ITALIAN TECHNOLOGYSEEKS ISRAELI PARTNERS

1

t the beginning of December, forty Italianmanufacturers came to Tel Aviv to promote

their products and lookfor Israeli partners. Thedelegation was led byProfessor Fabrizio Onida,Chairman of the ItalianInstitute for Foreign TradeI.C.E., who met with DanGillermann, Chairman ofthe Federation of IsraeliChambers of Commerce,a n d A m i r M a k o v,President of the IsraelExport Institute.

The event was the firststep in a joint programmeof initiatives and events agreed upon by I.C.E., the Israel Export Institute,the Manufacturers Association of Israel and theIsraeli Federation of Chambers of Commerce.The programme was aimed at strengtheningties between Israeli and Italian business. Asshown in the table beside, trade between Israeland Italy is flourishing. Italians and Israelis areaiming now to explore opportunities for industrialcooperation in the hi-tech sector.

Italy's strength in the production of consumergoods is well known, but the general public issometimes surprised to hear that the bulk ofItalian exports lies in machinery and electricalequipment. These are produced mainly by smalland medium-sized enterprises organised in"industrial districts" (see page 2). For theseproducers, Israel's skill in hi-tech is likely tobe very attractive, facilitating competition inglobal markets. Italian manufactures of mechanicaland engineering products, machine tools, robotsand automation and farm machinery were themost numerous business representatives in thedelegation. Promising opportunities for

cooperation also emerged in the chemical andbiotechnology sectors, as well as in areas related

to environment such as waterand garbage treatment.

Some of the main Italianbanking institutions alsoattended the meeting, suchas Monte dei Paschi di Siena,Banca Nazionale del Lavoroand Banca CommercialeItaliana, which indicates thegrowing involvement ofItalian financial institutions in the Israeli system.

The Technology Week isbound to have a significantfollow-up next year. In May

2000 a Country Presentation of Israel will takeplace in Milan. Italian-Israeli workshops inspecific technological fields will be organisedin Israel. <>

A

Decembre 1999No. 3

Edited byThe Italian Embassy in Tel Aviv

E m b a s s y o f I t a l y4, Weizman St. Tel AvivTel: 03-6964223/4/5 Fax: 03-6918428E-mail:italemb@netvision.net.ilhttp://www.italian-embassy-israel.org.il

pg1

pg2

pg3

pg3

pg4

pg5

pg6

pg6

pg7

pg8

ITALIAN EXPORTS TO ISRAEL BYMAIN COMMODITY GROUP(MILLION US DOLLARRS)

MAIN TRADING COUNTRIESBY EXPORTS TO ISRAEL(MILLION US DOLLARRS)

ITALIAN EXPORTS

Machinery, electrical equipment & theirparts

Base metals and articles thereof

Textiles and textile articles

Miscellaneous manufactured articles

Products of chemical or allied industry

Total Italian Export

(by the Central Bureau of Statistics)- total excluding diamonds -

1998

481

195

187

157

139

1,827

MAIN TRADING COUNTRIESEXPORTS

United States

Germany

Italy

United Kindom

France

(by the Central Bureau of Statistics)- total excluding diamonds -

1998

5,211

2,417

1,827

1,585

1,125

ITALIAN TECHNOLOGYSEEKS ISRAELI PARTNERS

ITALY'S WAY TO GLOBALISATION:LOCAL NETWORKS OF SME'S

WEALTHY NORTH-WESTERN REGIONSVISIT ISRAEL

REGIONAL PROFILES: PIEDMONT,A CHAMPION IN R&D

GOVERNMENT PRIVATISES ELECTRICAL GIANT

"NOT ONLY PRIVATISATION":CHAIRMAN CHICCO TESTAHIGHLIGHTS ENEL'S STRATEGIES

ITALY IN ISRAEL

ITALIAN PILOTS AT THE HATZOR BASE

CULTURAL EVENTS IN ISRAEL

EVENTS IN ITALY

Italy is Israel's third largest trading partner. For Italian companies,Israel is increasingly interesting not only as a market, but alsoas a partner for industrial cooperation in hi-tech sectors.The "Italian Technology Week" in Tel Aviv (6-9 December)confirmed this.

mong the industrialized Europeancountries, Italy has three distinguishing

characteristics: a high number of companies,a strong preponderance of small and medium-sized enterprises and a high per-capita valueadded, typical of a country without rawmaterials and of an industrial system foundedbasically on transformation.

