2013 spring il messaggio
DESCRIPTION
Spring 2013 issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Vermont Italian ClubTRANSCRIPT
Volume 15 Issue 1
Spring 2013
VIC Board Members
Contact these people for information or help about any VIC activities:
President Adele Dienno 802-862-2595
Vice-Presidents Don Catalano: 802 660-8914/Barbara Guiduli 802-
862-4200
Secretary Carol Usher 802-863-2487
Treasurer Audry Rini 802-878-0990
Board Terri Burrell, Barbra Marden, Nancy Specht, David Tomasi,
David Usher, John Varricchione, Ralph Montefusco
Il Messaggio Publication Dates
Quarterly, Mar 1, June 1, Sept. 1, Dec. 1
Deadlines for submissions: 15 days prior to publication.
Submit content to editor: [email protected]
Membership
Anyone wanting to join the VIC can do so by contacting Carol Usher at 802 863-2487 or
[email protected] for an application or online at our website below. Membership is $25.
annually for individuals, $35. for families, and
$15. for students.
VIC Website: www.vermontitalianclub.org
I l M e s s a g g i o
V e r m o n t I t a l i a n C l u b
P . O . B o x 3 1 5 5 B u r l i n g t o n V T 0 5 4 0 8 - 3 1 5 5
I l M e s s a g g i o
Inside this issue:
Article: Italy...Safe Haven? 1
...Safe Haven cont…. 2
Upcoming Events... 3
Lending Library Donation 4
Film 5
Past VIC Events 6-7
Article: I Love Italian Food 8
..Italian Food/Recipe cont. 9
Italian National Hero: Micca 10
Calendar of Events 11
Who We Are - Biography 12
We are dedicated to promoting and preserving Italian culture in
Vermont and educating the community about it
You can choose an electronic or a paper
copy of Il Messaggio by contacting the
editor: [email protected]
Recently, on an Internet forum, a person interested in moving from the United States to Italy expressed concern about crime. He noticed a preference in southern
Italy to place bars on windows, which triggered his question. A person brusquely
responded by stating: “If you're moving from practically anywhere in the U.S. to practically anywhere in Italy, congratulations, you've reduced your risk of being a
crime victim.”
This answer reflects a general perception of a low crime rate in Europe as com-
pared to the United States. The United States embraces firearm ownership. It has
struggled with racial integration and gang culture. Hollywood celebrates outlaws, not
police.
Italy, on the other hand, is a comparatively homogenous society (92% Ital-ian). Italians own twelve guns per one hundred people, compared to eighty-nine in
the United States. While Italy has a reputation for organized crime and pickpockets
in tourist locations, Italy, and Western Europe as a whole, is typically viewed as a
safe place in comparison to the United States.
Is this perception accurate? If you move to Italy have you “reduced your risk of
being a crime victim?” The latest research suggests otherwise.
The common perception is understandable. For decades, Italy has enjoyed a sub-
stantially lower crime rate. Since the 1970's, however, the crime rate has been ris-ing. In the 1990's the United States crime rate began sharply decreasing. The paths
merged in about 2004, and Italy has had a slightly higher crime rate ever since.
So is Italy now a more dangerous place? Probably slightly, but accurate compari-
sons are not easy to come by.
IS ITALY A SAFE HAVEN? By Kyle Sipples
Italian dual-citizen and resident of St. Johnsbury
I l M e s s a g g i o Page 2
A major problem with comparative criminal statistics is
that they are routinely based on reports to the police. But
not every crime is reported to the police. The latest re-search shows that victimization polling is a much more
accurate indicator of criminal activity. Because this meth-
odology is so new, data is extremely limited.
A very select number of crimes, however, may be accu-
rately measured by police reports. One of these is mur-der. The severity of murder results in near universal re-
porting. The statistics show that you are 500% more
likely to be murdered in the United States. While murder is the rarest of crimes, and your actual risk of being mur-
dered in either country is extremely low, you are at much
greater risk in the United States. However, murder in the
United States is extremely unevenly distributed. Murder hits urban dwellers, the young, minorities, and illegal drug
users at an extremely disproportionate rate. Your actual
risk may be quite a bit lower than “average.”
Despite higher murder rates in the United States, over-
all violent crime is now more prevalent in Italy. This sur-prises people who look at police reporting statistics. The
crime of rape is an excellent example of how statistics
based solely on reports to the police fail to paint an accu-
rate picture.
