L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 16 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D ear Readers, a February mine- strone of Italian c o n n e c t i o n s f o r you. *** February comes from the L a t i n w o r d f e b r u a , w h i c h m e a n s " t o c l e a n s e . " T h e month was named after the Roman Februalia, a month- long festival of purification and atonement. *** Rossini, the composer of over thirty operas, was born in Pesaro, Italy, in the region k n o w n a s t h e M a r c h e . P e r s o n s b o r n i n M a r c h e s refer to themselves proudly as "Marchigiani." Rossini was born on February 29, 1792 (died in 1862); his parents were both musical. His father played trumpet and horn, his mother sang with small tour- ing opera companies. Known for the purity of his voice as a choirboy, Rossini went on to t h e L i c e o i n B o l o g n a a n d w r o t e h i s f i r s t o p e r a , L a Cambiale di Matrimonio, at 18. He lived to be 76 years of a g e ; h o w e v e r , h e s t o p p e d composing operas at age 37, because of health problems, caused, some say, by jealous rivals who has poisoned his soup. His early works were p r e d o m i n a n t l y c o m e d i e s ; however, the serious opera d r a m a L ' I t a l i a n a i n Algeri took Venice by storm in 1813. Three years later, in 1 8 1 6 , t h e w o r l d p r e m i e r e of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, opera in two acts, opened at t h e T e a t r o A r g e n t i n a i n Rome. The US premiere was in New York's Park Theater i n 1 8 1 9 . I t w a s n o t u n t i l November 23, 1883 that Il barbiere di Siviglia played the Met in New York. *** I t a l i c I n s t i t u t e o f America, PO Box 818 Floral P a r k , N Y 1 1 0 0 2 , i s n o t a membership organization, but rather a resource for any- one interested in the Italian heritage. You don't need to s p e n d a d i m e t o a c c e s s a wealth of opinion, history, a n d i n f o r m a t i o n . J u s t visit www.italic.org to share a world of things Italian. It's the only Italian American w e b s i t e w i t h a R e s e a r c h Library, a Video Gallery, edu- cational publications, and an interactive blog platform. For r e a d e r s w i t h n o w e b s i t e s k i l l s , t h e y d o m a i l h a r d c o p i e s o f I t a l i c I n s t i t u t e blogs. *** P i e m o n t e s i n e l M o n d o o f N o r t h e r n California's members will be enjoying a bagna cauda din- ner at the Galileo Club in R i c h m o n d o n S a t u r d a y February 5, 2022. The dinner will be free for members and their spouses/significant oth- ers. Past President Sue Price i s h a n d l i n g t h e a r r a n g e - ments. If anyone would like to help, contact her at (510) 206-3962. I f a n y r e a d e r s l i v i n g i n N o r t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a h a v e "roots" in Piemonte, this is the group you want to affiliate yourself with. They also have a Zoom Piemontese Study G r o u p a n d a n e x c e l l e n t Bulletin (Bogianen in Action). T h a n k s t o A n d r e w M . Canepa, Editor, the Bulletin is interesting, informative and a joy to read even when your "Italian roots" are far from "La Regione del Piemonte." If y o u w i s h t o c o n t a c t t h e Associazione Piemontesi Nel M o n d o , w r i t e t h e m c / o Italian Community Services 6 7 8 G r e e n S t # 3 , S a n Francisco CA 94133. *** T h e " L a t e r a n T r e a t y , " signed February 11, 1929 is often mentioned in articles about Italy and through the years many of us have forgot- ten what it was all about. It stands to reason that the Pope, as the spiritual leader to Catholics across the world, must be free from obligation or allegiance to all secular governments. And one logical way to preserve the universal nature of his role is to keep his official residence situated outside the borders of any particular nation. At one time, the Italian peninsula, divided as it was i n t o s m a l l , a u t o n o m o u s states, proved well-suited for t h i s p u r p o s e . T h e C h u r c h maintained direct sovereignty o v e r s o m e 1 6 , 0 0 0 s q u a r e miles of the central portion of the country, and for ages that worked out just fine. The trouble came in the mid-19th century when the Italian regions were united through revolution, plebiscite, and force of arms into a single kingdom under the Savoyard monarchy. In 1860, nearly all Advancing our Legacy: Italian Community Services CASA FUGAZI If you know of any senior of Italian descent in San Francisco needing assistance, please contact: ItalianCS.org | (415) 362-6423 | info@italiancs.com Italian Community Services continues to assist Bay Area Italian-American seniors and their families navigate and manage the resources needed to live healthy, independent and productive lives. Since Shelter-in-Place began in San Francisco, Italian Community Services has delivered over 240 meals, over 900 care packages and made over 2000 phone wellness checks for our seniors. of the papal territory was absorbed by the new nation, leaving only the city of Rome within the Church's domain. Ten years later, Rome, too was forcibly annexed by Italy and was made the Kingdom's capital. Pius IX, the pontiff at the time, responded by harsh- l y d e n o u n c i n g t h e R o y a l G o v e r n m e n t , f o r b i d d i n g C a t h o l i c s t o r e c o g n i z e i t s legitimacy and declaring him- self a political hostage of the Italian King, His successors assumed the same, unyielding position despite the govern- ment's offers to patch things up with generous indemnity payments. It was an uncom- fortable situation, to say the least, and did Italy no good at home or abroad. It wasn't until 1929 that the sticky problem was settled through what, in retrospect, seems a rather simple solu- tion. Under the terms of the Lateran Treaty, worked out by Mussolini and papal offi- cials, 110 acres around St. Peter's were ceded outright to the Church by Italy. This area, k n o w n a s V a t i c a n , w a s declared a totally free and independent state to which all Catholics in the world could h a v e u n h i n d e r e d a c c e s s . Other state concessions to the C h u r c h i n c l u d e d a $20,000,000 settlement to relinquish its claim on the lands lost during Italy's unifi- cation and the inclusion of religious lessons in the public school curriculum. In return, the Pope agreed to accept the legitimate existence of the I t a l i a n K i n g d o m a n d promised not to interfere in the nation's political affairs. *** B e t t e r t h a n t h e g o l d o f Kings is the memory of happy things…

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