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  • ELEZIONI DEL PARLAMENTO ITALIANO 2013. VOTO ALL’ESTERO PER CORRISPONDENZA



    ENGLISH VERSION >>


    Con Decreto del Presidente della Repubblica n. 226 del 22 dicembre 2012 sono state indette per il 24 e 25 febbraio 2013 le votazioni per l’elezione della Camera dei Deputati e del Senato della Repubblica.
     
    In Italia le votazioni si svolgono presso i seggi nei giorni di domenica 24 febbraio (dalle ore 8,00 alle ore 22,00) e di lunedì 25 febbraio (dalle ore 7,00 alle ore 15,00).
     
    All’estero, i cittadini italiani ivi stabilmente residenti, iscritti nelle liste elettorali della Circoscrizione estero, possono partecipare alle elezioni votando per corrispondenza. Essi votano per le liste di candidati presentate nella rispettiva ripartizione della Circoscrizione Estero.
     
    A ciascun elettore residente all’estero, che non abbia optato per il voto in Italia entro il 3 gennaio, il Consolato competente invia per posta, entro il 6 febbraio, un plico contenente: un foglio informativo che spiega come votare, il certificato elettorale, la scheda elettorale (due per chi, avendo compiuto 25 anni, può votare anche per il Senato), una busta completamente bianca in cui inserire le schede votate, una busta già affrancata recante l’indirizzo dell’Ufficio consolare stesso, le liste dei candidati della propria ripartizione.
     
    L’elettore, utilizzando la busta già affrancata e seguendo attentamente le istruzioni contenute nel foglio informativo, dovrà spedire SENZA RITARDO le schede elettorali votate, in modo che arrivino al proprio Consolato entro - e non oltre - le ore 16 (ora locale) del 21 febbraio.
     
    Il voto è personale e segreto. E’ fatto divieto di votare più volte e inoltrare schede per conto di altre persone. Chiunque violi le disposizioni in materia elettorale, sarà punito a norma di legge.
     
    L’elettore che alla data del 10 febbraio non avesse ancora ricevuto il plico elettorale, potrà rivolgersi al proprio Consolato per verificare la propria posizione elettorale e chiedere eventualmente un duplicato.
     
     
    GLI UFFICI CONSOLARI SONO A DISPOSIZIONE DEI CITTADINI PER QUALSIASI ULTERIORE INFORMAZIONE ([email protected])
     
    INFORMAZIONI DETTAGLIATE SONO INOLTRE DISPONIBILI SUL SITO www.esteri.it
     
     


  • 2013 ELECTIONS FOR THE ITALIAN PARLIAMENT. RIGHT TO VOTE ABROAD BY CORRESPONDENCE


    ITALIAN VERSION >>


    In Italy, voting at the polling stations will take place on Sunday, February 24 (from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.) and on Monday, February 25 (from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.).

     
    Outside of Italy, Italian citizens residing abroad who are registered voters in the Overseas District may vote by correspondence. They can do so by casting their vote for the candidates listed on the ballot for the “Circoscrizione Estero” (Overseas District).
     
    All voters residing abroad that do not opt  to vote in Italy before January 3 will receive a packet by mail before February 6 from their respective Consular Office containing: an instruction sheet on the voting procedures, the electoral certificate, a ballot (two for voters over the age of 25, therefore eligible to vote also for the Senate), one blank white envelope for the ballots, a stamped envelope bearing the address of the Consular Office of jurisdiction, and the list of candidates for the Electoral zone of residence.
     
    The stamped envelope containing the ballots, completed as indicated by the instruction sheet, must be sent by mail as soon as possible in order to reach the Consular Office by – and no later than – 4:00 pm (local time) on February 21.
     
    The vote is personal and secret. Voting more than once or voting on another’s behalf is prohibited. Violators of the law will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
     
    Voters who have not received a complete packet by February 10 should contact their respective Consular office to verify their electoral status and, if necessary, request a duplicate.
     
     
     
    THE CONSULAR OFFICES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANY FURTHER INFORMATION ([email protected])
     
    SPECIFIC INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ONLINE AT  www.esteri.it
     
     
     
     
     
    OPTION
     
     
    Alternatively, you may elect to vote at your Municipality in Italy, notifying this decision in writing to the Consulate within the time period allotted by law (OPTION = OPZIONE).
    The decision (option) to vote in Italy is valid for one election only.
     
    Those wishing to vote in Italy must notify the Consulate responsible for their jurisdiction in writing by JANUARY 3, 2013 (ten days after the election has been called). No special paper format is required for the written notification. However, in order to be valid it must contain the voter’s first and last name, date and place of birth, place of residence, and signature. You may also use the form (herewith attached) also available at the Consulate, the Patronati, the associations, the COMITES; the form can also be downloaded from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.esteri.it) or of the Consulate responsible for the jurisdiction of your residence.
     
    Proof of identification of the declarant must accompany any declaration that is not delivered in person.
     
    Pursuant to current law, voters must verify that mailed notification of their option has been received within the allotted time period by the Consulate responsible for their jurisdiction of residence.
     
