The People We Are February 2016

February 2016

Monthly Newsletter of the Professional Women’s Association of Rome

Life Coach Giovanna Giuffredi

«the life you want is the only one you'll have»

PWA is an international hub in the heart of Rome where ideas and values, tradition and innovation, diversity, culture and professionalism meet and intersect.

On our journey into the future our travel companions are respect, ethics, and a sense of social responsibility.

Where are we headed?

Inspirational, remarkable, pioneering. These three words describe the series of monthly conferences The Professional Women's Association of Rome has offered its members and guests in our 2015-16 season. We have truly embarked a path of personal growth and taken important steps towards a more advanced and conscious self-knowledge.

We have dared breathe creativity into our work and free time, explored our hopes and dreams and recognized our fears. This month, we will talk about sex. Our conference themes are all part of the sphere of resources that, when not aligned and properly employed, can block us and prevent us from excelling and even functioning. Instead, we strive to use each one of them to fortify our actions, our character, our lives.

Sex, though so natural and primordial, is still considered a taboo topic, and rarely is it proposed as a theme in a professional environment. Yet, we are human beings who can function perfectly only if each realm of our existence is faced serenely, lived fully and acted out positively. In this issue of The People We Are, you will discover several thoughtprovoking articles on sex, love and passion explored from different angles by a diverse group of experts.

Our process of growth is not finished here as we will continue to explore our internal and external resources.

The setting for our annual cultural day out will be Le Roof Restaurant on March 6th to celebrate International Women's Day together. Our partner, Executive Chef Gaetano Costa, will demonstrate how ingredients are prepared as he explains the cultural and anthropological aspects of the Rainbow Diet together with its beneficial effects in order to avoid serious consequences to our health. And naturally, to follow, a colourful Rainbow lunch will be served.

We look forward to continuing down our path of discovery with you,

Hanna

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Editing Team

Hanna Suni editor and layout designer www.hamedesign.com newslettereditor@pwarome.org Lisa R Tucci co-editor www.artemediacomm.com newsletterconsultant@pwarome.org

in this issue

4 Let's Talk About Sex 6 Passion 8 Is There Sex Life After Children?

9 Why Modern Relationships Fall Apart so Easily Today?

10 Member Spotlight: Giovanna Giuffredi The Life You Want is the Ony One You'll Have 12 The Rainbow Diet: A Brave New World 13 February ConneXion at ToNY 14 February Wrap-up: Pleased to Meet You Networking Event 16 Cultural Corner: Art, Love and... Kisses 18 Poem by Elvira La Rocca, Painting by Rosanna Chiani 19

Fatima El Fihri: From Knowledge, Comes the Confidence to Make a Difference

20 Health in Our Hands: At First Blush 21 Let's Go Social: Love in the Age of the Internet

Sex&love 4 13

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16 18 3

Let's talk about Having an enjoyable and fulfilling sex life is a very basic human need. Yet, according to Newsweek, 15-20% of couples worldwide live in a sexless relationship. Facing our sexuality and learning to talk about it − both the positive as well as the negative − can work wonders for both our sex lives and love lives.

Often we manage to talk about sex to a close, intimate friend, but not to our spouse or lover.

As parents we instruct our teenagers about their sexuality in a loveless, awkward manner. Yet it could be the most natural issue to face.

It is time to move away from prejudice, embarrassment, stereotypes, gender barriers and taboos. This PWA conference, in Italian, will guide us to discover with an expert, how to live in harmony with our own sexuality.

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About Our Speaker

Valentina Cosmi

A graduate of Rome's UniversitĂ La Sapienza, Dr. Valentina Cosmi is a Clinical Sexologist and Psychologist. Founder of the SocietĂ Italiana di Sessuologia e Psicologia (SISP) and a Consultant at Policlinico Umberto I in Rome Valentina has been called on the past 15 years to assist many social services as an expert in her field.

main sponsors

www.lifecoachitaly.it

www.powersavesolutions.it 5

Passion Looking for love in all the wrong places? Try inside first!

by Lisa R Tucci www.artemediacomm.com

So here’s something – if you are a spiritual person on any level, this book lays out how to set your focus – your intention – and find your true one & only – The Soulmate Secret by Adrielle Ford. And even if you’re not into the woo woo Law of Attraction practices as revealed in The Secret, you might want to give it a try as well – after all, you’ve been doing it ‘your way’ your whole life, and you’re still sitting at home on a Friday night in your jammies watching a movie – by yourself. I opened the book, and before I got to Chapter 5, I had met my match – in a gelato shop, no less. It started with making my very own Vision Board – It’s a great way to get your thoughts into an actual vision you can live with – whether it’s a job, a new home, or even a car you’re looking for…

So, start here and let me know how it goes!

Vision boards

There are even Vision Board apps, templates, fab visuals that stir your imagination…

Let your fingers and your imagination run wild!

On the flipside, sometimes those relationships don’t work out so well. In fact, it’s said that relationships basically end over three main issues, and living in Italy, it may be the order is slightly different (ahem!) but here they are: Money – Sex – In-Laws Yes, those three. Pretty much everything can be boiled down to these. So, here is a good place to getting started with your money… whether or not you’re in a relationship!

