Saturday, March 29, 2014

Sapori d'Italia special 10% discount for Dante members on Italian wines and pasta Garofalo




Sapori d’Italia Import Ltd has been importing fine Italian food and wines to New Zealand since 1989. Owners Carlo, Marco and Adriana are now offering Dante Auckland members the chance to try some of the best products sourced from the North and South of Italy with a 10% discount.

"The are more than 500 listed indigenous grape varieties in Italy and only a small share has a wide distribution and exported," says Marco, "our mission is to introduce to NZ the wealth of history and sensory experience linked to Italian food and wines hoping that this will help to strengthen the vinous and gastronomic experience of our customers."

Visit Sapori d'Italia's website www.sapori.co.nz or give them a call to visit their shop in North Harbour. Discount applies to all current Dante members, if purchasing online call (09) 4159053, supply your Dance card number and to get your discount coupon.

And here some samples of Sapori d'Italia products that you can purchase at a 10% discount:

Chianti Classico

Elegant, with delicate scents of violets. Well-balanced and dry, with good structure

and a velvety texture.


Fiano

It displays attractive sensations of

peaches and apricots as well as of delicately
scented flowers.

Vernaccia

Fine, penetrating and fruity, with delicate green

apple notes. Full-fl avoured and well-balanced, with a faint
aftertaste of almonds.

Limoncetta

Limoncetta Di Sorrento is a delightful liqueur made to an original recipe from lemons grown on the Sorrento peninsula of the Campania region in Italy.


Sapori d’Italia Import Ltd
Unit D/12 Saturn Place
North Harbour, North Shore City
POBox 302322, North Harbour 0751
Auckland, New Zealand
Ph: +64 9 4159053; Fax: +64 9 4159073

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

And the winner of the Puma Italy Home Replica Shirt is...





True Random Number Service

Do you own an iOS or Android device? Check out our new app!

List Randomizer

There were 8 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
  1. Flavia
  2. Massimo
  3. Martina
  4. Peter
  5. Bren
  6. Jacopo
  7. Allymac
  8. Arantxa
Timestamp: 2014-03-25 19:19:12 UTC


CONGRATULATIONS FLAVIA!

We look forward to seeing you wearing the shirt (we are all envious here at the Dante!), and hope that you will pose for a photo for our next newsletter! Thank you to Puma New Zealand for the beautiful prize.
The Italy Home Replica Shirt is available in participating Rebel Sports, Stirlings Sports and specialist stores. 

RRP $100.

Monday, March 24, 2014

CineclubDante class - 26 March


Dear members,
we would like to remind you of our cineclub class. This month we celebrate the Oscar winning film "La grande bellezza" watching another great Italian movie that won three Oscars and broke the box-office record for profits by a foreign film in the American market: La vita è bella (Life is Beautiful) directed by Roberto Benigni in 1997. Wednesday  26th of March at 1.30pm - Dante's room - in Freeman's Bay Community Centre.


Roberto Benigni plays Guido, a Jewish book seller in the Tuscan city of Arezzo in 1939.
Whit the beginning of the World War II, he and his family have to cope with racial laws against Jews that Mussolini's regime had passed.
Soon the family are placed into a concentration camp and the mood of the film changes abruptly.
Roberto Benigni, as a kind of modern Chaplin, does something really special in this film: 
to protect his son, he turns the horrors of the camp into a child's fable, a fabulous world of play, inhabited at least by one benign clown.

This is a language class, a fascinating way to improve your Italian watching and talking about the most beautiful movies of il Cinema Italiano. 
There is no need to book for this class – just turn up to watch and discuss the film with Flavia Berucci. 

CineclubDante class - 26 March - 1.30pm - Freeman's Bay Community Centre.

Winners of our Newsletter competition:





The winners of the three double passes to La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) are:

Kylie Paine (email received on Friday, 21 March 2014 12:30 p.m.)
Peter Charlesworth (email received on Friday, 21 March 2014 12:54 p.m.)
Lyn Barton (email received on Friday, 21 March 2014 1:05 p.m.)

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you all for reading our newsletter.

Friday, March 21, 2014

FIFA World Cup Special: Win The Italy Home Replica Shirt




Only 84 days to go to the World Cup and you could be the first at the Dante Auckland to support the Italian National Team by wearing the Italy Home Replica Shirt! 

We have one T-shirt to give away (winner will have to provide us with her/his size), courtesy of Puma New Zealand. To enter: just follow this blog and then leave a message to this post, or leave a message on our FB group. For a double entry do both! Competition ends Tuesday 25 March, winners will be announced on Wednesday 26 March. Competition open to NZ residents only.

Buona Fortuna!!



The design of the shirts is inspired by the heritage of the traditional Italian handcraft industry. A slim fit and a tailored collar and placket are beautifully combined with intricate design details.  The tailored looking crest and exclusive FIGC font are inspired by traditional Italian craftsmanship. 


