"Scala incontra New York" (Scala meets New York) is one of the most important summer events on the Amalfi coast, both the duration of the event itself (about a month, from August 11th to September 11th) and for the variety of topics (culture, music, religion, politics and art in all its complex and varied facets). This event is characterized by a specific feature: the encounter between the oldest town of the Amalfi coast and the most modern city in the world. In short, it represents a meeting between two completely different realities that, starting from the commemoration of the victims of terrorist attack on September 11th 2001, can demonstrate that brotherhood and solidarity are universally shared values, independent from religious, ethical or political differences. A series of events outlining the future, treading memory paths, aware of the past, with a foot in the present and a glance of hope if the time to come.
The VIII edition of "Scala meets New York" is enriched by the presence of an internationally renowned artist, the great Maestro and tenor Andrea Bocelli, one of the most eclectic ambassador of the Italian artistic and music tradition in the world; he delighted with his fantastic voice a crowd of fans and curious, during the exclusive concert "Starry Night", held in Piazza Municipio in Scala, on September 2nd.
On August 31st, during the press conference, moderated by the journalist Emiliano Amato, Bocelli thanked many times Scala's mayor, Mr Luigi Mansi, the President of the Association "Scala meets New York", Miss Ivana Bottone, for having granted the opportunity of performing for the first time on the Amalfi coast, during a so important manifestation, and also of enjoying a such warm and unexpected welcome, so that just a simple bouquet of flowers on his arrival by helicopter moved him ("flowers usually move women - he said - ... Tenors are like first women and, in this case, flowers moved me"). He praised the persuasive power of music, an universally understood language, that can soothe and elevate the human; music is a valid means of communication between different people who, through this sublime expression of art, can understand the importance of dialogue for the common good.
The press conference was held in the wonderful Romanesque style church (X century), in the small village of Minuta.
A romantic starry night, the imposing façade of San Lorenzo Cathedral and the deep spirituality of this town (which was the birthplace of fra' Gerardo Sasso, founder of the Sacred Order of the Knights of Malta) framed the moving concert of Andrea Bocelli, in Piazza Municipio, on September 2nd. The tenor, accompanied by the soprano Paola Sanguinetti and by the Maestri Carlo and Enrico Bernini (respectively to the piano and to the violin) enchanted the audience with a rich and complex repertoire, including classic Neapolitan songs (such as "O sole mio", "Santa Lucia luntana", "I' te vurria vasà"), pieces of Opera ("Libiamo ne' lieti calici" from the first act of La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi) and the moving "Ave Maria" by Schubert, dedicated to the victims of September 11th (he also sang this song at Ground Zero few days after the terrorist attack, when the acrid smell of rubble was still in the air).
At the end of the concert, father Enzo Fortunato gave to Andrea Bocelli a a classic Neapolitan crib in a glass case, undisputed symbol of Franciscan solidarity and brotherhood, virtues that should characterized the daily life of every man.
"Scala meets New York" is an important example of how is possible both to lay the foundation of a better future and to promote the territory.