TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1021151
If the ambience of Monteverdi is soothing, an invitation to delicious indolence, at the same time it is laced with the verve and energy not only of Miani's design, but also of Cioffi's second epiphany. "And that was this could also be a great place for artists, scholars, musicians to gather and create new art," he explains. "Culture is always deriva- tive of landscape. And here we could have interaction with beauty in both art and landscape." The hotel was named Monteverdi, after all, not just for the green mountains but also for the composer Claudio Monteverdi. And the idea resonated with Cioffi's own edu- cation, as a Classics major at Notre Dame, and subsequent travels in Europe. His experience on the boards of various symphony orchestras and opera companies, moreover, tells him that no more than half the necessary funds are ever raised through ticket sales. What he is doing here, then—besides the concerts and exhibitions, he has had a series of artists in residence—places Cioffi directly in the lineage of those patrons who sponsored the cultural blooms of Classical and Renaissance eras. "Throughout history, the fine arts have never been self-sustaining," he says. "Artists have always needed peo- ple who recognised the importance of what they were do- ing for the advancement of the human race. Because the arts can raise us above the trivialities of everyday life; can make us richer, happier, and as noble as humans can be." "CULTURE IS ALWAYS DERIVATIVE OF LANDSCAPE. And here we could have interaction with beauty in both art and landscape." – Michael Cioffi