"Pizza as "eighth art": two case histories in Milan"
Published in the initiative on 07 November 2019 of cronachedigusto.it
Today we will probably celebrate the "baptism" of food as the eighth art and first in the Milanese neighborhood of art par excellence, Brera in Milan.
Starting with the most popular dish, pizza, which if we put it on an economic level, makes staggering numbers: 8 million pizzas a day, almost three billion pizzas a year, for a turnover that exceeds 15 billion euros and the employment of over 150,000 people. Data that in Milan, today, Marco Eugenio Di Giandomenico will surely give more details to those who will attend the event on the dialogue between the creative languages of contemporary art in the era of new technologies, with a focus on food (especially pizza) and music, organized by Ard&Nt Institute (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera and Politecnico di Milano) and the Association Ethicando, at the former Church of San Carpoforo of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, in Via Marco Formentini 14, in the heart of Brera, starting at 3pm.
Let's immediately introduce Di Giandomenico, economist and critic of the sustainability of Art and Culture, professor at the Brera Academy, a world-famous art institution. So, an unquestionable imprimatur on food as the eighth art. And, starting with two case histories of excellence selected for the Milan event. That is, the Neapolitan pizza artist, Giuseppe Maglione, owner of Daniele Gourmet in Avellino, today among the best creative expressions of culinary art, says Di Giandomenico. And, he adds "his pizzas use the best ingredients of Irpinia, becoming an instrument of territorial valorization, as well as other products of excellence of the made in Italy, acquiring an aesthetic connotation so to speak "sustainable", both for the beauty of the gastronomic artifacts in themselves, and for the social messages (defense of women's rights, promotion of peace) that guide the chef in his creative activity".
With the pizza cannot miss the flour, but it must be the one produced by a historic mill, such as the Mantuan Molino Pasini, represented by Gianluca Pasini, with almost one hundred years of history, which has been able to decline the values and the konw-how of the ancient millers in the era of new technologies, with a wise selection of grains and other raw materials, enhancing a multi-millennial Italian craft heritage of the art of flour that represents one of the best expressions of the made in Italy in the world. Since we're talking about art, a musical performance fits right in, and a talented student of the master Soundart of the Ard&Nt Institute, Mariusphere, will perform pieces using a piano "set up" - just like that - with kitchen utensils inserted between the strings, producing sounds and rhythmic suggestions in creative dialogue with the art of food, the cultural leitmotif of the initiative.
Icing on the cake, the presentation of the book "The Estro of Taste. Giuseppe Maglione, artist of sustainable pizza," published by Apeiron Edizioni (Naples, 2019), edited by Di Giandomenico, with contributions from Gianluca Festa (Mayor of the City of Avellino), Pasquale Giuditta (formerly Director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Responsible for relations with UNESCO and one of the protagonists of the recognition of the traditional art of the Neapolitan pizzaiuolo as a World Heritage Site), Roberto Favaro (professor of history of music and deputy director of the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera), Roberto Rosso (professor of photography at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera), Filippo Cannata (lighting designer). The initiative is promoted by the communicative platform Betting On Italy (BOI), which divulges in the media the artistic and cultural initiatives with the greatest impact of social edification. How can we conclude? Here we eat, but Culture - with a capital C - with pizza at the center.
Michele Pizzillo