Dopo aver praticato medicina a Firenze e in Medio Oriente, il toscano Mazzei aveva deciso di tentare la fortuna a Londra nel 1755. Mentre lavorava lì come insegnante di italiano, gli capitó d’imbattersi in città in due giovani provenienti dalle colonie americane, tal Benjamin Franklin di Philadelphia e Thomas Jefferson dalla Virginia. Furono loro a convincerlo a trasferirsi nel Nuovo Mondo e iniziare un business di export di vino e olive toscane. Quando s’imbarcò da Livorno nel 1773 con destinazione Virginia non sapeva certo cosa sarebbe nato da quella sua avventura. Si portò con sé piante, semi e 10 contadini, e inizió a lavorare nella tenuta dell’amico Jefferson, dove piantò una vigna e un frutteto di ciliegie e albicocche. Ben presto, con la dichiarazione d’indipendenza del 1776 e lo scoppio della guerra, Jefferson gli affidò però un’altra missione: quella di acquistare armi dall'Europa e spedirle segretamente in Virginia. #italianinnovators #storieamericane #costituzione #constitution Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Perché Jefferson conosceva l’italiano? Dove nasce la sua frase “tutti gli uomini sono creati uguali”? E come mai JFK decise di riconoscere ufficialmente il suo vero autore nel 1961? Vi racconto qui l'amicizia tra il mercante livornese Filippo Mazzei e il filosofo e presidente americano Thomas Jefferson, che nacque da un incontro casuale a Londra, a cui seguì un viaggio in Virginia, dove Mazzei si dedicò alla cura del frutteto di Monticello e iniziò un business di export agricolo. Con l'inizio della guerra rivoluzionaria americana, Mazzei iniziò a importare armi nelle colonie, facendo la spola attraverso l'Atlantico, e diventò spia e confidente di Jefferson, che parlava italiano (e visiterà poi il Nord Italia nel 1787, proprio mentre redigeva il testo della Costituzione americana). Fu dalla loro corrispondenza che Jefferson mutuò la frase "all men are created equal" che diventerà poi uno dei cardini della Costituzione americana. #italianinnovators #constitution #mazzei #jefferson Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

While the power of Vibram certainly consists in the quality of its sole, its appeal lies in the cultural construction of rubber as a polyvalent concept. A few words can define its multiple meanings. Certainly grip, duration, and traction, which apply to mountain climbing, outdoor excursions, boating, and cycling. But also safety, authenticity, and performance. The sense of security and control in unknown territory. Unmediated contact with nature, as a learning experience, a journey of self-discovery, and a form of respect. And performance, as self-improvement (the outcome of quality) as well as the embodiment of a confident sense of self (whether on a mountain or on a street). #alpinism #sports #mountaineering #alps #outdoors #trekking #grip Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Vitale Bramani’s unique understanding of the relationship between the human body and natural space finds expression in three key projects that Vibram has developed over the last decades. The first, which I am sure you have seen, is the FiveFingers, a foot glove launched in 2004, which mirrors the vision that Bramani had outlined in a 1935 article for the magazine of Club Alpino Italiano when he expressed his admiration for alpine guides who climbed barefoot. The second project, the Furoshiki wrapping sole (modeled on Japanese square handkerchiefs and awarded the Compasso d’Oro in 2018) transformed the sole into an ergonomic interface, guaranteeing personal fitting and transferring Bramani’s idea of the sole as the only layer “between the Earth and you”, from the natural milieu to urban streetwear. #alpinism #sports #mountaineering #alps #outdoors #fivefingers #furoshiki #urban #mountains Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

