Articles by: Iwona Adamczyk

In the month of June smiles came
back onto the faces of New York’s pizza aficionados, as Roberto Caporuscio reopened Kesté Pizza & Vino.

This seemingly small establishment may just be the closest to the Neapolitan pizza experience New York has to offer. The scrumptious dough, meticulously prepared daily from authentic Italian ingredients and topped with homemade mozzarella, fresh vegetables and imported Italian cured meats, comes to life under the skilled hands working the dough into perfectly round pies, which then swiftly make way to the brick oven where the flames caress them to a flawless, lightly charred perfection.

Caporuscio would not have it any other way. After all Kesté in Neapolitan dialect means “this is it”! It is not surprising then that Caporuscio, who presides over the American chapter of a trade association, Associazione Pizzaiouli Napoletani, that certifies pizza makers, puts emphasis on authenticity of the ingredients and the adherence to traditional Neapolitan pizza making techniques.

One of the secrets to achieving superior quality Neapolitan style pizza is the oven itself, and Kesté was designed and built by artisans flown in from Naples and therefore it meets Neapolitan requirements such as the size of the mouth and the shape of its dome.

Having a true Neapolitan oven may be enough to make a decent pizza, but the number one component in creating and authentic, quality Neapolitan pie is a skilled pizzaiolo.

Here also, Caporuscio did not fail, and having his hands full with multiple projects, such as the opening of Don Antonio by Starita Restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, and running an accredited Neapolitan pizza making school in his New Jersey pizzeria A Mano, he handed over this important job to non other but his own daughter Giorgia Caporuscio.

Two years ago, after obtaining a travel and tourism degree, Giorgia came to the United States to study English, but inspired by her father’s passion for the restaurant world and especially for pizza-making, she asked him if he would teach her the skill. And teach her he did!

For eight months she studied under his expert guidance, before returning to her native Italy. She then told her father that she would like to help him run Kesté, but before Roberto gave her the green light to mange an already renown business, he decided to send her to Florida to help out in opening a Neapolitan Pizzeria Scuola Vecchia in Delrey Beach.

Her trial period was far from over, as she then had to complete a long training internship in Pizzeria Materdei in Naples, under the supervision of pizza-making guru Antonio Starita, Roberto’s partner and teacher.

In January of this year Roberto finally decided that his daughter was well prepared and ready to face the New York restaurant scene and brought her to the United States. It is with her help that Don Antonio by Starita has been opened and became an immediate hit among restaurant goers.

Kesté has become home to Giorgia as she now briskly moves in the pizza preparation area, creating heavenly pizza, some with most unusual toppings, such as nuts, lemon and artichokes.

After the reopening of Kesté, the menu has been completely redesigned, offering numerous pizza choices, salads and even homemade mozzarella, prepared daily on the premises.

The restaurant now proudly serves gluten-free pizza daily, which received applause from the customers with dietary issues, whom previously were limited to eating at Kesté only on Mondays and Tuesdays. The wine list has also been enhanced offering quality wines at affordable prices.

Hats off to Roberto Caporuscio and his daughter Giorgia for bringing true Neapolitan pizza, served in true Neapolitan environment, where family ties and tradition seep from every mouthwatering, succulent, finger-licking-good pie. Welcome back Kesté…

Kestè Pizza & Vino
271 Bleecker Street  New York, NY 10014
 

On April 30th, the steps of city hall brightened up as they filled with vivid colors of the cyclists’ custom made Giordana jerseys designed for this year’s edition of the Gran Fondo New York. Now in its second edition, the Gran Fondo NY brings the spirit of Italian cycling to the Big Apple on May 20th, 2012.

Founded in 2010 by avid competitive cyclists, Gran Fondo New York is on a mission to bring Italian cycling culture to the New York and New Jersey region and to raise the profile of competitive cycling in the United States. Gran Fondo New York is open to professionals as well as anyone who loves to ride.
 

