We continue and finish our list of most popular people in Italy during 2009. Musicians, politicians and artists that we cannot forget. To read part I click here.
7. Monica Bellucci
In 2009 the dating site Meetic.it found that 14.6% of 禁漫天堂 men interviewed thought that Monica Bellucci would be their ideal fianc茅e. Sabrina Ferilli and Giovanna Mezzogiorno were placed fourth and fifth, whilst Angelina Jolie was in sixth place. You really cannot beat 鈥淢ade in Italy鈥!
Monica Bellucci, 46, is a competent linguist and her credits include 鈥淢al猫na鈥, 鈥淭ears of the Sun鈥, 鈥淭he Matrix Reloaded鈥, 鈥淭he Passion of Christ鈥, 鈥淭he Brothers Grimm鈥 and 鈥淏补补谤矛补鈥. In 2004, whilst pregnant with her daughter, Deva, she famously posed nude for 禁漫天堂 鈥淰anity Fair鈥 magazine in protest at 禁漫天堂 laws preventing the use of donor sperm. Miss Bellucci is married to the French actor Vincent Cassel and is expecting a baby girl in July.
Read more about You can't beat "Made in Italy".
8. Giorgio Armani
It was Giorgio Armani who stole Milan Fashion Week in September with his bright, extraordinary creations. As always, his women鈥檚 collection was feminine and sophisticated, although it included geometric shapes and patterns. Thanks to stiff fabrics for dresses and jewel-like hues, Armani鈥檚 pieces looked precious and elegant. And guess what? This time there was no beige!
The fashion house had a less happy October, though, with the animal rights group Peta holding demonstrations outside its Milan flagship store Emporio Armani because, they claimed, the company was using fur in its collections. The Armani Group said that it used only fur from rabbits already destined for the food trade but Peta began lobbying celebrities who wear Armani to put pressure on the company to stop using fur altogether.
Later in October Giorgio Armani was nominated as a senatore a vita [life senator] by Santo Versace, who said that the designer 鈥渆mbodies the beauty of Italy, the country the way we would all like to see it represented around the world, and where meritocracy is fully applied.鈥
Recently there have been concerns about 75-year-old Armani鈥檚 health as a bout of hepatitis appears to have left him frail. The world of fashion is asking itself who will inherit Armani鈥檚 empire but Armani has refused to publicly commit himself on this matter, saying, in Moscow in October, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 look bad yet, do I?鈥 .
Read more about Milan's Fashion Week.
Armani on .
Armani on .
9. Madonna and D&G
Madonna has caused a sensation as the face of Dolce & Gabbana鈥檚 Spring / Summer 2010 Collection and, in pictures released in December in 禁漫天堂 鈥淰anity Fair鈥, she is washing dishes, preparing food and eating spaghetti with her hands. The photos, in black and white, were inspired by actress , who was famous for playing 鈥減assionate, earthy women鈥.
Perhaps it was these qualities that Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce sought in Madonna. The designer duo have a reputation for making women look 鈥渋ncredibly sexy鈥 and most commenters agree that they have achieved this again with the Madonna pictures.
鈥淭he charm of southern 禁漫天堂 ladies鈥 inspired D&G鈥檚 roomy 鈥淢iss Sicily鈥 bag for winter 2009 and spring 2010 and Madonna has been pictured in her 鈥渞eal鈥 life carrying one of these, as have Victoria Beckham and Margaret Mad猫, the star of 鈥淏补补谤矛补鈥.
Earlier in the year, at Milan Fashion Week, D&G led with the denim look for their 鈥測oung line鈥, teaming it with fringed cowboy boots 鈥 hardly ideal footwear for an 禁漫天堂 summer, but doesn鈥檛 every woman know she has to suffer to look fashionable?
Read more about Milan's Fashion Week.
D&G on .
D&G on .
10. Canalis and Clooney
Burton and Taylor, Gable and Lombard, Jolie and Pitt: all the world loves a lover and particularly, it seems, a celebrity lover. And so it was that the world went crazy when the 鈥渢hinking woman鈥檚 Prince Charming鈥, George Clooney fell for 禁漫天堂 model and showgirl Elisabetta Canalis. Everywhere they went, they were described as 鈥渢he summer couple鈥 and everywhere they went, of course, the paparazzi went too.
There were rumours that the couple would marry by Christmas and we were all hoping for an 禁漫天堂 wedding but instead, they hotfooted it to Miami where, in a heavily guarded Ocean drive villa belonging to a friend of Clooney鈥檚, they celebrated Christmas in 禁漫天堂 style.
Watch this space for what happens next!
Read more about George Clooney and Elisabetta Canalis.
George Clooney on .
George Clooney on .
11. Ramazzotti and Bocelli
Singing star Eros Ramazzotti began a world tour in October with a concert in Rimini attended by 7,000 fans. The 鈥淎li e Radici鈥 [Wings and Roots] tour, also the title of the artist鈥檚 latest bestselling CD, consists of 72 events in all and will take place in locations as diverse as Barcelona, Aalborg [Denmark], Berlin, Milan and Liege [Latvia] in 2010.
To date, Ramazzotti has sold over 50 million records. , which he co-produced and co-wrote, is his eleventh studio album and appears after a four-year gap, apart from his popular compilation CD. The first single from the album to have been released is .
