ITALY National Flag
National Logo On the 5th of May 1948 the republican Italy was awarded its emblem. The emblem of the Italian Republic is characterised by three elements: the star, the cog-wheel, and olive and oak branches. The olive branch symbolises the nation’s will for peace. The oak branch embodies the strength and the dignity of the Italian people. Moreover, both plants are among the most typical of Italy’s forest species. The steel cogwheel symbolises work and represents the first article of the Constitutional Charter: “Italy is a Democratic Republic, founded on work”. The star is one of the most ancient emblems of Italian iconography and it has always been associated with the personification of Italy, crowning its head with its bright shine.
COMPOSER
Giuseppe Verdi (9 or 10 October 1813– 27 January
1901)
was
an
Italian opera composer. He was born near Busseto to a provincial moderate developed
family means, a
of and
musical
education with the help of a local patron. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera scene after the era of Gioacchino Rossini, Gaetano Donizetti e Vincenzo Bellini, whose works significantly influenced him. By his 30s, he had become one of the preminent opera composers in history. His operas remain extremely popular, especially the three peaks of his 'middle period': Rigoletto (1851), Il trovatore (1853) and La traviata (1853), and the 2013 bicentenary of his birth was widely celebrated in broadcasts and performances. Aida
TYPICAL REGIONAL MUSIC The Night of Tarantula is focused on Pizzica, a popular folk genre in Apulia, and takes place
in
various municipalities in the province of Lecce
and the GrecĂŹa
Salentina,
especially
in
Melpignano. It gives great importance to the folk music tradition
of
Taranta
and
Pizzica. The Festival tours around Salento, normally culminating in a gran finale concert in Melpignano in August, which lasts until late at night. It has been attended
by
an
average of 120,000 spectators. Every year it appoints a new Taranta music, typical Salento (Lecce) music
NATIONAL INSTRUMENT Violino The violin in its present
form
emerged in early 16th-century northern To
this
Italy. day,
instruments from the so-called Golden Age of violin making, especially those made by Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù and Montagnana are the most sought-after instruments by both collectors and performers. The current record amount paid for a Stradivari violin is £9.8 million (US$15.9 million). A Cremona si trova, dal 1974, la Scuola Internazionale di Liuteria “Antonio Stradivari”. L’arpa di Viggiano In provincia di Potenza
si
scopre il fulcro di una tradizione di
grande
dell'Arpa strumento
spessore, Popolare che,
in
quella Italiana, passato,
rappresentò per gli abitanti una fonte di sostentamento nonché un riscatto sociale in quanto fu la via d'uscita dalla miseria, la chiave di volta che li portò a viaggiare in tutto il mondo alla ricerca di fortuna. LE ZAMPOGNE DI SCAPOLI A Scapoli la
zampogna
rappresenta
l'emblema della storia e della cultura molisana, una tradizione da scoprire presso il Museo Internazionale della Zampogna "Pasquale Vecchione" al cui interno si possono ammirare zampogne, ciaramelle e cornamuse locali, italiane e straniere, oltre a una sala insonorizzata per l'accordatura delle zampogne e alla riproduzione di un'antica bottega artigiana.
FAMOUS ARTIST
Zucchero Adelmo Fornaciari (born 25 September 1955), more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero, is an Italian singer-songwriter and musician, with an Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. His stage name, Zucchero, is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teacher used to call him. His music is largely inspired by gospel, soul, blues and rock music, and alternates between Italian ballads and more rhythmic R&B-boogie-like pieces. He is credited as the "father of Italian blues", introducing blues to the big stage in Italy. He is one of the few European blues artists who still enjoy great international success.
Luciano Pavarotti (2 October 1935 – 6 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who also crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, gaining worldwide fame for the quality of his tone, and eventually established himself as one of the finest tenors of the 20th century, achieving the honorific title The King Of High C's.
Miserere - Luciano Pavarotti and Zucchero