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La Rondine is published monthly by The Italian Club of St. Louis
President
Editor
Franco Giannotti
Internet Edition
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July Program:
THE BATTLE OF MONTECASSINO
| In July our subject will be the famous 1943 battle
of Montecassino and our speaker will be Member Vito Tamboli, a retired
U.S. Army Reserve Colonel and graduate of the U.S. War College.
Colonel Tamboli's slide presentation will explore this controversial battle, which resulted in 130,000 casualties (30,000 of whom were Americans) from a number of perspectives. How did the battle fit into the overall Italian campaign? What was its strategic value? Was it even necessary? Don't miss this important program |
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Next Meeting: Jul 15, 1998 -- Cocktails 6:30, Dinner 7:00 |
RECAP OF JUNE MEETING
| Our June program celebrated the Italian National Day held to recognized
the anniversary of the establishment of the Italian Republic on June 2,
1946. The keynote speaker was Joseph Colagiovanni, Italian Vice Consul
in St. Louis. His presentation focused on current economic and political
conditions in Italy with particular emphasis on Italy's adoption of the
Euro monetary unit and is summarized below.
Italy is the world's fifth greatest economic force. At the end of the war Italy was largely an agricultural nation but by 1987 , she became the world's fifth largest economic power in terms of GNP when she surpassed Great Britain. Since then, she has retained that position while also having a higher rate of general developmen t and a lower inflation rate than England. But Italy has a number of economic and political difficulties. Italy has certain economic and political difficulties which unfortunately ke ep the Italian nation from being perceived as powerfull as its economic growth a nd stature should allow. From the economic perspective, the problems center on a high trade def icit, a relatively high rate of unemployment, a history of fluctuating currency values, and limitations due to the relatively small size of Italian companies. Politically, Italy suffers from a cultural tendency for individualized control and a nati onal distrust of centralized power manifesting itself in frequent governmental r eshuffling. Today's government is the 55th in 52 years, a record that has made it very difficult for Italy to exercise the degree of international influence that it should have based on its economic strength. Also, the numerous political parties, with tw enty having current representation, make it difficult to establish and maintain a long term coal ition. Two major initiatives to correct these problems have been tried during recent years. In the last several years, two significant political and economic initiatives have been pursued to address the problems described above. These were an attempt towards constitutional reform and the use of the Euro for monetary transactions. The constitutional reform involved the 1997 appointment of a commission to study and recommend changes to the Italian constitution. The basic idea that evolved was to create a federation, instead of republic. The effect would be to decentralize national power by giving greater power to individual constituent "states" thereby increasing overall stability by increasing the stability of the local governments. The initiative was able to effect some modest changes in individual laws, but overall, no consensus could be reached and the Commission was dissolved with no significant governmental restructuring. The second initiative involved the proposed replacement of the Lira with the Euro, a single currency that would be used by most of the member nations of the European Union (EU) and which would lead towards the creat ion of a single European market. Italy wants to be part of the EU and to use the Euro. Italians are optimistic that its adoption will help Italy economically; resulting in a more stable currency, less volatile inflation, and a stronger and more cohesive European market. Apparently, this desire to be part of the EU and to go to the Euro has had a good effect on the Italian economy. Inflation is down, exchange fluctuations have been nominal, and nation al fiscal policy is being directed in a focused manner. |
JOSEPH TORRISI RECEIVES CLUB'S ITALIAN HERITAGE AWARD
| The Club's 1998 Italian Heritage award was presented
at the June meeting to Joseph Torrisi, Community Education Coordinator
at the Shaw Community Center for the Visual and Performing Arts.
This award is given annua lly by the Club to an individual who has distinguished him or herself through service to the Italian-American community of Saint Louis. Congratulations, Joe, we appreciate all you have done, and continue to do, for our community! |
BENVENUTO AL NUOVO SOCIO
| We are pleased to announce that Giovanni Galati, owner of Dominics (on the Hill), Premio's (downtown), and Dominic's Trattoria (Clayton), was elected to membership at the June meeting. Benvenuto, Giovanni. |
BARBARA KLEIN, Cittadina Italiana
| Club Treasurer Barbara Klein has completed the process required
for formal registration of Italian citizenship and for receipt of an Italian
passport. At the June meeting, Italian Vice Consul Joseph Colagiovanni
presented Barbara with a certificate of commendation for this important
accomplishment.
