Our Center for Italian Culture  hosted a screening of "It Ain't Over", a documentary that  chronicles the journey of Lorenzo Pietro “Yogi” Berra, the son of Italian immigrants who grew up in St. Louis. This film was introduced by long-time Center for Italian Culture Board member, Italianista, and baseball lover Economics, History and Political Science Professor Teresa Fava Thomas (wearing her Red Sox gear).  An autographed copy of Yogi Berra’s autobiography, Yogi: It Ain’t Over (1989) by Yogi Berra was raffled off after the screening.

The Center for Italian Culture's Nuovo Mondo series continues with the Dr. Joseph Luzzi Residency Keynote Address: "My Two Italies: A Personal and Cultural History." Dr. Luzzi, the Asher B. Edelman Professor of Literature at Bard College, is the child of Italian immigrants and an award-winning scholar of Italian literature. In this talk, Dr. Luzzi discussed the subject of Italian immigration to American, with special reference to his 2014 memoir, My Two Italies: A Personal and Cultural History. Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Franca Barricelli introduced Dr. Luzzi utilizing her collection of books he authored.

Last week, Professor Elizabeth Krause from the Department of Anthropology at UMass Amherst  presented this talk that drew on ethnographic research in the Made in Italy arena across two different sectors - slow figs and fast fashion - to theorize authenticity. Presented as part of the Center for Italian Culture's "Made in Italy" series.

The Center for Italian Culture at Fitchburg State University continued its series on the “Made in Italy” brand this month this afternoon with a screening of the documentary film Stracci in Ellis White Lecture Hall in Hammond Hall. The documentary discusses the sustainability of fashion by looking at it through the eyes of those who have always recycled used clothes and transformed them into raw materials. A journey that starts from Prato, the world capital of recycled wool, and goes around the world, to discover the impact on the planet of the excessive consumption to which the world of fashion has educated us.

The Center for Italian Culture (CIC) at Fitchburg State University celebrated more than 20 years of supporting scholarships and programming with a fundraising gala at the Fitchburg Art Museum on Saturday, June 11.

The CIC, founded with a major gift by the late Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio of Fitchburg State’s Class of 1938, has been a fixture on the university campus for over 20 years. Throughout its history, the center has sponsored programs that celebrate Italian contributions to Western civilization and supported study abroad scholarships that let university students and faculty explore the wider world.

Yesterday afternoon saw the launch of the Michael Vincent Addorisio Collection, a new exhibit and online collection celebrating the life and legacy of a fallen World War II sailor from Fitchburg. The Michael Vincent Addorisio (Addorizzi) Family Collection, including 93 letters, postcards, and medals, depicting a military life that was tragically cut short while serving on the USS Reid during World War II. The collection is curated by the fallen sailor’s niece, Rose Anne Addorisio, and is preserved in the library archives through a collaboration with the university’s Center for Italian Culture (CIC). Ms. Addorisio is a member of the CIC’s board.