L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 4 Amerigo Vespucci. I n t h e y e a r s o f t h e Renaissance, the years of great geographical discoveries, Italians led the way, inspired as they were by their innate yearning towards knowledge, powerful motor of many a trip into the unknown and countless history- c h a n g i n g e n c o u n t e r s . A r e a l t h i r s t f o r k n o w l e d g e , t h o s e Italians had, but to be truthful to history - and to my country's p e o p l e - k n o w i n g , l e a r n i n g , indeed exploring, remained dear to their hearts throughout the centuries. B e c a u s e e x p l o r i n g i n i t s broadest sense encompasses all that exists. Exploring does not translate solely with discovering a new land, or getting to know better a little known one, explor- ing means seeking answers. And where do answers come from, if not from our all-human, uncon- ditioned necessity to know? Read it this way, and explo- ration becomes the process of discovering knowledge wherever it can be found, from the seas to the mountains, from the skies, all the way into our own bodies. From the immense regularity of musical theory to the under- standing of how music itself manages to bring us to tears or laughter without even being visi- ble to the eye. From finding out if there's life beyond Earth, to the deepest, most compelling of all explorations, that of our own soul. All those who dedicated their own existence to finding answers, all of them, are explor- ers. Explorer was the Trotula, also known as Trocta De Ruggero, the first known woman doctor in the history of mankind, who practiced in the 11 th century. She came from a wealthy, aristo- cratic family, Trocta, and it was certainly thanks to her origins that the doors of history's first medical school, that of Salerno, opened up to her: higher educa- tion was not a place for women, then. But this shouldn't diminish the importance of her actions and achievements. Trocta, who need- e d t o k n o w h o w o u r b o d y worked and can be cured. Trocta, the first to dedicate study and time to gynecological practice. Trocta, explorer of the human body, but also woman exploring a man's world and discovering that, yes, she had the brain and strength to thrive in it. One thousand years later, the exploration is far from being over and Italian explorers are still there, often leading the way. I t a l i a n a n d e x p l o r e r w a s Umberto Veronesi who, just like the Trotula, dedicated his life to discovery. Trotula had delved into the world of female health, Veronesi in that of cancer, with one single aim in mind: beat it. A life led by the need and the desire to learn, to find out, to save lives. An explorer, indeed, Veronesi: nevermind his travels haven't found all the answers, and some inhospitable lands still remain to name. His work helped medicine conquer dangerous lands and taught other explorers like him how to keep on search- ing. Explorer was Dante, who had a thirst for his language, that which he spoke in the street and sounded so mellow and musical. Why not see and try if it was good enough to discuss of phi- losophy and Man, of God and life? Latin, beautiful and austere, was used for all that, but Dante sensed -nay- knew, his volgare could do the trick just as well. And so he explored and what he discovered, he put into words on a blank page, giving us La Vita Nova and La Divina Commedia, discovering the Italian language. And what a discovery it was: we still speak like him. In the 20 th century, it was the meaning, and indeed, the shape of words to be explored by M a r i n e t t i a n d h i s f e l l o w s Futurists, leaders of creative lan- guage discoveries, and by the Surrealists, who searched within t h e i m a g e r y o f d r e a m s a n d learned how to use words to evoke it: Dino Buzzati was one them. E x p l o r e r w a s , o f c o u r s e , Galileo Galilei, who walked the thin line leading us to the stars and made of the skies his sea. Galilei's discoveries were not welcomed initially and we all know that, but what would sci- ence be now without his very own explorations, without his determination to learn and to embrace knowledge regardless of its consequences? Would we have had the Moon Landing and the exploration of space, Man's new frontier? Modern Italian explorers also participated to it, up to Samantha Cristoforetti, the first Italian woman to, quite liter- ally, touched the stars with her fingers. Last, but not certainly least, Italy gifted to the world explor- ers of beauty, creators of art. Giotto, all those centuries ago, explored hues and perspective, and was the first to make paint- ing life-like, expressive, moving. Michelangelo, whose exploration of stone and marble brought to the discovery of the immense quantity of life within them, t r a n s p o s e d t h e v o l u m e s a n d shape of tridimensional arts into w a l l s , c e i l i n g s a n d c a n v a s . Bodies, those of Michelangelo, result of the ultimate discovery of how to make them more real then reality, fleshier than flesh itself, just using colors and inani- mate matter. You see it now. Explorers do not only roam the earth and the seas. Explorers roam all aspects and facets of human knowledge and skills and even if the results and the objectives may differ, the ultimate aim is always the same: learning. And Italy, when thinking of it this way, did give to the world thousands more e x p l o r e r s t h a n w e i m a g i n e . Truly, there's more to Italian exploration than the discoveries of Columbus or Vespucci. Italians: explorers of knowledge NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 1 Dino Buzzati, representative of Italian literary Surrealism, "explorer" of the Italian language Through his eyes, we explored the skies for the skies for the first time: Galileo Galilei... Dante, the Father of the Italian language, "explorer" of its original depth and beauty ...and Samantha Cristoforetti, Italy's first woman to "touch the stars with her hands."

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