Alberto Angela

thumb|Alberto Angela in 2010 Alberto Cesare Angela (born 8 April 1962) is an Italian paleontologist, television host, journalist, and writer. Quotes People who went to work at the World Trade Center every day used to boast about it; they were proud of it: at the time they were built, the towers were the tallest skyscrapers in New York, standing 410 metres high. They surpassed the record held by the Empire State Building, at 381 metres, which until then had been the most famous and admired building. They had literally changed, transformed the city skyline. Whether you were arriving from the sea on a transatlantic liner, as a luxury tourist, or on a commuter ferry, your gaze was immediately drawn to the two towers with admiration. Building them had been a colossal undertaking, which had also sparked a great deal of controversy. From the TV programme Ulisse, il piacere della scoperta, aired on Rai 3 on 21 May 2011; video available on youtube.com, min. 6:30. I believe that the parasitic ant is the longest-living and, at the same time, the weakest animal in existence. Its exoskeletal structure is very similar to that of a flying mosquito, but with a more regularly segmented bulb. Focus, 12 December 1999, p. 31. From up here, you can see Palermo at sunset, with all its charm and beauty, which are, however, hidden within this calculated disorder of domes, the remains of mosques, palm trees that rise up, gesticulating statues, as well as Baroque gardens and even Art Nouveau splendour. From here, you can make out Monte Pellegrino, a headland that Goethe described as 'the most beautiful in the world' and that almost seems to protect the city. A city that seems to drift lazily down towards the sea. A sea from which came all the peoples who wished to conquer it. Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards, French, Piedmontese, Austrians. And they all left behind immense beauty. And perhaps it was precisely from the sea that came that melancholy which is one of the keys to understanding Sicily. In short, here, nothing is Sicilian, but everything becomes Sicilian. Quoted in Alberto Angela mostra le bellezze di Palermo: “Qui nulla è siciliano ma tutto si fa siciliano”, perizona.it, 12 January 2023. The Tyrannosaurus was the size of an elephant, as ferocious as a tiger, and had the teeth of a shark. Piero and Alberto Angela, Il Pianeta dei dinosauri, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, October 1993, p. 55. Few cities in human history, like Renaissance Florence, have managed to make such a profound impact, over the course of just a few centuries, not only on the history of their own country, but on that of an entire continent and the whole world. From a post, twitter.com, 4 January 2023. Before Ciampi, the homeland was a right-wing, bellicose value. He convinced Italians to make peace with the flag and the national anthem. Quoted in Francesco Merlo, Alberto Angela: "Ho successo perché racconto la bellezza degli italiani", rep.repubblica.it, 17 January 2018. When you walk into a place as magnificent and as rich in treasures as St Peter's Basilica, it's natural for your gaze to wander upwards, or all around you… It's much less likely that you'll stop to look at the floor. But it's a real shame, because the floors of St Peter's Basilica are a huge, vast masterpiece unlike any other in the world. Quoted in San Pietro. Segreti e meraviglie in un racconto lungo duemila anni, Ch. VI, Marmi da ogni dove, Milano, RCS Libri, 2015, ISBN 978-88-58-68291-3. (About Gigi Proietti) When you found yourself in front of him, in front of his art, in front of his person, you realised you were in the presence of a true master, a unique artist who knew how to draw you in completely, whatever the performance. His art was never ostentatious, and he was always able to put the people he interacted with at ease. [...] With his humility, his humanity and his simplicity, Gigi was one of the most genuine, respectful and humane men I have ever met. From a post, facebook.com, 2 November 2020. Forty-three thousand six hundred windows; that's the total number of windows in the two towers. In other words, each tower has just under twenty-two thousand windows, all fifty centimetres wide. This is an important fact to bear in mind, as it helps us to understand the structure of the towers and also the dynamics of their collapse. In fact, traditional skyscrapers have an internal load-bearing structure and very thin walls. The New York towers, on the other hand, were supported by an external framework of thin steel ribs, spaced fifty centimetres apart – the exact width of the windows. In short, they were like hollow cuboids. The biggest challenge for the twin towers was the wind: in fact, in this part of Manhattan at this height, the wind can reach speeds of up to 220 kilometres per hour. When this happened, the towers would bend and could even swing by as much as one metre. The towers had become a symbol, and precisely for this reason, a group of fanatics decided to attack them as early as 1993. From the TV programme Ulisse, il piacere della scoperta aired on Rai 3, 21 May 2011; video available on youtube.com, min. 10:35. Yes, at first glance, [iguanas] might indeed look like small dinosaurs, but they aren't. They belong to the large group of reptiles, but they are not closely related to dinosaurs. Let's say they're about as closely related as we are to a seal. From the TV programme Il Pianeta dei Dinosauri, episodio 1: I primi dinosauri, Raiuno, 1993. I'm easy-going: I like comedy films and action films. In first place, I would put 2001: A Space Odyssey. Quoted in Cristina Lacava, Cose della vita: Alberto Angela, iodonna.it, 24 April 2012. Interviews From the TV programme Meraviglie - La penisola dei tesori, Rai 1, 9 April 2019, Tra vette e colline: da Urbino al Monte Bianco, raiplay.it The Ducal Palace in Urbino is really like a maze, with