This is Alessandro Brunello. Globetrotter based in Milan, with a frenetic life and rhythms dictated by work in a big city, at a certain point he leaves the metropolis and moves to the South to discover another idea of happiness. Widely followed for having shared on social media his choice to leave the Lombard capital and make Taranto his home, he tells his story in the book "I change my life, I go to the South - becoming southerners and living happily", published by Salani Editore, which will be in all bookstores from May 14th.
A national tour of presentations is already planned for him, but obviously the official debut will be in Taranto on Thursday 16 May (at Spazioporto, in via Foca Niceforo 28, at 9pm). Then, to follow, stops in Turin, Verona, Milan, Genoa, Rome and Bologna.
«Do you know that melancholy feeling at the end of August, at the end of summer, at the end of the holidays? Not me anymore" says a smiling Brunello who, with great naturalness and obvious irony, teaches us to find the southerner that hides in everyone.
During the presentation evening, with exceptional guests, the author - in addition to signing copies and meeting the public and journalists - will give life to fun moments in a real "happening". In fact, Alessandro tells his story of South-shifting on social media, through meetings with the people who live and color Taranto, with whom he creates snapshots of life that go from being funny to making you think. A new narrative of the South that has already made many passionate, thanks to his original and engaging way of delving into those small details that can make big differences. On Instagram he is @alessandrobrunelloreal.
But who is Alessandro Brunello? A pioneer of crowdfunding, he has a past as a comedian and author for Zelig, MTV, Rai2, Radio105 and then as a director and executive producer for Mediaset and Rai3. Twice marketing director of a multinational, since 2012 he has been helping companies, startups and third sector organizations finance themselves. He has written several technical books and curated international art exhibitions at the Museo della Permanente and Triennale Milano. He taught at the Holden School in Turin and at the IED in Milan. He is a professor at the University Master's Degree in Economics and Management for Art and Culture at the 24Ore business School and writes the Data Art column for the ArtsLife magazine.
THE BOOK, SHEET
Do you ever stop and realize you're not happy? Of thinking that office work and a cramped apartment suddenly aren't for you anymore? Maybe the problem isn't just what you do, but also the air you breathe and where you live. At forty-six, Alessandro divides his time between swimming at the Idroscalo, 'the sea of Milan', and company aperitifs. In his DNA there are the genes of the perfect Milanese. It never stops, it goes a hundred miles an hour. His daily life is made up of multinationals, startups and artificial intelligence. Then one day he hears a click in his head and decides to give it all up. He moves to Puglia, turns his life upside down and finds something he was no longer used to: happiness. The North opens the doors to all your dreams, it's true. But there is also a Mediterranean model of happiness, in which the love of social contacts, eighteen-hour long lunches, the decisive role of the family and attention to small things have vital importance. Because in the South, well-being is almost a science and as such it can be learned, studied and shared. By making his experience available in 'Southshifting', Brunello teaches - with naturalness and irony - not so much how to become southerners, but how to find the southerner that hides in each of us. There are no rules for happiness, but there are places where being happy is not so impossible.