The Italian economic growth model is basedon flexible strategy and the diffusion of anetwork of small, but highly profitableenterprises. The path of industrializationmapped out in recent years has enabled Italyto achieve a goal which is enviable and uniqueif compared with the production systems ofother European countries.

The data leaves no room for doubt: of themore than sixteen million enterprises inEurope, 24% are located in Italy, 16.2% inthe United Kingdom, 15.2% in Spain and14.1% in Germany.

In addition, 21.1% of Europe’s enterpriseswith a workforce of less than 100 are to befound in Italy. There are 68 enterprises everyone thousand inhabitants.

If we see the Italian economy as a temple,small and medium-sized enterprises are thebricks in the building, while the industrialdistricts are its supporting columns. The mostrecent report by the National Statistics Instituteshows that industrial districts account formore than 80% of manufacturing systems interms of both number and employment.

The latest report by Italy’s National StatisticsInstitute indicates that there are 784 districts(defined as local work systems and identifiedby the 1991 Census). Of these, 279 are definedas manufacturing districts of which 199 areidentified as fully-fledged "industrial districts".Situated mainly in the north and in the centerof the country, the districts judiciously combineadaptability to demand fluctuations, a highpropensity for technological innovation,flexible production networks and a highdegree of work-force mobility.

An industrial district is basically a small areain which clusters of between one to threethousand enterprises operate, mostly withless than twenty employees and which employfrom ten to twenty thousand workers overall.The districts have some characteristics incommon. Firstly, a diffuse entrepreneurialspirit and the capacity to use social structureswhich are highly suited to coordinating

resources. Hence the possibility to availoneself of family ties and to continuallyprocure fresh local labor. One of the successfactors of the industrial districts lies preciselyin this synergy of forces between territory,environment, community and family-runenterprises. Moreover, the human scale ofthe structures fosters better labour relationsas regards both quality and performance. The district model allows the employee a

considerable degree of autonomy and roomfor self-management and more social mobilitythan in big companies.

These characteristics make the district a'Laboratory', or rather, a series of laboratoriesof the Renaissance type, expressed by thevarious functional areas which together forma network of operative poles. A source of

ideas, forces, capital in which principalcompanies and sub-suppliers develop economictransactions, collaboration and forms ofvertical co-operation. Thus, a grid model inwhich affinities, collaboration and competitionco-exist comes into being.

Each area, in fact, specializes in productswhich are different and of differing complexitywith different final use. Thus, for example,Prato in Tuscany is famous for textiles,Sassuolo in Emilia Romagna for ceramictiles, Valtrompia in Lombardy for cutleryand Montegranaro in Marche for footwear.

As regards geographical distribution, thenorth -east, with 32.7% of the districts identifiedhas the greatest concentration of districts,followed by the centre with 30.7%, the north-west , where the density of industrial districtsamounts to 29.6%, and the south with 7.5%.The textile industry’s most important districtsare concentrated in Piemonte, Veneto, Marche,Tuscany and Lombardy. The districts of themechanical engineering industry areconcentrated mainly in northern Italy, inparticular Emilia Romagna, Lombardy,Piedmont and Veneto. The north-east playsa fundamental role in furniture and in someniche productions such as jewellery, ceramics,marble working and spectacles. In the foodsector, Emilia Romagna, where film directorFederico Fellini was born, has more districtsthan the other regions. It should also be notedthat there is a proliferation of small and microa g r o - f o o d f i r m s t h r o u g h o u t t h eMezzogiorno.<>

2

A THE LEADING 10 DISTRICTS BY TURNOVERExport(bil. Lire)

1,800

2,575

900

1,800

2,600

2,315

1,800

520

500

1,800

Employees(no.)

29,000

48,000

30,000

17,300

21,400

7,050

10,000

24,265

10,000

9,000

Companies(no.)

