Alessandro Sorbello interview for Brisbane News - Italian Week

ALESSANDRO SORBELLO 42 // ENTREPRENEUR

He may have grown up in Australia, but Alessandro remains exuberant about his birth country. Who wouldn’t? It’s easy to be passionate about Italy and share in its enduring love affair with food, music, fashion, art – and life.“You don’t have to be born Italian to feel Italian,” says Alessandro, of Alderley, who has organised an impressive line-up for the second annual Italian Week. “The festival is not an imprint of what you find in Italy because what we have here is different, but it is an extension of Italy.”It’s this fusion of cultures that drives Alessandro – and he’s well qualifi ed to blend the two.

Born in Milan, he moved to Queensland in 1970, but after school he returned, first as a backpacker for six months,and more recently to live and work for five years, dividing his time between Tuscany, Umbria and Sicily.

He landed back in Brisbane at the end of 2004 to pursue his varied business interests in property investment, internet communication and media production.

Entrepreneurial from a young age, Alessandro made a tidy sum as a 12 year old, picking mangoes from a tree in the grounds of Newmarket State Schooland selling them to neighbours. “My friends and I made $800 in one week – not bad,” he laughs.

His current project, Italian Week, brings together some of Australia’s fi nest Italian talents and businesses in a strong program of events covering opera (Rosario La Spina), contemporary music (Peter Cupples, who is “Italian by marriage”, and Anna-Maria La Spina), fashion (Elio Moda), coffee (Di Bella), food (Sirianni Fine Foods, Dolci Sapori and Viale Canova restaurant), architecture (Association Toscani nel Mondo), wine (Ballandean Estate) and cars Lamborghini,Maserati, Fiat, Alfa Romeo).

The festival has the support of the Brisbane Consulate of Italy and business heavyweight Steve Pellegrino.“We’re celebrating the fact that Italy is rich with culture, and among our exports are talented individuals committed to contributing to the Australian culture,” says Alessandro.
“It’s a win-win situation.”

KYLIE LANG
ITALIAN WEEK,
MAY 26-JUN 2.
http://www.italianweek.com.au/