 Celebrated Italians Cesare Pavese (Sept 9, 1908 – August 27, 1950) was an Italian poet, novelist, literary critic and translator; he is widely considered among the major authors of the 20th century Italy. Giacomo Puccini (Dec 22, 1858 – Nov 29, 1924) was an Italian composer whose operas, including La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire. Some of his arias, such as "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schicchi, "Che gelida manina" from La Bohème, and "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot, have become part of modern culture. Michelangelo Antonioni was born in Ferrara on September
29th 1912. A director, whose films are regarded as some
of the most influential in film aesthetics.
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Events
Here is a listing of upcoming and past events sponsored or recommended by the Italian Cultural Center. Join our mailing list to receive regular event updates from the ICC. Please check back often for updated information and new event listings. NEW! - Beginner's Book Club!
Are you interested in improving your reading, pronunciation, and listening skills in Italian? The Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St. Paul would like to encourage you to become a part of our informal summer Beginner's Book Club! Our Beginner's Book Club will welcome ICC members, who have completed a Beginner 1 class, at any time during our 8 week session. Our first meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 1, from 6-8 p.m., We will gather in Suite 211 in the Hennepin Center for the Arts building, and we will read and discuss Italian literature in a relaxed atmosphere. There is no cost for the Book Club other than your ICC membership fee. If you wish to become a member, please follow the membership instructions located on our web site. We will begin reading an adapted beginner's version of Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio. We will take turns reading aloud, and before moving to the next page, we will make certain everyone has a grasp of the meaning. Our discussion will be in Italian as much as possible. The book can be purchased through Amazon.com. Please search there for Le Avventure di Pinocchio, published by Glencoe/McGraw Hill, ISBN-10: 0844280232 or ISBN-13: 978-0844280233. This is a red paperback book with a black image of Pinocchio on the cover. Click here for more information... Art and Culture  The
Italian Cultural Center and the Consular Correspondent in
Minneapolis-St Paul, Mr. Marco Pavoloni, will be co-hosting a reception
in honor of the Italian Consul General in Chicago, Alessandro Motta.
On
Tuesday, June 19, 2009 at 6 PM, Mr. Motta will be making his first
visit to Minnesota. Following a reception, catered by Toast Wine Bar
and Cafe, guests will view Carlo Mazzacurati's critically acclaimed
La giusta distanza (The Right Distance) (2007).
La giusta distanza (The Right Distance)
VIAGGIO con LE VISTE
Experience the photography of Brett Kallusky
The exhibition takes place at the Dining Studio from April 24, 2009 to June 21, 2009. The opening reception is April 25, 2009 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The piazza has always been central to Italian culture and to Italian language, representing many aspects of day-to-day life— a site of human interaction and both social and commercial exchange, a meeting point for debate and political action, the pulsing heart of urban activity. The piazza is a symbol of social encounter and integration, a place where people meet and sometimes clash, a public space brimming with possibility. The piazza is a place where Italians celebrate their religious celebrations. Italy boasts hundreds of piazzas admired and envied throughout the world for their architectural beauty and their central role in urban life. And, Italian theater first took hold and then evolved in the piazza. To help celebrate the many aspects of this unique site, the Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St. Paul in partnership with the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Chicago, will be showing the following Italian films:
Screenings take place at 7pm in Auditorium 150 of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design every first Friday of each month from January through June 2009 (note that only in March the first Italian Film Festival wiil take place instead of the CineForum). Il
regista di matrimoni (The Wedding Director, 2006)
Directed by Marco Bellocchio - (Friday June 5th, 7pm)  Sergio Castellitto plays Franco Elica, a dissolute movie director who slides into despair after being asked - to his horror - to make yet another version of Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed. Complicating matters is news that a looming sexual-harassment scandal is about to break. Hoping to avoid the scandal at all costs, Franco flees to Sicily where he hides out in a small village. There he meets a host of colorful characters: a man who makes his living shooting souvenir wedding films, a film director who is faking his own death to finally achieve the fame that has eluded him all his life, and the cultured nobleman Prince Ferdinando Gravina di Palagonia. The menacing Prince, a huge fan of Franco’s movies, commissions the depraved filmmaker to shoot the wedding of his tempestuous daughter, Bona, with whom Elica quickly falls impulsively, idiotically, dangerously in love and whose wedding he becomes driven to sabotage at all costs.  The
Children's Theatre Company and the Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/
St. Paul have partnered to offer a very special opportunity to experience
the American premiere of Nicola Lusuardi and Fabrizio Montecchi's Circoluna
(Circus Moon) in Italian. The sole performance conducted in Italian,
exclusively for friends of the ICC, will take place on April
11 at 4 PM. The audience of this show will
be additionally treated to a post-performance opportunity to meet and
speak with the actors of the Teatro
Gioco Vita.
