On 25 August 2012, a tornado uprooted 300 trees at the Villa Taranto, in Verbania, whose botanical gardens are among the most beautiful in Italy.
On 30 April 2013, Gianandrea Noseda, the Artistic Director of the Stresa Festival, planted a rare Japanese maple, donated by the Festival. Later that same day the 2013 Festival program was presented, and plans were laid for the 2014 season.
Is there any more constructive way to symbolize our will to survive the financial tornado that is tearing apart Italy’s cultural scene? How better could we confirm the Festival’s solid roots – to borrow a botanical term – in the fertile, vigorous terrain of this region?

Giovanni Medeot
President