Members of Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement have been elected as mayors in three towns and one major city in Italy.

In Italian terms, Grillo’s four new mayors are so young, many Italians will regard them as being little more than teenagers.  Italians stop being considered teenagers when they reach 50 or so.

Italy has needed new faces in politics for several decades, and now, thanks to the activities of Beppe Grillo, it has got some.

Just who are Beppe Grillo’s new “teenage” mayors?

Here is a little background information on them for you and on the towns and city in Italy they are now running.

The New Mayor of Parma

The New Mayor of Parma Federico Pizzarotti

Federico Pizzarotti – 39 years old and married.  Pizzarotti is a project manager who works in the IT section of a bank in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy.

Parma has a population of around 190,000 and the city has got itself into debt to the tune of around €600 million.  Pizzarotti has his work cut out for him.

The New Mayor of Mira

Alvise Maniero is a 26 year old political science student.

Mira has a population of about 39,000.

The New Mayor of Comacchio

Marco Fabbri, 29, is a political science graduate who earned his degree at the Universty of Bologna.  He currently works in local government in his area as an instructor to local businesses and tourism operators.

Comacchio is a town in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy with a population of just over 23,000.

The New Mayor of Sarego

Roberto Castiglion, 32, is married with two children.  He has a degree in IT engineering and works as a project manager in a software development section of Enel, an major Italian utilities company.

Sarego has a population of around 6,000.

Down to Earth People

Having read their profiles on their campaign websites, the impression I got is that they are down to earth people.  What they have in common, like all Five Star Movement members, is that each and every one of them is heartily sick of the messy political state of Italy and that they all want to work to make Italy function.

Are The “Teenagers” Up to the Jobs?

This is the question many Italians have been asking.  The fear is that Grillo’s candidates will not be capable of running towns and cities, let alone the whole Boot.  Well, on the basis of what I know about their backgrounds, two are most probably up to the job, seeing as both are project managers.

Prior to working in local government, the new mayor of Comacchio, Fabbri, helped his parents run the family business, so, depending on what he did, he may well be able to manage his town and run it rather well.

A question mark hangs over the 26 year old Maniero, but he obviously managed to convince voters that he was the better man for the job than the other more experienced candidates.

As to the question of the youth of these new mayors, Italians may have heard of one Mark Zuckerberg who runs a business known as Facebook.  Multi-billionaire Zukerberg is 28 years old.

In view of the mess Italy is in politically, giving Grillo’s people a chance is probably worthwhile.  If they do well, one of them may even end up becoming a future prime minister of Italy.  Now, there’s a thought.

Time, as ever, will tell.  It is good to see some new faces, though.  Good luck to each of them.

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Since he passed away, his studio has been kept almost exactly as he left it.  Original prototypes made from objects found in his studio sit alongside many sketches and development ideas.  There is also a small collection of his work including the ‘Selene’ chair, and a couple of my favourite lighting pieces.

These are 
Magistretti’s ‘Eclisse’ lamps:

The Eclisse Lamp

And this is 
Magistretti’s ‘O Luce’:

OLuce

Here is 
Magistretti’s Selene chair:

Magistretti's Selene chair

Though Magistretti’s studio is normally only viewable by appointment, it was open for the whole of Milan’s Design Week offering visitors an insight into the hive of his creativity.  If you missed Milan’s Design Week, through the Fondazione Vico Magistretti, you can arrange design and architecture tours which will allow you to view examples of his architectural endeavours which lie all over Milan and you can also visit showrooms displaying many examples of his work.

Magistretti's Studio

From Architecture to Design

Magistretti graduated in architecture from Milan’s Politecnico in 1945 and initially worked on urban planning projects which shaped Milan’s post-war urban landscapes and led to the creation of the experimental QT8 and San Felice residential areas, both of which were to become models for further urban development in Milan and surrounding areas.

In the late 1950’s Magistretti began designing furniture and lamps, and was one of the leaders of post-war Italian design.  Magistretti experimented with plastic and other new materials to produce many design classics which of which are still made today.

An Award Winning Ground Breaker

His work was often ground breaking, offering something different from standard mass produced products and his ability led to him winning many awards including the Compasso d’Oro and Gold Medals at the Triennale.

Not only was Magistretti a prolific designer, he was also generous with his time, encouraging young designers as well as teaching at the Domus Academy and later at the Royal College of Arts for nearly 20 years.  His willingness to explore and experiment brought him to the attention of major companies.  Magistretti built life long, productive, relationships with many companies and especially with Cassina, for whom he designed simple yet stylish pieces.

I find the variety his work exhibits fascinating.  He was not a formally trained designer, which is probably why his approach was different and might explain why he was always so keen to explore his limits and use such a wide variety of materials.

You can learn more about Magistretti at the Vico Magistretti Foundation

Feel free to tell us about your favourite Magistretti pieces by leaving a comment below.

About Paolo Feroleto

Paolo Feroleto

Designer of the ItalyChronicles.com logo, Paolo Feroleto Italy Chronicles’ resident design hound who sniffs out all things relating to Italian design, as well as hunting down the odd designer for interviews. He writes about the best of what he finds here on ItalyChronicles.com.

