This is Turin

I'm Lara, Academic Success Coach from the UK. I live in Turin, Piedmont - my home in Italy for the past 19 or so years. Discover more about me in Turin on www.larastatham.com

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On my website for Academic Success Coaching for university students, individuals and groups I explain why I think coaching is great for getting the results you want out of academic life. I believe that by combining interactive teaching methodology with coaching, teachers will greatly improve their student's academic success. For more information go to http://larastatham.com/

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#venariareale #serata #estate #ferragosto #italy

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#torino #lingotto #achotels #internationalwomensclub #summer #dinner

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Sandra Gibbins: An Unexpected Life

Sandra Gibbins’ self-determination and entrepreneurial and fiercely independent spirit has taken her on a journey down a varied and memorable career path in over thirty years living in Turin. London born and originally trained as a nurse, life took an unexpected but not completely unpredictable turn one cold, grey November morning in 1970 as she stepped off the train at Porta Nuova. Intending to stay just a few weeks with family friends and working as an English Language Teacher, Turin wove its magic spell and Sandra is still here today. I caught up with her at a talk she was giving about her life to the International Women’s Club in Turin…

Over thirty years ago, Sandra says, Turin was a vastly different place to the one it is today. Once better known for its industrial might, strict work ethic and almost Victorian conservatism that took root in middle class sitting rooms and largely defined local culture, it was a shock for the young woman brought up in multi-cultural London with a deeply engrained autonomous streak. Perhaps it was a surprise she stayed; but it should come as no great surprise that Sandra (along with her Italian husband) pioneered to inject some avant-garde verve and frivolity into local culture through English Language learning. This became hugely popular with left-wing intellectuals keen to try out new ideas and adopt some of the trends already rooted in some education systems abroad.

The almost revolutionary Christopher Robin Nursery School opened in the Collina district of Torino in 1972. Set in a villa it covered two spacious floors and included a garden outside teeming with plants and shrubs and trees to climb. Plenty of opportunity for doing childishly artistic stuff with soil and sand was also to hand for the little ones enrolled. Sandra and her husband employed trained and experienced nursery school teachers from the UK. All activities were in English and the emphasis was on learning through fun, games and entertainment with a well-deserved nap in the afternoon before home time. Many famous left-wing intellectuals enrolled at the school. In the 1970s, during the years of tense political activism, many parents left their children at the school and then went off to occupy university buildings. She also remembers a two-year old Giovanni Agnelli coming to look around with his parents, delicately kissing her hand as he greeted her and as manners and etiquette had taught him.

Sandra reminisces that these were some of the best times of her life. However, the school was not without its controversies. Many parents, despite their liberal leanings, didn’t like the idea of their children getting their carefully chosen threads dirty at playtime and Sandra recalls how they had to dust off soil and bits of twig, and scrub grass stains off trouser knees before delivering the little ones to their parents. Others disliked the school because they said it didn’t go far enough in its liberal approach to language learning…

Unfortunately, Sandra and her husband were forced to close the school doors for the last time 10 years later. She admits that they weren’t business-minded enough and spent most of the profits on the equipment.

Now, of course, Torino has lost much of its grey, industrial image and tempered its conservatism while the Italian state school system and other private nurseries have adopted some of the interactive and fun approach to language learning that Sandra first pioneered locally.

These days, after many memorable and productive years working in the Italian state school system herself, as well as for San Paolo Bank, and the University of Turin, Sandra works as a language consultant at her son’s language school Globenglish in via Saluzzo, 4. Here the emphasis is on keeping class sizes to a maximum of six, careful pricing and a home from home environment in which to learn. In fact, the school is so relaxing and homely I warned Sandra that I might be moving in! The decor is light with warm coloured tones, dark oak desks and coffee tables, transparent, moulded plastic chairs, deep, comfy sofas and home style light fittings instead of the usual standard white walls, grey plastic tables and strip lighting that furnishes so many private language schools. You can even pop round for a cup of tea and nibbles at their monthly evening social event. If you are interesting in signing up for the event you can go to the Globenglish Facebook page. For courses go to www.globenglish.it or contact [email protected]

