Shot in high-definition video from a helicopter-mounted camera, VISIONS® OF ITALY: Southern Style takes viewers on a seamless soujourn following along the rugged western coastline to the toe of the “boot” at Reggio di Calabria, and then inland over the countryside to Rome. This one-hour program features stunning aerial footage, an informative and poetic narrative celebrating southern Italy’s considerable charms and a soundtrack that underscores the emotional connections America’s Italians have for their motherland. Images of Italy no tourist’s camera could capture are set to Neapolitan classics, choral selections, Italian folk songs, and the works of Italian composers such as Rossini, Puccini, and Vivaldi, with Italian-American performers
including Connie Francis and Michael Amante.

There has never been a show like this because it is nearly impossible to find a helicopter company in Italy willing to go through the difficulty of acquiring the specific permits needed to shoot over Rome! Precision planning on the ground with compasses determined the best time of day to avoid shadows on the major sites from the many buildings in this densely packed city. And the results are definitely worth it. Even if you have been to southern Italy, you have never seen it like this.

A majority of Italian-Americans can trace their roots to southern Italy, and for many this program will be a first look at the small villages of Il Mezzogiorno ­ “the midday” – (Puglia, Abruzzi, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria) their ancestors left generations ago, in many ways unchanged by time. Our helicopter flies over the most popular destinations in southern Italy – the romance of the Amalfi Coast (and the hairpin turns of the Amalfi Drive!); the bustling international seaport of Naples and the jewels among its islands, Ischia and Capri; the majesty of Vesuvius; the ruins of Pompei; Rome’s Scalinata di Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) and Colosseum­ but VISIONS® OF ITALY: Southern Style’s flight also reveals extraordinary sights that don’t
make most itineraries.

VISIONS® OF ITALY: Southern Style also takes viewers over the charming cliffsides of Sorrento and the picturesque fishing ports of Positano, San Marco, Nicotera, Diamante and other stops along the “Calabrian Riviera;” up the “Valley of the Dragon” to towering Ravello; past the pristine Greek temples at Paestum; into the heart of the action at the bustling seaport of Salerno and swordfishing crews at Bagnara Calabra; over the crossroads of Cosenza; around the palace and formal gardens of old Caserta, the abbey at MonteCassino, the Pope’s summer residence at Lake CastelGondolfo, the breathtaking fountains at Tivoli Gardens (Villa D’Este) and, with a bird’s eye view, the striking juxtaposition of ancient and modern Rome. We see the most well known sites of these cities – but from an unprecedented perspective.

VISIONS® OF ITALY: Southern Style is the companion program to WLIW New York’s VISIONS OF ITALY: Northern Style.

Dvds/cds of this program available when you support WLIW21.

Visions® of Italy: Southern Style is made possible in part by a grant from