I hope this finds you well, with your crocuses blooming, daffodils thriving, azaleas and magnolias budding and Mason Bees buzzing! E Buona Pasqua, if “Pasqua” is celebrated in your home.Our Dante Society has come through the winter months with great success. Where could you hear lectures on olive growing and on the history of Sicily, experience Dante readings by students of all levels and backgrounds, AND take in a live, professional (and downright amazing) TUBA RECITAL given in real time from Italy? You guessed it – in the Dante Society of Washington’s winter zooms. We also enjoyed a grand return to in-person meetings last week, with Mario Cazzanti’s wonderful presentation on the perpetual readings of Dante in Ravenna.

So now it is spring, and time for the Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) on April 12. PLEASE COME TO THIS MEETING. The business of our organization only occupies one meeting each year. We also must file a report from our AGM every year with the parent organization of the Dante Alighieri Society in Rome, so this is an important event.

The doors at St. Clement’s Church will open at 6:00 PM on April 12. First comes a lovely free dinner provided by your Board: antipasti, entrees (lasagne and a vegan, gluten free option), salad, bread and dessert. Everyone is invited to bring vino to share. During dinner we all visit informally, and the meeting begins as dinner wraps up.

A time-keeper will help us all keep the spoken portions running efficiently this year, so that we can conclude our business on time. You will be invited to share your thoughts about this season in the MEMBER FEEDBACK portion of the meeting. FINANCIAL and LANGUAGE PROGRAM activities for the past year will be summarized by our Treasurer and LP Director.

You will be invited to ELECT the BOARD of DIRECTORS – which is only done by in-person voting at the AGM. The important, recent MEMBER SURVEY will be reported upon, leading us into THE FUTURE OF DANTE SEATTLE – what are our priorities in the years ahead, and who will be our leaders? Your ideas and energy can help shape our future – but we need to see and hear from you!

It would be so heartening to your board to see a large and enthusiastic turnout of both new and long-time Dante members at the AGM this year. Won’t you please mark April 12 on your calendar and plan to attend the AGM? Watch for the separate AGM email, with the Slate of Nominees and the link to register, so that we know how much food to prepare.

A presto ~ Joyce

Our April 12th meeting will be devoted to our Annual General Meeting (AGM). I hope you can all come out to the meeting to hear what the Board has to report about its activities last year, to provide feedback to the Board about how you feel about the last year of Dante meetings and events and, most importantly, to elect the Board for the coming year. Dinner will be provided by the Board.

Our April 26th Italian meeting welcomes back Annalisa Bellerio, who entertained us previously with presentations on Leonardo and Raphael. Annalisa Bellerio is an Italian journalist, editor, and writer. After graduating in Art History from the University of Pavia, she worked in publishing as editor-in-chief, copywriter, author of books, articles, and short stories, and consultant for literary agencies. In Milan, the city to which she belongs and returns every year, Annalisa has also worked as an Italian Language, Literature, and
History teacher, as a guide for art exhibitions, and as a volunteer in a middle school specialized for disabled children.

In the United States, where she has lived for the past nine years, she works as a writer, an Italian language teacher, and for Language Services. Moreover, she is a certified Yoga instructor, “Competent Communicator” by Toastmasters International, and volunteer “Docent” at Bellevue Arts Museum. Her paintings have been shown in private and collective exhibitions.

This year her topic will be “La conquista dello spazio nell’arte del Rinascimento – The Conquest of Space in Renaissance Art.”

Here is her description of her talk:
Nell’Italia del XV secolo, mentre le scoperte di esploratori e naviganti ridisegnavano la geografia del mondo allora conosciuto, e classi emergenti trasformavano alle radici la società del tempo, gli artisti diedero forma nelle loro opere a una nuova visione della realtà attraverso una conquista rivoluzionaria, insieme scientifica e simbolica: la prospettiva geometrica. La rappresentazione dello spazio messa a punto nel Rinascimento, dall’Italia si diffuse in Europa e poi in tutto il mondo, ed è tuttora usata in molteplici settori come l’architettura, l’urbanistica, la scenografia, l’astronomia, nella tattica militare, nelle simulazioni 3d e nella realtà virtuale. La sua lunga storia, dalle origini alla fioritura fino agli sviluppi successivi, rappresenta un viaggio appassionante nel tempo e, soprattutto, nello spazio.

