What does "Italian comedy" mean?
"Italian comedy" is a great genre born in Italy in the 1950s. The word was invented by paraphrasing the title of one of the most successful movies of this kind,that is "Divorzio all'italiana" by Pietro Germi.It was a creative period for the Italian movie industry, during which many brillant comedies were produced, but with deep meanings as all the comic incidents were also ironical and satirically referred to the Italian society of those years.

What was " Italian Comedy" about?
As it developed during the years of the economic boom, it reflected the radical changes that were taking place in society that is to say,new relationships with the Establishment, the Church, the Family, the working world and the people themselves.

Where was it born?

It was invented in "cinecittà" (Rome) and the first fims of this kind where obviously set in Rome with Roman actors.Those were the years of the "Dolce Vita"(sweet life) and the fashionable cafés of Via Veneto frequented by artists, actors, adventurers and paparazzi.

When did it end?

The genre began to decline around the mid 1970s because some of its most significant representatives such as Vittorio De Sica, Totò, Peppino De Filippo and Pietro Germi passed away; but also because of changes in Italian society:the gradual worsening of the social and political life, the beginning of terrorism, the economic crisis and a general sense of uneasiness among the Italians

It was with the film "Amici miei" by Mario Monicelli that the happy ending disappeared, the characters are still comic but grew bitter and bitter and more pathetic in a general atmosphere of sadness and disillusionment.

The most famous actors were:

-Paolo Villaggio
-Marcello Mastroianni
-Alberto Sordi
-Vittorio Gassman


-Totò
-Ugo Tognazzi
-Michele Placido
-Nino Manfredi


Now the most popular actors are:

-Leonardo Pieraccioni
-Diego Abatantuono
-Roberto Benigni
-Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo

The most famous actress were:

-Gina Lollobrigida
-Virna Lisi
-Sophia Loren
-Catherine Spaak

-Ornella Muti
-Stefania Sandrelli
-Edwige Fenech
-Monica Vitti

And now are:

-Anna Falchi
-Sabrina Ferilli
-Pamela Prati
-Claudia Gerini

To conclude,we'd like to tell you something about a film we like "Matrimonio all'Italiana", a significant example of "Italian Comedy":
During the war Domenico Soriano met a middle-aged woman of humble origins called Filumena Maturano,in a brothel. He fell in love with her and asked her to go and live with him. After twenty years of life together, Filumena decided to leave him as he hadn't asked her to marry him yet.The thing is that he was in love with a younger woman,and wanted to marry her.But Filumena pretended to be dying so she convinced Domenico to marry her and she managed to defeat her young rival. After their wedding, Filumena told him that she had three children, one of whom was certainly his, but she didn't reveal him which one. Domentico tried desperately to find out who his child was, without success that's why in the end he decided to stay with Filumena, he loved her and adopted all the three children.

The actors:

-Sophia Loren (Filumena Marturano)
-Marcello Mastroianni (Domenico Soriano)
-Aldo Puglisi (Alfredo)
-Tecla Scarano (Rosalia)
-Vito Morriconi (Riccardo)
-Generoso Cortini (Michele)
-Marilù Tolo (Diana)
-Gianni Ridolfi(Umberto)
-Pia Lindstrom (the cashier)
-Vicenza Di Capua (donna Matilde, the mother)

Director: Vittorio de Sica
Year: 1964

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QOhZp5_lgk

Enjoy it !

Chiara Mometto
Chiara Moraschi
Francesca Ghidelli

Robyn

Robin Miriam Carlsson, better known by her stage name Robyn, was born in Stockholm on 12 June 1979. She is mostly famous for being an artist, but she is also a songwriter and an actress. Robyn has released seven albums since 1995, and she has been a UNICEF ambassador since 1999.

Robyn was discovered by the singer Meja Beckman when she sang a song that she had written by her own and it was about her parents’ divorce. She released her debut single in 1995 and later that year her break through single “Do you really want me” was released. Her first album was launched in USA and was sold in over 1,5 million copies and was ranked top 10.

In 2010 she released a series of albums called Body Talk (parts 1,2 and 3) and she also guest-starred in gossip girl.