The first edition of the event brought together professional and amateur cyclists from nearly 70 countries including the US, Canada, Mexico, Italy, UK, Russia, Jamaica, Israel, and Poland. The Gran Fondo 2012, to be held on May 20th, has now doubled in size (more than 5,000 participants have already registered) and is not only promoting healthy living but it is also creating a growing, positive cultural and economic impact for the New York region.

The event organizer Uli Fluhme stated: “It’s the marathon of cycling, which takes anywhere from 5 to 10 hours to finish.” Gran Fondo New York 2012 is to begin on the New York City side of the iconic George Washington Bridge and wind through a 110-mile course in New York and New Jersey that extends up to Bear Mountain State Park and ends at the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal in Weehawken, New Jersey. There will be 4 timed climbs and four categories: overall, age groups, cycling team, and him & her. The rest of the race is not timed. There will also be a Medio Fondo, a non-competitive ride for people who want to experience Gran Fondo but are not ready for the full and intense 110-mile course.

Participants of the race are made up of CEOs, persons with visual impairments, amputees, firefighters, and even several former cycling legends. The male and female cyclist with the fastest timed climbs will be named King and Queen of the Mountain and awarded signature Pinarello bikes. Other prizes include cycling gear and maintenance products worth over $100,000.

The Press Conference, held on the eve of Bike Month, gathered its many supporters on the steps of the city hall including New York City Council Member Jim Gennaro,

Chair of the Italian-American Caucus and Environmental Protection Committee of the New York City Council, whom was joined by fellow caucus members, Council Members Vallone, Garodnick, Gentile, Recchia, and James. Together they praised Gran Fondo New York and its contributions to the promotion of Italian culture and to helping New York City become a premier international cycling destination.

Council Member Gennaro stated: "As chairman of the Italian-American Caucus, I am very proud to welcome such a distinguished event to our city. The Gran Fondo is an excellent way to promote appreciation for Italian culture in an unconventional way. And as chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee, I'm very happy to honor a cycling event at the beginning of Bike Month. I am always looking for ways to reduce carbon emissions in the city, and anything that promotes cycling is a step, or a pedal, in the right direction."

Gran Fondo New York organizers Uli and Lidia Fluhme received a proclamation from the Council Members and successively expressed their gratitude. “We are deeply honored for this recognition from the Italian-American caucus and would like to thank Council Member Gennaro for his dedication to environmental issues and promoting Italian culture. Bike Month is packed with activities that are designed to promote cycling and healthy lifestyles in NYC. We at Gran Fondo New York are very proud to be a part of these activities. Our goal was to bring world-class, Italian-style cycling to the greatest city in the world and judging by the response we’ve received in our second year, New Yorkers and cyclists worldwide are excited to join us. Italy and America have close ties, especially in NYC, and we hope this race continues to foster that spirit of camaraderie and deepen existing relationships” – stated Lidia Fluhme.

Gran Fondo New York is also organizing the 2nd Annual New York City Bike Expo. This event will take place at the Penn Plaza Pavilion, located across the street from Madison Square Garden, on May 18-19 from 11am-8pm. Gran Fondo New York sponsors, including Pinarello, Giordana, and Diadora, will be on hand to showcase their latest products. The expo is a stand-alone event that is open to the public and successfully draws additional visitors to NYC.

Alongside the Councilmen, showing their support for the initiative were multiple prominent personalities of Italian organizations, including Louis Calvelli from the Italian Cultural Foundation at Casa Belvedere, Joseph Mattone from Figli di San Gennaro, Roberto Ragone from FIERI, Joseph Scelsa from the Coalition of Italo-American Associations, and Edward Jackson of the National Federation of Italian American Societies, Inc. Louis Calvelli noted: “It is wonderful to see and Italian initiative that does not have anything to do with food!”

The focus on healthy living has been on the rise in the last decade. New Yorkers are known to be very health-conscious and it is truly wonderful to see an Italian project that fits their lifestyle and draws them to participate. The Councilmen promised to help tmake the Gran Fondo an even bigger mark on the NYC events calendar for next year as they try to get move the start line to a centrally located spot such as Times Square.

Hats off and lots of luck to the organizers, everyone who supports this initiative, and of course to the participants!!! For those of you who love a good challenge and wish to join the race, it is not too late!
Click here for more information or here to register. 

