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Dec 4, 2006, 2:49:25 AM12/4/06
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Chianti Classico Magazine - May 14, 2005

Diplomatic Wedding In Chianti

Qubad Talebani, son of the newly elected president of Iraq, chose the Chianti hills for his wedding with Sherri Kraham, a young Jewish American.
 
Qubad Talebany/Talabany/Talabani

By Andrea Ciappi

Tuscany, Italy -- Chianti has returned to the center of the international stage as a crossroads of diplomacy. That role has stirred hopes for a truly better tomorrow, one moreover that will also be better for our economy, which is based on the fundamental factors, wine and tourism.

The diplomatic role had already taken form during the war in the former Yugoslavia in the nineties and it is still growing today with terrorism and the grave crisis in the Middle East. Before retracing all the steps of this surprising Chianti-area exercise in foreign affairs, it’s worth taking a look at the latest news to leak out. Several months ago, Qubad Talabani, the 30-year-old son of the newly elected president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, married a young Jewish woman in great secrecy at Castello del Palagio. (The event of itself possessed a high symbolic value).
 
After various reports circulated as to the place where the wedding was held, it was learned that the venue was Palagio (http://www.castelloilpalagio.it/main_e.html), the prestigious medieval manor in Chianti Classico.
 
Word of the wedding circulated when Qubad’s father, Jalal Talabani, assumed the position of Iraqi president at a turning point in the fortunes of the tormented Middle Eastern country.

Simone Coppi, a noted entrepreneur in the wine sector who followed all the preparations for the wedding in his position as administrator of the castle, provided details of this unusual event.

"The wedding occurred some months ago", Coppi said. "I saw today that young Qubad's father became the president of Iraq. I'm happy to know that Florence and our Chianti placed a seal on this special union of a young Iraqi and a Jewish girl, both of important families. We hope that Florence will be one of the signs of a turning point in Iraq's fortunes".

Castello del Palagio is located in the vicinity of Mercatale on the hill of Campoli, where the Giogaia da Panzano rises majestically with slopes shrouded by vineyards and forests. The castle is surrounded by a tenacious curtain of tall trees and shrubs, which sealed off the wedding from public view. Beyond the barrier, the Chianti Classico vineyards, alternating with olive orchards, which yield premium DOP oil, extend toward the horizon.
 
After news of the wedding of Sherri Gabrielle Kraham, a young Jewish American, to Qubad Talabani at Palagio began to circulate, we were able to obtain confirmation directly, whether from Qubad or President Talabani, through Regency, the agency that tended to the organization of this exceptional event.

"Our family, our friends and we were truly at ease at our wedding in Italy", Qubad reported. "We are recalling the time spent in the Fattoria, which represented the week of relaxation that we really wanted. They will be talking about this wedding for years in Iraq. It was spectacular. As soon as possible, we’ll be coming back".

The details reported by Regency serve to round out that information. "For his wedding, held at Il Palagio, the son of President Jalal Talabani turned to Regency, the company that Time magazine asserted was the most important agency in the sector in Europe. Regency has organized weddings in countries throughout the world since 1989. Some of its clients are famous; others are not but they are usually Italians. For the Talabani wedding, Signora Jinane, who is a leading planner in this field and holds dual Lebanese-Italian citizenship, took charge of everything from the beginning with the selection of the floral arrangements with the bride’s collaboration. The text of the ceremony was prepared jointly by the bridegroom and his parents, who also arranged security details with personal bodyguards and security agencies. A chef was selected to prepare an Italian menu but one that would also appeal to guests of Arabic culture and taste".

Jinane reported that her sensitivity, given her Lebanese origins, aided her in organizing the event to perfection. "It was an extremely important wedding", she said. "I managed to conciliate usages and cultures that are not only different but also opposed and even in conflict politically. He is an Iraqi, but born in Beirut, and she is American and Jewish. I was speaking with the Talabani family in Arabic and with the Kraham family in English. However, language was not the only problem. Account had to be taken of their cultures, which had to be respected. That was what made everything work. Ten bodyguards were making the rounds and they did their duty to perfection, tending to all the security procedures they were supposed to follow. Fate had brought together this bouquet of diverse nationalities and religions in Chianti, a land of peace and the arts. And all this in a medieval castle at the entrance to which a superb cedar of Lebanon has stood for centuries".

"It’s a sign", said the elder Talabani (who had not yet been named president of Iraq at the time of the wedding). He had to leave before dancing began in the castle’s courtyard to tend to various tasks. "I'm satisfied and I shall remember all of you", he added.

The wedding was only one of the diplomatic-cultural developments that have occurred in Chianti. A few months ago, for example, the Palestinian ambassador to Italy, Alì Rashid, requested assistance from officials in Chianti Classico in obtaining the means and consultancy required to construct a modern winery at Cana. "It was the town where Jesus performed the miracle of transforming water to wine", the envoy said. "The vine is right at home among us. This time, the miracle would be peace".

The gears have begun to be engaged and, according to reports, an important Chianti personality, who prefers for reasons involving timing to remain anonymous temporarily, has begun to follow the project. That might provide interesting results.

Chianti was already playing a diplomatic role in the nineties during the serious crises of the Balkans and the civil war that led to the breakup of Yugoslavia. Various high-level meetings coordinated by the former mayor, Paolo Saturnini, were held at Greve. The place often chosen for those meetings was the famous Castello di Verrazzano, where the mayor of Sarajevo, Bosnia’s ambassador to Italy, Croatian and Bosnian ministers and sub-secretaries and cultural figures like Enver Hadziomerspahic were often attending talks. In recent days, Saturnini received a recognition from the municipal government of Sarajevo for all that he did for the community. Among other things, he "inaugurated" the first Alitalia Milan-Sarajevo flights after the war in the Balkans.

And Greve has for 10 years supported the Council of Europe’s embassy in Istria, which was opened at Verteneglio. The deputy delegate, Umberto Ademollo, is from Chianti. In playing its diplomatic role, which we repeat is surprising, it is clear that Chianti benefits from its possession of two cities, Florence and Siena, which are famous worldwide for their artistic heritage, something that might help bring all parties together.
 
 
 
Related:
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Sherri Gabrielle Kraham is the Development Policy Director of the U.S. government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (http://www.mcc.gov) in Washington.
 
Sherri Kraham
krahamsg2[AT]mcc.gov
events[AT]mcc.gov
compactguidance[AT]mcc.gov
 
Sherri Kraham, (33), has a Law degree and a BA Political Science. She is currently employed with the Millennium Challenge Corporation. She served as Iraq Desk Officer with the State Department 1998-2001. In Baghdad she was Director of Program Review and Deputy Director CPA Office of Management and Budget. She was stationed in Iraq from May-December, 2003. She worked Iraq issues with ORHA at the pentagon and in Kuwait from February up until her deployment. Her primary work was in Reconstruction, with some Governance and Security components.
 
Interviewed November 5, 2004
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