The Puntarelle Questionnaire: Simone Vallerotonda
The lutist also known as Palmiro's human dad
Ladies and jellyspoons, welcome back to another issue of The Puntarelle Questionnaire, a Roman cousin of The Proust Questionnaire.
Spring is almost here, and on 21st March we’ll also celebrate Early Music Day, so please let me introduce to you Simone Vallerotonda!
Simone started studying classic guitar at 6, switched to rock guitar in his teens, and then one day at 18, out of the blue, picked up a lute… I mean, he literally picked up a lute not exactly knowing what he was doing — until he eventually did, and in fact he later graduated with honors from Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia in Rome, and subsequently completed a Master programme in baroque guitar at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Trossingen, Germany. He also holds a degree in philosophy from Università di Tor Vergata, because why not?
He's played with some of the most prestigious baroque ensembles (including Modo Antiquo, Concerto Italiano & Rinaldo Alessandrini, Imaginarium Ensemble, Cantar Lontano, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Accademia Bizantina…), all around the world, and in 2014 he founded I Bassifondi, his own baroque power-trio — Simone Vallerotonda on lute/theorbo/baroque guitar; Stefano Todarello on chitarra battente/giraffe lute/sordellina bagpipe; Gabriele Miracle on percussion/giraffe lute:
Moreover, to prove that
is correct in claiming that dachshunds are taking over Rome, Simone owns a bassotto (i.e. a dachshund) called Palmiro (also known as Phyphonio, or Bulby, or Phipho, or Palmy, or Bulbesio, or Salame, or Bulbyphex, or Palmesio...):
I Bassifondi’s latest album, La Guitarre Royalle, was released in January (more info at the end of the questionnaire!).
The Puntarelle Questionnaire: Are you a “romano de Roma” (born and raised in Rome by equally born and raised in Rome parents, and their parents, and their parents’ parents…), “romano versione base” (born and raised in Rome by non-Roman parents), or “romano acquisito” (you were born elsewhere, then moved to Romeby, choice — yours or of your family)?
Simone Vallerotonda: I’m a Romano DOC!
TPQ: What’s your neighbourhood’s name, and what is it like?
SV: I live in the Esquilino neighbourhood, also known as Rome's Chinatown…
TPQ: What’s your favourite place in Rome?
SV: Campo de' fiori and Piazza Navona, packed of all the Seicento that I love so much!
TPQ: What’s the most Roman side of your character?
SV: I reckon there are at least a couple: quick comebacks, and some kind of melancholy, like anyone who is disenchanted with history.
TPQ: What’s the most overrated thing about Rome?
SV: The vernacular, oftentimes too vulgar and inflated, especially when it's considered as the only symbol of the city. True Romans never really emphasize this trait.
TPQ: What’s the most underrated thing about Rome?
SV: The ability to welcome everyone, although that sometimes means lack of supervision, which certain tricky characters tend to take advantage of.
TPQ: If you were Mayor of Rome, what would be your first administration deed?
SV: I would give the city a more widespread public transport system. We’re too much behind the rest of Europe on that front.
TPQ: If you couldn’t or wouldn’t live in Rome anymore, where would you live?
SV: Vienna!
TPQ: If you could go back in time, in which era of Rome’s history would you live?
SV: Sometime between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries, of course.
TPQ: With the exclusion of works of art, what’s the object that most represents Rome?
SV: The Tiber river, which is almost “disappearing”, overlooked by everyone... I would like it to become a completely navigable river.
TPQ: What’s your favourite Roman food?
SV: Puttanesca and Carbonara!
TPQ: If you could change only one thing about Rome, what would that be?
SV: The mobility!
TPQ: Who’s the living Roman (not necessarily famous) you admire the most?
SV: Valerio Mastandrea, I appreciate his behavioural integrity.
TPQ: Who’s the Roman from the past (not necessarily famous) you admire the most?
SV: Anna Magnani, any aspect of her being.
TPQ: What’s your favourite Roman song (either sung in Rome’s dialect, or by a Roman singer-songwriter, or both)?
SV: Nun je da' retta Roma (music by Armando Trovajoli, lyrics by Luigi Magni), from the soundtrack of La Tosca, a 1973 movie by Luigi Magni starring Monica Vitti, Gigi Proietti (whose character in the movie sings this song), and Vittorio Gassman.
TPQ: What’s the Roman phrase in you say the most?
SV: Esticazzi!1
TPQ: Do you prefer driving on the Grande Raccordo Anulare, or cutting through the city centre?
SV: I always cut through the city centre.
TPQ: North Rome or South Rome?
SP: Roma Sud, of course. Going further north from Piazza del Popolo you're basically already in Milan!
TPQ: Does West Rome actually exist?
SP: You mean Ostia, right? 😅
TPQ: Forza Roma or Forza Lazio?
SP: Forza Lazio! :)
To sum it up…
What: Simone Vallerotonda & I Bassifondi, with Bor Zuljan — La Guitarre Royalle, Francesco Corbetta — buy this album and Simone's other recordings from the online shop of Outhere Music
When/Where: I Bassifondi in concert: La Guitarre Royalle, on 21st March 2024, h 9:00 PM @ Oratorio Santa Cita, Palermo, Italy (click here to get tickets!)
Website: www.simonevallerotonda.com — www.ibassifondi.com
You'll have to wait for Gaja Cenciarelli’s answers to The Puntarelle Questionnaire for a thorough explanation of the multiple meanings of this expression… 😅
Love the power trio!
Aww Palmiro is a cutie! And why do I think his face's shape and colouring look a bit like a liuto? 🤔🥰🐶