Blog Lifting
Rather than a lifting, I had to do a plastic surgery operation to the blog!
It’s a metaphor to say that I had to work a lot to fix it: I rebuilt the whole database since I couldn’t access to the WordPress control panel any more, I suspect due to a non up-to-date installation or a buggy plugin.
So I checked and fixed all the 219 posts I wrote until now, both in italian and english, fixing broken links in the process.
Reading all the posts recalled me why I’m blogging: to collect memories and experiences I lived in first person and share them, hoping they can be useful to others.
Among the “dearest” posts, for example, there’s the one I wrote for the loss of my cat Willy.
Or the one with the videos of my first interview on TV… ehi, how long ago? I looked like a boy! đ
Or event the one I wrote when I came back from the Vespatour… well, each post has a meaning, a little story to tell.
We’re living in times where looks are everything, even too much, so I tried to choose a simple but attractive theme, customizing Fusion by digitalnature.
Useful are the two accessibility functions on the top right of the page: clicking on Aa you can chance to font size, while <> changes the page width.
I couldn’t do without a plugin to manage sharing options on main social networks, and I choose the one made by LinksKu.
I hope you appreciate the new look, but that contents are the motivation for you to come back.
FashionTouch Finalist in the InventiON Contest
A touch of technology for everything fashionable, from fashion to design: it’s the idea behind the FashionTouch system, finalist of the InventiON contest! đ
It’s a software to make interactive catalogues downloadable on the latest generation smartphones, through which you can watch videos, photos and read the latest news about your favourite brand.
I got the idea when I developed this kind of application for the presentation of the new Samsung smartphone designed by Armani, which took place on last october.
In a few words I’d like to develop a software platform to create interactive catalogues able to reduce times and costs compared to the development of ad-hoc applications, thus making the system available not only to big brands, but also to small and medium Made in Italy companies.
They liked the idea and FashionTouch was included among the three finalists of the Art and Design category of the InventiON contest organized by Alintec.
The rules state that winners will be chosen according to the results of an evaluation by a panel of experts and online votes by the public.
I’d like to invite you to vote for your favourite inventions on the InventiON contest website, where you can watch a video presentation for each finalist. You can cast your vote until March 31.
May the best one win!
LâAquila Will Fly Again!
I can say it out loud after a week spent at Campo Globo as volunteer of the civil protection and member of ANA of Como.
Campo Globo was one of the 170 tent camps built for the earthquake emergency in Abruzzo and took its name from the nearby store in the Coppito zone.
Once there, I worked at the camp office, the place where the Alpini managed the camp and thus where I was able to see different aspects of the situation.
Together with three volunteers of La Speziaâs ANA, Enrico, Attilio and camp-chief Alberto, we worked all day long from august 29th to september 5th, trying to respond to all the requests coming from the 930 residents, other than from Italian Navy and Army officers who excellently managed the two kitchens of the camp.
The human side of the experience has been the most important one: talking to people from LâAquila and listening to their unfortunate stories and wishes to start over gave a precise meaning to the feeling of solidarity that made me leave for Abruzzo.
However, being able to see the ruins of the city center left a sense of sadness deep inside me. It wasnât like watching them in photos or on TV at all: it will really take a lot of time for the reconstruction…
My best wishes to all the people I met during that week: the Scuola del Genio and San Marco officers, the great Alpini, and the camp residents with a soul stronger than any earthquake!
As San Marco officers wrote on the sail in the picture: The lion wants it, LâAquila in his heart. đ
Salento On a Vespa!
On my Vespa, from Como to Santa Maria di Leuca, to discover a land unknown to me: the Salento! đ
After 3200km riding my Vespa I can say that such a long journey during the two central weeks of august was really worth it.
After a stop in Bologna and Bisceglie, hosted by relatives who took care of their favourite mad vespa fan ;), my Vespa flawlessly accompanied me on the visit to the most beautiful places in Puglia: from Ostuni to Gallipoli, NardĂČ, Santa Maria di Leuca, to the spectacular Ciolo Bridge, Castro, Otranto, Lecce, and to Melpignano, where I attended the final concert of the Notte della Taranta, an incredible example of territorial marketing!
150.000 people compressed in the small town danced the pizzica, an entertaining and sensual popular ballet, all night long.
They say Salento has peculiar curing properties, mainly due to three factors: colors as in chromotherapy, purifying substances spread through air by olive plants and the different iodine concentration of the two seas, Jonio and Adriatic, help to improve blood values just after a week of stay.
As they say⊠intra lu salentu tocca torni! (You have to come back to Salento!) đ
Il Nuovo Sito di i-muse
The entrepreneurial adventure started with i-muse goes on.
From the work of the last months come the new website, launched in italian and english, the first newsletter, and a series of activities that had a strong acceleration thanks to the effort of our new marketing assistant, Francesca, a brilliant girl who gets things done, with whom I daily share the office in Como.
At the same time, the development of the platform is going through another important step: we’re working on i-muse Creator, the content management system of i-muse, the tool that allows to visually create tours for the video guide by assembling and synchronizing audio-visual contents. A software that reserved for me a number of technical challenges during its construction.
Happy for the challenges overcome, after the summer stop I think an intense time is waiting for us.