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C/Orto Urbano: The Crew

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C/Orto Urbano

  C/Orto Urbano is a short documentary film directed by Luca Lanni and his team of filmmakers and actors for a local festival called Assaggi Doc and sponsored by MunLab, Regione Piemonte, Provincia di Torino, Piemonte Movie and Strade di Colori e Sapori. They beat six other finalists to win first prize at the festival and recently attended the premier at MunLab’s main workshop, an eco-clay museum in Cambiano, used to promote local events and projects.

I met Luca and his sister-in-law Sonia Rossi to find out more…

The film, affectionately referred to as C/Orto, was the brainchild of Davide Toniolo, whose talents in both journalism and radio inspired him to add another genius to his list of skills, that of writing for documentaries.

Armed with the criteria for the film festival entrants, which was to produce a documentary about organic and sustainable living, Luca and Davide approached Comune di Chieri who had set up a project to turn disused wasteland into productive, community driven vegetable plots.

They asked the Comune if they could film some scenes there to promote the project, which was quickly accepted. The Comune had created space for a hundred vegetable plots lovingly tended by local enthusiasts with space also set aside for local school projects and for community service volunteers. The plots work much in the same way as a condominium. There is a manager and each plot owner has to cover expenses for such things as water and cutting the grass. At one hundred euros a year this is not bad!

And all the better, since tending a plot is indicative of support for a much wider cause: the desire for encouraging and strengthening social relationships and ties, the desire to go back to a simpler, more natural time when people where more in touch with the earth and nature’s natural cycles.

Luca and Sonia tell me that they had permission to film on the land but now they had to come up with a winning formula for the documentary…And here the genius was born that ultimately ensured they would be the winners of the Assaggi Doc competition. A story…

When I first saw the film, I didn’t want it to finish. It is only 15 minutes long but the story that unfolds is entertaining, absorbing, comical, touching, poignant…and at the same time, it is clear that through this story, a serious message is being conveyed.

Local actor Gabriele Bocchio plays the part of Artemio who, in the opening scene, is following a TV cookery show one Sunday and preparing the ingredients to make a quiche. On realising he will need more Tropea onions, the most important ingredient in the quiche and the symbolic element of the story, he despairs…Looking down at the newspaper wrapping for the eggs, he sees a local article about the vegetable plot project. A flash of inspiration hits at the thought of free Tropea onions and he cannily whizzes down to the plot. Armed with plenty of disdainful attitude about getting his shoes muddy and red Vespa dirty he is no match for the plot owners who cunningly advise him that to get his Tropea onions he’ll have to set to work on his own plot…in order to finish the quiche…

In all, Luca Lanni, Davide Toniolo, Gabriele Bocchio, Livio Ninni (photography and graphics), Sharlene and Loris Prospero (production and audio), Sonia Rossi (voiceover) and the vegetable plot owners may be filmmaking amateurs but this short documentary is slick, professional and packs a punch with its message.

I wish them the best for the future promotion of this film, because of the hard work they put into it and for the drive and dedication to local projects and sustainability that makes this an important piece to watch.

C/Orto Urbano will be online soon…

* Photos reproduced with kind permission by Luca Lanni

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Tomato Backpackers Hotel

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Tomato Backpackers Hotel

  San Salvario, up and coming district in Torino, boasts a reasonably priced and stylish hotel with a broad appeal. Owner Tommaso (aka Tom) first opened Tomato’s doors at via Silvio Pellico,11 in November 2011.

Turin born but raised by parents who travelled regularly for a living, Tom’s inspiration for Tomato began to take shape while working around Europe to finance his own travels in his early twenties. Struck by the range and quality of low cost, backpacker style accommodation, particularly in Germany, he decided to challenge the often negative image this type of accommodation has in Italy, and opened his own place right in the heart of Torino.