In 1947, Bramani converted his store into a company, moved his manufacturing facility to Gallarate, and designed the brand’s new logo, which paid homage to Milan with its octagonal shape, mirroring the central vault of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele. I invite you to find Vibram’s yellow logo in all kinds of shoes today! #alpinism #sports #mountaineering #alps #outdoors #outdoor #sneakers Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Bramani’s rubber sole, which he called Carrarmato (tank), was a self-standing object. Rubber offered him not just an insulating element (which he transferred from telegraphic cables or pneumatic tires to human walking), but also a dynamic surface, allowing him to achieve unparalleled grip by way of its functional design, featuring a radial crown (which replaced metal nails) and central cross-shaped nails (which granted robustness and self-cleaning). The sole also had an aesthetic component, both in the crosses, which mirrored the floor decorations of Milan’s Galleria, and in its name – tank – which associated its qualities of stability, durability, and traction to the empowering experience of walking in unchartered lands and crossing the most dangerous slopes. #alpinism #sports #mountaineering #alps #carrarmato #sole #rubbersole Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Un’ora a nord di Philadelphia, davanti a una drogheria di Sunbury, si trova una targa: “qui dal 1805 al 1818 lavorò Lorenzo Da Ponte librettista di Mozart”. Senza che nessuno veramente se ne accorgesse in quel piccolo paesino della Pennsylvania, dietro la porta del mercato si trovava l’autore che aveva dato voce a opere immortali come Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni e Così fan tutte. Ma come ci era finito lì Da Ponte con la compagna e quattro figli? #italianinnovators #storieamericane #daponte #opera #mozart #sunbury Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Until the 19th century, climbing a mountain was an odd intellectual endeavor (like the one that once moved the poet Petrarch to ascend Mount Ventoux in 1336), or a strictly scientific activity (like the one that moved the naturalist De Saussure to commission the first climb of Mont Blanc in 1786). In the mid-19th century, the Alps became the grounds of discovery for experts, adventurers, and photographers, who formed mountaineering clubs (like the Club Alpino Italiano in 1863), organized missions to reach Alpine peaks (like the 1865 conquest of the Matterhorn by Edward Whymper), and visually charted its unbeaten sites (like the alpine photographer Vittorio Sella). By the turn of the new century, the Alpine movement had turned mountain climbing from a scientific endeavor aimed at taking measurements of air pressure and temperature, into a recreative “alpinism” as a form of self-challenge, an aesthetic experience, and, later, an international sport. #alpinism #sports #mountaineering #alps Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD) * The 1912 opening of the Grande Albergo Campo dei Fiori and the birth of Alpine tourism * A brief history of Alpinism: from Petrarch (1336) to De Saussure (1786), from 19th century explorers to the Olympics of Chamonix (1924) * Vitale Bramani's youth in Milan and his mountaineering apprenticeship * From war to fashion and sports. The transformation of Alpinism in the 1930s * The opening of Bramani's shop in Milan (ViBram) and the tragedy of Punta Rasica (1935) * The partnership with Pirelli and the creation of the Carrarmato sole (1937) * The growth of Vibram. From WWII to the K2 expedition, from Milan to Albizzate * The legacy of Vitale Bramani. Vibram's new models (FiveFingers, Furoshiki, Arctic Grip) * Design and functionality. The Vibram philosophy today #italianinnovators #vibram #outdoors #outdoor #mountaineering #alpinism #trekking #fivefingers #sports #fashion #mountains #alps Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Il librettista di Mozart, autore a Vienna di opere immortali come Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, e Cosí fan tutte, fu uno dei primi emigranti italiani negli Stati Uniti e il fondatore degli studi italiani a Columbia University. La sua storia - di prete e libertino, di poeta di corte e tutor privato, di venditore e professore - è degna di un film. La sua eredità intellettuale, che si estende dall'accademia al teatro, lo rende non solo un pioniere dell'opera in America ma anche un grande della letteratura del suo tempo. A partire dalla sua straordinaria autobiografia... Qui ne racconto solo un piccolo assaggio, per altro molto gustoso, solo come invito a conoscere un gigante della cultura italiana e americana. #italianinnovators #italianstudies #opera #mozart #dongiovanni #nozzedifigaro #cosifantutte #columbia Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Il modello di Romeyne Robert, che racconto meglio negli episodi in inglese che ho dedicato a lei e a suo figlio Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello, traduttore, eroe di guerra e mediatore culturale, rappresenta una sintesi creativa di diplomazia culturale, educazione, ed emancipazione femminile. La sua passione per l’innovazione e il suo impegno civile la rendono testimonianza pionieristica non solo di una expat americana che ha saputo reinventarsi in Italia, in condizioni molto diverse, ma anche e soprattutto esempio al femminile di una leader che ha saputo vedere l’impresa come uno spazio di educazione, crescita e libertà, sia personale e sociale. A New York come a Perugia. Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