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Pas

Artist Jennifer Contini has long brightened people’s lives with her heart art. She’s now branching off into incredibly sensuous, stunning… trees (no pun originally intended, but I left it all the same…!) Quite generous with her talent, she often posts give-aways on her Facebook page, too (I won a fab New York Skyline of hearts!) – but I find her work and following her collectors so inspiring, when someone puts so much of their Love into their Passion.

Jennifer Contini And for anyone who may be heartbroken, here’s an inspirational talk from the recently held TEDxTalk Lausanne – by University of Lausanne (UniL) Prof George Kohlrieser talking about how connecting to a greater good can help you make the best out of any bad situation.

Turning Loss into Inspiration

And last but not least, show your Love for Rome! Or rather, WakeUp Roma!

Mark your calendars for 12 March at 10am when Luiss Enlabs/Actors/ Retake Roma/Fondazione Garibaldi/ RomaCapitale’s PICS (decorum dept)/ families, friends and foreigners join forces in doing a major clean-up of the eternal city.

After all, we’re all stakeholders in our quality of life and we can’t let the ne’erdowells trash our city.

Sign Up – bring your kids – pick a piazza and pick up a scraper and some rubber gloves and join the ultimate in CrowdSourcing – A Cleanup of our beloved City.

ssion

Now that’s Amore!

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Is there sex life after children?

The deep bond and connection a couple forms and experiences through lovemaking is something unique to the couple, but also because it comes only one way -through open, intimate, honest sex.

But once children arrive on the scene, between their demands, household chores and careers, and often even ageing parents, couples soon find they don’t have time for sex. Here, Dr Anderson offers five quick tips on “What you can do to keep your sex life rockin’ after children come aknockin’”:

4) Get creative

1) Make time for the two of you

5) Too tired is not a good reason

You have a calendar for your family so you don’t forget all the activities for your children, important birthdays, and other appointments. When was the last time you saw something on that calendar for you and your partner? Your relationship is as much a priority as your child’s soccer practice. Put it on your calendar, and don’t move it.

After the kids are finally in bed, you’re so exhausted that the last thing on your mind is sex. When your partner makes an advance, you end up having a whole conversation about why you’re not in the mood and how upset you are that he would even think about sex after the kind of day you just had.

Just think, in all that time and energy, you probably could have had sex and skipped the fight you just had. Besides, there are few things that help you sleep better than snuggling up with your partner after a connecting night of sex.

2) Reassure your partner of your affection for him/her Your body changes as you age. As a result, you or your partner may not feel as attractive as before.

When your partner doesn’t feel sexy, they don't feel as excited for sex. Reassuring your partner of your affection helps them to feel loved, cared for, and attractive.

3) Redefine foreplay With children around, you don’t have as much private time in the bedroom. Don’t waste the private time you do have on foreplay. Foreplay doesn’t have to be physical. Sending each other sexy text messages throughout the day and notes in each other's lunch boxes are just as effective as physical foreplay.

With children around, sex can’t be as spontaneous as it used to be. There’s a greater risk of being interrupted. Instead of waiting until all the conditions are right (which might take a long time), get creative about where and when to do it. Sex can still be connecting and romantic at creative times and places.

All couples’ lives change after having kids. But the quality of your sex life doesn’t have to.

Remember, intimacy is a vital part of your marriage or partnership. Sex with your partner is the only thing you share with them that you don’t share with others. It’s a perfect way to create intimacy, romance and spark in your marriage. Don’t neglect yourself or your partner by neglecting your sex life. There are many more ways you can create intimacy, spark and passion in and out of the bedroom so you can still have a terrific sex life.

Aaron Anderson Aaron Anderson is a therapist and Director of The Marriage and Family Clinic in Denver, CO. He is a writer, speaker and relationship expert. Checkout his blog for expert information on how to improve your relationship.

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Why Modern Relationships Fall Apart So Easily Today

by Ankush Bahuguna

W

hy are relationships so hard today? Why do we fail at love every time, despite trying so hard? Why have humans suddenly become so inept at making relationships last? Have we forgotten how to love? Or worse, forgotten what love is?

We’re not prepared. We’re not prepared for the sacrifices, for the compromises, for the unconditional love. We’re not ready to invest all that it takes to make a relationship work. We want everything easy.

We’re quitters. All it takes is a single hurdle to make us crumble to our feet. We don’t let our love grow, we let go before time.

It’s not love we’re looking for, only excitement and thrill in life. We want someone to watch movies and party with, not someone who understands us even in our deepest silences. We spend time together, we don’t make memories. We don’t want the boring life. We don’t want a partner for life, just someone who can make us feel alive right now, this very instant. When the excitement fades, we discover nobody ever prepared us for the mundane. We don’t believe in the beauty of predictability because we’re too blinded by the thrill of adventure.

We immerse ourselves in the inconsequentials of the city life, leaving no space for love. We don’t have time to love, we don’t have the patience to deal with relationships. We’re busy people chasing materialistic dreams and there’s no scope to love. Relationships are nothing more than convenience.

We look for instant gratification in everything we do – the things we post online, the careers we choose, and the people we fall in love with. We want the maturity in a relationship that comes with time, the emotional connect that develops over years, that sense of belonging when we barely even know the other person. Apparently, nothing’s worth our time and patience – not even love.

We’d rather spend an hour each with a hundred people than spending a day with one. We believe in having ‘options’. We’re ‘social’ people. We believe more in meeting people than getting to know them. We’re greedy. We want to have everything. We get into relationships at the slightest attraction and step out, the moment we find someone better. We don’t want to bring out the best in that one person. We want them to be perfect. We date a lot of people but rarely give any of them a real chance. We’re disappointed in everyone.

