The word for ‘sunset’ in Italian is tramonto, which means something like “beyond the mountains”, describing the end of the sun’s parabolic voyage across the sky. History is filled with many beautiful myths about the details of our favourite star’s antics after it goes beyond the mountain. According to Roman mythology, as well as Greek, the Sun was a fiery chariot driven across the sky by the god Apollo every day. It was speculated that Apollo and his chariot would find themselves in some dark underworld.

This is reminiscent of a Maori myth in which the god Maui used ropes to slow the sun and extend the days of the Maori people. As in the case of the Greco-Roman myth, it was believed that the journey beyond the horizon involved battles with creatures of the night.

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The nighttime connotes uncertainty and fear, but the beautiful thing about sunsets is that they’re never a goodbye, and always an ‘until we meet again’. Before long, the sun, on its cyclical journey through the underworld (or more likely the other hemisphere) returns to bring the light and certainty which characterizes the daytime.

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This issue of Ecco Chamber serves two purposes. First, it serves to usher in the final month, a shortened one too, which will bring a close to this year’s activities at Italcham. Second, it is to remind our members that this is one of many fruitful years to come.

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This year saw the chamber host events across the country including a talk by renowned journalist Federico Rampini who discussed the position of Africa within the wider geopolitical context, a number of Aperilinks including one in Port Elizabeth, a screening of a Rugby World Cup match between New Zealand an Italy (a particularly sad sunset for many of our Italian attendees), the Business Excellence Awards which celebrate industry leaders and notable businesspeople from the community, as well the assistance and promotion of many other events within the community across the country.

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In addition to community events, Italcham continued to provide market entry services to clients from both Italy and South Africa, adding Italchannel Digital Marketing to this bouqet. These services and events were provided by Italcham’s core staff, as well as interns from Italy who together steered the reigns of the chariot that guided us through 2023. Our tally of events and services spans across a number of diverse industries, media and locations which reflect the characteristic dynamism of the Chamber and its mandate. While these services and areas vary, they come together in a coherent and beautiful way, much like the yellows, oranges, reds and violets of the sunset which blend together seamlessly.

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We at the Chamber have noticed that each event, each intern and each client bring something unique and memorable to the year – special details, each deserving of attention, that colour our activities with particular moments and memories. Much like the ‘green flash’, which one might witness as the sun dips behind the horizon, there is always something special to mark an activity at the chamber, a colleague or a member. No one sunset is the same, nor is any one year which is constituted by 365 of them.

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To view the sunset is of course a great exercise of perspective.  While it may seem that the sun is escaping from us, it is in fact we who are temporarily escaping the sun. This perspective defines our sense of time; it is our movement to and away from the sun which defines our days and around the it which defines our years. As we wind down on this this fruitful cycle, our motion anticipates the sunrise of 2024, which already promises plenty. Italcham looks forward to seeing you beyond the mountain, and joining you for our next event where the orange of the sky is often accompanied by the orange of a good spritz, and better company.