COMING BACK TO Actor, singer, cook and animal activist Paul Sorvino is one of America’s celebrated artists. Although he spends his time between his house in Los Angeles and a farm in Pennsylvania, he’s the first to admit there’s no place like Italy.
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By MARIA LUISA ROSSI HAWKINS
r. Sorvino, you visit Italy all the time. Do you have a favorite destination? It’s hard to decide, all of Italy feels worth visiting… It’s so full of culture, monuments, beautiful places. I think my favorite place is a toss-up between Via Veneto in Roma, Piazza della Signoria in Firenze and all of Capri. I’m an artist. I love Firenze because of Michelangelo, I love Via Veneto for its energy, and Capri because of the colors of the sea, the lights over the city and the beauty of the water…and because my family is from Napoli. What makes Italy so special in your eyes? I live in Los Angeles but I think of Italy everyday, what makes it so special is its spirit, its light, and its people. I marvel at how they are capable of living their lives immersed in tradition, culture and love of family. I also love the food there. It tastes like nothing else, even the simplest dishes have special flavors that are incomparable, impossible to match. How has your Italian heritage influenced your career? I think life is too short not to be Italian—I honestly think that being Italian validates you emotionally. It makes you stronger. It gives you a leg up in any profession, because of Italians’ strength and their power of the family. Our inherited creativity
plays a part too… I think being Italian makes you a better person. What is the first thing you do when you arrive in Italy? I land at an airport, take look around, breathe deep and say to myself… here I am. Then a driver usually picks me up and I go wherever I need to be. Just being there makes me feel good, makes life better. What do you treasure most about Italy? Definitely its artistic legacy. Italy is the culmination of art and culture, inventions and creations. Italians have made so many contributions to the world. There is a richness in Italian life that is channeled down to individuals. I love that. There is also a calm in Italy that I cannot find anywhere else in the world. Italy is different and I feel different when I am there. Do you have a favorite memory of Italy? I go to Italy every year, and I have several favorite memories. I remember however one day I was in Capri with my daughter Mira, walking around together along its narrow streets. She was captivated by the place, and told me, “dad this place is beautiful, this place is magic and I want to get married here.” And that’s exactly what she did, a year later in a Giorgio Armani dress. She even spent her honeymoon there on the island.
FUN IN THE SUN Tourists and locals mingle together in Capri’s famous central piazza, where bright flowers and colorful sun umbrellas enliven this snapshot of life in a southern Italian gem of a town. 31