The result is a light, bright, stylish, fun, informative, professional hotel with an informal, friendly vibe. Apart from resting tired heads, you can hang out with an international crowd in the breakfast area, sip local wines under the gazebo on the patio, grab a coffee and a pastry from the bar and use the PC.

Refer to the blackboards scattered throughout the downstairs area to plan your day – the one behind the reception desk tells you they can supply hairdryers, razors, shower caps, t-shirts, umbrellas, pillows, clothes hangers, quilts, adapters, kettles and alarm clocks.

You’ve also got plenty of suggestions for exhibitions: what’s on in San Salvario each evening, museums not to miss, wines that you simply must try and, of course, since this is Italy, land of cuisine that you simply must sample - recommendations for local eats.

However, if you need to, you also have the use of Tomato’s kitchen on the lower floor – and who can tell us who the man and woman are in the plaques on the far wall? Is the man Silvio Pellico himself?

Back upstairs, you can also rent bikes by the hour or for the day or simply slouch on the sofa and leaf through shelves stacked with novels, and plan your next trip by consulting Tom’s huge collection of Rough Guides.

I asked Tom where he had come up with the idea for the name Tomato. I didn’t see it at first, but it’s a play on words - Tom at Torino (Tom-a-To). He chose the word ‘backpackers’ for the informal, youthful atmosphere he wanted to create and ‘hotel’ to emphasis the fact that this is not simply for travellers, backpacking around on a budget but it has a much broader appeal, with business people, band members and theatre companies having all enjoyed Tom and staff Annalisa and Ben’s hotel hospitality.

In fact, so successful has the hotel been that Tom is already looking to expand in the San Salvario area. His pet project is sustainability and so he chose the new windows and heating system with this in mind. Through a project called ‘eco-label’ he also plans to eliminate the plastic used for the toiletries and the breakfast jam containers and biscuit wrappers with the ultimate aim to have a functioning hotel that produces as little rubbish as possible.

Contact Tom, Annalisa and Ben at: www.tomato.to.it or [email protected]

  Photos reproduced by kind permission of Tom, Annalisa & Ben at Tomato Backpackers Hotel

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Mark Charnley: A Creative Flair

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Mark Charnley: A Creative Flair

  Flair is obviously something that Mark has in abundance, and not only in the workshop and on stage. Anyone who chooses to travel to South Africa from the UK on a container ship clearly has an eye for the unusual and creative.

Mark Charnley came to Turin just two years ago but has already made a big impression with his creative credentials as Cabinet Maker, Specialist Painter, Design and Restoration Services and…actor. With a background in Graphic Design from Northampton University, Mark spent his years prior to landing on Torinese turf working as a Kitchen Fitter for prestigious UK firm, Mills & Scott, specialising in hand-painted cabinets. Lucky enough to be born at the right point in history for honing his craft; Mark learned highly specialised techniques and tricks of the trade from a dying breed of traditionalist cabinet-makers, and now links that with the production of 3D graphics, giving the customer a highly professional impression of their final designs.

Creativity is something that Mark appears to have been born with. It courses through his veins with a passion and he confesses to me that when he’s working on a design project, he gets totally revved up with artistic vision, almost scaring his customers with his bursts of inspiration. Ideas pour forth for transforming an old, tired looking wooden cabinet into a Chinese crackle-glazed vision of sleek sophistication, and a rather serious looking wrought iron bed was brought happily back to life with delicate swirling motifs of vines and birds in subtle earthy colours. Mark can also do practical: DIY jobs don’t phase him, custom-built shelves – no problem, decorating – nothing to it.

Mark has also discovered the theatre. Not only did he create the hand-painted theatre backdrops, and do the graphics for the promo leaflets and posters for the English Theater Torino (ETT) production of Only Yew in December 2012, he also starred in one of the lead roles.

His newfound talent for treading the boards has taken him completely by surprise. It’s something he admits he would never have done if he had stayed in the UK; but a desire to meet new people and a few contacts later Mark found himself firmly ensconced at ETT and of course, found that he had quite a flair for it!

