Alberto Sordi, playing the young Nando said: “Macaroni, did you provoke me? And I destroy you. I me te magno "
With this quote, perhaps one of the most famous of Italian cinema, an Alberto Sordi in an American guise A
For many the scene can end in those few minutes, with the Roman actor throwing himself with his eyes closed and his mouth wide open on those poor spaghetti, but by analyzing it more in depth it is possible to glimpse the real message wanted by the whole film.
An American in Rome
It tells the story of the young Nando, Roman for several generations, but in love with the United States and all it has to offer. So in love that he will live every moment in his Rome as if he were on the streets of New York or Los Angeles.
Customs, language and thought made in the USA will take control of the protagonist, making him gradually lose his "Italian character". However, when faced with things like just a simple plate of pasta, the good Nando will realize that it is impossible to abandon one's origins and history, especially when it comes to eating.
The figure created by Alberto Sordi and Italian cinema in those years is known as the “average Italian”. This term, in our day, may seem contemptuous and almost offensive due to the reference to the classic Italian all reality, football and disinterest in society and political issues, but in the twenty years after the war it served to identify the new rising figure of the wealthy Italian, but not too much. The one who could afford a life above the poverty line and with a defined political thought, linked to its values and origins, eager to know the world and be known by it.
Alberto Sordi elgreat Italian actor'average Italian
And it is precisely after the Second World War, and with the birth of the average Italian, that the Italian product and the concept of Italianness as we know it today are affirmed.
The desire to rebuild, to establish itself and above all to travel (it is no coincidence that Nando's greatest dream was to move to America) have allowed the whole world to get to know the class, style and beauty of the Italian brand.
From fashion to food, passing through the automotive industry to auteur cinema. The golden age began between the XNUMXs and XNUMXs, with the famous "Golden Age", and continued until the XNUMXs with the creation and affirmation of the Made in Italy: (the third best known brand in the world after Coca Cola and Visa) and the laws on the protection of products made in Italy.
With the success of the Italian product in the world, the figure of the classy Italian is also built, fashionable, refined and no longer crude and simpleton as it was defined in the first half of the twentieth century. The Italian is suddenly seen as someone capable of giving shape to style, and of transforming everything he touches into gold. Whether it's a simple scooter or a beautiful dress, every object will turn into an icon if made with the Made in Italy brand.
Beyond the product and the image of Italian in the world, the concept of Italianness comes to life. A series of associations between our products and the most popular places in the collective imagination. In this way, figures and connections such as pizza and Naples, the sports car and Ferrari, the gondola and Venice, the Mediterranean diet and pasta or La dolce vita by Fellini and the Fountain make their way into the minds of the foreigner and beyond. of Trevi. They could be defined as the most classic and noble stereotypes concerning us Italians, making us proud, united and above all far from those like the Italian mafia, ignorant and backward with whom the first Italian migrants of the beginning of the century were identified. , large distribution and strong competition, even today the Italian shop manages to keep up with the world market, making us masters in the creation and export of our brand and contributing to the growth and affirmation of the Italian spirit in the world.
And as the great Alberto Sordi would say: I nu 'magno macaroni, I am American ... But we all know how it ended because after all, despite everything, we can't stop being Italian.
