Alessandro Sorbello

Monday, June 22, 2009

Thought for the day - Canned chatter

To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something worthwhile. The first discipline of education must therefore be to refuse resolutely to feed the mind with canned chatter. - Aleister Crowley

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Launch of Italian Fashion Week in Australia

At the official Launch of Italian Fashion Week in Australia, Elio Marzullo creative director of the label Elio Moda, the Italian Consul, The Ambassador of Italy, Gian Ludovico de Martino di Montegiordano and Italian Week Executive Producer Alessandro Sorbello celebrate a successful international collaboration between the Queensland and Australian Government after the Italian Fashion on Show in the Queen Street Mall.

Quest Newspapers coverage of Italian Week and Italian Fashion Week

Degustation dinner anyone? Decadent wine-matched lunch? Choices abound in Brisbane in upcoming weeks. Here are just a few…
http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/blogs/story/treat-for-foodies-all-over-town/

BRISBANE: All things Italian will take centre stage in Brisbane for Italian Week from May 26 to June 2. The CBD will be a hive of activity, including performances of highlights from Romeo and Juliet at the Queen Street Mall stage on May 26, 28 and 30http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/latin-theme-fit-for-a-queen/

BRISBANE: Food guru Jan Power will salute Italian food and wine at her Wednesday market next week. “I researched farmers markets in Italy and all over Europe before I launched the concept in Brisbane,” Jan said. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/italy-makes-mark-at-markets

Metropolitan South Institute of Tafe fashion students did a dress rehearsal of their garments, which will be part of Italian Fashion Week parades in the City this weekend - Pictures: Dale Haberfield and Jim Campey See and buy thousands of photos at Newsphotos http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/photos/gallery/top-threads-italian-style

THERESA Lariza’s designs on becoming an internationally renowned fashion designer have taken a stride in the right direction. The Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE fashion graduate was one of 18 handpicked to showcase their Italian inspired creations as part of 2009 Italian Week celebrations. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/italian-flair-on-catwalk/

THE work of Wynnum fashion students Edwina Tait, 18, and Stacey O’Keeffe, of Capalaba, will be showcased during parades to mark Italian Fashion Week celebrations. Ms Tait’s design was shortlisted with the works of 18 students selected from a 450-strong entry field from Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/fashion-students-in-italian-week-show/

BROOKFIELD’S Tahli Accad will showcase her Italian-inspired creations at Italian Week celebrations this weekend. The Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE (MSIT) student is among 18 fashion students handpicked to showcase their garments in the fashion extravaganza which runs in the Queen Street Mall from May 29 to 31. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/italian-inspiration-for-designers/

HER mother is Zimbabwean and her father South African, but Kirsten Reynolds has turned to Italy as inspiration for her latest fashion collection. The Springwood designer’s garments will be paraded on the runway in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall this weekend during Italian Week celebrations. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/kirsten-has-big-designs-on-success/

THE creations of Morningside fashion designer Melinda Toomey will be on show this week. Melinda is among 18 fashion designers from Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE showcasing their Italian-inspired creations at Italian Fashion Week. The students were handpicked to exhibit their garments in the fashion extravaganza which will be held in Queen Street Mall from May 29-31. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/italian-inspiration-bellissimo/

FOOD and family were at the core of Michele Di’Bartolo’s upbringing. Memories of sitting in her grandmother’s kitchen watching her cook, coupled with a trip to her ancestral home of Sicily in 2005, spurred the lawyer to put pen to paper upon her return. The result is The Sicilian Kitchen, a memoir with a liberal dash of traditional, home-style Sicilian recipes scattered throughout. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/a-taste-of-sicily/

ALDERLEY: Italians have taken over Alderley in the lead up to a festival which celebrates the culture, history, and food of the boot-shaped country. Italian Week organizer Alessandro Sorbello said the week-long celebration was now in its third year and provided an insight into Italian culture. “We’re bringing the ‘la bella vita’ (life is beautiful) essence of Italy to Brisbane,” Mr Sorbello said. “This year’s celebration will capture the flare and excitement of one of the world’s oldest countries. http://north-west-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/italian-life-celebrated/

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Italian Week to showcase modern flavour

Sink your teeth into Brisbane's Italian Week.
Ask the boss of Italian Week where to get a slice of authentic pizza in Brisbane, and he doesn't want to talk about it.