Contact Mark Charnley at: [email protected]

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ETT Rehearsals Underway

Rehearsals are getting well underway at English Theater Torino (ETT) where preparations for Little Red Riding Hood got off to a raucous start. Organiser Sally Rava has prepared an alternative take on the original story by peppering it with plenty of well-known songs to rouse the hopefully rowdy audience of children on October 5th.

The production will be put on for the Moms and Tots Group, part of the International Women’s Club Torino (IWCT). On Monday, there was some concern about how the weather may affect the casts’ voices in October. The set will be installed in the middle of the generous host’s garden, so they’re hoping that Indian Summer days will not send the audience fleeing for the shady trees on either side of the lawn, which means they’ll have to find even more energy to make those voices carry; they may well have to once the kids catch sight of The Big Bad Wolf, who was getting right into character during script reading on Monday!

There are over 20 active members of ETT including around 12 or so actors. The amateur theatre group though, is always on the lookout for enthusiastic theatre lovers who would love to join the cast or crew. On Monday, it emerged that they are in urgent need of a Woodsman (male or female) whose role it will be to save Little Red Riding Hood from the drooling jaws of The Big Bad Wolf.

It also came up that the lead male role in their big production of the year Blithe Spirit (written by Noel Coward) has recently transferred to Varese and so has had to step down from the role. This means that ETT is making a casting call for the role of socialite and novelist Charles Condomine who invites the unconventional clairvoyant Madame Arcati to his house to conduct a séance, in the hopes of gathering material for his next book…

If anyone would be interested in either part, you just need to have the enthusiasm and commitment to be able to attend rehearsals on Mondays and or Wednesdays…and a good ability in English. Contact [email protected] or simply turn up at rehearsals at Corso Casale 112 on Mondays 7.30-10pm or Wednesdays 7.30-10pm. However, before you do check the website www.englishtheatertorino.com before you venture out, as sometimes there are changes to the schedule.

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Back Again: VI Mostra d'Arte Figurativa ed Astratta

Following closely after the success of “I Mille Volti del Piemonte, Crocevia tra Storia e Letteratura” by CRAL Sezione Visive della Regione Piemonte at Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico (URP) in via Arsenale, 14/g Torino, the VI Mostra d’Arte Figurativa ed Astratta was the third in a series of four exhibitions this year by the group of artists and ran from 5th-20th July at Palazzo della Giunta Regionale in Piazza Castello 165, Torino.

Curator and exhibition organiser Gianfranco Gavinelli, once again did an excellent job in presenting a rich mix of paintings and sculptures by local artists, which was free of charge to the public. I was lucky enough to be given a guided tour of the exhibition by Gavinelli himself whose commentary, observations and evident love for art brought the pieces vividly to life; even one of the security guards quipped how a commentary about the artists, their inspiration for the paintings and some guided information about their techniques, made you see the paintings from a completely different perspective.

Among some of my favourites during the tour were: Dede Varetto’s delicate charcoal and vibrant oil panels that had real “wow” factor and made their presence felt in the exhibition room for their size, use of colour and the sheer skill in producing such a life-like piece of her daughter. Family was also to be found in Rosa Prestigiacomo’s “Eleonora” and “Marilyn”. The earthy reds and yellows of the oils and pastels on canvas produced fresh, modern portraits of her daughter and the global icon.

For a summer theme, Natalia Alemanno’s “Castello a Licata”, a night scene using acrylics on canvas, and Sergio Bilucaglia’s “Minorca” brought back memories of Mediterranean holidays. “Riposo al Casolare” by Gianfranco Gavinelli evoked mental pictures of lazy summer afternoons. Two truly refreshing paintings, appropriate for a hot summer’s day, were Paola Porta’s dewdrop kissed “Orange” and “Red Apple”, both looking succulent enough to eat.

