L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2014 L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2014 www.italoamericano.com 8 Dear Readers, A May mix of Italian connec- tions for you: Alessandro Volta (1745- 1827) was born in Como, Italy. In his honor the electrical unit, the VOLT was named after him. His "voltaic pile" was the begin- ning of the development of the electric battery. When we get into our car and turn on the ignition, our car will start, barring circumstances, such as leaving the lights on all night, etc. Alessandro Volta was the smart inventive person who came up with the idea of having electricity stored in a device that would provide elec- tricity when it was required. As a youngster, he did not begin speaking until he was nearly four years old, but by age four- teen he wanted to become a physicist. At age 29 he was posted as a professor of physics at the Como High School and a year later he invented Electrophorus, a device that produced static electricity charges. In 1779 he was named physics professor at theUniversity of Pavia, a posi- tion he held for 25 years. During the 1700's many scien- tist/physicists were experiment- ing with electricity, such as Luigi Galvani (1737-1798) who became a close friend to Alessandro. During the ensuing years he continued to work on his elec- tric theory. By 1800 he was able to invent the "voltaic pile" which was the beginning of the development of the electric bat- tery. Before his death in 1827 near Como, many honors were bestowed on Volta. In 1810 Napoleon made him a Count in honor of his work in electricity. In 1815 the Emperor of Austria made him professor of philoso- phy at Padova. And in 2014, when we Italo-Americans turn on the ignition and our car starts, remember to say "Grazie, Signor Volta". *** Boy Scouts of America, selected Cub Scouts and their leaders took a trip to Italy sever- al years ago to learn more about scouting practices abroad and one of them, my neighbor Jack, gave me a clip from Scouting Magazine to share with you. While in the U.S.A. Girl Scout cookies sales help keep the Scouting Boat afloat and private donors do dig deep; in Italy, benefactors, recognized and called Signori, lend financial and other assistance throughout the years. "Signori" have a motto, "keep the flame burn- ing".
 In Italy and many other groups in Europe they accept both boys and girls at all age levels. Lupetti earn badges called specialità, much like our Boy Scout merit badges, but they are geared to the Cub Scout age level.
 The smallest group of the branco or "pack" of Lupetti is a sestiglia or "six", a term used in Canada and Europe instead of "den" (actually the sestiglia may be from six to eight boys). Dens are not num- bered but have names after the colors of the wolf pelt- white, gray, silver, or brown. Surprisingly, there are no adult leaders of the sestiglia. But there are no sestiglia meetings by themselves. All of the ses- tiglias meet weekly as a group. Again, like Canadian and much of European Cub Scouting, the program draws heavily from Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. "Akela" is the Cubmaster, "baloo", the bear and "bagheera", the blank pan- ther, the assistant Cubmasters.
 After Lupetti, the Italian Scout graduates to Esploratori or "Scouts". Italian Cub Scouting has nothing like our Webelos Scout program. Just as in the BSA, there is a goodly dropout rate, about 20 percent, between Lupettiand Esploratori.
 As for program, Foti told us, "Much of what we Italian Scouts and Scouters do is based on the daily Good Turn". And he remarked, "I admire how you get the parents involved in Cub Scouting. I think I'll try that with our Riposto Lupetti par- ents".
 Our day ended with plans to gather both groups again. But this time we would host a pool party and cook out with hot dogs and ketchup. Everyone left believing the truth of what Kipling wrote in The Jungle Book, in Italian,Siamo dello stesso sangue, tu e io, fratellino, "We are of the same blood, you and I, little brother". *** Angela Alioto, attorney, for- mer S.F. Supervisor and daugh- ter of the late, esteemed S.F. Mayor Joseph Alioto, is a life- long devotee of the city's patron saint, Francis of Assisi and thanks to her efforts "La Porziuncola Nuova" came to be. In 2005, while on a pilgrim- age to Saint Francis' home town of Assisi, Angela had the idea to duplicate the saint's little church. She wanted it to be an exact replica, so she pulled out her camera, but was told that photography was not allowed. So she and a friend got on their hands and knees and used dental floss to measure every stone. They were caught, and when brought before the church lead- ers, they explained their devo- tion to the Saint and their desire to re-create the shrine in San Francisco. The Franciscan lead- ership liked the idea, and gave her permission to measure and photograph to her heart's con- tent. In San Francisco, she received the blessing of Archbishop Levada to form the Knights of Saint Francis and to spearhead the new project. Angela Alioto raised a ton of money to fund the project, and began to collect authentic mate- rials, as well as the bestartisans in the world to complete the project. In 2008, the work was completed, and a dedication cer- emony was held, complete with a who's who of civic and church leaders in attendance. Since that time, La Porziuncola Nuova has served as a prime San Francisco tourist attraction, as well as a spiritual destination for devotees of Saint Francis from around the world. "La Porziuncola Nuova" is a scaled down replica of the little Benedictine chapel St. Francis restored as a young man and the first home of the Franciscan "Order of the Friars Minor". The "Porziuncola Nuova" is located at 600 Vallejo St., corner of Columbus Ave. and is adjacent to the National Shrine of St. Francis. Visit www.knightsofsaintfran- cis.com for more info. *** Basilica Di Santa Maria Degli Angeli, located on the outskirts of the town of Assisi, encloses the tiny frescoed chapel, Porziuncola, first home of the little band of Brothers, known as the Order of the Friars Minor. This is where St. Clare took her vows and had her hair ceremoniously cut off and where St. Francis died. The little chapel and the small piece of land around it came to be known as the Portiuncula. It is a difficult word to translate into English. It is actually an Umbrian word spelt as Porziuncola taken from the local dialect with which St. Francis would have been famil- iar. It means literally, a small insignificant place, or piece of land of little value. The sort of place that Francis would have loved and did, imbuing the word for himself and all Franciscans, the word "home" gives most of us, no matter how high or lowly our origins might be.
 Although the Benedictine monks of Monte Subasio wanted to give it to Francis, his own personal commitment to absolute poverty impelled him to refuse it. He only finally consented to accept it on the condition that it would remain in the possession of the monks. It was only therefore loaned to him and to his fol- lowers for the annual rent of a basket of fish that is still paid by the friars to this day, in a symbolic summer rent paying ceremony each year.
 It was Pope Innocent III, in 1209, who granted approval to Francis for his new Franciscan Order. *** Honey is said to help prevent colds and sooth sore throats. Being alkaline in nature, it does not produce acidity or gas. The amazing thing to me is that no matter how long honey sits, mold does not grow in it, unlike a jar of jam or other foodstuff left in or out of the fridge too long. If you like honey and want to support the Franciscan Missions, too, write a tax deductible check for $25.00 (two 12 oz. bottles of honey in an attractive wooden box, $20.00 + $5.00 for shipping) payable to the Franciscan Missions, P.O. Box 130, Waterford, Wisconsin, 53185 (www.franciscanmissions.org).I have been ordering and enjoy- ing wild flower honey from the Franciscans for over 10 years. Maybe that is what continues to make me so sweet. The Franciscans have 5,400 mis- sionaries and over 800 missions throughout the world. They serve the poor in every conti- nent, following in the steps of St. Francis. *** La Porziuncola Nuova

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