Technology has brought us closer, so close that it’s impossible to breathe. Our physical presence has

been replaced by texts, voice messages, snapchats and video calls. We don’t feel the need to spend time together anymore. We have too much of each other already. There’s nothing left to talk about.

We’re a generation of ‘wanderers’ who wouldn’t stay at one place for too long. Everyone is commitment phobic. We believe we’re not meant for relationships.

We don’t want to settle down. Even the thought of it is scary. We cannot imagine being with one person for the rest of our lives. We walk away. We despise permanence like its some social evil. We like to believe we’re ‘different’ than the rest. We like to believe we don’t conform to social norms.

We’re a generation that calls itself ‘sexually liberated’.

We can tell sex apart from love, or so we think. We’re the hook-up-break-up generation. We have sex first and then decide if we want to love someone. Sex comes easy, loyalty doesn’t. Getting laid has become the new getting drunk. You do it not because you love the other person, but because you want to feel good.

It’s all the temporary fulfillment we need. Sex outside relationships isn’t a taboo anymore. Relationships aren’t that simple anymore. There are open relationships, friends with benefits, causal flings, one-night stands, no strings attached – we’ve left very little exclusivity for love in our lives.

We’re the practical generation who runs by logic alone. We don’t know how to love madly anymore.

We wouldn’t take a flight to a far-off land just to see someone we love. We’d break up because, long distance. We’re too sensible for love. Too sensible for our own good.

We’re a scared generation – scared to fall in love, scared to commit, scared to fall, scared to get hurt, scared to get our hearts broken. We don’t allow anyone in, nor do we step out and love anyone unconditionally.

We lurk from behind walls we’ve created ourselves, looking for love and running away the moment we really find it. We suddenly ‘cannot handle it’. We don’t want to be vulnerable. We don’t want to bare our soul to anyone. We’re too guarded.

We don’t even value relationships anymore. We let go of the most wonderful people for ‘the other fishes in the sea.’ We don’t consider them sacred anymore.

There’s nothing we couldn’t conquer in this world, and yet, here we are ham-fisted at the game of love – the most basic of human instincts. Evolution, they call it.

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T

he life you want is the only one you'll have. Giovanna Giuffredi, life coach and psychologist, forged this phrase when she was in her teens and it has been her guideline in life ever since. She uses it as advice for her clients and applies it to her own life as well. «The idea is that we CAN make a difference in the lives we lead; If we really set our hearts and minds on a goal, we can reach it. We should never give up on our dreams and passions, but do our best to fulfill them», Giovanna explains.

Even though Giovanna coaches others on improving their lives, she constantly works on enhancing her own life as well. Last summer, she traveled to Kerala (India) with her eldest daughter spending three fabulous weeks touring − meditating, reflecting and focusing on her current status in life. This made her realize there is still a gap between her current life experience and the ideal one that she would like to live.

«No one is perfect, there is always room for growth, development and improvement», she humbly states. This is why Giovanna constantly reaches out to seek advice from peer coaches and mentors. Together with her colleagues, she performs cross-mentoring, often finding herself on the receiving end in order to continuously up her game.

Someone who truly takes personal and professional development seriously, in 2012, Giovanna founded Life Coach Italy, a company providing integrated services for the development of personal and organizational resources. She is President of the International Coach Federation Italia and Director of the Advanced Coach Academy. She is also the Founder and Editorial Director of Coaching Time, the first online journal in the field. Last month, Life Coach Italy was recognized as the ‘Best Woman’s Entrepreneurial Project’ in a competition organized by the Psychologists Association, ENPAP (Ente Nazionale di Previdenza degli Psicologi). This is but one of the many honors and awards Giovanna has received throughout her career.

Life Coach Giovanna Giuffredi

By Hanna Suni www.hamedesign.com

the life you want is the only one you'll have

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But success has not come without diligence and arduous work. Giovanna graduated with a degree in Psychology, following it up with a four-year specialization to achieve a degree in Relational Psychotherapy. For years, she worked as an organizational psychologist and consultant in different companies and evaluated training programs for the European Union.

Since 2000 she has embraced the concept of coaching and has slowly built her career and earned the respect of her peers in the sector.

Life Coach Italy operates both in the private and the business sectors.

Individual clients are guided toward taking the reins of their lives, finding a comfortable and harmonious balance, and making the best of their capabilities and resources. This is accomplished through defining fundamental goals and, more importantly, understanding the means for reaching those goals. «It is important to take into consideration the person as a whole − body, mind and soul, and then encompassing both the professional as well as the personal spheres», Giovanna says.

Business coaching is divided into several different categories: corporate, executive, business, and team and group coaching. Coaching projects range from reorganizing or re-dimensioning of companies to uniting two or more companies with different cultures, building growth strategies, going through generation changes, or simply fortifying company culture in change situations. Clients range from sports teams to small or medium-sized companies and even large, international corporations.

One of Giovanna’s greatest satisfactions and fondest memories was winning a tender put out by the Italian multinational energy company, ENI. Together with a colleague, Giovanna sacrificed her summer vacation, staying in Rome to put together their proposal for the tender.

After spending weeks studying the case and writing up their value proposition, a few months later Giovanna was delighted to learn they had won, against some bigger and more established companies.

