Dear Alumni and Friends of the Department,
The past six months have been very busy ones in the Department,
with important visits, more donations to support our programs
and graduate students, as well as many academic events taking
place. I hope you will enjoy reading the reports on these
activities in this edition of the newsletter.
This issue is designed, furthermore, to announce activities
that my colleagues and I hope you will take part in. A special
event is the first ever reception we are holding for our
alumni on the afternoon of Sunday 14 October. See details
provided below in this newsletter. We do hope you'll be
able to attend.
I wish to extend a special greeting to those alumni who
are viewing this newsletter for the first time. We are now
reaching out to more of you than ever before and we hope
that you'll be able to get caught up on our news by coming
to visit us on 14 October or by contacting us by phone or
e-mail.
You'll find that some items about a
few of our alumni are included in this issue. If you send
us news about yourselves, we'll be glad to include your
information in the future.
My colleagues and I look forward to hearing from you at
any time and seeing you on 14 October
at the alumni reception.
Olga Zorzi Pugliese
Chair
Visit of Italian Prime Minister
to the University of Toronto
 |
| The honourable Giuliano Amato is greeted
at the entrance to Simcoe Hall by President Robert Birgeneau
and the Chair of Italian, Olga Pugliese. Photo by Renzo
Carnevale. |
PPrime Minister of Italy at the time, Giuliano Amato visited
Toronto on 27 March 2001. The main purpose of his stopover
at Toronto (after an official meeting in Ottawa the day
before to discuss a bilateral trade agreement between Italy
and Canada) was to visit the U of T campus, and more particularly,
to meet with the faculty and graduate students involved
in the G8 Research Group at Toronto, headed by Professor
John Kirton of the International Relations Program. At the
meeting Carole Moore, the chief librarian, gave a demonstration
of the research group's web site, and Linda Corman spoke
of the archive housed at Trinity College.
As part of the welcoming group that the President of the
University, Robert Birgeneau, assembled in his office in
Simcoe Hall, the Chair of our Department had an opportunity
to speak to Prime Minister Amato about Italian studies at
U of T, its long history, and its presentday features. The
Prime Minister was especially interested to learn that Giacomo
(James) Forneri, the first official teacher of modern European
languages (French, German, Italian and Spanish) at Toronto
in the mid-nineteenth century, hailed from his own home
town of Turin.
Federico Fellini Remembered by
Vincenzo Mollica
 |
| Cover of Vincenzo Mollica's volume
on Federico Fellini and his drawings. |
On 19 March 2001, on the eve of what would have been his
80th birthday, Federico Fellini (1920-1993) was remembered
in Toronto with a lecture at the University of Toronto at
Mississauga and an exhibition of previously unpublished
drawings by Fellini at the Italian Cultural Institute of
Toronto. The lecturer was Vincenzo Mollica, an author and
journalist with the Italian television network RAI TG1 and
a close friend of the great film maker for the last fifteen
years of his life. The lecture, titled "Il disegno nell'arte
di Fellini" (The Place of Drawing in Fellini's Art) was
co-sponsored by the Department and the Associate Dean (Humanities)'s
office at UTM. Vincenzone (Big Vince)-as Fellini had nicknamed
Mollica-recounted a number of anecdotes that furthered our
knowledge of Fellini the man. Accordng to Mollica, Fellini
could be "as down-to-earth as a country church or as solemn
as a great cathedral," generous with his talent, a great
lover of music of all types, at times impish, indifferent
to the words of the great critics but not aloof to the comments
of a taxi driver.
But equally germane was the lecture on the subject of Fellini's
art. According to Mollica, drawings played a predominant
role in Fellini's method of executing a film. When an idea,
a situation or a person-especially a person-came to mind,
Fellini would first draw a
sketch, and then he would set out to find an actor whose
face corresponded to his original idea and drawing. For
example, Donald Sutherland was selected to play
 |
| Vincenzo Mollica, second from right,
stands with the Italian faculty at Mississauga, from
left to right, Professor Giuliana Sanguinetti Katz,
Dr. John Campana, Associate Dean Michael Lettieri, Professor
Guido Pugliese, and Professor Salvatore Bancheri. |
Casanova because he looked like the picture that Fellini
had sketched of his protagonist.
