O D S OVERVIEW · ic of “Boccaccio‘s Works and Influence”. Our next social, the Festa di Natale, will take place at the Chevy Chase Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Ave NW, Chevy

Poche ParolePRESERVING AND PROMOTING ITALIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

WWW.ITAL IANCULTURALSOCIETY.ORG 301-215-7885

December 2018Vol. XXXVI

No. 4

SOCIAL MEETINGS AND EVENTS OVERVIEW

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

O ursocialactivitiesinNovembercoveredthetwoimportantareasof

Italianmusicandliterature.OnFridayNovember16th,Prof.RichardGiarussoofJohnsHopkinsUniversity’sPeabodyCon-servatorygaveaveryinterestingandwellattendedpresentationon“ConversationaboutPuccini’sMessadiGloria”.OnSun-dayNovember18th,Prof.KristinaOlsonofGeorgeMasonUniversityspokeontheequallyinterestingandwellattendedtop-icof“Boccaccio‘sWorksandInfluence”.Ournextsocial,theFestadiNatale,willtakeplaceattheChevyChaseVillageHall,5906ConnecticutAveNW,Chevy Chase,MD20815onDecember16at4PM.ItwillfeaturepianomusicbyoneofouryoungpianistawardwinnersDominickCristoforiD’Alessandro,avisitbyBabboNataleandtheBefanawiththeirElves,ourtradi-tionalpresepe,children’sentertainmentorganizedbyourteacherFiorenzaCastelli,withtheassociationsLeD.I.V.E.,MaPaCi

ItaliansinDCandMusicTogetherVivo.(Giftsforthechildrenshouldbemarkedwiththefirstandlastnameofthechildtoavoidconfusion).Themembersattend-ingareaskedtobringfoodasspecifiedindetailinthefollowingpages,asitistraditionalforthisevent.FinallyitismypleasuretowelcomethefollowingnewmembersoftheBoard,approvedbythemembershiponSundayNovember18th,AnneliseBrody,DavidCieslikowski,DavidFlaxman,CarolaMamberto,andSanjaySrikantiah.- Luigi M. De Luca, President ICS

FESTA DI NATALEOur2018FestadiNatalewilltakeplaceatChevyChaseVillageHall,5906ConnecticutAveNW,Chevy Chase, MD20815onDecember16at4PM.

Prof. Kristina Olson,George Mason University

Music Director

Prof. Richard Giarusso

http://www.italianculturalsociety.org

Poche Parole December 2018Vol. XXXVI

No. 4

PRESERVING AND PROMOTING ITALIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE


ICS BOARD OF DIRECTORSLuigi De Luca: PresidentFrancesca Casazza: ExecutiveDirectorArrigo Mongini: VicePresidentBruce Esposito: TreasurerChiara Gastaldi: Secretary-EventsStefania Amodeo: HospitalityEllen Coppley: FundraisingCarola Mamberto: CommunicationandEventsSara Forden: CommunicationandEventsGiovanna Sedda: MarketingMaterialPaolo Vidoli: Admin.ConsultantandHospitalityRomeo Segnan:MemberAtLargeAnnelise Brody:EventsandILPAdvisorDavid Flaxman:MusicandcultureDavid Cieslikowski:PhotographerSanjay Srikantiah:FinancialAdvisor

WELCOME NEW MEMBERSSingle:GeorgeH.JohnsonIII,AnthonySpadafora

Couple and Family:DeannaandKevinYoungquist,ElisaandLouisEvangelista,JosephRizzoandfamily

Bronze Sponsor 2018/2019:Redfin

TABLE OF CONTENTSNovemberSocialEvent-Prof.Olson..................3-4NovemberSocialEvent-Prof.Giarusso.............4-5FestadiNatale.......................................................6FromtheILP...........................................................7RaccomandazioniLetterarie..................................8TouroftheMetropolitanMuseum...................9-10Advertisements....................................................11

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORSPLATINUMSPONSORGALA2018:MediasetItalia

SILVER:MarcoStilliTeam-TTRSotheby’sInternationalRealty,BethesdaTravelCenter

BRONZE:Pirelli,Colavita,TheCapitalGroup,CapitalOneBank,JTPPrinting,Inc.

BEVERAGESPONSOR:Campari,IlCanaleincollaborationwithImperoWine,IlCantiniereImportsanddistributing,Inc.

APPETIZER,DESSERT,COFFEESPONSORS:LaTomate–ExecutiveChefDomenicoApollaro,DolcieGelati–ChefGianluigiDellaccio,Illy

INDIVIDUAL DONORS:Ellen& JacksonFund,Anonymous

Silvana De Luca and Jenna Lordo, Assistant to the Executive Director – ICS staff is growing!