Umberto Zullo’s “Balconata sul Po”, “Autunno” and “Rustico” were a definite nod in the direction of Piedmont and a reminder that autumn is just around the corner... Autumn was also represented in Umberto Viapiano’s “Quiete all’Alba”, a stunning painting which was quite rightly chosen for the  exhibition posters and leaflets.

On a more miscellaneous note, and demonstrating the open theme of the exhibition, Paola Targa’s “Cavalli nella Prateria” oil painting on canvas made you want to reach out and stroke the horses. Franca Pessone’s intricate “Viso di Donna Liberty” painted on ceramic was wonderful not only for its subject but also for the intricacy of workmanship and, we couldn’t fail to mention Nicoletta Pizzetti’s set of four still life paintings of three dimensional jugs, fruit and glasses that really brought the “life” back into the still life theme for their composition and vibrancy of colour.

We will also be fortunate enough to see CRAL Sezione Visive della Regione Piemonte return to exhibition space from 26th September, at Museo di Scienze Naturali di Torino. This time there’s a theme and the artists’ brushstrokes will be inspired by local subject matter: “Natura e Tradizione del Paesaggio Agreste Piemontese” (Nature and Tradition in the Rural Landscape of Piedmont). See you on 26th September.

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The Many Faces of Piedmont

“I Mille Volti del Piemonte, Crocevia tra Storia e Letteratura”, was one of the most recent in a series of four exceptional exhibitions this year by the CRAL Sezione Visive della Regione Piemonte. Curated by Gianfranco Gavinelli, the exhibition was on display at the URP (Ufficio Relazioni con il Pubblico) in via Arsenale, 14/g Torino, where the CRAL Sezione Visive show their works annually. Local art critic, Enzo Nasillo, spoke at the inauguration on 27th May, proving that Turin is starting to sit up and take notice of its local talent.

This year’s exhibition showed works by thirty-one local artists. A whole cross-section of traditional styles and methods of painting were on display from figurative to fantastic art, in portraits, landscapes, pictures of wildlife and local historical battle scenes: acrylics, watercolours, charcoals, coloured and lead pencil, collage and oils vying for attention on canvas, paper, ceramic and board.

In memory of the heroics of Pietro Micca, who is said to have sacrificed his own life to save the city of Turin in the Siege of 1706, we saw “Sfilata in costume al Palio di Pianezza (TO) per le celebrazioni del 1706” by Anna Borgarelli. Other paintings too were strongly influenced by local battles, from “Consegna delle armi del Saraceni al Marchese Arduino Gabrione Conte di Torino (906 d.c. in Valle di Susa) and “I Profughi” by Gianni Sesia della Merla, to “Chieri nel Cinquecento by Gianfranco Gavinelli.

Other notable works were inspired by the archetype of the adventure novelist, Emilio Salgari, whose battles with nature, villainy and colonial struggle fired the imagination. A series of artworks were on display under this theme: “Salgari” by Sergio Bilucaglia, “Le Tigri di Mompracem” by Antonella Bovino and Franca Pessone, and my personal favourite “Il Ruggito” by Luciana Yaia Bertaglia.

The quality of works on display combined with the enthusiasm of the artists and the hard work and organisation that goes into the exhibitions is such that they deserve full recognition and support from the citizens of Turin.

VI Mostra d’Arte Figurativa ed Astratta, the current exhibiton by CRAL Sezione Visive, now showing at the Regione Piemonte offices in Piazza Castello, 165, ends on 20th July. Hot on the heels of this will be an extra exhibition date from 26th September, at Museo di Scienze Naturali di Torino. Entitled “Natura e Tradizione del Paesaggio Agreste Piemontese” (Nature and Tradition in the Rural Landscape of Piedmont), this will be one to look forward to…

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Adrian Petersen and his Italian Reflections

Adrian Petersen, founder of www.italianreflections.com, first came to Italy in the 70s and 80s, perusing the optics and eyewear trade fairs in Milan in his role as optician to Harrods, in Knightsbridge, London. Fast forward to 2007 and Adrian, along with his wife, Sandy, chose Piedmont as their retirement destination of choice where Adrian had the inspiration for a website aimed at “…travellers, settlers and expats alike…”

I met Adrian for a relaxing interview over an espresso or two at Eataly in via Lagrange, where he filled me in on how he and Sandy made the choice to settle in Piedmont; the inspiration for the website and its collateral social networking platforms, and plans for the future development of Italian Reflections.

