L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 7 Piazza St. Francis, The Poet's Plaza It is not often that a metro- politan city like San Francisco has the opportunity to incorpo- rate a new urban piazza in the center of one of its most his- toric districts. That would be a r a r e o p p o r t u n i t y i n d e e d ! I t does appear this vision is turn- i n g i n t o a r e a l i t y f o r S a n F r a n c i s c o ' s b e l o v e d N o r t h Beach. R e c e n t l y , I s p o k e w i t h Angela Alioto, San Francisco attorney and former President o f t h e C i t y ' s B o a r d o f Supervisors, and there is much good news to report on Piazza St. Francis, The Poet's Plaza. The vision for the project actually began several years ago when Alioto, the driving force behind this undertaking and financing, spearheaded the reconstruction of the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi as part of "The Renaissance Project" in 1997. The effort began with the replication of t h e P o r z i u n c o l a N u o v a t h e small chapel where St. Francis took refuge at Assisi in 1226. The chapel is adjacent to the Church of St. Francis and the project will continue with con- struction of the piazza. The piazza would replace the por- tion of Vallejo Street on the 600 block that runs in front of the National Shrine of Saint Francis, and adjacent rectory. Café Trieste will anchor the southeast corner of the piazza. Francis Ford Coppola worked on his screenplay for the "The Godfather" in Café Trieste, the historic coffeehouse that has b e e n t h e g a t h e r i n g p l a c e o f poets, writers, artists, and film- makers since 1956. Piazza Saint Francis, The Poets Plaza, is a civic project created by neighborhood volun- t e e r s a n d d o n a t i o n s . T h e C h i n a t o w n C o m m u n i t y D e v e l o p m e n t C e n t e r , N o r t h Beach Merchants Association, Telegraph Hill Dwellers, North Beach Citizens, and hundreds of local residents have offered their qualified support of the project. The Mayor's office, City Planning Department and t h e S a n F r a n c i s c o B o a r d o f S u p e r v i s o r s h a v e b e e n , a n d continue to be very enthusiastic about the concept. Q u o t a t i o n s f r o m s o m e 3 0 great poets will be engraved in the paving of the piazza, and the circle of Peacemakers will b e w h i t e g r a n i t e w i t h t h e i r names in big brass letters! The beloved piazzas of Italy, specif- ically Umbria, provided inspira- tion for this traffic-free-zone and will be an essential link between the neighborhood and major thoroughfare. P i a z z a S a i n t F r a n c i s i s a non-profit endeavor to create an oasis for San Franciscans and a national site for lovers of poet- ry, music, art, and specifically Peace, just as the piazzas in I t a l y . T h e p i a z z a p a v e m e n t itself will be Italian green and white granite that would form stripes running north-to-south along pedestrian-only Vallejo S t r e e t . R e d s t o n e b e n c h e s would provide seating for poet- ry readings and cappuccino sip- ping. One of San Francisco's liter- ary icons, poet, painter, pub- l i s h e r a n d f o u n d e r o f S a n F r a n c i s c o ' s l a n d m a r k C i t y L i g h t s B o o k s t o r e , L a w r e n c e Ferlinghetti, also had a vision for transforming a small block of Vallejo Street in the city's h i s t o r i c N o r t h B e a c h . Ferlinghetti founded the Piazza S a i n t F r a n c i s F o u n d a t i o n t o work with Alioto and the San Francisco Planning Department, and many others. It has been a joint effort of Love and Peace for the City and North beach in particular! S a n F r a n c i s c o a r c h i t e c t s , Bry Sarte, and Dennis Sullivan are the design leaders for Poets Plaza and Fred Warnecke is the l a n d s c a p e d e s i g n e r . N i b b i B r o t h e r s i s t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n team, led by Project Manager Alfonso Rocciola. Sullivan has described the piazza as "a con- vivial, traffic free, public gath- ering place – with stone chess tables, park benches, flowering plants, and umbrellas set on a tiled pavement, incised with quotations from poets world- wide." A s i l l u s t r a t e d b y A r t Zendarski's rendering, the piaz- za will be a lovely urban oasis. Several one-hundred-year-old olive trees adjacent to the recto- ry will line the northeast side and seating areas will combine with park benches to provide residents and visitors the quin- t e s s e n t i a l l y q u a i n t S a n Francisco experience. Piazza St. Francis is not the first historic event to take place on this tiny block of Vallejo Street. This location was mak- ing history all the way back to t h e d a y s w h e n C o l u m b u s A v e n u e w a s c a l l e d Montgomery Avenue, a dusty dirt road connecting the City's early business district estab- l i s h e d a r o u n d M o n t g o m e r y Street with the growing residen- tial areas of San Francisco's Little Italy. In those early days, the strip of land between Russian and T e l e g r a p h H i l l s w a s o f t e n referred to as Columbus Valley and was the location of one of the first churches established in San Francisco, the Church of S t . F r a n c i s a t t h e c o r n e r o f V a l l e j o a n d C o l u m b u s , t h e n Montgomery, which is now the n a t i o n a l S h r i n e o f S a i n t Francis. The original church was a modest wooden structure rebuilt in 1860 in the present N o r m a n G o t h i c a r c h i t e c t u r e only to be almost completely destroyed by the 1906 earth- q u a k e a n d f i r e . O n l y t h e church's brick walls and towers remained. Within those rav- aged walls, a new church was built and rededicated in 1919. N o w S t . F r a n c i s o f A s s i s i Church is officially designated San Francisco Landmark No. 5. So you see, the location of the new piazza will continue the decades-long tradition of peace and goodwill among peo- ple. It will be a new meeting place for those wishing to take a respite from hectic urban liv- i n g , a p l a c e t o m e e t w i t h friends, a place to make new friends. Piazza St. Francis will be a place of contemplation, r e s t a n d r e j u v e n a t i o n , a n d a place for gathering together and a place to ponder the meaning of life. Looking to the future, 2016 will be the 800-year anniver- s a r y o f t h e p a r d o n o f S t . F r a n c i s . T h e r e a r e p l a n s t o hold a celebration in Piazza St. Francis to honor that event and to commemorate 2016 World Peace Week. World Peace Day, officially The International Day of Peace, is observed annually on September 21. It is dedicat- ed to world peace, specifically to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. What better place to honor peace than Piazza St. Francis! Look for- ward to the project's ground- breaking day in June of 2015 with opening day projected for February 2016. For more information about Piazza St. Francis check the p r o j e c t w e b s i t e a t http://www.piazzasf.org/ and the Knights of St. Francis web- site at http://www.knightsof- saintfrancis.com. If you wish to contribute to the non-profit vision of the Piazza, you can use PayPal on line or please send donations to Piazza Saint F r a n c i s / K n i g h t s o f S a i n t Francis, at 700 Montgomery S t r e e t , S a n F r a n c i s c o , C A , 94111. CATHERINE ACCARDI Illustration of Piazza St. Francis by Art Zendarski. Illustration courtesy of the artist, Art Zendarski St. Francis Church as it appeared after the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. Frank Giovanessi ironically stands next to a fire hydrant with the ruins of St. Francis Church in the background. Photograph by J.B. Monaco The Church of St. Francis as it appeared in 1880 at 610 Vallejo Street. Courtesy of the Library of Congress and the Society of California Pioneers

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