Italian Film Festival

March is the best month of the year for lovers of Italian cinema in Scotland! The Italian Film Festival 2014 kicks off on March 7. Curated by Allan Hunter and Richard Mowe and partnered by principal funder the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Edimburgo, as well as supporters Missoni Hotel, Edinburgh, Valvona & Crolla, Vin Caffè and Fratelli Sarti, Glasgow, the Festival join forces for the first time this year, with Istituto Luce Cinecittà’s promotional department in Rome and their London showcase, Cinema Made in Italy.

The 2014 edition highlights an exciting and diverse line-up of contemporary and classic Italian cinema, including hilarious comedies, engaging dramas, nail-biting thrillers and landmark classics from award-winning directors and actors, many of whom such as Giuseppe Tornatore, Paolo Genovese, Roberto Andò, and Daniele Luchetti may be familiar from previous editions.

One of this year’s many highlights is a special focus on Federico Fellini with an acclaimed documentary by friend and soul-mate Ettore Scola including rare footage and amazing fantasy sequences as well as special screenings of a restored copy of his classic guide to the Eternal City, Roma.

So whether you’re in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen or or Kirkcaldy, you can join the celebration!

The full list of films and timings is here

Festa della Terza Età

The Festa della Terza Età - the annual lunch for senior members and friends of the Scots-Italian community returns this year on Sunday 16th March at Fratelli Sarti, Renfield Street.

The four-course meal will take place from 1-5pm. The menu for the event is as follows:

This is always a popular event so secure your place ASAP by completing the application form. The cost will be £15 per person and cheques should be made payable to "CoCAIS".

Completed forms and payment should be returned to Paul Verrico at Cosmo Ceramics, 515 Lawmoor Street, Dixons Blaze Industrial Estate, Glasgow, G5 0TT.

New Sponsors

Welcome to our new website sponsors Inkdesign Architecture - a contemporary, forward thinking architectural design practice based in Glasgow.

Established since May 2000, they are committed to providing a creative, efficient and professional service for clients. They have a pragmatic view towards budget and timescales while maintaining a keen sense of sustainability.
Clients range from large internationals, to bespoke designers, to private individuals throughout the UK and beyond.

Click here to visit their website and find out more.

Scottish Italian Awards

We are delighted to welcome as sponsors also the Scottish Italian Awards who once more, this year, will be running a nationwide search to find the top Italian company in a wide range of categories.

More details later in the year, bit in the meantime check out the website (or click on the logo above) to find out about the event.

The Story of a Scottish-Italian family

A series of photographs tracing the story of a fascinating Scottish-Italian family is now on show at Hillhead Library. Linked to this exhibition is In an Occupied Land, an exhibition of art by Antonio Pacitti in Glasgow University Memorial Chapel which has been featured on BBC Scotland television news and on BBC radio. The exhibitions run until 28 March, so there is still plenty of time to view both.

Diane Pacitti, the widow of the artist, will be giving a talk about Antonio Pacitti and the dramatic story of his family on Tuesday 25 March. So if you would like to learn more about the people in the photo sequence at Hillhead Library, or if you are interested in the Glasgow of the 1930’s and the Second World War, do come to this free lecture. Tuesday 25 March 6:45 - 7:45 pm at Hillhead Library, Byres Road, Glasgow

New Scots Italian Book

"DEVIL'S BEND Part III" now available. Glasgow author Lino Coia has published the final part of his successful trilogy Devil’s Bend. He writes: “My feedback from the first two parts indicated a certain
amount of presumption on the part of the readers, in the form of a persistent question - namely, ‘Have the stories been based on personal experience?’ The answer is an unequivocal ‘No!’ With a hand on my heart, I can say that I have never been unfaithful, have never killed anybody (nor ever handled a gun), have never had dealings with drugs, have never been associated with unlawful activities. What I am guilty of is rampant imagination and awareness of what is going on around me! I have decided to end the saga with a final solution for the generation, with my personal ideas about repentance and retribution.”