«I think what made the difference and brought us victory was reading the tender materials carefully and closely following the language they had used», Giovanna reveals. «This is one of the most important qualities a talented coach must have: listening to the client and fully understanding their needs and wants.»

The term Life Coach is not translated into other languages usually, but presented simply in English. Together with her colleagues, Giovanna has thought about coining a valid equivalent in Italian, but they still haven’t found the right term. In recent years, coaching has become very fashionable and many professionals who used to be consultants now call themselves coaches.“We should be open-minded and seek the help of coaches, but always carefully check their credentials and make sure the person whose services we are about to buy is actually a certified coach”, Giovanna reminds us.

Even though work-related projects occupy the majority of Giovanna’s weekly schedule, she makes time for her two daughters and 90-year-old mother, her closest, dearest friends and her lazy but affectionate cat. She loves to read, travel and explore nature.

But lately, Giovanna also enjoys joining other PWA members for a ConneXion or a conference. Motivated by constant growth and driven by positive change and improvement, Giovanna fell in love with PWA and its mission. She immediately recognized a group of ambitious yet humble women who did not only talk, but actually reached results by decisive, forceful and meaningful actions. «A great example is the TimeOut project. I was truly impressed by the fact that it was planned, developed and fully implemented in only a few months», Giovanna says.

Life Coach Italy is invested in a variety of projects it sponsors yearly, but Giovanna did not hesitate one second when she decided to allocate money for PWA. «I see great potential in PWA and am delighted to contribute to such a vigorous and ambitious association».

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by Valerie Baxter President

a brave new world From Beefeater to Leafeater

A

s a baby-boomer Londoner, the good old days as a teenager when it came to fads, were filled with classic pub food like «bangers & mash» (sausages & potatoes), «pork pies» (gelatinous pork in thick pre-cooked pastry), «steak & kidney pies» (a braised beef favourite with gravy), «fish & chips» (thickly battered Atlantic cod with fried potatoes), and if you could afford it, «T-bone steaks» at one of the trendy Scottish chain Angus steak houses.

At home, my mum (a banker rather than cook) used to say I couldn’t leave the table until I’d finished my «greens», which were usually cabbage, broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts or stringy runner beans, all of which I absolutely loathed! I can remember several occasions getting into trouble over not eating my greens at lunch, only to see them served up again at dinner – stone cold! It became a battle of wits

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– or an adolescent matter of principle to defy my mum by avoiding absolutely everything and anything green. At Christmas I could count on beholding the largest turkey, traditionally stuffed with sausage and herb bread. Other times, my dad would bring home special treats of venison, pheasant, hare and wild boar to my heart’s delight. I was always happy to steer clear of anything resembling a leaf!

When I arrived in Rome, the story didn’t change much – I ate plenty of game – red meat in fettuccine al ragù or lasagna, pappardelle al sugo di lepre, bistecca alla fiorentina, and a delicious novelty to me – veal. Despite it’s being an integral part of the Mediterranean Diet, I continued to ignore the realm of fresh fruit, salad, tomatoes and every type of leafy greens. All of which I discovered were served according to season rather than all year round, as in London. But even with this rich diet with

its «contorno» side-dish variations, I remained adamant, «No vegetables»! Strangely enough, I never caught a cold, nor ran a temperature, neither did I suffer from the usual digestive ailments which came with travelling around the world that Italians were frequently lamenting. I was a picture of perfect health – invincible and immune.

Living in the Tuscia countryside over the past decades, where organic 0 km vegetables abound, my stamina earned me the nickname, «Caterpillar». Imagine my surprise and apprehension when I recently discovered to have high blood pressure together with an unsightly level of glycemia. My doctors admonished me to change my eating habits entirely; eliminating sugar, salt and those carbohydrates I love. «We are what we eat», started to resonate ominously in my head – a phrase I’d never really connected with until now. So I did some research and talked to people, surfed the internet, read scientific journals, trying to find a way to bring my body back into sync. I also guiltily realized how my food choices could affect my sons’ health.

All season 2015/16, through our conferences in PWA, we’re bringing change and innovation into our lives and throughout our association and our communities at large. Headset on my own change in behavior regarding diet and lifestyle, I also saw the opportunity of creating general awareness to pay more attention to the wealth of fresh fruit and vegetables at our disposal every day, to respect our bodies and

to energize ourselves, by eating better and living longer. This was my call to action – my battle cry: the culture of food.

The Rainbow Diet – based on the world renowned Mediterranean Diet will be the focus of our Special event to celebrate International Women’s Day/Festa della Donna. Our partner for the event is Executive Chef, Gaetano Costa who will demonstrate how healthy ingredients are prepared for our benefit. He will also explain the cultural and anthropological aspects of the Rainbow Diet together with its beneficial effects to avoid compromising our health. Naturally, his talk will be followed by a colourful Rainbow Lunch.

This event, with the patronage of Associazione Beatrice ONLUS is also sponsored by Il Molino – producers of organic olive oil from Tuscia.

Join us in celebrating women and the colours of life, see (and taste) for yourselves. For more info and to reserve your place at the table, via our website.

These past weeks, I have been keeping to my resolution, changing behavior to embrace the Rainbow Diet. Incredibly, I have discovered I have more energy, I sleep better and spend my day happier than I was previously. My blood pressure has gone down and is stable, my skin has a more luminescent hue, and I’ve even become more creative. Not bad for an exBeefeater!