Best loved for his romantic songs, in 2008 Ramazzotti was awarded the National American 禁漫天堂 Foundation Award for his efforts in promoting a positive 禁漫天堂 image abroad.
Read more about Eros Ramazzotti.
Eros Ramazzotti on .
Eros Ramazzotti on .
Andrea Bocelli, the only singer likely to succeed Pavarotti in 禁漫天堂s鈥 affections, released his only Christmas album in 2009 and to date the has sold over five million copies. It was just beaten in the US charts by Susan Boyle鈥檚 鈥淚 Dreamed a Dream鈥 as the bestselling Christmas album. Among the tracks are 鈥淲hite Christmas鈥 [sung in English and 禁漫天堂] 鈥淪anta Claus is Coming to Town鈥, 鈥淥 Tannenbaum鈥 and Bocelli鈥檚 own favourite Christmas song, 鈥淭u scendi dalle stelle鈥.
Bocelli, who holds the Grande Ufficiale OMRI for 鈥渕erit acquired by the nation鈥 , Italy鈥檚 highest honour, sang for the Abruzzi earthquake victims with Angela Gheorgiou at the Colosseum at the end of May. This was the first classical concert ever held at the Colosseum and it ended emotionally with Bocelli singing 鈥淣essun Dorma鈥. The audience had paid 1,000 euros per ticket and the proceeds are to be used for the rebuilding of L鈥橝quila鈥檚 Music Conservatory.
Read more about Andrea Bocelli.
Andrea Bocelli on .
Andrea Bocelli on .
12. Giuseppe Tornatore and Raul Bova
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If you take a look at the 鈥淲eb Important People鈥 list for Sicily you will see that the name at the top of it is that of Giuseppe Tornatore, filmmaker. Famous, above all, for 鈥淣uovo Cinema Paradiso鈥, Tornatore is also the director of 鈥 The Legend of 1900鈥 , 鈥淢al猫na鈥 and, in 2009, 鈥淏补补谤矛补鈥. Baar矛a is Sicilian dialect for Bagheria, the town near Palermo where Tornatore was born and in the film he recreates the town and townsfolk of his childhood. A monumental work, the film can be seen as a history not only of Bagheria but of Sicily itself from 1910 to the present day. Shot mostly in Tunisia, where the Bagheria of the 1960s had been so painstakingly reconstructed that Tornatore鈥檚 mother started moving all the furniture in 鈥渉er鈥 film house into the 鈥渞ight鈥 positions, 鈥淏补补谤矛补鈥 tells the story of three generations of a family based on Tornatore鈥檚. It is a story of ordinary people who espouse left-wing politics because they see it as the only way to improve their lives. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a history of simple people 鈥 history with a small 鈥榟鈥欌, explains Tornatore.
The film cost just over 20 million euros, features 230 actors, 20,000 extras [or 35,000 according to some sources] and took 25 weeks to shoot. It made a star of Margareth Mad猫 and many famous 禁漫天堂 actors have cameo roles. The film was chosen to inaugurate the 2009 Venice Film Festival. So you would imagine, would you not, that everyone in Italy was proud and that Tornatore was honoured and praised?
Instead, a political row broke out when Giancarlo Galan, the President of the Veneto Region said, after the Venice screening, that the film had bored him to tears because 鈥淣othing happens until the end鈥. He also criticised the amount of money spent on the project, accusing the Sicilian Region of investing public money in the film.
The President of the Sicilian Region, Raffaele Lombardo, then defended both the film and his Region, accusing Galan of having "a phobia about anything produced south of the River Po". Tornatore was even criticised in Sicily, where over 1,000 Sicilians were employed as extras, for not shooting the film there, for overuse of dialect and for avoiding the issue of the Mafia. Nevertheless, 鈥淏补补谤矛补鈥 represents Italy鈥檚 Oscar hopes and we wish it well.
Read more about Giuseppe Tornatore.
Giuseppe Tornatore on .
Giuseppe Tornatore on .
One of the stars of 鈥淏补补谤矛补鈥 is Raul Bova who, in a Meetic.it poll, knocked George Clooney into second place when women were asked who they would like as a fianc茅. A former swimming champion, Bova did his military service in the corps. His first acting role was in the TV film 鈥淯na storia italiana鈥 and he made his cinema debut in 鈥淧iccolo Grande Amore鈥. Idolised by women because of his physique and grey-green eyes, he began to seek more complex parts to prove himself a serious actor. He played a terrorist in 鈥淩ewind鈥, Saint Francis in 鈥淔rancesco鈥 [a role for which he lost 14 kilos] and played the introverted Lorenzo in the psychological drama, 鈥淟a Finestra di Fronte鈥 [鈥淔acing Windows鈥漖.
Read more about Raoul Bova.
Raoul Bova on .
Raoul Bova on .
13 ...
We cannot end without mentioning that great lady, Sofia Loren, 75 last year, still looking fabulous and an inspiration to all women of 鈥渁 certain age鈥!
Read more about Sophia Loren.
Sophia Loren on .
Sophia Loren on .
Our list of most popular people in Italy during 2009 ended. To read part I click here.
