Happy new Year 2011 in Venice

ITALO DISCO '80

Italo disco

Italo disco is a very broad term, encompassing much of the dance music output in Europe during the 1980s.
It is one of the world's first forms of completely electronic dance music and evolved during the late 1970s and early 1980s in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and other parts of Europe.
Italo disco music has a distinct, futuristic and spacey sound, which was created using synthesizers, drum machines and vocoders.
The term "Italo disco" was marketed only in Europe in the early 1980s by the German record label ZYX Music.

Den Harrow - Future Brain

Terminology

The term "Italo disco" originates from the 1983 Italo Boot Mix series, a megamix featuring Italian and German disco music, by Bernhard Mikulski, the founder of German-based ZYX Music.

Prior to 1983, the music was simply considered dance or disco music from Europe.

The presenters of the Italian music show Discoring (produced by RAI) usually referred to Italo disco tracks as "rock elettronico" (electronic rock) or "balli da discoteca" (disco dance) before the term "italo disco" came into existence.

Baltimora - Tarzan Boy

History

Origins: 1976–1985

The entry of synthesizers and other electronic effects into the disco genre produced electronic dance music, including America's Hi-NRG and Europe's space disco. Dancers and listeners experienced something new because the artists' use of new music-shaping technologies created the perception of being in a very large space and because of the discothèques' lighting displays.

Italo disco's influences were Italian producer Giorgio Moroder, French musician Didier Marouani, a couple of hits by the French drummer Cerrone, electropop (Kraftwerk, Telex, Devo and Gary Numan), and the early Hi-NRG albums of San Francisco producer Patrick Cowley with such singers as Sylvester and Paul Parker.

By 1980, Italo appeared as a fully developed form in Italy and other parts of Europe. Songs were sometimes completely electronic and featured drum machines, catchy melodies, vocoders, overdubs, love-song lyrics sung in English often with heavy foreign accents, and, occasionally, nonsensical lyrics (due to artists' poor command of the English language).

To predominantly non-English-speaking audiences and artists, the voice was considered an additional musical instrument, rather than something meant to deliver a message. Along with love, Italo disco themes deal with robots and space, sometimes combining all three in songs including "Robot Is Systematic" (1982) by 'Lectric Workers and "Spacer Woman" (1983) by Charlie.

Italo disco was widely played on radio stations and in discothèques in Europe, but in the English-speaking world, it was mostly an underground phenomenon that could be heard at nightclubs.

1982 and 1983 saw the releases of the irony-laden "Dirty Talk", "Wonderful" and "The M.B.O. Theme", three tracks cited as influential in the development of house, by Klein & M.B.O., a side-project developed by Davide Piatto of the Italo disco duo N.O.I.A., with vocals by Piatto and Rossana Casale.

Many see 1983 as the height of Italo, with frequent hit singles and many labels starting up around this time.

Such labels included American Disco, Crash, Merak, Sensation and X-Energy. The popular label Disco Magic released more than thirty singles within the year.

It was also the year that the term "Italo disco" was reputedly coined by Bernhard Mikulski, the founder of ZYX Music (Germany), when ZYX released their first volume of The Best of Italo Disco series.

Sabrina - Boys Boys Boys

Derivative styles: 1982–1989

During the late 1980s Italo faded and was replaced by Italo NRG (a.k.a Italo House) which combined high-paced Italo and house.

Canada, particularly Quebec, produced several remarkable Italo disco acts, including Trans X ("Living on Video"), Lime ("Angel Eyes"), Pluton & the Humanoids ("World Invaders"), Purple Flash Orchestra ("We Can Make It"), Tapps ("Forbidden Lover"), etc.

Those productions were called "Canadian disco" during 1980–1984 in Europe and Hi-NRG disco in the U.S.

In Germany, where the name "Italo disco" was originally coined and then marketed by ZYX Records in 1983, many other genre names were used to describe it as well. Euro Disco, Discofox were common in Europe, while in the English speaking countries, the actual language of most Italo Disco songs, it was still called Italo disco and HiNRG.

German productions were also exclusively in English and were characterized by an emphasis on melody, exaggerated overproduction, and a more earnest approach to the themes of love; examples may be found in the works of Modern Talking, Fancy, American-born singer and Fancy protégé Grant Miller, Bad Boys Blue, Joy, Lian Ross, C.C. Catch, etc.

Also during the mid-1980s spacesynth developed, mostly as a sub-genre of italo.

This style is the crossover of Italo disco and space disco and it was mostly instrumental, with a focus on space sounds than the earlier pop-oriented songs, as exemplified by the sounds of Koto, Proxyon, Rofo, Cyber People, Hipnosis, Laserdance and Syntech.

Italo Disco - Megamix

Evolved and interrelated genres

As Italo disco declined in Europe, Italian and German producers adapted the sound to Japanese tastes, creating "Eurobeat".

