Here is a brief excursus on the history of this “belinata” (silly thing), which has grown from year to year to become a pre-Christmas happening for the classic “see you at the calendars for good wishes…”. In truth, it all started on a day in October 2002, behind fogged windows, with remote control cramp and the usual Sunday afternoon alcohol with friends. I no longer remember which of us came out with: “enough with these big tits, you can’t take it anymore, my buttocks are much more beautiful!” The damage was done. We had found something to do that tedious afternoon … The first and, we believed, last idea was to interpret the months of the year with a bit of student spirit; there was a little mermaid with April Fool’s eye covering her private parts and a Santa Claus sitting in the toilet with the Century in his hand … At the presentation party at Salymar, when we gave our friends the home-printed copies, we realized that the calendar had been much more successful than we expected, so the following year we tried to go one step further.
The 2003 theme was “Pubblicita’” (“Advertising” ) and the Genoese were gifted with a blind naked man crossing Via Assarotti to testify “Take everything away but not my Braille“, while the Boccadasse fishermen could not believe what had happened: they had Charlize Theron shooting the Martini commercial on their rocks but instead of the diva’s buttocks they found a pile of hair and flab! What was going on in the city? That year we decided to print the calendar in a larger format with a lot of help from the printing company manager, now an integral part of the team. We found the first sponsors (Aste Boetto and Immobiliare Pugliese) and adding a little something out of our own pocket we decided to try and raise money for charities. We organized a party again and with the generosity of all the participants we managed to help the San Marcellino homeless shelter to spend a Merry Christmas! It seemed to work, we were having fun and doing some good, why stop?
2004 was the Olympic year: the fountain in Piazza De Ferrari became our regatta field while Enrico played curling with the iron in Galleria Mazzini. He ended up with €2,400 for the Patronato San Vincenzo De Paoli in Sampierdarena, which assists the orphans.
2005, GENOA 04 (Genoa was the Capital of Culture 2004)! Yes, also a little culture does not hurt and with the Vitruvian man, the Mona Lisa and other works the elderly of the Piccole Sorelle dei Poveri received about €4,000 thanks also to the arrival of a new sponsor, the Agrimontana farm.
In 2006 we honoured our city with the “Stradde de Zena” (Genoa’s streets), a fur-lined hooker in Piazza Pellicceria, and loads of transvestites in Piazza Caricamento. At the presentation we could hardly move around from how many people there were and, thanks also to the entry of two other institutional sponsors such as Cambiaso and Risso and BM Vobarno, we donated more than €5,000 to the Somali mission of Father Marre Brunenghi.
In 2007 we felt we had grown up, almost as adults it was time to reflect on the “Highlights of life”. With the extraordinary participation of Benedetta Massola, the arrival of two other sponsors (Banchero Costa and Seatram) and the increasing appeal of the initiative, we have touched the figure of €10,000 entirely donated to the Make-A-Wish association, which has participated in the presentation of the calendar showing his own moving video.
2008 was the year of “The Circus”. Thanks to the hospitality of the Prague Circus we have taken on the role of improbable circus performers. The success of the calendar has continued to grow thanks to new sponsors who join us every year to share the desire to help others (the new entries are Burke & Novi, Madiventura, Razeto & Cesareto and Saif), increasing the total number of sponsors to 12. The choice of where to donate the proceeds falls on a local Genoese reality, a family home that takes care of disabled children. Donations double from the previous year and exceed €20,000, donated to U.I.L.D.M. – Casa Famiglia of Genoa.
In 2009 many of us turned 40 and obviously the troop was full of sons and daughters, hence the idea of making a calendar dedicated to children; various characters of “the Cartoons” are represented and ridiculed. The product is a success: 500 printed copies. The presentation is transformed into a real party organized in a nightclub in a Scandinavian full of calendar supporters.
Like any respectable success, we too have had to face our good legal disputes, and fearing that with our fame we could somehow tarnish the brand, the Pirelli lawyers forced us to change the name to Fagioli Calendar, a new name but the same spirit and above all the same purpose. Sponsors increase with the arrival of Tender To and Mar.In.Service. The funds are donated to the parish of San Siro in the historic centre, through the NGO Shalom. The total amount raised for the 2009 calendar reaches over €22,000.
