been devoting his time to Flashanimations for the web, gaining great success inthis activity.

Vittorio Giardino isone of Italy's mostimpor tant comicsartists, known for hisClear Line inspireds e r i e s l i k e M a xFridman and JonasFink . In 1986 hepublished short storiesin L'Espresso andbegan working as an illustrator for L'Unità,Glamour International, La Repubblica and JeBouquine. Giardino's work has also found its wayto France and the US, where it has been receivedwith considerable success.

Luca Raffaelli, Artistic Director of I CastelliAnimati, started out in comics and animation at avery young age. He was the director of the Italianversion of the comics magazine Métal Hurlant andillustrated for such newspapers and magazines asLa Repubblica and Videotecnica. He also workedin theatre and television as a director, author andfront man. One of his comics titles is Babbo Natale.

Homage to EmanueleLuzzati and GiulioGianiniEmanuele Luzzati,painter, illustrator andstage designer andG i u l i o G i a n i n i ,

director of photography, met in Rome in 1955,making a number of aesthetically perfect animatedfilms such as I paladini di Francia in 1960. Thetwo collaborated on some of the most celebratedand unforgettable masterpieces of Italian animatedart, such as Pulcinella, the Magic Flute and LaGazza Ladra (photo).Tel Aviv Cinemathequewww.cinema.co.il tel. 03-6060800

Antonio Joli (1700-1777)Sept. 5, Tel AvivConference given byart historian RalphToledano on theworks of Antonio Joli(Modena 1700 -N a p l e s 1 7 7 7 ) ,p o r t r a i t i s t a n dVedutista (city andlandscape artist) of theEnlightenment period.Ralph Toledanograduated in thehistory of art at the Sorbonne and the Louvreand is the author of several books on classicalItalian culture, which he began with his doctoralthesis on Francesco di Giorgio Martini publishedby Electa in 1987. Toledano’s interest inVedutismo has also resulted in a catalogue ofthe works of Venetian artist Michele Marieschiand a splendid volume on Antonio Joli. Toledano,a consultant for auction houses as well as forprivate collectors, organizes art exhibitions anddivides his time between Paris and Jerusalem.Italian Cultural Istitute tel. 03-5161361 <>

7

NOTIZIE ITALIANE July 2007

Events in Israel

27, Hillel st., Jerusalem Tel: 02-6241610 Fax: 02-6253480 www.jija.org jija@netvision.net.il

Joli's Caprice on the RiverThames and St. Paul'sCathedral, London, 1740

8

NOTIZIE ITALIANE July 2007

Italian Trade Fair Calendar September, 2007

Events in Italy Rossini Opera Festival

August 8-21, PesaroOn the program: Otello, ina new co-production withDeutsche Oper and OpéraLausanne, Il turco in Italia;La gazza ladra; Edipo aColono; Le nozze di Teti edi Peleo; and Petite MesseSolennellewww.rossinioperafestival.it

Puccini FestivalEnds August 12, Torre del Lago

The rich programme of events includes: LaBoheme, Madama Butterfly, Tosca and LaRondinewww.puccinifestival.it

Il Palio di SienaAugust 16, Campo diSienaEvery year on July 2 andAugust 16, the beautifulmedieval city of Sienacomes alive for one oft h e w o r l d ' s m o s tb r ea th t ak ing fo lkfestivals, Il Palio. Theevent is known aroundthe globe as a totallyunique horse race, but it is much, much more.www.ilpaliodisiena.com

Contemporary Art of IsraelEnds September 2, Turin

The exhibition, curated by Arturo Schwarz andheld in collaboration with the Tel Aviv Museumof Modern Art, offers an in-depth look into thecountry and its art in an ongoing search forbalance between the West and the Middle East.www.palazzobricherasio.it

Renzo Piano - Building workshopEnds September 16, Milan

A superb anthological exhibition featuring thework of architect Renzo Piano, whose urbanvision, based on several key core projects: thecity of art, the city of music, the city of water,the city of love (Paris, New York, Genoa, Milan)is exhibited here in the original designs, withplans and models documenting over forty yearsof production.www.triennale.it

Toscanini: between notes and colorsEnds October 7, MilanOn the 50th anniversary of his death, the libraryof Via Senato in Milan pays homage to the greatItalian conductor Arturo Toscanini with anexhibition of 30 works of art from the Maestro'sprivate collection.www.bibliotecadiviasenato.it

Michelangelo: Four Problems Ends October 12, FlorenceThis exh ib i t ionexplores the foura r c h i t e c t u r a ld i l e m m a s i nMichelangelo's workon the San LorenzoBasilica in Florence.Drawings, graphics,photographs, 3Dmodels and otherdigitally enhanceddocuments pinpointinexplicable facts that have puzzled critics andscientists for centuries. <>

7 – 10 Sept., BolognaEXPO GREENEnvironment expowww.eima.it

7 - 10 Sept., RhoPeroMACEF, BIJOUXHouseware, gifts, silver,goldwww.fmi.it

7 - 10 Sept., RhoPeroMOREJewellery and FashionAccessories www.fmi.it

8 - 16 Sept., RiminiMONDO NATURACamping & outdoor

tourismwww.riminifiera.it

8 - 11 Sept.Torreano di MartignaccoPROMOSEDIAInt’l Chair Showwww.promosedia.it

11 - 12 Sept., MilanANTEPRIMAFootwear, leather, interiorswww.trendselection.com

11 - 13 Sept., MilanSAMABClothing machines andaccessorieswww.senaf.it

11 – 14 Sept., MilanMILANO UNICAItalian textileswww.senaf.it

13 – 17 Sept., BolognaSANAHealth and environmentwww.sana.it

3 – 15 Sept., PaduaFLORMART MIFLORNursery gardening andequipmentwww.padovafiere.it

15 – 19 Sept., VicenzaVICENZAOROAUTUMN

Gold. silver and jewellerywww.vicenzafiera.it

16 – 19 Sept., BraCHEESEThe many shapes of milkcomune.bra.cn.it

19 – 23 Sept., BolzanoFIERA D'AUTUNNOAutumn Fairwww.fierabolzano.it

20 – 24 Sept., VeronaABITARE IL TEMPOHome design andfurnishingswww.abitareiltempo.com

20 – 23 Sept., RhoPeroMIPELLeather goodswww.mipel.com

20 – 23 Sept., RhoPeroMICAM SHOEVENTFootwear expomicamonline.com

22 – 30 Sept., MilanMILANO MODADONNALadies' wearwww.cameramoda.it