Stefania Ricci

Enrico Ciavolino

Censimento nazionale per il Sostegno a Distanza 2007

Analisi statistica per la conoscenza della solidarietà organizzata. Censimento nazionale per il Sostegno a Distanza 2007

The story told in this book, which analyzes the presence of Italians in California in the early decades of the twentieth century and the influence they exerted in various sectors (from architecture to art, from crafts to the burgeoning film industry), began in 1915, the year Salvatore Ferragamo arrived in the United States and soon after moved to the sunny West Coast. That same year the Panama-Pacific International Exposition opened in San Francisco, where Marcello Piacentini's Italian Citadel made waves and marked the beginning of the powerful and lasting influence of the Renaissance style on the local architectural language. Against the backdrop of Italian emigration to the States - the fil rouge running through the entire book - and of a Hollywood on its way to becoming the world capital of the young film industry, the volume tells of personalities who were already myths in their day, such as Enrico Caruso, Rudolph Valentino, Lina Cavalieri, and Tina Modotti; cinematic milestones like Cabiria , Ben-Hur , and Romola ; the star system and iconic directors; the important part played by Italian musicians in the birth of jazz; and the thousands of Italians who worked "behind the scenes," making a vital contribution to the creation of the Hollywood myth. This complex story, told both in words and in images, paints a varied and multifaceted picture of the "set" on which the Shoemaker of Dreams began his thrilling creative adventure in America.

Italy in Hollywood

Sergio Risalti

The Museo Ferragamo in Florence pays homage to Marilyn Monroe with a major exhibition and a catalog dedicated to her a half century after her death. Like many divas of the silver screen, Marilyn Monroe loved to wear Salvatore Ferragamo shoes. The exhibition and catalogue dedicated to her are the result of long research and preparatory work, presenting items from the actress’s wardrobe worn on the set or in her private life, as well as important documents that reveal the actress’s managerial side, her skill and determination in building and grooming her success. In this volume, the curators have sought to interpret a comprehensive collection of famous photographs taken in Marilyn’s day-to-day life (by such notable photographers as Beaton, Stern, Barris, Greene) that portray Marilyn in "classic" poses by comparing them with famous works of art from the past that represent similar poses and expressions, from the balanced pathos of French painter Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s Alessandro morente to Botticelli’s Venus. The catalog gathers together all the photos of clothing and Ferragamo footwear, the documents in the exhibition, and a very large group of photographs and exceptional works of art from such prestigious institutions as the Museo Canova and the Warhol Foundation, and from private collections in Italy and abroad. The catalog also includes essays addressing such themes as classic and modern beauty, Marilyn’s biography, and her relationship with other women, as well as an introduction by Stefania Ricci and Sergio Risaliti, exhibition curators.

Marilyn

Riccardo Spinelli

A Palace and the City

Sergio Risaliti

A journey in search of the sources of Salvatore Ferragamos creativity. Salvatore Ferragamo was a shoemaker, proud of being one and defined himself as such. Growing up in the workshop, he cultivated the craft and that connection between mind and hand which underlies many masterpieces of art. This beautifully illustrated catalogue describes Salvatore Ferragamos craft trying to identify the sources of his creativity and his innate ability to assimilate the spirit of the times. Through almost 100 models for footwear the book takes into consideration two periods in his life where conditions encouraged inspiration and visions to flourish and which influenced the artists later life: his move to California around 1915 and his return to Florence in 1927. Ferragamos experience in Hollywood was an opportunity to meet extraordinary people of the emerging cinematographic industry. The culture of the territory also was source of inspiration: the decoration used by the American Indians, the fabrics and colours of quilts made by Quaker communities, the richness of South American craftsmanship, are reflected in the models of those years and return decades later in his innovations like a signature style. In Florence Ferragamo was impressed not only by the architecture, but also by the public and private collections of applied arts. Alongside an interest in tradition and historical finds, he was also affected by experiments with material and colour carried out by avant-garde artists, the Futurists in particular, for whom in the Twenties Florence itself was a first order cultural epicentre.

Inspiration and Vision

Salvatore Ferragamo

A photographic catalog of the timeless film star's influential wardrobe stands as a companion to her estate's traveling exhibition by the Ferragamo maison and includes coverage of original and handmade designs created exclusively for her.

Stefania Ricci

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