Emanuele Amendola, Director at the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles

Please welcome to our show, the director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di LosAngeles, AKA the Italian Cultural Institute, Emanuele Amendola, and he joins us to discuss the mission of the @iiclosangeles in bringing cultural, scientific, academic, and culinary experiences that highlight everything authentic direct from Italy. The programs are all free, engaging, and open to everyone. Emanuele works closely with our Consul General of Italy in LA, Raffaella Valentini, and together they have forged a partnership that brings us the best of everything from Italia, including products direct from Italy. Each exhibit, talk, and experience is unique. Recently, there was a showing and discussion about the film, Womeness, followed a few days later with the opening and lecture about the Volterra exhibit. There was a Q&A and demonstration with famed chef Nancy Silverton, and the list goes on. So we wanted to know, how does Emanuele select what to present to the public, because the Cultural Institite goes beyond the walls of their physical location in Westwood. Their work extends down to San Diego in addition to nine states, so in effect, they take their work on the road! Also, in addition to top exhibitions, musical performances and more, the @IICLosAngeles offers language courses and incentives for exchange programs. Before coming on board here in Los Angeles, Emanuele was appointed Director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington DC, where his duties included fostering partnerships between Italian and American cultural institutions. He started his tenure at the Italian Cultural Institute in Los Angeles in January 2022. Please give a warm welcome to Emanuele, and join our interview on all video and audio podcast platforms of #DeborahKobyltLIVE, #LittleItalyPodcast, and the #LittleItalyOfLAPodcast. I'm your host, #DeborahZaraKobylt, and it's my pleasure to welcome you here.