2022 draws to a close . A year of successes and momentous events , but also conflicts and tragedies .
A year to retrace, also in images, through the news of UnioneSarda.it .
Here the news of culture and entertainment .
MAHMOOD AND BLANCO WIN THE SANREMO FESTIVAL
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It is February 5, 2022 and on the stage of the Ariston theater Mahmood and Blanco triumph with "Brividi" at the 72nd edition of the Sanremo Festival.
Elisa ranks second with "Or maybe it's you", Gianni Morandi third with "Open all the doors".
A victory with which the Sardinian Mahmood (mother of Orosei and Egyptian father) repeats the top step of the podium of the musical event achieved with "Soldi" in 2019.
The duet with Blanco from Brescia was the favorite song on the eve of the awards and did not disappoint expectations. After the victory, other great satisfactions arrive: the single enters the top ten of the Spotify world rankings. For the two singers, 2022 was a double satisfaction because they then represented Italy at the Eurovision Song Contest which was held in May in Turin.
ITALY HOSTS THE EUROVISION IN TURIN: UKRAINE WINS
www.unionesarda.it/spettacoli/lucraina-vince-leurovision-song-contest-litalia-solo-sesta-b795qp3z
2022 has certainly marked an important turning point for Italian music on the international and global scene. After Maneskin 's victory in Rotterdam, Italy was awarded the right to organize Eurovision and Turin was selected to host the great event. To win in the shadow of the Mole is the Ukrainian band Kalush with "Stefania". In second place is Great Britain, third is Spain. Italy, with "Brividi" by Mahmood and Blanco, has to settle for sixth place.
On the stage of the Pala Olimpico, a tribute also to tradition with the characteristic sound of the group, which wins and convinces. And even if given as favorites since the beginning of the contest, the six risk disqualification for the political messages launched during the exhibition and prohibited by the regulation: "Please help Ukraine and Mariupol, help Azovstal, now!".
The three presenters Mika , Alessandro Cattelan and Laura Pausini did the honors.
JOHNNY DEPP WINS CASE WITH EX WIFE AMBER HEARD
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After a long legal battle, actor Johnny Depp wins his case with ex-wife Amber Heard in June.
The two ended up in court after he asked her for 50 million dollars in compensation for the damages she allegedly caused him with an editorial published in the Washington Post in which she declared herself a victim of domestic violence.
After a series of hearings that have gone around the world, the sentence has arrived: Depp will get compensation of 15 million while he will have to pay 2 to his ex-wife for defamatory accusations against her. The story split public opinion and that of the fans who, on the network, took sides taking the defense of both sides.
OSCAR, “CODA” BEST FILM. WILL SMITH CHOC: SLAP LIVE TO CHRIS ROCK
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The latest edition of the Oscars awards the gold statuette for best film to “ Coda ”, in Italian “ Signs of the heart ”, by director Sian Heder. Nothing to do for the three Italian candidates. The Oscar for best foreign film, which Paolo Sorrentino aspired to, goes to “ Drive my car ” by Japanese director Ryûsuke Hamaguchi .
What steals the show, however, is what everyone thought was a gag: actor Will Smith slaps Chris Rock on the face live worldwide. The stage host had commented on the hair of Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith's wife, who has been suffering from alopecia for years. At first it seems that the actor didn't mind, but then he takes the stage and the violence takes over. From Hollywood a firm condemnation of the gesture of the new Oscar winner for "King Richard - A winning family". Subsequently, Smith says, "I called Chris to apologize but he didn't answer me". The impulsive reaction cost the former Prince of Bel Air not only the expulsion from the Academy but also the cancellation of the contracts signed for subsequent films.
FRANCESCO TOTTI AND ILARY BLASI: THE LOVE STORY COMES TO THE END OF THE LINE
It arrived in July but had been in the air for some time: the news of the separation of the former Roma footballer from the TV presenter Ilary Blasy was not a bolt from the blue. After the rumors, the gossip, the paparazzi, the denials, the confirmation arrived: «After twenty years together and three splendid children, my marriage with Francesco has ended – Blasi let it be known through her agent – The path of the separation will still remain a private matter and no further statements from me will follow. I invite everyone to avoid speculation and, above all, to respect the confidentiality of my family".
In the meantime, the two ex-spouses have overcome the breakup and are starting a new life. While Blasi is the subject of various gossip on the web, Totti makes no secrets of his history with his new partner Noemi Bocchi.
ART UNDER ATTACK: THE “JUST STOP OIL” ENVIRONMENTAL PROTESTS
2022 is also the year that makes the art world "tremble". Van Gogh, Monet, Goya, Andy Warhol : these are just some of the famous artists who ended up in the crosshairs of the ecologists of " Just stop oil ", " Extinction Rebellion " and of the Italian "division" "Ultima Generazione" who chose to make their voice capturing the attention of the world with actions against the most famous works.
