Been to Rome before? Seen this, done that? Well…maybe you have and maybe you haven’t. Here are some of my favorite off-the-beaten-path things to see/do that are not always an easy walk down one of Rome’s breathtaking cobble-stone streets. That doesn’t mean they aren’t worth every ounce of effort to see. Maybe you need to go back. Hopefully, it will be with Select Study Abroad. Continue Reading…
With the 83rd annual Academy Awards ceremony just a few days away, it is a prime time to look back on the fascinating history that Italian films share with the coveted golden boy himself – Oscar.
Italy has garnered 27 Academy Award nominations and 13 wins for Best Foreign Language Film, more than any other country. I hate to admit it, but France is right on Italy’s tail 12 wins. Italy has received a total of 27 Academy Award nominations for Best Foreign Language Film. This award is given annually to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the U.S. that contains primarily non-English dialogue by United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929. Prior to 1956, the Academy presented Honorary Awards to the top foreign language films. During this time, 3 Italian films received Honorary Awards. It wasn’t until 1956 when the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was first handed out. La Strada, Federico Fellini’s neorealist drama, was the first film to win this special award. Continue Reading…
Buon San Valentino!
For those love birds out there, don’t worry. This is not going to be an anti-consumerist rant on why Valentine’s Day is a vapid holiday that propels our already heightened commercialism. I am not going to write about the nauseating feeling I get when I see red and white Christmas decorations immediately replaced by other red and white decorations. I could devote some serious time to the matter, but I will leave that to the countless other advocates of anti-valentinism (it is a word, look it up). Instead, I would like to take a moment and reflect on Valentine’s Day in Italy.
See. Everyone thinks of romance when they think of Itlay.
Cellini's Bust of Cosimo I
It was Florentine Cultural heritage week this past Novemebr (12th-20th) and people weren’t messing around. The star of the show was a replica of Michelangelo’s David (made of a mixture of fiberglass and marble dust) which was placed on top of the Duomo (see photo) to recreate the statue’s originally intended home. That’s right. When Michelangelo first put chisel to marble he thought he was making a work that would be one of many to adorn the base of the domes of Florence’s (already very well-decorated) cathedral. However, when Mike was finally done, the finished product was so beautiful they simply could not relocate it to that hard-to-see spot so far off the ground. So they got a group of important Florentines together –including Leonardo da Vinci– to discuss where the statue should be placed. Continue Reading…
