Dear members and aspiring members of Ciancia,
The holidays have just passed, and we hope that at some point, a sense of joy and appreciation for being healthy and alive got a hold of you. With luxury and opulence out of the picture, the shopping for “the right gift”, the cooking and the cleaning, got greatly simplified this year, even if some formal obligations remained alas inevitable. A noticeable difference this year was that an increased awareness shifted our attention to smaller things that seemed unimportant yesterday. We have observed a renewed spirit of camaraderie, conviviality and optimism in our club this past year. One hundred and seventy five people gathered at our Christmas party in grand celebration. It was Ciancia at its best! Would you like to play your part with our club? Tell your friends about us. Hit our page on Facebook and subscribe to it, and, don’t forget to make a sincere effort to speak Italian at our gatherings. It will grant identity and long life to our club. As for those who may be interested in reading more about the reflections which might have saved last year and set a good tone for 2011 click here!
We hope that this message reaches you in the best of spirits. On behalf of Ciancia’s outstanding team and committee we wish you a Happy New Year. A tutti voi, i nostri Auguri di un Felice Anno Nuovo!
CIANCIA ANNUAL DOOR PASSES AVAILABLE!
Ciancia is now offering annual door passes. For only $40 you will have access to all Ciancia meetings for one entire calendar year! At a regular cost of $10 per meeting, this represents a savings of $80! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity. Door passes will be available at the door. Cash only, please!
TO ALL iPHONE USERS
Free iPhone App to all the iPhone users participating to our January meeting! Thöndo, an American design company lead by Italian designer Daniele Gonzales, joined forces with InformAmuse to celebrate a monument of cultural unity and peace. With more than 600,000 visitors a year, the Cappella Palatina is the Sicilian monument most indicative of cultural integration, an example of what happens when cultures set aside their differences and create instead of destroying. The Cappella Palatina features one of the three most stunning and extensive Byzantine gold-mosaics in the world. This truly amazing iPhone App proposes an engaging, interactive representation of this incredible architectural masterpiece. Currently available for sale at the Apple Store, this App is free to all the iPhone users participating to our January meeting. For more info visit: www.thondo.com
WINE POLICY CHANGE:
In an effort to keep Ciancia focused on the national heritage of Italy and to increase awareness of its incredible variety of regional products, please, be advised that from our January event onwards we accept only bottles of Italian wine at the door. You have hundreds of wines to choose from. Please, refrain from varieties of other nationalities. Bringing wine or food to our meetings is optional. Special rules apply to the January event. Please read them, below! An admission fee of $10 per person will be required to those who sway from this rule. And, as usual, drink responsibly and keep our streets safe
OUR NEXT MEETING – JANUARY 11
For our next meeting, we are taking you to a restaurant, which has become a reference point for Atlanta’s gourmet-pizza lovers. Don’t expect the usual regional Neapolitan pizza, or anything remotely regional. This pie has been pushed to its outer limits. The modern, New-York-ambience of Varasano pizzeria on Peachtree Street provides the ideal milieu for our first gathering of 2011, classy and elegant. Jeff Varasano, a Rubik’s cube world’s record holder and a computer-engineer-maverick is the friendliest host you may ever encounter: flirty, engaging, prone to story-telling to the point you can make him lose track of his duties…. Ask him about his long pursuit and famous blogs for the best pizza recipe – Jeff has a personal spin on our national dish, though his biblical quest is his prerogative to tell. All I can offer is that pizzas are like people: there is no look-alike. And if you think that you have already discovered the best pizza in town, it is because it hits your taste buds the right way. Mine are often promiscuous and like to try different things.
With pizza giants around town like Fritti, Baraonda, Venti, Piola and Antico, you are bound to an extensive comparison – men, watch your belt-line! Personally, I shall not insult such a diverse human strive to perfection, with my personal hit parade. For a fair comparison, stick to the basics: a Margherita will tell you more than a pie with all the bells and whistles. You may learn more about Jeff at www.varasanos.com. Ready for the experience? Well, as I clearly stole the line from Jimi Hendrix, I (AGP) shall leave you to the directions and location:
ATTENTION: Please, be advised that due to strict health regulations, food and edibles are not accepted at this event.Attention: Due to personnel tipping costs of this event, a $5.00 admission fee is still required to those who bring a bottle of Italian wine. An admission fee of $10 per person is required from those who do not bring wine – you will get a ticket for your first free glass of wine (at the bar). As customary, you may drink from the wine brought in by some of the patrons. Ensuing drinks may be purchased at the bar at a special member’s price of $5 per glass. All ensuing drinks, fancy wines and any food you may choose to order from the menu outside of the samplers offered by the host, are available by presenting a credit card and starting a tab at the bar. If you decide to bring wine, please remember that we do not accept foreign varieties – only Italian wine! – new rule. If you bring food to this event, you will be asked to take it back to your car. Drink responsibly and keep the streets safe!
PARKING INSTRUCTIONS: there is a reliable, complimentary valet parking a few steps past the restaurant door, by the adjacent garage – left hand side of the driveway, only! Do not park in the parking garage across from the restaurant (right hand side of the driveway) or your vehicle will be towed. Hate valet parking? You may park independently across the street, in the shopping center behind Houston’s or by Blockbusters.
TUESDAY JANUARY 11, 2011
7:30 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
VARASANO PIZZERIA
Host: JEFF VARASANO
2171 Peachtree Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30309
404-352-8216
DIRECTIONS: the general area of this meeting is just north of Piedmont Hospital, one block past Bennett Street, though on the opposite sidewalk (East side), under a brightly lit Condominium Building called MEZZO. For Mapquest directions click here.
CIANCIA ON FACEBOOK
Our Facebook page is bound to serve as a chat-board to interact with our members on a more personal basis, as well as to get in touch with anyone who is looking at the Italian culture and language with any degree of interest. As we remind you that we are a cultural and linguistic organization, and therefore, we do not accept proposals of commercial nature, promotion of any products or services, we invite all of you to e-mail all your Facebook friends who fit our club’s cultural interests to join Ciancia.
Check the latest information about our activity on Ciancia website: www.ciancia.org
CIANCIA: WHO ARE WE?
Ciancia is brought to you by an outstanding Steering Committee, a compact group of thirteen accomplished professionals, each one bringing to the table amazing experience in communication and event production. We are all volunteers, all firm believers in the great rewards of social interaction, curiosity, diversity and cultural engagement.
Here is our current roster:
Beth Cope, director
Giancarlo Pirrone, president
Stefano Grossi, website communications
Marcia Briscoe, founder and constitution member
Stanislava Staikova, legal expert
Jennifer Georgino, door reception coordinator
Kristi Hutchinson, our amazing IT technician
Kathleen Layton, event design, PR and promotion
Elizabeth Moore, PR and promotion
Enrico Corradi, Opera and External Activities
Francesco Scordato, Facebook and Social Media
Tony Pelliccia, new committee member
We send our most sincere gratitude to Ross Reynolds, Andrea Mazza, Ray Thatch, Christina Wood and Julie Sanders for having served on our committee on prior years. We also inform you that we accept new committee members on a regular basis. If you think that you have the drive and time to take over one of the numerous responsibilities, which make Ciancia possible, please step forward. You may contact us at info@ciancia.org We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting!
The Steering Committee