In 15th-century Italy, while explorers and sailors were redesigning with their discoveries the geography of the world known at the time, and emerging classes were transforming society from the ground up, artists gave shape to a new vision of reality through a revolutionary conquest, both scientific and symbolic: the geometric perspective. The representation of space developed in the Renaissance spread out of Italy to Europe and afterward throughout the world, and is still used today in numerous fields such as architecture, urban planning, scenography, astronomy, military tactics, 3D simulations, and virtual reality. Its long history, from its origins to its blooming and subsequent evolution, represents an exciting journey through time and, above all, space.

We hope to see you at both the AGM and the Italian meeting.

Spring is here and so are our spring quarter classes which resumed on March 30 after spring break. This is our last quarter of the school year 2022-23 and it is always a pleasure to see the tenacity of our students who have enrolled in good numbers to complete their level of Italian. Others unfortunately were not able to continue due to work schedule and/or personal matters.

It is very encouraging to read from the latter their motivations and their desire to keep up with Italian by maintaining access to Canvas and return in the future as one student wrote to us:
“I’ve enjoyed these last 3 years with Dante so much! I want to keep going through level 4 when time allows. The instructors are amazing, as are all our classmates. And I love being able to attend by Zoom.”

By consequence classes size in the spring is typically smaller with an average of 16 students per course or section. This quarter we are offering two sections of A1, one full section of A2 and the B1 level, our third level of Italian. These students will populate our fall quarter classes by enrolling respectively to levels A2, B1 and B2 while new students, with no or little knowledge of Italian, will find in our A1 level course the ideal place to begin their journey of learning Italian.

To conclude I want, in thanking everyone who participate to the Dantedì, to congratulate once again our 13 students Austin, Margaretta, Kate, Steven, Brianna, Shane, Pamela, Marianne, Vasilya, Mark, Juan, Alessandra and Luis, who presented at our Dantedì 2023 celebration on March 8th. I admire the time and effort you dedicate to it. I can’t imagine how proud you must be of reading and presenting in Italian.

Bravi e complimenti sia a voi che ai vostri insegnanti Nicla, Damiano, Francesca e Paola per il loro supporto.

Post viewing of the Dantedì 2023 celebration is now available on our YouTube channel:

Buona visione e arrivederci!

Rosaia Brothers’ floral business bloomed for 80 years

Whether designing elaborate window displays, winning awards at flower shows, or helping launch the Italian Commercial Club 100 years ago, the Rosaia Brothers – Palmiro, Felix and George – brought energy, passion and, above all, a sense of beauty to their adopted city.

The brothers arrived in Seattle in 1906, moving here from San Francisco. They spent the next several years building nurseries and greenhouses to launch their business. Then a golden opportunity appeared: the Alaska Yukon Pacific Exposition (see photo above). The brothers provided many of the floral decorations for the 1909 fair, creating the buzz they needed to open their first shop in downtown Seattle. They were on their way.

After successfully opening a flower stall at Second and James, Felix opened the Felix Rosaia Florist shop at Third and Madison, where he remained for more than 40 years. The shop was known for serving hot meals to employees and also to neighboring business owners. At its heyday, the Rosaia family managed greenhouses in Kent and Des Moines, and had flower shops in the Olympic Hotel and several other downtown Seattle locations.

Read the full story here.

This story is part of a new La Voce series about Italian Americans in Seattle, reproduced with permission from l’Italo-Americano, the country’s oldest Italian American newspaper. Stories are printed in both English and Italian, online and in print version. Subscribe here.

Ciao a Tutti,

This is Janet Lenart, Board member in place of Joyce Ramee, President.

The Dante Board members greatly value your participation in Dante activities and would like your input on future programs. Please complete a survey at https://forms.gle/rdivtXSSJ6x3ySLZ9 if you have not yet done so. You probably received this link by email last week.

March is a month in Italy when numerous festivals occur. March 8th is La Festa Delle Donne also known as the International Women’s Day which is actively recognized in Italy. Beautiful yellow mimosa flowers are given to women and often women share dinner together. If you eat at a pizzeria in Italy on March 8th you may see some very raucous, fun female groups.

Also in March, on the 25th is the National Dante Day designated by the Italian Government in 2020. It is thought that in March Dante began his fictional journey through hell, purgatory, and heaven, which he described in his book “The Divine Comedy.”

