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Italian Language Meeting — September 25, 2024

 

Presenta

Join us for our first Italian-language meeting of the season. Made in Italy is a journey among food, fashion, handcraft and masterpieces that make Italians famous throughout the world.
 
Presented by
Isabella Moriconi
 
 

Isabella was born in Roma and has been teaching in European private, public and charter schools for 10+ years. Come work on your Italian listening and speaking skills, and enjoy the sound of your bella madre lingua! 

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY
September 25, 2024

St. Clement’s Church
1501 32nd Ave S., Seattle 98144

6:00 Aperitivo*
7:30 Presentation

FREE

*For Italian meetings, attendees provide antipasti and vino to share. Please bring all shared dishes plated and ready to be served. 

 

Copyright © 2024 Dante Alighieri Society of Washington, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
Dante Alighieri Society of Washington
PO Box 9494
Seattle, WA 98109


 

 

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Sept 2024 Dante Seattle La Voce

 

 

September 2024

 

President’s Message

Ciao A Tutti

I don’t know about you but this summer seems to have zipped by me. One moment I was swimming in Lake Washington and sipping on Campari spritzes, and the next, I was pulling out the winter sweater box, taking inventory for the prescient fall.

For those of you who did manage to collect some stories since we last spoke be sure to reach out to La Voce’s editor-in-chief, Stacey Howe-Lott, if you have something you would like to share. Travelogues, the discovery of your ancient Italian ancestry, a life-changing recipe for olive oil cake: all are welcome and appreciated.

As it has been so long since we last spoke I want to take a moment to share some of the good work members of Dante’s leadership team have been up to over the summer.

Special Thanks to Francesca Agnello and Giuseppe Tassone for bringing the Presidio Letterario Società Dante Alighieri Seattle to the Biblioteca Italiana Seattle. For those of you who are hearing of this for the first time, the Presidi Letterari Dante Alighieri is a network that promotes reading and contemporary Italian literature around the world. This means that in addition to borrowing books at BIS, in the future you may be able to participate in presentations with the authors, or take part in reading groups. Thanks to the efforts of Francesca, Giuseppe, and the fine folks at Il Punto, Seattle now has its very own branch at the Italian Cultural Center in Burien. Click here for a peek into what the Presidi Letterari look like around the world.

It is also with great pleasure that I get to celebrate Alessandra Hankinson, our new Program Chair. Alessandra has single-handedly taken over the duties of our two past program chairs, Joan and Janet. On top of the hard work of being a new mother, Alessandra has gone above and beyond to put together an exciting events calendar for the upcoming season.

Our inaugural meeting will be held on September 11th at St. Clement! Former president, Joyce Ramee will be in the kitchen cooking up a storm. And I, having fully assumed the role of Presidente, will be doing my obligatory duty of kissing babies and shaking hands. Come one, come all.

Speaking of duty, I want to take a moment to discuss our ongoing need for new volunteers. Like all cultural non-profits, we are people powered. This means showing up an extra hour here or there and helping to make the events we all love so much come alive.

If you are anything like me, you love all things Italian, and likely took up membership with Dante because you wanted to experience, and help others experience, their own slice of Italy right here in Seattle. The Dante Society allows us to do that and be surrounded by people who have similar goals. So take a moment to consider helping out. Festa is just around the corner, the weekend of September 28th, and we can always use extra hands at the in-person meetings.

I get it, life is busy, and jobs and family take priority, but volunteering isn’t like the work we do to make money. Volunteering is the stuff memories are made of. It’s fun, community-based, and serves a deeper purpose. In this way, it shares a lot with the divine.

That’s All For Now,

Trevor

Info on this month’s meetings

September 11th (English)

Kick-off meeting and Italian ‘pub-style’ trivia night with our very own Domenico Minotti. Test your Italian prowess and collaborate with your teammates in this head-to-head trivia challenge!

Nic has been our Festa quiz maker for the last 10 years.  Nic has been a Dante member for many years and is currently a consigliere on the board of directors. His parents came from Molise and he lived in Milano in his youth as a Fulbright scholar.

September 25th (Italian)

Isabella Moriconi presentation topic ‘MADE IN ITALY: a journey among food, fashion, handcraft and masterpieces that make Italians famous and proud in the world!’