Adrian told me that his first choice for retirement bliss had been to settle somewhere across the border in the South of France. However, the sky high property prices, suffocating volumes of traffic, comparably high crime rate and consequentially high insurance premiums, led their search into Piedmont; a region full of fond memories for Adrian, where he had had the chance to explore on his days off from the trade exhibitions in Milan and business meetings in Turin.

When I asked Adrian how he had come up with the idea for Italian Reflections, he explained that he had always been interested in the internet and new technologies so he started up as a blogger in 2007, when blogging was just taking off. He started off writing two or three articles a month for ItalyItalia, NileGuide and Jetsetter; online travel magazines, offering information to global fans of Italy, about Italian destinations, hotels, food, wine and culture. However, the current trend of squeezing more and more out of contributors for less and less, led Adrian to the decision to set out on his own.

Up and running for just over two years now, the Italian Reflections website is in a class of its own in that its contributors and featured expats all reside in Italy; so are able to give in depth, unique insights and advice to potential visitors to the Bel Paese.

Among the various sections, you can read through a vast range of food, Italy and travel expat blogs. There is a section called ‘Expat Extras’ that features expat resources to make the process of settling into Italy as smooth as possible, and also allows those who miss their homeland products the chance to shop online, and get them delivered easily to their Italian homes. ‘The Bookshelf’ is an exhaustive list of reading material in print and ebook format, written by many new and also experienced expat authors, about their wide ranging and inspirational experiences in Italy.

But Italian Reflections doesn’t just feature writers and bloggers; you can also find information about expat artisans who create wonderful objects using glass, natural stone, wood, clay, iron, ceramics, and paper. And, of course, who could forget the agriturismo, B&B, villa and apartment rentals! A wide range of options are on offer covering the northern, central and southern Italian regions. Many Italian experiences are also featured such as organised art tours, city tours, cooking classes, cycling tours and wine tasting tours.

To make keeping in touch with Italian Reflections as effortless as possible, and to give instant access to the regular updates and news, Adrian also set up an Italian Reflections Facebook Group page which now has over 850 members. This is a closed group, since, as Adrian explained, it’s important to be able to manage the page, encouraging collaboration, fairness and a sense of community and support for the members.

Italian Reflections is a new project that has gained increasing exposure since its conception just over two years ago, when Adrian first started the site as a hobby to connect with friends and family back home. He is obviously delighted at how successful it has become in such a short space of time. Last year, for example, Italian Reflections took over Italytutto’s listings of over 270 English language blogs from Italy at the request of Sheila Parry. He confesses that maintaining the Italian Reflections website now takes up much of his free time. Day to day duties include checking that potential new members to the Facebook page are, in fact, expats and residing in Italy; monitoring the various conversations and feeds and editing Italian Reflections Daily, “…a daily updated compendium of Italian news configured by embracing social media and feeds across the web…” and the new Italian Reflections Magazine created on Flipboard, which is available for free download.

Adrian, as many others working in the Italian tourist industry via social media, stresses that he wants to get people to understand the bigger picture in Italy, allowing people to see in depth what Italy really has to offer. By publishing articles, interviews and information about the services and experiences people can have via Twitter, Facebook, Italian Reflections Daily and the Italian Reflections Magazine, he hopes to make his own contribution towards achieving that aim.

However, he says that, with 850 plus members, much more could be done to increase their own exposure to the outside world. The website gets a lot of traffic and since it is vastly more expensive to advertise through other channels, it could be opportune for members with small businesses to pay the small listing fee and promote their businesses via the site. Another idea could be to post notifications on the Facebook Group page. When, for example, a B&B receives a short notice cancellation, get the news out there and someone may snap it up.