    Voters who choose to vote in Italy for the coming political elections will receive from their respective Italian Municipalities the notification card to vote in Italy for candidates in the National Districts, not those for the Overseas District. By law, those opting to return to Italy to vote are not entitled to any reimbursement for travel costs, but they are eligible for certain fee waivers within Italian territory. The decision to vote in Italy may be revoked later by written notice to be sent or delivered to the Consulate using the same means and within the same terms envisioned for the option.
     
     


  • Facts & Stories

    i-Italy NY. From Internet to TV and on Paper

    Exclusively in English and focused on the vast audience of Americans who love Italy, i-Italy | NY is a spin-off of www.i-Italy.org, the largest multi-media portal devoted to Italian and Italian American affairs. Published online in the United States since 2008, it has now developed into a true multi-channel publishing network that spans web, print, TV, and mobile platforms.
     
    A panel discussion about the concept of italianità abroad took place before a packed audience at the Consulate. Participants included Consul General Natalia Quintavalle, musician Jovanotti, designer Massimo Vignelli, director of New York University’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò Stefano Albertini , host of the television show i-Italy | NY Riccardo Costa, and managing director of the i-Italy publishing network Letizia Airos.
     
    The discussion was moderated by journalist and writer Fred Plotkin, who has a deep knowledge of Italy and has collaborated on important publications in New York. Plotkin guided the conversation with a format reminiscent of the Maurizio Costanzo Show, moving between the chairs and sofas where panelists were seated. Plotkin interviewed guests about the concept at the heart of this new initiative: italianità in New York. Emphasizing his appreciation of i-Italy’s editorial projects, Plotkin asserted that “they’ve always had style, right from the start.”
     
    Jovanotti, talking about himself as a recent citizen of New York City, said that he felt proud and honored to be on the cover of the magazine’s first issue as well as interviewed for the second TV episode that recently aired. “When I'm in New York, I feel more Italian than when I’m in Italy because this is a city that fosters encounters, diversity, pollination, mixing. We need to open up,” he added with a hint of paradox, “we must be less Italian to be more Italian.”
     
    Massimo Vignelli, the doyen of Italian design who has been living in New York for decades, underscored the light and shadow of the city, and the significant contribution that Italians have made. As much as online media is favored over print, Vignelli stressed that “timing is everything and the timing of i-Italy | NY is right.” Having demonstrated that its online presence is on target, i-Italy has expanded and is now focused on traditional media platforms in a daring move that goes from global to local.
     
    For her part, Consul General Natalia Quintavalle was very pleased to host the launch of this bold initiative that is momentous for the Italian and Italian-American communities as well as all Americans interested in Italy.
     
    Stefano Albertini reiterated the importance of i-Italy’s mission, especially for an institution like New York University’s Casa Italiana, an established institution which diffuses the spirit of Italian culture to American society at large. “We have worked with i-Italy since its inception, and this new initiative confirms that they are an ideal media partner for bringing Italy to Americans.”

    “Stay foolish. Stay hungry.” Recalling Steve Jobs’ famous quote, Letizia Airos summed up the approach of all those who work on this project, in particular the editorial staff. It’s no coincidence that in 2008 i-Italy’s own name was selected as a tribute to one of the greatest innovators of our time.
     
    Letizia Airos gave special thanks to Anthony J. Tamburri, dean of CUNY’s John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, who has supported the project since the beginning, even when few believed in its feasibility. Some of the most prominent supporters of the project also include Giovanni Colavita and John Profaci (Colavita USA) who sponsored the first season of the television show, and Nicola Farinetti and Dino Borri of Eataly, the Italian gourmet megastore on Fifth Avenue, which is one of largest distribution points for the magazine.
     
    The complimentary inaugural issue of the i-Italy | NY magazine is available at Eataly and at other Italian spots throughout the city including bookstores, art galleries, restaurants, wine bars, schools, universities, and institutions.
     
    This issue features exclusive interviews with musician Jovanotti, directors Paolo and Emilio Taviani, president of the region of Puglia Nichi Vendola, as well as articles by experts on food, music, and Italian culture, and columns by Fred Plotkin, Charles and Michele Scicolone, Robert Viscusi, Anthony Tamburri, and others. There are also suggestions for “Italian New York” with a detailed event calendar of exhibits, concerts, shows, recommendations, and reviews of Italian restaurants (this issue is devoted to seafood), ideas for shopping Made in Italy, and a special section dedicated to tourism (Puglia was highlighted in the first issue).
     
    Most of the magazine’s content is also available on video. Short segments are viewable by using a smartphone to click on the QR code printed next to articles and interviews. Viewers can also watch the accompanying TV magazine broadcast on NYC Life–Channel 25, the official television station of the city of New York transmitted to over ​​18 million people in the New York City metropolitan area and much of the tri-state area.
     
    The program and the entire guide to Italian New York will also be available over the internet and on the iPhone (and therefore viewable from Italy), as well as through IPTV, a new generation of devices popular in the U.S. that includes Samsung SmartTV, Roku, and AppleTV (via iPhone).

  • Fatti e Storie

    i-Italy NY. Da Internet in TV ed in carta

    Presentata venerdi scorso, presso il Consolato Generale d'Italia a New York,   

    la duplice iniziativa editoriale di i-Italy  ispirata all'Italia e dedicata al mercato   statunitense e in particolare alla città di New York.

