By Simone Bandini
We had already dealt with Andrea Bossi and his signature ice cream, last summer, meeting him in the historic centre of Sinalunga: then he told us how he was working on his autobiographical book that would tell the story of a life ‘fully lived’ made up of successes and falls, intuitions and bets. Not even a year has passed and his ‘The World in an Ice Cream’ is already a reality that arouses great curiosity in the village and beyond – with a first presentation at the Ciro Pinsuti Municipal Theater, held at the beginning of March.
VALLEY LIFE: Good morning Andrea, what was this moment with the city for you? How did you feel, what emotions?
ANDREA BOSSI: It was the peak of my life… the Ciro Pinsuti theater packed with three generations, from children to parents and grandparents; An indescribable emotion I didn’t think I would have all this success, but it was a demonstration of total affection from my country. Then for a moment as soon as I regained confidence with the stage after the initial emotion, I felt like I was returning to being an animator like thirty years ago: I took them all under my arm and together we laughed and cried commenting on the various chapters.
V.L.: The publication of a book is an important moment in a man’s life. Is it time to take stock?
A.B.: For me it is a starting point: a message of gratefulness to all those who have always respected me. Thus begins a new adventure that you will discover by reading the book. It starts from afar when, in the second grade, my teacher took me by the hand in all the classes to read what I had written about my mother. Since then, my inspiration has poured into the many songs I have written but that I have not yet had the opportunity to enhance due to the many work commitments; but also through my imagination in inventing new flavours of ice cream and today also in writing books: I am at the fourth chapter of a captivating thriller that will be released next winter and I already have two beautiful stories that go hand in hand. There is always a new horizon in my life to reach, this is my beginning.
V.L.: How can you react to life’s adversities? The book tells just that, isn’t it?
A.B.: As I wrote in the book, life transforms you, it takes care of you and your weaknesses.
I was a fragile, lonely and insecure child, now I would eat the world in one bite. One comes to the light through suffering. This is demonstrated by the stories of Alessandro Cresti, an athlete suffering from multiple sclerosis, Alex Zanardi who taught us to never give up, Matteo Casuccio, eclectic Dakar rider. Finally, my testimony of being miraculously healed by covid, at a time when no treatment was available.
The book makes you both laugh and cry a little: it is the mirror of my emotions dictated by life, it tells my taste that was born from experience, travels and people I met.
V.L.: You have been lucky enough to meet artists, sportsmen and more generally people who have represented a turning point in your existence. And you have dedicated a special creation with your ice cream to them. Was it perhaps a way of thanking them?
A.B.: Without a doubt, my creations are the way to thank these various Michelangelos and Leonardos who have ‘painted’ my existence. In the book I say that we must be grateful to all the people who put a flower ‘in the pot of our lives’: loves, friends, family, teachers, acquaintances, all contribute to the masterpiece of our earthly passage. My thanks, in addition to the people I have already listed, also goes to the incredible ones who have crossed my path: such as Abib in Black Live Matter, Carl Anderson the Judas in Jesus Christ Super Star, the Kinsey, Carey, Walker, Pyres, Sebastian Abbado families. Each one ignited my imagination.
V.L.: Finally, I would like to ask you if there are any new projects, professional and artistic for this new season…
A.B.: In this new season I would like to continue to produce new ice cream tastes but also to carry on my new literary stimulus at the same time. I already have contacts with musician friends with whom I would like to return to play the role of the showman, as in the past, and maybe finally find a producer who sits in front of me to listen to my rhyming songs embraced by the music. I will try! Bernard Kinsey taught me this: make a difficulty into a new opportunity.
Info: Bar L’Angolo di Andrea Bossi / Piazza Garibaldi 23, Sinalunga (Si) / Tel. 0577 630907 / 347 7196508