• Learn how to vacation as the Italians do! Relax in the Countryside and Farmhouses/Relax in campagna e in un agriturismo Guest Speaker: Marco Evangelista, Director of Journeys by Central Holidays Discover the beauty of the Italian countryside, rolling hills, charming farmhouses, and the essence of the simplistic living with us! We will virtually travel across iconic areas of Italy but also the lesser-known relaxing countryside. Once you register, you will receive the link via email to view the chat.
  • Celebrating Naples: A Journey Through History Presented by Anita Sanseverino

    Naples is a city filled with art treasures, churches of magnificent design, palazzi, an ancient centro storico, the magnificent seafront area called Lungomare with its majestic view of Mount Vesuvius, and many other historic and artistic sights. 

    Naples has been called “the stepchild of Italy” - and Anita Sanseverino is determined to change that undeserved perception.

    “When you say to most people that you are going to Naples, they say, “Oh, don’t go there, it’s dangerous,” she said. “Aside from the fact that it is not true, the irony of this statement is that none of the people who say this have ever been there!”

    Anita is certain that her fascinating lecture and beautiful photographs will ensure that Naples is on the priority list of people who plan to travel to Italy, just as much as Venice, Florence and Rome.

    She will highlight the illustrious history of this once-royal kingdom dating back to its origins as the Greek city of Partenope. She will discuss the various rulers and dynasties that occupied Naples, and why unification might not have been the best thing to happen to this former kingdom. 

    Anita will share her personal experiences in Naples, especially with its generous citizens. “When people talk about Italians and their characteristics, they are unknowingly talking specifically about Neapolitans,” she said. “As much as Italians in general are known for their love of food, music, of life in general, these qualities are 10-fold in Neapolitans. They are the quintessential Italians.” 

    Presented in partnership with:
  • Italy’s Best Kept Wine Secrets: How To Spice Up Your Wine Rack For The Fall Walking through pumpkin patches. Cutting oven-roasted Turkey. Pulling checkered flannel out of your closet. Every season has its style. So does wine… In this wine class, author and importer Tony Margiotta will show you how to pair 4 delicious Italian wines with food for the Fall season. You won’t believe how easy it is once it’s revealed to you! You’ll discover:
    • How To Pair Food & Wine In The Fall
    • A White Wine That Can Outlive Some Reds
    • A Daring Wine Pairing With Turkey
    • The People’s Wine In Piemonte
    • When In Rome, Do As The Romans Do With This Timeless Classic
    Join us for a virtual hour of La Dolce Vita with good company while insider Tony Margiotta shares a new way of pairing Italian wines with food. About Tony Margiotta: Tony Margiotta roams the less-traveled backroads of the Italian countryside in search of quality craft wines. He’s the President of Gladiator Wine Distribution, an importer of small artisanal wines handcrafted in Italy. He’s the author of "Hidden Gems of Italy,” winner of “The Best European Wine Book In The US” at the Gourmand International Book Competition. His wines have won numerous awards including double gold and silver medals at the New York International Wine Competition. His family comes from a small village called Montaquila in Southern Italy. And Mr. Margiotta has been traveling to Italy for 20 years immersing himself in Italian food, wine, and culture.  
  • “Festa della Repubblica”: How Italy Became a Republic Presented by Francesco Ranci The “Festa della Repubblica” is celebrated on June 2nd because on that very day, in 1946, the Italian people went to the polls. For the first time after 20 years of Fascism, after World War II had largely destroyed the country, they had an important choice to make. “Monarchia” or “Repubblica” ? Women were also allowed to vote, for the first time in Italian history, and so they did. Credit is usually given to Alcide De Gasperi for the remarkably consequential decision to call the entire population to a vote on such a huge and controversial issue. The choice was “Repubblica” by a close margin, and King Umberto II went into exile. In this presentation, we will look into the significance of this turning point in Italian history, for internal stability and international prestige. The message De Gasperi wanted to convey through the June 2nd referendum was that Italy could, and should be considered a trustworthy partner by the U.S. and their allies, now facing the Cold War against the Soviet Union. In 1950, official celebrations included the Italian Army’s parade in Rome. In 1961, the parade was joined by the “Frecce Tricolori”.
  • Part 2: Primo Levi (1919-1987), a Holocaust survivor. How can one find the words to describe the trauma and agony suffered at Auschwitz after one’s humanity has been taken away? For Primo Levi, a Holocaust survivor, the real drama was finding the appropriate language to describe the horrors and unspeakable events he encountered while imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz during World War II. Levi wanted to tell a story that embodied the living testimony for millions of people who did not survive to talk about their own experience. He had a burning desire to be the spokesperson for those who were mercilessly exterminated. In this virtual presentation, we will explore Levi’s life; how Italian Jews saw themselves vis-à-vis the rise of fascism; his experience at Auschwitz; and his commitment to keep alive the narrative of the Holocaust, lest we forget.
  • Four-Part Series: “If you are not indifferent...
    Part 1. Commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a Book Presentation “It Happened in Italy, Untold Stories of How the People of Italy Defied the Horrors of the Holocaust” presented by Elizabeth Bettina. Imagine Elizabeth Bettina’s surprise when she discovered that her grandmother’s village had a secret: over a half century ago, many of Campagna’s residents defied the Nazis and risked their lives to shelter and save hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust. What followed her discovery became an adventure as she uncovered fascinating untold stories of Jews in Italy during World War II and the many Italians who risked everything to save them. It is a work that brings to light the little-known history of how approximately 80% of Jews in Italy were saved during the Holocaust.
  • Artemisia Gentileschi: The only known female follower of Caravaggio Presented by Dr. Snjezana Smodlaka  For the excellence of her art Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1652-3) is today among the most prominent Italian Baroque painters, male or female. In male dominated art world this girl, born in Rome, was the first female professional painter who obtained high honors: she was the first woman member of the celebrated Florentine Art Academy; THE MEDiCI FAMILY AND  THE KINGS OF SPAIN AND ENGLAND commissioned paintings from her. In spite of accomplishments and fame during her lifetime for almost three centuries oblivion and silence hid her artwork. Recent scholarly research gave Artemisia well deserved place in art history. In most of her paintings she did not conform to or imitated style or topics that were traditional at the time. Her subjects were women from the Bible and the history, women victims who suffered, but who were determined and active in taking their destiny into their own hands. Paintings with such topics required radically different treatment and Artemisia created and introduced dramatic and original depiction of her heroines that, with exception of Caravaggio, was rarely seen in European art. Artemisia’s style and choice of the subjects might have been influenced by her painful experience as a survivor and innocent victim of a rape. A public scandal that ensued almost ruined her reputation as a painter. In this presentation we will hear about her hard life and see her most famous paintings.  
  • BOOK PRESENTATION: CELIBATE: A MEMOIR Presented by Maria Giura (Author)  Join us as Maria Giura reads from her memoir Celibate, a story about her years-long relationship with a priest and her tumultuous journey toward authentic love. She’ll read excerpts in the contexts of eros and agape and will weave in anecdotes about writing. Books will be available for sale and signing or can be purchased in advance online at Amazon or B&N.
  • BOOK PRESENTATION: LAST STOP ON THE SIX Presented by Patricia Dunn (Author) 

