MILAN BRIEFING March 2005

News this month

Trouble at La Scala

Strikes, dismissals and backstage dramas are threatening to upstage the operas at La Scala, Milan’s famous theatre. Just two months after a three-year restoration, the theatre has fired Carlo Fontana, its long-serving general manager. The governing board cited differences between him and Riccardo Muti, La Scala's flamboyant (some say dictatorial) musical director. Mauro Meli, a close ally of Mr Muti, has succeeded Mr Fontana.

When asked to explain this decision at a council meeting, Gabriele Albertini, Milan's mayor and president of the theatre board, failed to turn up. Salvatore Carrubba, Milan's arts counsellor, promptly resigned, complaining he had not been consulted about the dismissal, even though a large part of his budget is earmarked for La Scala. As the crisis escalated, employees staged a series of protests, forcing the theatre to cancel performances. Critics have accused the theatre board of behaving like a private company instead of a national institution.

Political intrigue is only part of La Scala’s problems—the opera house is also heavily in debt. The restoration, which included a revamp of the entire backstage, exceeded its budget by €10m ($13m).

Death of a priest

At least 30,000 people turned out for the funeral of Luigi Giussani, founder of a world-wide Roman Catholic youth movement known as “Comunione e Liberazione” (communion and liberation). Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, along with the heads of both houses of parliament and dozens of other leading politicians attended the two-hour service at Milan’s Duomo cathedral. Pope John Paul II sent a personal message honouring the 82-year-old priest, who died at home in Milan. Those who couldn’t squeeze into the service could follow it on a giant screen outside the church or on television. The priest, known to his followers as “Gius”, was buried in Milan’s historic Monumentale cemetery.

The Cillieni, as followers of the movement are known, will now be led by Don Julian Carron, a Spanish theologian. Although the movement's conservative doctrine has provoked controversy in the past, it is likely to remain a powerful force in Italy. Politicians at both ends of the spectrum rarely turn down an invitation to the movement’s annual meeting in Rimini.

Mysterious abduction

Armando Spataro, Milan’s deputy chief prosecutor, is investigating whether America was involved in the alleged abduction of a suspected Islamic militant. Hassan Osama Nasr, a 41-year-old imam known as Abu Omar, disappeared from Milan in February 2003. He was found in Egypt 15 months later, claiming he had been kidnapped by American and Italian agents. His whereabouts now are unclear. Mr Spataro suspects that the CIA seized Mr Omar and flew him to a prison in Egypt to interrogate and ostensibly torture him. Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, has not commented on the case.

The investigation comes at a delicate time for relations between America and Italy, one of its most faithful allies. The Italian government is awaiting the results of an American investigation into the death of an Italian secret-service agent, who was killed by American gunfire at a checkpoint in Baghdad on March 4th. The agent, Nicola Calipari, was accompanying a newly freed hostage, Giuliana Sgrena, an Italian journalist.

To the polls

Campaigning for April's local elections in Lombardy is in full swing. Roberto Formigoni, the region's centre-right president and a member of Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, hopes to win a third five-year term in office. He will have to fend off his left-leaning challenger, Riccardo Sarfatti, who counts Romano Prodi, former president of the European Commission, among his campaigners.

An architect and businessman, Mr Sarfatti is new to politics and generally seen as a long-shot for the office. But his supporters hope to replicate the feat of Filippo Penati, president of the province of Milan, who unseated Ombretta Colli, the conservative incumbent, last June. Mr Formigoni, a devout Catholic and veteran politician, is seen as the likely victor. Voters in 13 other Italian regions will also head to the polls on April 3rd and 4th.

A fashion fraud

Milan’s latest fashion week ended on February 26th with a hoax: a show by Serpica Naro, a supposedly up-and-coming Anglo-Japanese designer, who turned out to not exist. Serpica Naro got a place on the event's official calendar with the help of a website dedicated to his creations, complete with a press office and fictitious showroom locations.

Just before the show was scheduled to begin, organisers revealed that Serpica Naro was really an anagram for San Precario, or Saint Precarious, the mythical patron saint of those with temporary, part-time or other uncertain employment. Models then paraded outfits that played on employment issues, such as dresses that would hide pregnancy and pyjamas disguised as proper outfits.

Catch if you can

March 2005

Il Cerano 1573-1632

Until June 5th 2005

Giovanni Battista Crespi, better known as Il Cerano (for where he spent his childhood), was a leading figure of 17th-century Lombard painting. Outlined chronologically in six sections, this show traces different phases of his career through 60 paintings (including 15 of his renowned altarpieces) and 34 sketches. His works, which are seen as a bridge between Mannerist and Baroque styles, are characterised by their religious intensity. Cerano’s patron was Federico Borromeo, the cardinal, archbishop and founder of the Accademia Ambrosiana.

Palazzo Reale, Piazza Duomo 12. Tel: +39 (0)2 3007-6229. Open: Tues-Wed, Fri-Sun 9.30am-8pm, Thurs 9.30am-10.30pm, closed Mon. Tickets: €9

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