The formal portion of the meeting will be limited to a brief ceremony to install Carol Lozano as a new director and to vote on new member applications.  We will then proceed to reports on the Club’s financial status, membership, member survey results, programs and activities, the Club’s involvement with the Federation of Italian American Organizations (FIAO), discussion on how to maintain continuous improvement of our Club, plus any other issues members feel are of importance to the Club and to the Italian-American community in general.  This segment of the meeting will be informal – no motions will be accepted, no votes taken, and no decisions made.
 

   The drama utilized time-honored Christmas rituals: Natale – Christmas, and Casa – home and hearth.  The annual building of a new Presepio (crib) by the protagonist Luca Cupiello is the central event of the play.  Luca’s annual labor symbolizes his unconscious desire to reconstruct his dysfunctional and anarchical family into a harmonious family unit.  At one point in the play Luca explains to Vittorio, a friend of his son’s, that he is carrying on the tradition of his father who used to build a Presepio each year for his children, and that he considers it a bad omen if he does not do it as well.  Luca’s wife, Concetta, and their son, Tommasino, fail to understand his motive and they ridicule him for it.  Though the family is held together by love, there are clashes and conflicts in the Cupiello household.  Tommasino is lazy, disrespectful, and overindulged by Concetta.  He steals from his uncle, Pasquale, who in turn steals from Luca.  Ninuccia, the daughter, is unfaithful to her devoted husband and plans to run off with Vittorio. 

   On Christmas Eve problems involving the various members come out into the open and Luca is made painfully and completely aware of their reality.  He finds the money that Tommasino had stolen from Pasquale in Tommasino’s pocket and from the mark he had made on it earlier realizes that it was his own money.  Then Nicola walks in unexpectedly and finds Vittorio forcibly kissing the now reluctant Ninuccia.  A fight ensues between the two men.  Three days later, as a result of that disastrous evening, Luca has become gravely ill, is bedridden, and practically unconscious.  The doctor expresses concern over the condition of Luca’s heart.  Tommasino now realizes how much he loves his father, and what the annual building of the Presepio meant to him.  Luca, in his delirious state, asks Tommasino, as he did many times in the past, if he likes the Presepio.

   Grief-stricken, Tommasino, who had always replied in the negative, now tells his father that it is beautiful and that he loves it.  Luca, hearing this long desired reply from his son, gazes off into the distance, as if following a magical vision.  He sees a gigantic Presepio with tiny people bustling towards it and little animals warming the Baby Jesus, who is crying and struggling as any newborn.  Luca, lost in this vision, says to himself, “What a lovely Crib!  What a pretty pretty Crib!”

   The play was followed by a dinner of superb quality and taste carefully planned and prepared by Chef  Baldo Gandolfo.  The seven-course dinner represented outstanding dishes from various regions of Italy.  After dinner, Prof. Tony Perrone gave a talented and moving reading of the poem, La Befana, by Gino Mariani, anticipating the arrival of La Befana herself, who distributed candies to all present.  Italian attendance prizes were enjoyed by the delighted winners.  The festive evening ended with a sing-a-long of the popular Italian Christmas carol, Tu scendi dalle stelle led by a member of St. Ambrose Church Choir. 

Carol Lozano was appointed as a Director of the Club at the December Board meeting.  Carol replaces Carolyn Stelzer who resigned from her Director position for health reasons.  Lozano will serve the remainder of Stelzer’s term.  The Board extends a warm welcome to Carol and heartfelt thanks to Carolyn for the good judgment, sound advice, cheerful cooperation, and the “lets roll up our sleeves and get to  work on this project” attitude which she always demonstrates so unselfishly on behalf of the Club.  We are looking forward to having her back with us soon on a regular basis. 
 

2002 DUES

   The classes will be held at the Shaw Center in the Hill neighborhood.  There will be three Beginning-Level Youth courses for age groups corresponding to K-2, 3-5, 6-8 grade levels and also Adult Level courses.  Students (Youth and Adult) must pay an enrollment fee and purchase the required text books.  For more information on enrolling as a student, contact Joseph Torrisi at (314) 776-4327 or email Joseph.Torrisi@slps.org.

   Interested in teaching in this program?  Instructors are needed to teach at both the Youth and Adult Levels.  Compensation will be $20 per class hour and instructors will become part-time employees of the SL board of Education.  Courses will be 10 weeks in duration, for 2 hours per night, one night per week.  Instructors must be knowledgeable in the standard Italian language, must submit a written application, and be available for an  interview.  A selection committee has been established to review credentials and to interview instructor applicants.  For information on teaching in the program, contact Gene Mariani at (314) 352-5484 or email emariani@aol.com. 