La storia di un'espatriata americana in Italia che ha saputo costruire a Perugia un'impresa e una scuola di ricamo, che ha dato forma a un modello nuovo di emancipazione e educazione femminile agli inizi del Novecento. La sua influenza si estende anche alla Scuola di Industrie italiane (fondata a New York dall'amica Carolina Amari) e a Maria Montessori (che visitò la scuola del Pischiello di Romeyne Robert mentre scriveva il suo Metodo di pedagogia). Un esempio di virtù imprenditoriale e sociale a cui ho dedicato un episodio lungo in inglese (bit.ly/romeynerobert) e che ancora oggi è di grande ispirazione attraverso l'opera della fondazione Sorbello dedicata a lei e al figlio Uguccione Ranieri di Sorbello (bit.ly/sorbelloinnovators) #italianinnovators #sorbello #perugia #educazione #emancipazione Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD based on a lecture delivered at The College of New Jersey on March 20, 2024 * 1492. The reconquista of Granada, the death of Lorenzo de Medici, and Columbus' first voyage * 1453. The Fall of Constantinople and the search for alternative routes to the Indies * Italy's brain drain, loss of primacy, political collapse, and prolonged warfare * Humanism as an aesthetic response to crisis. The Italian Renaissance as "cosmopoiesis" * Reconstructing the 15th and 16th centuries through 10 artifacts. From #painting to #writing, from #music to #sculpture, from #architecture to #engineering * Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raffaello, Tiziano, Cellini, Giuliano da Maiano, Botticelli, Caterina de Medici, Andrea Amati, Francesco Griffo and much more #renaissance #rinascimento #umanesimo #humanism #italianrenaissance Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

With the case of Salvatore Averna – and we move here to the center of the island – we see how a liqueur, or rather an amaro (bitter), subsumed and reinvented the island’s religious tradition. Don Salvatore, a judge in his native town of Caltanissetta, was a well-respected member of the local community and a benefactor of a nearby abbey. In 1859 (the last year of the Kingdom of Sicily), the prior of the abbey entrusted him with the recipe of the convent’s herb elixir, which had been passed on from generation to generation, as token of gratitude for his generosity. Averna first began making the amaro for his guests at his home, combining herbs, roots and natural spices with aromas and fragrances of Sicilian citrus, and then, nine years later, he began to produce it for a broader audience. 1868 marks the beginning not only of his entrepreneurial journey but also of the transition from an inherited tradition to a new product. #italianinnovators #amaroaverna #sicilia #sicily Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Grazie al suo mentore Berenson, Isabella divenne un punto di riferimento per moltissimi artisti contemporanei e costruì una collezione di tutto rispetto, da Beato Angelico a Botticelli, da Tiziano a Velazquez, da Rembrandt a Sargent. Fu nel 1903 che decise di collocarla in una casa museo che fece costruire a Boston sul modello del Poldi Pezzoli di Milano. Oggi, l’Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum non è solo lo specchio del suo percorso di uscita dalla depressione e lo scrigno di tutti i suoi viaggi, ma anche la testimonianza viva di una straordinaria collezionista e filantropa che ha saputo creare un progetto culturale e storico di rilevanza immensa. Se vi capita di passare da Back Bay a Boston, passate dalla sua casa museo e lasciatevi incantare ancora dalla sua storia intrepida! #italianinnovators #isabellastewartgardner #storieamericane Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Fu la prima volta che un monarca inglese s’inchinò davanti alla bandiera americana, più di cent’anni dopo la rivoluzione. Siamo a Londra nel 1887 e William Cody per la prima volta porta il suo spettacolo, the Wild West show, oltre l’Atlantico. Il suo amico Mark Twain gli aveva suggerito di provare con l’Europa, come maniera di sanare i debiti che si era procurato con il Whisky. In America lo show aveva appena sbancato al Madison Square Garden nel 1886, ma Cody non sapeva ancora che in Europa lo avrebbe lanciato come il primo prodotto culturale della storia a dimensione di massa #italianinnovators #buffalobill #storieamericane Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Filantropa, viaggiatrice e collezionista, Isabella Stewart (Gardner da sposata) è una delle donne più affascinanti della Belle Epoque. Capace di superare enormi drammi familiari, seppe creare un percorso artistico entusiasmante grazie alla collaborazione con il critico d'arte Bernard Berenson, e memore di una visita giovanile al Museo Poldi Pezzoli di Milano, seppe ricreare la stessa visione di una casa-museo a Boston, dove costruì a Back Bay il suo Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, oggi una delle collezioni private più importanti d'America (con pezzi da Tiziano a Velazquez, da Botticelli a John Singer Sargent). #isabellastewartgardner #storieamericane #boston #backbay Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Il Wild West show di Buffalo Bill fu il primo spettacolo teatrale a dimensione globale e il primo prodotto della diplomazia culturale in Europa. William Cody, pioniere e showman, creò un formato capace di raccontare non solo la conquista del West (sulle linee dei treni dal Colorado alla California), ma anche e soprattutto uno spettacolo onnicomprensivo - fatto di storia, circo, e acrobazie - capace di impressionare la regina Vittoria e le folle dell'esposizione universale di Parigi e di ispirare tra tanti Leone XIII, Giacomo Puccini, Emilio Salgari e Filippo T. Marinetti. #italianinnovators #buffalobill #storieamericane #wildwest #wildwesthistory Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