Police reports indicate that in 2006, there were 7.6
rapes per 100,000 people in Italy. In the United States, there were 31.5. But this is not the end of the story. Vic-
tim polling data shows that in the United States, 46% of
rapes are not reported to the police. In Italy, more than 90% of rapes go unreported. If you adjust for reporting
rates, the true number of rapes per 100,000 people is 76 in
Italy and 58 in the United States.
Victim polling shows that assaults are also more preva-
lent in Italy. 4.7% of Italians reported being the victim of assault in the past twelve months. Only 1.5% of Ameri-
cans reported being a victim. Perhaps this helps to explain
why only 58% of Italians feel safe walking alone at night
whereas 77% of Americans report feeling safe.
If feeling safe is a matter of perception, it is not sur-
prising to see bars on windows in Italy. 78% of Americans report feeling only a small risk of being the victim of a bur-
glary. Only 46% of Italians feel similarly.
If you aren't safer from crime, are you safer on the road-
ways? America averages 12.3 highway deaths per 100,000
people. Italy averages 8.7 deaths. These statistics show
that the “average” person is safer in Italy. But the “average” Italian is less likely to own a motor vehicle. If
you look at the fatality rate per 100,000 motor vehicles,
rather than people, the rate is much closer – 15 deaths in America and 12 in Italy. But this assumes that Italians who
own vehicles drive them as much as Americans. In reality,
they don't. If you are operating a vehicle, the best indicator
of safety is to look at fatalities per kilometers driven.
While I have yet to find an overall statistic for all Italian roadways, I did find a statistic for motorways. Italy aver-
ages 13 people killed for every billion kilometers driven on
a motorway. America averages 5.2 deaths. Your chance of
dying on an Italian motorway is more than double that of a
United States motorway.
Does this mean that Italian drivers are more reckless? I am not sure. Italians are much more likely to be driving
motorcycles and maxi-scooters on a motorway. It is possi-
ble that the fatality rate may be explained by the type of
vehicle being driven, rather than the type of driver.
To summarize, Italy is not the comparatively safe-haven that it used to be. We aren't entirely sure why American
crime rates are shrinking, and we aren't entirely sure why
Italian crime rates are rising. But we do know that the
overall difference between the two countries is mini-mal. We also know that “averages” are often more of an
academic exercise than a reality. A lost tourist wearing a
fanny pack in a Naples bus station has little use for aver-ages. Likewise, a lost Italian tourist in an inner-city ghetto
should not place too much confidence in averages.
If you take basic precautions and leave your motorcycle
at home you should be very confident of a perfectly enjoy-
able visit. Just don't sell your house and move because you think the grass is greener on the other side of the pond. The
truth is that the grass is quite similar.
Safe Haven continued form page 1...
Letters to the Editor and Submissions to Il Messaggio welcomed!
Got a subject on Italy or Italian-Americanism you'd like to write about? Or comment in a
Letter-to-the-Editor? Send your submissions to the editors by the deadline of the 15th of
the month before each issue published on the first of March, June, Sept, and December.
We know many interesting stories are out there that others would love to know! Let's
spread the cultural wealth!
I l M e s s a g g i o
Page 3
Monthly Lectures, Events Coming Up….
The second Tuesday of every month is being designated
for lectures, travel shows, or otherwise specialty topics
of interest for VIC members to invite the public. Here are
some of the upcoming ones…
March 12—Little Italy Neighborhood
Slide Show with John Varricchione John will have a picture slide show of the 1960s homes
that were destroyed in the former "Little Italy" neighbor-
hood of Burlington to make room for Urban Renewal. 7pm at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 228 N Wi-
nooski Ave Burlington. Free and open to the public.
(Info: John at 802-862-5961.)
Apr 9 - Subject TBA
May 14—Learn to Find Your
Genealogy with Audry Rini
Audry will be giving a talk on Genealogy, giving people
the tools to start their journey of discovering their roots. Get motivated to find your family history. 7pm. at the
Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 228 N Winooski Ave
Burlington,. Free and open to the public.
(Info: Audry 802-922-5005)
Next Amici Sunday Brunch…
Sunday March 17 at noon.
Mark your calendar. The next Amici brunch will be at the
Rotisserie Restaurant at 1355 Williston Rd. in South Bur-lington in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.
The Rotisserie is an intimate and comfortable family-owned restaurant, and the Amici will be offered the tradi-
tional corned beef and cabbage fare along with choices from
the menu.