Music produced in this style is sold exclusively in Japan due to the country's Para Para culture, produced by Italian producers for the Japanese market.

Though the Eurobeat genre originally sounded almost identical to Italo disco, today's modern Eurobeat features greatly increased BPM and faster synth-lines and vocals, though many recent releases have a slower BPM.

The two most famous Eurobeat labels are A-Beat-C Records and Hi-NRG Attack.

Two traditional Italo disco labels, S.A.I.F.A.M. and Time, now produce Eurobeat music for Japan.

Around 1989, in Italy, Italo disco evolved into Italo house, which became Euro house music (called "Eurodance" in the U.S.).

Italian Italo disco artists began experimenting with harder beats and the "house" sound; German production of Italo disco ended later that same year.

This music is also labeled as Euro disco, and Italo disco in the U.S. (labelling all non-American Hi-NRG dance tunes as Italo disco).

One Night in Bangkok

Revival: 1998–present

A big comeback of German Italo disco, began in 1998, when Modern Talking re-united.

German Italo disco artists C. C. Catch, Bad Boys Blue, Fancy and Sandra, Italian Italo disco artists Gazebo, Savage and Ken Laszlo, and others remixed their hits in a Euro house style, giving them a new life and a new fan base.

Rete 4 channel in Italy, "hits 24", "Goldstar TV", and Prosieben channels in Germany, and the program "Nostalgia" on Spain's TVE channel started to broadcast Italo disco.

This has caused new interest in Euro disco in general, since most of these videos were very rarely seen, even back in the 1980s.

Greece seems to have the biggest Italo disco revival, with it played on three Athenian radio stations in 2007 (Blue Space, Radio Boom Boom and Free FM).

As of 2005 several online radio stations stream the genre, and underground clubs are playing the records widely again.

Its renewed popularity is inspiring re-releases and new mixes on many of the record labels that initially released Italo disco.

ZYX records has released many new CD mixes since 2000. and labels like Panama Records and Radius Records have gone through great lengths to find the original artists of obscure Italo tracks for re-release on vinyl.

The German group I-Robots has released several mixes incorporating obscure Italo disco tracks, and in 2006 released a German-language cover of Charlie's "Spacer Woman" called "Spacer Frau".

Swedish performance artist and musician Tobias Bernstrup has since 1997 been making music performances and releasing records characterized his heavily Italo disco-inspired sound and use of elaborate costumes and make-up reminiscent of Klaus Nomi.

German group Master Blaster released an album called I Love Italo Disco in 2003.

Many hits of that group are Italo disco covers with an uplifting house twist.

In the UK, that twist seems to lead to "Scouse house".

Swiss artist Harre Money (pronounced Àrmani, like the Italian designer) released an album called The Picture of Dorian Gray in 2006, which included many Italo disco-like tracks.

His shows are also characterized by a theatrical performance reminiscent of the eccentric 1980s style.

Swedish act Sally Shapiro has made Italo disco music which has been championed in the indie community, particularly by Pitchfork Media.

Modern Talking - You are my Heart You are my Soul

Pizza Italia

PIZZA ITALY

PIZZA is ITALY or ITALY is PIZZA !!??!!

Pizza in the US sometimes called pizza pie, is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese (usually mozzarella) and various toppings depending on the culture.

Since the original pizza, several other types of pizzas have evolved.

Originating in Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many different parts of the world.

An establishment that primarily makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria", sometimes misspelled as "pizzaria".

The phrases "pizza parlor", "pizza place", "pizza house" and "pizza shop" are used in the United States.

The term pizza pie is dialectal, and pie is used for simplicity in some contexts, such as among pizzeria staff.

HISTORY

The Ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs and cheese.

The Romans developed placenta, a sheet of flour topped with cheese and honey and flavored with bay leaves.

Modern pizza originated in Italy as the Neapolitan pie with tomato.

In 1889 cheese was added.

King Ferdinand I (1751–1825) is said to have disguised himself as a commoner and, in clandestine fashion, visited a poor neighborhood in Naples.

One story has it that he wanted to sink his teeth into a food that the queen had banned from the royal court—pizza.

In 1889, during a visit in Naples, Queen Margherita of Savoy was served a pizza resembling the colors of the Italian flag, red (tomato), white (mozzarella) and green (basil).

This kind of pizza has been named after the Queen as Pizza Margherita.

Base and baking methods

The bottom of the pizza, called the "crust", may vary widely according to style—thin as in a typical hand-tossed pizza or Roman pizza, or thick as in a typical pan pizza or Chicago-style pizza.

It is traditionally plain, but may also be seasoned with garlic, or herbs, or stuffed with cheese.

In restaurants, pizza can be baked in an oven with stone bricks above the heat source, an electric deck oven, a conveyor belt oven or, in the case of more expensive restaurants, a wood- or coal-fired brick oven.