A surreal yet strangely familiar feeling overcomes me as I walk in to a townhouse at 64 East 77th Street. Luxembourg & Dayan, a secondary market gallery founded to present curated museum-level exhibitions of modern masters and contemporary art, houses a rare works exhibition of an Italian artist that most have not heard of, nonetheless he is considered an Italian cult figure in the art world.  Domenico Gnoli: Paintings 1964-1969 is after all the first U.S. exhibit of his works since his untimely death four decades ago.

Gnoli himself could not have picked a better place to show off his artwork. The intimacy and privacy of a New York townhouse further add to the elegant mystery that seeps from his canvases. Incandescent, large paintings adorn the few story building inviting onlookers to the world as seen by Gnoli.  And a strange world it seems… or does it?

As I stand under a large canvas filled completely with detailed strands of a woman’s curly red hair, I see each lock, my eyes follow each curve and get lost in the high and low lights Gnoli created, and I feel small.  I feel like a child. In front of the pair of trousers I get the feeling of being about to be scolded by my father… The detailed dress or shirt collar, remind me of being in the arms of my parents as a little kid. The parted man’s hair viewed from the top could might as well be that of my father kneeling down to tie my shoe when I still did not know how to.

Gnoli’s work is described by the gallery: “In canvases that are at once theatrical and humble, intimate and remote, humorous and melancholy, artist Domenico Gnoli uncovered a universe of meanings to be found in the details of everyday objects. His meditations on the material trappings of bourgeois Italian life directly challenged the politically charged discourse proffered by artists of the burgeoning Arte Povera movement by suggesting that identity is constructed primarily around consumerism and commercial choices. Supra-realistic, subtly colored, luminous and large, his paintings suggest that subjectivity can be expressed through the width of a pinstripe, or that the social values of an entire decade can be located in a lady’s leather handbag.”

To me his work is much more than that. It is personal, warm, and respectful. It is scrupulous and painstakingly beautiful. His thorough examination of simple, everyday scenes is thought provoking and magical.

I had the rare opportunity to interview Domenico Gnoli’s widow Yannik Vu and ask her a few questions about Gnoli and his work. 

As a person closest to Domenico Gnoli, as an insider, can you tell us what was Domenico’s approach to painting?

He was painting the way one is cooking. To him it was so natural. Some people need a lot of preparation; they lock themselves in a studio. He would come in with his brushes and things and everything was used. For example if he would have no easel he would take a chair and he would take a broom and attach it and he would put his canvas on top and paint, there was no mannerism about painting.

Did he set a specific time for painting?

He would very rarely do that. He would paint very regularly. I would say he would spend at least six hours a day on painting and then he would work at night on his drawings.

His work is very meticulous; it’s very detailed, so I would assume it took a while to finish one of his paintings.

He was a very fast executor. He always made a living out of his work, but his paid work at the time really was illustration, but his desire was to paint. So he had two parallel jobs, and the craftsmen allowed the painter to work but it was taking time away from the painter, so it is difficult to say how long a single work would take to complete, plus he was travelling from one place to another because he was working for magazines and they would send him on assignments. He went to Russia. The USSR at the time, we went to Prague and Israel and South and Central America. He illustrated for Life Magazine, Horizons and Sports Illustrated, I think he was illustrating for most magazines in America at that time. That is why New York was very important to him. He came to live, work and exhibit in New York in 1955 and 1956, and he left in 1962, and we came back in 1965, we actually got married in New York although we met in Paris. And finally he came back in 1969 for his last exhibition.

What was his favorite technique?

YV: He loved the texture of the fresco. He was a great admirer of Masaccio. He would prepare his canvases with sand and vinilic glue. At the beginning he worked wit tempera pigments and vinilic glue and afterwards acrylic became available on the market and so he worked with acrylic, he liked to work with water he didn’t like oil painting, it took too long to dry, he preferred this technique because it was faster. With the use of sand he was trying to give the reflection of the light in it.

Was he at all into comic books?