2,300

11,850

9,100

1,800

220

600

1,100

2,434

880

1,200

Turnover(bil. Lire)

6,000

5,150

5,000

4,300

4,052

3,087

3,000

2,547

2,500

2,300

Product

Textile-Clothing

Textile-Clothing

Furniture

Silk

CeramicTiles

Hides

Jewellery

Footwear

Hides

Marble

Region

Piedmont

Tuscany

Lombardy

Lombardy

EmiliaRomagna

Veneto

Veneto

Marche

Tuscany

Tuscany

District

Biella

Prato

Brianza

Como

Sassuolo

Arzignano

Vicenza

AscoliPiceno

Santa Croce

Carrara

(1 Euro is 1936 Lire)

It is not widely known thatthe secret of Italy's economicsuccess lies in the so-called"industrial districts": smalland medium-sized enterprisesnetworking on a local basis.This is a modern reality whichdates back to the tradition ofthe "Comuni" (LocalCouncils) in the Middle Ages.

TALY'S interest in strengtheningeconomic ties with Israel is also seen

by the visit of two regional delegations fromItaly's highly industrialized North-West. Atthe end of October, Alberto Zorzoli, Vice-President of Lombardy, came to Israel witha delegation of businessmen, followed byEnzo Ghigo, President of Piedmont, on 21-23 November. The importance that bothItalian and Israeli partners attached to thevisits is shown by such official events as themeeting between Mr. Ghigo and Mr. Masalha,Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, and themeeting between Mr. Zorzoli and Mr.Goldschmidt, President of the FinancialCommittee of the Knesset.

Some figures highlight the economic weightof both regions. Lombardy alone accountsfor 20% of Italy's GDP, Piedmont for about8,5%. Taken together, their economic sizeequals that of the Netherlands. Their importancewithin Italy is even more considerable in

3

I

With its 338,000 businesses, correspondingto 8% of the national total, the productionsystem of Piedmont achieves levels ofexcellence in large, small and mediumdimensions. The distinguishing featuresare the tendency towards technologicalinnovation and a vocational model linkedclosely with the metal-mechanical industryand transport sectors in which more than30% of Piedmont's industrial enterprisesare involved. However, it is impossible toignore the importance of other areas, suchas the textile-clothing sector, of which theBiella district is one of the most importantinternational centres of production; the foodsector with the fundamental role of theCuneo "food valley", and the wood-furnituresector. The efficiency of the whole systemis made apparent by an economic index assimple as it is flattering: as mentioned above,Piedmont's exports account for 13% of thenational total.

SIZE kms. 25.398,94 (1 .209 municipal i t ies) POPULATION: 4 .288.866 inhabitants .

REGIONAL PROFILES: PIEDMONT, A CHAMPION IN R&D.(http://www.regione.piemonte.it).

WEALTHY NORTH-WESTERN REGIONSVISIT ISRAEL

terms of export capacity. Lombardy accountsfor 28% of Italian exports and Piedmont for13%. Lombardy's and Piedmont's interest in

promoting industrial cooperation with Israel,therefore, is likely to have a significant impacton the economic links between Italy and

The "Mole Antonelliana": Turin's symbolIn Piedmont, interest in state-of-the-arttechnologies represents the most authenticand deep-rooted regional vocation. Thebiggest national share of investments inresearch and development (30% of the total,equalling approximately 3,000 billion lireper annum), and the presence of no fewer

than 91 public and private institutes withover 9,000 specialist employees, make thisregion a centre of excellence for the equipmentand consistency of the research organisations,as well as a vital link in the chain of scientific-technical relations between Italy and the restof the world.Alongside the many departments of Turin’sUniversity and Technical College, variouscentres are affiliated to the CNR (NationalResearch Council): these include the GalileoFerraris Technical Institute and the ColonnettiMetrology Institute. Also of particularimportance are the activities of the CSELT(STET) in the telecommunications field, theRAI Research Centre in the radio and televisionsector, the Fiat Research Centre in theautomotive sector, the RTM (MechanicalResearch and Technologies) in the mechanicssector, and the Donegani Institute of Novara,the main chemical research centre in Italy.<>

he Italian Treasury Ministry has successfullystarted to privatise ENEL S.p.A., by far

the largest Italian Electric Power Company. Thisis a step in a plan of privatisation of publiccompanies which, over the last five years, hasinvolved such sectors as energy, telecommunications,banks and insurance and goes hand in hand withmarket liberalisation. Since 1994 earnings fromprivatisation amounted to 42 billion Euro. In1998 alone the privatisation revenue reached 10,5bi l l ion Euro , i . e . 1% of I ta ly ' s GDP.