On deck ovens, the pizza can be slid into the oven on a long paddle, called a peel, and baked directly on the hot bricks or baked on a screen (a round metal grate, typically aluminum).

When making pizza at home, it can be baked on a pizza stone in a regular oven to reproduce the effect of a brick oven.

Another option is grilled pizza, in which the crust is baked directly on a barbecue grill.

Greek pizza, like Chicago-style pizza, is baked in a pan rather than directly on the bricks of the pizza oven.

In the United States

Due to the wide influence of Italian and Greek immigrants in American culture, the US has developed regional forms of pizza, some bearing only a casual resemblance to the Italian original.

Chicago has its own style of a deep-dish pizza, whereas New York City has developed its own distinct variety of thin crust pizza.

Vaporetto the Waterboard of Venice

In 1881

a regular public transport service with mechanically-propelled vessels began in Venice. In the autumn of the same year, on the occasion of the "Congresso di Geografia" (Geography Congress), the first waterbus, named "Regina Margherita", appeared on the Grand Canal. After the "Regina Margherita" experiment, a limited liability company called "Compagnie des bateaux Omnibus" was set up with French funds in Paris. After it was granted the licence to carry people on the Grand Canal route, it began the construction of 8 boats at the French shipyards of Rouen. In this way, sailing down the Languedoc Canal in France and circling Italy, the first eight waterbuses from Rouen reached Venice. At first, gondoliers looked upon waterbuses as terrible competitors and set themselves against the enterprise. However, the benefits introduced by these new means of transport appeared very soon evident and the initial reservations of Venetians turned into real enthusiasm.

1890-1911

In 1890 the Società Veneta Lagunare (Venetian Lagoon Company) (S.V.L.) replaced the French Company and extended the service to the areas of the Lagoon outside the City, providing connections with Fusina, San Giuliano, Cavazuccherina and Torcello. In 1903 the Municipal Council aimed at taking direct control of the inland waterbus services and, after having carried out a public-opinion survey with a referendum, founded the Azienda Comunale per la Navigazione Interna (Municipal Company for Inland Navigation) (A.C.N.I.). A.C.N.I. therefore took over all the inland waterborne routes from S.V.L., also purchasing the fleet that was being used for these (23 vessels with a carrying capacity of 2,860 passengers per day). The situation remained unchanged for the following 26 years.

1930-1937

On 1 January 1930 the Municipality of Venice bought in bulk the fourteen vessels from the Società Veneta Lagunare destined for the Chioggia, Burano and San Giuliano routes. A.C.N. I. became A.C.N.I.L. - Azienda Comunale di Navigazione Interna Lagunare (Municipal Company of Lagoon Waterborne Transport) and at the end of the same year it boasted 57 vessels which could carry 11,750 passengers. In the meantime the works for the construction of the road bridge allowing motor vehicles to reach the new Piazzale Roma terminal were proceeding fast. With the opening of the new motor vehicle bridge linking Venice with the mainland (25 April 1933) the Municipality of Venice entrusted the control, accounting, ticket supply and supervision of the Venice-Mestre routes to A.C.N.I.L.. Under the terms of the contract, these routes were run by the company "Tramvie di Mestre". During the same period the Rio Novo building works were completed. In order to let traffic go through this new canal (it considerably shortened the journey time from the road terminal of P.le Roma to St. Mark's Square) A.C.N.I.L. built 8 smaller waterbuses, which were very easy to handle and named them after 8 illustrious Venetian palaces. It was during this period that disputes intensified on the damage caused by wave motion to the foundations of the buildings. Research and studies aimed at reducing the damaging effects of wave motion were thus begun. Some bow propellers designed in Germany were tested; the Rio Novo smaller waterbuses were fitted with blades able to correct the wash left by the propellers, but above all new hulls were studied and designed, which in the end give excellent results for the control of the wave-damage phenomenon. This period heralded the start of a continuing commitment by Venice's public transport company of studies and experimentation on how to reduce the wave damage.

1940-1944

Until 1940 public transport on Lido Island was provided by a somewhat-meagre electric tramway managed by "Compagnia Italiana dei Grandi Alberghi" (Italian Company of Grand Hotels). On 1 January 1941 the tram service was replaced by an A.C.N.I.L. bus service. At the same time, in spite of the serious problems caused by the war, the construction of the trolley-bus system began: 14 double-axle trolley-buses made up the vehicle fleet. In the meantime, from 10 June 1940 (the date when war broke out) the Navy and the Army requisitioned many of ships. At the end of the war, when it was time to think about rebuilding, A.C.N.I.L. found many of those ships all around Italy, sunk, wrecked and machine-gunned. The Torino steamship was found shipwrecked near Messina. The Roma steamship was salvaged after sinking in the Giudecca Channel. The Aquileia foot-passenger ferry, which had also sunk, was salvaged at Leghorn. The Altino ferry was found sunk, in the French port of Marseilles. Scores of other vessels were recovered in the Venice Lagoon.