If you wonder why the Amici celebrate St. Patrick's Day,
you'll have to stretch your thinking a little bit. It can be said
that St. Patrick was Italian because he was born in England around the year 385 A.D. to a father who was a Roman citi-
zen. But I don't think that the Amici need historic validity to
prove an Italian connection with St. Patrick in order to come
together. They actually celebrate one another in the present in a way Italians usually do...around a dinner table. That's
reason enough. Come join them. Ordering and paying is in-
dividually off the menu. Call Catherine for reservations (802-434-3572).
(See calendar of events for schedule of following months’ Amici Luncheons in April and May.)
What’s New...
Italy in the News: Person of the
Year Submitted by Al Bernasconi
The December 31, 2012 / January 7, 2013
issue of Time magazine featured the Person of
the Year. Number 5 was particle physicist
Fabiola Gianotti.
A University of Milan graduate, she did her work at the European Organization for Nu-
clear Research, CERN. She was managing a
team of 3,000 at the greatest research facility physicists have
ever built using CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, LHC. The
tiny Higgs Boson was found.
This particle gives other fundamental particles their
mass. The so-called standard model of physics was completed
that ties together the universe’s three great forces and governs
the behavior of sub-atomic particles.
Cover photo by Levon Bliss for TIME Maga-
Dr. Mario Morselli Passes Away It was with a very sad heart that VIC received the news that Mario Morselli passed away on November 23, 2012. He
was one of the first group of VICA members following its
formation in 1983 after a series of workshops ignited inter-
est in the Italian culture in the Burlington area.
A Tribute to David Arms David Arms passed away Monday, February 18, 2013 at
the Lodge at Shelburne Bay. VIC sends heartfelt condo-lences to his family during this difficult time. David and
his wife Ann have been long-time VIC members, actively
supporting and participating in the success of the club.
David's passing represents a great loss to all of us who knew him and enjoyed his gentle confidence, his humor,
and his integrity.
The VIC library is growing thanks to an infusion of
46 books donated to the club by Emilia Gargano
Piomelli, “Milly” to her friends. The gift comprises a
large selection of beautifully bound classic Ameri-
can, British, French, German and other books in Ital-
ian translation. Titles include William Faulk-
ner's Light in August, F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great
Gatsby, Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms,
Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge, Jack Ker-
ouac's On the Road, Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in
Brooklyn and many more. The rest of the titles are
included in a list attached to this newsletter. The en-
tire list of the books that are available for borrowing
from the VIC library will soon be accessible on the
VIC website.
P a g e 4 I l M e s s a g g i o
What’s New Continued...
Milly is an avid reader with a wide-ranging taste in
books and her favorite topics are the history of World War II and the Holocaust. When asked who her fa-vorite writer is, she quickly answered Primo Levi,
then added that for lighter reading she enjoys the books of Daniel Silva. Born in Salerno, she resided in Naples before moving to Burlington 25 years ago
where she was a teacher of Italian at what was then UVM’s Church Street Center. She is an independent spirit and a lively conversationalist who loves con-
versing in her beloved Italian.
Thank you, Milly, for your generous gift.
Milly Gargano Donates Books to VIC Library
"To borrow these and other books in the VIC col-
lection, e-mail Adrienne at [email protected] or
call her at 802-862-5153."
Book Review: An Italian
Education (1995) Reviewed by Carol Usher
Tim Parks, an Anglo-Saxon, writes An Italian Education from the perspective
of one who has bought into the Italian
culture with an Italian wife with whom he raises two children in the environs
of Verona. From his family, his
neighbors, his village, his in-laws, he
begins to discover the intricacies of the Italian culture which educate not only
his children but his own understanding
of how life works in Italy. He doesn't assume the eye of a trav-
eler just passing through, but his
objective, as he states it, is that
"...perhaps by the time we got to the last page of such a book, both
the reader and, far more impor-
tant, I myself would have begun to understand how it happens that
an Italian becomes Italian..."
By the time I arrived at the last
page, I think he accomplished his
goal. I felt I was leaving a family
with whom I was intimately ac-quainted and was loathe to leave
with the closing of the book.
Prior to An Italian Education, Parks wrote Italian Neighbors
(2003) , and most recently, after
almost a decade of non-Italy titles, has written Italian Ways: On and
Off the Rails from Milan to Pal-
ermo (2013). His style of writing engages the reader with insight not
to be missed if you want to under-
stand more of Bell'Italia.