Born in the shadow of Colosseum, Isabella is from Rome where she got her Degree in Teaching and Translation in foreign languages. Her husband is from Naples, and they moved to the USA 2 years ago after travelling and moving around Europe quite a lot! Isabella has been teaching languages in European private, public and charter schools for 10+ years, including at the University ‘La Sapienza’ in Rome. She has spent time working in Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Uk and Ireland. In her free time, she really enjoys cooking, learning new languages (she is currently learning Irish/Gaelic language right now!), travelling, museums, theatres and staying healthy!

Program Calendar for the year

Language Program

by Giuseppe Tassone

The 40th school year of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington resumes on Thursday, October 3, 2024. Evening classes continue to be online and suitable for everybody in Washington State and in the West. Registration is open until September 27th. but classes fill up quickly. Check our website for any opening before you register. Arrivrderci!

Additional Topics

IT’S FESTA ITALIANA TIME!!

Can you help with the Dante Booth?

Saturday, September 28 and Sunday, September 29

One or two people are needed, in two-hour shifts between 10 AM-6 PM, to greet visitors at the Dante Booth and share information with them about our wonderful Language Program and this season’s activities. This is easy, fun work; if you’ve never done it, try it this year! Please volunteer by emailing past-president Joyce Ramee, joyce@danteseattle.org to sign up for a shift. GRAZIE!

Help Wanted!

ANYTIME you plan to attend one of Dante’s Wednesday meetings, please consider helping to set it up. Two people are needed for this work for each meeting. For English meetings, where dinner is served, this means arriving at the facility by 5:00 in order to set the tables and get everything out. For Italian meetings the arrival time can be 5:30 as the food is all DIY antipasti. At the end of the evening, clean-up help is needed to be sure no one has to stay and do it alone. We also need people to assist with our presenters, getting the screen and computer connections set up upstairs.

If you can see yourself volunteering for this, please email the Board at info@danteseattle.org and someone will contact you to decide which meeting(s) will work best for you to help. Since Dante has no paid staff, this volunteer work is essential to our continued successful meetings. Board members often volunteer to do this work, but even they are not able to do it alone or all the time. PLEASE HELP!! Per favore, aiutateci!! info@danteseattle.org

 

Italian Language Classes begin October 3

The 40th school year of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington resumes on Thursday, October 3, 2024. Your evening classes are now online and suitable for everybody in Washington State and in the West. Registration is open until September 27th. but classes fill up quickly. For more information, please contact the director Giuseppe Tassone at school@danteseattle.org. To find out more and sign up: www.danteseattle.org

April Italian Meeting

 

 

DANTE ALIGHIERI SOCIETY of WASHINGTON
presents

Decoding Italian Gestures:
Understanding the Language of Hands
 
(Italian Meeting, Live)
given by

Alessandra Arosio

WEDNESDAY April 24, 2024

St. Clement’s Church
1501 32nd Ave S., Seattle 98144

6:00 DOORS OPEN FOR ANTIPASTI
7:30 PRESENTATION

For Italian Meetings, attendees bring the antipasti and vino to share.
PLEASE bring your shared dishes already plated if possible.
 

Presentation Summary

Italian culture places significant emphasis on nonverbal communication, with gestures serving as an integral part of daily interactions. The presentation delves into the fascinating world of Italian gestures, exploring their significance, cultural roots, and nuanced meanings. By deciphering these nonverbal cues, we gain deeper insights into Italian communication and cultural expressions.
Biography

Alessandra Arosio, originally from Milan, Italy, pursued her passion for language by earning a master’s degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures (German and English). She then transitioned into the tech industry, where she assumed diverse roles encompassing technical writing, terminology management, cultural and market adaptations, and digital marketing.

Her career progression eventually led her to relocate to the Pacific Northwest with her husband and daughter. Since 2023, Alessandra is also the president of Il Punto, an Italian cultural association that connects people and communities through a common passion for Italian arts, culture and language.

We don’t take reservations for Italian meetings, and there is no charge.
Anyone with known recent exposure to  or symptoms of COVID  should not attend.

Masking  is optional.

Hope to see you!

Copyright © 2024 Dante Alighieri Society of Washington, All rights reserved.