Sprezzatura

September 3, 2001
In the early 16th century, Count Baldassare Castiglione penned his famous Book of the Courtier, synthesizing the ideals of the medieval courtly gentleman with the new "Renaissance man." Above all, the courtier should exhibit the qualities of grace and sprezzatura, which D'Epiro and Pinkowish accurately describe as "an assumed air of doing difficult things with an effortless mastery and an air of nonchalance." In 50 bite-sized chapters that are as delicious as they are short, D'Epiro and Pinkowish (What Are the Seven Wonders of the World?) take readers through a whirlwind tour of 25 centuries of culture and history on the Italian peninsula. From the calendar and Roman law to the Montessori method and Enrico Fermi, readers can delight in the defeats and accomplishments of a most varied group of men and women. Most books extolling the Italians conveniently delete the dark side of Italian history; this one honestly leaves in many of the more brutal details. The writing is engaging, and the authors' lively and descriptive style almost compensates for a lack of illustrations. One of the book's great merits is that it will surely stimulate readers to return to their Ovid, Livy, Dante and Boccaccio; in addition, one can gain greater appreciation for such masterpieces as Rossellini's Rome, Open City
and Giuseppe Di Lampedusa's The Leopard. Although the authors only hint at it, sprezzatura
is anything but effortless: mastery of any skill requires more perspiration than inspiration. Or, as D'Epiro and Pinkowish point out, the "social mask," or the "disjunction between appearance and reality," is "the very patina of civilization."

October 15, 2001
D'Epiro and Pinkowish demonstrate how Italians have influenced the ways the modern world thinks, acts, dresses, and communicates. In "Sprezzatura" (an Italian word meaning the appearance of effortless ability), assisted by a few other contributors, they offer some 50 essays on persons and concepts in fields of endeavor that include law, architecture, music, art, fashion, electricity, radio technology, and literature. Many expected actors appear on this stage: Julius Caesar, Dante, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Marconi, Fermi, Ferrari, and Armani. Other fascinating pieces limn people and events less known to nonspecialist audiences--Garibaldi and the risorgimento; the poet D'Annunzio, who took over a small city in 1919 and ruled as its prince for 16 months; Aretino, the critically acclaimed early pornographer; and Catherine de' Medici, one of the first gourmets, who introduced fine cuisine to sixteenth-century France. A learned and entertaining survey of world culture, Italian style. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)