“Italians don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. There isn’t even an equivalent holiday, as there is in Canada and other countries. However, not having Thanksgiving doesn’t mean that Italians don’t have something to say about how to celebrate it. When Italians plan a meal, they don’t just plan out the courses; they also plan out the wines for each course. There’s no way that the wine that you start a meal is also the wine you drink as you finish it. The wine isn’t serving the same purpose, and it isn’t accompanying the same food. It’s a form of blasphemy to jumble wines and foods in Italy–you’d no more serve Prosecco with the main course than you would serve a Barolo with your antipasti. To do so would be to present jarring notes, and the whole point is to create a seamless, escalating experience where each course gets you primed for the one that follows.  So here follows suggested wines for each course of your Italian Thanksgiving…

Gli Antipasti

Italian meals begin with antipasto, literally, the dish before the meal. More than mere hors d’oeuvres or snacks, the antipasti should stimulate your appetite, prepare your palate, and ready you to enjoy the meal ahead of you. Prosecco is the traditional antipasti beverage–in Italy, the first thing most hosts and waiters will ask you is if you’d like a glass. However, other options like a crisp, aromatic white like today’s Peter Dipoli Sauvignon Voglar or an acidic, jaunty red like Eraldo Viberti Barbera d’Alba will also do the palate-stimulating trick.

• Fantinel Prosecco Brut Extra Dry NV $16.00 (Veneto–Prosecco)
• Peter Dipoli Sauvignon Voglar 2007 $31.99 (Trentino-Alto Adige–Sauvignon Blanc)
• Barone Pizzini Brut Franciacorta NV $37.20 (Lombardia–Chardonnay)
• Eraldo Viberti Barbera d’Alba Vigna Clara 2004 $43.75 (Piemonte–Barbera)

I Primi

Primi Piatti is a pasta, polenta or rice dish; it’s an easily digested food, one that warms you on the inside and offers an explosion of flavor resting on a bed of comfort-making starch. Wines reflect texture as much as they do the sauce. There should be a sassy acidity that makes your mouth ready for each new bite. Whether you opt for a white touched with a shot of salinity like Bruna Pigato’s Le Russighine or Paolo Bea’s Bianco Arboreus, or a red with that strides the line between fruity and rustic like Il Macchione’s Vino Nobile or Fatttoria di Fubbiano’s I Pampini–or one of our other selections–you want a wine with a sassy, fresh mouth-feel.

• Bruna Pigato Le Russeghine 2010 $28.88 (Liguria–Pigato)
• Cascina Barbatella Mystere 2000 750ml $32.99 (Piemonte–Cabernet Sauvignon, Barbera, Pinot Nero)
• Fattoria di Fubbiano I Pampini 2003 $42.25 (Toscana–Sangiovese, Teroldego)
• Il Macchione Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2006 $46.50 (Abruzzo–Prugnolo Gentile)
• Poderi Aldo Conterno Langhe Chardonnay Bussiador 2008 $50.00(Piemonte–Chardonnay)
• Paolo Bea Bianco Arboreus 2006 $68.99 (Umbria–Trebbiano)

I Secondi

This is, for most American families, turkey on Thanksgiving, but it also could be any dish that’s the big centerpiece of your meal–including duck, goose, venison or roast pork. In Italy, there’s a crescendo with the I Secondi. We picked the “big” wines, the showstoppers for this course. They’re aromatic, nuanced, and complex. These are wines that give pause and celebrate that main course and the people at your table. All of these wines–Brunello, Rosso, Barolo, Chianti and more–are wines that want to accompany the main course “wow” moment. Plus, you can’t go wrong with Sesti, Grattamacco, Mascarello, or Fontodi, not at a time like this.

• Fontodi Chianti Classico 2008 $36.84 (Toscana–Sangiovese)
• Bartolo Mascarello Barbera 2009 750ml $41.05 (Piemonte–Barbera)
• Grattamacco Rosso 2000 $50.00 (Toscana–Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Merlot)
• Rocche dei Manzoni Barolo Cappella Santo Stefano 1999 $79.99 (Piemonte–Nebbiolo)
• Palari Faro 2006 $80.00 (Sicilia–Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Cappuccio, Nocera, Acitana)
• Sesti Brunello di Montalcino 2004 $88.45 (Toscana–Sangiovese)

I Formaggi

The cheese course is a staple across Europe. Italians have long believed that cheese helps digestion, and recent science supports this folk wisdom. The wines for the cheese course need to be assertive enough to complement the richness of the formaggi, but it needs to be mellow enough to signal the end of the meal. We’ve chosen some seriously artisanal finds–the spicy and unusual Gewürztraminer Exilissi, the Lombaridan Nebbiolo Valgella Carteria, the ripe Venturini Armarone, and Quintarelli’s chewy, haunting Ca’ del Merlo.