In the 2010 calendar we had a gastronomic feast that delighted our palate and sight with dishes such as “pork legs with cream of pears” (and what a pears!), and €27,200 divided between the Santa Caterina Community of Genoa Prà and the Abbraccio of Don Orione.
The presentation evening of the 2011 Calendar (the tenth anniversary!) saw more than 200 people flock to the Albikokka, who made a journey into the starry world of “the Zodiac” accompanied by an exceptional presenter: Prudy, Ruby’s cousin!!! Donations amounted to €45,000 which have seriously helped Cepim – Centro Italiano Down, and the Piccoli Cuori Association.
In 2012, during a memorable party at Makò, we tried to exorcise the moment with a soothing variation on the theme of “The Crisis” which affected many people at the time. We have not forgot that with a smile on our lips help, big or small, can be given to those in need, such as children cared for by the Camici & Pigiami ambulatory and those in poverty who are supported by the Frati Capuccini of the Convent of San Barnaba. Our support for these worthy initiatives thanks to the calendar was €50,235!
The year 2013 of the Fagioli Calendar – which saw us as protagonists with an artistic interpretation of the proverbs of the Italian tradition – took on a spicy and goliardic flavor together, with Beppe who is well placed in the shoes of the Bella di Turiggia and the farmer Franci who discovered how good the cheese is with pears! Thanks also to this we were able to help two organizations that are particularly close to our hearts: Cepim – Centro Italiano Down (with which we collaborated in 2011) and the A.B.E.O. Liguria (Association of Hemopathic and Oncological Children). The contribution, thanks to the many generous friends near and far, was a record: €53,947!!!
In 2014 we were inspired by the imagination of the countless television broadcasts: starting from the most classic – those that have seen us glued to the screen since we were children (La Domenica Sportiva) – we have moved on to those that have triggered some itching in our growth (Sex and the City), and we have come to those that anesthetize our mature evenings while we find ourselves engulfed by the sofa (Masterchef, CSI, Who has seen it). The Christmas celebrations began with a bang: during the evening of the fireworks in Piazza De Ferrari the “best of” of the past years of the Fagioli Calendar was projected on the façade of Palazzo Ducale and the Genoese were able to admire our beauties … Our sponsor friends had been generous again this year and their donations to the “ADG GENOVA ONLUS – Youth Diabetes Association of Genoa” and the “Flying Angels Foundation Onlus” reached the sum of €43,286.50!!!
2015, following an extremely topical theme, saw us interpret the “Tax Havens”, not without stigmatizing our personal disapproval of them. As every year, our “sponsors” have been generous and the donations they have paid to “Emozioni Giocate NGO” and “Prato NGO” have reached the remarkable sum of €51,552.
“The Selfies” we took with VIPs in 2016 made young and old laugh. Carlo Cracco, Vincenzo Nibali, Marco Travaglio, Sabrina Salerno, Carla Signoris, Umberto Smaila, Giampiero Gasperini and many others have been generous in wanting to lend themselves to our game and appear at our side in the Calendar making the 13 Fagioli disfigure! Also thanks to their call we were able to make donations for €49,700 to those in need of help, such as “Micronido Pratorotondo” and “Villa Donghi ed oltre ” !!!
Inspired by the numerous “Musical Talent Shows”, in 2017 we wanted to give a sample of our sweet voices and we interpreted a good number of beautiful songs, from the most classic hits of our summers as children, such as “L’estate sta finendo” and “Vamos a la playa “, to the most recent hits from real rappers like “Andiamo a comandare”. The non-profit organizations “La Salle” and “Coop In Cordata” of Don Valentino Porcile were able to do good this time too thanks to donations that reached the remarkable figure of €44,070.