Tickets to this magical adventure in shadow and light cost $18 and are available to friends of the ICC on a first come first serve basis. Current students of the ICC children's language school and those registering for the spring trimester of children's language classes by March 14, 2009 are eligible for discounted tickets costing $4 (the discounted tickets are for students only; parents and non-registered siblings are asked to pay full-price). The discount will be granted as a $14 PayPal reimbursement upon the purchase of a full-price ticket. The CTC has also generously extended a 15% discount to English performances of Circoluna. To purchase discounted tickets for English language performances of Circoluna call the Children's Theatre Company ticket office at 612-874-0400 and mention "Italian Cultural Center." The discount applies to new ticket purchases and cannot be added to any other discount. Reception for Fabrizio Montecchi (Artistic Director, Teatro Gioco Vita)
Saturday, March 28th 2009, 7:30-9:30pm Children's
Theatre Company Carnevale Costume Event 2009
Saturday, February 28 Friends of the ICC receive a 20% discount on costume rental, $5 off the purchase of a costume and 10% off the purchase of a mask at the Theatrical Costume Company. Mention the Italian Cultural Center to receive the discount. Tickets:  Carnevale
dei bambiniA Carnevale ogni scherzo vale! Children should come dressed in their favorite mask and costume ... parents are also encouraged to join in the fun! Entertainment includes face-painting, music, games and prizes. Families are being asked to bring a store-bought or homemade Italian dessert to share from their home or favorite region of Italy. DATE: Saturday, February 28th, 2009 RSVP by February 26, 2008 to admin@theitalianculturalcenter.org The Marriage of Figaro: A Light-hearted Look at an Italian Libretto Have you ever wondered about the meaning of all those extra syllables that never appear in the English translation projected above the stage? The Italian Cultural Center will help you discover the answer. Join us for an exploration of the original language of Lorenzo Da Ponte’s libretto, Le Nozze di Figaro, on Thursday, April 26, 2007 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Minnesota Opera Center. After an enlightening introduction to Da Ponte’s background and his pivotal role in Mozart’s career, you will gain new insight into the opera by understanding the sometimes archaic, yet always fresh and elegant language that underscores the complexity of the human condition and the irony of the social and political events of that era. Using scenes from the Metropolitan Opera’s 1985 production, the session will highlight selected arias and provide a framework of time and place to the words themselves. Introduction: Franklin Hugh Adler, De Witt Wallace Professor of Political Science, Macalester College, St. Paul. |
A
coming-of-age story, a cross-cultural romance, and a murder mystery
are played out against a backdrop of small town intrigue and obsession
in this absorbing drama by veteran director Mazzacurati. The routine of
a Po Valley backwater is disrupted by the arrival of a vivacious schoolteacher
who captivates all the local men, including budding reporter Giovanni
and Arab garage mechanic Hassan. The title, La giusta distanza, refers
to the detachment that a reporter must observe toward his subjects, but,
when violence enters the picture, Giovanni finds that “the right distance” is
not so easy—or desirable—to maintain. 
The
Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis and St. Paul is sponsoring the
first solo exhibition of local photographer, 
Join
the Italian Cultural Center and the Children's Theatre Company for
an intimate reception in honor of Fabrizio Montecchi and the cast of 
An
evening of festive Italian music from the 70s, 80s and 90s, dancing,
traditional sweets and cash bar in celebration of Carnevale.