Robyns top hits on Spotify is:

1.       Indestructible

2.       Dancing on my own

3.       Hang with me

4.       Call your girlfriend 

A popular Swedish IT-product: Spotify music streaming

Spotify is a Swedish program offering an unlimited music-streaming service from many major record labels such as Sony, EMI, Warner Music Group and Universal.  You can also search for Italian artists and groups! Spotify is funded by paid subscriptions, ads on the Spotify player for non-subscribers and music purchases. Unfortunately this service is not yet available in Italy, but when you come to us in September, we will show it to you!

There are four different account types: Open, Free, Unlimited and Premium. The open and free ones are similar. They are both free. The only difference is that Spotify open is limited to 20 hours of listening time a month. Unlimited is the ads-free type for half of the cost of Spotify premium but without the premium features. With the premium type, you can play Spotify ads-free on a cellphone and have some features like higher bitrate and offline mode.

 Spotify is currently only available to certain parts of Europe. It is also available in some countries outside of Europe but the accounts are restricted to people that can purchase premium accounts with credit cards or paypal accounts. Out of the four types of accounts, only the premium one is available in those countries.


Written by Chau

SOCIETY AND CUSTOMS

From 1861 to 1900 Italy was marked by poverty, backwardness and despair. Then after the first World War the bases of a trade development were provided; but it was after the second World War that economic growth and innovative transformations were carried out.

The economic boom covered the years between 1957 and 1963. It mainly affected the industral sector through the manufacture of new goods of mass production and the use of new technologies. There was a significant decrease in the number of workers in the primary sector, but a constant increase in the employment of workers in the secondary and tertiary sectors. There was also a demand for consumer goods such as clothing or electrical appliances. This phenomenon known as "economic miracle" involved all levels of society. It was favoured by the growing number of the polpulation that was better educated and could have better jobs.

CAUSES:

1) MORE LIBERAL POLICIES: De Gasperi's Government;

2) LOW COST OF LABOUR FORCES: Due to high
levels of unemployment;

3) BIG INVESTMENT IN SOME STRATEGIC SECTORS (e.g steel industry) 

4) ITALY ENTERED THE EEC: This encouraged
an open economy by increasing export;

5) BIRTH OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT WHICH INVESTED IN SOCIAL SERVICES: (creche, rest homes);

EFFECTS:

1) ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION: it was a radical economic change characterized by the shift from an agricultural and backward economy to an industrialized one;

2) EDUCATION: its purpose was to abolish illiteracy;

3) TEENAGERS: recognized as social subjects;

4) MORE EMPLOYMENT: it stepped up the national income and boosted the living standards

5) SOCIAL ECONOMIC GAP BETWEEN THE NORTH AND THE SOUTH: internal migration from the South to the North, from the countryside to towns;

6) WOMEN'S LIBERATION: women were granted the right to work and to have the same rights as men;

7) SICKNESS BENEFITS: thanks to a better health service.

THE EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN

1) As mothers and housewives;

2) same rights as men;

3) wage equality;

4) women gained the right to work in public offices.

YOUNG GIRLS

1) They had new chances of social success;

2) Higher numbers of fermale students;

3) New female jobs as flight attendants, interpreters, models, beauticians.

FASHION

1)Over blouse, high waist trousers, tight sweaters, flat shoes;

2)Hair was cut with a bang and boys wear their hair long;

3)Invention of the miniskirt.

TEENAGERS

Teenagers were the result of the economic boom as before the war the distinction was just between children and adults. It was in 1959 that the "youth question" started to attract the attention of the entire adult world which was deeply concerned about the social behavior of young people.

Young people, in fact, had started to strive for their own cultural identity because of different factories, that is:

1) a new and developed production system, which allowed them to have more money available to spend;

2) the increased level of education, which offered teenagers the opportunity to spend more time with peers, developing attitudes and tastes in common;

All this encouraged teenagers to buy new consumption goods, such as jeans, rubber shoes, black leather jackets, means of transport (Lambrettas), vinyl records, and foods, such as coke, whiskey and soda, burgers and things of the kind.

