For the first time ever, the University of Rhode Island will celebrate Italian Heritage and Culture month with a series of events sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences.
An event that got students directly involved took place last Friday, and was called “L’italiano e il libro: portiamo in scena il mondo fra le righe,” which translates to “Italian and the Books: Let’s bring to the Scene the World between the Lines.”
“Since a portion of the class is about conversation, I took the opportunity to have my students perform,” URI Italian professor Michelangelo La Luna said.
The event was a presentation from students in Italian 305, which is taught by La Luna and called “Advanced Conversation and Composition.” Students took original poems, novels and short stories by Italian artists and adapted them.
La Luna was inspired by the Consulate General of Italy in Boston, which is hosting a competition during a week-long festival in November where contestants will be judged while reciting works of Italian artists with a chance to win a $100 gift card to I AM Books, an Italian bookstore located in Boston.
The first short story acted out was an adaptation of “Il Filobus numero 75,” by Gianni Rodari. The title translates to “Trolley number 75” in English. This short story tells the tale of a group of people headed into Rome (or in the case of the student performance, Newport) for what they think is work, before the trolley takes them away from the city and instead to a field, according to La Luna. The patrons, first angry at the trolley for causing them to miss work, then find solace in the finer things in life, such as picking flowers, playing soccer and enjoying a picnic.
Another story performed was an excerpt from “Tre Occhi su Pinocchio,” a play by Dacia Maraini. This performance will be receiving an encore on Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. as the students will perform in front of the public and Maraini in the auditorium of Swan Hall, followed by a conversation with La Luna in celebration of Maraini.
Chronologically, the first URI-sponsored event took place on Oct. 12 in Westerly at the Westerly Public Library. This featured La Luna and Italian artist Franco Azzinari in conjunction with the Dante Society of Westerly, an Italian-American society which serves to promote and preserve their community’s awareness of Italian culture, according to their website.
Both La Luna and Azzinari were born in Calabria, Italy and both have found their way to Kingston. They will both be present at the “Eyes in Color” exhibit on Friday, which will include a poetry reading by Italian-American poet and URI alum Laurence Sasso ’64 as well as a drawing workshop by Azzinari. The exhibit will be on display in Swan Hall 154 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with events starting at 3:30 p.m.
Since 1989, Azzinari has worked on the “Eyes in Color” project, which is dedicated to the children of the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon. Periodically, he has stayed with Indigenous families for three months at a time, teaching children how to draw and paint.
“When I give [to children] and hear their beautiful laugh, it makes me happy,” Azzinari said.
Azzinari attributed the joy he gets from giving to his own upbringing. By age 14, he had lost both of his parents. Orphaned and homeless, he turned to his passion.
“I didn’t have money, I didn’t have food [but] I did have painting,” Azzinari said.
Friday’s event is one of many presentations showcasing the accumulation of Azzinari’s work. After sharing his stories with URI, he intends to continue showing the United States, then Italy as well as the entire world.
For more information regarding Italian Heritage and Culture month events at URI visit the Italian Department page on the URI Website.