• Quintarelli Primofiore 2007 $49.50 (Veneto–Corvina, Rodinella, Molinara, Negrara)
• Sandro Fay Valgella Carteria 2007 $49.99 (Lombardia–Chiavennasca)
• Venturini Amarone Campomasua 2005 750ml $64.99 (Veneto–Corvina, Rodinella, Molinara)
• Baron Di Pauli Exilissi 2007 $69.99 (Alto Adige–Gewurtztraminer)

I Dolci

Dessert is a tough pairing. The wine can’t be too sweet or it cancels out what it’s meant to complement. But it also can’t be too dry or it’ll fall flat. We’re featuring one of the all-time great dessert wines. The ‘59 Solaria Jonica is the lucky child of the hottest summer on record in Puglia, the skills of master winemaker Antonio Ferrari, and sheer luck. Astoundingly vibrant, this wine sits somewhere between a Recioto and a Port. Rich, luscious, concentrated and warm, this wine needs to be tasted to be believed and sipped slowly to be appreciated.

• Antonio Ferrari Solaria Jonica 1959 $149.00 (Puglia–Primitivo)

(Source: The Italian Wine Merchant, eNewsletter, 11.17/11).

With Berlusconi’s resignation he will no longer occupy this place or should we say palace.

The Palazzo Chigi is a palace or noble residence in Rome, overlooking the Piazza Colonna and the Via del Corso. Often overlooked by American tourists, it was begun in 1562 by Giacomo della Porta and completed by Carlo Maderno in 1580 for the Aldobrandini family. In 1659 it was purchased by the Chigi family. The residence was then remodelled by Felice della Greca and Giovan Battista Contini. It has five floors, a broad stairway that leads to the living rooms, and a courtyard decorated with a fountain, designed by Giacomo della Porta. The fountain has been copied in many sites in Rome and other Italian cities.

In 1878 it became the residence of the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador to Italy. In 1916 it was bought by the Italian state and became the seat of the Minister for Colonial Affairs. Later it was the official residence of the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1961 it became the official meeting place of Council of Ministers whose President is the head of the Italian government.

Palazzo Chigi is the official residence of Prime Minister of Italy. Since May 2008, until November 2011 the tenant of Chigi was Silvio Berlusconi, former prime minister of Italy.

Stylish and sophisticated the Armani Hotel Milano opened on the 10th of November this year in Italy’s fashion capital, Milan. It is the second hotel Giorgio Armani opens, after the success of the Armani Hotel Dubai in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa tower.  Opposite the city’s prestigious Via Montenapoleone shopping street and near the La Scala theater and the cathedral Il Duomo, the super-luxe Armani Hotel opens under the Armani Hotels & Resorts banner and it’s the result of a collaboration between Armani Hotels & Resorts and Emaar Properties PJSC.

Located in the same building as the Armani Privé boutique and Armani/Nobu restaurant, creating a flagship space for the $2.1 billion brand, it covers 162,000 square feet. Offering a new experience of hospitality within its fashion district, every aspect of the hotel reflects Giorgio Armani’s aesthetic philosophy. If we were to describe in a few words this hotel, we definitely say luxury, privacy, comfort and beauty because the entire design concept accentuates this feeling. The hotel feature 95 guest rooms and suites , all furnished with Armani Casa linens, fabrics and custom furniture, and ranging from Deluxe and Première rooms to Classic, Executive, Ambassador, Signature and Presidential suites. It has the largest guestrooms in the city, a gourmet restaurant, a luxurious Armani SPA on the eighth floor that covers almost 13,000 square feet, a fully equipped business centre with meeting rooms and magnificent views over Milan. Giorgio Armani wanted his interiors to be “ practical, logical, and rational without losing glamour and richness of quality.” The space is integrated, the elements are the same both in the rooms and outside them. Onyx, silk georgette and green river stone are among the main materials. Curved walls help convey a sense of harmony between areas, which was a priority for Armani. The unsurprisingly Armani neutral tones – iconic “greige,” creamy brown, green and mother-of-pearl dominate the interiors and transmit a feeling of relaxation and calm. Minibars, high-tech amenities and cupboards are hidden, reflecting his sense of order and space. With Giorgio nothing is left to chance.