    Nascono infatti, con il nome i-Italy|NY, un magazine mensile e un programma televisivo

    settimanale su tutto ciò che c'è di italiano a New York.

    Rigorosamente in lingua inglese e indirizzato al numerosissimo pubblico americano

    amante dell'Italia, i-Italy|NY è uno spin-off di  www.i-Italy.org, il più grande portale multimediale dedicato a tematiche legate all'Italia che si pubblica online   negli Stati Uniti dal 2008, e che si trasforma ora in un vero e proprio network editoriale multicanale che abbraccia il web, la stampa, la TV e il mobile.

    Nel Consolato, gremito di pubblico, hanno accompagnato la presentazione   con un dibattito sul concetto di italianità all'estero, insieme al Console Generale Natalia Quintavalle, il cantante Jovanotti, il famoso designer Massimo Vignelli,   il direttore della Casa Italiana della New York University Stefano Albertini, il conduttore dello show televisivo i-Italy|NY Riccardo Costa, e  

    il Direttore Responsabile del network editoriale Letizia Airos.

    Il dibattito è stato condotto dal noto giornalista e scrittore americano Fred Plotkin, profondo conoscitore dell'Italia e collaboratore di importanti testate newyorkesi. Plotkin  ha condotto la serata con un format che ricordava quello del "Maurizio Costanzo Show", girando tra le poltrone e i divani degli ospiti. Sottolineando il suo apprezzamento per le iniziative editoriali di i-Italy "che hanno sempre 'stile', fin dall'inizio",   Plotkin ha intervistato gli ospiti sul cuore di questo nuovoprogetto editoriale: l'italianità a New York.

    Jovanotti, raccontando se stesso cittadino newyorkese da qualche mese, ha detto di sentirsi orgoglioso e onorato di essere l'uomo-copertina del primo numero del magazine, oltre che l'intervista-chiave del secondo episodio dello show televisivo appena andato in onda.  
     

    "Quando sono a New York mi sento molto più italiano di quando sono in Italia, perchè questa è una città che favorisce incontri, diversità, contaminazioni, che mischia".    "Bisogna aprirsi - ha aggiunto con una vena di paradosso -  bisogna essere meno italiani per essere più italiani."

    Massimo Vignelli, decano del design italiano che vive da decenni a New York,   ha sottolineato luci ed ombre di questa città e il grande contributo di stile che gli italiani vi hanno apportato. Per quanto si dica ormai favorevole più all'on-line che alla carta, Vignelli ha sottolineato che "la tempistica è tutto, e la tempistica per i-Italy|NY è quella giusta". Una volta afermata la propria presenza online è giusto che i-Italy tenda ora a radicarsi   sul territorio e a rivolgersi ai media tradizionali.   Con un capovolgimento coraggioso che va dal globale al locale.

    Dal canto suo, già nell'invito alla stampa il Console Generale Natalia Quintavalle si era detta molto contenta di ospitare il lancio di un'inziativa appunto coraggiosa e molto importante per tutta la comunità italiana ed italo-americana come per tutti gli americani interessati all'Italia.

    Stefano Albertini ha ribatito l'importanza del lavoro di i-Italy anche per un'istituzione come la Casa Italiana della New York University, consolidata da tempo come una delle più presenti istituzioni che trasmettono lo spirito di questa italianità culturale al mondo Americano.  

    "Collaboriamo con i-Italy fin dalla sua nascita, ed ora questa nuova iniziativa lo conferma il media-partner ideale per portare l'Italia agli americani".

    "Stay Foolish. Stay Hungry." Ricordando le parole di Steve Jobs, Letizia Airos ha sintetizzato lo spirito che tutte le persone che lavorano al progetto e in particolare dei giovani collaboratori della redazione. Non a caso il nome stesso di i-Italy è stato concepito, fin dal 2008, come un omaggio ad uno dei più grandi innovatori della nostra epoca.

    Letizia Airos ha anche rivolto un ringraziamento speciale ad Anthony J. Tamburri, Preside del Calandra Italian American Institute della CUNY che ha sostenuto il progetto i-Italy dal primo giorno, quando ancora pochi credevano nella sua fattibilità.  

    Tra i più illustri sostenitori del progetto anche Giovanni Colavita e John Profaci (Colavita USA) che hanno sponsorizzato la prima stagione dello show televisivo e Nicola Farinetti e Dino Borri di Eataly, il megastore di gourmet italiano sulla 5th Avenue,   che è uno dei più importanti nodi locali di distribuzione del magazine.

    Il numero di lancio del magazine i-Italy|NY è distribuito gratuitamente in 50,000 copie presso Eataly ed altri lughi "italiani" della città: librerie, gallerie italiane di Soho, ristoranti, pub, scuole, centri universitari ed istituzioni.

