Bella Figura: Understanding Italian Communication in Local and Transatlantic Contexts

Bella figura—beautiful figure—is an idiomatic expression used to reflect every part of Italian life. The phrase appears in travel books and in transnational business guides to describe Italian customs, in sociological research to describe the national characteristics of Italians, and in popular culture to depict thematic constructs and stereotypes, such as the Mafia, romance, and la dolce vita. Scholarly research on bella figura indicates its significance in Italian civilization, yet it remains one of the most elusive concepts to translate. Among the various interpretations and references from foreigners and Italians there is not a single definition that captures the complexity of bella figura as a cultural phenomenon. There is also little explanation of the term, its usage, or its effects on Italians who have migrated to other countries. Gadamerian hermeneutics offers an explanation for how bella figura functions as a frame of reference for understanding Italian culture and identity, which does not disappear or fuse when Italians interact with people from different countries but instead takes on an interpretive dimension that is continually integrating new information into the subconscious structures of the mind. In sum, bella figura is a sense-making process, and requires a pragmatic know-how of Italian communication (verbal and nonverbal). From this perspective, bella figura is prestructure by which Italians and some Italian migrants understand and interpret their linguistically mediated and historical world. This distinction changes the concept bella figura from a simple facade to a dynamic interplay among ever-changing interpretations and symbolic interactions. The exploration of bella figura is relevant to understanding Italian communication on both local and transnational levels

Hip Hop and La Bella Figura: How Music Reveals the Unknowns of Italy

Within Italian culture is the presence of a social ideology called la bella figura, which is the tendency for Italians to present their best selves while trying not to create the impression of a brutta figura, which would be a social gaffe or a presentation of one’s self that is considered uncouth. This tendency to project a bella figura is present in the social nature of Italians, but also their politics and economics, with a history of corruption and income inequality that has long been present but rarely addressed by Italians. In the early 1990s, in the midst of a corruption scandal and an economic recession in Italy, hip hop began to make its way from the United States, where it was rooted, across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe. Hip hop and rap became especially popular with the youth of Italy, as they used the scene to escape life on the streets and counteract la bella figura. With their provocative language, samples, and music videos, the early rap and hip hop of Italy criticized la bella figura and exposed parts of Italy that were seldom discussed in a public setting. However, as the hip hop scene became more commercialized, the rappers abandoned their tendency to criticize la bella figura and instead embraced the philosophy, creating their own hip hop version of a bella figura. This thesis will provide a definition of la bella figura as it is seen in Italian culture, describe the roots of hip hop and rap in Italy, and explain how as the Italian hip hop scene became more mainstream, it adopted la bella figura. Overall, I intend for this thesis to provide a background on Italian hip hop, and on a broader level discuss how smaller countercultures are affected when they become commercialized.International Relations and Global Studie

La Bella Figura: The role of a cultural philosophy on Italian consumerism

The La Bella Figura concept extends to many Italian cultural dimensions including physical appearance, perception of self, and behaviors. La Bella Figura plays an essential role in shaping Italian consumer behavior and consumerism. The current study sought to understand how women living in Italy conceptualize La Bella Figura and how it affects their day-to-day lives, attitudes, and consumption behaviors. This research extracted concepts from Consumer Culture Theory to construct a qualitative codebook and structure thematic data analyses. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 women aged 18-50 years living in Florence, Italy. Participants were recruited through study flyers, social media, and snowball sampling. Open and axial coding were facilitated by HyperRESEARCH 4.0.1 software to generate key themes. Data were collected and analyzed by trained researchers living in Florence, Italy, who utilized grounded theory techniques to identify emergent themes. Results indicated various components of La Bella Figura contributed to consumer behavior, namely its influence on identity (i.e., appearance, confidence), lifestyle goals (i.e., health, consumerism), and social norms (i.e., perceptions of others, media). Findings offer practical recommendations for marketers and retailers to appeal to the Italian market through effective and informed mediums

Facciamo bella figura!

