At first I intended merely to re transmit the
"Italy at St Louis" Newsletter.
But then I started to experience conflicted feelings.
Allow me to share.
I feel great pride in being associated with, Franco
Giannotti, the Publisher,
for having the "Vision" to realize how the Internet
can be used to Inform,
Educate, Entertain, Inspire, Support and Mobilize
the Italian American
Community in St. Louis.
ItalyStL.com is continually evolving as Franco
experiments, and improves,
and meanwhile the Site grows "richer" in
it's Content, and Archives.
The I-As in St Louis are extremely fortunate.
On the other hand, I feel geat disappointment
that no other Italian
Americans have yet realized the Merit and Power
of such an I-A City
Web Site, and have not utilized Franco's Template
in THEIR City, or
arranged for a Collaboration with Franco.
Is the Italian American Community going to fully
embrace, and exploit, and
enjoy the capabilities of The Internet, or .......??
Thanks for Listening.
========================================================
But, now back to the ITALY
ST LOUIS E-NEWSLETTER
ð Il Messaggio di Fine Anno del Presidente
Ciampi
ð It's the law: Italian living abroad will
vote in Italy's elections
ð Inno di Mameli, do you know the correct
title?
ð Lifestyle: 75% of Italians eat lunch
at home
ð Where in the world is Laura Zolo?
ð Great Italian-Americans: Fiorello La
Guardia
ð Summary of Miscellanea articles for all
of 2001
IL MESSAGGIO DI FINE ANNO DEL PRESIDENTE CIAMPI -
In his annual end of year address, Italian President Azeglio Ciampi
expressed sorrow and hope for the situation in Argentina, commented
on the coming of the Euro and the nostalgic end of the Lira.
He talked about New York's twin towers, the evils of terrorism and the
ensuing war which brought back painful memories.
Survivors of those memories worked hard to bring unity to Europe, unity
which has subsequently included Americans and Russians working
together in the Balkans, Africa and now Afghanistan.
He concluded by exhorting cooperation among Italy's political forces
not
to fuel disunity between the majority and the opposition. The entire
speech,
in Italian, is in Miscellanea [Main Page->Miscellanea->Il messaggio
di fine
anno...] http://www.italystl.com/misc/m01i9945.htm#top
-~-~-~-~-
IT'S THE LAW: ITALIANS LIVING ABROAD WILL VOTE IN
ITALY'S ELECTIONS -
Crowning about 45 years, a lifetime, of hard work by the now "Ministro
degli
italiani all'estero" Mirko Tremaglia both houses in the Italian parliament
ratified the right to vote for Italians living outside of Italy.
The
euphoria and celebrations surrounding this important victory is perhaps
diminished by the practical aspect of this long distance participation
by
citizens who may or may not follow, or understand, or perhaps even
care
about Italy's political scene. The nightmare that will face the
Italian
consulates around the world, notwithstanding their continuing budgetary
reductions, first in producing accurate censuses necessary to locate
all
eligible voters and then to administer the voting procedures will
undoubtedly cool some of this early enthusiasm. When it's all
said and
done, Italians abroad will elect their own representatives adding to
the
Italian Parliament 6 Senators and 12 Representatives who will cover
the
entire world outside of Italy. If we look at the geography and
current
Italian presence in North America, we can assume that there will be
1
Senator and perhaps 2 Representatives elected to represent North and
Central
America. Yes, that includes Canada, the United States, Mexico and possibly
more. We are anxious to meet this unique, multi-cultured superman or
superwoman Senator. Can such a person accomplish anything of
substance or
is it going to be just another well-meant but nevertheless ceremonial
position? Let us have your opinion; please write. For the
coverage by "la
Repubblica" please see Miscellanea [Main Page->Miscellanea->E` legge:..]