In our contemporary world, Sicily is now recognized as a primary land of Italian winemaking, and its varietals are regularly featured in global wine reviews. What you find in a glass of Sicilian wine or spirit however is not just a distinctive or exclusive set of flavors (which certainly derive from the island’s rich and complex soil), but also, as I outlined today, a layered and polyvalent story: of foreign influence (Marsala), religious heritage (Averna), rediscovered past (Nero d’Avola), aesthetic reinvention (Donnafugata), and environmental sustainability (Amara). What a Sicilian glass reflects is ultimately the Mediterranean soul of the island, as a sophisticated and stratified crossroads of arts, trade, and legacy. #sicilia #vinisiciliani #nerodavola #valdinoto #sicily #marsala #averna Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Marquis of Rudinì served as Italy’s prime minister twice, at times of great turmoil: during the crisis of 1891, which led to the one and only rupture of diplomatic ties between Italy and the United States, after the lynching of New Orleans, and during the crisis of 1898, which followed the Spanish American war and led to the military repression of Milan’s riots against the rising price of wheat. In our context, a lesser-known aspect of the Marquis is his work as wine innovator. Di Rudinì’s vision is at the base of the Val di Noto wine business, as his investments in his own estate of Pachino, his financial support for the first refrigerated vinification plant near Marzamemi, and his construction of a direct way to transfer wines from the wineries to ships directed to Genoa and Livorno not only improved the quality of Nero d’Avola, but also legitimized it as an independent product. #sicilia #vinisiciliani #nerodavola #valdinoto #sicily Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD) based on an academic lecture delivered at the Università di Palermo on June 13, 2024 * The Mediterranean soul of Sicilian #wines and #spirits. 5 entrepreneurial stories * The history of Marsala. From British businessmen (Woodhouse, Ingham) to Sicilian entrepreneurs (Vincenzo Florio Sr. and the golden age of Palermo) * The convent's bitter. The foundation & success of Amaro Averna (from Caltanissetta to the world) * From blending wine to independent grape. The rediscovery of Nero d'Avola and the success of Val di Noto (from Marchese di Rudinì to the present) * The creation of Sicilian #winemaking. Giacomo Rallo and Donnafugata * Edoardo Strano's Amara liqueur and the contemporary reinvention of the Sicilian amaro * Sicilian #wine as a crossroads of traditions, influences, and tastes #sicily #sicilia #sicilianwine #mediterranean #sicilianentrepreneurship Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

From Antonio Stradivari to Paolo Fazioli, from the harmonic forests of Val di Fiemme to the concert halls of the world, pianos embody the ultimate sign of Italian ingenuity, as a complex weaving of mechanics and art, a dynamic site of perennial adjustment, and a platform of real innovation, which is never achieved once and for all, but always need to happen again, as in a mind boggling performance. #fazioli #pianos #pianoforte #italianinnovators #grandpiano Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

In addition to models of different sizes, the company also acquired visibility for its special models: the elegant Walnut Strauss (paying tribute to 19th century design), the Malachite (with its precious intarsia of wood and stones), the Origami Fairmont (commissioned by the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel of Vancouver in honor of origami maestro Joseph Wu), the Ebony Black and White, the gold plated Foglia d’oro, and my absolute favorite – on my ideal wish list of course! – the Marco Polo, a red F308 celebrating the ties of Venice and China, or nearby Sacile and the Chinese origins of the commissioning client, by its reference to the Venetian explorer who opened the silk route, and the reproduction of a Canaletto painting inside the lid. #fazioli #pianos #pianoforte #italianinnovators #grandpiano #f308 #faziolipianos Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Fazioli was born in 1944 in Forte Bravetta, not far from where Fr. Giuseppe Morosini was killed during the Nazi occupation of Rome (you might recall him from Rossellini’s movie Rome Open City). Paolo, the youngest of six children, lost his mother when he was 10, and, on the advice of his older brother’s wife, started taking piano lessons to overcome his grief. As he played the vertical piano at his teacher’s house, he fell in love with it (despite what he later called its horrible sound), and managed to convince his father to make him one to practice on, by cutting a wood sheet and drawing a keyboard on it. That was his first piano! It was the start of a passion which would lead him to a piano degree from the Conservatory of Pesaro, under the guidance of Sergio Cafaro (another student of Ennio Morricone’s maestro Goffredo Petrassi). #fazioli #pianos #pianoforte #italianinnovators #grandpiano Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