ENEL Societa' per Azioni is the third largestelectrical utility in the world, with 56,000 Megawattsof installed power, 29 million customers and a20 billion Euro turnover. Established in 1962 bynationalising over 1,200 regional electricalcompanies, ENEL was aimed at ensuring anextensive and homogenous distribution of electricpower in Italy. As the electric power market isbeing gradually liberalised according to newEuropean legislation - 20% before August 2000- ENEL is being converted into a privatisedholding company, in order to face the new scenarioof the European electric power market and toexploit new opportunit ies for growth.

The privatisation of ENEL is estimated to beworth 40 to 50 billion Euro. The first emissiontook place last October and the first transactionon the Stock Exchange of Milan and New Yorkat the beginning of November. The TreasuryMinistry will hold a so- called "golden share" ofENEL's capital, i.e. keep special rights, for aperiod of five years. <>

4

T

G O V E R N M E N T P R I VAT I S E SE L E C T R I C A L G I A N T

Financial Times, 1st November 1999"Italy’s Enel launch is world’s largestIPO""Italy’s stock market launch of ENEL, withthe sale of $19.3bn worth of shares becamethe world’s largest initial public offering.Following huge demand from internationalfund managers and the Italian public, thegovernment decided to sell 34.5 per cent ofits 100 per cent stake in Enel.The Treasury fixed the offer price for Enelshares at Lst. 4.3. This gives Enel a marketcapitalisation of Lst. 52.14bn and the receiptsfrom the sale will ensure that Italy fulfilsits pledge to its European partners.Some 3.8m Italians took part in the domesticretail share offer, the largest number yet inan Italian privatisation".

The Herald Tribune, 25th October 1999"Enel sale marks full circle for Chairman""Mr. Testa, formerly Head of the Lega perl'Ambiente, Italy's environmental group, isnow the Chairman of the Board of Enel.The transition from being an idealist witha philosophy degree to a manager chargedwith "creating shareholder value" is partof a larger dialectic Mr. Testa.More explicitly, ENEL has insisted onobtaining environmental certification forall its plants, a process in which the companyis ahead of most of its European peers.Mr. Testa, together with Mr. Tato, wereappointed to prepare ENEL for the stock

P r i v a t i s a t i o n o f S t a t ecompanies brought the ItalianTreasury 42 bn. Euro in fiveyears market. The proceeds of the sale will go

toward paying down the national debt".

The Wall Street Journal Europe, 1st

November 1999"Enel IPO becomes world’s largest":"The blockbuster demand for ENEL shareshas made it one of the most successfulprivatizations ever undertaken in Europe.The demand was so strong that thegovernment decided to raise the size ofthe tranche from 23% to 35%.In spite of the success, some investors weredisappointed at the price, which at Lst 4.30 came at the top of the range set out by theTreasury earlier this month.The placement was an impressive one andwith the 3.8 million requests for shares,Enel is second in Europe only to the placementby France Telecom, which drew 3.9 millionapplications.Enel’s placement will also have a strongimpact on the Milan stock market.The partial privatisation represents theculmination of a series of changes to oneof the world’s largest electrical utilities.Franco Tato, arrived in 1996 with the goalof transforming Enel "from a charity intoa company", by first of all cutting the staffby more than 15,000

The Wall Street Journal Europe, 3rd

November 1999"Enel shares change little from IPO":"Enel’s shares were priced at the top endof the range.Apart from the high initial price, the ItalianTreasury’s decision last weekend to increasethe sale’s size to 34.5%, from the originallyplanned 23%, eliminated much of the pent-up demand.Next step for the electricity company, Mr.Tato said, would be to improve efficiencyand offset the regulatory changes that willeat into profits and sales.In the meantime Enel is planning to sealits agreement to buy 30% of pay-TV Telepiúand to close the acquisition of state-ownedwater companies. Furthermore Enel owns51% of Wind Spa, Italy’s third largestcellular-phone company. The Treasuryexecutives would like Enel to sell its stakein Wind in a maximum of two years, whileEnel insists on five years".<>

Comments from the international press about the privatization of ENEL

(http://www.enel.it; for information about the privatisation plan, see http://www.tesoro.it)