But don’t take my word for it, ask the Chef!

PWA Rainbow Day on 6th March 2016 At NOON AT Le Roof Restaurant, c/o grand Hotel Ritz in Via D. Chelini 41, Rome rsvp by march 2 to social@pwarome.org

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J

ust when we thought Social Director Isabella Cattan could not find any place more exciting than the last, she shoots for the stars again!

The Sala Aviatori at Rome’s ToNY, filled with airplanes and aviary lore, was the scene of our February ConneXion for a lively group of PWA members and lots of new guests. Between a drink, a bite to eat and a chat here and there, the evening literallyflew!

PR Director Marta Schneider thanked our main sponsors, Life Coach Italy and Powersave Solutions Italy along with event sponsor Autore.

Next month, be sure to join us at Ginger a stone’s throw from the glorious Spanish Steps for the next Brio ConneXion – March 2nd!

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Our sponsor for the evening was Autore, a small familyowned business based in San Marco dei Cavolti, an hour outside Naples. Their products spring from the ancient tradition of handmade chocolate and sweets. Some of the recipes can be traced all the way back to 100 B.C. when a block of sugar, almonds and hazelnuts, the original nougat, went under the name «cupedia», a term used for defining gluttony for fine and delicate foods.

www.casaautore.com

Text and photos Hanna Suni

A butcher, a baker, a candlestick maker...

Those may have been the trades of days of yore, but at our last PWA Conference, we got to meet a whole lot of members and guests, clearly representative of life in the 21st century. As some of us moved chairs, one by one, each of us got to ‘interview’ the other, extremely quickly. The sound of 40 people speed networking − all at once − created quite a buzz, and business cards were exchanged fast and furiously.

All in all, it was a great opportunity to know how so many of us can be connected, what else others do, and what are their projects and dreams they are pursuing here in Caput Mundi, the center of the world, Rome. Leaving the energetic evening, I really thought how We have come a long way, baby − where working women can redefine work, and look far beyond traditional roles and crafts to leave their mark on their world.

I met a business coach, a blogger, a banker and cosmetics broker, a graphic designer, a glassware maker...

These are The People We Are. text Lisa R Tucci photos Hanna Suni

Marijana P Donati, Managing Director of Powersave Solutions Italia, introduced the evening wishing successful networking to everyone.

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CULTURAL CORNER

By Laura Rizzi www.laltraroma.net The exhibition of Francesco Hayez at Milan’s Gallerie d’Italia inspired me to write this editorial for the February special edition of our magazine dedicated to Love.

Who better than he to portray Love and Passion?

Francesco Hayez is quite wellknown in Italy for his fine portraits. But it is his masterpiece, The Kiss that in a recent poll, conducted by the newspaper, La Stampa, confirmed its place for 8/10 Italians as the best kiss ever painted in the history of art. Actually, there are about five different versions of The Kiss in existence and some may think that the passion it portrays may be less about romance and more true to the scandalous life of the artist himself.

Francesco Hayez (Venice 1791 - Milan 1882) studied at the Academy of Art of Venice. In 1809, he won a scholarship in Rome where he did his apprenticeship in the atelier of Antonio Canova. He originally started out with neoclassical subjects and religious themes. In 1817 he married Vincenza Scaccia, five years later moving to Milan where he taught at the Academy of Brera and participated in the brilliant cultural life of the city that was the center of the Italian Risorgimento. A prominent accountant, Sig. Zucchi, hosted artists, musicians and patriots at his villa. It was here where Francesco would meet Carolina Zucchi, the accountant’s daughter, who would become his pupil, model and… mistress.

Hayez was an over-thirty married artist, while his paramour, was about twenty years his junior! Their relationship, a mix of love, intense passion and sex was clearly the inspiration for the many erotic drawings Francesco would make. It was an astounding scandal and cause for disgrace in the conservative Milan of the early 19th

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century. Carolina was portrayed in many different private and public paintings, and was the model for the sensual piece, The last kiss of Romeo and Juliet crafted in 1823.

Carolina remained the lover of Francesco till 1833. It is thought that afterward she became a member of the Carboneria, a patriotic Secret Society fighting against the Austrian regime for an independent Italy.

She died at a very young age in 1848, the year that saw the Cinque Giornate or “Five Days of Milan” a civil insurrection that gave rise to the first Italian War of Independence.

The last kiss of Romeo and Juliet 1823

Francesco Hayez lived a long time and had a successful career in Milan during the Italian Risorgimento, filled with many other models and many more love affairs.

Ultimately, he became Director of the Academy of Brera and the most prominent artist of Italian Romanticism. His historical paintings hold cryptic political allegories in support of the Italian patriots fighting against the Austrian aristocracy for independence.

In the exhibition at Gallerie d’Italia we can admire a series showing The Kiss.

The first depiction of The Kiss was painted in 1859 – two years prior to the unification of Italy. At first, and more superficially, it represents merely a passionate kiss of a young couple in medieval times. But if we observe its details and colours more closely, we can find other meanings therein: the girl dons a blue silk dress (the colour for France) while embracing the youth, who is thought to represent the House of Savoy. Their embrace signifies the alliance between France and the Kingdom of Piedmont and Sardinia.