So, if you are an expat residing in Italy you can contact Adrian at [email protected] to join the Italian Reflections Group (IRG) on Facebook, or if you just love Italy, simply check out the Italian Reflections website to be informed and inspired by all Italy has to offer.

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Reading for Pleasure

In times when peoples’ busy lives leave little room for reading for pleasure, seminars on English Literature can provide the impetus we need to connect back to a time when inspiration from the great poets and writers, past and present, stimulated us intellectually with their thoughts and creativity. Literature typically provides us with characterisations of people overcoming adversity or reaching new and deeper levels of human understanding - both uplifting and entertaining.

Kirsty Ramsbottom has been teaching English Literature for ten years in a secondary school in Turin. Being blessed with having a job that is also a passion, Kirsty recently decided to develop English Literature seminars which are open to all, and in her own words, “...aim to open up channels for new reading, or for revisiting old friends.”

Kirsty’s inspiration is twofold. Firstly, it comes from the writers themselves, such as Shelley who said that the poets were “…the unacknowledged legislators of the world.” It is in this spirit that she feels literature can still provide us with stimulus, solace and inspiration in these chaotic times. Secondly, Kirsty grants her students from her years teaching English Literature, as a profound and enriching source of inspiration: “…the energy and ideas from the student groups have stimulated me into sharing some of the overflow of ideas with an adult audience; ideas just bounce off the walls when they get together and it is incredibly satisfying.”

She explains, “…the idea is not to have an expert forum where all participants are expected to have read the authors before, but rather to have an “ideas led” forum where you will go away with some new reading and/or some new directions for your reading. The ideas are all explored through a multi-media format, with music, art and film as well as texts and extracts; thoughts are shared and ideas communicated in an enjoyable way.”

Kirsty’s first seminar was “A Taste of Honey” – a voyage through English literature using the five senses of sound, sight, smell, touch and taste; exploring the wider concepts of memory, awareness, desire and rejection and the art of using words as music; covering writers such as T.S. Eliot, John Keats, Matthew Arnold, Virginia Woolf, Wilfred Owen, Angela Carter, D. H. Lawrence and W. H. Auden.

The second seminar was “Americana” – a road trip through 20th century American literature which explored the quest for personal identity, rising above injustice, facets of sexuality, romantic yearning – the push and pull of place from the prairies to “Bright Lights, Big City”, yearning and searching, sensual excitement, making sense of the past…and defining the future and the poignancy of ordinary human experience; covering writers such as James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Truman Capote, Carson McCullers, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jack Kerouac and Raymond Carver.

Next on the agenda on 15th June at Casa del Quartiere, via Morgari, 14 in Turin, Kirsty will be hosting “20th Century Women Writers: fierce minds and magical thinking”. This will be followed by a writing workshop which will be hosted by Liz O’Neill, on the writing of others and writing ourselves. The seminar and workshop run from 9am-4pm and materials and refreshments are included in the price.

For more information about the seminars, Kirsty can be contacted on [email protected]

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Gios 1948-2013: Celebrate 65 Years in Business

Today Gios, Turin’s home grown, handmade bike frame company, celebrates 65 years in business. To mark the occasion, they have invited Roger de Vlaeminck, Belgian former professional racing cyclist and winner on the legendary Blu Gios, to their showroom in Volpiano where the celebrations are taking place.

Gios have designed and produced handmade bike frames in Italy for three generations. Their first workshop, opened by Tolmino Gios in Corso Matteotti, was testament to a lifelong passion for cycling that became a much loved job. In the 1950s, Gios moved to via Foligno, where they started to manufacture the high quality bikes their name has become synonymous with, that have supplied some of the greatest names in cycling. As demand grew, they moved to via Cogne, where in just fifteen years they had tripled production.

In the meantime, Tolmino’s sons, Alfredo, Adriano and Aldo, joined the company; Alfredo and Adriano, working on the management side and Aldo in R&D and the manufacturing of their famous frames.

