This year, Father Benedict's presentation will be The Millennium, a topic that seems to be on everybody's agenda these days.  If you are a computer user, there's the Y2K problem; if you are a lover of parties, will you be able to get champagne for New Year's Eve and where will be the best place in the world to celebrate the beginning of the millennium?  If you happen to live in Rome, you have the problem of dealing with a terrible traffic situation made even worse (if that is possible) by the construction work in progress to prepare the Holy City for Il Giubileo. 

Given all of this, perhaps the real questions we should be considering are "What is the meaning of The Millennium?  What should it be?  What will it be?” At our July meeting you will have the opportunity to hear such issues addressed by a Dominican priest, a world famous academic, a Biblical scholar and an engaging and very popular speaker. 

The first occurred in October when the government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi collapsed and was replaced with Italy's 56th government since 1945.  The new Prime Minister is Massimo D'Alema whose government was formed after Prodi resigned on October 9, 1998 after losing a vote of confidence in the lower house of the Italian parliament by just one vote.  Prodi had been one of Italy's longest serving prime ministers, having started his government in May of 1996. 

D'Alema's assumption of power is of significant interest throughout the European Economic Community.  D'Alema is a former communist who left the Communist Party upon the creation of Italy's Democratic Party of the Left.  He is a professional journalist and lacks the economics background that made Prime Minister Prodi so popular among the other European nations participating in the conversion to the Euro. 

D'Alema's coalition government includes two cabinet ministers who are communists; nonetheless, so far D'Alema has continued the economic reforms started by Prodi and considered essential by the other EEC countries. This includes a commitment to privatizing many of the previously state-owned industrial companies and cutting the Italian budget in order to reduce Italy's deficit.  Moreover, D'Alema has left in place the Treasury Minister previously appointed by Prodi, Carlo Ciampi.

The reaction of the remaining European countries to the failure of Prodi's government
was interesting.  In March 1999, just five months after Prodi left office in Italy, he was appointed President of the European Commission.  Prodi's selection for this post was widely viewed as a recognition of his success in stabilizing Italy's economy, which remains a serious concern to the other participating Euro countries.  As of January, electronic transactions involving countries participating in the Euro conversion began to be reported in Euros.  Local transactions in the individual countries still take place in the country's native currency, but are encouraged to take place in Euros.  However, widespread use of the Euro is not occurring, even in countries such as France and Germany that were the most vocal proponents of the Euro concept. 

The second significant event affecting the Italian political landscape was the war in Kosovo.  From the standpoint of world politics, Italy's participation in the military actions commenced by the United States, under NATO's umbrella, raised several interesting questions. 

First, an important segment of the Italian political community has been ambivalent, if not openly antagonistic, toward NATO since the end of the cold war.  Italian communists, in particular, have long felt that, given the fall of Berlin, the end of the cold war, and the fact that the Warsaw pact is no longer in force, there is no need for NATO.  The U.S. decision to orchestrate the military action against Milosevic using the NATO alliance, therefore, raised obvious concerns about the relationship between Italy and the United States and Italy's relationship with NATO itself.
Second, the Italian population has been struggling for some time with the influx of Albanian and Macedonian refugees. 

The short term consequence of the bombing campaign was to increase the influx of refugees into Italy putting even more economic and social pressure on the Italian government's response to the long standing refugee crisis.  In addition, Italian support for a military campaign on the European continent was luke-warm.  Most Italian governmental ministers, including Lamberto Dini, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, as children were subjected to wide-spread bombing in Italy during World War II.  The prospect of similar and even fiercer bombing in a closely neighboring country created obvious consternation.  In fact, the mistaken U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia prompted a quick and very concerned reaction from Italy.  In the beginning, Italy pushed hard for the use of economic and other sanctions as an alternative to the bombing campaign. 

More importantly, throughout the bombing effort, Italy steadfastly objected to the use of ground forces, which likely was an important factor in the U.S. decision not to undertake a ground campaign.  Finally, the Italians, as well as the French and Germans, were instrumental in Russia's involvement in the peace process and the ultimate agreement reached with Milosevic.  The Italians, the French, and the Germans were very pointed in reminding the United States that Russia, notwithstanding its weakened economic and political state, was still a large and major component of Europe and that European affairs could not be effectively governed without Russia having a meaningful voice.

In the end, Italy was a substantial contributor to the military effort.  More than 21 Italian air bases supported over 450 allied aircraft for operations in Yugoslavia.  Moreover, the Italians employed 54 of their own aircraft in attack and defense operations.  Four Italian war ships, the Garibaldi, the Ardito, the Perseo, and the Zeffiro, were deployed in connection with the military operation together with 1,500 troops commissioned on the four ships and two other ships were used for transport of troops and refugees.  Also, the Italians posted more than 2,000 troops in Bosnia and 2,000 troops in Albania as part of the NATO operation. 

Italy also bore the brunt of the humanitarian efforts associated with the outflow of refugees:  nineteen different refugee camps were established by the Italians, housing nearly 35,000 total refugees; in all, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs set aside more than 18 billion lire for humanitarian aid and refugee assistance.  In addition, Operation Rainbow, a private effort based in Italy, collected over 100 billion lire in 
private donations for humanitarian assistance in support of the refugees.