CONSUMPTION GOODS WITHIN THE FAMILY

New consumption goods such as the fridge, the washing maschine, the record-player, the radio, the car, products of the economic boom, brought about changes in the Italian household. The fridge, for instance, made it possible to preserve food much longer, the washing machine to wash clothes quicker thus improving cleanliness and domestic life in general.

TELEVISION

Television played an important role in the economic boom years, since it had a strong educational function, contributing to:

1) the growth of the national language;

2) the spread of great literary classics;

It underwent a lot of changes, but we'd like to focus on "CAROSELLO", first broadcast on Rai 1 (Channel 1) in 1957.

It advertised products using catchy slogans and entertaining sketches.

It kept millions of children glued to the TV set and affected youth culture as well.

And after "Carosello" children had to go to bed! (as the saying went).

Among the well-known and beloved characters launched by "Carosello" we'd like to mention CALIMERO, a tiny black chick that turned completely white after being washed with the famous detergent "AVA" (AVA COME LAVA!)

Television played a fundamental role in the advertising market which involved all social classes.

The products advertised were presented as essential to efficient and modern houses and became real objects of desire, the new status symbol.

MASS CONSUMERISM AFFECTED DIFFERENT SECTORS:

1) ENTERTAINMENT (Holidays)

2) MASS MEDIA

a)CINEMA:

-It developed American myths and icons;

-It transmitted images, stories, cultural ideas, literary, historical and artistic traditions of our country;

b) RADIO:

- It became an important means of political information and communication;

- It broadcast behaviours and customs;

-It smoothed out behaviours, local languages, uses and customs of the Italian population.

c) TV

3) SHOPPING (Supermarkets)

 

Written by:

Raffaella Prencipe

Claudia Silini

Sara Zanesi

Swedish Telecommunication successes: SonyEricsson and Skype

Sony, a leading Japanese company in consumer electronics, and Ericsson, a Swedish leader in telecommunications, were combined for the development, manufacturing and marketing of mobile phones. They have representatives in different continents.
Sony and Ericsson Thus, Sony Ericsson released its first joint product on the market in March 2002. One of the models was T68 which was actually a clean Ericsson model but then the name was changed to the Sony Ericsson T68i.
Under the new name was their biggest seller, a new joint design, Sony Ericsson T610.
Today the company has approximately 8450 employees at its headquarters in London and the office in Lund and Hassleholm in Sweden, in Tokyo, Beijing, Manchester, and also the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, USA.
The Lund office is the biggest office of them all.
The products are available in four different lines, three of them are designed for GSM / UMTS network and is sold throughout the world and then there is a range of Japanese mobile phone networks.
The handsets that are more like a PDA (smartphones) developed in Kista (Stockholm) and in Manchester.

Product lines:

C-Series - Replaces the old K-series from the quarter in 2008, such as "Cyper-Shot" and "C510-C905"
G-Series - Generation Web "- phones as marketing fit for those who surf a lot.
K-series - Camera phones. Invest more in camera functions, often called double front with one side like a mobile and the other look like a digital camera.
S-Series-"slide" phones.
W-Series-Mobile launched under the name of Walkman, these phones are music-oriented handsets.
X-Series - XPERIA mobiles. Was released around the beginning of last year (2010)
European-Series - Entertainment Unlimited. “All-in-one-phones”, such as Satio, Aino and Yari.
Z-series - clamshell phones (fashion-oriented mobile phones) like Clamzhell.

Skype

Skype is a software application that allows users to make voice calls and chats over the internet. Calls to other users within the Skype service are free, while calls to both traditional landline telephones and mobile phone can be made for a fee using a debit based user account system. Skype has also become popular for its additional features which include instant messaging, file transfer and video conferencing. Skype has 663 million registered users as of 2010. Skype was founded in 2003 by the Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and Dane Janus Friis.

Skype´ homepage: http://www.skype.com/intl/en/welcomeback/

Written by Jenny&Nam.

Let's start our tour through Italian music!

"Viva Verdi"

Italy boasts experience in various kinds of music: classical, jazz, rock, pop to name just a few. As we can't examine all of them, we have decided to focus on classical music and pop music.