I TA LY ' S M A I N P R I VAT I S AT I O N S 1 9 9 4 - 1 9 9 8Company Sector Year Privatized

Share (%)Treasury

Revenues inbillion Euro

INA

ENI

ENI

ENI

TELECOM ITALIA

ENI

BNL

Insurance

Energy

Energy

Energy

Telecommunication

Energy

Banking

1 9 9 4

1 9 9 5

1 9 9 6

1 9 9 7

1 9 9 7

1 9 9 8

1 9 9 8

49,45

15,05

16,19

18,21

39,54

14,21

67,85

2,2

3,1

4,4

6,6

11,4

6,5

3,4

n January 1997 Enel adopted a neworganisation based on the unbundling

of all its activities and made up of a corporatehead office, three divisions and a limitednumber of business units.In October 1999 this organisation wastransformed into a holding structure whichestablished all the division and businessuni t s as jo in t s tock companies .The following central companies werecreated:

● Genera t ion : Enel Produzione(thermoelectric and hydroelectric generation),Erga (renewable sources), three generatingcompanies (Eurogen, Elettrogen, Interpower)

● Transmission: Tema (operation,ma in tenance and deve lopment )

● Distribution: Enel Distribuzione(distribution to non- eligible customers),Enel Trade (sales to eligible customers)

Enel is transforming itself from a one-product company into a diversified, multi-service industrial group.

The main diversification sectors are:

● telecommunications (Wind)● waste management (Ismes)● waste to energy (Elettroambiente)● engineering ( Enelpower)● "beyond the meter" services ( Se.m.e.)● public lighting (So.l.e.)

Telecommunications is the first and mostimportant diversification underway, with

the establishment of WIND, a company inwhich ENEL holds a 51% stake, whileDeutsche Telekom and France Telecom hold24,5% each.

ENEL aims at maximising the value of itsfixed and mobile networks created in thepast for the needs of its electrical system.

In March 1999 WIND started providingconvergent fixed and mobile services forresidential customers. Currently the totalnumber of customers is over 1.7 million

ENELPOWER, our new engineering andconstruction company, recently achievedsome important results in the internationalmarket. Last July the first contract was

signed for a combined cycle plant in theUK. In August it signed an agreement withExxon Power to develop power projects inthe Mediterranean area and in Eastern Europe ENELPOWER has recently won a bid forthe construction of a 130 MW thermal powerplant in Saudi Arabia, and it is also activein South America

Other steps recently taken by ENELtowards diversification, still undernegotiation, include the acquisitionof a 30% stake in Telepiú, apredominant Italian Pay-TV operatorand the acquisition of AcquedottoPugliese, the major player in integratedwater business in Italy and one ofthe biggest in Europe

Enel has just started to move intothe gas sector, negotiating theacquisition of Colombo Gas, adistribution company operating innorthern Italy.

A s r e g a r d s i m p r o v e m e n tcompet i t iveness , ENEL hassignificantly raised the level ofefficiency and economic performancein the last three years.

This is essentially due to:- a reduction in operating costs, and particularly labour cost;- a fall in financial cost thanks to the strongreduction of debt.

(European Electricity Conference, Rome29-30 November 1999.) <>

5

I

N O T O N LY P R I VAT I S AT I O N :C H A I R M A N C H I C C O T E S TAH I G H L I G H T S E N E L ' S S T R AT E G I E SENEL wants to meet the challenges resulting from the new competitive environmentby transforming the company's structure, pursuing diversification and improvingits competitive edge.

Chicco Testa

6

at the Susanne Dellal Theatre from the 8th

to the 15th of December 1999.Petrassi, Theatre and Dance: a display ofdesigns, models, photographs of stage sets,affiches, scores and other material fortheatrical works produced by importantItalian artists and stage designers: Afro,Mario Mafai, Lele Luzzati, Corrado Cagli,Toti Scialoja, Elio Sciola, AntoniettaGambaro, Carlo Savi, Lorenzo Ghiglia,Lucio Fontana, Manzú, Felice Casorati,Giulio Coltellacci.

Ballet: at the Susanne Dellal Theatre onthe 8th of December 1999(Two programmes - Claude Debussy andGoffredo Petrassi) In Syrinx and Prélude,interludes et paraphrase finale pour L'aprés-midi d'un faune of Claude Debussy andEstri of Goffredo Petrassi.

