Iacopo da Lentini
Opere di Italiani
Festival di Venezia
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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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OCTOBER PROGRAM
Mosaici Italiani
| Our speaker will be Italian Club
member Audrey Giovanni and the subject, Italian mosaic art. Her
slide presentation will focus specifically on the mosaics found in Sicily
at the Cathedral at Monreale and Piazza Armerina, in Ravenna at Sant' Appolinare
in Classe, San Vitale, Sant'Appolinare Nuovo, and the Mausoleo di Gallia
Placidia, and in Venice at San Marco. Her program will include a brief
historical background of the period of each structure, the style of its
mosaic work, and its comparison to our own St. Louis Cathedral.
After graduating from St. Louis University and spending a post graduate student year in Vienna, Audrey became a teacher and school administrator. She says that her Italian heritage plus her visits to Italy fostered a desire to learn more of the history of the Italian people, their artistic and cultural legacies to the world, and how Italy came to be "Italy" - not from a professional or academic viewpoint but from a traveler's perspective. Her interest in mosaics began when she became a tour guide at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica. |
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RECAP OF SEPTEMBER MEETING
| La Roma di Bernini |
| Many thanks to Prof. Mark Weil for his wonderful
presentation on Papal Rome, "La Roma Papale", with particular
emphasis on the contribution of architect and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo
Bernini whose work brilliantly expressed the Vatican and St. Peters as
magnificent ceremonial locations for pilgrimage and worship.
Dr. Weil, Chairman of the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Washington University, acting as the ultimate tour guide, led his audience, step by fascinating step through space and time, on its own pilgrimage, into a Rome transformed by such geniuses as Michelangelo and Bernini into a new and splendid city, the Rome of the Popes. As the center of Christendom, Rome, the Vatican, and especially the tomb of St. Peter were the most important pilgrimage sites in all of Europe and artists, such as Bernini, created not only great sculpture, and powerful buildings, but also articulated the massing of architectural forms, whose overall arrangement and composition, served as gigantic stage-sets whereupon pilgrims to the city would experience the drama of the power of the Papacy and the glory of the Church. And so, through the work of Bernini and others, the pilgrims' path into Rome and to the Vatican was marked by the great basilicas, each with its identifying obelisk, S.Paulo Fouri Le Mura, S. Maria Maggiore, and S. Giovanni in Laterano, which served as stepping stones for pilgrims on their journey to the monumental bridge of Ponte Sant' Angelo. This bridge, decorated by Bernini between 1667 and 1671 with a series of statues representing angels carrying the instruments of Christ's Passion, spans the Tiber at Castel Sant' Angelo and represents the beginning of the formal entrance to the Piazza S. Pietro. Bernini designed the great piazza in front of the Basilica di S. Pietro in Vaticano in 1657/58 with its central feature being the famous colonnade symbolizing the arms of the Church enfolding its people, drawing them into the great Basilica, and hence down the great aisle of the nave, itself decorated by Bernini in 1640, and ultimately to the Tomb of St. Peter which lies under the main crossing of the nave. Pope Urban VIII commissioned Bernini, in 1625, to decorate the crossing of St. Peters with a colossal bronze baldacchino flanked by four monumental statues placed in niches in the four piers that support Michelangelo's magnificent overarching dome of the basilica. The statues represent St. Helena, St. Veronica, St. Andrew, and St. Longinus. The statue of St. Longinus, carved between 1627 and 1640, is one of Bernini's masterpieces. Bernini, also designed and supervised the monumental setting for the Throne of St. Peter (Cattedra Petri) in the liturgical east end of the basilica between 1657 and 1665. |
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 1998 2:30 PM
| As an extension of our October program on mosaics, the
Italian Club has arranged a special tour of this magnificent structure
located at 4431 Lindell Boulevard, whose unique design combines exterior
architecture of Romanesque style with a wondrous Byzantine style interior.
Commissioned by Cardinal Archbishop of St. Louis, John Glennon in 1907 and designed by Architect Thomas Barnett, the Cathedral was inspired by the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople - now Istanbul - built by Emperor Justinian in 532 AD. It contains the largest mosaic collection in the world, created by 20 different artists and covering an area of 83,000 square feet. The installation, containing 41.5 million pieces of glass tessare employing 7,000 colors, began in 1912 and was completed in 1988. In recognition of its beauty and the historical significance of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Pope John Paul II designated the St. Louis Cathedral as a Basilica. Our tour guide will be Audrey Giovanni and the program will include a visit to the Cathedral's Mosaic Museum, on the lower level of the Church, which provides additional information on the construction of the Cathedral and the installation of the mosaic work. Meet at 2:30 PM in the front entrance of the Church. There is no charge for members and friends of the Italian Club however we would appreciate if you would call Audrey at 863-8453 and make reservations |
Italian Club Translates Cathedral Visitors Guide
| Member Audrey Giovanni recently noticed that the
Cathedral Visitors Guide brochure, given to thousands of visitors annually
to assist them in self-guided tours of the Church, was printed in English,
French, and Spanish. When she asked why there was no Italian language version,
she was told that no one had ever offered to translate it.