passages, rooms, courtyards, and so on, and we are now at one of the highest points, in one of the two 'torricini', as they are called – these very elegant pointed towers. They didn't [...] have a military function; this wasn't a fortress, this was a palace. And it was commissioned by Federico da Montefeltro so that anyone who came right here [...] would be faced with this marvel of architecture, which was a veritable calling card for this extraordinary figure. The most important example of this golden age the Renaissance is the Ducal Palace, a veritable treasure trove covering no less than twenty thousand square metres over several floors. It truly is an extraordinary work. Just think, UNESCO has declared Urbino's historic centre a World Heritage Site; but in fact, it's an extremely ancient city, a city that reached its peak of splendour, as we know, in the 15th century, when, as UNESCO points out, it was one of the greatest centres of art and culture throughout the Renaissance. Most importantly, it has left an indelible mark on history, thanks in part to the creativity of its inhabitants and to the Duke of Urbino, a truly extraordinary figure. [...] Amidst these woods and oak trees, nestled among the rolling hills of the Marche region, lies a true marvel – not only of this region, but of our entire nation: a city rich in history, art and culture. A city that has left its mark over the centuries: Urbino. In those years, Urbino – and above all this beautiful [Ducal] palace – was a place of great activity. Here, you would have met many ambassadors, guests and travellers, as well as figures who went down in history: Pope Julius II [...], Lucrezia Borgia, and many others. Urbino [...] is a unique place, a place where the Middle Ages and the Renaissance blend together naturally: and so, today, all these beautiful palaces, the churches, the narrow alleyways and the characteristic ups and downs of the city still transport you back to that era, to the 15th and early 16th centuries. During this period, Urbino was a wealthy city buzzing with cultural activity, and thanks to the passion of the city's rulers, many places were created where art, in turn, flourished. I tre giorni di Pompei Alberto Angela, I tre giorni di Pompei, Rizzoli, Milano, 2018. ISBN 978-88-17-08352-2 Incipit When we talk about the eruption that destroyed Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Boscoreale, Terzigno and Stabiae in 79 AD, we always do so through the eyes of the victims, trying to understand how they met their end. This book will do the opposite: it will tell the story of the tragedy through the survivors. In fact, some people did survive. After a lengthy investigation, at least seven have been identified! Quotes From their clothes to their houses, the world of the Romans is truly colourful, much more so than ours, which is characterised by white walls and dark clothes. (p. 16) In short, what is the biggest difference between Roman houses and ours? As we have seen, the most striking difference is the colours. The Romans would be appalled by the lack of colour in our houses, as well as in our clothes, our furniture and our statues. (p. 121) The belief that coral protects against bad luck and the evil eye has its roots in mythology. Medusa turned anyone who looked at her to stone. After Perseus beheaded her, he mounted Pegasus, the winged horse, holding the head of the monster he had just killed in his hand. During the flight, a few drops of blood from Medusa's severed head fell into the sea and turned to stone, becoming red coral. Thus, the blood of the terrible Medusa became a weapon that people could use to their advantage, against bad luck and the ill will of others... (p. 270) As we know, salt is of fundamental importance to our body, and since ancient times it has always been held in high esteem, almost as much as gold. Soldiers were paid with salt – hence the term 'salary' – and the salt mined at Ostia Antica was transported along a road aptly named the 'Salaria'. (p. 305) Incipit of Viaggio nella Cappella Sistina Alberto Angela, Viaggio nella Cappella Sistina, Rizzoli, Milano, 2013. ISBN 978-88-17-07011-9 Few places in the world leave people as enchanted as the Sistine Chapel. Every day, twenty thousand people enter this sacred place, and each of them is left speechless by the sheer beauty, collectively experiencing a sense of awe. Indeed, you don't know where to focus your gaze – on which frescoes, on which faces. You feel captivated by the famous 'contact' between the fingers of Adam and God, then by the deep blue of the Last Judgement and its painted figures, which flicker like the flames of a fire blazing on the wall. And every time you focus on a detail, you feel the same emotion: the pleasure of perfection… the perfection of Art, of human creativity. Quotes about [In 2018] Alberto is no longer Piero Angela's son; I am his father now. Piero Angela, from an interview at the TV programme Domenica in, quoted in Piero Angela: "Ormai sono conosciuto come il padre di Alberto", Repubblica.it, 15 January 2018. Alberto is a friend I respect; I don't see him as a competitor. [...] What we have in common is our decision to go to the places where things happened; what we have in common is our desire to bring a story to life through cinematic storytelling; what we have in common is that we are not out to create a TV row, and we do not have to chase after an interview with the political figure of the moment. Apart from Ulisse and Atlantide, I don't think there's anything similar on Italian TV. His viewing figures are extraordinary, and mine are very good. This means that the audience is there. Andrea Purgatori, quoted in Massimo Galanto, Andrea Purgatori a Blogo: "Io, l'Alberto Angela di La7", TV Blog, 16 October 2018. External links Angela, Alberto Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Journalists from Italy Category:Television hosts