We will meet at 2:30 PM with our guide, Park Director John Karel, at the Director's Residence located adjacent to the Park's Magnolia Entrance (intersection of Magnolia and Tower Grove Avenues). 

The tour will begin with the Director's residence (1868), designed in Italianate style by George Barnett, probably Missouri's best known architect (New Cathedral, the Governor's Mansion, and numerous other works).  We will then tour the Park's core architectural features, including the faux ruins and fountain pond; the recently restored Piper Palm House (1878), the oldest standing greenhouse building west of the Mississippi River; the well-known pavilions (particularly the Turkish and Chinese, the Music Stand and Pool Pavilions); the beautifully restored Arsenal Entrance Gate House, (also by Barnett but in the Richardsonian Romanesque style); and the heroic scale bronze statues (given by Shaw in 1878) of  Shakespeare and Humboldt (the statue of Columbus may be visited separately after the tour). 

The tour will take about one hour.  The walking distance will be relatively short but wear comfortable clothes and shoes.  Following the tour we will return to the Director's Residence for some light refreshments.  There will be no charge, however we would appreciate your calling Gene Mariani at 352-5484 by July 30 to make reservations. 
 

Why not go all out and make a day of it?  At 10:15 AM the Misericordia Society will have a procession honoring its patron saint, Our Lady of Mercy, at St. Ambrose Church on the Hill.  The procession will be followed by an Italian language Mass at 11:00 (Mass is said in Italian at St. Ambrose on the first Sunday of each month).  Have lunch at LoRusso's Restaurant following the Mass (sponsored by the Misericordia Society).  Then join us at the Tower Grove Park for the 2:30 PM tour.  For more information about the lunch contact Marianne Peri-Sack (837-8830).

11.  Michelangelo Buonarroti (Caprese 1475 - Roma 1564) fu pittore, scultore, architetto e poeta.  Scrisse circa trecento componimenti, realizzati lungo la prima metà del Cinquecento, che vennero raccolti e pubblicati nel 1623 dal pronipote Michelangelo il Giovane.  I suoi versi sono un interessantissimo documento della sua tormentata vita interiore.  Morì nell’anno in cui la Congregazione del Concilio di Tento dava l’ordine di coprire i nudi della Cappella Sistina.
Questo madrigale (composizione breve di carattere per lo più amoroso) descrive l‘ansia provocata da un sentimento d’amore così travolgente da privare l’uomo di ogni controllo su se stesso.
 

¹ tanto da entrare in me più di quanto vi sia io stesso.  ² o di potere su di me più di quanto possa io?  ³ trapassa.  ⁴ e non sembra neppure toccarlo?  ⁵ e cresce nonostante l’esiguo spazio al suo interno.
 

I primi insediamenti umani della penisola italica appartengono alla fase quaternaria (Pleistocene), un periodo caratterizzato da frequenti cambiamenti nelle condizioni climatiche che portò a fasi di espansione seguite da fasi di contrazione dei ghiacciai alpini e appenninici e a corrispondenti variazioni del livello del mare.  Il lunghissimo periodo preistorico che occupa tutto il Pleistocene (da quando l’uomo è apparso sulla terra sino alla fine delle grandi glaciazioni) è il periodo Paleolitico, nel quale si distinguono vari sottoperiodi, caratterizzati dal modo di ottenimento dei manufatti di pietra:  la fase più arcaica, detta Paleolitico inferiore, quella successiva, il Paleolitico medio, e la più recente, il Paleolitico superiore, in cui si sviluppò l’arte preistorica. 

Questi insediamenti, che di solito si trovano nelle grotte costiere, nei rifugi alla base delle pareti di roccia, o vicino alle rive dei laghi, risalgono a circa 500.000 anni fa e appartengono alla fase più arcaica del Paleolitico, il Paleolitico inferiore, il periodo più lungo della preistoria, dominato dalla tecnica di scheggiatura della pietra.  Tra i siti di questo periodo sono la Pineta di Isernia (scoperta di recente),  Quinzano (Verona), Valle del Correcchio (Imola), Torre in Pietra, Fontana Liri, Anagni, Arce (Lazio), Teramano, Maiella (Abruzzo), Venosa (Basilicata), Gargano (Puglia), Capri (Campania), e Balzi Rossi (Liguria).

Nei siti del Paleolitico medio (che durò circa da 120.000 a 36.000 anni fa) sono stati trovati recentemente tracce del periodo musteriano, caratterizzato dalla presenza di strumenti di pietra differenziati, e scheletri umani che appartengono all’Homo Sapiens Neandertalensis, che viveva nelle grotte del Circeo (Lazio), nella valle del Tevere (Roma), sulla costa del Salento, nel Gargano, e in Liguria.

Durante il Paleolitico superiore (da 36.000 a 10.000 anni fa) il Neandertal fu succeduto dall’Homo Sapiens Sapiens durante l’ultima fase della glaciazione würmiana.  I ritrovamenti di questo periodo includono molte tombe, ossa di animali, e strumenti in pietra più differenziati.  E’ durante questo periodo che incomincia ad apparire l’arte rupestre (graffiti nelle cave del Monte Pellegrino e Levanzo in Sicilia, nella grotta Romanelli sulla costa del Salento e nei Balzi Rossi in Liguria) e piccole sculture, come le statuette di Savignano e Chiozza di Scandiano in Emilia e la Venere dei Balzi Rossi.