Barbara says that her major motivation was pride in her Italian heritage and a desire to be a citizen of the country for which her grandfather fought for four years during the first world war. In addition she stated that Italian citizenship has practical value for her. It will facilitate her ability to practice her profession of public accounting in any country in the European Union. Congratulazioni alla nostra stimata tesoriere. |
INTERESTED IN SOME SUMMER READING?
| The Club would like to know if members are interested in reading a novel by an Italian author and then getting together in an informal setting to discuss the book. The first book we would like to discuss is Todo Modo (One Way Or Another) by Leonardo Sciascia. If you are interested, please see Barbara Klein at the next meeting. |
| Giorni Festivi
In Italia, i giorni festivi sono considerati:
Translation: Holidays In Italy, the following are considered legal holidays:
In addition, the feast day of the patron saint of the city where you live or work is considered a holiday. For example, if you worked in Arconate, Italy, you would have August 17 as a holiday because that is the feast day of the local patron, St. Xavier. (Hmmm...I wonder, when is the feast day of St. Louis?) |
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Le campane le loro bianche tazze
versano per la sera ad intervalli;
il vento è un incrinarsi di cristalli
sopra uno stagno intricato di mazze.
I prati e le campagne paonazze
s'animan di scalpicci di cavalli;
gli alberi sembrano strani coralli
eretti in mezzo ad onde paonazze.
Dai rosai invisibili un effluvio
denso sale per l'aria, intermittente,
e si perde ne gli orti suburbani.
Il crepuscolo è un fulgido Vesuvio
che trabocca del sangue incandescente
di milioni di morti tulipani.
Corrado Govoni (Tàmara 1884-Roma 1965)
GLI ANGELI DEL VATICANO
| Il 9 maggio si è aperta al Museo The Invisible Made Visible:
Angels from the Vatican, una mostra che porta a St. Louis più
di cento capolavori che vanno dal nono secolo prima di Cristo ai nostri
giorni e provengono dalle collezioni vaticane a Roma.
La mostra è allestita secondo il ruolo che gli angeli hanno nella
tradizione: angeli precristiani, angeli custodi, messaggeri, consolatori,
eccetera. Oltre a quadri di pittori famosi come Paolo Veronese, Pinturicchio,
Gentile da Fabriano, Fra' Angelico, Raffaello, Guido Reni e molti altri,
ci sono sculture, urne, vasi, bassorilievi, arazzi, affreschi e molti oggetti
di valore inestimabile.  La mostra resterà aperta fino al 2 agosto. Non perdete l'occasione di vedere le opere rare e di grande valore che sono esposte nel museo di St. Louis, una delle cinque città prescelte in tutti gli Stati Uniti per ospitare questa mostra straordinaria. |
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OPERE DI ITALIANI AL MUSEO DI ST. LOUIS
14. Michele Tosini. Ritratto di gentiluomo fiorentino. (Olio, circa 1560-1565)
| Questo dipinto, molto complesso sia per il soggetto che per lo stile,
è un esempio estremo del Manierismo sviluppatosi a Firenze nella
seconda metà del '500. Benché per molto tempo fosse stato
attribuito a Salviati, contemporaneo e discepolo di Vasari, più
recentemente è stato definitivamente accertato che il suo autore
non può essere che Michele Tosini (Firenze 1503-1577), i cui quadri
manifestano l'influenza pittorica del Bronzino, di Vasari e specialmente
di Salviati. In quest'opera tuttavia Tosini non aderisce alle convenzioni
del Manierismo, la cui formula nel dipingere ritratti importanti è
alquanto diversa ed è caratterizzata da elementi particolari, come
l'uso di sfondi privi di ornamenti, di drappeggi neutri, e dalla convenzione
di non rendere ovviamente palese la personalità del soggetto.
Al contrario, su uno sfondo molto elaborato, il gentiluomo fiorentino elude la curiosità di che lo osserva per mezzo del suo atteggiamento fisico piuttosto che di quello psicologico. Tosini non lascia alcun dubbio che il giovane appartiene alla nobiltà fiorentina e lo rappresenta in tutta la raffinatezza del suo rango, con il corpo girato studiatamente in modo da mettere in evidenza l'eleganza del vestito e del portamento, le mani lunghe e oziose, e lo sguardo altero che non confronta chi l'osserva. Un ricco drappeggio verde, elaboratamente annodato, completa lo sfondo, mentre sulla sinistra la tenda si apre sullo straordinario paesaggio delle colline toscane e l'allegoria del fiume Arno e della dea Flora. |
PROVERBI DI STAGIONE
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