For many centuries people asked what the secret of Stradivari violins was, and many hypotheses have been proposed to explain how the 17th century master luthier from Cremona achieved his unbeatable sound. If you drive to the Val di Fiemme, in the Dolomite region, you might find the most reliable answer. The hidden quality of his finest instruments lies in their harmonic wood, which was and is still sourced from the spruce trees of Paneveggio, in the so-called violin forest. The story of Paolo Fazioli, the Stradivari of our time, starts here too, as in the early 1980s he relocated to the area from his native Rome to start his new entrepreneurial venture and pursue his dream to manufacture pianos. #stradivarius #italianinnovators #fazioli #pianosolo Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Cristofori's pianoforte, as the instrument would come to be called, gradually emerged throughout the 18th century, until Christmas eve of 1781, when a particular event skyrocketed its popularity in European courts, as Austrian Emperor Joseph II challenged the Roman pianist Muzio Clementi and 25-year-old prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a piano contest at his royal palace. The duel officially ended in a draw, even though the emperor sympathized for his local hero, ratifying both the musicians’ fame and the legitimacy of the new instrument. Mozart nobilitated the piano by writing numerous concertos for it. Clementi travelled to London later in life and there began assembling and selling pianos. Clementi’s mix of artistry and mechanics, and his travels from Rome to the North, certainly prefigure Fazioli’s similar journey between music and entrepreneurship. #fazioli #pianos #pianoforte #italianinnovators #grandpiano #mozart #clementi Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD) * The forest of violins. The acoustic wood of Val di Fiemme * The Stradivari of pianos. How Fazioli fell in love with the instrument * A dual degree in #piano & #engineering and the aesthetic/mechanical pursuit of the perfect sound * Fazioli's roman musical heritage. From Clementi to Petrassi, from Morricone to Cafaro * The Italian instrument. How Bartolomeo Cristofori created the first piano in 1709 and how the Mozart-Clementi duel fueled the rise of piano in 19th-century Europe * The Fazioli philosophy. Creating individually crafted models for performance * The debut of the gran coda F308 in Carnegie Hall and the design of unique models: from the Origami Fairmont to the Marco Polo * The perfection of patience in the creation of enchanted instruments #italianinnovators #pianos #fazioli #pianoforte #stradivari #strad #carnegiehall #sound #piano Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Come trasformare quel calore in risorsa fu la sua sfida. O meglio, per lei, una ragione di vita. Durante la guerra, fu lei a inventare il primo desalinizzatore solare, capace di distillare acqua per i soldati americani al fronte, una tecnologia di condensazione che è ancora oggi in uso nelle Virgin Islands. Dopo la guerra, fu lei a guidare il progetto della Dover Sun House, a Dover, Massachussetts, la prima abitazione riscaldata grazie alla trasformazione del calore solare. Il progetto fu celebrato dalla rivista Popular Science nel 1948 come la scoperta più influente del suo tempo, ma l’idea non ebbe immediato riscontro, almeno fino a qualche decennio più tardi, nel 1981, quando, in collaborazione con il Dipartimento americano dell’Energia, presentò la Carlisle House, nell’omonima città del Massachusetts, la prima casa interamente alimentata a energia solare. #mariatelkes #pannellisolari #energiasolare Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

La storia della "Regina del Sole" che disegnò e progettò le prime case a riscaldamento solare (a Dover e poi a Carlisle, in Massachusetts), ponendo le basi per lo sviluppo dei pannelli e dell'energia solare. Dall'Ungheria agli Stati Uniti, dal suo approdo a Cleveland al suo lavoro all'MIT di Boston, Maria Telkes incarna perfettamente "l'attitudine dell'emigrante" come spinta inesausta a innovare, come energia di creazione, e come forza di elaborazione di progetti a lungo termine. #pannellisolari #energiasolare #innovators #italianinnovators #storieamericane #donne #donnescienziate Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Se vi capita di visitare Washington, non perdetevi una visita al Congresso, il cuore pulsante della democrazia americana. Sono sicuro che riconoscerete la sua cupola dall’esterno, ma siete mai stati dentro? Vi invito allora a entrare nelle ali del Congresso, a esplorare la storia americana tra i suoi corridoi e soprattutto a guardare in alto al grande ciclo di affreschi dentro la cupola. Passatemi il paragone, ma un po’ come il ciclo di Correggio nella cattedrale di Parma, anche qui vi troverete davanti a un’apoteosi, o una salita verso il cielo, osservata dal basso e ma in questo caso non si tratta dell’ascesa di Maria o dei santi ma di quella verso la gloria immortale del primo presidente americano George Washington. Ecco, non vi stupisca guardandola che la mano dietro questo capolavoro sia di uno dei più grandi pittori italiani dell’Ottocento: Costantino Brumidi. #congress #congresso #brumidi #washington #storieamericane Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