The new monetary system is similar to the dollar, with 100 cents comprising a Euro.  There are eight coins (click on denomination to display coin, click back button on browser to return here) of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 eurocent or “centesimi” and a 1 and 2 euro coins (currently, there is no plural for the word Euro).  The face of the coins are the same throughout the twelve countries, with the reverse unique to the issuing country, thus for example, an image of the Colosseum is on the Italian 5 eurocent coin and a portrait of Dante is on the 2 euro coin. 
There are seven banknotes (click on denomination to display banknote, click back button on browser to return here) of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euro denominations, each of a different color and images particularly significant in European History.

From January 1 until February 28, 2002, the lire will continue to circulate and one can pay for purchases in lire or euro.  On March 1, 2002, the lire will no longer be acceptable as a method of payment.  Anyone still holding lire will have TEN years (until February 28, 2012) to change them to euro at any Banca d’Italia WITHOUT a commission.  The fixed exchange rate is €1=1,936.27 lire.

For more information, check out the website at www.euro.tesoro.it
 

41.  Gabriele D’Annunzio (Pescara 1863 – Gardone 1938) pubblicò il suo primo libro di poesie all’età di 16 anni.  Ebbe una vita avventurosa e si impose come modello nei salotti borghesi e più tardi a livello nazionale, diventando l’emblema dell’Italia fascista.  Si cimentò nei vari generi letterari e fu poeta, giornalista, tragediografo e romanziere di successo.  Questa poesia fa parte di una raccolta di liriche intitolata Laudi del cielo del mare della terra e degli eroi in sette libri dedicati ciascuno a una stella della costellazione Pleiade.  Il progetto però si interruppe dopo la pubblicazione dei primi quattro: Maia, Elettra, Alcione (di cui La pioggia nel pineto fa parte) e Merope. 

Taci.  Su le soglie 
del bosco non odo 
parole che dici 
umane; ma odo 
parole più nuove 
che parlano gocciole e foglie 
lontane. 
Ascolta.  Piove 
dalle nuvole sparse. 
Piove su le tamerici 
salmastre ed arse, 
piove su i pini 
scagliosi ed irti, 
piove su i mirti 
divini, 
su le ginestre fulgenti 
di fiori accolti, 
su i ginepri folti 
di coccole aulenti, 
piove su i nostri volti 
silvani, 
piove su le nostre mani 
ignude, 
su i nostri vestimenti 
leggieri, 
su i freschi pensieri 
che l'anima schiude 
novella, 
su la favola bella 
che ieri 
t'illuse, che oggi m'illude, 
o Ermione.  (vv.1-32)

30.  Marc’Aurelio  (121 - 180)  (Imperatore 161 - 180). Marco Annio Vero era nato in una famiglia illustre.  Perduto il padre in tenera età, era stato educato dal nonno paterno, Antonino, da cui fu adottato per volere di Adriano insieme a Lucio Vero (130- 169), figlio di Commodo.  Alla morte di Antonino fu proclamato imperatore, prese il nome di Marco Aurelio Antonino, e associò a sé il fratello di adozione Lucio Vero, che condivise con lui il titolo di imperatore. 

Nel 145 sposò la cugina Faustina Minore, figlia di Adriano, ed ebbe da lei 13 figli, dei quali sono da ricordare:  Lucio Aurelio Commodo, che divenne imperatore dopo di lui, e Antonia Lucilla, che a 17 anni sposò Lucio Vero e, dopo la sua morte, Claudio Quinzio Pompeiano, consigliere e collaboratore del padre.
Da giovane Marc’Aurelio si era dedicato agli studi letterari con molta serietà ma il suo interesse risiedeva soprattuto nella filosofia, che aveva studiata alla scuola di Epitteto, l’ex schiavo filosofo della scuola stoica.  Le sue riflessioni e ricordi si trovano nel libro intitolato Meditazioni, che scrisse in greco nel mezzo delle molte campagne militari che suo malgrado dovette compiere.

Infatti durante il suo impero non solo vi furono molte rivolte nei territori dell’est, ma incominciarono anche le invasioni dal nord che dovranno piagare l’impero nei secoli successivi.  Nel 161 i Parti invasero la Siria, nel 167 i Marcomanni invasero Aquileia, vi furono ribellioni sul Danubio, in Egitto, in Spagna, in Britannia oltre alle perenni insurrezioni in Armenia.  Inoltre, al loro ritorno dalle campagne nell’est, i soldati romani portarono a Roma un’epidemia di vaiolo che uccise un terzo della popolazione.  La colpa fu data al fatto che gli dei tradizionali dei romani erano stati abbandonati in favore della nuova religione cristiana, perciò Marc’Aurelio, per soddisfare i cittadini, perseguitò i cristiani.  Fu proprio durante il suo regno che l’impero romano cominciò a sgretolarsi.

Lucio Vero morì nel 168 lasciando Marc’Aurelio da solo ad affrontare le campagne militari che lo tennero lontano da Roma durante la maggior parte del suo impero.  Morì a 60 anni, sfinito dai viaggi e dalle lunghe battaglie.