ICS PAST EVENTS

UPCOMING EVENTS: To view our upcoming events, please click here.

JUNE CULTURAL EVENT:

Q&A with LUCA‘s Director Enrico Casarosa

Friday, June 25th at 1:00 pm ET

Event organized in honor of the genoese Enrico Casarosa, Director of the Disney Pixar movie Luca, streaming on Disney +, on June 18th.

The story takes place in Liguria! Our Executive Director, Francesca Casazza, will moderate a conversation with Enrico Casarosa, to find out what inspired him to write this story of sea monsters and adventures, linked to his childhood in Genoa and in the Italian Riviera.

Enrico Casarosa is an Italian storyboard artist and film director who works at Pixar. In 2012, he was nominated for an Academy Award for the animated short film La Luna. Casarosa was born in Genoa, and moved to New York in his twenties, to study animation at the School of Visual Arts and Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
He worked as a background designer and storyboard artist on various Disney Channel TV series, including 101 Dalmatians: The Series and PB&J Otter. Before joining Pixar, Casarosa worked as a storyboard artist at Blue Sky Studios on Ice Age. In 2002 he worked as a story artist for Pixar’s Cars, Ratatouille, Up and Cars 2.
He then worked as head of story on The Good Dinosaur when Bob Peterson was directing the project beginning in 2011, and as a story artist on Coco.

We thank Istituto Italiano di Cultura Washington and San Francisco for their support in promoting this event.

MAY CULTURAL EVENT : 

Lorenza Pieri in conversation with Virginia Jewiss

Il giardino dei mostri, Edizioni E/O 2019

The Garden of Monsters, Europa Editions 2020

Tuesday, May 25th, at 6:30pm at Lupo Verde Osteria Palisades

Kindle Edition

“Pieri adds to a robust tradition in modern Italian literature, popularized by authors like Elsa Morante in Arturo’s Island, Italo Calvino in The Path to the Spiders’ Nest, and Elena Ferrante in the Neapolitan Quartet: the novel of adolescent disenchantment, in which charmed and secret places are crucibles from which more hardened lives emerge.” – Literary Hub

Lorenza Pieri was born in Romagna but spent her childhood and teenage years in the small island of Giglio, off the coast of Tuscany. She studied Communication in Siena and in Paris and obtained her Master Degree in Publishing Management from SDA Bocconi, in Milan. She worked in Publishing for fifteen years. In 2014 she moved to the United States, where she works as an author, journalist, and literary translator. Isole minori, her award-winning debut novel was published in Italy in 2016 and has been translated into five languages. This is her first book to appear in English, and her first book selected in the long list of candidates for Premio Strega 2020, the most prestigious Italian literary Award.

Virginia Jewiss received her PhD in Italian literature from Yale University and taught at Dartmouth College and Trinity College’s Rome campus before returning to Yale, where she is currently Senior Lecturer in the Humanities and Director of the Yale Humanities program in Rome. She has translated the work of numerous Italian authors and film directors, including Luigi Pirandello’s short stories, Roberto Saviano’s Gomorrah, Melania Mazzucco’s Vita, and screenplays for Paolo Sorrentino, Matteo Garrone, and Gabriele Salvatores. Her translation of Dante’s Vita nuova is forthcoming.

EXCLUSIVE FUNDRAISING EVENT :

Guitar Concert with Aperitivo at the Executive Director’s backyard 

Wednesday, May 12th, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm

Classic & Rock guitar fusion – Felicia Toscano & Gianpiero Antonazzo Pop and Brasilian music

Thanks to the generous donations from the guitarists and ICS Director, offered in occasion of Gala 2020 – auction, we welcomed our supporters who purchased the tickets last November and a few remaining seats recently. 30 people, outdoor event, in respect of all covid-19 state regulations

APRIL CULTURAL EVENT:

Angela Centola, classical and flamenco guitarist:

Dal flamenco tradizionale alle proprie composizioni

Sunday, April 18th, 3:00 pm (ET), on Zoom

L’EVENTO È IN ITALIANO E IN INGLESE (TRANSLATOR WILL ASSIST)

La conferenza, sotto forma di intervista e messa in onda di video musicali, verte sulla descrizione dei principali “palos”, ovvero gli stili del flamenco e le relative tecniche di esecuzione. Un breve viaggio storico e geografico dal flamenco primitivo passando da Sabicas, Escudero, fino al flamenco moderno, di cui la stessa Angela Centola è autrice ed esecutrice.