    In questo numero interviste esclusive con il cantante Jovanotti, i registi Paolo ed Emilio Taviani, il presidente della Regione Puglia Nichi Vendola, oltre a interventi di esperti di cibo, musica, e cultura italiane, con le colonne di Fred Plotkin, Charles e Michele Scicolone, Robert Viscusi, Anthony Tamburri ed altri. A ciò si affiancano segnalazioni sulla   "New York italiana", con un calendario eventi dettagliatissimo di mostre, concerti, e spettacoli, indicazioni e recensioni di ristoranti italiani (il numero è dedicato alla cucina a base di pesce), idee per lo shopping Made in Italy e una sezione speciale dedicata al turismo  (la Puglia è stata scelta per il numero di lancio).

    La maggior parte dei contenuti del magazine sono fruibili anche in video. Piccoli segmenti video sono visualizzabili immediatamente puntando uno smartphone sui  "QR code" stampati accanto ad articoli e interviste.

    Il resto si può seguire settimanalmente attraverso il "gemello" televisivo della rivista, trasmesso su NYC Life - Channell 25, la stazione TV ufficiale del Comune di New York che ttrasmette ad un bacino d'utenza di 18 milioni di persone nell'area metropolitana  

    di New York e in gran parte della Tri-State area.

    Link su Youtube alla seconda puntata andata in onda sabato e domenica scorsi >>
    Link alla versione elettronica del nostro magazine. >>
     

    -- 

    Il programma e l'intera guida alla New York italiana verranno diffusi anche via web e iPhone (e saranno quindi visibili anche dall'Italia), nonchè attraverso i device IPTV di nuova generazione più diffusi in America, come Samsung SmartTV, Roku e AppleTV (via iPhone).

  • Events: Reports

    Yes. Peppe Voltarelli is Back!




    Born in Italy's troubled Calabria region, the 43 year old Voltarelli's work is a modern Italian's musical take on the diaspora of tightly linked Calabrian immigrant communities that continue to thrive throughout Europe and the Americas, and their common experience in a land plagued by criminality and constant political and economic crisis.


    At Barbes and Drom Voltarelli will perform a set drawn from "Il viaggio, I padri, l'appartenenza" (the Voyage, the Fathers, the Belonging), a one-man musical monologue in which the artist recounts his own journey from the South to North of Italy and on to Germany, Argentina and America.  Combining his own songs with works from influences such as Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roberto Saviano and Domenico Modugno, Voltarelli accompanies himself on guitar and accordion in a tour de force of new "Canzone Italiana" offering a satirical social commentary on Italian identity in today's world.


    Continuing a collaboration with Calabrian film director Giuseppe Gagliardi, Voltarelli recently wrote the score for the film "Tatanka" which was adapted from the novel by Roberto Saviano (Gomorra).  New York filmgoers have already had the opportunity to see Peppe Voltarelli in a leading role in Gagliardi's 2006 mockumentary feature "La Vera Leggenda di Tony Villar" (The Real Legend of Tony Villar), which showed in official selection at the 2007 TriBeCa Film Festival.  The semi-biographical plot follows the path of a contemporary Italian singer (Voltarelli), on the trail of a crooner from his Calabrian village (Villar), who found fame and fortune in 1960's Argentina and eventually disappeared into anonymity in the Bronx's Italian community along Arthur Avenue.  Voltarelli and Gagliardi first collaborated on "Doichlanda", a 2003 documentary about Italian immigration to Germany -- their ongoing music and film relationship producing numerous award winning video clips.


    Peppe Voltarelli is a founding member of "Il Parto delle Nuvole Pesanti" (The Birth of the Heavy Clouds) one of Italy's seminal bands of the 1990's, whose style is a mix of rock and Calabrian folk traditions.  Voltarelli's path as a touring musician has lead him to collaborations with other cutting edge Italian artists exploring similar mixes of old world and new world sounds, such as the German-born Italian raised Vinicio Capossela, Sicilian Roy Paci (Manu Chao) and Neopolitan Daniele Sepe.


    Voltarelli has also contributed music and text to Italy's theatrical stage with a 2001 work on the life of Domenico Modugno, the multiple Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter who penned one of the most well known Italian popular songs in the world, 1958's San Remo Festival winning "Nel blu dipinto di blu", more commonly know as "Volare".  Along with the Florence-based Krypton troupe, Voltarelli composed the original music for "Roccu u Stortu" (Rocco the Crooked), the anti-war saga of a Calabrian soldier's desertion in WWI.  An active pacifist, Voltarelli traveled to Iraq in 2003 to participate in a peace concert held in Bagdad's Palestine Hotel, an account of which can be seen in the documentary "Sotto il cielo di Baghdad" (Under the Baghdad Sky).


    Voltarelli is also a published author with a collection poetry and songs in Calabrian dialect with English translation.     

     




    BARBES

    Saturdays, November 10, 17, 24, December 1 at 7pm   

    376 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY
    (347) 422-0248
    http://barbesbrooklyn.com/calendar.html $10 Suggested Donation



    DROM

    Saturday, December 8 at 9pm   

    85 Avenue A, New York, NY
    (212) 777-1157
    http://www.dromnyc.com/events/2035/peppe-voltarelli  $10 Adv. / $15 Doors 







     

  • Events: Reports

    Covering Fascist Italy: American Correspondents and Regime Censorship


    With the rise of Fascism, Italy acquired new significance in the American press. Until then, the major American newspapers -The New York Times, Chicago Daily News, Chicago Tribune, The New York Herald Tribune - and news agencies: Associated Press, United Press and International News Service, had kept Italy at the periphery of the Western world.

