“Passage Notes” tribute to FRANCO BATTIATO

PASSAGE NOTES is the title of the initiative tribute to Franco Battiatoon the occasion of the first anniversary of his death, which will be held in Milo from Wednesday 18th to Sunday 22nd May.

It is a large exhibition, composite and articulated, which explores all the artistic and non-artistic contexts in which Franco Battiato has found himself operating in half a century and beyond of constant activity and research.

The initiative, commissioned by Municipality of Milo with the patronage ofDepartment of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity of the Sicilian Region and in collaboration with the Permanent Gravity Study Center, the Tourist Association Pro – Loco Milo and the Higher Education Institute “M. Amari “ di Giarre, is characterized by various events located in different locations both in Milo and in Giarre.

The opening (day 18, 7.00 am Belvedere Giovanni D’Aragona) of the exhibition will be characterized by a meditative moment that will bring together exponents of different spiritual and artistic traditions. A real meditation that will recall Battiato’s most secret and mystical spirit.

In the afternoon, (17.00, Service Center) the mayor of Milo, Alfio Cosentino, Fiorella Nozzetti And Alfredo Cavallaro (President of the Pro Loco Milo) will present the exhibition together with the project for the construction of a celebratory statue that reproduces Franco Battiato and Lucio Dalla. The work, of which a model already exists, will be made by the master Placido Calì.

The presentation of the new book by the writer and essayist will follow (5.30 pm) Guido Drive Guerrera by title “The man of the garden island”, an in-depth analysis of the artist’s symbolic and esoteric contents. The presentation, moderated by Alessio Cantarellawill be enriched by the reading of fragments of the book by the actors Lucia Sardo And Alfio Zappalà.

The composer’s musical homage (at 8.30 pm, outside piazzale di Milo) by the composer is highly anticipated Stefano Pio (son of the violinist Right Pio, co-author of many famous pieces by the Sicilian artist). The Opera, which will be premiered in Milo, is entitled “Hu or the nostalgia of the beloved“And sees on stage an Ensemble composed of a string quintet, piano, keyboards, dance, all framed by the voices of Enrico Masiero And Daniela Papale.

The work will be introduced by a welcome tribute to the particularly suggestive and topical piece, “PEACE”, performed by Rosario Di Bella.

Thursday 19 (Centro Servizi, 17.00) will be the turn of the presentation of the book “Journey into Dante’s Comedy” by Paolo Sessa.

Together with the Author, and coordinated by Turi Caggegithere will be Mario Tropea And Sergio Cristaldi (University of Catania) and the dantist Maria Soresina. The deputy mayor of Milo, Concetta Cantarellawill bring greetings from the Administration.

Following (6.00 pm) a meeting entitled “Franco Battiato and the vision of Dante Alighieri” (journey into the kingdom of return), led by Fabio Bagnasco And Fiorella Nozzetti.

In conclusion (7.00 pm), the projection of “Crossing the Bardo”, Battiato’s last docufilm in which the complex theme of the passage into the Hereafter is tackled according to different spiritual traditions and the most recent scientific knowledge.

Friday 20 a dense series of appointments is planned: In Giarre, at the Aula Magna IIS “M.Amari” (10.00 am) Graziana Di Biase (Film scholar) will meet the students on the theme “Franco Battiato’s cinema, the purity of language.

Return to Milos (Service Center, 4.00 pm)

After the greeting of the Tourism Councilor of the Municipality of Milo, Francesca Stranoit will be the turn of the projection of “One hundred billion stars”, a collection of audiovisual testimonies, curated by Alessio Cantarella, featuring artists, journalists, producers and other friends of Battiato who will talk about their relationship with the composer. The screening will be presented by Fiorella Nozzetti.

To follow (at 5.00 pm), “The mysterious and unique disappearance of Franco Battiato”, a book written jointly by Vincenzo La Monica And Giuseppe Piccinnowhich will be the subject of Paolo Sessa’s report, in the presence of the two authors.

It will follow (6.00 pm) with the presentation of the new edition of the volume “Franco Battiato’s cinema, a means of knowledge”, introduced by Graziana De Biase (author of the essay) and Fabio Bagnasco. At the end of the meeting, the screening of the docufilm “Auguri Don Gesualdo”, made by Battiato in 2010 as an affectionate homage to the writer Gesualdo Bufalino.

Saturday 21 (Service Center, 9.00 am) will be the turn of a conference that will deepen the subtle relationship between the great poet and Franco Battiato. Moderated by Paolo Sessa, the dantist Maria Soresina, the essayist Maximum Wishes, the dantist Nicolò Mineo and the doctor Amal Oursana they will discuss the theme “Dante and Battiato between art and spirituality”.

At 4.30 pm, an intervention by the writer and regional councilor for cultural heritage, Alberto Samonà, will introduce a relationship of Tito Rinesi And Piero Grassini on “Il Sufismo e Battiato”, counterpointed by the readings of Sufi mystical texts by the actors Lucia Sardo and Alfio Zappalà. Moderated by Fiorella Nozzetti.

“Dargah– the threshold ”is the title of the concert-meeting (18.00) on the Sufi music.

On stage Tito Rinesi with the Ensamble Dargahto present a path of music and songs on the best known texts of the poets of Sufism.

Sunday 22 – Sufi dance seminar (Service center from 9.00 to 12.00), by Amal Oursana. In the afternoon (5.00 pm), a delicate adaptation for choir of some compositions by Battiato and performance of pieces by Georg Friedrich Handel (composer on which Battiato himself had designed a feature film) will be held at the Mother Church of Milo Sant’Andrea edited by of the

Polyphonic Company of Giarre, directed by maestro Giuseppe Cristaudo.

“We will come back again”(Belvedere Giovanni D’Aragona, 7.00 pm) is the title of the homage that will conclude the milese review, by the organization Pro Loco Milo.

A particular in-depth study on Franco Battiato’s pictorial and graphic work consists of the two exhibitions that can be visited during the course of the event. The first, entitled “Gilgamesh”- Graphic work – video of 2007, exhibits the original score of the work, scenic sketches, three graphic works, together with the pages of the book. The work was donated to the Municipality of Milo and to the Permanent Gravity Study Center.

A photographic reading of the artist’s music is instead “The gardens of pre-existence”, created by Enzo Ferrari.

It is not a simple tribute on the occasion of a heartfelt anniversary – underlines the mayor of Milo, Alfio Cosentinobut the starting point of a series of projects that we will develop over time with the aim of restoring the stigma of his greatness to Franco Battiato. His themes, not only cultural and spiritual, but also ethnological and artistic in the universal sense, must be a constant stimulus for future generations to start a cognitive path of the human being and the real meaning of our existence. Battiato – concludes the mayor – he was a great artist capable of influencing entire generations, and still does so today, in a transversal and constant way. His point of view was universal, but his world and his creative laboratory had Milo and his beloved Sicily as their geographical location.

For info and reservations, contact Proloco Milo, tel. 331 1555443 email: info@prolocomilo.it

or to the Municipality of Milo, tel 095 955423 (general affairs – secretarial service) email: segreteria@comune.milo.ct.it

“Passage Notes” tribute to FRANCO BATTIATO – etnalife