Check here to purchase Angela’s books:
Edizioni Musicali Sinfonica (just from Italy)
Guitarra Solista – 8 Flamenco Compositions in Tablature
Guitarra Solista – 8 Concert Flamenco Compositions in Music Notation

EDUCATIONAL SECTION :

The ICS Recommended trips

After Angela Centola’s concert & talk, on April 18th at 4:30pm (ET), we will had the pleasure to connect with Emanuela Raggio – Beautiful Liguria, and Laura Marchese – SolArt Rooms Trani, who shared some information about our recommended trips to Liguria, Piemonte, Toscana, Emilia Romagna and Puglia.

More info about the trips here

MARCH CULTURAL EVENT:

Polyphony in Dante’s Paradiso, by Prof. Francesco Ciabattoni

Sunday, March 21st, 3:00 pm (ET), on Zoom

The Italian Cultural Society is pleased to host Prof. Francesco Ciabattoni from Georgetown University, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death, and in anticipation of the official day dedicated to the sommo poeta in Italy and in the world – Dantedì – March 25th, recognized as the day Dante started his journey described in the Divine Comedy. 

The role of sacred music in Dante’s Commedia goes far beyond the merely rhetorical and decorative, but adds metaphysical meaning to the description of the afterlife. The Commedia’s musical journey culminates with the evocation in Paradiso of polyphonic singing, a technical novelty during Dante’s time.This talk will track the musical progression in the poem from Inferno’s “unholy racket” to unisonal performance and finally to harmony in heaven, revealing the complex authorial strategy that marks the passage from musical punishment in hell, to a self-centred itinerary of individual purification in purgatory, to the reconciliation of human multiplicity and divine unity in paradise.

NEXT MONTHLY CULTURAL EVENT:

Beppe Severgnini in conversation with Sara Forden

Sunday, January 31st, 3:00 pm (ET), on Zoom

The Italian Cultural Society is pleased to host Beppe Severgnini presenting his new book Neoitaliani, in conversation with Sara Forden.
One hour conference in which the two journalists will talk about Italy and Italian perseverance through this difficult time of COVID-19.

Rewatch the event on our YouTube Channel

On the Move: Alternative Forms of Journeys through an Artistic Lens.

Presented by NYU DC Dialogues and the John Brademas Center in partnership with the University of Palermo, Department of Law, and with the support of the Italian Cultural Society of Washington DC.

The event will explore the meaning of the word journey for the several people for whom the journey is the only way to protect their lives or to ensure a better future for their family. This event will present different forms of art that contribute to answering these questions, and was curated by Renato Miracco (art critic) and Mauro Testaverde (economist).

Thursday, December 3 at 12:30 PM EST (DC) – 6:30 PM GMT+1 (Italy) via Zoom

MONTHLY EVENT:

Book Presentation in Italian, online – questo mese parliamo in italiano!

Giorgio Chiarva, in conversazione con il regista Giuliano Montaldo, presenta il suo libro

“Il banchiere Galantuomo”, Brioschi Editore

Con la partecipazione di Le D.I.V.E e Parolab – Italians in DC

Sunday, Nov. 15th, 3:00 pm (ET)

Rewatch the event on our YouTube Channel

“THE HOUSE OF GUCCI : A SENSATIONAL STORY OF MURDER, MADNESS, GLAMOUR, AND GREED” BY SARA GAY FORDEN

Sara Gay Forden, in conversation with Robin Givhan, presents her non-fiction booK

Enjoy the full event on our Youtube channel

Sunday, June 7th at 3:00 pm online on Zoom. (ET)

VIRTUAL TOUR OF POLDI PEZZOLI MUSEUM OF MILAN

With this guided virtual tour of the Museo Poldi Pezzoli of Milan, we discovered the interesting story of art collector Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli and visited his majestic palace that is now a House-Museum.