Audrey proposed that the Italian Club do a translation as a community service project. A team was quickly assembled consisting of members Tony Perrone, Luisa Flynn, Audrey Giovanni, Barbara Klein, and Brunella Maggiacomo (an art history major at the U. of Pisa and friend of Barbara) and the translation was done. The target is for the final brochure to be completed and printed in time for the Pope's visit in January. Many thanks to the team members for their generous contribution of their considerable knowledge, talent, skill, time and effort on a difficult and complex project which will greatly enrich a tour of our Cathedral by Italian speaking visitors. |
Paul Rava Memorial Lecture
- A Reminder To Mark Your Calendars:
- October 23 at Washington University
| The first annual Rava Memorial Lecture will be held on
Friday, October 23 at 8:00 PM in the Women's Building Formal Lounge on
the Washington University Campus. The inaugural speaker will be Professor
Franco Fido of Harvard University. Professor Fido is considered the
pre-eminent Italianist working in America today; he is an expert on Venetian
literary culture, especially the eighteenth-century playwright Carlo Goldoni,
and has written on Boccaccio and Machiavelli as well. The topic of his
talk will be "From Venice to Europe: Goldoni, a Playwright of the
Enlightenment."
We urge all members of the Italian Club to attend this important event. Paul Rava was a member, friend, and loyal supporter of the Italian Club for over 40 years and the support by the Rava family of our Club continues with the membership of Silvia Rava and son John Rava. Prof. Fido is a delightful speaker and the evening promises to be both fun and fascinating. A reception will follow the talk. For a map showing location of the Women's Building on the WU Campus and parking information, call Gene Mariani at 352-5484. |
L'angolo del presidente
by Gene Mariani
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| As earlier reported, Club Secretary Mary Jo Bertani
has taken a new position in Austin, Texas. Mary Jo also served as Editor
of La Rondine. Commencing with
our next issue, Luisa Flynn who since La Rondine's inception has
been the author of La Terza Pagina, the newsletter's Italian language section,
will be our new editor.
The publication of La Rondine each month is a sizable task and we greatly appreciate Luisa's contribution to the Club in taking on this responsibility. Also working with Luisa, in various capacities, to help produce La Rondine will be Roger Gennari, Peter Puleo, Marie Cuccia-Brand, Gene Mariani, and Franco Giannotti who handles La Rondine's website publication. |
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| The Club Board consists of four Officers and three Directors.
Officers are elected for two year terms. One Director is elected every
year for a three year term. Election of Officers and Directors will take
place at the October meeting with terms of office to begin in January.
In accordance with Club by-laws, a Nominating Committee was appointed to recommend candidates for these offices. The following members were appointed to this Committee; Marie Brandle, Norman Merlotti, James Tognoni (Chairman), Daniel Viele, and Marie Wehrle. Chairman Tognoni reported, at the September meeting, that the Committee made the following nominations:
Note, Roger Gennari is presently a Director with one year remaining of his 3 year term. He has resigned that position effective January, 1999 in order to run for Vice President. There will be a special election to fill his remaining one year term of office as a Director. The Nominating Committee recommends Peter Puleo for this position. |
Sunday, October 11 at Berra Park
| Each year, the St. Louis - Columbus Day Corporation holds
a Parade which commences at noon at the Southwest Bank parking lot and
wends its way through the Hill neighborhood to Berra Park where the Columbus
Day Festival takes place for the balance of the afternoon.
The Italian Club of St. is participates both in the parade and in the festival. The Italian Club Representative on the Columbus Day Corporation's Board is member Angela Mazzola. Angela works very hard indeed for the Italian Club and we are very grateful for all of her help. In conjunction with the Columbus Day activities described above, there are two other noteworthy events sponsored by the Columbus Day Corporation. The first is the granting of two awards; the Grand Marshall Award and the Spirit of Columbus Award. The 1998 Grand Marshall Award was given to father and son Salvatore and Frank DiGregorio. The Spirit of Columbus Award was bestowed on Italian Club member Joseph Boccardi. The second event involved the selection of Paola Orlando as 1998 Miss Italian St. Louis and Cristina Tocco as Maid of Honor. Members of the Italian Club are urged to support the above activities. Also if a member would like to assist us for one or two hours in our booth at the Festival, please call Angela Mazzola at 352-8089. Your help would be appreciated. |
| Via its internet website, the Club was recently contacted
by Leonardo Franchini, an Italian playwright, who is interested
in getting in touch with theater directors or others, in the St. Louis
area, who possibly may put one (or more) of his plays on stage here.
