In 1983 a special issue of Capital named Costantino Nivola among the one-hundred most important Italian people in the US, together with, among others, Mario Cuomo, Frank Sinatra, Giovanni Sartori, Riccardo Muti, and Luciano Pavarotti. What did he do that was so important? He had fled from Fascist Italy, leaving Sardinia for New York, where his talent as an artist quickly stood out. It was here that he befriended others forced into exile (like Steinberg, De Kooning, Breuer) as well as Americans (like Calder, Kline, and Pollock). But one friendship stood out, and made a profound impact on his life, both as an artist and an individual: that with Le Corbusier. In turn, Le Corbusier was touched by Nivola¿s authentic brilliance and the Mediterranean imprint of his works.