     
    After Mussolini came to power, they all opened bureaus in Rome and  sent correspondents. The shift addressed the curiosity and preoccupation that the new Fascist prime minister elicited in the American public opinion.


     
    In the first phase of the Fascist era, the 1920s, Italian affairs were covered i by American journalists stationed in Rome such as Hiram Motherwell, Edgar Mowrer, William Carroll Binder Stonemann (Chicago Daily News), George Seldes, John Clayton, and David Darrah (Chicago Tribune) and Ralph Barnes (New York Herald Tribune). The New York Times relied on the cautious Arnaldo Cortesi. The Associated Press had Hudson Hawley and Percy Winner, who later transferred to Hearst International News Service; the United Press Bureau Chief was Thomas Morgan.


     
    In the early years of the regime’s consolidation Mussolini enjoyed an overall appreciation and positive judgment from the American correspondents. The journalists who visited Italy to interview him returned home and wrote flattering articles about the young dictator, exalting his effectiveness and energetic spirit. Interestingly, many of them found similarities between the personality of Mussolini and that of Theodore Roosevelt.


     
    Among Mussolini’s apologists there were important names including Edward Price Bell, Ida Tarbell who signed quasi-fictional apologies of the dictator, as well as Lincoln Steffens and Samuel McClure. The latter confessed that he had found Mussolini "full of charm, force and kindness", admitting candidly that his heart "beat hard for a long time after I left him."
    The pro-Mussolini attitudes of some of these journalists deserve more careful consideration. At the beginning of the century some of them had been among the muckrakers’ movement . They had a history of fierce criticism of American capitalism dovetailing with socialist ideology. Their immediate sympathy for Mussolini enables us to analyze certain aspects of Mussolini's ideology and political opportunism during the first years of his regime.
    Mussolini liked to present himself to the outside world as an ex-socialist who had not abandoned this original ideas to ​​tame capitalism. He tended to present Fascism as a kind of 'third way” between communism and capitalism, which, through major structural reforms, would temper the excesses of capitalism and contain the expansion of communism. It is possible that these former muckrakers would have found his professed ideology the realization of ideals they had sought in vain for many years: a serious reform of capitalism through the introduction of social humanitarianism.


     
    While it was easy for Mussolini to play his part as a wise, far-seeing and energetic statistician, a lover of the country and the working class, it proved more difficult to sustain this image with foreign correspondents stationed in Rome, who had the opportunity to observe first hand and gauge the system of pervasive violence established by the dictatorship.


     
    Reports of the Fascist police show increasingly diverging opinions on the regime between the visiting journalists and the correspondents who lived in Rome.
    A case in point is Edward Price Bell, who, after interviewing Mussolini, wrote a apologetic pamphlet entitled "Italy's Rebirth". Almost simultaneously, his colleague George Seldes was expelled because of his criticism of the Italian justice system.


     
    Mussolini imposed a discreet but tight surveillance system on the American correspondents in Rome. He was determined to present a attractive image of himself and his regime to the American public. He was particularly interested in exerting a strong influence on the large Italian-American community, which he saw as a powerful means to exert indirect pressure on Washington.


     
    Control was exercised mainly through the police structure that Mussolini had built. He could count on an array of instruments of pressure and retaliation for those correspondents who did not follow the directives of tone and content issued by his press office.
    The police could substantially limit the freedom of movement of correspondents, deny benefits that were traditionally granted to foreign journalists (reduction of railroad rates, access to official events, interviews, etc.), and in extreme cases issue an order of expulsion.


     
    Among the agents of this control system was the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C. that kept under close watch the US press. Thousands of press clippings coming from the embassy are preserved in the archives of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They testify to the tight information system that the regime maintained to control what was written and thought about Fascism in the US.


     
    In the early years of the regime there were several cases of expulsion, the most glaring of which was that of George Seldes, guilty of having written about the Matteotti murder. Seldes described Fascism in his memoir "Sawdust Caesar".  David Darrah was also expelled and narrated his experience in a recollection published under the title of "Hail Caesar". These correspondents played an important role in making known the true face of the Italian dictatorship outside of Italy. They did so with courage and were punished with expulsion for choosing not to abide to the “suggestions” of the regime press office and the pressure of the Italian police.


     
    The principle of the freedom of the press very soon clashed with the regime’s growing need to control what Italian and foreign readers were allowed to know. Foreign policy was a treacherous territory for correspondents. After an initial phase, traditionally considered a continuation of the foreign policy of the previous liberal government, starting in 1933-34, Mussolini pushed more firmly for the revision of international treaties, progressively separating Italy from its allies of World War I and moving to a full-fledged alliance with Hitler.
    The Ethiopian war and Italy’s growing opposition to France and England reinforced the attention of the US press on Italy; news agencies sent more correspondents to Rome. Mussolini’s venture in Ethiopia was the last event of  the Fascist policies to be reported in the US without particular criticism, if not with a certain sympathy. It also marks the point when the retaliation against those journalists who had expressed doubts on the Italian aggression became more stringent.


