I am becoming a STINGO fan

[vespapod]

Ok everybody...I must now discuss my reasons for appreciating Sting and will no longer bash him no matter what. If he plays Police songs by himself...GREAT...I hope he sells out every concert for twenty years...

Sting and Trudie are headlining at the Tuscan Sun Festival in Cortona, Italy. (great website tuscansunfestival.com) I would go if the volcano would let me!! (and sockii!) He is announcing that ALL (not just the festival) CONCERT PROCEEDS this year are going towards the restoration of Georgio Vasari's Last Supper (painting from the 1600s damaged heavily in the Florence flood of 1966) AND the restoration/reconstruction of the town center in Cortona, Italy (of "under the Tuscan Sun"fame), one of the most beautiful medieval hill towns in Italy. I appreciate this effort 100 percent..in fact it is the best thing I have heard a rock star do in years...therefore I will be going to Sting concerts (by myself if needed) and support these efforts.

[Tamadude]

...appreciating Sting and will no longer bash him no matter what.

Say it ain't so, ves! Say it ain't so!

[Dietmar]

really, even the "Massage In A Butthole" concert series ??

[sockii]

I'll support Stingo's charity efforts but only after vespa first supports our house buying efforts this June! No money for more concert tickets until after that!

[secretjourneyranch]

Just wait.
Soon he'll turn his 'fundraising gun' towards vanishing bunny-like cloud formations in the South Pacific.

It'll be damn hard to hang on then...

[DirtyMartini]

Cool to hear; kudos to Sting.

I'd personally just give the money directly to the charity though: they get the full amount, and I'm saved from having to listen to the music.

ETA: Vespa, where's your info from? I just looked at the festival website to save it to add to the wiki later, and according to them:

Thursday 5 August 2010
2.30pm and 8pm, Teatro Signorelli
"Twin Spirits" Performance portraying the love of Robert and Clara Schumann in words and music, featuring Sting and Trudie Styler as well as Joshua Bell (violin) and Nina Kotova (cello). Proceeds go to the Rainforest Fund, Del Sole Foundation and Royal Opera House Education Fund

http://www.tuscansunfestival.com/tsf-mu ... f791f.html

[Divemistress of the Dark]

This after I've had to learn to stuff my loathing of Taylor Swift; she wrote a HUGE check to the Red Cross for the Nashville flood victims. But I still can't say I'd be able to bring myself to attend one of her music, er, screeching, concerts.

[vespapod]

I am the guru of art history sites and basically this announcement hit the boards like crazy...the Vasari painting is gorgeous and is a huge three panel work...it has been in storage with glued on rice paper to hold the paint from chipping off..(they did this after the florence flood of 1966) and you should remove the paper soon so no damge is done....this was 44 years ago...basically Italy has blown off this restoration....Sting doing this gratuity will preserve, forever hopefully, a 16th century painting that is priceless in terms of art historical value...

[63falcon]

[quote="sockii"]I'll support Stingo's charity efforts but only after vespa first supports our house buying efforts this June! No money for more concert tickets until after that![/quote]
So, here's a "hear-hear, sockii" for this.
...and for this announcement vespa, , I mean !
How about a booster, or an apologist, but a FAN! whew! That's a bold move AND a strong word!!

You know, the sc.net still loves ya' gordo or no gordo....

[vespapod]

He's supporting the stuff I truly, truly love and study (even more so than music) so I gotta give him the big thumbs up on this one....I may even offer him a free fresco if I ever get to his stingdom in Italy.

[Throb]

I double checked this morning.
The sun was still rising in the east.

[giovanni]

Hey Vespa...you know that I am a tour operator? I mean, I studied in a school for tourism (what's better than that when you live in Italy???...ok, fashion...ahahah).
I used to go with my teachers and visit churches and all kind of art sites; even if many thinks that Milan is more an industrial city, well, they will surely change their minds once they visit all that we have here...it's just more hidden than what you can see in Rome, but I can tell that there is a lot to see around here.

>I may even offer him a free fresco if I ever get to his stingdom in Italy.
My friend Lydia (I use to talk about her a few times here, and she just went to see Sting in Germany this week) is a painter, a great painter; Sting has a couple of her paintings at his Tuscan house; we gave them to Sting some years ago, and he also showed us where they are now.
By the way, if you want to see Lydia's work in general (you can also see Sting on the main page) visit:
www.lydiadicorato.com
(that pic you see of Sting and Lydia was taken by me in the dressing room of BND concert in Florence)

[sockii]

You know it says here that the Getty and the Italian cultural ministry are funding the restoration. Doesn't say anything about Sting & Trudie being connected to it:

http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/a ... rence-News

[vespapod]

Giovanni...Lydias work is absolutely gorgeous!!! I did not know you were a tour operator...I myself have a few unintended museum tours under my belt from talking out loud to sockii about paintings. I want to see the "art" of milan someday but I too like fashion (I have a direct line to Gucci, new york...very dangerous) I invite you and Lydia to view my paintings at fineartoffootcare.com...go to the gallery tab... those paintings are on tavola, not tela..I dont know what Lydia paints on.

[vespapod]

Sockii....from what I can gather the restoration will have a team of restorers coming from the Getty for training as well as the fortezza conservation team....I do know Friends of Florence was drooling to do that restoration so maybe that is the Sting connection. cost of the restoration is set at 400,000 euros...Italian cultural ministry always says they are paying for a restoration then it gets bogged down in politics...