Milly and Adrienne looking over books...
P a g e 5 I l M e s s a g g i o
Home Film Nights at the
Ushers: March-April: “Kaos”
The next two months' Home Film Nights at the Ushers (March and April) will fea-
ture the film "Kaos," directed by the noted Italian film
directors and screenwriters, the Taviani brothers. It is a
lengthy three-hour-plus film that includes a collection of five interesting and unique tales written by Pirandello.
The showing will be divided into two parts: Saturday,
March 9th (L’altro figlio ("The Other Son) and Mal di luna ("Moonsickness"); and Saturday, April 20 (La
Giara ("The Jar"), Requiem and Colloquio con la
madre (""Conversing with Mother"), both at 6:30pm.
Knowing Pirandello and viewing the cinematography of the Taviani brothers are paramount to the film's en-
joyment. Born Luigi Parandello in 1867 into an upper-
class family in a village with the curious name of Kaos (Chaos), a poor suburb of the southern Sicilian town of
Agrigento, he became a noted Italian dramatist, novelist,
and short story writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934 for his "bold and brilliant renova-
tion of the drama and the stage." Pirandello's works in-
clude novels, hundreds of short stories, and about 40
plays, some of which are written in Sicilian. Pirandello's tragic farces are often seen as forerunners of the Theatre
What’s New Continued...
HELP! AIUTO! A slate of officers and special tasks persons will be presented by a nominating committee to the VIC membership at the
Annual Picnic/Member Meeting in June this year for the next two-year term. To help facilitate the nominating committee,
we are asking you to participate by volunteering or suggesting member names who have skills or propensities for work in
a number of areas:
Organizational skills (especially event planning, list-making, office work)
Finances, budget projections etc.
Computer skills (graphic designs etc)
Electronics (for projector use, power-points etc)
Website maintenance i.e. calendar of events, photos
Writing skills for newsletters
Public relations skills and publicity
Photography and photo presentations
Italian film
Music
Cooking/baking
General willingness to help with various short-term tasks
Send names to VIC, P.O.Box 315, Burlington, VT 05408 (Attn: Nomination Committee)
or call the Secretary (Carol) at 802-863-2487
of the Absurd, whose works express the belief that hu-man existence has no meaning or purpose and therefore
all communication breaks down. Logical construction
and argument gives way to irrational and illogical speech
and to its ultimate conclusion, silence. Often similar to Vaudeville, with comedy mixed with horrific or tragic
images, the characters are caught in hopeless situations,
forced to do repetitive or meaningless actions; dialogues are full of clichés, wordplays, and nonsense; and plots are
cyclical or absurd, dismissing any sense of reality."
Kaos" (1984), therefore, has all the characteristics of the absurd with the added stark sense of realism that is a
hallmark of Italian cinema, each vignette examining a
varied point of view to convey a sense of understanding
and compassion for ordinary people and their extraordi-nary plights. Magic, drama, horror and humor are all
evoked in this adaptive collection of five tales of Sicilian
peasantry Cast: Margarita Lozano, Claudio Bigagli, Franco
Franchi, Frankie Ingrassia, Franco Scaldati, Omero Anto-
nutti (as Pirandello). Come experience the film and enjoy it together! Call
ahead for reservations and directions. First-come, first-
served. Space is quite limited. Carol: 802-863-2487
Page 6 I l M e s s a g g i o
Past VIC Events...
VIC Enjoyed Images and Stories
of Sicily
As part of the on-going series of monthly lectures and
events, Marianne Lucenti and Bob McNamara shared pictures and stories of their home away from home in
Sicily at Nunyun’s Café on January 8th. Marianne and
Bob bought a house eight years ago in the small seaside
town of Donnalucata, within the province of Ragusa where Marianne’s father, Salvatore Lucenti, lived until
the age of twelve before immigrating to America with
his parents, sister and brother. They told the story of connecting with their Sicilian family and integrating
into a new culture with new friends and neighbors.
