Issue #20

Nicola Scevola

Il Giornalista

Nicola is an Italian journalist who works as a freelancer. His articles and features have been published in magazines such as Vogue Italia, L’Uomo Vogue, Io donna and Glamour. He collaborates with Reuters and Vocativ, an American news organization; and his videos have been broadcast on Italian TV SkySport24. He has a degree in law but never worked a single minute as a lawyer. He started to write when he realized that he likes to ask questions and listen to people’s answers. He has lived in Milan, London and Madrid. At the moment he lives in New York City where he feeds his curiosity asking all sorts of questions to find new stories for his audience.

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What do you do in your life (work and fun)?

I’m a journalist and I like to travel, find stories and see as much art as I can.

What made you leave Italy and chose NYC?

The love of my life and the opportunities offered by NYC. In 2008, I was working for Reuters but I knew my contract would not be renewed due to the upcoming crisis that hit the financial markets. A couple of months before my contract expired I met a woman in Milan and fell in love with her. She was an Italian painter, but she studied art in L.A. and had planned to move to NYC at the end of that summer. I knew if I had let her go it would have meant the end of our relationship. So I followed my instinct and went with her. She is now my wife and the mother of my daughter. So the main reason why I moved to NYC was love. But I did it also because I believed that the city could offer interesting opportunities to work as a freelance journalist. There are few spots in the world that generate so much media attention. The presidential election was coming up that year and I strongly believed that NYC could be a good place to start a new career as a freelancer. Six years and many published features later proved that I was right.

Please share your best memory in the City.

My strongest memory of the City is probably the day when my daughter was born. It’s a personal memory but it has some aspect that could make it easy for others to relate to it. Once again, that night NYC proved to be a city that can provide great services nonstop. A city is a place where people gather and live together in order to exchange services of different kinds. My daughter was born very early in the morning and I spent the night before at home with my laboring wife. At 11pm I went out and was able to rent a movie, hoping (in vain) that this could distract my wife and help her cope with the pain. Later that night I went out again and could easily buy coconut water to help her rehydrate. At 3am I called the doula and she arrived at our apartment 1 hour later, thanks to a nonstop public subway service. And finally we had a real New York experience – a frantic taxi ride at 5am, across the Williamsburg bridge with my wife screaming in the back seat every few minutes and the driver who acted as if nothing strange was happening. It was Saturday morning and I was worried we could hit traffic on the way to Manhattan. But the ride went really smooth and I remember I even had the time to think how beautiful the Manhattan skyline looked from the bridge. Finally we got to the hospital, everything when well and we had a great experience. Up until that moment I had always thought of the American health system as one of the most unjust, expensive and ruthless if you don’t have health insurance. But I had to reconsider this stance – NYC offers great opportunities at zero cost, even to foreigners with no health insurance. Cycling up and down the city, going to Fort Tilden in the summer

What made you choose this specific location and outfit?

Williamsburg has been my neighborhood since I moved here. I like its vibe, its young, international character and the fact that it is so close to the river. I didn’t really choose a specific outfit for the shooting, which is quite typical for me. Generally I tend to think very little to whatever I wear. If I like something, I just wear it until it’s worn out. I tend to like things not only because of their style but also because they are practical and easy to wear. The day of the shooting, for example, I was wearing a hunting corduroy jacket, one of my favorite garment because it has big pockets and it is timeless and versatile.

Your thought about this project, ITALIANY.US

I’m intrigued to see what kind of snapshot will come out. Italians tend to be quite standardized when they are at home but abroad they can develop very diverse and unique personalities.

How would you describe being an ambassador of the italian style/culture abroad?

Eat well, work hard and be ready to explain the strange mechanisms of Italian politics to puzzled foreigners. I personally never thought of myself as an ambassador of the Italian culture but I’m well aware of the stereotypes surrounding Italians abroad. All nationality can be made to fit stereotypes but Italians are particularly easy targets. That’s why I have always tried my best to prove these stereotypes wrong, especially negative ones like being unreliable, unruly and inaccurate.

  • Shots

    57

  • Time

    150 mins

  • City

    New York

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A visual celebration of Italians working, living and loving in NY and in the US