Audience to the lecture about Puccini


December 2018Vol. XXXVINo. 4 Poche Parole

4833RUGBYAVE,SUITE#201,BETHESDA,MD20814


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NOVEMBERSOCIALEVENTWITHPROF.KRISTINAOLSON

Dr Olson began her presentation on Boccaccio and his most famouswork,theDecameronwithashortreviewofBoccaccio’slife(1313-1375)and his role as one of the three great Italian authors of the period,Dante,Boccaccio,andPetrerca.HewasborninCertaldo,inTuscany,theillegitimatesonofamerchantandawomanofhumbleorigin.AlthoughDanteisgivencreditforthefirstgreatliteraryworkintheItalianlanguage,itwasBoccacciowholecturedonandpopularizedLaDivinaCommedia.BothauthorswroteinLatinaswellasearlyItalian.TheDecameronisastoryinwhichagroupoftenyoungpeoplespendtendaysoutsideofFlorencenarratinganddiscussing100talesonavarietyoftopics.Thetopicsoneachdayhadadifferenttheme.Theyoungpeoplewerefleeingtheblackplague,whichreducedthepopulationofItalybyover50%.ItismostwellknownforitsribaldryandsexualcontentandwasbannedfrompublicationintheUSAduringthefirstquarterofthe20thcentury.Dr.Olsonexplainedthatthisaspectofthestoryisnotthemostimportantone. It canalsobe thoughtofas”theperformanceof literatureasasocialexperience”.The Decameron is consideredas thebeginningofthenovel(romanzo)asaliteraryform.Boccaccioisalsoconsideredtobethefirst“psychological”authoraswellasthefirstwriteroftheshortstory(novella)form.

Arrigo Mongini


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TheItalianCulturalSocietylaunchedanewcollaborationwiththeGeorgetownChoralethisfall.TheChoraleisafinecommunitychoirdirectedbyDr.RichardGiarusso.Dr.GiarussopresentedatalktotheICSonFriday,November16aboutthegreatItalianoperacomposerGiacomoPuccini. Puccinihadwrittenabeautifulsacredwork,his “MessadiGloria”,early inhiscareer. Thiswork isnotperformedagreatdealand theGeorgetownChoralewaspreparingtoperformitonSaturday,December1,attheChurchoftheEpiphanyinWashington,DC.

Dr.Giarussotooktheattendeesthroughaguidedtourofthisbeautifulpiece,playingexcerptsofarecordingofthepieceinordertohelpillustratehispoints.Therewasaspiritedquestionandanswersectionattheendofthetalk.TheGeorgetownChoraleextendeda20%discountoffertomembersoftheICSforthisconcert.

OnDecember1,thePuccini“MessadiGloria”wasperformedquitebeautifully(byallaccountsofaudiencemembers) with tenor soloist Patrick Kilbride and baritone soloist Brody del Beccaro. Richard GiarussoconductedandhewasablyassistedbyAndrewWelchonpianoandtheGeorgetownChoraleFestivalOrchestra.ThereweremanyICSmembersinattendanceinacrowdestimatedat350patronsatthemagnificentChurchoftheEpiphanyat13thandG.InadditiontothePuccini“Messa”,theChoralepresentedthreeChristmascarols–“TuScendidalleStelle,”“ChristmasNight”byJohnRutter,and“InfantHoly,InfantLowly”byDavidWillcocks.WelookforwardtofutureItalianthemedmusicaleventswiththeGeorgetownChorale.

By David Flaxman

PUCCINIATTHEITALIANCULTURALSOCIETY

More photos from the social event with Prof. Olson





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Photos from the social event with Prof. Giarusso


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The program of the party is on the flyer below and you can find a full description and RSVP on our webpage at http://www.italianculturalsociety.org/natale-2018/ (RSVP is required!)

FESTADINATALE!

5:45PM POTLUCKLast names from A to F, please bring meats or casseroles. Last names from G to M, salad or fruit; N to Z, pasta or rice dish.ICS will provide desserts and drinks.

6:30 RAFFLE: Lotteria di Natale(Great prizes from our sponsors! Buy tickets at the door.)

RSVP To help us plan refreshments and children’s crafts, please specify names number of adults and children in your party, by Dec. 10th. RSVP by completing the online form at http://www.italianculturalsociety.org/natale-2018/Call 301-215-7885 if you need assistance.Space is limited and RSVP is required.

