ANNUAL MASS IN HONOR OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE GIOVANNI FALCONE
On Sunday, May 22, 2016, on the occasion of the 24th anniversary of the assassination of Magistrate Judge Giovanni Falcone, Holy Rosary Church in Washington, DC held an annual commemorative mass. Following the Homily, Franco Impalà, First Secretary and Head of the Cultural Affairs Office at the Embassy of Italy, provided some remarks regarding the life of Falcone. Franco was born in Palermo, and was a twotime winner of a fellowship named after Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino by the Fondazione Giovanni e Francesca Falcone in Palermo. Giovanni Falcone was an Italian magistrate who specialized in prosecuting the Sicilian Mafia.
He was killed by the Mafia, together with his wife and three of his bodyguards (policemen) in Capaci on the highway near Palermo on May 23, 1992. Giovanni’s life story is similar to that of this closest friend, Paolo Borsellion: both came from a poor area of Palermo, had careers as anti-Mafia magistrates, and both were killed (less than two months apart) in bomb attacks. In recognition of their efforts in the anti-mafia trials, the pair were named among the world’s heroes in a 2006 issue of Time magazine.
The Annual Mass in Commemoration of Giovanni Falcone was co-sponsored by Holy Rosary Church, Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center, the Order Sons of Italy International Lodge #2522, the Lido Civic Club of Washington, DC, Voce Italiana, and AMHS. There was a small reception after the mass, at which Franco Impalà further shared his thoughts and perspectives on the life of Falcone. He also commented that he was very pleased to see that AMHS came to support this event. We were honored to do so.
STUDYING ITALIAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
By Lucio D’Andrea, AMHS President Emeritus Edvige and I recently had the pleasure to spend time with Dr. Kristina Olson, Associate Professor of Italian and Coordinator of the Italian Program at George Mason University, for an update on the Italian Program at Mason. The article that follows is that update. Recognizing the support of the Society to the promotion of the Italian Language and Culture, we plan to invite representatives from other schools that have Italian language programs, to submit similar articles on such programs, to be published in future issues of the AMHS Notizario.
(Note that some of you will recall Dr. Olson, for she presented a program to the Society, in September 2012, on Dante’s life and the social and political content of his day, as well as an overview of La Divina Commedia). Italian Studies at George Mason University By Dr. Kristina M. Olson, Associate Professor of Italian and Coordinator of the Italian Program, George Mason University The Italian program at George Mason University has grown steadily since its inception at the turn of the millennium. A Minor in Italian Studies that emphasizes Italian language, culture, politics, literature and film was established in 2013.
This interdisciplinary minor has attracted an increasing number of students; currently, there are approximately 20 students minoring in Italian Studies at George Mason. The number of students enrolled in all levels of elementary, intermediate and advanced Italian at Mason averages between 100 and 125 per semester. We also offer various study-abroad programs through our Center for Global Education to Florence (semester-long and winter break), Milan (summer), and Rome (summer). Students at Mason come to Italian for many different reasons: from the personal, such as the desire to reclaim the language and culture of one’s heritage, to the curricular, as many students come to Italian to enhance their studies in international affairs, art history, music, religion, and so forth. Our students have formed a tightly-knit community at all levels, one that is complemented by the Italian Club, now under the new direction of Salvatore Pitino (President), Gia Primerano (Vice-President), Amanda Beym (Treasurer), and Kendall Serena (Secretary).
These students have incredible passion and leadership, and will bring the club to new heights as they organize a new slate of activities for the upcoming year. Salvatore Pitino, a Sicilian-American from Queens, New York, was just awarded the Abruzzo Molise Heritage Society (AMHS) scholarship for 2016-17, which is matched and administered by the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF). Salvatore, a student who is very dedicated and passionate about the language, culture and history of Italy, is the ideal candidate for this selective and prestigious scholarship. His academic achievement in the classroom and his leadership in extracurricular activities within the Italian-language community have been the first glowing results of his dedication to the field.
To be the recipient of this selective and competitive award is a testament to Pitino's current excellence and future promise. We are all thrilled about Salvatore’s accomplishment and very grateful to AMHS/NIAF for establishing this extremely generous award. Our students who have graduated from our program at Mason have won competitive grants such as the Fulbright-Hays Scholarship (for teaching English in Matera), the SITE internship in Lombardy (for teaching English content in high schools), and Teach for America. One of our alumni became a doctoral candidate in Italian at the University of California, Berkeley, one of the best graduate programs in the nation.
Benefactors have recognized the excellence, dedication and passion of our students by establishing such prizes as the William Weaver Prize in Italian Studies. This prize, in honor of the late translator of Eco, Calvino, Gadda, and numerous other works, is in the amount of $1,000. The Italian Cultural Society also has generously given to our students with the Cesarina Horing Award ($300) for those minoring in Italian Studies. Despite the increasing pressure on language programs and the humanities in general, Italian Studies at Mason continues to prosper, thanks to the enthusiasm of our students and the generosity of these individuals and societies. We thank the members of AMHS for their continued support and interest in our program. Grazie infinite!