After an interesting introduction, our expert tour guide brought us to explore the armory: a magnificent hall with a large variety of weapons and armors of the medieval ages.
We then moved to the main rooms of the museum – analyzing paintings by Piero del Pollaiolo, Botticelli, Hayez, Guardi, and the Bartolini sculpture. We ended the tour in the wonderful Dante study room, with beautiful glass windows, original manuscripts and ceiling frescos.

Enjoy the full event on our Youtube channel

Sunday, Nov. 8th, 10:00 am (ET)

CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI, FATHER OF OPERA

This Zoom event, entitled “Claudio Monteverdi, The Father of Opera – where music joins literature”, was presented by David Flaxman, and our ILP esteemed Professor of Early Italian Literature Annelise Brody Morani.  They told the story of Claudio Monteverdi and his “invention” of the modern opera in 1607.   We played excerpts from two of Monteverdi’s most important works, as well as some of his madrigals, and we had the pleasure to listen to Professor Brody Morani introducing some of the most important works of the great Italian poet, Torquato Tasso.  Monteverdi and Tasso are two of the most important figures in Italian culture.

Enjoy the full event on our Youtube channel

Sunday, April 19, 2020 online through Zoom

THE REMARKABLE FOUR SEASONS

A presentation of the genius and artistry of Antonio Vivaldi and a preview – with conversation and videoclips – of “The Remarkable Four Seasons” concert by The National Chamber Ensemble (NCE), with Director Leo Sushansky (scheduled for March 21st and postponed to indefinite date). Art critic, curator and Italian culture expert Renato Miracco presented an introduction to Vivaldi’s masterpiece.

Enjoy the full event on The ICS Youtube channel.

March 28, 2020 Online through Zoom

MAKING TIME IN WESTERN THOUGHT: AN INTRODUCTION TO CALENDAR STUDIES AND LITURGICAL CALCULATIONS

The talk addressed the mathematical / astronomical issues of calculating time (as opposed to merely recording it), as well as the development of particular liturgical pressures in early Christian history which accelerated the work.  Special attention was given to the work of the 13th century Genoese archbishop Jacobus de Voragine who composed the Legenda aurea (‘Golden Legend’) and the 16^th century Italian scientist Aloysius Lilius who worked out the 1582 calendrical reform known as the Gregorian Calendar.

Sunday January 19 2020 at 3PM at the Italian Cultural Society Headquarters

DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST “WE HAVE BEEN SEPARATED” WORDS AND MUSIC FROM AUSCHWITZ

The Italian Cultural Society, in collaboration with US-Italy Global Affairs Forum and The Department of Italian of Georgetown University,  presents the duo Heartstrings performing words and music from Auschwitz “Ci hanno divisi” (“We have been separated” – In Italian with English surtitles). The theatrical performance is preceded by brief video interviews to DIrector of La Stampa newspaper, Maurizio Molinari and testimonials (Liliana Segre documentary video) presented by journalist Antonella Ciancio.

PROGRAMMA DI SALA 

PRESS RELEASE – COMUNICATO STAMPA

La Voce Di New York newspaper says… click here

Friday January 17, at 7PM
Georgetown University – Lohrfink Auditorium, Hariri Building West Road, Washington DC 20007

We are honored to have had the opportunity to co-sponsor two magical evenings with Sophia Loren! On November 20th and 21st, the Italian Cultural Society welcomed a large audience to the Montgomery College Performing Arts Center with a glass of Prosecco, to help promote Italian language and culture.
Loren gave an interesting interview about her life and brilliant career. She spoke mainly in English, and at times poked fun at the host by speaking in Italian, generating a laugh among those in the audience who understood her native language. After the interview, we had the pleasure to meet and greet the gracious and warm actress backstage.

November 20th and 21st
Montgomery College, Robert E Parilla Performing Arts Center

DESIGNING FOR LEONARDO: EXHIBITION DESIGN AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART 

with Speaker DONNA KIRK, SENIOR ARCHITECT OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

November 17 th at the ICS Headquarters

2019 was a “Year of Leonardo” celebrating the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci.  The National Gallery offered an exhibition of Verrocchio entitled  “Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence”. It was the first-ever monographic exhibition in the United States on Andrea del Verrocchio (c. 1435–1488), the innovative artist, painter, sculptor, and teacher whose pupils included, in addition to Leonardo, Pietro Perugino and likely Sandro Botticelli as well.

