Rolla Foundation - Publications

Between two worlds. Story of Philip Rolla
by Maria Grazia Rabiolo

When Philip Rolla left California after graduating from university, the trip he took was diametrically opposite to that of his grandparents, who had arrived in California in the early twentieth century from Piedmont. His professional adventure began in Turin and continued in Italian-speaking Switzerland. A craftsman-engineer, he is the inventor of the most high-performance propellers in the world. His name is linked to powerboat racing and to boats in general. On top of that, he has always nurtured a great passion for contemporary art and photography. He has lived all his life between the United States, which he has never forgotten, and Europe, in particular Switzerland. In Bruzella, in the Valle di Muggio, where he lives with his wife Rosella. he has assembled an important art collection and a foundation that holds reqular photography exhibitions in the former kindergarten. Unquestionably, Phil Rolla's life has been both special and interesting. This biography written by Maria Grazia Rabiolo goes back over it stage by stage with both precision and a sense of participation. What emerges is the portrait of a man, a professional, and a collector who is, to say the least, unique, and inimitable

Maria Grazia Rabiolo was born in 1957 in Lausanne (Canton Vaud) and grew up in Viganello (Cantone Ticino). She earned a degree in Humanities from the University of Milan. As a cultural journalist she has worked for the RSI - Radiotelevisione svizzera di linqua italiana for thirty-four vears. She has lived in Bruzella with her husband since 2002.

Sylvia Notini was born in Boston and grew up in nearby Lexington. After receiving a Ph.D. in Romance Languages and Literatures from Harvard University she moved to Bologna, Italy, where she raised a family while teaching English at the university and working as a freelance translator.

Supported by

Maria Grazia Rabiolo
Between two worlds.
Story of Philip Rolla
translation Sylvia Notini
pp.128
210 x 148 mm
ISBN 978-88-947158-2-8
price 20 Chf/Euro