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The Renaissance three-storey arcade loggia of the City Hall in Poznań served representative and communication purposes.

A loggia is an architectural feature that refers to a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall. Notably, Filippo Brunelleschi featured a loggia at the front of the Ospedale degli Innocenti (Hospital of the Innocents) in Florence, Italy.

Definition[link]

Filippo Brunelleschi's Ospedale degli Innocenti, Florence.

The loggia can also be an alternative to the portico. In this form it is mostly described as a recessed portico, or an internal room, with pierced walls and open to the elements. Occasionally a loggia is placed at the second floor level, above a loggia on the main floor; this is known as a 'double loggia'. Loggias sometimes were given significance in a facade by being surmounted by a pediment.

The main difference between a loggia and a portico is the role within the functional layout of the building. The portico allows access to the inside from the exterior, and can be found on vernacular and small scale buildings. The loggia is accessed only from inside, making it a place for leisure. Thus, it is found mainly on noble residences and public buildings.

Villa Godi by Palladio. A loggia is the focal point in place of a portico in the centre, and used again at each side of the structure as a corridor.

A classic use of both is that represented in the Mosaics of Basilica of Sant' Apollinare Nuovo of the Royal Palace to which it was Chapel.

Ravenna's Ostrogoths VI century Royal Palace.

Examples[link]

Today, a loggia can be a small, often ornate, summer house built on the roof of a residence to enjoy cooling winds and admire the view. They are typical of Italian architecture and were especially popular in the 17th century. They are prominent in Rome.

• Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa contains three distinct sets of dorms connected by loggias. The main quad of the Stanford University campus prominently features loggias, as do the University Center and Purnell Center for the Arts at Carnegie Mellon University, which frame a quad known as the Cut.
• In Chester (United Kingdom) town centre a number of timber framed buildings dating from Tudor to Victorian periods have ground-floor loggias, called the Chester Rows.
• In Russia, a loggia is a recessed balcony on apartment blocks.^[1]
• A loggia was added to the Sydney Opera House in 2006.
• At Minoan Hagia Triada, there are several loggia, the column bases of which still remain. These were built ca. 1400 BCE.^[2]

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Curl, James Stevens (2006) (paperback). A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (Second ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 880. ISBN 0-19-860678-8. 

See also[link]

Look up loggia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Media related to Loggias at Wikimedia Commons

• Peristyle
• Portico
• Verandah

Robert Loggia (born Salvatore Loggia;^[1] January 3, 1930) is an American actor and director.

Early life[link]

Loggia, an Italian American, was born on Staten Island, the son of Benjamin Loggia, a shoemaker, and Elena Blandino, a homemaker,^[2] both of whom were born in Sicily, Italy.^[3][4] After studying at Wagner College and journalism at the University of Missouri (class of 1951) and serving in the US Army, Loggia began a long career as a supporting player in movies, on stage and television.

Career[link]

Loggia was a radio and TV anchor in Southern Command Network in the Panama Canal Zone. Loggia first came to prominence playing real-life American lawman Elfego Baca in a 1958 series of Walt Disney television shows. He starred as the proverbial cat-burglar-turned-good in a short-lived series called T.H.E. Cat. In 1972 he played Frank Carver on the CBS soap opera The Secret Storm.^[5] His many television credits include appearances on Frasier, The Bionic Woman, Overland Trail, Target: The Corruptors!, The Eleventh Hour, Breaking Point, Combat!, Custer, Columbo, Ellery Queen, Gunsmoke 1965 episode-Chief Joseph,Starsky and Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Rockford Files (three times as three different characters), Magnum, P.I., Quincy ME, The Sopranos, Monk, Oliver Stone's miniseries Wild Palms and Little House on the Prairie.

His film roles include An Officer and a Gentleman, Mercy Mission: The Rescue of Flight 771, based on the Air New Zealand Flight 103 incident, Scarface, Prizzi's Honor, Over The Top, Independence Day, Necessary Roughness, Return to Me, Armed and Dangerous, and Big (for which he won a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor).

In 1985, Loggia was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of crusty private detective Sam Ransom in the thriller Jagged Edge. He was nominated for an Emmy in 1989 for his portrayal of FBI agent Nick Mancuso in the TV series Mancuso, FBI, a follow up to the previous year's miniseries Favorite Son. Loggia appeared as mobsters in multiple films including Sykes in Disney's Oliver & Company (1988), Salvatore "The Shark" Macelli in John Landis' Innocent Blood and Mr. Eddy in David Lynch's Lost Highway (1997) and The Don's Analyst (1997).