Ms. Kirk showed photos of the appearance of the Leonardo’s Mona Lisa at the National Gallery in one of the few times this masterpiece has ever left the Louvre.  She offered insights into the process of designing an exhibition and showed how the design changes in a series of photos of exhibitions ranging from Joan Miro and Mark Rothko to Gauguin and recently Verrochio.  She explained that Leonardo may in fact have been the  model for the great “David” of Verrocchio and how it was that Leonardo may have helped finish some of Verrocchio’s better known paintings. She finally offered a look at the Verrocchio exhibition.

SONATAS, PRELUDES AND VARIATIONS TROUGH THE CENTURIES BETWEEN ITALY AND BRAZIL 

Friday Oct 25, at 6:30PM
The Italian Cultural Society Headquarters

THE PROGRAM
Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) “Two Sonatas in A Major (K. 208, K. 322) Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) “Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op 107” Bruno Battisti D’Amario (1937) “Prelude in A Minor”
Heitor Villa Lobos (1887-1959) “Five Preludes”:
Prelude Nr.1 in E minor: Homenagem ao sertanejo brasileiro (Homage to the Brazilian country dweller)
Prélude Nr.2 in E major: Homenagem ao Malandro Carioca – Melodia Capadócía Melodia Capoeira (Homage to the Rascal of Rio – Melodia Capadócia – Melodia Capoeira)
Prélude Nr.3 in A minor: Homenagem à Bach (Homage to Bach)
Prélude Nr.4 in E minor: Homenagem ao Indio Brasileiro (Homage to the Brazilian Indios)
Prélude n.5: Homenagem à Vida Social – “Aos rapazinhos e mocinhas fresquinhos que frequentam os concertos os teatros no Rio” (Homage to social life: ‘to the fresh-faced young boys and girls who go to concerts and the theatre in Rio’)

ABOUT MAESTRO LUIGI PICARDI
Born in Rome in 1970, Luigi began guitar studies at the age of 15 and earned his diploma ‘summa cum laude’ at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory of Rome under the tutelage of Maestro Carlo Carfagna. Soon afterwards he enrolled in numerous seminars and master classes in Italy and Spain conducted by internationally famous musicians, winning various national and international competitions. At the end of 1999 he began his collaboration  with the staff of Vatican Radio, and is the producer of various Vatican broadcasts.
As a musical assistant he takes part in many musical events for the Holy See at the Paul VI Audience Hall, Castel Gandolfo and Saint Paul’s Basilica.
Over the years he has performed at various concerts both as a soloist and within various camera ensembles.
In 2006 he received a degree ‘magna cum laude’ in Music History from the University “La Sapienza” of Rome.
In 2017, together with M°Felicia Toscano, he founded the Contemporary Guitar Duo.

LANGUAGES OF THE ITALIAN THEATER, FROM VENICE TO NAPLES

Sunday, October 20th from 2:30-5PM at Chevy Chase Village Hall, Chevy Chase, MD

In occasion of the 19th edition of the Week of the Italian Language in the World –La settimana della lingua Italiana nel mondo, 21 – 27 October 2019 The Italian Cultural Society hosted a talk on this year’s theme “L’italiano sul palcoscenico” (Italian and the stage), by Prof. Gianni Cicali, Georgetown University, and, at the same time, in the adjacent room, a workshop for the youngest on the Mimic Method. Children attended this unique experience with Tiziana Risolo, actress and theater teacher, that held the workshop in Italian.

Reception was kindly offered by Mamma Lena – Cannoli siciliani e spiedini di mozzarella e pomodori, pizza for children.

This event was organized with the patronage of The Italian Cultural Institute, Washington DC.

WELCOME BACK! – LEARN HOW TO MAKE A PIZZA RUSTICA WITH SFIZI CAFE

Sunday, September 22nd, at a private home in McLean
From 12:00 to 3:00 pm

FINALMENTE FUORI DALL’OMBRA!

SUNDAY, MARCH 31ST, AT 3 PM at The ICS HEADQUARTERS 

This month PARLIAMO in ITALIANO!

