George, Amal, and that branch of Lake Como

Everyone knows that Italy is a magnet for the Hollywood stars. We also know that there is one face, above all others, that has become an ambassador for our country par excellence. But George Clooney, still fresh-faced despite the 60 candles blown out last May, never seems to talk about it enough.

If Sting was enchanted by the Tuscan hills of Chianti where he chose the Il Palagio estate as his home, then it was Villa Oleandra in Laglio that cast its spell on George when his Harley Davidson took him right to the front door of the mansion while he was touring the Alps by motorbike in 2001. It was love at first sight followed by a cheque for 10 million euros made out to the previous owner that got George a piece of history that has been traced back to 1720. Since then, the fame of these places has skyrocketed, and so has their commercial value.

The Clooneys’ heart beats for Italy even in the time of coronavirus and not just for holidays by the lake. George and his wife, the beautiful and sophisticated Amal, have allocated a million dollars to the places they love the most, namely Los Angeles, Lebanon, London and the lake town of Manzoni’s lovers Renzo and Lucia. The couple has also shown support for the Lombardy region hospitals most affected by the pandemic through the Clooney Foundation for Justice which deals with combating human rights violations around the world. Furthermore Amal Alamuddin, barrister and expert in international law and human rights, also represented Yazidi women kidnapped by the Islamic State in the first trial against Isis in the history of the Caliphate.

George Clooney and wife Amal Alamuddin

“This is the first time that I can’t come to Italy, I miss the Italians a lot” lamented Clooney during the remote interview with “Che Tempo che Fa” presenter Fabio Fazio to talk about his latest film “The Midnight Sky” released on Netflix last December. Neither did he hold back on shots fired at the United States, which he referred to “a country that has decided to ignore science, the pandemic and global warming”, ending with the tongue-in-cheek remark “They say ‘hey vaccinate the old first’, so here I am!”.

Once again, in “The Midnight Sky” he juggles the dual responsibilities of director and actor, and also takes on the role of producer for good measure. He sticks to the same kind of films that his audience is accustomed to, where cinema becomes a medium to create awareness and transmit the message of building a better future. Observation and a critical spirit, rather than pure entertainment, are George Clooney’s favourite cards and this time he plays them for a sorrowful yet optimistic reflection on the destiny of humanity, chasing the double fil rouge of the most catastrophic air pollution forecasts positioned alongside a messianic vision of a future that is still possible.

A sort of compendium of the apocalyptic science fiction of the last few years in which the old humanity makes room for the new one, passing to it, in extremis, the best of itself: science, feeling and knowledge. No provocation and no materialism, an old-fashioned uplifting story with the same spirit that permeated George in telling Today that “Fatherhood has given me so much more than Hollywood did.

It’s given me a sense of belonging and a sense of home and unconditional love – all the things that you were hoping you could get from a really good career and a dog”. It just goes to show that when you think life has given you everything, the best is yet to come.

 

Article edit by Claudia Chiari