In 1998, Loggia appeared in a television commercial lampooning obscure celebrity endorsements. In it, a young boy names Loggia as someone he would trust to recommend Minute Maid orange-tangerine blend; Robert Loggia instantly appears and endorses the drink, to which the boy exclaims, "Whoa, Robert Loggia!"^[6] The commercial was later referenced in an episode of Malcolm in the Middle in which Loggia made a guest appearance as "Grandpa Victor" (for which he received his second Emmy nomination); Loggia drinks some orange juice, then spits it out and complains about the pulp. In a similar vein, Loggia has been parodied on an episode of the show Family Guy titled "Peter's Two Dads." Loggia also played a violent mobster named Feech La Manna on a few episodes of the series The Sopranos.

In addition to his role in Oliver & Company (1988), Loggia has had several other voice acting roles. A recurring role on the Adult Swim animated comedy Tom Goes to the Mayor, as crooked cop Ray Machowski in the video game Grand Theft Auto III, as Admiral Petrarch in FreeSpace 2, as the narrator of the Scarface: The World is Yours game adaptation, and in the anime movie A Dog of Flanders (1997).^[7]

In August 2009, Loggia appeared in one of Apple's Get a Mac advertisements. The advertisement features Loggia as a personal trainer hired by PC to get him back on top of his game.

On October 26, 2009, TVGuide.com announced Loggia joined the cast of the TNT series Men of a Certain Age.^[8] The role had him teaming up again with his Necessary Roughness co-star Scott Bakula.

In 2010, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his humanitarian efforts.

On December 17, 2011, Loggia was honored by his alma mater, University of Missouri, with an honorary degree for his career and humanitarian efforts.^[9]

In 2012 Loggia portrayed Saint Peter during his final imprisonment in The Apostle Peter and the Last Supper.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Robert Loggia at the Internet Movie Database
• Robert Loggia at the Internet Broadway Database
• Robert Loggia at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

Licio Gelli (born April 21, 1919) is an Italian financier, chiefly known for his role in the Banco Ambrosiano scandal. He was revealed in 1981 as being the Venerable Master of the clandestine Masonic lodge Propaganda Due (P2). He was born in Pistoia, Tuscany.

Fascist volunteer[link]

During the 1930s, Gelli volunteered for the "Black Shirts" expeditionary forces sent by Mussolini to Spain in support of Francisco Franco's rebellion,^[1] and subsequently became a liaison officer between the Italian government and the Third Reich, with contacts including Hermann Göring. He participated in the Italian Social Republic with Giorgio Almirante, founder of the neofascist Italian Social Movement (MSI).^[2][3]

After a sales job with the Italian mattress factory Permaflex, Gelli founded his own textile and importing company.^[1][3]

After World War II[link]

Gelli collaborated with American and British intelligence agencies after World War II. Gelli also joined the neofascist MSI, which gave him parliamentary immunity. In 1970, during the failed Golpe Borghese, he was delegated the role of arresting the Italian President, Giuseppe Saragat.^[4] As grand master of the Propaganda Due (P2) masonic lodge, Gelli had ties with very high level personalities in Italy and abroad, in particular in Argentina. The Argentine Chancellor Alberto Vignes drafted with Juan Perón, who had returned from exile in 1973, a decree granting Gelli the Gran Cruz de la Orden del Libertador in August 1974, as well as the honorary office of economic counselor in the embassy of Argentina in Italy.^[5] According to a letter sent by Gelli to César de la Vega, a P2 member and Argentine ambassador to the UNESCO, Gelli commissioned P2 member Federico Carlos Barttfeld to be transferred from the consulate of Hamburg to the Argentine embassy in Rome.^[5] Licio Gelli was also named minister plenipotentiary for cultural affairs in the Argentine embassy in Italy, thus providing him with diplomatic immunity.^[5] He had four diplomatic passports issued by Argentina, and has been charged in Argentina with falsification of official documents.^[5]

During the 1970s, Gelli brokered three-way oil and arms deals between Libya, Italy and Argentina through the Agency for Economic Development, which he and Umberto Ortolani owned.^[6]

As grand master of Propaganda Due, Gelli allegedly assumed a major role in Gladio's "strategy of tension" in Italy, starting with the 1969 Piazza Fontana bombing. Gladio was a clandestine "stay-behind" operation sponsored by the CIA and NATO to counter communist influence in Western European countries; it has been involved in terrorist false flags operations in Italy.^{[7][8][9][10]}

In 1990, a report on RAI Television alleged that the CIA had paid Licio Gelli to foment terrorist activities in Italy.^[11] Following this report, which also claimed that the CIA had been involved in the assassination of the Swedish Prime minister Olof Palme, then President Francesco Cossiga requested the opening of investigations while the CIA itself officially denied these allegations.^[12] Critics have claimed the RAI report to be a fraud because of the inclusion of testimony from Richard Brenneke, who claimed to be a former CIA agent and made several declarations concerning the October surprise conspiracy. Brenneke's background was also investigated by a U.S. Senate subcommittee, which dismissed Brenneke's claims of CIA employment.^[13] On November 23, 1995, the Court of Cassation (Corte di Cassazione) convicted Licio Gelli (grand master of P2), Francesco Pazienza and SISMI officers Pietro Musumeci and Giuseppe Belmonte of diverting investigations in relation to the Bologna Massacre.