In occasione del mese di marzo e della tradizione italiana della Festa della Donna (8 marzo) l’ICS, in collaborazione con con l’associazione Le D.I.V.E. (Donne Italiane che Vivono all’Estero) ha il piacere di invitarvi all’evento: “Finalmente fuori dall’ombra”

Una conversazione sulla donna nella storia italiana da punti di vista diversi. Partecipano la Dott.essa Simonetta Ronco, direttrice della nuova collana Mnemosine e del progetto Donne nell’ombra in collegamento da Genova; la Prof.ssa Rossana Fenu Barbera, studiosa di letteratura italiana e autrice di La donna che cammina. Incanto e mito della seduzione del passo femminile nella letteratura italiana del primo Novecento; e la Dott.ssa Lucia Wolf, bibliotecaria specializzata nelle collezioni italiane alla Library of Congress, curatrice di collezioni dedicate alla donna italiana e autrice di un blog sulla storia delle scrittrici italiane nelle collezioni della Library of Congress.

Alla conversazione seguirà rinfresco con Prosecco, vino, snack salati e dolci.

“Più che la presentazione del mio libro, in realtà è stata una festa a sorpresa, un’ imboscata al mio cuore” ha commentato la scrittrice, commossa. La nostra giornalista, regista, amica e Board Member, Carola Mamberto, ha infatti regalato a Lorenza un’intervista che includeva un video di testimonianze di colleghi e amici storici della scrittrice, mostrato i fatti di cronaca che aprono e concludono il libro; ci siamo collegati con la sorella Simona (anche quella era una sorpresa)… Una serata emozionante all’ICS, in occasione della presentazione del romanzo “Isole minori” di Lorenza Pieri, scrittrice di grandissimo talento, una persona di un’ironia, di una sensibilità umana e letteraria e di una curiosità intellettuale fuori del comune. Con il suo primo romanzo ha già conquistato il pubblico… E a luglio esce il secondo! “stay tuned”, come si dice qui!

BOCCACCIO’S WORKS AND INFLUENCE, by Prof. Christina Olson

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2018 at ICS headquarters

Professor Olson provided an introduction to the medieval author, Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), with a focus on his most popular work in the Italian vernacular, the Decameron. The Decameron is composed of one-hundred tales told by a group of young Florentines who have escaped their plague-ridden city. It is a work that is meant to entertain, but also to educate and rebuild a society that has been devastated by the Black Death. Her presentation reviewed the structure, themes, and motifs of Boccaccio’s magnum opus by asking such questions as: What is one’s role as a narrator in society and for society? How do we defend literature? By considering the reception of the Decameron up to the present today, including its history of censorship, we can consider these questions broadly and the value of literature in times of ethical crisis.

Dr. Kristina Olson is an Associate Professor of Italian at George Mason University. She is the author of Courtesy Lost: Dante, Boccaccio and the Literature of History (University of Toronto Press, 2014) and several articles on Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch. Her current book project investigates clothing, gender, and governance in Italy from the late Duecento through the Trecento. She is also the co-editor of Boccaccio 1313-2013 (Longo Editore, 2015), and, together with Chris Kleinhenz, of the second edition of Approaches to Teaching Dante’s Comedy, which is forthcoming with the Modern Language Association. She served as the Vice President for the Dante Society of America from 2016 to 2018 and currently serves as the Vice President of the American Boccaccio Association.

WEEK OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE IN THE WORLD – SETTIMANA DELLA LINGUA ITALIANA NEL MONDO: L’ITALIANO E LA RETE, LA RETE NELL’ITALIANO

A talk about the spoken Italian language, in a sociolinguistic perspective by Prof. Sandro Corso, and a fun workshop on Italian language and regional traditions by Fiorenza Castelli, in the adjacent room.

The event had the patronage of the Istituto Italiano di CUltura Washington

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2018 at Chevy Chase Village Hall

MAGIC MOMENTS IN ITALIAN CINEMA, by Prof. Anna Lawton

SATURDAY, MAY 19TH, 2018 at the ICS Headquarter

To celebrate the Year of Cinema, Anna Lawton will lead us on a visual excursion through three significant moments of Italian cinema which gained international acclaim: the Silent Movies, Neorealism, Masters of the 1960s-1970s. A slide show will illustrate the presentation with captivating stills from the silent “colossals,” Rossellini’s and DeSica’s post-war dramas, the “commedia all’italiana,” “spaghetti westerns,” and  the  auteur films by Fellini, Visconti, Pasolini, Bertolucci, Bellocchio, and…many others.