     
    At this stage, from the mid-thirties until the beginning of World War II, Mussolini unleashed the might of its repressive machine upon the American correspondents in Italy. This included the political police, as well as the Ministry of Popular Culture - on which the foreign press depended. Both bodies were equipped with a network of informants who infiltrated the journalistic circles at all levels and reported in great detail on habits, opinions, privacy and even arrière - pensées.
    Informants were often assistants and friends of the foreign correspondents. They provided the police and the Ministry of Popular Culture with private and professional information on the journalists, which constituted the basis for all measures taken against them by the government, including expulsion.


     
    In addition to informants, the police kept the foreign press under surveillance through wiretapping. Correspondents who reported to main offices in Paris and London were the main targets of this system. Recordings were transcribed and preserved in their personal files. If any statement considered anti-fascist was detected, the journalists were almost immediately expelled. The case of Henry Gorrell is exemplary: he was expelled because he had publicized the news of the mass arrest of communists in the province of Terni.


     
    As yet to be written is the story of those correspondents who were assigned to Rome after having spent time in Spain covering the events of the Spanish Civil War. Having manifested their sympathies for the loyalist forces, when they arrived in Italy, they were already surrounded by suspicion and immediately subjected to strict surveillance. Among them were Herbert Matthews of the New York Times, Reynolds Packard and his wife Eleanor of the United Press, and Richard Massock of the Associated Press.
     



     




    David Kertzer will discuss Mauro Canaliʼs research on the files of the Fascist censorship commission that oversaw the activities of US correspondents in Italy from the 1920s to the end of World War II. The discussion will cover Professor Canali's investigation into Mussoliniʼs efforts to create an official image of his regime for America and its impact on American politics.


    Mauro Canali is professor of Contemporary History at the University of Camerino and specializes in the history of the Fascist control and police system. He is the author of the first comprehensive study on the history of the Fascist political police (Le Spie del Regime, Il Mulino, 2004) and of Il Delitto Matteotti, (Il Mulino, 1997). Prof. Canali was a visiting professor at Harvard University. He a member of the scientific committee of “RAI Storia” and collaborates with the Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Nuova storia contemporanea and Liberal.


    David Kertzer is the Paul Dupee University Professor of Social Science at Brown University. He is the author of The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara (Knopf/Vintage, 1997), The Popes Against the Jews (Knopf/Vintage) and Prisoner of the Vatican (Houghton Mifflin, 2004). From 2006 to 2011, Prof. Kertzer he was the Provost of Brown University. He is currently completing a book to be published by Random House in the U.S. and Rizzoli in Italy on the relationship between Benito Mussolini and Pope Pius XI.


    The public programs and academic activities of Centro Primo Levi are supported by the Cahnman Fundation and the Viterbi Family Grant Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation.


    October 22 at 6:30 pm

    Presented by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Centro Primo Levi

    Simon Wiesenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance

    226 East 42nd Street New York, NY 10017

    The program is free and open to the public. Reception to follow.

    Reservations are required and should be sent to Melissa Hooper at 212.697.1180 or [email protected]  www.museumoftolerancenewyork.comRSVP: 212.697.1180 or [email protected] Reception to follow.


    T

  • Facts & Stories

    Columbus Day - A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America


    As dawn broke over the Atlantic on October 12, 1492, a perilous 10-week journey across an ocean gave way to encounters and events that would dramatically shape the course of history. Today, we recall the courage and the innovative spirit that carried Christopher Columbus and his crew from a Spanish port to North America, and we celebrate our heritage as a people born of many histories and traditions.


    When the explorers laid anchor in the Bahamas, they met indigenous peoples who had inhabited the Western hemisphere for millennia. As we reflect on the tragic burdens tribal communities bore in the years that followed, let us commemorate the many contributions they have made to the American experience, and let us continue to strengthen the ties that bind us today.


    In the centuries since that fateful October day in 1492, countless pioneering Americans have summoned the same spirit of discovery that drove Christopher Columbus when he cast off from Palos, Spain, to pursue the unknown. Engineers and entrepreneurs, sailors and scientists, explorers of the physical world and chroniclers of the human spirit -- all have worked to broaden our understanding of the time and space we live in and who we are as a people. On this 520th anniversary of Columbus's expedition to the West, let us press forward with renewed determination toward tomorrow's new frontiers.


    As a native of Genoa, Italy, Christopher Columbus also inspired generations of Italian immigrants to follow in his footsteps. Today, we take time to celebrate the innumerable contributions that generations of Italian Americans have made to our country. Throughout 2013, Italy will also commemorate this rich heritage and the enduring bonds between our countries with the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, which Americans will join in celebrating.


    In commemoration of Christopher Columbus's historic voyage 520 years ago, the Congress, by joint resolution of April 30, 1934, and modified in 1968 (36 U.S.C. 107), as amended, has requested the President proclaim the second Monday of October of each year as "Columbus Day."


    NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim October 8, 2012, 2as Columbus Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also direct that the flag of the United States be displayed on all public buildings on the appointed day in honor of our diverse history and all who have contributed to shaping this Nation.


    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-seventh.