Itâs really difficult to explain how hard startupping is, especially in Italy and in a time of crisis: with good will and patience itâs the right time to build and hope for a better future.
In the meantime we enjoy a healthy summer stop to recharge batteries, physical and mental ones! đ
3rd National Vespa Meeting Town of Como
500 Vespas charging on the streets of Como, the third edition of a great show, organized by the Vespa Club of Como on june 29.
It was an intense day: from the âVespinta – throwing the Vespaâ quiz game, to the parade on the streets of Como, to the aperitif in Brunate, to the lunch at the restaurant Gnocchetto in Tavernerio and to the award ceremony with prizes for the numerous Vespa clubs and the Vespazza, the hottest Vespa-girl! đ
For me it was the second meeting organized by the club Iâm a member of, and just as two years ago, my duty was to take photos. This year however, Chiara, a friend of mine, took care of it, while I was driving my Vespa and stopping in places where she could take the best shots.
Long live to the Vespa Club of Como! đ
i-muse at the Master in Brand of the Territorial Systems
As the last year, Iâve been invited to present i-muse to the students of the Master in Brand of the Territorial Systems organized by POLI.design.
This year I went together with Francesca, our new marketing assistant and, like she said, we come back angry! đ
In a positive sense I mean: students were enthusiastic to try firsthand an easy to use tool that potentially represents the missing ring between modern mobile technologies and the fruition of multimedia contents made by professionals.
Sending this message to the people who have the power to decide whether to start an innovative project at their own exhibition is another challenge.
From this sort of contrast comes our angryness, so to say.. something that will stimulate us to work harder and try to communicate better with potential customers.
Accessibility was another matter of discussion with students: i-muse offers a number of options that make the application accessible to hearing and sight impaired people.
After this presentation we went back to work to get ready to launch the news on which weâre working in the background since some time: the first one is the new i-muse website, now online in italian! đ
Il Vespatour in Diretta Radio a New Generation
After 20 galleries for a total of 1004 photos, the Vespatour went even live on the radio! đ
On tuesday, april 30, together with Melly and Marti, speakers of the New Generation feature on Radio Codogno, and DJ Giancarlo, we talked about the solo-journey riding my Vespa around Italy I did on august 2006.
I love radio as a communication media, since it leaves a lot to the listenerâs imagination, and in this case the challenge was making interesting an experience that I mainly reported through photos until now.
I think the number of questions and answers about the most curious parts of the journey, as well as the phone calls with Marco and Valentina, two friends I met during the stops in Tuscany, made the show dynamic and interactive. đ
There were even some funny moments, thanks to the two nice speakers, and special touches such as broadcasting songs best suited to the main stops of the journey.
It was my first time on air, and that didnât make things easy for me, but I wonât tell you anything else, download the recording of the italian show and enjoy listening it! đ
Audio quality is far from perfect at the beginning, but it gets better after the first minutes.
Vespatour 2006 part 20: Recanati⊠THE END!
Whatâs beyond the hedge of the infinity?
The hedge âthat excludes the greater part of my view of the farthest horizonâ, as wrote Leopardi in his immortal poem, The Infinity.
The end of a journey? The beginning of a new one?
For me it was just like that: on august 31, 2006, in Recanati, the last stop of the journey on my Vespa that gave me endless emotions and surprises, I climbed upon the hill of the infinity, where the native house of Leopardi is located.
In company of a guide from the Centro Nazionale di Studi Leopardiani, I reached the hedge, she left me alone and⊠I looked beyond! đ
The quiet panorama beyond the hedge, with the Sibillini Mountains in the background, mixed with what eyes couldnât see: the tide of sensations I felt along the journey and the uncertainty of the future that was waiting for me once back in Como.
Three years later I almost feel like being there again, thanks to the photo of the hedge I always keep on my desk.
The 52 photos of the twentieth gallery are dedicated to the last stop of the journey, between Loreto and Recanati, with the last one shot in Rimini before going back to Como.
I hope that through the report of the Vespatour I managed to give back some of the pleasure of traveling, while meeting people and discovering new things.
Itâs also my Thank You to the people who recommended me where to go before leaving, welcomed and helped me during the journey and to whom, after reading the report on the blog, will be willing to visit the wonderful places I described.
Safe Travels! đ
Vespatour 2006 part 19: San Giovanni Rotondo and Vieste
My relatives in Bisceglie are devoted to Padre Pio and they often talked about San Giovanni Rotondo.
On august 28, 2006, I went there with my Vespa to visit a holy place so important for all those devoted to the monk from Pietrelcina.
It was an important stop even for me, especially since a few days earlier I visited Assisi and the Eremo delle Carceri of San Francesco, another great example of humility.
Deep thinking and meditation are the words I could associate to the visit of the places where Padre Pio lived and received the stigmata, now valorized by a modern church designed by Renzo Piano.
After the visit to San Giovanni Rotondo, before getting back to Bisceglie, I went to the beach in Vieste on the splendid Gargano coast.
When I was a kid I used to spend the summer holidays there, camping with my parents, and that’s where I learned to swim! đ
The 53 photos of the nineteen gallery describe the last two days in Apulia.
On august 30 I was going to leave from Bisceglie to the last stop of the Vespatour: Recanati, searching for the hedge of the infinity! đ