VILLA ROSA FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 11, 2016
Mark your calendar now for a day of fun and fellowship at the next Villa Rosa Festival which will be held on Sunday, September 11, 2016. Those of you who have come to this popular festival in years past, know that it’s a wonderful opportunity to have fun with family and friends. It’s also an opportunity to raise money for Villa Rosa and Holy Rosary Church. And there will be an outdoor Mass at 11 a.m., celebrated by Holy Rosary Pastor Ezio Marchetto.
As in past years, AMHS will have a booth stocked with information about our Society, the regions of Abruzzo and Molise, and merchandise. As usual, we will be selling wine. Again this year, we will be recruiting volunteers to help out at this day-long event which runs from 11 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. AMHS Past President Omero Sabatini will have a stand to sell his book, which is a translation of “I Promessi Sposi,” considered one of the most important works of Italian literature and a favorite of Pope Francis.
The Festival will of course feature good food, such as homemade pizza, polenta, Italian sausage, cannoli, gelato and more. Entertainment will be provided by “The NoWhere Men,” for those who love the Motown Sound, and by the “i-Talians the Band” who will perform popular Italian songs everyone knows and loves. If you would like to volunteer as part of the “AMHS crew”, please contact Maria D’Andrea-Yothers, president@abruzzomoliseheritagesociety.com. If you would like to help overall with the Festival, please contact Darlene DiBattista, who is once again in charge of organizing the event, at ddibatt@yahoo.com. This sure sounds like an event not to be missed!!
DR. LAURA BENEDETTI TO SPEAK ON HER NOVEL UN PAESE DI CARTA AND THE L’AQUILA RESTORATION
Please join us on Sunday, September 18, at 1:00pm in Casa Italiana, for a presentation by Dr. Laura Benedetti, titled “Un paese di carta”: Three Generations of Women between Abruzzo and the U.S. Dr. Benedetti is a professor of Italian Culture in the Department of Italian at Georgetown University. The characters of her novel Un paese di carta travel from Abruzzo to Maryland (and back) as they confront the importance and the challenges of intergenerational dialogue, the relationship between language and identity, and the cultural differences between Italy and the U.S.
Her book is reviewed in the July-August edition of the Voce Italiana. She was also the subject of an article in the October 2015 America Oggi on the occasion of her award of a gold medal by the Federazione delle Associazioni Abruzzesi (FAA). During the past year, Laura Benedetti has presented her novel in Naples, Rome, L’Aquila, Sulmona, Florence, Pisa, Venice, and the Salone Internazionale del Libro di Torino, as well as Washington, D.C. and Baton Rouge, LA, where she was Guest of Honor at the annual meeting of the American Association of Italian Studies. She just returned from L’Aquila where she witnessed the rebuilding efforts following the devastating 2009 earthquake. Please join us to hear about Dr. Benedetti’s book and her recent travels to Italy.
Dr. Benedetti will have a book signing at the meeting. The book, in Italian, is $15.00 per copy. We will also raffle two exceptional prizes: a gift basket from Colavita (valued at approximately $300), and a one semester course at the Casa Italiana Language Program, gifted to us by AMHS member Romeo Sabatini. Lunch will be catered by Osteria da Nino, Shirlington, VA. We ask you to make your paid reservations by September 15. See the flyer on page 11 for additional details, including the lunch menu and a reservation form.