Dr. Anna Lawton is a professor of literature and cinema. She taught film studies and visual culture at Georgetown University and served on the Advisory Film Committee of the National Gallery of Art. She published three scholarly books and numerous scholarly essays and articles, as well as two novels. She has received several awards, including the CHOICE Award as Outstanding Academic Title for her book, Imaging Russia 2000: Film and Facts. She is also the founder of the publishing house New Academia Publishing, which she has run successfully for 15 years.

DINNER AND BOOK SIGNING IN A PRIVATE HOME, to benefit our Cesarina Horing Award (Scholarship Program)

THURSDAY, APRIL 26th 2018 

We are truly thankful for the generosity of our hosts, Nina Gardner and Francesco Olivieri, for the friendly welcome to our members and the delicious Venetian homemade dinner. The highlight of the evening was Marie Ohanesian Nardin‘s semi-autobiographical novel, based on the story of how an American girl from Los Angeles visits Venice and falls in love with a gondolier and raises a family there. The author presented her book, “Beneath the Lion’s Wings,” in conversation with Nina Luzzatto Gardner, and accompanied by fun videos. Proceeds went towards our scholarship program, in particular to the funding of the Cesarina Horing Awards fund. Our sincere thanks to Marie Ohanesian Nardin and Nina Gardner for making this event possible.

Learn more about the ICS Scholarship visit http://archive.italianculturalsociety.org/get-involved/awards-

“HOW DID A TWELVE- FOOT BRONZE STATUE OF DANTE ALIGHIERI END UP IN WASHINGTON’S MERIDIAN HILL PARK?” By Charles Russell, Emeritus Professor, Department of French and Italian, University of Maryland

SUNDAY MARCH 11th 2018, at the ICS Headquarter

The statue was brought here in 1921 by Carlo Barsotti, founder in New York City of the extremely successful Italian language newspaper Il Progresso Italo-Americano. It was welcomed to the Park by none other than the President of the United States, Warren G. Harding, by ambassadors from many European countries, and by members of our own local Italian Catholic church, Holy Rosary.   How the statue, sculpted by Ettore Ximenes, reached this city is a complicated story …

The unveilings were an expression of pride in being Italian and an assertion of national worthiness. In addition, the Washington ceremony played a significant role in the first international peace conference ever held in this city. The unveiling was a stunning success: an apotheosis of Dante, of italianità, and of international friendship. “A love feast,” headlined the Washington Star the following day. Two thousand spectators were on hand to welcome Italy’s world-renowned poet, but since that day Dante has been left pretty much alone in Meridian Hill Park and it would seem perhaps somewhat forgotten.

“A MIDSUMMER NIGHT DREAM: GRAVITATIONAL WAVES AND LIGHT STRIKE COSMIC GOLD, by Eleonora Troja.

Sunday, January 21 2018, at the ICS Headquarters

FRIDAY BOOK PRESENTATION – IN ITALIANO!

Prof. Laura Benedetti, Professor of Contemporary Italian Culture at Georgetown University

presenta il suo romanzo “SECONDO PIANO” in conversazione con

Dr. Lucia Wolf, Reference Librarian Specialist, European Division, Library of Congress.

Aperitivo con l’autrice a seguire

THURSDAY, JANUARY 18th 2018, 7:00-9:00pm, at the ICS headquarters

THE TRADITIONS OF PASTA, PASTA-LAB AND TASTING

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22nd 2017, 2:00-4:00 pm at Aperto Restaurant. 2013 I Street, NW. Washington, DC 20006

Pasta making traditions are an important part of the Italian culinary patrimony. In honor of National Italian-American heritage month and National Pasta Month, Basilicata’s Culinary Ambassador, Chef Luigi Diotaiuti will reveal the secrets behind treasured recipes and pasta rituals on the verge of being forgotten. Ristorante Aperto provided “pasta tasting” and a special price on wine by the glass.