    BARACK OBAMA

  • Events: Reports

    Hit Week in the US

    Hit Week,  is coming again to the U.S.A. After the massive success in China, Hit Week is ready to arrive in the U.S and, for the first time in its history, also in Canada. The festival has started in 2009 in Los Angeles, and in 2010 it expanded to New York.
     

    The music festival will run from the 9th of October until the 19th, involving some of the most important cities in the U.S, such as New York, Miami, Washington, Los Angeles, and in Montreal (Canada).

    Subsonica and Negrita, two of the most important rock/pop bands in the Italian music's scenario for years now, will participate to the event, together with the emerging songwriter Alessandro Mannarino, and the supporting singer Emma Re, who participated at the Festival di Sanremo in 2011, and the bands Boom da Bash and Mama Marjas.

    The american tour will also see the participation of the Hit Week contest's winners of the emerging talents, Follow the Mad and Una,  and the Chef Omar di Santo.

    The festival starts its tour at the Highline Ballroom in New York on October 9th, when Mannarino will open the night at 8 p.m, followed by Negrita at 9.15 p.m, Subsonica at 10.30 p.m and an after show with Puglia Sounds and Boom da Bash.

    Here is the detailed program:

    October 9th: Subsonica, Negrita, Mannarino, Boom da Bash at the Highline Ballroom, New York

    October 11th: Subsonica, Negrita and Emma Re at The Howard Theatre, Washington.

    October 12th: Puglia Sound, Boom da Bash and Mama Marjas at PAX, Miami.

    October 13th: Taste of Italy and Mama Marjas at Downtown, Los Angeles.

    October 13th: Subsonica, Negrita, Mannarino, Emma Re at Young Circle, Hollywood.

    October 14th: Hit week Miami Dj Set on Lincoln Road at Segafredo, Miami Beach.

    October 16th: Subsonica, Negrita, Mannarino at Da Vinci Theatre, Montreal.

    October 18th: Emma Re and Omar di Santo at Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Los Angeles.

    October 19th: Subsonica, Negrita at El Rey, Los Angeles.

    More info about shows and tickets are available >>>

  • Events: Reports

    Finding Joseph Tusiani


    Poet, fiction writer, essayist, translator, and professor, Joseph Tusiani has distinguished himself in so many ways. He was the first American ever to win England’s prestigious Greenwood Prize; President Kennedy invited him to record his poetry (an hour-long tape) for the Archives of the Library of Congress; Joseph also held the position of vice president of the Poetry Society of America—great accomplishments each in their own right, let alone all part of a most distinguished career of one individual, which includes further accolades still.


    Joseph’s books and essays are many; he published his creative work in four different languages (English, Italian, dialect, Latin), his critical work in two. His translations have, in turn, introduced the English-speaking world to the works of numerous Italian writers. Further still, he continues to create, as always, splendid work.


    In the meantime, we leave you with one of Joseph’s signature poems:

    ETHNICITY

    O new awareness of my ancient light,

    What’s then so new about this earth of mine?

    Though everything you seem to redefine.

    ‘Tis but a tale of night excluding night

    So I discover what in me was bright

    Long before brightness was allowed to shine,

    Able at last to trace and underline

    Letter and spirit of my simple right.


    Now, only now the truth I understand—

    That, born as mortal as a bird or bat,

    Man ever longs for some immortal land

    Brother, you came from Erin, I from Rome,

    And others started hence—but what of that?

    Today migration and tomorrow home.



    ----


    September 29, 2012 * 10AM to 4:30PM
    Lang Recital Hall, North Building
    Hunter College, East 68th St.
    (between Park and Lexington Avenues)
     



    This symposium takes its name from the documentary on Joseph Tusiani made in 2011 by Sabrina DiGregorio. A major voice in American and Italian letters, Tusiani has dedicated his professional life to the creation, promotion, and promulgation of Italian Studies in the United States. An international award-winning poet, he writes in four different languages (English, Gargano Dialect, Italian, Latin) and has published his work worldwide.
     
    10,00 AM Opening Comments
     
    Paolo Fasoli, Chair, Romance Languages, Hunter College
    Joseph Sciame, President, Italian Heritage & Culture Committee
    Riccardo Viale, Director, Italian Cultural Institute, New York
    Natalia Quintavalle, Consul General of Italy to New York
     
    10,30 AM Re-reading Joseph Tusiani
    Maria C. Pastore Passaro
              "La poesia inesplorata di Joseph Tusiani"
    John T. Kirby
              "Tusiani and Neo-Latin"
    Luigi Bonaffini
              "Tusiani, Writer and Translator of Dialect Poetry"
    Paolo Giordano
              "Tusiani's American Odyssey"
    Luigi Fontanella
              "Joseph Tusiani and His Poetry in Gradiva"
     
    12,30 PM Lunch break (Lunch provided) 
     
    1,30 PM Film Viewing
    Finding Joseph Tusiani: The Poet of Two Lands
    Dir. Sabrina Digregorio. Atena Films, 2011. (80 min.)
     