La mano dietro l'apoteosi di Washington, il ciclo pittorico all'interno della cupola del Congresso degli Stati Uniti. Nato e cresciuto a Roma, Brumidi (1805-1880) fu costretto a fuggire in America dopo la caduta della Repubblica romana nel 1849, e dal suo arrivo a New York nel 1852 iniziò un fecondo percorso artistico che lo portò ad affrescare chiese e monumenti nel suo nuovo paese, dando forma visiva all'esperimento americano nel cuore stesso della sua #democrazia. #congresso #congress #dc #washington #brumidi #pittoriitaliani #italianinnovators #storieamericane Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Sua moglie aveva appena partorito e ora Danny camminava nel gelo di Detroit in cerca di idee per tirar su qualche soldo, rovistando tra le tasche gli ultimi 7 dollari che gli erano rimasti. Anche i suoi genitori avevano lasciato tutto quando erano partiti dal Libano, rimuginava tra sé, ma ora, nella depressione di quegli anni Trenta, non si vedeva più tanta di quella strada che loro avevano immaginato per lui. Neppure cambiare il suo nome da Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz a Danny Thomas gli era valso alcun interesse da parte del mondo dello spettacolo, che da sempre lo aveva attratto, e ora si ritrovava solo per strada, senza uno straccio di lavoro. Entrò senza speranza in una chiesa vicino all’ospedale, forse solo per riscaldarsi un po’, e vi ci trovò dentro l’immagine del più improbabile dei santi, San Giuda Taddeo, l’apostolo dal nome sfortunato, e per questo divenuto patrono delle cause impossibili. #stjudes #childrenshospital #italianinnovators Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

La promessa disperata di un attore sull'orlo del fallimento e la nascita apparentemente impossibile di una delle più straordinarie storie di successo artistico e sociale. Il St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, una delle istituzioni americane più prestigiose per la ricerca pediatrica e la cura delle malattie impossibili nasce dall’iniziativa di Danny Thomas, icona della televisione americana negli anni Cinquanta e Sessanta. L’ospedale pediatrico nasce da una storia di grande fede, speranza, e amore, e dalla memoria di un inizio donato. Ecco la storia del libanese americano Amos Muzyad Yakhoob Kairouz, in arte Danny Thomas, creatore del Danny Thomas Show e fondatore di #stjudes #dannythomas #dannythomasshow #stjudes #italianinnovators #childrenshospital Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Naples, June 26, 1914. A young man, Eugenio Marinella, rolls up the shutter of his new shop for the first time. He had just walked toward the small store along the seafront promenade and his eyes were filled with the glaring light of dawn, but his heart was still heavy, as he pondered the events that had shaken the city two weeks prior, when a group of anarchists had assaulted the train station not far from there, in reaction to the police killing three workers. As he was embarking now upon his new entrepreneurial venture, he didn’t know that three days after his grand opening, another shocking event would snarl his original plans, as the killing of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 29 would lead Europe into the great war—a conflict that seemed so distant at first, but that would eventually hit Naples directly four years later #italianinnovators #napoletani #napoletanità #marinella #cravatte #dolcevita #italianstyle Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

The necktie is a well-known fashion accessory, elevating one’s look or completing formal attire. Its origin is nonetheless related to war, as ties represented functional and decorative items in military uniforms. Roman soldiers wore pieces of cloth around the neck, as seen in the sculptures on Trajan’s Column in Rome, which celebrates the emperor’s conquest of Dacia in the 2nd century AD. Most scholars however trace the origins of neckties to the Thirty Years War, which shook Europe in the first half of the 17th century, and relate their diffusion to the French fascination with the uniform of mercenary soldiers from Croatia, featuring long cloaks, fur hats, and silk scarves tied around the neck. The French identified the Croats by their neck foulard, as the Croatian word for Croat hravati or its Serbian equivalent hravat became the French word cravat. #italianinnovators #napoletani #napoletanità #marinella #cravatte #dolcevita #italianstyle Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Marinella’s language of livelihood, irony, and depth is the quintessence of Made in Naples. Its approach to elegance can be defined accordingly in relation to three key traits: authenticity (the representation of normality without indulging in vanity), wholeness (a coherent atmosphere making the obvious exceptional and the hidden visible), and empowerment (the tailoring of formality beyond rigidity, and of respectability through irreplicable forms). The Marinella style reflects the essence of Naples, which similarly begs us to “look twice”, as in the meaning of the word “respect”. As a tie hides meanings in its components and makes manifest a wholesome sense of “life” as warmth, beauty, and the flaws that make us human, so does the city itself, which displays its life without affectation, and constantly hides and reveals an unpredictable charm #italianinnovators #napoletani #napoletanità #marinella #cravatte #dolcevita #italianstyle Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