In addition to Italy, his work has been staged in Germany and Russia and here, in the United States, in New York and most recently in Pittsburgh where his "Flowers" was transformed into a musical. If any member of the Italian Club can provide a contact for Mr. Franchini, or has any other ideas or suggestions that might be of help, please call Gene Mariani at 352-5484 or via email at emariani@aol.com. |
| Please call a day or so in advance to the number indicated
on the cover page of La Rondine
in order to make reservations for the meeting. It is very important for
us to know as accurately as possible how people will be coming. We have
had to turn people away because of lack of space and we certainly wish
to avoid anyone being inconvenienced or embarrassed.
Thanks for your courtesy and assistance. |
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A Iacopo da Lentini, (fine XII - prima metà XIII secolo) viene attribuita l'invenzione del sonetto, uno dei componimenti lirici di maggior successo della poesia italiana ed europea. Il sonetto venne elaborato nell'ambiente raffinato della corte siciliana di Federico II verso la fine del XIII secolo.
La presenza di personaggi colti ed influenti, protetti dall'illuminato monarca svevo, permise la fondazione di quella che oggi è riconosciuta come la "Scuola siciliana".
In questo sonetto Iacopo esamina il tema dell'amore e mette in evidenza la diretta corrispondenza tra la percezione visiva e l'innamoramento.
- Amor è un desìo che ven da core
- per abundanza de gran piacimento,
- e gli occhi en prima generan l'amore,
- e lo core li dà nutrigamento1.
- Ben è alcuna fiata om amatore2
- senza vedere so 'namoramento3,
- ma quell'amor che strenze4 cum furore
- da la vista degl'occhi ha nascimento:
- ché gli occhi representano a lo core,
- d'onni cosa che veden, bona e ria,
- cum'è formata naturalemente;
- e lo cor, che di zò5 è concepitore,
- imagina e qual place quel desìa:
- e questo amore regna fra la gente.
1 nutrimento. 2 Può accadere alcune volte che l'uomo ami. 3 l'oggetto del suo amore. 4 stringe. 5 ciò.
OPERE DI ITALIANI AL MUSEO DI ST. LOUIS
17. Artemisia Gentileschi. Danaë. (Olio, su rame, circa 1612)
| La storia di Danaë, cantata da grandi poeti, tra
cui Ovidio e Apollodoro, e dipinta da pittori famosi, ha origine nella
mitologia greca. Danaë era la bellissima e unica figlia di Acrisio,
re di Argo. Acrisio, che voleva un figlio maschio, andò a Delfi
per interrogare l'oracolo e là seppe che non lui ma Danaë avrebbe
avuto un figlio, il quale a suo tempo l'avrebbe ucciso. Per proteggersi
dall'orribile profezia, il re fece costruire una casa di bronzo semi-sepolta
nel terreno e lì ci mise la figlia. Il suo errore fu di lasciarne
aperto il tetto perché potessero entrarci l'aria e il sole.
Infatti Giove, padre degli dei, dall'alto dei cieli vide Danaë, se ne innamorò, e andò a visitarla sotto la forma di pioggia d'oro. Dalla loro unione nacque Perseo, il mitologico eroe che più tardi ucciderà il nonno come aveva predetto l'oracolo di Delfi. Artemisia Gentileschi (Roma 1593 - Napoli 1652) figlia del noto pittore romano Orazio Gentileschi, rimane fedele al racconto mitologico in cui Danaë è simbolo di sensualità e cupidigia e la rappresenta in un atteggiamento di docile e sensuale abbandono, sdraiata sul letto, con la testa riversa all'indietro e gli occhi socchiusi mentre la pioggia d'oro scende su di lei. Ma in primo piano è bene in evidenza la sua mano destra che stringe avidamente tra le dita una delle monete d'oro cadute dal cielo, mentre sullo sfondo la complice ancella le raccoglie con un lembo della gonna. |
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55° EDIZIONE DEL FESTIVAL DI VENEZIA Il film italiano, Così ridevano, di Gianni Amelio ha vinto il Leone d'oro alla Mostra del cinema di Venezia che si svolge tutti gli anni al Lido in Settembre. L'ultimo Leone d'oro vinto da un italiano era stato La leggenda del santo bevitore di Ermanno Olmi nel 1988. Il regista Gianni Amelio è conosciuto per il film Lamerica, presentato a Venezia nel 1994 e portato anche a St. Louis dal St. Louis Film Festival nello stesso anno. Il Leone d'argento è andato a Gatto nero, gatto bianco del serbo-bosnico Emir Kusturica; la medaglia d'oro per la regia all'iraniano Mohsen Makhmalbaf per Il silenzio e il Gran premio speciale della giuria al romeno Lucian Pontilie per Terminus Paradis. Altri premi: coppa Volpi per il migliore attore a Sean Penn (Hurlyburly) e per la migliore attrice a Catherine Deneuve (Place Vendôme). Leone d'oro per la carriera a Warren Beatty, rappresentato a Venezia dal film Bullworth. |