BRAVA ITALIA “The Proud Tradition” takes a lingering look at how Italians connect with the world around them, in the present and in the past. Director/producer/screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola reminisces about family members several generations back who once roamed Basilicata, and discusses the importance of preserving the region and its old traditions. Italy’s natural landscape is renowned sculptor Luciano Zanoni’s muse. “I leave the house and go up into the mountains,” he reveals, “I find a plant that I like and fix it in my head.” A blacksmith’s son, Zanoni shapes wrought iron into exquisite metal trees-one of an olive tree was even purchased by computer tycoon Bill Gates. Meet fisherman Francesco Adragna, who remembers the day he pulled an ancient statue up out of his nets: “It came out face upwards…the first thing we saw was the expression. We all felt an indescribable emotion.” Clearly conveying the pride the locals possess, these stories offer a slice of Italian life.