Their pictures centered around some well known and some not so well known towns in the southeastern part
of Sicily. The five towns of Modica, Scicli, Ragusa
Ibla, Noto and Siracusa were rebuilt in the baroque ar-
chitectural style after a devastating earthquake in 1693. Along with being aesthetically beautiful towns, each
town has other notable features. Modica is home to the
some of world’s finest chocolate, Scicli is considered the hidden jewel of the baroque towns and home to the
film series of Inspector Montalbano, adapted from the
detective novels of Andrea Camilleri, Ragusa Ibla is the site of the Ibla Grand Prize internationa music com-
petition, and Siracusa is the site of the ancient Greek
theater and summer opera. . At the end of World War
II these five towns were designated UNESCO World Heritage sites. Beyond the heritage sites there were
also pictures of Comiso, known as the City of Peace,
where a Buddhist Temple stands in honor of the strong local and international protest against the installation of
missiles on the former United States airbase. Then the
town of Caltagirone, built on three hills and dedicated to the production of the artisan crafts, especially ceram-
ics. In the center of town rises a set of one hundred and
forty two steps, each showcasing the work of a local ceramic artist. Finally, Donnalucata, the Sicilian home
of Marianne and Bob. The town has two large sandy
beaches joined by a pedonale (area for walking and visiting neighbors) also known as the lungomare. Don-
nalucata has a strong agricultural base and is the base
for shipping vegetables and flowers off island to other
parts of Europe. Immigrants from Africa and Eastern Europe live and work here in the serre/greenhouses
supporting agriculture and adding to the local diversity.
Bob and Marianne enjoyed showing the connections they have made to their Sicilian family and culture.
This area of Italy continues to be a place where family,
good food and friends are central to daily life. Che bel
viaggio!
The evening ended with Jim Bellino winning a bottle
of Bob and Marianne’s homemade wine.
I l M e s s a g g i o Page 7
Past VIC Events (continued)...
Annual Pasta Dinner for 2013
A full house of VIC members and their guests at the
Elk’s Club signaled a successful event that has become
a VIC annual fund-raiser.
It is a time when people who come from Italy, have
their roots in Italy, or just plain love Italy, her culture, her food and her hospitality can come together and
share in her richness.
The cooking and food preparation are done by volun-
teers who make the kitchen buzz with activity.
VIC Electronic Presence: Website: www.vermontitalianclub.org
Email: [email protected] FaceBook: Did you know the Vermont Italian Club has a Facebook page? Go look...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/121821915931/
Items for a raffle are donated by local friends and
sponsors.
The hard work of the volunteers dedicated to making this a successful event for VIC along with all who attend cannot be underestimated… (so thanks to all
who participated!)
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tance to Italian Americans."
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P a g e 8 I l M e s s a g g i o
I Love Italian Food
by Mary Sue Lyons
I grew up in rural Nebraska. Other than pizza, I don't recall eating at an Italian restaurant until I lived in Colorado after marriage. My Italian cooking at home was limited to Americanized versions of pasta and pizza. In 1981, we
visited friends in London. Their Italian au pair showed me how to make tortellini with bacon (now I use pan-
cetta), mushrooms and peas, a simple but delicious meal. Soon the Spaghetti with Egg and Cheese recipe in the
“Joy of Cooking” became a family favorite.
In 1998, two Italian cookbooks were highly recommended by the Washington Post. Michele Scicolone's, A Fresh
Taste of Italy and the Nancy Jenkins' Flavors of Tuscany became my textbooks. While clearly Italian food became my favorite, I was lacking in finesse and technique. An acquaintance highly recommend “The Tuscan Chef”
Cooking School's comprehensive 6 day course with numerous field trips.(link to http://www.thetuscanchef.com/)
In early October 2007, we embarked on our first visit to Italy. The wonderful food in Cinque Terre and Florence and then on our walking trip in Tuscany was a great introduction to a variety of high quality Italian food - and then
the cooking school. It was hard work, fun, and most of all, exciting. We learned how to prepare many special
dishes from various regions of Italy. My technique improved substantially. A major unexpected benefit was that I
now had a sous chef, my husband, who also loves Italian food.
Like for Emma after her lunch in the movie “I Am Love,” the Italian cooking school changed my life. I now
could utilize the two cookbooks and purchased more. It was easy to find how to contact authors Michele and
Nancy by email if I had a question. Two Italian trips later (walking trips in Amalfi and Puglia/Basilicata, which both included a regional cooking lesson, plus Rome and Assisi where the waiter told me how to make a great ra-
dicchio salad I enjoyed), our love of Italy and its food has deepened. It is an important part of our relationships
with our children, grandchildren, friends, acquaintances, even strangers.