YV: He was a great friend of Jules Feiffer and for his own distraction he would draw. So we would be talking in the evenings after and he would draw cartoons, he had a very fast hand. He had various aspects to his personality. He even made bronze sculptures, but very few; he unfortunately didn’t get a chance to pursue this.  I am sure he would have gone great things but he didn’t get the time.

There is a certain 3 dimensional feel in his paintings…

YV: Yes, it comes from his days in stage design. He was working at the Old Vic in London as a stage designer for Shakespeare’s As You Like It. So yes, there is definitely a sense of theater in his work.

The exhibit is a must see. It remains open until June 30th at Luxembourg & Dayan, which is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10AM to 5PM.

Click here for more information about Domenico Gnoli and his life and for gallery information. 

ITALY'S MARGINS: Social Exclusion in Photography and Film 1860-2010, the newest exhibit hosted by NYU’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò poses some interesting socio-anthropological questions.

Can the story of a country’s development be complete without the examination and exemplification of all existing social groups? Are the marginal areas of countries and cities as much real places as they are imagined or perhaps even produced to be such? Who defines these margins: their occupants or the population living outside of them? Do the examination and exhibition of, and familiarization with the marginal conditions have a positive outcome for such or do they further label it as marginal and therefore “other”?

The exhibit’s curator, David Forgacs, Guido and Mariuccia Zerilli-Marimò Professor in Contemporary Italian Studies at NYU tried to answer some of these questions during an Inaugural lecture held on March 5th, the opening day of the exhibition at NYU’s Casa Italiana.

During the lecture Professor Forgacs stated:
“ I am not suggesting that Italy is a pathologic country, or that it has more marginality than anywhere else, but if you want to tell the complete story of the Italian development you have to tell the story of its margins, not just the winners.” This particular exhibit focuses on Italy, but the idea can be applied to any nation in any part of the world. “I see the construction of marginality as a normal byproduct of growth of nations”- continued Forgacs.

The filled to capacity auditorium was just an initial proof of the success of this wonderful exhibit which since then had many visitors as it remains open until April 13th, 2012.

The exhibit is divided into five sections. Section I, Urban Peripheries, focuses on the living conditions of lower-class people, and includes late nineteenth-century photographs depicting a variety of social life situations as well as later images from the 1900’s which portray the living quarters of slums. Franco Ferrarotti’s work from the 70’s raises the question of the importance of giving a voice to the subjects in the photographs and not just simply using them as objects of social research.

Section II, Colonies, includes photographs of the eastern and central Europe migrant population living on the peripheries of Rome as well as pictures taken in India, southern Europe, Libya and Africa, some for research purposes and others as snapshots.

Section III, Souths, centers around the idea of il Mezzogiorno (the concept of a single Italian South,) which has been widely challenged by economists and historians. Found in this section amongst other works and accompanied by photographs by Arturo Zavattini is the research of Ernesto De Martino, an ethnologist who completed a study that challenged the belief that the poor population of the South was uncultured.

Section IV, Asylums, speaks on its own presenting images of the difficulties and struggles of the mentally ill and institutionalized members of the lower class. This section has a somewhat positive message as it talks about the reform of the mental health system brought about by the work of Franco Basaglia and his wife Franca Ongaro. In this section the viewers will also find the photographic companion book to Basaglia’s work titled Morire di Classe, where the mentally ill are finally given a voice by photographers Carla Cerati and Gianni Berengo.

Section V, Migrants, Nomads and Others addresses the issues arising from the mass immigration and the arrival of asylum seekers entering Italy in search of a better life and the avoidance of prosecution and/or war and poverty.

The extent of research and work put into this project is clearly visible. It is one of the “not to be missed” exhibitions. The director of Casa Italiana, Stefano Albertini says of the exhibition: “This exhibit is truly a reflection on what is Italy when seen from its margins. It comprises of videos, photographs and written texts. It is up for another couple of weeks. Don't miss it!”

Casa Italiana once more proves to be the frontrunner in the ability to provide fascinating cultural events to the public. Its doors remain open Monday through Friday 10 am to 5 pm until April 13th.