Tuesday,
September 25
New
The
ANNOTICO Report
Attorney
Bill Cerruti, and his wife Patrizia
Cinquini, an immigrant from
The Italian
Cultural Society isn't shutting down its old location at Sierra Two in Curtis
Park, Cerruti said. "We're going to have two
campuses."
There are members
of the Society, that are Italians by birth, by language, by marriage,
by injection, by diet, and a new one on me....
"Italian by vacation." Such as Denice Bartlett, who is described by her husband as an
'Italian freak " ever
since she and her sister got back from their first trip to
Congratulations
to Bill Cerruti and his wife for their great
Accomplishments, past and present.
Bill and I
haven't spoken for a number of years since he and I disagreed on the concept of
a "Brick and Mortar"
Italian Cultural
Center Joyfully Opens
More than 100
help inaugurate 6,000-square-foot, $2 million facility at Carmichael Park
By
Stephen Magagnini
Bee
Staff Writer
Monday,
September 24, 2007
Metro
section, page B3
There are Italians by
birth, by language, by marriage, and by diet.
Then there are those such
as Denice Bartlett, who declares she's "Italian
by vacation."
Bartlett, who was the DJ at
Sunday's open house for the
She got things started with
"Eh Cumpari!" ("Hey Buddy! ... Music's
playing!"). The rollicking novelty song filled the 6,000-square-foot
center, with more than 100 Italian Americans and their "cumpari."
The center, at
Cinquini said the $2 million center, which
will be fully staffed by January, is truly a place Italian Americans "can
call home."
Though Italians are known
world-round as singers, dancers, artists, chefs and lovers, their true magic is
"the spirit," Cinquini said. "Very few
Italians are artistic geniuses -- I can't sing -- but we all have the spirit to
enjoy life and to be able to survive "la miseria"
and "arrangiare" -- make do.
"My grandfather, a
peasant, had a first-grade education," said Cinquini, who said her hometown of
Cinquini came to
Whether or not they speak
Italian, Italian Americans take great pride in their heritage, said Cerruti, the driving force behind the new center, which
will host cooking classes, travel programs, a library, preschool and films
starting with Sophia Loren's classic "Two Women" Oct. 19. It also
will hold events such as the Columbus Day Olive Oil festival on Oct. 7 and La Befana, the Italian Epiphany celebration, on Jan. 6.
The Italian Cultural
Society isn't shutting down its old location at Sierra Two in Curtis Park, Cerruti said. "We're going to have two campuses."
Cerruti, who grew up in
Also launching Sunday was
"Buona Salute," a bimonthly Italian
American magazine published in
DeFeo, whose magazine can be purchased at
Italian American businesses throughout
Italian-style craftsmanship
is displayed at the center's entrance -- four types of marble were cut into a
medallion in the shape of
Italians arrived in
Before World War II,
Cerruti hopes the new center will herald a
new Italo-American renaissance in the area.
They were celebrating
nearly everything Italian on Sunday. Cinquini's sleek
red Alfa Romeo 164LS was parked out front. You could see Italian clothes and
Italian shoes, and watch "Balliamo! (Let's
Dance)," a Sacramento Italian dance group, perform Laccio
D'Amore ("Knot of Love").
Sangiovese, an Italian varietal
wine, from
"Being Italian means
living life to the fullest," with passion, said Stacey Saponaro,
who works with the handicapped in
"We love to sing and
dance and have fun," said Lynn Buenrostro of the
State Board of Equalization.
"And share it with the
rest of the world," added
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/395681.html
The Bee's Stephen Magagnini can be reached at (916) 321-1072 or smagagnini@sacbee.com.
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