Other EventsPetrassi Library: at the Felicia BlumentalMusic Center and Library from the 8th tothe 15th of December.Listening to and Watching Petrassi: at theFelicia Blumental Music Center and Libraryon the 8th to the 15th of December 1999.

JERUSALEM

The meeting was organized by theMunicipality of Bologna and the JewishCommunities of Florence and Bologna, incollaboration with the Municipality ofJerusalem, the National Library and theU. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art- Centro Studi sull'Ebraismo Italiano.Meetings, exhibitions, musical recitalsHebraic music, Christian music in popularculture preserved through oral tradition.

The Italian Genizáh - The manuscriptsof the Bolognese and Italian Genizáh: anexhibition at the National Library from the12th of December 1999 to the 12th of January2000.Towards a "European Genizáh" - from thediscoveries at Bologna to those at Girona(Spain): a meeting at the National Libraryon the 13th of December.

The figure of Leo Levi (1912-1982): ameeting at the U. Nahon Museum of ItalianJewish Art - Centro studi sull’ebraismoitaliano, Italian Synagogue on the 14th ofDecember 1999.

Concert of Live and Recorded Music:(based on Leo Levi’s research) a concertat the U. Nahon Museum of Italian JewishArt - Centro studi sull’ebraismo italiano,Italian Synagogue on December 14 1999.<>

I T A L Y I N I S R A E LItaly in Israel" is a project that tookplace from the 28th of November to

the 14th of December 1999 in Tel Aviv andJerusalem. It was promoted by the ItalianMinistry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministryfor Cultural Heritage within the frameworkof a larger cultural program to explore theheritage of the Mediterranean area.The rediscovery of our historical andcultural phenomena gave particular attentionto a few principal areas. The projects werecentered on four main themes: the Journeyof Faith, the Journey of Peoples, the Journeyin Heritage and the Journey in WrittenRecollection. The program for Israel, wasmade possible by the collaboration of thelocal authorities of Tel Aviv and Jerusalemand was based on two of these fundamentalsubjects.The programme planned for Tel Aviv waslinked to cultural heritage and was intendedas a documented homage to contemporarycreativity, symbolically represented bytwo great composers of our century: GoffredoPetrassi and Arnold Schoenberg. Not onlyconcerts but also exhibitions, ballet andtheatrical performances combined toportray these two outstanding figures inthe musical panorama of the twentiethcentury. In addition Petrassi's Motets forthe Passion was compared with the worksof a master of the late Renaissance, Carlo

Gesualdo da Venosa, whose tormentedcompositional style, full of dissonance,reveals early traces of contemporarysensitivity.The focus of attention in Jerusalem wasthe study of the manuscripts of the ItalianGenizáh (Bologna and Florence) and themusical ethnological research of Leo Levi.

TEL AVIV

The festival was presented in collaborationwith the Art Museum of Tel Aviv, the FeliciaBlumental Music Center and Library andthe Suzanne Dellal Theatre.

A Homage to Arnold Schoenberg: a concertat the Felicia Blumental Music Center andLibrary on the 28th of November 1999.Music by Anton Webern, Alban Berg andArnold Shoenberg. (Antonio Ballista -conductor and piano).

Goffredo Petrassi and Gesualdo da Venosa:a choral concert at the Tel Aviv Museumon the 2nd of December 1999. Music byGoffredo Petrassi, Gesualdo da Venosaand Salomone Rossi. (Cappella DucaleVenetia - conductor Livio Picotti.)

A Homage to Goffredo Petrassi - A Masterof the Twentieth Century Italy: an exhibition

"

rom 8th to 11th November 1999four "AM - XT" aircraft from the

Italian Air Force Base at Amendolaand two Tornado from Gioia del Collewere received by the Israeli Air Forceat Hatzor.This visit was ther e s u l t o f j o i n tprojects undertakenthis year by theItalian and IsraeliAir Forces.This improvementi n r e l a t i o n sr e p r e s e n t s a n

important step towards more concreteco-operation and development.The Italian pilots were warmly welcomedby Brig. Gen. Avner Naveh and theirIsraeli colleagues. <>

F

ITALIAN PILOTS AT THE HATZOR BASE

7

CULTURAL EVENTS IN ISRAELNaples.According to Antonio Florio, director of theCappella, "It’s very interesting to hear in theseworks the beginning of the Italian opera buffa.They clearly anticipate what came much laterin a very special way. And later on, one alsodiscovers that opera music is also clearlyreflected in the instrumental works written atthe time"Although composers such as Leonardo Vinci,Leonardo Leo, Domenico Auletta or GiovanniBattista Mele might not be familiar names,listening to their music clearly explains howthe opera buffa started and makes us realizehow it achieved its heights many years later.

