Carlo Camillo Amato Chiaramonte Bordonaro (August 29, 1938 – October 20, 2021), more commonly known as Baron Carlo Amato, was an Italian-born aristocrat and businessman who lived in both Canada and the United States. Amato was known for Shangri-La, a 600-acre summer estate located on Roberts Island in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, where visiting chef

Sirio Maccioni Sirio Maccioni (5 April 1932 – 20 April 2020) was an Italian restaurateur and author known for opening Le Cirque. Biography Maccioni got his start at Oscar's Delmonico, Delmonico's. Owner Oscar Tucci once stated, "Sirio and with Tony May w ...

is said to have invented the dish

pasta primavera ''Pasta primavera'' () is an Italian-American dish that consists of pasta in a cream sauce and fresh vegetables, invented in the 1970s. Origins In 1975, New York restaurateur Sirio Maccioni flew to the Canadian summer home of Italian Baron ...

. Amato served as Ambassador of the

Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

to the countries of

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

and

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

and was also an investor in the development of the Caribbean island of

Canouan Canouan () is an island in the Grenadines. It is a small island, measuring only and has a surface of 7.6 km2. It lies approximately south of the island of St. Vincent. The population is about 1,700. A barrier reef runs along the Atlant ...

History

Amato was born in Rome, Italy, to

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

Giuseppe Amato Chiaramonte Bordonaro and Countess Fernanda Giannini Paolini. His grandfather was senator from

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. Amato first arrived in America in 1959 and that same year he and his wife, Lorraine Manville Amato, purchased a 600-acre plot of land on Roberts Island, Nova Scotia. Known as Shangri-La, Amato built a mansion on the estate in 1965 that served as his summer residence. The estate also featured a

hedge maze A hedge maze is an outdoor garden maze or labyrinth in which the "walls" or dividers between passages are made of vertical hedges. History Hedge mazes evolved from the knot gardens of Renaissance Europe, and were first constructed during the mi ...

, a domed pool and multiple guest homes. Amato introduced

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

s to the island and invited guests to hunt them on 75 acres of his property. The animals were imported from the

Black Forest The Black Forest ( ) is a large forested mountain range in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is th ...

in Germany and Amato told ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 1976 that his family had a history of raising wild boars. At one time he had upwards of 200 boar on his property and he documented his experiences in the 1981 book ''The Wild Boar: History, Husbandry, the Hunt: A complete study of Sus Scrofa'' while serving as an assistant professor at

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

. Amato also sold the meat to restaurants in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The Amatos would often invite high-profile chefs to stay at their estate in order to experiment with dishes featuring wild boar, as well as local seafood and produce. During a visit to Shangri-La in 1975, restaurateur

, owner of

Le Cirque Le Cirque was a French restaurant that has had several locations throughout the New York City borough of Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs ...

, is said to have invented the dish

, which he brought back with him to his New York restaurant. Other guests of the estate included Italian actresses

Gina Lollobrigida Luigia "Gina" Lollobrigida (4 July 1927 – 16 January 2023) was an Italian actress, model, photojournalist, and sculptor. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international ...

and

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

, American zoologist

Jim Fowler James Mark Fowler (April 9, 1930 – May 8, 2019) was an American professional zoologist and host of the acclaimed wildlife documentary television show Mutual of Omaha's '' Wild Kingdom''. Early years Born in Albany, Georgia, Fowler spent ...

, as well as various government officials, entrepreneurs and members of royalty. Amato became a Canadian citizen in 1970 and lived part-time in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. In the 1990s, Amato and a group of fellow investors leased 1500 unoccupied acres on the island of

in the

Grenadines The Grenadines () is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted ...

and built the Tamarind Beach Hotel, with plans to develop a complex of apartments and villas, a marina and a golf course. He also served as Ambassador of the

to the countries of

and

from 1983 until his death.

Private life

Amato was married to Lorraine Manville, whose family made its fortune from asbestos via the

Johns Manville Johns Manville is an American company based in Denver, Colorado, that manufactures insulation, roofing materials and engineered products. For much of the 20th century, the then-titled Johns-Manville Corporation was the global leader in the ...

corporation. Manville died in Nova Scotia in 1998. Amato married Irela Fabiola Lopez Fonseca, an artist and textile designer, in 2003.

Death

In 2020 it was reported that Amato was in poor health and was living exclusively in Miami. He died in

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as "The Grove", is an affluent and the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhoods of Miami, neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by North Prospect Driv ...

on October 20, 2021, after a long illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amato, Carlo Italian businesspeople 1938 births 2021 deaths People from Rome