FESTA DI NATALE December 16th, 2018 at 4pm CHEVY CHASE VILLAGE HALL 5906 Connecticut Ave NW - Chevy Chase, MD 20815

Program 4:00-5:00PM Kids will be entertained by Le D.I.V.E, MaPaCi Italians in D.C. with Arts & Crafts activities and by Music Together Vivo in Italian, with instructor Rita.

4:20PM Dominick Cristofori D’Alessandro’s piano performance of classical arias and holiday music.

5:00PM Children’s choir followed by Babbo Natale, Befana and the Elves for gifts distribution. (Parents must bring labelled gifts and drop them off at the door by 5:00PM)


http://www.italianculturalsociety.org/natale-2018/




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FROMTHEITALIANLANGUAGEPROGRAM

OnSundayNovember11,theILPorganizedafulldaytrainingforourteacherson“Ilmetodocomunicativo- aspettiteorici epratici, lessonplan, libri di testo,attività e materiale didattico,” conducted mainlybyProf.AnneliseBrody. Itwasthenenrichedwithinterventions by our expert teacher Camilla Presti,myselfandespeciallyCristianaFabiani.

The Winter schedule is online and registration isopen.Newbeginnersclassesstartbothintheeveningand in the morning. Intermediate and advancedlevelscanchoosefromHistory,ArtHistory,Cinema,Literature,The art of story telling in the middle ages- from Petrarch to Boccaccio,Virtual Tours,Italy Today or Live from Italy,todiscusstheItaliannewsoftheweekandpracticejournaliststylewriting.Differentlevelsof“BookClub”readingclasseswill introduceyoutoauthorslikeTomasidiLampedusa,DonatelladiPietrantonioandothers.

InEnglishandinItalian,wealsooffersomeCourses +Trips (starting with the region Veneto), Cooking Classes,Traditional Italian CuisineandLatin Classes. All children’s courses will continue as from Fallschedule,aswellasYoga in Italian,forwhichweareaddingalsoalunchtimesession.

Onourwebsiteyouwillfindinformationabouttheseandmorecourses,aswellasourrecommendedtripsandsuggestionsforschoolstostudyinItaly.

See youat the FestadiNataleonDecember16th.BuoneFeste!

Francesca Casazza

DECEMBER 2018

Don't miss the KIDS WINTER WORKSHOP, with Fiorenza, on Friday, December 14, 6:00-9:00pm!More information and registration at http://www.italianculturalsociety.org/children-workshops/


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RACCOMANDAZIONILETTERARIEDEINOSTRISTUDENTI SETA DI ALESSANDRO BARICCO BY EDIE LASNER

Questa storia tratta di un uomo francese, Herve`Joncour, il quale attraversa il mondo per andare inGiappone, prima a causa del suo lavoro (lui cercai bachida seta) epoi a causadell’amoremisteriosoconunaragazzinachee`unaconcubinadiunbaronelocale.LastoriahaluogonelXIXsecolo.

Lastoriae’sensuale.Quandolaragazzinagiapponesebeve dalla tazza da te’ di Herve’, l’autore scrive:”Lentamente, la ruoto’ fino ad avere sulle labbra ilpuntoprecisoincuiavevabevutolui.Socchiudendogli occhi, bevve un sorso di te’.” Un altro esempioe` quando Herve’ lascia cadere uno dei suoi guantiaccanto al vestito della ragazzina: “Con un gestoimpercettibile,primadiavviarsiversoilsentierolascio’cadere uno dei suoi guanti accanto all’abito colorarancio, abbandonato sulla riva.” Un altro esempioe` quandoHerve’ fa il bagno (presumibilmente unavecchiadonnaglifailbagno),eluipensa:“Noneralamanovecchiadiunavecchia.”

Laformadellibroe’quasipoetica.C’e’unritmonelleparole. Il linguaggio e’ semplicemaogni parola haunsignificato.Bariccousapocheparoleperevocaremoltipensieri.Peresempio,quandoscrivediHerve’esuamoglieHelene,“Nonavevanofigli,”questetreparoleevocanotantipensieripiu’cheilfattochenonavesserofigli.Ripetequalchefrasecomeunritornello.Scrivequalchefrasecomeunhaiku.Anchelepaginestessesembranocomeunpoema,conmoltospaziovuoto.

AllafineHervé torna inFranciae li` riprende la suavita. Dopopocotemporiceveunaletteracompostadaideogrammigiapponesi.Doveteleggereillibroperscoprirechesuccede!