Another bold-faced name in Italy….

According to Popsugar:  “Ivanka Trump broke out her blue bikini today for a day at the beach in Sardinia with her husband, Jared Kushner. The shoe and handbag designer is off on a vacation with Jared just two months short of their first wedding anniversary. Ivanka cooled off with a swim, and Jared was right there to help her dry off with a towel — so sweet!”

Trump stayed at an A&B favorite hotel: Hotel Cala di Volpe.

This Starwoods property sits on a spectacular 55-kilometer stretch of Sardinian coastline known as Costa Smeralda—or “Emerald Coast”—due to the deep green color of the Mediterranean sea. Dramatic rock formations—windswept into sculptural reliefs by the Mistral—are as characteristic of the area’s astonishing beauty as the fragrance of laurel, oleander, and juniper carried on the ocean breeze. The meandering coast forms hidden inlets of aqua blue water perfect for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving. Hotel Cala di Volpe is pen from April through October of each year; the resort enjoys endless sunshine and balmy temperatures from 20 to 27 degrees Celsius, while the ocean warms to an ideal 23 degrees Celsius.

This past summer, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel jetted to Rome for a romantic getaway. Much of Hollywood is forced to see Italy at its worse—August—due to production schedules.  The real Italy can be found in late September, October and even early November.

Almost 2 miles from the Duomo, lies one of George Clooney’s hideaway Milan restaurants: Da Giacomo.

Da Giacomo
Via Pasquale Sotto Corno 6
Milan, Italy 20123
www.giacomomilano.com
Tel: +39 02-7602-3313

Open Every Day.  SIGNATURE DISHES:  spaghetti allo scoglio (with seafood); tuna tartare; app. insalata di mare, boiled shrimp and calamari mixed with green salad. Reservations suggested: info@giacomomilano.com  Shown, here is George Clooney with one time girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis dining at Da Giacomo.

Luc Besson’s film about Burmese activist Aung Sun Suu Kyi, is to open the International Rome Film Festival on Oct. 27.

Another 15 films vying for the Marc’ Aurelio Prize at the festival were announced on Thursday, including The Eye of the Storm with Geoffrey Rush and Charlotte Rampling and U.S. director Tanya Wexler’s Hysteria.

Wexler’s film about the invention of the vibrator in Victorian England is one several films programmed into the Rome festival 2011 focusing attention on internationally celebrated women.

Michelle Yeoh, who plays Suu Kyi, is to be on the red carpet in Rome and the festival will also celebrate female stars such as Olivia Newton-John, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Noomi Rapace and Penelope Cruz.

Other films in official competition:

• Hotel Lux by German director Leander Haussmann.
• Babycall, a horror film by Norway’s by Pal Sletaune.
• La Femme du cinquième by Pawel Pawlikowski with Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas.
• Poongsan by Juhn Jaihong of South Korea.

Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese are to allow a sneak peek at their Tintin and Hugo Cabret animated projects as part of anoter program, the Alice nella città section.

The economic crisis and its fallout has begun turning up in this year’s films. U.S. documentary maker Curtis Hanson brings his Too Big to Fail, an insider account of the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008. Feature films such as L’Industriale by Italy’s Giuliano Montaldo and Une vie meilleure by France’s Cédric Kahn reflect on the impact of ravaged banks and credit systems.

The Rome festival also unveiled a rich offering of documentaries, ranging from U2 music film From the Sky Down, to chimpanzee story Project Nim to the topical African Women: the journey to a Nobel Peace prize. Three African women leaders were named winners of the Nobel just last week.

Richard Gere is to be honoured with the Marc’ Aurelio prize for acting.

The Rome Film Festival runs Oct. 27 to Nov. 4.

Beyonce and her husband, Jay-Z, stay close as they leave their hotel on Saturday (September 3) in Venice, Italy.
 Bey, who announced that she’s expecting her first child at the VMAs, turns 30 today – happy birthday, Beyonce!!
 Bey’s pregnancy has affected her upcoming film project, A Star is Born – Warner Bros. was hoping to start production in February but will have to wait! 
Clint Eastwood is directing the film, while Leonardo DiCaprio, who was rumored to be involved, turned down a role.