Mollica concluded his talk by recalling two of Fellini's
favourite observations: one, that "the true realist is a
visionary" and two, that curiosity is the engine of life.
Of himself he said: "Č la curiositą che mi fa alzare la
mattina."
Mollica treats this topic at greater length in a book titled
Fellini. Parole e disegni (Einaudi, 2000) of which
an English version (Fellini: Words and Drawings)
has been published by Soleil Publishing. Both versions are
available from Soleil Publishing, P.O. Box 847, Welland
ON L3B 5Y5.
G.P.
All Alumni Are Invited
On Sunday 14 October at 2:30 the Department is hosting
a reception for all alumni of Italian, our first ever, honouring
the late Professor S. Bernard Chandler who chaired the department
from 1973 to 1984. It will be an occasion to see former
classmates, meet current faculty members, and some of the
retired members including Professor Emeritus Michael Ukas,
who has promised to be in attendance. Do bring your family
members and join us for refreshments and fond memories.
The gathering will be held in Father Madden Hall in Carr
Hall, St. Michael's College, on the main floor. RSVP
416 926-2345.
Open House/Book
Launch
 |
| On the left, Dr. Carlo Coen, Director
of the Italian Cultural Institute, chats with the Vice-Consul
of Italy, dottoressa Giovanna Piccarreta, and Dean Carl
Amrhein at the launch of Umberto Eco's book. |
The combined open house for the Department and book launch
for the new Emilio Goggio Publication Series held on 22
March 2001 was a very successful event. In his remarks the
Dean, Professor Carl G. Amrhein, included a message from
our benefactor, Mr. Ernest Goggio, who, unfortunately, was
unable to attend. On behalf of the U of T Press, publisher
of the series, Bill Harnum spoke of the importance of the
Goggio publications. The Chair read a message from Umberto
Eco, author of Experiences in Translation, the first volume
in the Goggio series. The ninety persons in attendance enjoyed
themselves immensely. Many purchased copies of Eco's book
and were happy to see the Department of Italian's new headquarters-the
balcony doors were open and the sunshine streamed in through
the windows of Madden Hall.
Frank Iacobucci
Centre Conference on Italian Canadian Studies
The 2001 annual conference of the Frank Iacobucci Centre
for Italian Canadian Studies will be held on Saturday 27
October, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. This will be the 16th
Annual Conference of the Centre. The topic to be addressed
is "Nearly Invisible: The Integration of an Immigrant Generation".
The conference will be held in the Boardroom, Alumni Hall,
4th floor, St. Michael's College, 121 St. Joseph St. Everyone
is welcome.
Third Year in
Italy
How does one describe the transformations that take place
over the course of a sojourn abroad? How does one render
such an experiential process comprehensible to another by
the use of mere words? Just what does one reveal? Does one
trace the caverns of one's heart, unveiling the beauty it
has loved and the divine secrets it now holds? Or does one
but allude to the journey of the soul and simply narrate
its physical expression in an epic form? Suffice it to say
that the following narrative paints an incomplete picture.
My name is Sarah Rolfe. Last year, I spent my fall semester
studying Italian language and literature in Florence, as
many U of T students have done before me. As it did for
many of them, the experience changed my life in ways too
numerous to count, though I will attempt here to number
them for you.
Firstly, the experience added a new dimension to my studies:
living and travelling in Italy, I got to breathe the language
and live the culture in a way that would not have been possible
in any other context. Learning transcended mental apprehension
to become intuitive knowing, however subjective, and this
was a rare gift that I will cherish forever-as I will cherish
the new contacts I made and the friendships that I have
continued to develop.
 |
| Sarah Rolfe shown enjoying her study
abroad year in Italy. |
Secondly, my immersion in Italian culture and my interactions
with the people I met helped me to understand my culture
and myself in a way that I could not have anticipated. This
new perspective provided me with the opportunity not only
to identify, but also to change many thoughts and behaviour
patterns that didn't serve me. This largely unconscious
transformation was revolutionary: old interests waned and
new ones were cultivated; new skills developed while old
ones were perfected; miracles were manifested and independence
was achieved.
