L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 14 L'Italo-Americano LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE D e a r R e a d e r s , June-Giugno will h o p e f u l l y b e a happy month for you with weddings, birthdays, graduations and Father's Day (June 19) coming up. And let's not forget the feast days of St. Peter (June 29). It was also on June 16, 2002 that Padre Pio became a newly minted Saint. I mention the saint feast d a y s b e c a u s e i n I t a l y t h e Name Day "Onomastico" is celebrated more often than Birthday celebrations. *** Gen. Giuseppe Garibal- d i — died in J u n e 1 8 8 2 . Giuseppe Garibaldi "The Hero of Two Worlds," fought for freedom and national inde- pendence in both Latin Amer- ica and Europe. Garibaldi lived briefly as an immigrant in the United States and was asked by our 16th president Abraham Lincoln to lead an army in the American Civil War, which he respectfully declined, but in 1992, which marked the 100th anniversary of his death June 2, 1882, Californians joined a world- wide celebration of Garibal- di's memory by sponsoring a superb series of social and cultural events in his honor. *** How did Italy get its name? For more than two thousand years the boot-shaped penin- sula has been called Italia. How it got the name? There's no one positive answer. Some scholars give cred-t to the Oscans, a tribe that lived in s o u t h e r n I t a l y b e f o r e t h e Romans. They claim Italia is a Latin word that is a derivative of that culture's word "vitelieu" which stands for cattle. Others concur with the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Antioch of Syracuse who believed that Italia came from Prince Italo who ruled southern Italy. The tribe of people who lived in that part of the peninsula (what is now Calabria) was known as Itali. During the passing years the term Italia spread to the n o r t h . T h e n c a m e t h e Romans and in 42 BC the Roman Emperor Octavian decreed that the land should be called Italia. *** C h a r l e s J . B o n a - parte (1851-1921) was Secre- tary of the Navy, under Presi- dent Theodore Roosevelt and US Attorney General in 1906. In 1908 he founded the (FBI) Federal Bureau of Investiga- tion. *** D e l a n o C o l u m b u s (1809-1896) was the first Ital- ian-American US Secretary of the Interior. He served 1870- 1875. *** J o s e p h S t e l l a ( 1 8 7 7 - 1946) was one of America's great futuristic artist painters. In June 1929 Joseph Stella wrote about his return from E u r o p e t o h i s A m e r i c a n patron: "Everybody here was astonished about the novelty and originality of my work and many would not believe that in American art can be developed along such purity of style. But I have told them that America is going to be in the lead in art, pretty soon. Only the young nations that have strength and will and dare in business enterprises can be entitled to a rich Art. So it happened with Venice, Flo- rence and all the great cities when their financial strength was at high tide...". *** S . F . I t a l i a n A t h l e t i c Club first moved into their own building in June 1936, after three Italian Sport Clubs, formed many years before, merged and united to pur- chase land and build their own hall. The three clubs were Circo- lo Ricreativo Italiano, Unione Sportiva and Sporting Club Italia. Circolo Ricreativo Italiano Virtus was organized in June 1917 and had club rooms on Mason Street between Green and Vallejo Streets. Unione Sportiva Italiana formed in 1919 headquartered at 120 Columbus Ave. This g r o u p s p o n s o r e d t h e f i r s t Statuto race in June 1919. S p o r t i n g C l u b I t a l i a w a s established soon after, on Powell Street and Broadway. The clubs did not confine t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s t o a t h l e t i c events. Besides running, soc- cer, baseball, fencing, gym- n a s t i c s a n d c y c l i n g , t h e i r members were also involved 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. in drama, music and civic affairs. The clubs grew rapidly and the Unione Sportiva Italiana moved to larger quarters at Stockton and Green Streets above what was the Bank of America (Columbus Branch). *** E t t o r e J . D e G r a z i a , a.k.a. Ted De Grazia was born in June 1909. He was a con- temporary Artist, based in Tuscon, Arizona, noted for his whimsical paintings of Indian children. In 1964 he began p a i n t i n g " L o s n i n o s " o n UNICEF Christmas cards to help raise funds for children worldwide. *** St. Anthony died on June 13, 1231 at the age of thirty- six. On June 13th all the Anto- nios, Tony and Anthonys of the world can celebrate the feast of St. Anthony of Padua, a priest and gifted preacher born in Lisbon, Portugal. His surname comes from the city of Padua, where he lived the later part of his life. He joined the Order of Fri- ars Minor to travel to Morocco a n d a d o p t e d t h e n a m e o f Anthony, ready to start a new life. Once in Morocco, Anthony became ill and had to go back t o P o r t u g a l . H i s s h i p w a s blown off course, and landed in Italy instead. In Padua, Anthony lived a quiet, unas- suming life until he was asked to stand as a speaker in an ordination. When he spoke to the group, his gift for preach- ing was revealed, and his life changed forever. Another nickname given to Anthony is "Finder of Lost Things." People ask Anthony's intercession with God when searching for lost articles.

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