With its romantic Italian trappings, Venice lends itself to a certain kind of film festival: one with a lot of A-list talent and showy movies. This year’s event, which kicks off Wednesday, is no exception, with George Clooney, Madonna, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon expected to be on hand to premiere their films.

Many of the movies headed to Venice — including Clooney’s American presidential campaign drama

“Ides of March,” which opens the fest, and Madonna’s Wallis Simpson drama “W.E.” — will also screen at the much larger Toronto International Film Festival, which begins Sept. 8. There’s also bound to be some overlap between Venice’s lineup and the programming at the Telluride Film Festival, which starts Friday, though the organizers of the Colorado event keep their titles under wraps until the very last minute.

A few high-profile pictures, though, will debut in Venice and then keep North American filmgoers, even festival audiences, waiting for a bit. Those films include Roman Polanski’s “Carnage,” an adaptation of Yasmina Reza’s Broadway play “God of Carnage”; Tomas Alfredson’s adaptation of John le Carre’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” (with Gary Oldman as super spy George Smiley); and Al Pacino’s “Wilde Salome,” about Pacino’s obsession with Oscar Wilde and his controversial play “Salome.”

The Venice festival’s top honor, the Golden Lion, isn’t seen as a particularly good indicator of eventual attention from Oscar voters. Last year, Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere” walked away with the award, while in 2009 the prize went to Samuel Maoz’s war drama “Lebanon”; neither landed Academy Award nominations. This year, Darren Aronofsky, director of last year’s Oscar best picture nominee “Black Swan,” will head up the Venice jury.

The Venice fest, which is in its 68th year, will feature 22 films in its international competition. Besides “Tinker, Tailor,” “Ides” and David Cronenberg’s “A Dangerous Method,” the field includes William Friedkin’s “Killer Joe” (a drama starring Emile Hirsch and Matthew McConaughey); Todd Solondz’s “Dark Horse,” starring Mia Farrow; and “Texas Killing Fields,” the directorial debut of Michael Mann’s daughter Ami Canaan Mann.

– Source: LA Times, 1 September 2011

Here are three Italian restaurants for serious food lovers in the place where Tony Bennett left his heart…all worth the effort.

> A16
2355 Chestnut St. (Scott St.)
415-771-2216
“This still-hot spot specializing in the cuisine of Campania continues to turn out dishes such as pork shoulder, handmade pastas and, of course, the signature Neapolitan-style pizza, hands down some of the Bay Area’s best, touting a gloriously thin, bubbly crust that is both crisp and chewy.  Try the salsiccia—white pizza topped with fragrant fennel sausage, bitter rapini, and large flakes of toasted garlic. House-cured salumi is another specialty, including long ribbons of year-aged prosciutto, plated as if they were pappardelle, met with persimmons for sweetness, hazelnuts for salt, and pomegranates that bring zing. Pastas remain topnotch—maccaronara tossed in a light tomato sauce is a properly chewy, country-style dish, and saffron tonnarelli with Dungeness crab and cauliflower is deceptively light and sweet. Owner-sommelier is Shelley Lindgren. For dessert try the moist rum cake topped with spiced quince, or the creamy salted budino.

> Acquerello
1722 Sacramento St. (Polk St.)
415-567-5432
This Italian spot takes its name from the tasteful watercolors that decorate the room. The food is authentic, mannered and rich. Chef-owner Suzette Gresham-Tognetti. Menu changes often. Try delicate Parmesan budino, a custard-like dish studded with spinach and zucchini. Among the splendid pasta dishes is the Swiss chard and ricotta gnocchi butter and sage. Also, try the filet of branzino atop a warm artichoke and potato salad. Co-owner is Giancarlo Paterlini.  For dessert, the gold-dusted chocolate cake with toasted almond praline cream is satisfying.

> Flour + Water
2401 Harrison St. (20th St.)
415-826-7000
Simple yet impressive house-made pastas and wood-fired pizzas draw crowds to this cozy neighborhood spot. Aimed to be a proper Mission neighborhood restaurant, but the high caliber of its cuisine has quickly made it a citywide destination. Chef Thomas McNaughton’s short yet soulful nightly menu tweaks tried-and-true Tuscan recipes. Fresh pasta dishes … the maltagliati (”scraps” of excess pasta) with braised giblet ragù and nepitella. …Pappardelle with braised oxtail.  Neapolitan-style pizzas are given a two-minute dip in a wood-burning oven set to 427 degrees centigrade.