    3,00 PM Tavola Rotonda
    Conference Participants and Filmmaker
     
    4,00 PM Presentation of the Leonardo da Vinci Award
     
    This symposium is co-sponsored by the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee NY, Inc. and Atena Films
     
    Conference Coordinators
    Giuliana Ridolfi & Anthony Julian Tamburri
     
    * * * * * * * * *
     
    John D. Calandra Italian American Institute
    25 West 43rd Street, 17th floor
    New York, New York 10036
    (Between 5th and 6th Avenues)
     
    Free and open to the public. RSVP by calling (212) 642-2094. Please note that seating is limited and we cannot reserve seats. 
     
    For further information see our Web site at www.qc.edu/calandra.









  • Events: Reports

    The Path of Padre Pio

    Padre Pio is an Italian Saint well known all over the world. Born Francesco Forgione, on May 25, 1887 in Pietrelcina, Italy, a small country town located in southern Italy. Padre Pio, a humble Capuchin priest from San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy, was blessed by God in many wonderful and mysterious ways. He possessed the gifts of fragrance, conversion, bi-location, levitation, reading hearts, foreseeing the future and miracles of all kinds. From 1912 he also received the dramatic gift of the stigmata. Christ's sacred wounds were imprinted on his hands, feet and side. The wounds remained completely free from healing or any infection for 50 years. They remained with him until shortly before death.

    The exhibition pays homage to the Saint, on the 125th anniversary of his birth and the 10th anniversary of his canonization. Elia Stelluto presents the life of Padre Pio through his photographs. As a young boy, Stelluto served as an altar boy and then became Padre Pio’s personal photographer. His photographs immortalized the various moments of Padre Pio’s daily life, from interactions with his spiritual children to private moments of joy and happiness. Stelluto was particularly able to capture his unique expression during the afternoon liturgies and the Eucharistic celebrations. The collection includes over 100 photographs never before seen in the United States.

    In addition to Stelluto’s photos, there will be a display of Padre Pio relics, treasured by people all over the world. The exhibit will be complemented by a series of programs including spiritual lectures, readings and screenings presented by people truly dedicated to spreading Padre Pio’s message.

    Keep in mind that registration is required for all programs.

    ---

    Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 2:00pm, Mario Bruschi will share his personal experience with Padre Pio. He was just twenty-three when he had his confession with Padre Pio in 1957. Since then, Mario has personally started twenty-five Padre Pio prayer groups. He is responsible for starting Padre Pio prayer groups in Sri Lanka and was also influential in the construction of the St. Padre Pio Shrine Church in Athurugiriya. Mario has also given Padre Pio presentations at the federal prison in Otisville, New York, showing the documentary film on Padre Pio in both English and Spanish. He regularly visits Catholic schools, sharing the story of Padre Pio with children in elementary school and junior high school. Mario continues to lead the all night prayer vigils on the first Friday of each month at Our Lady of Peace parish in New York City. Join us as he speaks about his personal encounter with Padre Pio and how the Saint has been influential in saving the lives of people all over the world.

    Mario’s presentation will include a display of the glove of Padre Pio. This rarely seen relic was worn by the Saint himself throughout his life and will be available for our members and friends to view during Mario’s presentation only.
    Must register in advance and prepay. Members $10, Non-Members $20

    Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 3:00pm Screening of “Padre Pio: Miracle Man”. The movie captures the Capuchin friar's intense faith and devotion, and deep spiritual concern for others, as well as his great compassion for the sick and suffering. It reveals the amazing details and events in Padre Pio's life as a boy and throughout his 50 years as a friar, dramatizing the frequent attacks of the Devil on him, as well as the persecution he suffered at the hands of people, including those in the church. Directed by Carlo Carlei. In Italian with English subtitles (214 minutes).
    Must register in advance and prepay. Members $10, Non-Members $20

    October 19, 2012 at 3:00pm and 6:30pm and Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 11:00am and 2:00pm, The National Centre for Padre Pio, Inc. will join in for a presentation on the life of Padre Pio, his connection to the Calandra family and how the Centre came to be. Their presentation will include a display of relics, many of which have never before left the Centre, located in Barto, Pennsylvania. This rare presentation will be given four times during Friday, October 19 and Saturday, October 20. The relics will be on display from 12:00pm to 8:30pm on Friday and from 9:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday. This unique experience is not to be missed!
    Must register in advance and prepay. Members $10, Non-Members $20

    Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at 6:30pm The testimony of Father Pio Mandato, FMHSJ is to be held.
    Both Padre Pio and Father Pio Mandato came from the small town of Pietrelcina. Father Pio Mandato received his First Holy Communion from Padre Pio before coming to the United States. He grew up in New Jersey and entered the Capuchin Seminary at the age of 17, where he received his Franciscan formation and later his priestly formation. Father Pio Mandato will also read from the book “Padre Pio: Encounters with a Spiritual Daughter from Pietrelcina”, written by his mother, Graziella DeNunzio Mandato, who was a spiritual daughter of Padre Pio. In the book Graziella shares her memories of the Saint. The reader comes away with an intimate understanding of how closely Saint Pio was tied to the lives of ordinary men and women and the spiritual love they shared for each other.
    Must register in advance and prepay. Members $10, Non-Members $20

    Exhibit hours: Tuesday and Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm, Wednesday and Thursday from 1:00 to 8:00pm, Saturday from 10:00am to 12:00noon. For more information or to schedule a guided tour group please call: (914) 771-8700.
     

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