Award winning Chef/Restaurateur Luigi Diotaiuti, owner of Washington, DC’s Al Tiramisu and Aperto, is a world -renowned authority on Italian cooking and living. Born, raised, and educated in Basilicata, Italy, Chef Luigi trained at some of the world’s most prestigious locations before opening Washington DC’s “most authentic” Italian restaurant more then twenty-one years ago. His current culinary pursuits and consistent media presence in the United States and Italy enable him to enjoy notability and distinction in both countries. In 2017, he was named “Ambassador of Basilicata’s Cuisine in the World” by The Federation of Italian Cooks. Holding dual citizenship, Chef Luigi is passionate about giving back to both communities which he considers home. He recently founded Basilicata: A Way of Living to maintain the local traditions of the region while creating jobs and tourism. A few years ago, he also founded Pasta Lab, an event which pairs professional chefs with female home cooks to uphold the artisan pasta making traditions of the past. In DC, Chef Luigi teaches the students in the culinary program at DC Central Kitchen to make the same time-honored recipes – creating a culinary bridge between the two cultures.

WINE TASTING by Paul’s Wine & Spirits  + Slide show: VINE AND WINE, ONCE UPON A TIME, by Prof. Anna Lawton

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17th 2017, 3:00-5:00 pm at Ristorante Positano, 4948 Fairmont Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814

We started off the fall season of Sunday afternoon social meetings with a program on wines of Piemonte, featuring a slide presentation by Anna Lawton. Anna grew up in a castle then owned by her family (Castello di Cortanze) in the countryside near Torino. She spoke about wine and grapevine cultivation in the 1930s in the vineyards surrounding the castle, as illustrated by photographs of the operation taken by her grandfather Achille Bologna, a prominent photographer of that era, who was the editor of Il Corriere Fotografico and books on photography as well as organizer of major exhibitions around the world.

Alberto Panella, Italian Wine Importer, taught and entertained us with a tasting of select Piemontese wines offered by Paul’s Wine & Spirits

TO THE VICTOR GO THE SPOLIA: Reuse, Recycling, and Repurposing of Ancient Materials in Later Construction in Rome

April 23, 2017

Rome, the “Eternal City” – an ancient and ever renewing city – has been built and rebuilt over nearly 3000 years. When the Empire ended in the 5^th century, the city suffered catastrophic population loss and degradation of its monumental infrastructure.  This talk will highlight the thrifty and often artful reuse of surviving ancient architectonic elements in mediaeval, Renaissance, and modern structures in the city.  This reuse was often driven by shifting ideological currents, theological or political, which saw the city as a locus of sacred and imperial memories.

John C. McLucas is Professor of Italian and Latin in the Department of Foreign Languages at Towson University.  He received his BA in Latin Classics from Wesleyan in 1974, and his PhD in Italian Language and Literature from Yale in 1983.  His scholarly work includes numerous conference papers and published articles on the Italian epic tradition, particularly Ariosto’s Orlando furioso, in journals including Italian Culture, The Italianist, and  Stanford Italian Studies; his reviews have appeared in Forum Italicum and Speculum.  His translations of sixteenth-century Latin documents about the first encounter between Europe and America were published by UCLA in the Repertorium Columbianum series in 2002.  He is a frequent contributor to the Italian humanities journal Lyceum, with pieces on topics ranging from national identity to the Italian opera tradition.  He edited a volume of Olifant, the journal of the Société Rencesvals; this volume appeared in 2003.  He recently completed a translation of Tullia d’Aragona’s epic-romance, Il Meschino, altramente detto il Guerrino (1560), believed to be the first published in Italian by a woman. This translation, edited and annotated by Dr. Julia L. Hairston, is forthcoming from the University of Toronto Press. Several of Dr. McLucas’ recent conference papers and articles have focused on various aspects of the Meschino.  His most recent publication is an article on approaches to teaching Ariosto in the journal Italica.

THE SLOW FOOD GLOBAL EXPERIENCE: High-quality products for cultural preservation and local development

February 8th 2017, 12:00 2:00 PM – Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies- 1717 Massachusetts Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20036

In case you missed the conference, watch the live video on www.facebook.com/usitalyforum

FRIENDSHIP, LANGUAGE AND THE CITY: ELENA FERRANTE’S NEAPOLITAN NOVELS 

CHARITY DINNERS FOR THE EARTHQUAKE IN THE MARCHE REGION, at the Gerdner-Olivieri’s residence

We raised $5,530 in September and $6,100 in December and donated to the Italian Red Cross.

