12/2/01
Oops!! I in my haste to get the Notice out LAST
NIGHT about "Andrea Bocelli:
Tuscan Skies" I inadvertantly combined it with
"Visions of Italy: Southern
Style", which is being broadcast TODAY in the
Southern California Area, at
3PM.
PLEASE check your Local Listings, for not only
Time , but DATE. Perhaps those
of you who notice, might advise us as to when
it is being broadcast in your
Area.
[I will be sending a seperate notice re "Brians
Song" airing TONITE at 7PM
PST]
"VISIONS OF ITALY: SOUTHERN STYLE"
brings PBS viewers stunning high definition aerial footage of popular
destinations
in southern Italy including the Almalfi Coast, Naples, Vesuvius, the
ruins of
Pompeii, Rome Spanish Steps and Colosseum, along with beautiful sights
that
don't make most itineraries. Even if you've been to Italy, you've never
seen it like
this!
This program is a follow up to WLIW'S "VISIONS OF ITALY: NORTHERN
STYLE" from 1998.
Shot in high-definition video from a helicopter-mounted camera, VISIONS
OF
ITALY: Southern Style takes viewers on a seamless sojourn following
along the
rugged western coastline to the toe of the "boot" at Reggio di Calabria,
and
then inland over the countryside to Rome. This one-hour program features
stunning aerial footage, an informative and poetic narrative celebrating
southern Italy's considerable charms and a soundtrack that underscores
the
emotional connections America's Italians have for their motherland.
Images of
Italy no tourist's camera could capture are set to Neapolitan classics,
choral selections, Italian folk songs, and the works of Italian composers
such as Rossini, Puccini, and Vivaldi, with Italian-American performers
including Connie Francis and Michael Amante.
There has never been a show like this because it is nearly impossible
to find
a helicopter company in Italy willing to go through the difficulty
of
acquiring the specific permits needed to shoot over Rome! Precision
planning
on the ground with compasses determined the best time of day to avoid
shadows
on the major sites from the many buildings in this densely packed city.
And
the results are definitely worth it. Even if you have been to southern
Italy,
you have never seen it like this.
A majority of Italian-Americans can trace their roots to southern Italy,
and
for many this program will be a first look at the small villages of
Il
Mezzogiorno "the midday" - (Puglia, Abruzzi, Basilicata, Campania,
Calabria) their ancestors left generations ago, in many ways unchanged
by
time. Our helicopter flies over the most popular destinations in southern
Italy - the romance of the Amalfi Coast (and the hairpin turns of the
Amalfi
Drive!); the bustling international seaport of Naples and the jewels
among
its islands, Ischia and Capri; the majesty of Vesuvius; the ruins of
Pompei;
Rome's Scalinata di Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) and Colosseum
but
"VISIONS OF ITALY: SOUTHERN STYLE's" flight also reveals extraordinary
sights that don't make most itineraries.
"VISIONS OF ITALY: SOUTHERN STYLE" also takes viewers over the
charming cliffsides of Sorrento and the picturesque fishing ports of
Positano, San
Marco, Nicotera, Diamante and other stops along the "Calabrian Riviera;"
up
the "Valley of the Dragon" to towering Ravello; past the pristine Greek
temples at Paestum; into the heart of the action at the bustling seaport
of
Salerno and swordfishing crews at Bagnara Calabra; over the crossroads
of
Cosenza; around the palace and formal gardens of old Caserta, the abbey
at
MonteCassino, the Pope's summer residence at Lake CastelGondolfo, the
breathtaking fountains at Tivoli Gardens (Villa D'Este) and, with a
bird's
eye view, the striking juxtaposition of ancient and modern Rome. We
see the
most well known sites of these cities - but from an unprecedented
perspective.
VISIONS OF ITALY: Sicily is in production for 2002.
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