http://www.italystl.com/misc/m01i9942.htm#top
-~-~-~-~-
INNO MAMELI:
SONDAGGIO, SOLO 1% ITALIANI CONOSCE IL VERO TITOLO -
Count us with the 99% who had no idea that "il canto degli italiani"
is
the actual title of the popular Italian Hymn that was written in 1847
and
that took 100 years to become the official hymn of Italy, in 1946,
at the
birth of the Italian Republic. That the music was written by
Novaro and
not Mameli is also news to us, however, we sympathize with not knowing
the words beyond the first refrain. The words that follow are
seldom used
in modern times and laden with little known historical references as
the
article below points out. If you really want to know, we are
offering the
full text of the hymn on our site. Incidentally, what is not
mentioned in the
article is the underground movement in Italy trying to get the hymn
decertified and replaced (with what is not clear.)
~-~-~-~-
LIFESTYLES: ITALIANS STILL LUNCHING AT HOME - (thanks to Virtualitalia)
A poll released by national statistics institute Istat, showed that
75% of
Italians go home for lunch, which is still considered the main meal
of the
day. The survey asked some 58,000 people about habits and lifestyle
patterns
during 2000. The number of Italians who do go home to eat in the middle
of
the day has fallen by 10% since 1993. Still, despite modern times having
put
more Italians in the fast lane over the past decade, nearly 20% of
those who
do go home to eat also find time for a nap before going back to work.
Pasta,
bread and rice are still the mainstays of the Mediterranean diet, with
over
87% of Italians eating them at least once a day. Olive oil remains
Italy's
condiment of choice, used by 93% of the population.
-~-~-~-~-
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS LAURA ZOLO? -
[RAA: As far as I can tell, since I can't read
Italian, Laura Zolo started in Corsica,
came across the Atlantic, went down the St Lawrence
to Detroit, somehow wound
up in St Louis, on her way to New Orleans, the
Panama Canal, and Alaska etc.,
in a suspect? boat. Franco now brings us up to
date]
The latest report, after leaving St.Louis, saw Laura and her "7 Roses"
crew
celebrating Christmas in a tranquil cove in Kentucky Lake... We will
continue
to keep you posted on her progress and be on the lookout for a new
web site
in our portal. For the time being continue to stay tuned and
check:
Quotidiano http://quotidiano.monrif.net/canali/7roses/ (In Italian) and
Medianova http://www.medianova.it/mareincognito (In Italian)
-~-~-~-~-
GREAT ITALIAN-AMERICANS: FIORELLO LaGUARDIA -
As festivities surround the ending of Mayor Giuliani's term in office,
another New
York mayor of Italian descent comes to mind: Fiorello LaGuardia.
Born in
New York City by Italian parents, his father from Foggia and his mother
from Trieste.
His parents married and lived in Trieste before coming to the United
States. Fiorello's
diplomatic career started with consular assignments in Budapest, Trieste
and
Fiume (now Croazia) and encompassed numerous political positions before
being elected, in 1933, mayor of the city of New York. For the
complete
story and chronology of events see The Annotico Report [Main Page->Annotico
Report->Fiorello LaGuardia Collection]
http://www.italystl.com/ra/363.htm#chronology
-~-~-~-~-
SUMMARY OF 2001 ARTICLES IN MISCELLANEA - Grouped by month is a
listing of all articles which appeared in Miscellanea during this past
year. Click on
the respective title to view each article. [Main Page->Miscellanea->I
titoli del 2001] http://www.italystl.com/misc/misc2001.htm#top
-~-~-~-~-
NEW IN ST. LOUIS - Don't forget to check regularly the portal feature
by the
same name for the latest in the community. See [Main Page ->
New in
St.Louis] http://www.italystl.com/stlouis/index.htm
-~-~-~-~-
SEND THIS NEWSLETTER TO A FRIEND? - If you know of somebody who
would like to receive this newsletter please give us his/her email
address
and we will gladly add it to our mailing list. Thank you.
Mailto:freenewsletter@ItalyStl.com