Such are the transformations that can occur when one opens
oneself up to life in the way that one must to thrive in
a new country and a new culture. For me, they occurred on
all levels, from the physical, through the mental and emotional,
to essence or the spiritual core of my individuality and
expression. Sometimes the metamorphoses were subtle, sometimes
obvious. Sometimes they were superficial. Most often they
were profound. Whether they were immediately discernible
or whether I awakened to them slowly, the changes and their
meanings have deepened and evolved with time.
I recommend the study abroad experience to anyone who likes
novelty, change, challenge and adventure. To those with
the courage and/or the finances to rise to the challenge
of living abroad: know that it will change you deeply, though
not necessarily in the ways that it did me. Your memories
will be a hidden treasure that no one will ever be able
to rob you of. Though some of my memories, as yours, may
fade, I know that many will remain etched as they are now:
in golden ether as my halo for a lifetime.
Sarah Melanie Rolfe
(4th year VIC)
Centro Scuola e Cultura Scholarship in Memory of Raffaella
Maiguashca
 |
| At the presentation of the Centro
Scuola e Cultura Scholarship in memory of Raffaella
Uslenghi Maiguashca, from left to right, Professor Juan
Maiguashca (York U), Olga Pugliese, Cristina Fayet,
Alberto Di Giovanni (Director of the Centro). Photo
by Nestor Ponce. |
On 15 May 2001 the Centro Scuola e Cultura, whose director
Alberto Di Giovanni is an alumnus of the Department, awarded
a scholarship to Cristina Fayet, a student of Italian at
U of T enrolled in the Siena program this summer. The award
was made in memory of Raffaella Uslenghi Maiguashca (d.
1999) from York University who, from 1977 to 1982, was a
full-time faculty member in our Department. After studying
in Rome, Cambridge and Toronto, Raffaella Maiguashca established
herself as a true pioneer in the field of Italian applied
linguistics and second-language teaching. She was the recipient
of many teaching awards and authored, in addition to scholarly
articles, textbooks and other teaching materials. An active
member of professional associations of Italianists in North
America, Professor Maiguashca left a strong legacy at U
of T in particular, having trained many of our teaching
assistants and current faculty members of our Department.
Notes on this
Year's Staff
Professor Carla Marcato of the University
of Udine returns to our Department as Visiting Professor
this year to teach courses on Italian linguistics, more
specifically on the Italian dialects and on the varieties
of Italian.
Professor Dennis McAuliffe, who has been
on leave from the Department for the past two years, has
now left the University of Toronto. We offer best wishes
to him and to his wife Jane who have taken up positions
at Georgetown University in Washington.
Alumni News
After retiring from his teaching position in a school in
San Vito al Tagliamento (PN), Angelo Bertolo (M.A.
1969) has spent some time with the missionary schools
in Indonesia. He has published a good number of books: Storia
di Gleris (S. Vito al Tagliamento 1983); L'Occidente, ieri,
oggi, domani (S. Vito al Tagliamento 1984); L'Occidente,
con gli occhi di Machiavelli (Florence 1987) (English version:
The West, as Seen Through the Eyes of Machiavelli, and Beyond
[New York 1992]; Sala Professori (Udine 1995); Population
Problems and Paradoxes (London 2000). There are more volumes
in the works, he tells us.
Annamarie Castrilli (Ph.D. 1977) is a
practising lawyer in Toronto, noted community leader, and
an active contributor to Ontario politics, having served
as M.P.P. from 1995 to 1999. She was the Chair of Governing
Council at U of T before entering politics and continues
to promote the interests of the University and our Department.
Jordan Lancaster (Ph.D. 1992) spent some
time studying in Naples and working at the British Academy.
She now runs a translating business in London, England,
for clients mainly in the fields of finance, law and shipping.
Marilyn Piccini Roy (Ph.D. 1971) is engaged
in a successful law practice in Montreal. She writes that
her graduate work with the late Professor S. Bernard Chandler
and her doctoral dissertation on the nineteenth-century
writer Francesco Guerrazzi, who was a lawyer as well as
a historical novelist, has helped her in her legal career.