    To purchase the book, click here.

    Can you ever really go home again? Theresa Angela Campanosi is about to find out in LAST STOP ON THE 6, a hilarious, hard-hitting and big-hearted novel that brings to mind the movie ‘A Bronx Tale.’ Dunn’s novel tells the story of Angela, who navigates love, guilt, and red gravy as she learns the price of living in the past.

    After a decade as a political activist in California, Angela is back in her childhood home about to topple her family’s tower of secrets: the truth about her brother’s accident, impending marriage and subsequent disappearance, her alcoholic father’s fall off the wagon, and her former boyfriend’s recovery from heroin addiction. And most of all, why Fat Freddie is tormenting her family.

  • Bye-Bye Winter … Hello Spring! 

    Learn the best gardening tips for getting your garden ready for the season! 

    In this short presentation, professional Landscape Designer and Garden Coach Carmen De Vito shares her best advice for preparing your garden for a successful growing season. Whether you have a small plot or an acre of space, you will learn gardening practices that will boost your confidence. You will be able to plan and plant a garden that brings you joy and is good for you and for the environment. 

     
  • Celebrating Dante Alighieri: The man, the era he lived in, and his impact on Western civilization Presented by Prof. Louis Leonini Homer, Dante and Shakespeare are considered giants of world literature. Of all three, however, Dante's Divine Comedy is considered one of the greatest literary masterpieces of all time. In this lecture, Professor Louis Leonini will defend this critique as he takes you back in time to explore Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), his romantic poetry, his study of Italian dialects (De Vulgari), and Florentine Italian - which later became what is now called Standard Italian. We can often judge a man and his work by his admirers. The professor will tell how Boccaccio and Michelangelo idolized Dante, and Petrarch, Chaucer, Milton, and Shelley were strongly influenced by him. Botticelli made drawings for the Divine Comedy, and William Blake (a 19th century English romantic poet) actually learned Italian so he could read Dante's great work in the original. This lecture will examine what motivated Dante's great work, how it was written, and its impact even today, 700 years after his death.
  • Celebrating Dante Alighieri: Spectacular Illustrations of Dante's Inferno Presented by Dr. Snjezana Smodlaka

    Much has been said about the great influence and impact that Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece - Divine Comedy - had on the Italian language and on Italian and world literature. Dante’s decision to write not in Latin, but in the dialect of his native Florence, contributed to the linguistic unification of Italy several centuries before its political unification. In addition, the literary value of Dante’s masterpiece inspired many writers and poets around the world.

    Less is mentioned about artworks inspired by Dante’s trilogy. Many painters, sculptors and composers, throughout centuries, were emotionally and artistically affected and moved by the episodes in Divine Comedy, especially the tragic destiny of sinners in Hell, the place of immense, eternal pain and suffering. Perhaps Dante never envisioned that his picturesque descriptions would be transferred to another media such as drawing, painting, sculpture and music.

    In this presentation, we will see some of the most remarkable episodes from Hell, illustrated by artists from the 15th to 20th century: Botticelli, Zuccaro, Sardano, Dore’, Blake, Rodin and Dali. Dante’s poetic words inspired their creative imagination, and they depicted faithfully and in detail Dante’s vision of Hell’s horrors and his emotional reaction

    Presented in partnership with:
Go to Top