Performance and design combine in the new Italy kits with the integration of PUMA’s new football apparel innovation PWR ACTV. The shirts feature the new PUMA PWR ACTV technology, a new first-to-market use of both athletic taping and compression within the apparel. The home and away shirts feature ACTV tape that is strategically placed within the garment to provide micro-massages on the skin, working with the human body to help maximise performance and provide players with a faster, more effective energy supply to the active muscles. 




Gianluigi Buffon, the Italian National Football Team Captain said, “I’m impressed with the new Italy shirts, the design is strong and has a true Italian feel.  The new PUMA PWR ACTV tape technology is going to ensure that we are physically equipped to perform at our best. It’s a really nice touch that the shirts will go on tour around Italy for the nation to show their support for us. When the tour concludes, we will have a great symbol of support as we leave for Brazil and prepare to make Italy proud.” 

Mario Balotelli, Italian National Team star striker said, “Our National team has a great challenge ahead of us and we are preparing to represent our country and make our fellow Italians around the world proud. Touring the shirts that we will take to Brazil is a great idea and knowing they represent the support, belief and passion of our fans is inspiring.  Italian supporters motivate us to perform to our best and I hope many Italians will visit the PUMA Celebri-Amo La Maglia Tour and pledge their support.” 




The Italy Home Replica Shirt is available in participating Rebel Sports, Stirlings Sports and specialist stores. 
RRP $100. 



Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Monday, March 17, 2014

The winners of the double passes to La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty)



We had 8 entries to win the double passes to La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) between FB and Blogger, with both Roberto and Allyson entering twice; the names were inserted in the List Randomizer at Random.org. and 'shuffled' electronically. The first 5 names won the double tickets! 

Congratulations to our winners, please write to info@dante.org.nz with your details.

And watch this space, we have more competitions coming up, and more chances to win tickets to The Great Beauty in our next newsletter.


List Randomizer
There were 8 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
1.             Ilenia
2.             Allyson
3.             Bren
4.             Roberto
5.             Nathan
6.             Allyson
7.             Roberto
8.             Maria Giulia

Timestamp: 2014-03-16 22:07:48 UTC

About the film

Rome, in the splendour of summer. Jep Gambardella – a handsome man with irresistible charm, despite the first signs of ageing – enjoys the city’s social life to the full. A successful journalist and inveterate seducer, in his youth he wrote a novel which earned him a literary award and a reputation as a frustrated writer. He masks his disenchantment behind a cynical attitude, which makes him view the world with bitter lucidity. Weary of his lifestyle, Jep sometimes dreams of taking up his pen again, haunted by memories of a youthful love which he still hangs on to. But will he ever manage it? Can he overcome this profound disgust for himself and others, in a city whose dazzling beauty sometimes leads to paralysis?

View the trailer herewww.thegreatbeauty.co.nz
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Cast: Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli 
Runtime: 142 min

Rating: M - Nudity

Monday, March 10, 2014

Win double passes to the Oscar winning movie La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty). Read Flavia's review of the movie in Italian.




To celebrate the release of this year’s Foreign Language Film Academy Award Winner The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) we have five double passes to give away. To enter just leave a message after this post or on our FB group (or both for a double chance to win) saying why you would like to see this movie.  Competition ends Sunday 16 March, winners will be announced on Monday 17 March.

About the film

Rome, in the splendour of summer. Jep Gambardella – a handsome man with irresistible charm, despite the first signs of ageing – enjoys the city’s social life to the full. A successful journalist and inveterate seducer, in his youth he wrote a novel which earned him a literary award and a reputation as a frustrated writer. He masks his disenchantment behind a cynical attitude, which makes him view the world with bitter lucidity. Weary of his lifestyle, Jep sometimes dreams of taking up his pen again, haunted by memories of a youthful love which he still hangs on to. But will he ever manage it? Can he overcome this profound disgust for himself and others, in a city whose dazzling beauty sometimes leads to paralysis?

View the trailer herewww.thegreatbeauty.co.nz
Director: Paolo Sorrentino
Cast: Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli 
Runtime: 142 min
Rating: M - Nudity

Scroll down if you like to read Flavia's review of La Grande Bellezza in Italian (a Roman perspective).





2 marzo 2014 – L’Italia vince l’Oscar con il film La grande bellezza di Paolo Sorrentino
Omaggio personale al film La grande bellezza, di Flavia Berucci.