JEWELRY BY ARTISTS IN ITALY 1945-1995

This exhibition opened on Friday the 19th ofNovember at the Harry Oppenheimer DiamondMuseum in Ramat Gan, Rehov Jabotinsky 1,will continue untill the 20th of March 2000.Jewelry by Artists in Italy is a travelling exhibitionof the Museum for Jewelry and ContemporaryOrnaments of the Sartirana Art Foundation,sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute andmade possible through the generous assistanceof Dr. Giorgio Forni, President of the SartiranaArt Foundation and curator of the exhibition.The exhibition is composed of over 200 piecesof art jewelry created by 33 artists and designers,among them famous painters and sculptors,who have chosen to use jewelry as a mediumto express their creative ideas. By transposingtheir familiar materials, such as oil on canvasor stone sculpture, into elements such as gold,silver and precious stones, these versatile artistshave taken jewelry out of their traditional"decorative" context into an exciting new artform. The jewelry pieces in the exhibition are

ENNIO MARCHETTO

Superb paper costumes, great music and ingeniouson-stage transformations from the Mona Lisato the Simpsons. Ennio Marchetto fell in lovewith theatre as a child in Venice, making costumesin paper and plastic for the Carnival of Venice.He was immediately successful and begandeveloping more each year until the first of hispaper characters emerged - Marilyn Monroe.He worked at the Teatro dell’Arte making masksbefore moving to France to attend a workshopwith Linsay Kemp. Following this experience,he decided to perform his own work full time.In 1990 he launched his highly developed showof living cartoons at the Edinburgh Festival andit was a runaway success. He has performed all

over the world and has achieved a huge profileinternationally, with a repertoire of over 100characters.Ennio Marchetto performed in the SheroverTheatre of Jerusalem, on the 21st of November,in the Municipality Theatre of Haifa on the 22nd

of November and in Habima Theatre of Tel Avivon the 23rd of November.

LA CAPPELLA DELLA PIETA' DEI TURCHINILa Cappella dei Turchini is a unique ensemblecomprised of 16 members performing a programof musical treasures from baroque Naples. Theirname comes from one of the four conservatoriesof Naples, where they used to wear blue (Turchini)clothes on big celebrations.Thanks to the research work of this ensemble,many composers of that period have beenrediscovered by the public, in all their musicalrichness, revealing the influence of severalcultures: Italian, Greek, Spanish, French, Arabic.The concert took place in Jaffa, Noga Theatreon November 18th. Cappella dei Turchini performeda variety of Neapolitan songs and instrumentalworks, with a major focus on the developmentof the opera buffa in the first part of 18th century

all original, unique, non-commercial signedworks of art.Throughout the history of jewelry design, onecan find references to jewelry created by famousartists, usually for specific purposes, such asgifts, or as a special request commissioned bya patron. At times, artists have created jewelryas an experiment in miniaturization of anotherart form.The futuristic movement in the early part ofthe 20th century gave legitimacy to creativedecoration, in the form of textiles, householdobjects and jewelry, as viable artistic forms.However, as in all other art forms, the creativityof a piece of jewelry is not guaranteed by thepreciousness of the materials employed, butentrusted to the capacity for formal inventivenesswhich the artist succeeds in expressing throughthe free choice of the materials.The exhibition focuses on the construction of

an art object using different materials, fromprecious stones and metals to "non-precious"ones. While some of the artists try to expressbeauty in simple designs using simple materials,others rely on the beauty and richness of preciousgems and metals to create their jewelry. <>

L e a r n I t a l i a n t h r o u g h t h e O p e r a

From 25 February 2000One lesson per week32 hours on the whole

FROM ORFEO TO TURANDOTFROM ORFEO TO TURANDOT

Course of History of Lyrical Music

for advanced students

Jaffo, Rehov Shimon Ben Shatach 9Registrations from 23 January to 13 FebruaryTel. 03-5187966 Fax 03-5187968

