The metaphor of the brave little engine is perfectly. And then you know Americans love stories dell’underdog, the underdog, he can do it in spite of skepticism. Not else can you explain the success of the initiatives of the US Foundation Banca del Monte di Lucca to promote the province of Lucca. Investing resources quite limited, “ten thousand euro for each session”, in the words of Domenico Tani, communications consultant for the US operations of the Monte di Lucca, a small foundation is able to operate in reality – Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin , New York and San Francisco – where generally “fly” just great. Actually that is exclusively targeted by influential international institutions and organizations supported by powerful financial resources.
What a small foundation of the province, even if tied to a regional bank, was able to bring works by artists such as Michelangelo, Botero, Mitoraj in New York or he could establish a program of opera and musical exchanges with China is really good news in the US. Particularly in Silicon Valley where, by the advent of the Great Recession, “do more with less” has become a mantra. And not surprisingly the story excites the media as the New York Times, the New York Daily News, the Sacramento Bee and KQED – to name a few – and bodies such as the San Francisco Travel Bureau and bastions of good taste as the Culinary Institute of America. In December last year, for example, writing of “Michelangelo and Versilia”, an exhibition of original sketches by Michelangelo (and works by famous sculptors inspired by those sketches), held in New York on the initiative of the Foundation, the New York Times had to appreciate the ‘ innovativeness of what the newspaper called American format “Sculptures in Suitcase”: a format that allowed him to rotate a substantial number of artists in the same exhibition space.
“Our goal is to raise awareness the world as much as possible taking into account excellence Lucca of our social responsibility and the fact of having to create opportunities for all with the funds we have available, “said Alberto del Carlo, president of the foundation during a meeting held on agro-food Lucca these days at the Yacht Club of San Francisco. And so, starting with New York the Foundation has developed the idea of traveling to the works of art with the artists to bring down costs and ensure a good turnover. “Are we exposed to new every 15 days,” says Carlo’s, “So the media and visitors have a reason to come back to visit an exhibition more than once”.
Singular mission of the Foundation, elegiac and together for humanity common. Directed to raise the profile of the Bank’s financial and cultural which is linked at the same time to redistribute part of the surplus value of this organization purely capitalist in regional social.
“A bank can not be anything else, it is responsible for produce gains for its investors “, continues Carlo’s,” But this can not happen in a vacuum. A healthy company produces not only profit but also social welfare. So while the financial arm of the Bank distributes profits to its shareholders us, arm socio-cultural, we deal instead of growing civil society by redistributing some of the profits to artists, small businesses, agriculture and handicrafts, learning institutions and researchers. In fact we reward ideas. Just that there is a good idea and it does not matter if the person who presents it already has a company, the ability to repay or even credit history. If the idea is good the finance, with the only condition that the funding should accept to be followed by an accounting of our choice for a year “.
And it is likely that between just the accounting of new ideas aimed at strengthening the links between the newly established Bay Area of San Francisco and the Lucca it will follow in abundance. “The opportunities offered by the local operaotri and synergies that we could innesacre go far beyond the spemplice trade mission,” says Giuseppe Bartelloni, secretary general of the foundation, “By now we talk about projects that will develop over the next years and that collegherano almost stably the Lucca with the area of the Bay of San Francisco and Silicon Valley. “
The first connections will be right in character plane. In the sense that from Lucca every day about 400 passengers fledge to the USA via New York and other cities of the east coast, only a 10 per cent heads of San Francisco. Cooperating with the San Francisco Travel – company which also controls the trade fair calendar of conferences and the Californian city – the Foundation will ensure that a share of this traffic is direct on San Francisco, while the San Francisco Travel will try to reroute some traffic departing to Italy from San Francisco to the triangle Lucca, Pisa, Florence.
“Collaborations are also emerging in the field of opera and bel canto”, emphasizes Tani, “we have in fact discussed, inspiring us to have an operation made already from Naples with United The Two Bays, to establish a relationship of exchange students between institutions and artists of Lucca opera: Conservatorio Italy / Veronesi, the Isituto of Musical Studies Boccherini, the Puccini International Festival, the Teatro del Giglio ; and the San Francisco Opera, the Conservatory of the city and other musical institutions of the Bay Area. “
Collaboration also coming on the gourmet side with an agreement with the Culinary Institute of America, the largest cooking school in the US and forge cooks trend of the moment in America, with which representatives of the Monte di Lucca discussed to establish an exchange program for students and training in the restaurants in their respective regions.
“It is an idea compelling” said Mark Linder, director of strategic relations and fundraising school of St. Helena in Napa Valley, “Tuscany and in particular the region of Lucca are places to learn and study for cooks who want to create truly original and innovative dishes”.
Exchanges but not be limited only to the culture and cuisine. The foundation has not failed to look for connections in other areas such as paper mills, marine and high technology with the intention to involve the technological center of Lucca and the IMT.
“The first fruits this visit
will begin to see in October, “said Carlo’s,” In that month we will launch Lucca in Tavola, un’inziativa through which a select number of our own chefs will arrive in San Francisco guests to local restaurants to spread our cuisine and to introduce the flavors of Lucca consumers to San Francisco and Silicon Valley. “
* Paul Pontoniere, is a journalist, writing for the Espresso Group and lives in Silicon Valley
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