The environmental protest began on May 29 at the Louvre in Paris when young activists threw a cake at Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa while shouting " Let's save the planet! ”. In October, the movement comes alive, with two ecologists who throw tomato soup on Van Gogh's sunflowers and then glue themselves to the wall shouting "just stop oil". Thus an attack was triggered on the most important works and museums: on the 23rd of the same month it was the turn of a Monet, "The Haystack", in Germany, smeared with mashed potatoes. Subsequently, the “Last Generation” actions never stopped, even arriving in Milan. Demonstrations that still continue, it is not known until when.
THE MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERY AFTER RIACE: 24 PRECIOUS BRONZE STATUES IN TUSCANY
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The month of November opens with a great archaeological discovery . In San Casciano dei Bagni, in Tuscany, a votive deposit re-emerges with over 24 bronze statues of extremely refined workmanship , five of which are almost one meter high, all intact and in perfect condition.
Protected for 2,300 years by mud and boiling water from sacred pools, the site has yielded a discovery that will rewrite history . The finds include the statue of the young Ephebe, that of Igea - the goddess of health who was the daughter or wife of Asclepius - with a snake coiled around her arm. Still partially submerged by water, Apollo can also be glimpsed. Then again divinities, matrons, children, emperors. Partly arranged on the branches of a huge tree trunk fixed to the bottom of the tank, in many cases covered with inscriptions, the statues, as well as the countless ex votos, come from the great families of the area and beyond, exponents of the world's elites Etruscan and then Roman, landowners, local lords, Rome's wealthy classes and even emperors.
«The most important discovery from the Riace Bronzes is one of the most significant discoveries of bronzes ever made in the history of the ancient Mediterranean », commented the director of the MiC Museums Massimo Osanna .
"IN OUR SKY A ROAR OF THUNDER", THE FILM ABOUT GIGI RIVA ARRIVES AT THE CINEMA
November is also the month in which the Sardinians see the film " In our sky a thunderclap" on the big screen, which was born as a tribute to the champion Gigi Riva who fell in love with Cagliari and the island upon his arrival in Sardinia .
The film traces the life of the champion until November 7, 2022 , his 78th birthday . The story is narrated, with images and interviews, by the ambitious Roman director Riccardo Milani who "courted" Riva for years, before being able to package the work in which the champion himself tells his story from the armchair in his living room , with a cigarette in hand and steady voice.
On the occasion of the premiere of the film, at the Teatro Massimo in Cagliari , the champion of the Scudetto also arrived, welcomed by the applause of those present in the hall. Until the very end it was not known whether he would be present but in the end Riva did not miss the appointment with "his" film.
MANESKIN WINS AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS, BEGGIN IS BEST ROCK SONG
November closes with the great triumph of the Maneskin at the American Music Awards . After the victories at Sanremo, Eurovision, MTV EMA and MTV VMA, the Maneskin also add the prestigious American award to the list.
The song "Beggin" by the Roman band, a cover by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, was judged " best rock song" . The group led by Damiano Davis has thus surpassed opponents of the caliber of Kate Bush, Foo Fighters, Imagine Dragons with JID and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
To collect the Damiano award, Ethan, Thomas and Victoria took the stage in suits and ties and, surprisingly, with suspenders instead of trousers .
GOODBYE TO PIERO ANGELA
www.unionesarda.it/news/italia/e-morto-piero-angela-il-figlio-alberto-buon-viaggio-papa-c7perttf
In 2022 the world of culture and entertainment also mourns great losses.
On 13 August 2022, the historical face of Italian television Piero Angela dies, at the age of 93. The journalist and science popularizer was born in Turin on 22 December 1928. His first job in the state radio and television agency was that of reporter as a collaborator of the Giornale Radio. After an extraordinary career in the world of journalism – as a correspondent from Paris and Brussels, as host of the national news and as a war correspondent in Iraq and Vietnam – he dedicated himself to dissemination programs in the early 1970s. The first was "Destination man" in 1971, in 1981 the Quark series began.
Among the great farewells also those to the actress Angela Lansbury, known in Italy for her role in the TV series "Murder, She Wrote", to the actress and singer Olivia Newton John , who has enchanted entire generations with her interpretation of Sandy in musical Grease, to the five David di Donatello actress Monica Vitti , to the actress, singer and TV presenter Catherine Spaak , to the journalist and unforgettable face of the show “Chi l'ha visto?” Donatella Raffai , to the journalist and founder of Repubblica Eugenio Scalfari .
THE PHOTO GALLERY:
Mahmood e Blanco vincono la 72esima edizione del Festival di Sanremo
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The stages:
December 20 – The war in Ukraine, the death of Elizabeth, the protests for Mahsa, the Qatargate: the facts in the world of 2022
December 25 - A year of sport between joys, torments and lost bets