(Mar 7) – The Osaka University of Arts, in Japan, is running a course of social etiquette in Western culture. Elda Lanza, writer, television author, journalist, event organizer and etiquette expert, teaches the course. Elda Lanza is a singular character, cultured, polite, sweet, especially remembered for being the first presenter in the history of Italian television. “The etiquette is logical – Elda Lanza says – the spoon and the knife are on right of the plate because they are used with the right hand, the fork on the left, because you use your left hand. Its function, however, is also to please the others. To teach good manners we must start from the history of costume, which is a concrete subject with ancient roots”. Lanza, author of “Signori si diventa, le nuove regole dello stile quotidian”, still teaches lessons of elegance, style and grace on television: “I was a guest at La7. I explained how to set the table. Today – the journalist continues – in the bookshops there are many handbooks of good manners, but a good handbook must also set rules”. “I’m happy when I’m on TV – she added – even if i’m not that young, because I am not ashamed of my wrinkles: who does not accept his age, he lives in a deep insecurity”. Lanza recalls with enthusiasm the first years spent in television: “It was something that had to be accepted from people. Today the TV is a super-technological container and what really counts is to please the greatest number of people. And when this happens, the quality inevitably declines. Blame it on the share and all those numbers”. But she confides to watch not so much television: “I am a bad viewer because who works in television talks too loud, they even yell. And I hate reality shows and sometimes I wonder why some characters come on TV and become famous”. In 1952, Elda Lanza played fourteen auditions to become the first face of Italian television. “I was a journalist, writing for ‘Grazia’, and I was chosen because I knew how to write and talk”. Beside teaching, Elda Lanza is writing her latest book: “This is a thriller, and i it will be out in September”. Words are still the greatest passion for Elda Lanza, who believes that writing and tell stories, yesterday as today, “it’s the best job in the world”. (Gil/Peg)