I love Italian food for the breadth and depth of its creativity, practicality, adaptability, taste, and its link to the Ital-
ian region from which it came. Vermonters are doubly blessed as it offers much of what we found that makes Italy
special: interesting people, beautiful surroundings, terrific Farmers Markets, quality grocery stores, and wonderful
restaurants. (continued next page…)
V o l u m e 1 5 I s s u e 1 P a g e 9
Resources I utilize regularly:
The two cookbooks mentioned above.
The Tuscan Chef cookbook I received in the class plus recipes the author sent me later.
1,000 Italian Recipes (Michele Sciolone) who also has written other Italian cookbooks
A Marcella Hazan cookbook (I have one in VA and a different but similar one in VT)
Certain recipes in the book Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
This recipe is from Massa Marittima in Tuscany and on the Adriatic coast and found in Michele Scico-
lone's A Fresh Taste of Italy.
SPAGHETTI WITH RUBIES SERVES 4 ½ it for 2
¼ it for 1
2 bunches of beets (8 medium beets, about 2 pounds)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
pinch of crushed red pepper, or to taste Coarse salt, to taste
1 pound thin spaghetti (or regular if don't have thin on hand), linguine
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Trim the tops and stems off the beets. Wash the beets under cool water and scrub with a brush.
Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, or until tender. Cool, then peel and coarsely chop the beets.
In a skillet large enough to hold all of the pasta, combine the garlic, olive oil, and red pepper. Cook over medium
heat for about 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant and the oil is sizzling. Add the chopped beets and turn them in
the oil mixture until just heated through. Bring a large pot of cold water to boil. Add salt and the spaghetti. Cook until the spaghetti is almost al dente, tender
yet firm to the bite. Drain the spaghetti, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water.
Pour the spaghetti into the skillet with the beets. Add some of the cooking water. Simmer over medium heat, con-stantly turning the spaghetti with the beets, until the pasta is evenly colored, about 2 minutes.
Serve immediately. When I am making this for the two of us as our meal, I serve it with pecorino romano cheese.
I Love Italian Food continued...
Check out the Recipe page on the VIC website…
www.vermontitalianclub.org
Add to the growing list of member family favorites. Send to...
Barbara at <[email protected]> or call her at 802-862-4200.
P a g e 1 0 N e w s l e t t e r T i t l e
From 1416 to 1847 when the House of Savoy ruled the part of Italy that is now the Region of Piemonte, then known as the Duchy of Savoy, the city of Torino was its capital. During the Wars of Spanish Succession, the Duke of Savoy
sided with the Austrians and the English against the French and the Spanish. At that time the city had many beautiful
buildings and a population of about 40,000. The city was surrounded by a defensive wall and a vast, elaborate net-work of multilevel underground tunnels. These tunnels could be filled with explosives intended to be detonated
when enemies approached thereby preventing them from reaching the wall and the citadel.
In the summer of 1706, the French were laying siege to Torino. One night as some French grenadiers were able to enter a staircase in the tunnel system, Pietro Micca, a private in the army in the mines division, and two companions
heard their shots. In a move to block the French from gaining access to the citadel, Micca lit a fuse to set off gun-
powder that had been stored nearby. Urging his fellow soldiers to leave, he intentionally used a short fuse to set off the explosion quickly, which it did, whereupon the staircase where the French soldiers collapsed and Micca’s body
was blown a distance of forty paces. He was killed and buried in the tunnel. His action helped to turn back the
French and was thought to have played a part in the defeat of the French.
Pietro Micca was celebrated in literature and art. Felice Durando della Villa wrote an elegy for him and Francesco
Soave wrote a novella about him. He appears in numerous children’s books. A ballet about him was written as well
as a film. The town in which he was born was renamed Sagliano Micca in his honor. In 1958 the staircase near where he was killed was discovered whereupon an archeological dig was commenced, leading to the founding of the
Pietro Micca Museum which celebrates his exploit. The museum was opened in 1961 during the celebration of the
centenary of the unification of Italy. To learn more about Pietro Micca, the Duchy of Savoy, and the War of Spanish Succession, you can go to the Museum’s website at: www.museopietromicca.it/
FOOTNOTE: From time to time stories about heroes of Italy who are not widely known will be printed. Suggestions
welcomed.