***
For the past six years former ITA student Liz Radzick
(B. Music 1992) has been a management consultant
and trainer in business communication. She has used her
knowledge of Italian to coach people to overcome their monotone
voices in presentations by demonstrating dramatic vocal
inflection. She tells us that her exposure to Italian has
also helped her coach people to understand cultural influences
in communication styles, especially directness/indirectness.
Kudos to former Italian student Charlene De Maria
and her husband Joe who have been impressing
European vintners with their icewines. Their wines have
won silver medals at the Selections Mondiales, the Concours
Mondiales and the Concorso Enologico Vinitaly. In June 2001,
they accomplished what no other Canadian winery has done:
3 medals at one competition in Bordeaux, France: a bronze
for the Royal DeMaria 1999 Pinot Gris Icewine, a silver
for Royal DeMaria 1999 Gewurztraminer Icewine and a gold
for Royal DeMaria 1999 Riesling Icewine. Their winery is
in Beamsville, Ontario. Congratulations and cin cin.
A.U.
Emilio Goggio Visiting
Professor
Professor Luca Codignola, Head of the Institute for Canadian
Studies at the University of Genoa, will be the Emilio Goggio
Visiting Professor for this academic year. He will be teaching
a graduate seminar on "Writers, Priests and Migrants From
Caboto to Gavazzi" from January to April 2002 and during
that time period will also deliver public lectures on early
Italian settlers in Canada and related topics.
Professor Codignola is the author of, among other books,
The Coldest Harbour of the Land. Simon Stock and Lord
Baltimore's Colony in Newfoundland, 1621-1649 (Montreal
1988) and co-author of a widely acclaimed history of Canada
entitled Storia del Canada. Dalle origini ai giorni nostri
(Milan 1999).
Book Donation
to the Library
Sincerest thanks go to Antonio D'Alfonso of Guernica
Editions Inc. who has generously donated to us
a large number of his publications, many of them books written
by Italian Canadian authors or on subjects pertaining to
Italian Canadian studies. The books have been added to the
collection in U of T's Robarts Library on St. George St.
Some have been given to the Kelly Library at St. Michael's
College.
It is noteworthy that the Robarts Library,
the largest university humanities research library in Canada,
is now ranked among the top three in North America, along
with the libraries of Harvard and Yale. For its Italian
collection, in particular, it holds the same high position
and, in fact, is ranked first in North America for its Italian
rare books collection-a collection the Goggio endowment
continues to enhance.
Canadian Society
for Italian Studies Graduate Students' Award
 |
| On the left, Sandra Parmegiani (U
of T) together with Professor Francesco Loriggio of
Carleton University, president of the Canadian Society
for Italian Studies, and Lise Hogan. |
Warm congratulations go to Sandra Parmegiani, who received
a prize awarded by the Canadian Society for Italian Studies
to graduate students giving the best papers at the annual
conference, held at Laval University in Quebec City at the
end of May. The other prize winner was Lise Hogan, a graduate
student at the University of Alberta.
Faculty Update
(2001-2002)
Department of Italian Studies
University of Toronto
Emilio Goggio Chair & Chair of the Department
Olga Zorzi Pugliese
Associate Chair & Graduate Co-ordinator
Rocco Capozzi
Associate Chair (Mississauga Campus)
Salvatore Bancheri
Undergraduate Co-ordinator
Manuela Scarci
Professors Emeriti
M. Ciavolella, M. Kuitunen
J.A. Molinaro, H. S. Noce
M. W. Ukas
Other Retired Faculty Members
D. McAuliffe, A.Verna, A.Vicari
Professors
R. Capozzi, G.P. Clivio, K. Eisenbichler, A. Franceschetti
F. Guardiani, M. Lettieri, D. Pietropaolo, O. Zorzi Pugliese
Associate Professors
S. Bancheri, M. Gieri, G. Sanguinetti Katz, G. Pugliese
Assistant Professor
L. Somigli
Senior Lecturers
J. Campana, R. Longo Lavorato, B. Magliocchetti, M. Pasquarelli-Clivio
M. Scarci , A. Urbancic
Adjunct Professors
Romano Luperini (University of Siena)
Carla Marcato (University of Udine)
CANCELLED Thursday 20 Sept., at
4 p.m.
