On a breezy Saturday last month, Vittorio Calabrese, the director of the Magazzino Italian Art museum in Cold Spring, N.Y., stood onstage in the courtyard to introduce the last event of the summer, a concert by the musician Sam Reider and his band the Human Hands.

The sun was starting to set, and a few stragglers of the sold-out crowd found their seats. Most of the concertgoers were dressed casually in denim jackets and oversize oxford shirts. But Mr. Calabrese, a native of Irpinia, Italy, wore a blue suit, loafers and, for a touch of sprezzatura, the Italian concept of nonchalant style, striped socks with several inches visible.