Rather than focus on age-old images of red-and-white check tablecloths and steaming bowls of bolognese, Alessandro Sorbello would rather talk about the modern Italy.

The producer of Italian Week 2009 said it was time Brisbane embraced the complexity and depth of modern Italian culture, rather than just focus on the past.

"It's important that we do not ignore our heritage," Mr Sorbello said. "Neither should we let the past hold us back."

The recent closure of Newmarket's long-standing Italo-Australian Centre was a sign Italian culture in Brisbane needed to move with the times, he said.

"After several decades of offering a place for Italians and people passionate about Italy to unite, this Brisbane icon leaves a large gap within the Italian community," he said.

"(This) highlights the need to evolve and celebrate Italy as the modern, fascinating and alluring country that it is today."

Hence the program for this year's Italian Week, which runs for a week from today, is designed to cross generations and celebrate the integration and differences between the cultures of Australia and Italy.

"Whether you're a connoisseur looking for a taste of the world's finest wine or homemade pasta, or a fashionista looking to the catwalks of Milan for inspiration, Italian Week is a chance for locals to experience the culture and delights of this beautiful country," said Mr Sorbello.
Now in its third year, Italian Week will this year be housed predominantly in Queen Street Mall for the first time.

The program comprises a host of film, opera, music, fashion and food events, culminating in Festa della Repubblica (Italian National Day).

"We were really trying to express the full gamut of Italian ingenuity and attitude to life this year," Mr Sorbello says. "From astronomy to gastronomy, technology and textiles, this year is about the good life, the old life and the new life."

For more information on Italian Week, including a full listing of programs and events visit http://www.italianweek.com.au/

Katherine FeeneyMay 25, 2009
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/italian-week-to-showcase-modern-flavour-20090526-blbz.html

CBD gets a taste of Italy

Workers strolling through Reddacliff Place in Brisbane's CBD today got a colourful taste of what to expect from the second half of Italian Week.
Models draped themselves over a Vespa scooter and red Fiat convertible, three tenors paid tribute to operatic icon Luciano Pavarotti and waiters from the old country practised running with trays of wine-filled glasses.
Festival producer Alessandro Sorbello said the week-long celebration had already been a hit with the city's residents, but the best was yet to come, including Italian Fashion Week parades, numerous musical performances from internationally renowned artists, a motor show and more food events.
At the end of the day, however, he said he hoped the festival left Brisbane residents with a deeper understanding and affinity for the Italian way of life.
"Italy has such a rich culture that we want to start to really now tap the broader, the deeper dimensions of it,'' he said. "We want to say it is about food, it is about fun and wine, but there's much, much more to it as well there's also a way of life. They (Italians) are very much orientated around now, about being spontaneous.

"You don't know which day is your last day so why not have a great day every day?'' Mr Sorbello said there was no reason why the sunshine state's celebration of all things Italian could not become bigger than its southern rivals. "We're going to keep building,'' he said.

"Melbourne has the Lygon Street Festival and Sydney has the Norton Street Festival, and now Brisbane has the Italian Week Festival. "Absolutely we can be bigger. "Next year we have plans to bring in architecture and visual art so we can really transform the city for Italian Week into Italy.''

Major events over the coming days include fashion parades showcasing Italian and local designers' creations in the Queen Street Mall on Friday and the weekend; the Italian Motorshow in Reddacliff Place on May 31; the Italian Waiters Race held as part of Tastes of Italy on May 31 which re-enacts the 1950s race in Rome's Colosseum and a host of free concerts from star performers on the Queen Street Mall stage and in Reddacliff place.

Simon O'Brien May 28, 2009

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/your-brisbane/cbd-gets-a-taste-of-italy-20090528-bon9.html

Some highlights of Italian Week 2009

A range of image showing Italian Week 2009 highlights - more to come in due course

La Bella Vita in Brisbane with Alessandro Sorbello and Maro Cali

Alessandro Sorbello and Mario Cali enjoy lunch in preperation for Tastes of Italy, A feature of Italian Week 2009. Wines by ItaliQuore (Thanks Filippo D'arro) and foods by Eurofoods Qld (thanks Sam Monforte)

Sunday, May 24, 2009