A designer of Italian origins, Paolo has over 13 years industry experience obtained from working in mixed discipline design studios in the UK and abroad.

Paolo has worked with a range of clients – from small independent retailers, to large blue chip companies.  His projects have included building corporate identity, designing literature, creating stands for exhibitions, as well as devising graphics for retail outlets and websites. Examples from Paolo’s portfolio can be found on his website, here: Four Design, where Paolo can also be contacted.

Paolo also teaches Graphic Design and develops creative discovery workshops for educational and professional environments.

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’See What You Drink’

Cantine Aperte was started 20 years ago under the slogan ’See what you drink’ (in Italian: ’Vedi cosa bevi’).  ‘Cantina’ means wine cellar in Italian, so on May 26-27 wine producers will open their wine cellars for tours and tasting, show their vineyards, organize concerts and dinners with local dishes.

Bigger, more commercial wine producers normally keep it simple and attract a younger crowd with rivers of wine flowing and shuttle buses bringing visitors in.  If you are after a more sophisticated experience head for the smaller vineyards that usually have their program announced on their websites.

Visit Wine Cellars in Italy

Each year I learn something new during my visits to the wine makers during the Cantine Aperte event.  Last year I was absolutely blown away by an evening organized by a Cantina Ciavolich in Miglianico, a small wine producer in the province of Chieti, where their wine was matched with organic dishes.  The Ciavolich Pecorino (a type of white wine) paired with a liquorice-flavored pea soup, forced me, a red wine devotee, to admit that there really are some white wines that are worth drinking.

Cantina Ciavolich was founded 159 years ago and  visitors can see the old cellars which are still used by the Ciavolich family.  This year Ciavolich are organising another dinner with organic dishes made from locally sourced produce as well as a free wine tasting.   If you wish to get to know their wines, you might like to visit to their winery by bicycle.  The bike tour includes a wine tasting session, lunch and a guide.   A similar bike tour will also run in the province of Pescara.  Wine enthusiasts will be offered a bike (which has to be returned later!), a wine tasting and lunch for between €25-35.  More information in Italian can be found here.

To find the wine cellars open in your area this weekend, see the list by Italian region here.

If you are not in Italy this weekend the Cantine Aperte event is held twice a year – in May and September.  This gives you plenty of time to plan your visit and go to all those wine tasting sessions!

Find more information on Winery Open Days in Italy by visiting this website: Movimento Turismo del Vino

Anna Lebedeva

About Anna

Anna Lebedeva has lived in Russia and Ireland for many years. Now she lives and works as a freelance journalist in Italy and runs her Green Holiday in Italy travel blog.

When not researching or writing her next article, Anna is trying to grow organic vegetables in her garden or persuading her lively floppy-eared dog Gogol (named after the Russian writer) not to trample on the seedlings. She loves creating her own vegetarian recipes, cooking, hiking in the Apennines or simply relaxing with a glass of Montepulciano d’Abruzzo wine.

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Simply leave your message in the comment section beneath this post.

Alternatively, anyone who is in the area of Italy affected by the earthquakes - Modena and Ferrara mainly – or simply in Italy at this time on vacation or business, can leave a comment to say they are OK, if they wish to.

I do not recommend leaving personal email addresses or phone numbers, unless the phone numbers and email addresses are for hotels or bed and breakfasts in Italy.

I don’t know whether this will help, but it might and I think it is worth doing.

Even if you are not someone trying to contact somebody, you can help by retweeting, Facebooking, Google plusing etc etc and generally helping spread the world about this page on ItalyChronicles.com

Stay safe,

Alex Roe  – Publisher of Italy Chronicles.com

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“I live in San Diego.  After the 7.2 magnitude quake on Easter I bought one of these things, mostly out of curiosity. I mounted it in the hallway by the bedrooms and forgot about it. This morning at 10:30 the alarm started ringing and I thought, “what’s wrong with that thing?”… 3-5 seconds later BOOM we had a 5.3 quake. It stopped then rang again.  The next shock was 4.8 a few seconds later. It may just look like simple clock parts inside a plastic case, but today proves that does actually give some advance warning, for whatever that is worth” – a review by an earthquake alarm user.

This is the manufacturer’s description:

The Quake Alarm is designed to provide instant warning of seismic activity by detecting the “P” wave (compression wave) of an earthquake, which travels faster than the more destructive “S” wave (shear wave).  The Quake Alarm saves valuable seconds by removing the guesswork in earthquake detection.  It is capable of detecting large earthquakes that occur hundreds of miles away and can detect moderate to minor earthquakes for many miles around your local area.  One very important advantage of the Quake Alarm is that it can wake you up and alert you the moment the quake starts so that you can immediately take cover or tend to other family members.  The Quake Alarm can eliminate confusion, save valuable seconds and provide peace of mind.

An Earthquake Alarm

Although the alarm will not give its users a huge amount of warning, it may give them enough time to leave their properties or hide under a substantial table.  This might save lives.

Please note that while Italy Chronicles is an Amazon.com affiliate and can receive commission on sales, Italy Chronicles will not receive any commission on the sales of this earthquake alarm.  If you do decide to make a purchase, maybe for your summer home in Italy, the sale will not be registered to this site.

Click to read more about the earthquake alarm

If you know of a better alarm, please let me know.

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