In the second rendition made in 1861, the couple wear outfits of identical colors to those of the Italian tricolore flag (red, green and white). Italy is still in full-fledged war as a nation. By the time the third version is made in 1867, Italy has become a nationstate – the artist has employed both the Italian and French colours for the two dresses (blu, red, green and white).

The Kiss became very popular during the Age of Romanticism and many art reproductions were made of it. In the painting Sadness by Girolamo Indunom we can see hanging in the bedroom of the young girl, a small replica of Hayez's masterpiece.

The Kiss was later transformed from a political statement into the symbol of love and passion. And in 1922, the famous painting inspired Federico Seneca, art director of Perugina chocolates, to create the now-famous blue box of the popular Baci chocolates with the picture of two lovers. And in a nod to keeping with tradition, even the Baci chocolates themselves, bearing cute love notes inside, are rumored to have been started as a result of a tryst between the wife of Perugina chocolates owner, Luisa Spagnoli and another business partner, Giovanni Buitoni. Proving the old adage, that all is fair in love and war.

You can visit Francesco Hayez’s exhibition at Gallerie d’Italia in Piazza Scala until February 27th – for a very Romantic Valentine’s Day in Milan!

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poem by Elvira La Rocca painting by Rosanna Chiani

By Karima Hassa

I

n a time when we talk a lot about women, Islam, and how Islam treats its women, allow me to take you back in time to my hometown, the birthplace of a girl named Fatima el Fihri.

Born in the Tunisian city of Kairouan in 800, during the time of the Abbasid Caliphate, Fatima was one of two daughters of a wealthy and prominent businessman, Muhammad Al Fihri.

Like many Arab merchants, he immigrated to Fez in Morocco with his family in order to expand his business. Mohammad Al Fihri encouraged Fatima and her sister Mariam to be educated starting at early childhood. The girls loved Islamic knowledge and science, but were particularly drawn to architecture. This quality became ingrained in them due to Islamic views that value education and devotion to science. Their newfound knowledge brought confidence to the two young girls who were perceived as having strong personalities that exhibited both intelligence and passion. Fatima el Fihri would grow up to be a generous woman as well. After inheriting a great deal of wealth from their father, both sisters decided to devote their standing to benefit the entire community.

Fatima founded the al-Karaouine mosque in the year 859. It is widely considered the first university in the world. Fatima realized the importance of having a religious learning center to maintain Islamic knowledge and to develop an intellectual community. But her efforts were not so easy. It is said that she fasted each day until the mosque was completed, which is thought to have taken two years.

And while Fatima was busy bringing her project to life, her younger sister, Mariam, was building another mosque dedicated to prayer and learning as well, the al-Andalous Mosque in the same district in Fez. In Islam, learning and teaching are intimately intertwined with religion as they are viewed as a way to worship God. Islam therefore puts a strong emphasis on education, as it encourages people to learn about the world around them, to attain a greater appreciation for their creator, and to contribute toward bringing about positive change to all of humanity. Putting forth the idea that Islam views knowledge as something to be used for the good of mankind, Fatima and Mariam are true visionaries with a mission for the development of society at large in their adopted city of Fez.

In January 2016, I paid a visit to the Medina of Fez, the old town within the ancient walls there. And I found that people still speak of Fatima’s legacy as a true heroine. I was lucky to talk to a merchant, El Hadj Mohammed, who has a store next to her mosque who stated, God makes the way easy for those who tread the path in search of knowledge.

Despite the centuries, Fatima El Fihri is still alive in Fez in the heart of the Moroccans. Her name is synonomous with sustainability, confidence and knowledge and shows how a person can, through education and passion, impact the world.

I often think about Fatima and her sister, Mariam, and I am grateful for their amazing accomplishments and devotion to Islamic principles of education, learning and society as a whole.

To know more on Fatima and Urban Muslim Women

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IN OUR HANDS

H E A LT H

by Irina Poleva http://www.irinapoleva.it

Winter is a wonderful season: we enjoy activities like drinking hot chocolate, sitting by the fireplace, skiing down the slopes.

Unfortunately, it’s not so wonderful for our skin. The cold weather makes our skin dry, especially our face, always exposed to climate changes. Add wind, pollution and drastic temperature fluctuations, it is easy to understand how all these factors can alter our skin barrier and cause severe redness on our face.

temperature exposure, scrub treatments and some cosmetics can leave their sign, worsening the situation.

If the redness appears only on our rosy cheeks and lasts only during exposure to cold weather, there is not much to worry about. However, if you find that redness lasts longer and small vessels (capillaries) appear on cheeks and nose, it is time to take action.

Change your diet in order to improve capillary elasticity.

Blueberries, citrus fruits, cabbage and cauliflower all have a favorable effect. Or, ask your doctor for food supplements containing substances known to protect the capillary wall.

What we can do to prevent face redness: Avoid the most evident trigger factors. Use a helmet with face mask when riding a motorcycle or scooter in the cold; making sure to use a protective under-helmet in silk or techotissue when skiing or riding a bicycle, in order to avoid drastic temperature fluctuations.

There are many factors that can cause capillaries to

appear on the face: genetic predisposition, age and skin type. Some skin diseases (for example, acne rosacea) start off with identical symptoms following temperature shifts and formation of visible small vessels on the surface of our skin. This condition could become embarrassing as it is sometimes difficult to hide even with makeup.