Anche da Washington D.C. arrivano gesti molto concreti a favore delle popolazioni colpite dal terremoto, in una cena benefica organizzata dall’Italian Cultural Society, SAIS Italian Society, US-Italy GLobal Affair Forum e COMITES D.C.. La serata ha visto la partecipazione di influenti giornalisti americani ed italiani,insieme a docenti universitarii, imprenditori e molti studenti  Tutto il ricavato, è stato versato alla Croce Rossa Italiana. Sono stati serviti prdotti di Libera Terra, Slow Food- Terra Madre, Pecorino Romano Dop, Pasta Afeltra di Gragnano e Krumiri Rossi portati da Casale Monferrato. La strepitosa cuoca Maura Guida Maffia ha cucinato la pasta all’Amatriciana, anche in versione kasher. Dato il successo  della inizativa si è deciso di ripeterla prima di Natale ,quando le popolazioni colpite avranno bisogno di nuovi gesti di solidarieta’ anche da oltre Oceano.

THE SLOW FOOD, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 20th, 2016 at Friendship Heights Village Center

The Italian Cultural Society, in collaboration with Istituto Italiano di Cultura Washington D.C. and US-Italy Global Affairs Forum will host a presentation by Mr. Richard McCarthy, Executive Director of Slow Food USA. You’ve never heard of the world-wide Slow Food Movement? Well, for starters, have a look at this website: https://www.slowfoodusa.org/about-us, click on the SlowFood logo below for a video, and then come to the Nov. 20 Social Meeting at the FHVC to meet Mr. McCarthy, who is coming from NY to tell us all about it.

Of course, there is an Italian connection. Back in 1986 when Fast Food chains were making their appearance in Rome, a protest was organized by Carlo Petrini in the form of, for example, joyful “penne parties” to give positive expression to the value of locally produced, freshly made foods as against products produced industrially.

The Terra Madre movement, which grew from this and other like initiatives, invites us all to treat foods, their production, their preparation and their consumption in a way that is respectful of our common life on this planet.

Here are some key words: Good, Clean, Fair food; School gardens, Slow meat, Biodiversity.

GENOVA PER NOI – MUSICA, POESIA, STORIA E TERRITORIO (in collaboration with Istituto Italiano di Cultura Washington)

SUNDAY MAY 22, 2016 at the Friendship Heights Village Center

On Sunday, May 22^nd, we held our last Social Meeting before the summer, in collaboration with Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Washington D.C. :

“GENOVA PER NOI – MUSICA, POESIA, STORIA E TERRITORIO” had The i-Talians performing songs of genoese songwriters De André, Conte, Fossati, Tenco and Prof. Francesco Ciabattoni (Georgetown University), author of the book “La citazione è sintomo d’amore”, commenting the songs, selecting and reading poetry, and providing English translations of the well known Italian songs and poems performed. Fabrizio De André, Italy’s most famous songwriter, immortalized Genoa in many of his songs. Nobel award winner Eugenio Montale also was born there, and his poetry sings of the beautiful landscape and the metaphysical breath that issues forth from Genoa, the neighboring region of Cinque Terre and the “Gulf of the poets,” that inspired Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Francesca Casazza provided pictures and an historical overview of her home town, its mysterious alleys and aristocratic palaces of Genoa’s sixteenth-century owned by wealthy merchants and bankers of that time, today Unesco World Heritage Site since 2006. Genoa, today an important industrial harbor, is the birthplace to Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Niccolò Paganini and contemporary Architect Renzo Piano. Stefania Amodeo, also from Genoa, read “Zena de neutte da-i monti”, a poem by E. Firpo in Genoese dialect. The Friendship Heights Village Center room was filled with more than 120 people enjoying the event very much.

BOOKLET with translations of songs and poems.

Celebrate CARNEALE at KID Museum! Activities include Venetian mask-making, and a special presentation and workshop hosted by The ICS/Italian Language Program, in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Washington, D.C.

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

EVENTS ORGANIZED IN OCCASION OF THE 750TH ANNIVERSARY OF DANTE ALIGHIERI’S DEATH