"“Facciamo bella figura! 8 task fraseodidattici per studenti di italiano L2/LS” offers: • eight learning sequences designed to prepare students for communicative real-life tasks. • a narrative throughout all units inviting learners to accompany Lena, the textbook's protagonist, during her stay in Bologna; • a wide variety of authentic input (audio, video, written texts) to be used as an inspiration for the tasks; • a focus on phraseological expressions integrated in every task and accompanied by a multilingual glossary; • an introductory chapter and a learning diary to strengthen learner autonomy and provide guidance for the process of Italian language acquisition; • various (inter)cultural contents on life in Bologna experienced by different individuals. consists of: • a student’s book, including audio and video files; • a teacher’s guide. “Facciamo bella figura! 8 task fraseodidattici per studenti di italiano L2/LS” propone • otto sequenze didattiche concepite per preparare gli studenti a svolgere compiti comunicativi che si ispirano alla loro vita reale; • un filo conduttore tematico presente in tutte le unità che permette agli studenti di accompagnare Lena, la protagonista del libro, durante il suo soggiorno a Bologna; • una grande varietà di input autentici (audio, video, testi scritti) da usare come ispirazione per i task; • un focus sulle espressioni fraseologiche integrato in ogni unità e accompagnato da un glossario multilingue; • un capitolo introduttivo e un diario di apprendimento per stimolare l’autonomia degli studenti e accompagnarli nel loro processo di acquisizione della lingua italiana; • svariati contenuti (inter)culturali sulla vita a Bologna e la convivenza tra individui diversi. è composto da: • un libro dello studente, inclusi file audio e video; • una guida pedagogica per l’insegnante.

Teatteria elämä kaikki

Kirja-arvostelu: La bella figura : opastettu kiertokäynti italialaisuuteen / Beppe Severgnini ; suom. Hannamari Heino : WSOY, 2007

Negotiating Bella Figura: Inside the Childhood Homes of Six Second-Generation Italian-Canadian Women in Montreal

My thesis seeks to explore the spatial experiences of second-generation Italian-Canadian women in Montreal in their childhood homes during the 1970s and 1980s to learn about the gendered domestic environments during their childhood and coming-of-age. By conducting photo-elicitation oral history interviews with six second-generation Italian-Canadian women, I seek to explore the spatial layout and material culture of the homes they grew up in and how the home was a space of interaction and negotiation of two cultures. My thesis argues that bella figura is an underlying ideal that contributes to the gendered facets of these homes, an Italian ideal that prioritizes one’s image in the public eye as it relates to decorum. Focusing on the untouchable upstairs living room as a case study, I argue that this space exemplifies this ideal not only through its spatial qualities and material culture but through its maintenance. This thesis explores how maintenance is gender-coded and historically belongs to the separate sphere of the domestic and, therefore, a woman’s responsibility. I explore an intergenerational tension felt by these women in relation to keeping up with these stereotypes and the gendered ideal of bella figura through their perspective of dual cultural identities. I also seek how acculturation and age affect divergent experiences within my sample and how bella figura has lasting impacts on these women as they matured and had families of their own

L’evoluzione della bella figura a tavola nell\u27Italia rinascimentale

Questo Advanced Integration Project utilizza un approccio sociologico per analizzare l\u27evoluzione delle maniere nell\u27Italia rinascimentale, con un focus specifico sull\u27influenza della classe sociale negli standard di etichetta e in particolare quelli relativi al cibo. Analizzando la transizione dal controllo esterno degli standard di autoregolamentazione interna attraverso lo studio dell’etichetta a tavola, questa ricerca mostra la tavola da pranzo come un luogo in cui affinare e pacificare la società. Lo studio delle maniere nell\u27Italia del Rinascimento è un riflesso dell\u27epoca, mostrando come nuovi standard di etichetta emergano da una società sempre più eterogenea. Queste maniere sono un aspetto integrante del processo di civilizzazione. Come descritto da Norbert Elias in The Civilizing Process, le maniere pacificano e civilizzano le società che prima erano controllate dalla minaccia della violenza fisica. Lo sviluppo di maniere e codici di comportamento rigorosi ha costretto le persone ad agire in modi più pacifici. In origine, questi codici venivano applicati da altre persone e dalla necessità di non offendere gli altri. Tuttavia, questi codici sono stati interiorizzati e le persone hanno autoregolamentato le proprie azioni. Di conseguenza, le persone hanno controllato i propri comportamenti e limitato gli episodi di violenza per creare una società più civile. Le opere di scrittori rinascimentali e umanisti come Galateo, Erasmus e Castiglione descrivono in particolare il codice di comportamento legato all\u27etichetta culinaria e, di conseguenza, la tavola da pranzo diventa un palcoscenico dove il raffinamento sociale e l\u27autocontrollo personale sono intrecciati.https://digital.sandiego.edu/ital-394/1012/thumbnail.jp

Culture Takeaway

This keynote is mainly based on Wallace's research for Volume X of La Cultura Italiana published by UTET in 2010. The volume is in Italian and, by translating it, it can now be shared with colleagues, students and friends. The relationship that each citizen has with his/her own country and culture is mediated by personal experiences and matured during a lifetime. It is a delicate task to identify what motivates the consciousness of “insiders” of a culture whilst, at the same time, stimulating the interest of outsiders. To be able to observe the prodigious artistic production of one’s own country from the point of view of another culture and another genetic material offers fresh cues. Curiosity, prodded by geographical and physical distance, helps to identify in a schematic way those characteristics that define a country’s visual culture in a decisively distinctive way