Available within UK at special price £7.50 inc. p&p. - Lino Coia, address: 10 Carment Drive, Glasgow G41 3PP. Tel: (0141) 632 6663
Mobile: 07522 955002

New Funded Italian Classses

After Easter Glasgow University has a limited number of 6 week revision courses in French, Italian, Spanish and Turkish
Towards the end of May they’ll also be offering some full 40 hour courses in Italian and Spanish and running taster events in Irish and Scottish Gaelic. Full details of all these courses here.

We are also pleased to advise you about new funding opportunities for part-time study from September. The Students Awards Agency for Scotland may be able to provide you with a part-time
grant to support your studies. You will have to take courses totalling at least 30 credits and be earning less than £25,000. The good news is that you can obtain funding even if you already have a degree. Please check their website for more detail.

Italian Property Rules

Recently changes have come into force which affect those with property in Italy, especially when it comes to buying and selling. Lawyer Mirella Marchini of Young and Partners has written a short explanatory article about the changes and how they affect you. To read it click here.

End of the Road for a Glasgow Institution

If you haven't heard already, Dino's is closing on Sunday 16th of March. Alfredo Crolla’s restaurant has been open on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow since 1966. Mrs Cristina Crolla has also
worked there most days.

All at Dino’s wish to say a big thank you to all their customers and friends who have shown their support over the years.

So come in and enjoy, bring your parents and grandparents who have visited for so many years and enjoy Dino's for the last time!

Paolo Nutini at Sanremo

This year’s Sanremo Song Festival saw a historic moment in the history of Italian Scotland with the first ever appearance by a member of the community - Paolo Nutini. The Paisley-born singer performed Lucio Dalla’s classic Caruso in front of the packed Ariston Theatre and tens
of millions of Italians following the Festival live on TV. Here is the magic moment:

Italian Play in Edinburgh

Written in 1967, just before the watershed year of student revolt, La Segretaria is Natalia Ginzburg’s fourth play. Even more clearly than in the previous ones, it deals with the state of the ‘new’ Italian family, its few strengths and many weaknesses. “Gone are the days when families were closed shells” laments the only mother in the play, and gone are also the days of proper jobs, understandable duties and distinct pecking orders.

While most Italian playwrights are first and foremost great actors and directors, Ginzburg was already a well-known novelist when she started to write for the theatre in 1965. Her plays were composed for the actresses who would interpret the leading role.

Ginzburg’s plays are still performed in Italy and abroad, with Luchino Visconti and Lawrence Olivier amongst the earliest directors. Their original and witty use of language fosters a disenchanted
reflection on group and individual contradictions and vulnerability.

Organized by Luana Babini & Mara Mari Kirkwood (Edinburgh University). In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute, Edinburgh. Tickets : £6. To reserve email: italianplay14@gmail.com

Performed in Italian and English by students at Edinburgh University

Date: Thursday, March 06, 2014 - Friday, March 07, 2014. Time: 7.30pm.
Venue: Adam House Theatre, 3 Chambers Street, Edinburgh.

New Italian Government

In case you hadn't noticed, Italy has a new government and a new Prime Minister - the youthful Matteo Renzi, the Mayor of Florence. This link shows his new cabinet - 50 per cent of the new Ministers are women. A new start for Italian politics?

ItalianScotland on Social Media

In the era of Facebook and Twitter it makes sense to keep in touch via social media. Our Facebook page is updated almost daily with news and events or interest to members and friends of the Scots Italian Community. Just look up ItalianScotland on Facebook and click “like”.

We are now into the third year of our Facebook presence. It has just under 1000 signed up followers and reaches a different audience to the newsletter recipients - much younger, less likely to be involved in formal associations. One recent post reached 6000 people in less than
24 hours! Our Facebook page engagement activity in January 2014 has been 33,000, up from 9000 for the same period last year... more than 200 per cent increase, which shows the importance of us using social media to communicate.

Remember to follow us also on Twitter at @ItalianScotland