Che bello questo film. Non lo dico soltanto perché sono romana, nata e cresciuta proprio tra l’Isola Tiberina e Piazza Navona, set privilegiato di questo film (insieme a tanti altri). Lo dico anche perché, come il protagonista, anche io per un periodo sono stata travolta dal vortice della mondanità e della dolce vita. E mi sono ritrovata più volte a passeggiare dopo una festa a notte fonda o all’alba per le strade deserte di Roma e mi dicevo, guardandomi attorno, “che bellezza, quanto sono fortunata!”.
Paolo Sorrentino dice che “questo è il film di uno innamorato dell’Italia” e secondo me si vede, perché quando si ama si prende tutto, il bene e il male, il bello e il brutto e molto si perdona.
Sacro e profano. Ecco, Roma è un po’ così, un po’ volgare e cafona, un po’mistica e sublime e incredibilmente bella.
La bellezza di Roma è in gran parte qui, in questo particolare connubio che da tempi remoti l’ha sempre caratterizzata.
La Roma dell’Impero, con i sui cesari e suoi imperatori. La Roma degli intrighi, dove si ha l’ardore di assassinare anche Giulio Cesare. La Roma del Colosseo, dove gladiatori, schiavi e nemici venivano dati in pasto ai leoni e al popolo gaudente. Il film è pieno di queste reminiscenze, tantissimi sono gli sguardi sulla Roma antica. La telecamera indugia tra le rovine delle Terme di Caracalla, dell’Acquedotto romano e sull’incredibile vista del Colosseo dalla bellissima terrazza del protagonista.
La Roma del papa re, carnascialesca e ridanciana, affascinante e tragica. Anche qui non mancano i riferimenti nel film, dalle suggestive riprese del Cupolone di San Pietro a Castel Sant’Angelo e il suo ponte sul fiume Tevere, con quella lunga fila di angeli bianchi, lì come guardiani e muti testimoni di un tempo che sembra essersi fermato per sempre, dilatato fino al presente.
La Roma di Michelangelo e dei tanti, tantissimi incredibili artisti che nei secoli hanno riempito chiese, gallerie, palazzi, musei, giardini. La Roma dell’antica aristocrazia patrizia, oggi un po’ decaduta e un po’ indecente, ma nel segreto ancora depositaria di un tesoro e di un sapere immenso, racchiuso in una valigetta che detiene le chiavi dei più bei palazzi romani. Il regista ci offre affascinanti immagini di questi palazzi in cui le opere d’arte, come fantasmi dal passato, si offrono allo sguardo ancora intatte e potenti.
Il film ci cattura e ci trasporta a passeggio per questa città, accompagnati da Jep Gambardella, un giornalista arrivato ai 65 anni, nel momento in cui la vita gli chiede il conto.
La sua arroganza e il suo sarcasmo cedono ed emerge la fragilità umana.  Quando la verità si manifesta, non basta il pesante makeup a nasconderla, non basta il botulino a cancellarla, la musica assordante delle discoteche ad azzittirla, le insegne luminose e le sirene incantatrici ad accecarla. Quella fragilità la vediamo sui volti dei tanti personaggi che come in un girotondo accompagnano Jep nel suo viaggio: ballerine, prestigiatori, aspiranti scrittori e scrittori in crisi, nani, preti e cardinali, sante e prostitute.
Il girotondo della vita tanto caro a Federico Fellini a cui lo stesso Paolo Sorrentino si ispira in questo film. Stringendo in mano la statuetta appena vinta, Paolo cita Federico tra i pilastri della sua vita insieme ai Talking Heads, Diego Armando Maradona e la sua famiglia.
Un “assist” bellissimo, per dirla in termini calcistici.
Che bello questo film, e lo dico da italiana, che ci regala un altro Oscar dopo 15 anni dalla vittoria di Roberto Benigni con un altro capolavoro: La vita è bella.
E mi piace pensare che nonostante la fragilità, il chiacchiericcio della gente, la miseria umana, il rumore, le paure, le sconfitte, i numerevoli crolli e i tanti errori, questa nostra Italia sia ancora una gran bellezza! E grazie a Paolo Sorrentino per avercelo ricordato.


Flavia


Screening in NZ from 27 March:

-          Rialto Newmarket (Auckland)
-          Bridgeway (Auckland)
-          Academy (Auckland
-          Lido (Auckland)
-          Penthouse (Wellington)
-          Lighthouse Cuba St (Wellington)
-          Lighthouse Petone (Wellington)
-          Lido (Hamilton) APRIL 24
-          Rialto Taurnga

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Dream of Italy with a 10% discount!







All Dante Members enjoy an automatic 10% discount off the entire Dream of Italy range at:

Dream of Italy specialises in authentic Italian products, hand crafted in various parts of Italy including Venice, Florence Deruta (Umbria) and Toscana. Beautiful Venetian Masks, Murano Glass jewellery and ornaments, hand painted Ceramics, Florentine Stationery, leather and much more.
Contact them for your discount coupon and shop on line! 

Monday, March 3, 2014

Incontriamoci al mercato



We are pleased to communicate some changes to our famous Colazione. Our monthly catch up meeting will still be held on a Saturday but we will be meeting in different places at different times. In this way we hope to explore Auckland and new activities with our unique “Gusto Italiano”. 
For our first appointment we will be visiting the “International Food and Goods Market” in Newmarket, and do some shopping in the Italian way! Many of the stalls at the Station Square Market are selling Italian goods and food, so this is a great way to support them but also have some 
fun! 







The Station Square Market takes place every second Saturday of each month and will open from 11am until 3:30pm. Next dates are April 12th and May 10th. Station Square is next to the train station tucked behind the shops in Broadway, access by train or off Remuera Road or opposite Teed Street. If you are interested in having a stall at the markets, please call Tash on 021890147 or email tash@newmarket.co.nz.