The 1981 raid & the P2 list[link]

Licio Gelli's downfall started with the Banco Ambrosiano scandal, which led to a 1981 police raid on his villa and the discovery of the P2 covert lodge. On March 17, 1981, a police raid on his villa in Arezzo led to the discovery of a list of 962 persons composed of Italian military officers and civil servants involved in Propaganda Due (also known as "P2"), a clandestine lodge expelled from the Grande Oriente d'Italia Masonic organization.^[14] A list of alleged adherents was found by the police in Gelli's house in Arezzo in March 1981, containing 962 names, among which were important state officials, some important politicians and a number of military officers, including the heads of the three Italian secret services.^[15] Future Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was on the list, although he had not yet entered politics at the time. He was then just starting to gain popularity as the founder and owner of "Canale 5" TV channel, was listed as a member of P2.^[16]

The national scandal that ensued was quite thrilling, given that most of the most delicate affairs of the republic were controlled by Gelli's affiliates. A Parliamentary Commission, directed by Tina Anselmi (of the Christian Democratic party), found no evidence of crimes, but in 1981 the Italian parliament passed a law banning secret associations in Italy. Gelli was expelled from GOI freemasonry on October 31, 1981, and the P2 scandal provoked the fall of Arnaldo Forlani's cabinet in June 1981 ^[17]

The P2 lodge did undoubtedly have some form of power in Italy, given the public prominence of its members, and many observers still consider it to be extremely strong. Several famous people in Italy today (starting with the top TV anchor-man Maurizio Costanzo) were affiliated with P2. Among these Michele Sindona, a banker with clear connections to the Mafia, has been clearly associated with P2. In 1972, Sindona purchased a controlling interest in Long Island's Franklin National Bank. Two years later, the bank collapsed.^[18] Convicted in 1980 in the USA, "mysterious Michele" was extradited to Italy. Two years later, he was poisoned in his cell while serving a life sentence.^[19][20] The P2 membership list was authenticated, with a few exceptions, by a 1984 parliamentary report.^[21]

On the run, Licio Gelli escaped to Switzerland where he was arrested on September 13, 1982 while trying to withdraw tens of millions of dollars in Geneva.^[17] Detained in the modern Champ-Dollon Prison near Geneva, he managed to escape^[22] and then fled to South America for four years. In 1984 Jorge Vargas, the secretary general of the Union Nacionalista de Chile (UNACH, Nationalist Union of Chile, a short-lived National Socialist party ^[23]) and a former member of the Movimiento Revolucionario Nacional Sindicalista (National-Syndicalist Revolutionary Movement ^[23]), declared to La Tercera de la Hora that Gelli was then in Chile.^[24]

Finally, Gelli surrendered in 1987 in Switzerland to investigative judge Jean-Pierre Trembley.^[25] He was wanted in connection with the 1982 collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano ^[26] and on charges of subversive association in connection with the 1980 Bologna railway station bombing, which killed 85 people.^[26][27]

He was sentenced to two months in prison in Switzerland,^[28] while an Italian court in Florence sentenced him on December 15, 1987, in absentia, to 8 years in prison on charges of financing right-wing terrorist activity in Tuscany in the 1970s.^[29] Gelli had already been sentenced in absentia to 14 months in jail by a court in San Remo for illegally exporting money from Italy.^[29]

Extradition to Italy and trials[link]

Switzerland eventually agreed to extradite him to Italy, but only on financial charges stemming from the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano. Gelli's extradition in February 1988 required a high-level security apparatus, including 100 sharpshooters, decoy cars, a train, road blocks and two armored cars to transfer him to Italy.^[30] In July 1988 he was absolved of charges of subversive association by a Bologna court but was presented with a five-year prison term for slander, having side-tracked the investigation into the 1980 bombing of the Bologna train station. However, stipulations connected to his extradition prevented him from serving time.^[31][32] Two years later, an appeal court threw out Gelli's slander conviction.^[33] A retrial was ordered in October 1993.^[34]

In 1992 Licio Gelli was sentenced to 18 years and six months of prison after being found guilty of fraud concerning the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano in 1982 (a "black hole" of $1.4 billion was found). The Vatican bank, Istituto per le Opere di Religione, main share-holder of the Banco Ambrosiano, consequently had a "black hole" of $250 million. This sentence was reduced by the Court of Appeal to 12 years.