1948-1990

After the War, the Company decided to organise the rebuilding of the fleet with its own staff. A special technical-financial plan for the rebuilding works was therefore prepared, a plan that was then duly carried out. Foot-passenger ferries and steamships were changed; landing piers, landing stages and pontoons were built. Larger and smaller waterbuses were built and all the services were reorganised in 1950. In 1965 the "Azienda Municipale" ("Municipal-Owned Company") began to work in the area of road transport, running the urban services of Mestre and Marghera that had already been entrusted to "Società Filovie Mestre". All the trolley-buses went on to be replaced by fuel-powered buses and on 21 December 1966 the last Mestre trolley-bus route performed its service. The fast growth of the city with the building of important roads (such as the Marghera flyover and the San Giuliano junction) obliged the Company to increase its services and the resources used. After the setting up of the "Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano" (Venice Transport Consortium), with the subsequent publicising of the company "Società SVET", the "Azienda del Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano" (A.C.T.V.) - the Venice Public Transport Company - was founded and began operating on 1 October 1978. The companies ACNIL, SVET and SVA converged into it from the outset, followed by other smaller companies.

From 1991 ...until today

Bringing us up to the present day, from 1 January 2001, in observance of the directives of Legislative Decree 422/97 (Burlando) and Regional Law 25/98, Actv became a joint-stock company. The share capital was established at ITL. 90,546,181,264 (equal to Euro 46.763.200) for a number of 467.632 shares with the nominal value of ITL. 193,627 (equal to Euro 100 each). The Company is majority-controlled by local public capital as per Article 22 sub-section 3, letter E of Law 142/90 and throughout the company's life the capital must be held no less than 51% overall by the founding shareholders. Valter Vanni was appointed as the first Chairman of the new joint-stock company, while the first Managing Director is Maurizio Castagna. Currently Actv S.p.A. owns 600 land buses and 120 waterborne vessels, every year carrying approximately 180 million passengers and producing 500,000 navigation "movement hours", while land-bus services travel 31.5 million kilometres. The company employs a personnel of approximately 3,000.

Logo Morbideidee and Venice Souveniur

Winter in VENICE

VENICE SNOW

Paperweight Millefiori and murrine

MILLEFIORI

Millefiori is a glasswork technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware.

The term millefiori is a combination of the Italian words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" (flowers).

Apsley Pellatt (in his book "Curiosities of Glass Making") was the first to use the term "millefiori", which appeared in the Oxford Dictionary in 1849.

The beads were called mosaic beads before then.

While the use of this technique long precedes the term millefiori, it is now frequently associated with Venetian glassware.

More recently, the millefiori technique has been applied to polymer clays and other materials.

Because polymer clay is quite pliable and does not need to be heated and reheated to fuse it, it is much easier to produce millefiori patterns than with glass.

The manufacture of mosaic beads can be traced to Ancient Roman, Phoenician and Alexandrian times. Canes, probably made in Italy, have been found as far away as 8th century archaeological sites in Ireland,

and millefiori was used in thin slices to brilliant effect in the early 7th century Anglo-Saxon jewellery from Sutton Hoo.

The technical knowledge for creating millefiori was lost by the eighteenth century, and the technique was not revived until the nineteenth century.

Within several years of the technique's rediscovery, factories in Italy, France and England were manufacturing millefiori canes.

They were often incorporated into fine glass art paperweights.

Until the 15th century, Murano glassmakers were only producing drawn Rosetta beads made from mould-made Rosetta canes.

Rosetta beads are made by the layering of a variable number of layers of glass of various colors in a mould, and by pulling the soft glass from both ends until the cane has reached the desired thickness.

It is then cut into short segments for further processing.

Creating Millefiori

The millefiori technique involves the production of glass canes or rods, known as murrine, with multicolored patterns which are viewable only from the cut ends of the cane.

A murrine rod is heated in a furnace, pulled until thin while still maintaining the cross section's design, and then cut into beads or discs when cooled.

MURRINE

Murrine (common pluralization murrini) is an Italian term for colored patterns or images made in a glass cane (long rods of glass) that are revealed when cut in cross-sections.

Murrine can be made in infinite designs—some styles are more familiar, such as millefiore.

Artists working in glass design murrine in a variety of ways from simple circular or square patterns to complex detailed designs to even portraits of people.

Murrine are designed by layering different colors of molten glass around a core, then heating and stretching it into a rod.

When cool, the rod is sliced into cross-sections of desired thickness with each slice possessing the same pattern in cross-section.

The murrine process first appeared in the Mideast more than 4,000 years ago and was revived by Venetian glassmakers on Murano in the early 16th century