ThisstorytellsofaFrenchman,Herve`Joncour,whocrossestheworldtoJapan,firstbecauseofhiswork(heisinsearchofsilkworms)andthenforreasonsofamysteriouslovewithayounggirlwhoisaconcubineof a local baron. The story takes place in the 19thcentury.

Thestoryissensual. WhentheJapanesegirldrinksfromHerve’scupof tea, theauthorwrites:“Slowly,she turns it to have her lips on the precise pointwherehedrank.Closinghereyes,shedrinksasipoftea.”AnotherexampleoccurswhenHerve`letsoneofhis glovesdropnext to thegirl’s garment: “Withanimperceptiblegesture,beforegoingaheadonthepathheletsfalloneofhisglovesnexttotheorangegown,abandonedontheshore.”YetanotherexampleiswhenHerve`takesabathinJapan(presumablyanoldwomangiveshimthebath),hethinks“Itwasn’ttheoldhandofanoldwoman.”

The form of the book is almost poetic. There’s arhythm to thewords. The language is simple, buteverywordhassignificance.Barricousesfewwordsto evoke many thoughts. For example, when hewritesofHerve`andhiswifeHelene,“Theydon’thavechildren,” these three words evoke many thoughtsmorethanthattheydon’thavechildren.Herepeatssomephrasesasareprise.Hewritessomephrasesasahaiku.Also,thepagesthemselvesappearalmostasapoem,withmuchemptyspace.

EventuallyHerve`returnstoFranceandresumeshislifethere.AfterawhilehereceivesalettercomposedofJapanese ideograms. Youmustreadthebooktodiscoverwhathappens!





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ASPECIALTOUROFTHEMETROPOLITANMUSEUMBY LUCY FALCONE

Werecently visited theMetropolitanMuseumwitha group from the National Organization of ItalianAmericanWomen. Itwasabehind-the-scenestourof theDepartment of ScientificResearch. A youngItalianwomantookusdowntothebasementwherethedepartmentislocated.Fourteen scientists conduct research at the Metin addition to about 40 doctoral and post-doctoralfellowswhoworkthereforayearwhilecompletingtheirstudies.Mostofthescientistshavedoctoratesingeologyor chemistry. Among the14permanentstaff,fiveareItalianswhoreceivedtheirdoctoratesinItaly.TheMethasthelargestdepartmentofscientificresearch in the U.S., the only ones with a similarbudget being the Smithsonian and the Getty. Inaddition,twoyearsago,theMetreceiveda$6milliongrantfromtheMellonFoundationtoassist10othermuseumsinNewYorkCitythatdon’thaveresearchdepartments,includingtheGuggenheim,MoMAandtheWhitney.The first stop on our visitwaswith a scientistwhostudiestheenvironmentofworksofart.Forexampleshe studies various types of packagingmaterial fortransporting art, trying to understand if a type offoam,forexample,mightcausedamagetoapaintingorastatue.Orshemightinvestigatevarioustypesofplexiglass.Shemightputapieceoffoamorplexiglassin thesamecontaineras thematerialwithwhichaworkofartwasmadeandconducttests,includinginahightemperatureoven,to judgethesafetyofthematerial.Inotherstopsthestaffexplainedhowtheydatewithprecisionaworkofartusingaboveallnon-invasivemethods, including high-powered microscopes andx-ray machines. They’ve been able to examine anartifact from the Olmec culture, for example, andreducethetimeperiodinwhichitwasproducedfrom

Recentemente ho partecipato a una visita guidataal Metropolitan Museum organizzata dal NationalOrganizationofItalianAmericanWomen.Sipuòdirecheeraunavisitadietro lequinteperchéabbiamopotutovedereillavorodeldipartimentodellaricercascientifica. Dopo esserci ritrovati all’entrata delmuseolanostraguida,unagiovaneragazzaitaliana,cihacondottonelseminterratodelpalazzo.Prima di descrivere l’obbiettivo del dipartimentosidevesaperecheci sono 14scienziatiche fannola ricerca oltre a una quarantina di borsisti chelavorano lì per un’anno mentre completano i lorostudi.Lamaggiorpartehannodottoratioingeologiao in chimica. E, traquesti14, cinque sono italianichehannofattoi lorostudi inItalia. IlmuseohailpiùgrandedipartimentodiricercamuseologicadegliStati Uniti, gli unici con un budget simile sono loSmithsonianeilGettyMuseum.Perdipiùdueannifaildipartimentoharicevutounfinanziamentodi6milionididollaridallaFondazioneMellonperpotermettere gli scienziati a disposizione di 10musei aNew York che non hanno le risorse di fare ricercaautonomamente,inclusoilGuggenheim,ilMoMA,eilWhitney.La prima tappa della nostra visita è stata con unascienziatachestudiagliambientiincuisonoesposteo contenute le opere d’arte. Per esempio studia ivari tipi d’imballaggio per trasportare le opere ,cercando di capire se un pannello in polistirenepossadanneggiareunquadroounastatua.Un’altroesempiosarebbelostudiodivaritipidiplexiglasconlo stesso scopo. La scienziata colloca un pezzettodel pannello o del plexiglas con un esemplare delmateriale in cui è stata costruita l’opera d’arte epoifavarieprove,incluseinuntipodifornoadaltatemperaturapergiudicarelasicurezzadelmaterialemessoinprossimitàdell’operad’arte.