During the 1970s, Gios expanded into foreign markets and launched their ‘Easy Rider’ model which was inspired by the 1969 film of the same name. This was the bike that caught the attention of Giorgio Perfetti, owner of the Brooklyn chewing gum brand, who immediately ordered some to be given as prizes in the Lucky Draw competition organised by his company.

This collaboration paved the way for the foundation of the Brooklyn cycling team, one of the most famous teams in cycling history, which supplied its riders with Gios bikes and opened the doors for the development and launch of the legendary Blu Gios.

In recent years, Gios has invested much into the research of new materials for bike frames such as carbon, titanium and aluminium, as well as the traditional steel frame that is, for so many, an iconic symbol of the Italian made frames.

Gios’, most recent showroom is at Volpiano. Enjoy the party!

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AITI: Porte Aperte

AITI, the Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta Section of Associazione Italiana Traduttori Interpreti, met recently for an ‘Open Evening’ aperitivo at La Salumeria, via Giolitti, 53 to welcome 27 new members.

The purpose of the ‘Open Evening’, which normally takes place once or twice a year, was to provide an opportunity for new and current members to meet; in particular to ask questions about the new law passed in January of this year: Legge n. 4 del 14 gennaio 2013, pubblicata nella GU n. 22 del 26/01/2013, which, for the first time in Italian history, officially recognises translators and interpreters as bona fide professionals, and provides them with an official register.  Unsurprisingly, since the new law was passed, there has been an increase in interest in membership.

Katherine Clifton went along to the event, her last as President of AITI, a position she has held since 2006. Alessandra Tarozzo, previously vice-president, is now the interim President until new elections in February 2014. Katherine said that being a member of AITI has been invaluable for her and she has obviously been a much appreciated President, as evidenced by the warm wishes that came from the members present at La Salumeria.

Another member, Simonetta Priveato, translator for English and Italian, heads the Training Commission and is responsible for organising training sessions. Next month she presents a software course for translators. Other courses cover topics such as marketing, time management and fiscal issues. Under the new law each member needs to accumulate 30 credits per year to maintain their status as a ‘Socio Ordinario’. In order to achieve this status they also need to take an exam. On the contrary, to be a ‘Socio Aggregato’, members don’t need to sit an exam but they do have to present documents and qualifications to demonstrate that they are working as translators.

I asked what the benefits are to becoming ‘Socio Ordinario’ instead of ‘Socio Aggregato’. Katherine explained that, in broad terms, a ‘Socio Ordinario’ would have more experience in the field and they would also have the benefit of coming up first in the list of translators and interpreters on the searches via the website www.aiti.it. Katherine also explained the status of ‘Soci Onorari’, those people who have given a special contribution to the profession. Luisa Giacoma, who recently co-wrote the German dictionary, ‘Il Nuovo Dizionario di Tedesco’ published by Zanichelli/Klett, is ‘Socio Onorario’ of the Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta Section of AITI.

So how do members go about finding work? I was curious to know how things work. I spoke to Rossana Testa, who specialises in computer sciences and translates English, German and Italian; sisters, Nicole and Nadia Maina, who translate Italian and German, and Montse San Miguel, translator and interpreter for Spanish and Italian. They confirmed what I had suspected, that word-of-mouth works best. However, Nadia added that it is also good to find work through the official associations which ensure that the translator is fully qualified in their professional field. There are also web forums and specialist sites that provide platforms for work searches too.

Nadia highlighted though, that despite translating being a seemingly rather isolating profession, it is essential not to cut yourself off; it is important to keep up a public profile by going to the technical and specialist trade fairs and congresses associated with your areas of expertise; that way you can get your name out, do plenty of networking and leave business cards, for example.

This way of finding work is also a sign of the times. In the past, it would probably have been sufficient to work for the translators and interpreters’ agencies but now, even the clients realise, that to guarantee a top quality job, it is better to work directly with a professional, even if this means paying a little more than agency rates.