From its early days to the present, Marinella’s success ultimately lies in a particular craft and aesthetics of its trademark product, the tie. But what makes Marinella ties so special? You might ask. Or perhaps: What does a Marinella tie say? To explore these questions, I will first examine the historical meaning of ties and then outline the added value of Made in Naples. #italianinnovators #napoletani #napoletanità #marinella #cravatte #dolcevita #italianstyle Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

A presentation by Luca Cottini, PhD * Naples, June 26, 1914. The opening of the Marinella store on the Riviera di Chiaia (3 days before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the outbreak of war). * A changing urban context: the 19th century creation of the lungomare of Via Caracciolo and the transition from demolitions to renovations. * The cultural and entrepreneurial life of Naples at the turn of the 20th century. Misery and nobility, depth and openness, vain ambitions and cosmopolitism. * Four generations in #business. From Eugenio to Luigi, Maurizio, and Alessandro. * A century-long tradition of craftsmanship, #entrepreneurship and #excellence. The Marinella #brand from the Italian #dolcevita to a contemporary commitment to #sustainability. * The hidden language of #ties. A brief history of #neckties from Louis XIV to the present * What does Naples add to a tie? The cultural aesthetics of Marinella ties. * A #fashion masterpiece and a #storytelling object. The literary backdrop and secret warmth of Naples behind a thin silk strip. #innovators #napoli #naples #madeinnaples #necktie #marinella #cravatta #napoletanità #napoletani Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Il figlio di emigrati italiani che inventò un nuovo modo di concedere prestiti e salvò la città di San Francisco dopo il terremoto del 1906. Dalla sua visione della #banca come agenzia di #trust e dalla sua prima creazione Bank of Italy nasce Bank of America, l'istituzione finanziaria più importante degli Stati Uniti, e prendono vita investimenti a lungo termine, come il Golden Gate e il technicolor. #bankofamerica #bankofitaly #trust #banca #sistemabancario #italianinnovators #finanza #bofa Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

A 31 anni, venduto il business e la sua parte di eredità e si trovò in pensione, con un ricco conto in tasca. Fu in quegli anni che Amadeo ebbe la sua intuizione originaria, di concedere prestiti a immigranti che non potevano dimostrare la loro credibilità. Al tempo le banche li concedevano solo ai ricchi. Il modello di Amadeo era diverso. Invece di condizioni pregresse il cardine principale per fare prestiti era il trust, la fiducia personale. Fu cosí che nel 1904 aprì a San Francisco la Bank of Italy, per supportare connazionali in cerca di un’opportunità. Il suo momento arrivò due anni dopo, il 18 aprile del 1906, quando il terremoto di San Francisco distrusse la città. Giannini fu l’unico a fare prestiti senza richiedere immediate garanzie economiche, sulla base di una stretta di mano. Per chi sapeva che voleva ricostruire. Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Tutto quello che poteva andare male è andato male, eppure niente avrebbe potuto essere così perfetto come la vita di Elizabeth Ann Bailey. Nata a New York due anni prima della rivoluzione da una famiglia di tradizione episcopale, a tre anni si trovò orfana di madre e poco più avanti rifiutata dalla seconda moglie del padre, il primo professore di anatomia a Columbia. A 19 anni Elizabeth trovò pace e un ottimo marito in William Magee Seton, commerciante newyorkese e il primo a importare in America uno Stradivari. I due ebbero 5 figli e vissero anni di vera felicità nella loro casa di New York, poco lontano da Wall Street, grazie alla sua attività commerciale di import/export transatlantico. Finché non cambiò il vento e agli affari in declino si aggiunge la tubercolosi. Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

La prima santa americana. Figlia della rivoluzione americana, orfana, moglie e madre di cinque figli, trasformò la morte del marito durante un viaggio in Italia, a Livorno, in punto di partenza di un cammino straordinario che la portò alla conversione, alla creazione di una scuola, alla fondazione di un ordine religioso, e alla santità. #santi #santità #santa #seton #italianinnovators Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

