steveatch

I attended the International School in Umbria, for most of a summer. It's an art school. Though I am a contemporary artist, I adore the layer upon layer of history in Italy, and the Renaissance in particular. And, no doubt, Fellini and other Italian cineastes have shaped my conception of Italy. But any Italian would find such impressions amusingly limited, I'm sure, as I would the same for one towards America. I have an MFA in painting, but it leaves me with quite a circumscribed economic capacity in the US. I couldn't say if it would help me greatly in Italy, but I am interested in teaching at, say, an American High School there in Rome or perhaps Milan. (presently, my Italian is a bit brutto and piccolo, but not useless.) And I can't say that I am happy with the conservative, adolescent nature of America. But I am also intent on my art career, and I feel that Italy is now making serious gestures towards bringing contemporary art to Rome and to put Italy back on the map of contemporary art. Where I'm coming from is wanting to know details of getting to Italy and living there. How much do I need to save to leave? Must I grease palms? The Italians have their own immigration pressures, and I can't imagine that they would want me unless I was seen as contributing and not taking. And that is reasonable. What is their attitude to stranieri? At this point, living in Italy seems a pipe dream, but people are doing it.