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ASPECIALTOUROFTHEMETROPOLITANMUSEUMBY LUCY FALCONE (CONTINUED)

arangeof700yearstoroughlyan80-yeartimeframe.AttheendofourvisittheyexplainedhowtheyanalyzedaVanGoghpaintingattherequestoftheGuggenheim.WhatinterestedthecuratorsattheGuggenheimwasthatthecolorsinthepainting(LandscapewithSnow)weredissimilartothoseinotherworksbyVanGogh.Thecolorsweremuddyratherthanclearandbright.TheGuggenheim curatorsweren’t concerned aboutthe authenticity of the painting but ratherwhetherithadbeenretouchedordegradedbyenvironmentalexposure.InthiscasetheMetscientistsweren’tableto do their work using only non-invasive methods.Theytookamicroscopicchipofthepaint,usingsurgicaltype tools, and examined it under a high-poweredmicroscope.Theydiscoveredthatthenucleusofthechipwasabrightpinkcolorandthatitwasonlythesurfacethathadfadedtoapale,almostwhite, lilac.Thustheywereabletoconcludethatthepaintinghadsufferedfromenvironmentaldegradation.Itwas a fascinating visit even though beforehand itseemedasifthetopicwastoodryandtechnicalforme.

Inaltretappecihannospiegatocomefannoperdatarecon precisione un’opera d’arte usando soprattuttometodi non invasivi servendosi dimicroscopimoltopotenti e di macchine radiografiche. Così sonostati in gradodi datare con precisione un artefattodella cultura messicanaOlmecdi cui i conservatorisapevano solamente che era stato fatto in un arcodi 700 anni e gli scienziati hanno potuto ridurrlo aun’ottantinadianni.Alla fine ci hanno spiegato come hanno fatto adanalizzare un quadro di Van Gogh su richiesta delGuggenheim Museum. La cosa che aveva destatol’interessedei conservatoridelGuggenheimerachei colori del quadro non assomigliavano per nientea quelli che di solito usava il pittore. Erano torbidipiuttosto che i colori chiari e vivi che si trovanonegli altri quadri di Van Gogh. I conservatori delGuggenheim non dubitavano dell’autenticità delquadro, invece volevano sapere per esempio se ilquadro fosse stato ritoccatoo se si fossedegradatonell’ambiente.Inquestocasononerastatopossibilepergliscienziatiarrivareadunaconclusioneusandosolamente metodi non invasivi. Hanno preso unpiccolo frammento della vernice usando strumentiimpiegatiinchirurgia.Unavoltafattal’analisiconunmicroscopio ad alto ingrandimento hanno scopertocheilnucleodelframmentoeradicolorerosavivoecheerasolamentelasuperficiecheeradiventatadiunlillasbiaditoquasibianco.Conquestirisultatihannoconclusocheilquadrosieradegradatoacontattoconl’ambienteMi è piaciuta molto questa visita nonostante cheprimad’andarcimifossichiestosenonsarebbestatounargomentotroppoaridoetecnicoperme.LucyFalconee’statapermoltianniunmembrodellanostraSocieta’edhastudiatolanostralinguapressol’ItalianLanguageProgram!





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Sunday,December9,2018at3:00pm,attheKennedyCenter:NationalSymphonyOrchestra:NosedaconductsMahler’sFirstSymphony(AspecialofferexclusivelyformembersoftheItalianCulturalSociety:$29orchestraseats.Callus(301)215-7885togetthecode!)Please visit our webpage: www.italianculturalsociety.org/eventsAnd visit The Italian Cultural Institute’s calendar:www.iicwashington.esteri.it/iic_washington/it


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No. 4



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Documents

O D S OVERVIEW · ic of “Boccaccio‘s Works and Influence”. Our next social, the Festa di Natale, will take place at the Chevy Chase Village Hall, 5906 Connecticut Ave NW, Chevy