Illustrated lecture on "The Artistry of
Giorgio Strehler" by Prof. Paolo Bosisio (U Milano).
Sponsored by the Emilio Goggio Chair in Italian Studies
and the Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama (U
of T). The lecture will be held in the Graduate Centre
for the Study of Drama theatre, 214 College St. (corner
of St. George St.) on the 3rd floor. Use St. George
St. entrance. CANCELLED
|
Saturday 27 October, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. -
"Nearly
Invisible: The Integration of an Immigrant Generation."
16th Annual Conference of the Frank Iacobucci Centre
for Italian Canadian Studies. Boardroom, Alumni Hall,
4th floor, St. Michael's College, 121 St. Joseph St.,
near Queen's Park Crescent East Parking available
on Bay St., just north of St. Joseph. Near the Museum
subway station. |
CANCELLED Thursday 4 October, at
4 p.m.
Lecture entitled "Verso una lessicografia
non-verbale: L'alfabeto e il lessico dei gesti, degli
sguardi e del toccare" by Prof. Isabella Poggi (Dipartimento
di Scienze dell'Educazione, Univ. di Roma III). Carr
Hall, Rm. 103. 100 St. Joseph St., corner of Queen's
Park Cres. East. Parking on Bay St. north of St. Joseph.
Near the Museum subway station. Sponsored by the Emilio
Goggio Chair in Italian Studies. CANCELLED
|
Friday 2 - Saturday 3 November, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Conference on "Transitions: Prospettive di studio
sulle trasformazioni letterarie e linguistiche nella
cultura italiana", organized by the Graduate Student
Association, Dept. of Italian Studies, and sponsored
by the Emilio Goggio Chair in Italian Studies (U of
T). Keynote speakers: Prof. Hermann Haller (CUNY,
Queens College) and Prof. Giuseppe Mazzotta (Yale
University). Emmanuel College, Rm. 319, on the Victoria
College campus, 75 Queen's Park Cres. East, next to
the Museum subway station. |
Saturday 13 October (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) -
University
of Toronto Discovery Day. An event geared towards
prospective students and their families. The Humanities
departments, including the Department of Italian Studies,
will have booths at 100 St. George St., south of Harbord
and north of College St. |
Friday 2 November, 5 - 7 p.m. -
Reception for
the book launch of Giuseppe Mazzotta's latest volume
entitled The Renaissance Experiment, volume 2 of the
Emilio Goggio Publication Series (Toronto: UTP, 2001).
Sponsored by the Emilio Goggio Chair in Italian Studies
and the University of Toronto Press. Emmanuel College,
Rm. 119, Victoria College, 75 Queen's Park Cres. East,
next to the Museum subway station. Please
R.S.V.P. 416 926-2345. |
Sunday 14 October, at 2:30 p.m. -
Reception
for all alumni of the Department of Italian Studies
of the University of Toronto in honour of the late
Prof. S. Bernard Chandler, Chair of the Department
1973-84. Light refreshments will be served. Madden
Hall in Carr Hall, 1st floor, 100 St. Joseph St.,
corner of Queen's Park Cres. East. Parking available
from Bay St., just north of St. Joseph. Near the Museum
subway station. Please R.S.V.P. 416 926-2345. |
Monday 3 December, at 4 p.m. -
Lecture by Professor
Remo Ceserani (Univ. of Bologna) entitled "Now that
Europe is in the making, the problem is to make the
Europeans: The Italian Contribution". Sponsored by
the Emilio Goggio Chair in Italian Studies (U of T).
Carr Hall, Rm. 400. 100 St. Joseph St., corner of
Queen's Park Cres. East. Parking on Bay St. north
of St. Joseph. Near the Museum subway station. |
 |
| Professor Giuseppe Mazzotta, shown
during his stay at the University of Toronto in 1999
as the Emilio Goggio Visiting Professor. |
This issue was prepared by Olga Pugliese
with the assistance of Alison Forrester, Guido Pugliese,
Sarah Melanie Rolfe, Gabriele Scardellato, Anne Urbancic,
and Enrico Vicentini.