The year 1992 also saw the beginning of the trial of 16 members of the P2 Masonic Lodge, which included charges of conspiracy against the state, espionage, and the revelation of state secrets.^[35] In April 1994, Gelli received a 17-year sentence for divulging state secrets and slandering the investigation, while the court threw out the charge that P2 members conspired against the state;^[36] Gelli's sentence was reduced, and he was placed under house arrest two years later.^[37]

In April 1998, the Court of Cassation confirmed a 12 year sentence for the Ambrosiano crash.^[38] Gelli then disappeared on the eve of being imprisoned, in May 1998, while being under house arrest in his mansion near Arezzo.^[38] His disappearance was strongly suspected to be the result of being forewarned. Then, finally, he was arrested in the French Riviera in Cannes.

Two motions of no confidence were made by the right-wing opposition (the Northern League and the ex-Christian Democratic splinter groups CDU-CDR), against the Justice Minister, Giovanni Maria Flick, and the Interior Minister, Giorgio Napolitano, stating that Gelli had benefited from accomplices helping him in his escape. They also made reference to secret negotiations which would have allowed him to reappear without going to prison. But the two ministers won the confidence vote.^[39]

Police found $2M worth of gold ingots in Gelli's villa.^[40][41]

A few years after the Ambrosiano scandal, many suspects pointed toward Gelli with reference to his possible involvement in the murder of the Milanese banker Roberto Calvi, also known as "God's banker", who had been jailed in the wake of the collapse of Banco Ambrosiano. On July 19, 2005, Gelli was formally indicted by Roman Magistrates for the murder of Roberto Calvi, along with former Mafia boss Giuseppe Calò (also known as "Pippo Calò"), businessmen Ernesto Diotallevi and Flavio Carboni, and the latter's girlfriend, Manuela Kleinszig. In his statement before the court Gelli blamed people connected with Calvi's work in financing the Polish Solidarity movement, allegedly on behalf of the Vatican. He was accused of having provoked Calvi's death in order to punish him for having embezzled money owed to him and the Mafia. The Mafia also wanted to prevent Calvi from revealing how the bank had been used for money laundering.

Gelli has been implicated in Aldo Moro's murder, since the Italian chief of intelligence, accused of negligence, was a piduista (P2 member).

Connections to Argentina's military junta[link]

A fugitive in Argentina for many years, Licio Gelli publicly declared on repeated occasions that he was a close friend of Argentina's leader Juan Peron, although no confirmation ever came from South America, and he often affirmed, without ever explicitly explaining why, that this friendship was of real importance for Italy. Several members of the Argentine military junta have been found to be P2 members, such as Raúl Alberto Lastiri, Argentina's interim president from July 13, 1973 until October 12, 1973, Emilio Massera, part of Jorge Videla's military junta from 1976 to 1978, and José López Rega, the infamous founder of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance ("Triple A").

Nomination for Nobel Prize in Literature[link]

In 1996, Gelli was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature.^[2]

2003 interview[link]

In 2003, Gelli told La Repubblica that it seemed that the P2 "democratic rebirth plan" was being implemented by Silvio Berlusconi:

Every morning I speak to my conscience and the dialogue calms me down. I look at the country, read the newspaper, and think: "All is becoming a reality little by little, piece by piece. To be truthful, I should have had the copyright to it. Justice, TV, public order. I wrote about this thirty years ago... Berlusconi is an extraordinary man, a man of action. This is what Italy needs: not a man of words, but a man of action.

He talked of many Italian politicians. Of Fabrizio Cicchitto he said he knew him well (è bravo, preparato - "he's good and capable"). With regard to Berlusconi's program for the reform of the judicial system, he boasted that this had been an integral part of his original project. He also approved of Berlusconi's reorganization of TV networks.^[2]

Film[link]

In December 2007 Licio Gelli signed a life rights agreement with New York based producer Gabor Harrach. The movie (working title 'Conspirator') is in development.

See also[link]

• Propaganda Due
• Strategy of tension
• Operation Gladio
• Dirty War
• Hands of Perón

References[link]

• Ginsborg, Paul (2003). Italy and Its Discontents, London: Palgrave Macmillan ISBN 1-4039-6152-2 (Review Institute of Historical Research | Review New York Times)

External links[link]

• Site of Italian newspaper "Il Piave" where Gelli writes regularly