CLASSICAL MUSIC

The XIX century was the time of the Italian Opera season, which had as main characters Gioacchino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924). The Italian Opera tradition enhanced the role of singing that became pure expression of the soul. During the century it absorbed aspects of the French Opera which highlighted appearances and the esthetics of Naturalism. At the beginning the orchestra simply accompanied the singing voices, but, with Puccini, it became a symphony orchestra.

GIUSEPPE VERDI

Giuseppe Verdi was born on 10th October 1813, in Busseto (Parma). In 1839 he composed his first melodrama, called "Oberto conte di San Bonifacio" that was performed at the "Scala" in Milan. Verdi's music conveyed the ideals of the Italian Risorgimento. He started to compose his masterpieces "Rigoletto", "Il Trovatore" and "La Traviata" between 1851 and 1853. Other important operas are "Aida" and "Otello". Verdi died in Milan on 27th January 1901 .

NABUCCO

"Nabucco" was Verdi's first success. The story is drawn from the Old Testament and is about the invasion of Giuda's reign by the Babylonians around 586 b.C. The story takes place in Jerusalem and in Babylon, where the Jews were deported as slaves. The tragedy ends with the conversion of Nabucco, that liberates the Jews from slavery. The most famous tune is "Va pensiero" that is widely known and sung as to be considered a possible substitute for our national anthem.

GIACOMO PUCCINI

Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca in 1858 into a family of musicians. His first opera was "Manon Lescaut". After that he composed "Bohème", which was really important because facts of everyday life were brought on stage. Other famous works are "Tosca", "Madama Butterfly", "La fanciulla del West" and "Turandot", that wasn't finished because of his death in Bruxelles in 1924.

MADAMA BUTTERFLY

This opera tells the story of a Japanese girl, Madama Butterfly, who marries a U.S. Navy official called Pinkerton who leaves after having married her and had a child. He returns to America to marry a fellow countrywoman. Madama Butterfly will wait for her beloved husband all her life and when he comes back with his new wife to reclaim his child, Madama Butterfly commits suicide.

POP MUSIC

The advent of the Italian song, based on vocal melody and instrumental accompaniment, corresponds to the period of our political unity, namely the second half of the XIX century, when Ruggero Leoncavallo together with Francesco Paolo Tosti wrote lyrics to be sung. The experience of the Parisian Café Concert spread also in Italy with the opening of "Salone Margherita" in 1890. Our country also witnessed the development of music-hall and operetta.

SANREMO SONG FESTIVAL

Sanremo Festival was born in 1951 and it was a stepping stone for pop music in Italy. Nilla Pizzi won the first edition of this national festival with her song "Grazie dei fiori". In the edition of 1958 Domenico Modugno sang "Nel blu dipinto di blu", thus changing pop music in our country. Around the end of the decade, under the influence of American black music, Tony Dallara made his debut with "Come prima". Then it was Little Tony's and Giorgio Gaber's turn. In the same years three very important Italian singers, Mina, Gianni Morandi and Adriano Celentano, started their careers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-DVi0ugelc

ITALIAN SONGWRITERS

The first Italian songwriters' school developed in Genova. It wanted to be different from rock'n'roll and very close to French singers.Gino Paoli, Fabrizio De André, Bruno Lauzi and Paolo Conte, who are all from Genoa, belong to this tradition. Famous songwriters in Lombardy were/are Umberto Bindi, Enzo Jannacci and Giorgio Gaber. Whereas the singers who met at the famous club "Piper" in Rome were influeced by the British beat. Among them, Patty Pravo, Caterina Caselli and the so-called "Piper's guys" such as Renato Zero, Loredana Berté and Mia Martini. The careers of the bands Equipe 84, Dik Dik, Giganti, Camaleonti and Nomadi started on the radio, thanks to a popular programme called "Bandiera Gialla". Meanwhile Lucio Battisti, who wrote his songs with Mogol, came successfully on the music scene.

THE NEW ITALIAN MUSIC

In the '90s several record companies gave birth to lots of independent projects. Claudio Baglioni and Renato Zero are still famous as melodic singers, while in most recent years Sanremo festival contributed to the success of Eros Ramazzotti, Giorgia and Laura Pausini.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_WyCOGZjbM

Written by: Eliana Castellano, Angela Ongarini, Veronica Vezzoli.