Dilated blood vessels or telangiectasia, spider nevus or coupe-rose occur when capillaries become visible following the dilation of the wall of the vein, which becomes weak and less elastic. With time, the compromised capillaries can totally lose their vasoconstrictor capacity (capacity to become narrow, tight) and remain permanently wide, producing redness in the face.

Aging skin becomes thinner and more transparent year by year. As a result, capillaries become more visible. Alcohol and coffee consumption, cold and hot

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Use lukewarm, not boiling hot water while bathing and showering (no matter how nice it feels!)

Use moisturizing creams (avoiding gels) rich in jojoba oil or sea butter. In the evening, apply essential oils (for calming and preventing transepidermic water loss) such as Rosa Damascena or chamomile oil.

Use a green correcting stick under your daily makeup to hide the capillaries.

Always use sun screen (SPF 30) even in winter. UV rays damage capillaries in a serious and irreversible way.

If you don’t obtain good aesthetic results after following the above treatments for a few months, ask your dermatologist about a laser or IPL treatment. They guarantee good, longlasting results.

let’s go“social”

Thomas McMullan on theGuardian.com

Our relationships are mediated by technology, surveilled by governments, with no guarantee our intimate words of digital love are private In John Cheever’s book The Enormous Radio, a couple purchase a radio after their old one stops working. What first sounds like static between stations turns out to be their apartment’s doorbells and lift shafts and, it transpires, the new radio can be tuned into the conversations of other tenants in the building.

With a growing obsession, housewife Irene Westcott begins to spend her days listening to other people’s lives. She wakes up at night to sneak into the living room, to turn dials “flooded with a malevolent green light”.

Published in 1947, Cheever’s story predates home computers, smartphones, the internet, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and yet it portends the smudge between private and public life that those technologies would bring. What begins as clandestine entertainment for Irene Westcott soon transforms into a source of insecurity and self-doubt.

Bombarded by other people’s arguments and intimacies, she becomes increasingly self-conscious of how she, and her relationship, are perceived by others. For those trawling through the feeds of friends and strangers, that pressure may sound familiar.

The computer as the centre of desire?

With sexual fantasies and illicit communications compartmentalised within the same machines we use to email partners and post pictures of family holiday, it can be hard to remember where the reality of relationship ends and the fantasy begins. O’Connor tells me that couples frequently come to her saying they only make minimal conversation before retreating to the internet to post pictures of their lives.

«They will put up pictures about what a fantastic life they’re having together, but the couple will be on two different Facebook or Twitter profiles, with no connection between them,» she says.

«It’s almost as if your partner is a computer that doesn’t work,» she adds. «That doesn’t react in the right way. Because a computer you can control. You can turn it off when you like. You can decide to speak to it when you like. You can just show the pictures you want to show. Your partner sees you face to face in all of your reality. That isn’t what you want.»

Performance has always been part of a relationship. We only pick the best pictures for the mantelpiece, and we don’t hold hands simply for ourselves. What has changed with the advent of social media, psychosexual therapist Marian O’Connor suggests, is the frequency with which we are bombarded with handpicked evidence of domestic bliss.

Of course, the computer as a centre of desire can collapse in the wrong hands. Those thinly segmented personas can fall into each other when a partner uncovers files full of communications.

In a pre-internet age you may uncover a bundle of love letters from a cheating partner, but with online records the entire backand-forth is laid bare. O’Connor tells me it is the words of this alternate persona that can be the most damaging. Who is this person saying they love someone else, you ask yourself. Do they mean what they say?

The pressure to present your perfect life

I love you madly

O’Connor says: «It’s almost like getting those Christmas letters that some people used to send – those round robin letters – about yet another year in a wonderful life. Maybe Facebook is like a constant round robin Christmas letter. Maybe we haven’t learnt to be disgusted enough as we mostly are at round robin letters.»

In 1984’s postscript to The Name of the Rose, Italian novelist and philosopher Umberto Eco wrote about the difficulties of saying «I love you» in an age where those words had been exhausted.

Take in the sheen of other relationships and it’s hard not to feel the pressure to present your life in similar terms. We act up for the cameras, as it were, encouraged to share intimate moments via lip-locked profile pictures and holiday snaps. Mantelpiece photos, yes, but mantelpiece photos that sit in the middle of the street.

O’Connor, who works at the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships, tells me that performing online doesn’t only involve broadcasting holidays, babies and kisses. If those are public dances, computers in homes and our pockets are also the proscenium arches for private affairs.

«It’s quite exciting to write down things like ‘I want to fuck you really hard’, in a way you perhaps would never say face to face with someone. There’s something about the screen that allows this altered personality,» she tells me.

«With a screen in the way it’s like you can act a part that’s exciting. With the internet you can keep going, keep searching.

It has all these secrets that you can follow in these paths, and you can spend hours and hours and hours – you can do it with internet shopping as with sex – it allures us into Aladdin’s caves of sex or refrigerators.»

“I think of the postmodern attitude as that of a man who loves a very cultivated woman and knows that he cannot say to her ‘I love you madly’, because he knows that she knows (and that she knows he knows) that these words have already been written by Barbara Cartland.”

Eco was writing before mass internet access, but his idea reverberates in an age when we’re each encouraged to cultivate an online persona; when we know (and they know that we know) intimate words can be leveraged for social nods, ticks, hearts and likes. With the line between public and private smudged, is it possible to be sincere? Do we kiss each other with one eye on the analytics? When we argue, do we think about how we’ll summarise the events in a pithy tweet?