Pietro Micca:
Italian National Hero
By Adrienne Donohue
Photos courtesy of Tom Donohue
The author entering one of the tunnels. Statue of Pietro Micca in Piazza Arbarello
MEMBERSHIP
If you have not already done so,
send your dues today to VIC, P.O. Box 3155, Burlington, VT 05408 $35 Family - $25 Single - $15 Full-time Student
V o l u m e 1 5 I s s u e 1 P a g e 1 1
VIC Calendar of Events: Spring 2013
Mar 12 (Tues)- Little Italy Neighborhood Slide Show with John Varricchione, 7pm
Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 228 N Winooski Ave Burlington. Free and open to the public.
(Info: John at 802-862-5961.)
Mar 17 (Sun) - Amici Sunday Brunch (St. Patrick's Day Celebration) Noon
Rotisserie Restaurant, 1355 Williston Rd South Burlington. Order and pay from menu.
(VIC Reservations required: Catherine 802-434-3572)
Apr 9 (Tues) - Presentation - Subject TBA, 7pm
Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 228 N Winooski Ave Burlington. Free and open to the public.
(Info: Terri at 802-863-6516)
Apr 18 (Thurs) - Amici Luncheon, 11:45am Lighthouse Restaurant, (former Clover House moved into Lighthouse location), 38 Lower Mountain View
Drive, Colchester (near Costco’s)
(VIC Reservations required: Catherine 802-434-3572)
May 14 (Tues)- Genealogy Searches with Audry Rini, 7pm
Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf, 228 N Winooski Ave Burlington, Free and open to the public.
(Info: Audry 802-922-5005)
May 16 (Thurs) - Amici Luncheon, 11:45 am
Junior’s Italian Restaurant, 85 So Park Drive, Colchester (near Exit 16 of I-89) (VIC Reservations required: Catherine 802-434-3572)
On-going VIC events...
Italian Conversation Classes: 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, St. Michael’s College, St. Edmonds Hall,
Room,101, 7-9 pm (contact Nancy 802-879-1087)
Beginner's Italian Classes: 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, St. Michael’s College, St. Edmonds Hall,
Room,101, 7-9 pm (contact Nancy 802-879-1087)
Amici Luncheons: Members and friends meet monthly at various restaurants. VIC reservations needed.
(contact Catherine 802-434-3572)
Interesting Community Events...
March 18, 2013 (Mon): Rick Steves at the Flynn, Main St, Burlington
As a benefit for VPT, Steves will offer advice on how to make the most of a trip to Europe. ( Go to vpt.org or call for tickets (802)655-4800)
Check out the Middlebury Italian Language School programs...more information to come for
summer programs
V e r m o n t I t a l i a n C l u b
P . O . B o x 3 1 5 5
B u r l i n g t o n , V T 0 5 4 0 8 - 3 1 5 5
Friends of ours in Charlotte who know of our interest in Italian food and travel called us in late 2011 to tell us they thought we should join. We immediately did. The first year we missed a lot of activi-ties because of our back and forth schedule. This year we are very pleased to have en-joyed three activities already! We have two children, both married, and three grandchil-dren: two boys, ages ten and eight, and a girl age five. Al-though we both love Italy and Italian food, we mustn't forget that our grandchildren are really tops on our list.
beautiful countryside where we love to hike. So far we have hiked in Cin-que Terre on our own and Tuscany, Amalfi, and Pug-lia/Basilicata with Custom Walks.
We spend less than two thirds of our year in Reston, VA outside of Washington DC and the rest in Montpelier, VT. Tom was born and raised in Montpelier. I was born in Washington DC but raised in Nebraska. We value our time in Vermont. This is our second year to be a member of VIC.
I am also a member of the P.E.O.(Philanthropic Edu-cational Organization), an organization where women celebrate the advancement of women; educate women through scholarships, grants and loans; and motivate women to achieve their highest aspirations. It was a pioneer society for women founded in 1869 by seven students of Iowa Wesleyan College and has grown to almost a quarter of a mil-lion members in chapters in the US and Canada. See more at their website. See Mary Sue’s article I Love Italian Food on page 8.
My husband Tom and I aren't Italian. We've enjoyed three visits to Italy with a fourth trip planned for 2014. Ital-ian food is my passion (see article in this is-sue). We both enjoy the history of Italy, the cities and towns, the art museums, the movies, the enthusiasm, and the
WHO WE ARE: To better acquaint you with who we are on a personal level, this featured section of Il Messaggio is reserved for a
short autobiographical “portrait” of a VIC member or a place in Italy from which a member’s family emigrated. This issue features VIC
member Mary Sue Lyons.