Throughout his career, Alessandro Cattelan has accustomed us to brilliant, ironic and deep stories. His passion for New York is now known: he wrote us a guide, he bought us home, he comes back as soon as he can. But how was this love born? And how do you reconcile with Italy, with Tortona, with Milan? We asked him in an interview that starts from a skyline and ends in the company of Jesus, in the streets of Brooklyn.
Alessandro, tell us your first time in New York and why is the best time in the Big Apple?
It was 2003, shortly after the attack on the Twin Towers. My friends and I finally had the economic chance to travel to New York and so we leave. We’ve been waiting for that moment for a long time, it was one of those trips you “have to do”, a classic. When I visited the city for the first time it was all new, of course, but also close, it was like recognizing a place even if I had never been there. A strange, familiar feeling. I’ve seen the skyline a thousand times in photos, movies, video clips. But seeing him live… another thing. A great emotion that makes my most beautiful moment in New York.
How did this fall? At a distance, thanks to movies, music or books, before seeing her live or was it a surprise and at first sight?
Let’s say you know New York before you’ve even been there. Go because you feel you have to go. It’s not like throwing you in a random place. It was already present in my imagination thanks to music – my favorite rappers, Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G., came from there – and then movies, series, stories. The surprising thing is that when you get there, you realize it’s not fiction: it’s all true. It’s exactly how you imagined it, just a lot more intense.
And when you are there, do you not miss Italy? Are you homesick?
No, on the contrary, I really like being there, I always try to convince myself to be one of the place. I’m a habitual type and every day I choose a routine: Like going to the same pub under the house, as soon as they landed, getting a beer. It is my way of feeling “inside” the city.
Do you have any links with the Italian community in New York?
Yeah, sure. In Brooklyn I know the boys of Growing Up Italian, or Salotto, who hosted the presentation of my publishing house and with which I carry on several projects. And then there is Antica Pesa, the Roman restaurant that has a second seat right in Brooklyn. Yeah, I’d say the ties are there.
Do you frequent your Italian friends when you’re there?
If it happens, yes, but it’s not something I’m looking for. When I’m in New York, I really want to get off what I do every day. Also because there is always the risk that you end up talking about work, here. Then of course, it happens to cross someone, but I prefer to immerse myself in another world.
Is there a place or something that, according to you, best represents Italianity in New York?
Williamsburg. There the Italian community is small but very present. Italian minorities hold us a lot to make their presence felt. An example: they fill the streets to celebrate the typical Italian country festivals, there are tricolor flags, saints, Madonne… there is just that familiar atmosphere and a little kitsch. And then Little Italy: the Christmas decoration shop open also in August is unmissable, a kind of permanent Christmas chaos.
What is missing, according to you, to Italians living in New York?
Maybe football. But for the rest, there’s nothing missing. Even the food is now everywhere, and also well done.
And how do you think Italianity is perceived there?
A bit stereotypical, I Soprano style. The films have left a mark. The American-italo is seen as noisy, managing… a cliché, in short. But as a tourist you feel welcomed. And there is a lot of appeal to Italy: they all come up with an Italian relative, even if they don’t even know where Italy is on the map.
What do you think of the “American dream”, exists?
I think so. I also saw it recently, when I met some publishers from Il Salotto. There is a great proactivity: all offer you an idea, a contact, a support. Even if you are not directly involved with them. But it’s also a city that crushes you: to make it you must be structured, have energy, hunger. It gives you so much, but it asks you the same.
See a future there for you and your family?
I’d like to, even if maybe now I’m a little too old (laughs). New York is perfect between 20 and 40 years. It gives you a crazy push, but it demands a lot. But yes, I would like to live there for longer periods.
Does being happy in New York mean…? What about Milan or Tortona?
In New York means having a lot of money! It is a very dear city. You can go with your dream, but then you have to do it. You have to do what you like without feeling with water in your throat. In Milan – or in Tortona – there is another happiness: is serenity, stability. For me, however, happiness does not depend on the city in which I am, but on an internal balance.
A song, a movie, a book that tells you about New York?
A song is Fairytale of New York, Christmas. It is poetic, sweet, dirty and rough at the same time. A movie is those good guys, but Manhattan too. A book, The Thousand Lights of New York and New York Slaves.
Let’s talk about your publishing house, Accento. How was the idea of founding it and how is it going?
It’s going well, we’re very proud. The idea was born during the Covid: I wanted to do something that was not 100% related to me. I’m just part of the project, not the center. In the catalog we have many titles set in New York, and the audience appreciates them.
The mission is to publish outrights. What is the state of art, is it possible to live books in Italy?
Hard. Living only writing is complicated. It is necessary to have another job, and writing often becomes a parallel part. But the right window can help, and we try to offer it.
Have you always been fond of books?
Absolutely not. I hated them at school. Then, in Milan, I started dating new people, very learned, and there I realized I had gaps. Since with music and movies I was doing well, with books I decided to get on.
Favorite book? And someone you want not to have read yet?
American Psycho, no doubt. What I wish I hadn’t read yet? Delitto and punishment, to be able to rediscover it from scratch.
Last question, let’s get back to New York. You drove friends and relatives but if you could choose a person – present or past – to take with you to discover the city… who would it be?
Jesus. I would take him around New York to see his photos everywhere, in shops, in houses, on the street… it would be nice to show him how idolatrous he is, how affection they show him. And then who knows what he would say about the city.
L’articolo Alessandro Cattelan: “New York took my heart, but asks for the soul” comes from IlNewyorkese.