8

E V E N T S I N I T A L Y

The Festival "Teatro d’Europa", devoted to thememory of Giorgio Strehler, was held throughoutcentral Milan from the 9th of November to the23rd of December. The Festival included plays,exhibitions, concerts, shows, conferences andfilms from 10 countries: Lithuania, France,Switzerland, Russia, Sweden, China, Hungary,Spain, Germany and Italy.Not a window neither a review. Not a panoramicview of the theatre in Europe, but a festivalfocusing on research into identity andconfrontation, although respecting the dissimilarity.The aim was to show a living theatre and nota theatre museum. And all this is happening inMilan, European city, crossroad of differentcultures and projects. Milan, the city of thePiccolo Teatro and of Giorgio Strehler, to whomthe festival is dedicated with the affection and gratitude that only theatre people can feel, butalso "with the consciousness that we must goon, beyond the life of the great maestri thatcame before us and who laid the foundation ofour present identity" These are the words ofLuca Ronconi, artistic director of the PiccoloTeatro di Milano, which is currently the centreof intense theatrical activity, with participants

February is coming up and thatmeans getting ready for theCarnival. The most famous ItalianCarnival is the one in Venice,which will take place from 25February to 7 March 2000. Butthe Venice Carnival is only oneof the many colorful and happycelebrations throughout the Country.No matter where you are, you willsee children and even adults incostume and you may be thespectator or the object of practicaljokes: "a Carnevale ogni scherzovale," Italians say: at Carnivaltime every joke is fair.

Information at phone number+39-041-770599

Useful web sites:www.comune.venezia.it/turismowww.best-of-italy.comwww.meetingeurope.comwww.ballodeldoge.comwww.tragicomica.it

from all over Europe.The idea of a European theatre originated longago, as a development of the long tours of theCommedia dell’Arte companies, namely "GliUniti" (The United), "Gli Ardenti" (The Ardent),"I Fedeli" (The Faithful): the names themselvesstood for a strenuous will and an enormouslove.The Europe of those days and of today is beautifulbecause it is full of contradictions, because itis made up of different voices and sounds, eachone filling the empty space left by the other.The same language on the same stage can help

Giorgio Strehler

us to understand that we are all human beingswho think and feel the same, when we succeedin breaking the illusionary wall behind whichall of us believe we are safe, but that on thecontrary creates only the most profound andicy loneliness.Forty-six days of theatre, with 21 shows, 16companies from 12 countries, 1300 actors, 180hours of performance.Out of this abundance, let us mention Italy’s,Ornella Vanoni with her underworld songs andFerruccio Soleri, alias Arlecchino, the mask hehas made alive for 36 years.Ferruccio Soleri continues his symbiotic lifewith the mask of Arlecchino, and after so manyyears we wonder who plays whom. "I had aperiod of crisis at the beginning of the seventies,I felt trapped" remembers Soleri - "Strehler toldme, O.K., we’ll do something else. But in theend I understood that he was right, it’s incrediblewhat the public gives me every evening"Arlecchino has changed with the passing oftime. He now represents the peak of the theatricalaesthetics of Strehler, a naive adult with a childspirit who also succeeds in moving today’ssociety, based on power and compromise. <>

RO M A N B A R O Q U E PA I N T I N G SWHERE AND WHEN?Ariccia (Rome)Palazzo ChigiPiazza della Repubblica 14Tel. +39-06-9330053From the 19th of November to the 12th of March

IN BRIEFThe collection of Maurizio Fagioli dell’Arco was presentedto the Municipality of Ariccia on the occasion of theopening of the Museum of the Seventeenth Century inthe spectacular Palazzo Chigi, in the section of the RomanCastles.

VENICE 1950-59The Revival of Painting in ItalyWHERE AND WHEN?VenicePalazzo dei DiamantiFrom the 26th of September 1999 to the 9th of January2000

IN BRIEFThis exhibition, as others already devoted to Rome andMilan of the same period, continues the series exploringthe revival of Italian figurative art during the Fifties.

E X H I B I T I O N S T H E V E N I C EC A R N I V A L I SA P P R O A C H I N G

M I L A N C A P I T A L O F T H E E U R O P E A N T H E A T R E