Quando il re Gustavo di Svezia lo vide salire sul palco per la cerimonia di premiazione, dopo aver vinto la medaglia d’oro nel decathlon alle olimpiadi di Stoccolma del 1912, lo accolse con queste parole: “lei, signore, è il più grande atleta del mondo” alle quali si dice che Jim rispose solo “thanks, king” (“grazie, re”). Di uno dei più grandi sportivi statunitensi, votato nel 1999 come il terzo più grande atleta americano di sempre dopo Babe Ruth e Michael Jordan, vengono citate spesso queste parole, ma la storia di Jim Thorpe è davvero degna di un film, come quello che Hollywood gli dedicò nel 1951, Jim-Thorpe-All American, in cui Burt Lancaster recitò la sua parte Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

Oltre il pregiudizio razziale. Dalla medaglia nel decathlon alle Olimpiadi di Stoccolma del 1912 alla sua carriera nel football, baseball, e basketball; dal ruolo di primo presidente della NFL alla carriera nel cinema, la vita di Jim Thorpe è un'avventura dai mille risvolti. Il primo atleta nativo americano ad avere successo nello sport e nella vita sociale americana, Jim Thorpe è diventato anche un'icona della lotta contro il pregiudizio razziale e attrazione principale di un paese della Pennsylvania dell'Est che ha preso il suo nome, diventando oggi una delle destinazioni più visitate dei monti Poconos. #jimthorpe #nfl #olimpiadi #stoccolma #poconos #sportamericano #storieamericane Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

A presentation by Luca Cottini (PhD) based on an academic lecture delivered at Chapman University on February 21, 2024 * Where is a #story found? Where is a story born? Four archetypes of #storytelling: breathing (Genesis), conflict (Iliad), journeying (Odyssey), and fire (Divine Comedy) * What does a story do? The pursuit of origin, eternity, and genuine character * What does a story do for a #business? Visual #design (ads and logos) and commercial narrations * Storytelling in the Italian industrial tradition: from Carosello to mini-movies (Barilla, Prada, Campari, Dolce & Gabbana) * Authorial commercials: Fellini, Tornatore & Morricone, Wes Anderson, Sorrentino * Four literary tropes behind Italian narrative #advertising: Cellini (Perseus), Boito (Senso), Pirandello (La giara), Tomasi di Lampedusa (La sirena) * Cultural #heritage as an added #value and a point of distinction for Italian #brands * Italian story-branding and the creation of authentic, "reflective" and "speaking" products Here are the links to the long commercials I did not include in the presentation: Barilla (The origins of Carbonara) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyuGzWUX1GQ Prada (Castello Cavalcanti) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b87B7zyucgI Campari (Killer in Red) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0ARWLpjnSA Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024

La storia di Josephine Garis, o da sposata, Josephine Cochrane è una storia di innovazione e riscatto, di ingegno e coraggio. Per rimediare ai debiti, tornò a Shelbyville dove si mise a lavorare a una macchina che potesse dare un sollievo a cameriere e casalinghe nel lavare i piatti, e con l’aiuto di un meccanico locale, George Butters, brevettò nel 1885 la prima lavastoviglie. La novità della macchina stava non solo nel suo disegno - una ruota movente dove erano collocati i piatti - ma anche e soprattutto nell’idea di utilizzare la pressione dell’acqua come agente principale per la loro pulizia. La sua invenzione non ricevette molta attenzione all’inizio, per il suo prezzo, per la difficoltà di reperire attacchi compatibili nelle case, e soprattutto per la resistenza sociale di fronte a una donna imprenditrice. Il suo prodotto però fece il boom nella vita civile, proprio quando lo riportò a Chicago, in occasione della grande esposizione colombiana del 1893 Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project.

La #donna che disegnò la prima macchina per lavare i piatti automaticamente. Dalle prime macchine del 1885 nella sua casa in Illinois al successo della sua lavastoviglie alla grande esposizione di Chicago del 1893, la storia di Josephine Cochrane è una storia di riscatto e creatività, di iniziativa e coraggio, di femminilità e imprenditorialità. Come una vedova sommersa dai debiti del marito ha creato un percorso straordinario di emancipazione e ha costruito con la #dishwaher una delle #innovazioni più significative della nostra modernità. #lavastoviglie #donneimprenditrici #imprenditoriafemminile #geniofemminile Thanks for watching. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, make sure to leave a comment here below and subscribe to this YouTube channel as a way to enrich this conversation and receive notification of new episodes. Also, don’t forget to visit the official webpage of the show at www.italianinnovators.com for more information about this project. All rights reserved | © Italian Innovators 2024