For the 2018 calendar we took inspiuration from the death of Paolo Villaggio and we decided to reinterpret “Fantozzi”, the cult movie that in its various evolutions made our generation laugh so much. The theme sparked our enthusiasm and we produced memorable photographs such as Fantozzi eating meatballs, shooting with a sling, participating in the cycling race, falling down the steps in a wheelchair. But that’s just to name a few; they’re all hilarious photos. The result is that we have set the record for the collection of donations with the incredible sum of €55,110, entirely devolved to the two non-profit organizations Veneranda Compagnia di Misericordia and Associazione Abilità e Dignità.
For 2019, after a particularly difficult 2018 for our city and our region, severely hit by the tragedy of the Morandi Bridge and the epochal storms of 29th and 30th October, we opted for the minimalist celebration of Genoa, letting ourselves be immortalized next to characteristic vintage scooters (vespas and lambrettas) in the most evocative places of our “Superba”. Also Genoa Major feature in a photo taken in London, where he came to raise our city’s profile and funds to support those affected by the recent tragedies. In 2019 we have recorded an important collection of over €50,000 which was entirely donated to the two non-profit organizations “Comitato Umanita’ Nuova” and “Il Sogno di Tommi” and thanks to which we have surpassed the “milestone” figure of €500,000 raised, adding up all the editions.
We have finally arrived at 2020. 19 years have passed, the calendar is now over 18 and it is time to renew the formula. The new calendar is presented in the gala evening at the Terrazza Martini with a meteo “red alert” that does not stop the 180 guests and above all does not stop the flow of donations that reaches € 54,850 collected and donated to the “Abbraccio di Don Orione” association. The theme was a great success. “The Cult Movies” reinterpreted by Fagioli are 13 little pearls: Shining in a London based remake (Mario and Luigi), slightly overweight Balboa (Ale), Jack Paolo Elwood and a charming Enry English amongst others made people laugh for 12 months hanging in many kitchens and offices.
In 2021 the difficult challenge of asking for solidarity and help, in the most dramatic and most unpredictable year of contemporary history, is won! The 600,000 euro landmark is smashed. There is no traditional party but new channels are experimented: the presentation is transformed into a live streaming event on the most important social networks. Worldwide success! The calendar that deals with the difficult theme of the pandemic with great courage and delicate irony manages to deliver more than 49,000 euros to two Genoese charities, the Opera of Don Guanella with the “Casa dell’Angelo” project and the Caritas Diocesiana Archdiocese of Genoa by Monsignor Marino Poggi with the “Tobia-Covid19 project”. We, at the scream of “fuck covid” (Andrea Rapper), between an irreverent smart working (a fascinating Matteo) and a Santa Claus without Green Pass (Santa Spencer), are projecting ourselves towards the new adventure of 2022.
And here we are in 2022 finally back in “face to face” mode. Big party in the new location of the Albergo dei Poveri, to celebrate the record number of people, 180 guests, and above all the record collection of €73,000 in favour of “Famiglie Disabili Vidoni ed …Oltre” and “Associazione Ligure per i minori – O.d.v.”. Next year’s goal will be to exceed the threshold of €800,000 euros in total over the year. This year’s theme, “Save the Planet”, certifies the 14 Beans as the only true champions of the environment. With a recycled Greta, the Red Alert and StarMatte who save the last Panda with the aliens, we project ourselves into 2023.
We arrive in fashion in 2023, again at the Albergo dei Poveri with an amazing outfit to honour the longest reigning Queen, recently passed away; in a parade, with bagpipes and the most elegant Kilts and amazing legs, the Fagioli “Royal Family” presented 13 royal pictures, smashing the record of participation, partying until late night with 320 friends and representatives of Institutions and the charities Conpagnia della Tartaruga and Unitalsi.
“13 January 2024: the secret is revealed!
For years everyone has been wondering where The Fagiolis come from? The answer in the 23rd edition… they have always existed and always will. 13 photographic evidences prove that for every key moment in the history of the world there have been a Fagiolo involved: from Adam/Eve to the first “accident” on the moon… always on the frontline!. But above all it is the year of records: almost 400 attendees at the party, more than 82,000 euros raised by the associations, breaking the milestone of 850,000 euros raised in total.
The party, in the incredible location of the Salone del Maggior Consiglio of the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, gave us moments and images that push us Fagioli to start again immediately for the new appointment set for 11 January 2025.”