L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 www.italoamericano.org 26 L'Italo-Americano T he month of June is not neces s arily all about the first days of summer bliss. June 2018 is really all about Italy by the Bay. Although some say June signals that sum- mer has arrived, Giugno is bring- ing much more than a new sea- son and balmy days. The June breezes have also brought molta cultura italiana. Take S unday, J une 3, for example. This was the running of the 98 th Annual Statuto Race. Among the hundreds of runners was our very own San Francisco Italian Consul General, Lorenzo Ortona. He was accompanied by scores of enthusiastic runners including San Francisco Mayoral candidate, Angela Alioto. The Statuto Race commemo- rates the creation of the first Ital- ian Constitution (Statuto Alberti- no) and is a running tradition in San Francisco going back almost 100 years. The first Statuto Race w as held in N orth Beach in 1919. The race benefits the Make-a- Wish Greater Bay Area Founda- tion and San Francisco Italian Athletic Club (SFIAC) Sports. Be a part of history next year by joining this 8K run/2M walk along the streets of San Francis- co. The race w ebs ite is at https://www.statutorace.com. June 3 was also the day San Francisco's new Italian Ameri- can Heritage Day ordinance took effect and the second Monday of October is now officially Italian American Heritage Day. This formal designation was the culmination of an exemplary and hard-fought campaign to retain what San Francisco's Ital- ian-Americans have earned over the decades, a day that com- memorates their hard work and stellar contributions. San Fran- cisco Supervisor Catherine Ste- fani fought, along with hundreds of local citizens, to maintain this well-deserved day which has recently come under fire all over the country. L'Italo Americano newspaper received the following statement from San Francisco Supervisor Catherine Stefani: "As a proud Italian American, I introduced this ordinance to celebrate and recognize everything that Ital- ians and Italian Americans have contributed to our beautiful city. From Amadeo Giannini, who pioneered the Bank of America, to Gaetano Merola's leadership in establishing the San Francisco Opera Association, to Congress- woman Nancy Pelosi who con- tinues to represent our commu- n i t y i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s Congress - Italians have made and continue to make innumer- able contributions to our city. CATHERINE ACCARDI June in Italy by the Bay br ings Italy's Republic Day, Statuto Race, OlivettiWorld and more of the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco and the Fon- d a z i o n e A d r i a n o O l i v e t t i o f Rome, in association with the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, Fuseproject, and San Francisco Design Week. Check out the special article about OlivettiWorld on the L'I- t a l o A m e r i c a n o w e b s i t e , a t www.italoamericano.org, by typing "Olivetti" in the search box. A n d , a m o n g s t a l l t h e s e events, was the announcement by San Francisco Italian Cultur- al Institute Director, Paolo Bar- lera, that he has accepted a posi- tion at New York City's Italian Cultural Institute, effective in the next few months. He made his announcement at a May Il Cenacolo luncheon meeting, w h e r e h e w a s t h e f e a t u r e d speaker. Director Barlera made an informative presentation on the history and various functions of the Institute by saying, "The institute played an epic role in providing support and a connec- tion to Italy over the years. As a result of improvements in travel and communications, the Insti- tute's role has changed and now it is more of promoting Italian culture across the board to each and every one." Director Barlera, along with his dedicated staff, have made an exemplary effort to keep L'I- talo Americano, and all of the S a n F r a n c i s c o B a y A r e a , informed of the amazing variety of speakers, lectures and exhi- bitions hosted and organized by the San Francisco's Italian Cul- tural Institute. We wish Paolo our best wishes, i nostri migliori auguri. SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY Italian American Heritage Day w i l l b e a n i m p o r t a n t d a y t o come together, honor our com- munity's history, and celebrate our incredible culture." Although many in the San Francisco Italian community had already begun to refer to Columbus Day as Italian Her- itage Day some twenty years ago, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted to approve a proposal to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples' Day. Italian Americans and supporters from many cultural backgrounds joined forces to restore the day as Italian Ameri- can Heritage Day, and they suc- ceeded! Another reason to enjoy June was the annual celebration of Italy's Republic Day on Mon- day, June 4, at the San Francisco Yacht Club. Hundreds of Ital- ians, and Italophiles, gathered for this year's event which was dedicated to the City of Genova with the special participation of its Mayor, Marco Bucci. Also in attendance was Alberto Cappa- to, Director General of Porto Antico di Genova, and Luca Maestri, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Apple, Inc. A n o t h e r h i g h l i g h t o f t h e evening was the presentation of a beautiful floral display created by second generation Genovese floral designer, J. Figone, in honor of Mayor Bucci. And on June 6, CIAO Bay Area and the Italian Consulate hosted a special dinner with a keynote address from Mayor Bucci featuring Ligurian musi- cians from Teatro di Genova and showcasing Ligurian prod- ucts from ItalFood. The event was held at the SFIAC. June 7 through 16 brought a series of events, under the col- lective title of OlivettiWorld, The Global Legacy of an Italian Maker, to San Francisco Design Week. Design Week highlight- ed the key values of the Italian c o m p a n y ' s e x p e r i e n c e - a n experience that was at once cul- tural, social, political, and entre- preneurial. OlivettiWorld was a project Consul General Ortona speaking at Italy's Republic Day . Photo by and courtesy of Charles Farruggia Crowd in support of San Francisco's Italian Heritage Day. Photographs courtesy of Italian Heritage Day participants

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