In The Enormous Radio, habitual exposure to the lives of others leads Irene Westcott to censor her own life, just in case the radio is listening.

In a world where our conversations exist in cloud-based server centres in the Finnish wilderness, where governments can call on stored records and where a generation is growing up conditioned to share private moments on public spaces, perhaps we, too, censor ourselves; shape ourselves as if at any minute someone may tune in.

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The Rainbow Diet – based on the world renowned Mediterranean Diet – will be the focus of our Special event to celebrate International Women's Day/Festa della Donna – Rainbow Day. At Le Roof Restaurant our partner, Executive Chef Gaetano Costa, will demonstrate how ingredients are prepared and explain the cultural and anthropological aspects of the Rainbow diet together with its beneficial effects in order to avoid serious consequences on our health. And to follow, a colourful Rainbow lunch will be served.

This event, with the patronage of Associazione Beatrice ONLUS is also sponsored

by Il Molino, producer of organic olive oil.

Sun, March 6 at 12:00 Le Roof, Grand Hotel Ritz Via D. Chelini 41, Roma Price: 35 € members and guests

BOOK NOW

Domenica, 13 Marzo 2016 In occasione della Festa della Donna, quest’anno ho ideato per voi un itinerario che ci porterà a scoprire le bellezze e curiosità del Campo Marzio centrale, in un itinerario al femminile che narrerà la storia di principesse, nobildonne, sante legate a questi luoghi come Margherita d’Austria, Olimpia Pamphili, Plautilla Bricci Si apriranno poi per noi in esclusiva le porte dello storico Palazzo Patrizi, la residenza romana con vista su S. Luigi dei Francesi dei marchesi che qui abitano dal XVII secolo.

Visiteremo i saloni del piano nobile dai soffitti affrescati, celebri le Muse del Solimena, e le pareti rivestite da broccati di seta in cui la marchesa Porzia Patrizi organizzava nel Settecento le sue memorabili feste.

Il palazzo conserva una collezione d’arte la cosiddetta “Pinacoteca del Tesoriere” che vanta opere raccolte a partire dal Seicento da Mariano Patrizi, come il San Girolamo del Guercino e statue come l’Amazzone Patrizi che testimoniano la raffinata cultura dei padroni di casa.

Appuntamento: h. 10.15 Piazza Navona (davanti Palazzo Pamphili) Quota di partecipazione: socie L’altraRoma 25 euro, non socie 27 euro Comprensiva di apertura speciale Palazzo Patrizi e Pinacoteca Tesoriere, visita guidata, auricolari A seguire concluderemo con un elegante Brunch a buffet presso La.Vi a 20 euro/pax

Prenotazioni entro il 02 marzo www.laltraroma.net – laura@laltraroma.net 06 78393451 – 338 1985993

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Upcoming events March ConneXion:

at GINGER

PWA Brio

Via Borgognona 43/44, Rome

Wed, March 2, 18:30 10 â‚Ź members and guests

International Women's Day Le Roof, Grand Hotel Ritz Via D. Chelini 41, Rome

Sun, March 6, 12:00 35 â‚Ź members and guests

March Conference on Food & Nutrition Hotel Aleph Roma

Wed, March 20, 19:30

PWA in 2015-16 ConneXions 2 6 4 8

March April May June

PWA conferences Hotel Aleph Roma Via San Basilio 15 (Via Barberini)

PWA ConneXions are held at different Roman venues Stay tuned via direct email, social media and our website

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Conferences Special Events 16 March 8 March IWD 15 June Summer Party

Check out www.pwarome.org

20 April 18 May

Membership news New Members Welcome!

We would like to welcome Sarah Fraser as member who have recently joined our Association. PWA is a place that grows with each member, therefore we are looking forward to enjoying PWA together with you!

If you’d like to join, visit our website and contact MembershipDirector@pwarome.org

2015-2016 PWA Board and Team members President Valerie Baxter President@pwarome.org Secretary Edna Francis Secretary@pwarome.org Treasurer Michelle Bassanesi Treasurer@pwarome.org Programming Christine Sterpetti Programming@pwarome.org Membership Olga Plyaskina MembershipDirector@pwarome.org Corporate Member coordinator Maria Banks MembershipCorporate@pwarome.org Associate Member coordinator Nicole Giacomarra MembershipAssociate@pwarome.org Social Isabella Cattan SocialDirector@pwarome.org Social Co-Chair Adriana Tempesta SocialCoChair@pwarome.org PR & Sponsorship Christina Barbiero Sponsorship@pwarome.org PR & Sponsorship co-chair Marta Schneider PR@pwarome.org Newsletter Hanna Suni NewsletterEditor@pwarome.org Newsletter editorial consultant Lisa R Tucci NewsletterConsultant@pwarome.org Webmistress Rossana Scazzocchio Webmistress@pwarome.org Community Director Paola Devescovi Community@pwarome.org Mentoring Program Manager Maria Letizia Nesta Mentor@pwarome.org Luisa La Via Mentor MentorshipConsultant@pwarome.org Think Tank Michela Lazzè SpecialProjects@pwarome.org Think Tank Alessandra Tacconelli Thinktank@pwarome.org Media communications assistant Katia Ingegneri Media@pwarome.org Legal Advisor Caterina Flick Legal@pwarome.org

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