Don’t forget to renew your Dante membership if you haven’t done so as scheduled in January. Our membership fees are the lifeline of all our programs.

Save the date for our Annual Meeting Dinner: April 12, 2023 at St. Clement’s Church. Plan to attend and share conversation over dinner with your Dante friends. Details will follow.

As always, please consider writing a couple of paragraphs on an experience in Italy, or a book or article, or a recipe that you’d like to share in the next issue of La Voce! Send your work to stacey@danteseattle.org. Thank you!

Greetings all! It is I your humble vice president Bruce Leone to address you this month. As I write this there are very small tips of green emerging from the ground and boy am I ready for it. As I get older it feels like winter lasts longer each year. I’m not anti-rain mind you, just anti cold rain. I am all about moss and ferns and mushrooms and liverworts all created by our wet surroundings. Yes I think liverworts are way under-rated and need more publicity.

For quite a long time now I have been hearing nothing but encouraging things from our language school which makes me very happy. Dante is the only Italian group around here with an emphasis on language learning which is very important to me personally as well. I am eternally grateful to Giuseppe for his time and skillful direction of the school.

Joyce has done a superb job of informing and motivating and organizing us for the last couple of years and I am so grateful. I hope someone else can take the baton and continue the race for all of us.

Of course please renew your membership and please tell your friends and acquaintances about Dante. New members will help to maintain our organization into the future. The world is attracted to everything Italian so it is an easy sell. Recently I have seen multiple times in the media about the importance of active and varied social connection for a long and healthy life. I think I can safely say “be active in Dante and you will live longer.”

I also wanted to share this interesting article on Italy’s unusual vegetable ritual.

Lastly, I have an interesting puzzle around my father’s name.

Lezzini Leone or Leone Lezzini?
I have always wondered about my grandfather’s true name. He was born in 1882 in Milan Italy and arrived in New York in 1909. I’m not sure he was even able to read and write. I heard that he never learned much English. As is still customary, I think, in Italy in legal and formal situations it is typical to give your last name first and your first name after. I believe that when filling out legal documents and asked for his name he probably would give his last name first as was customary. I am still puzzled as to why it goes back and forth.

His funeral card read Lezzini Leone. His wedding license in NY says Leone Lezzini. His draft card says Leone Lezzini  (form labeled first and last name) and it also shows wife Maria’s signature as Maria Lezzini. He also signed it as Lezzini Leone In the 1910 census he is listed as Leon Lecini. His passport says Lezzini Leone.

What do you think it really was?

March is the month Italians celebrate their beloved poet, storyteller and visionary, Dante Alighieri, the eponym of our own Dante Alighieri Society. And so during this month both presentations will focus on Dante.

March 8 via zoom
First up, at the meeting on Wednesday, March 8, the classes from our Language School – under the able direction of our talented faculty and LS Director, Giuseppe Tassone – will each present their reflections on Dante. Many of you will remember the presentations from last year which were so warmly received. I’m sure we are all looking forward to hearing what the students have prepared for us this time.

This presentation will be in Italian and English.

March 22 in person
For our Wednesday, March 22 Italian meeting, Mario Cazzanti, a native of the area around Ravenna and Ferrara, will relate his experience participating in the “Lettura Perpetua” of the Commedia organized by the city of Ravenna on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante in 2021.

Here’s Mario’s summary of his talk:
“Storia della partecipazione di un Circolo Culturale di Seattle alle celebrazioni per il 7mo centenario della morte di Dante con l’iniziativa di Ravenna della ‘Lettura Perpetua’ della Commedia.

Ravenna e’ stata crocevia di culture che hanno modellato una parte rilevante del bacino del Mediterraneo e del  continente Europeo. I mosaici che  decorano basiliche ed i battisteri testimoniano l’intensità di un periodo storico unico. La bellezza di tale arte ha contribuito quasi certamente in  Dante a descrivere in modo ammirevole la bellezza dei cieli del suo Paradiso. L’incontro con l’assessore alla cultura di Ravenna Fabio Sbaraglia e’ stata la prestigiosa conclusione della nostra visita alla città, col seguito della lettura del V Canto Inferno.

History of the participation of Seattle Cultural Circle in the celebrations for the 7th centenary of Dante’s death, specifically the initiative in Ravenna of the “Perpetual Reading” of the Comedy.

Ravenna has been a crossroads of cultures that have shaped a significant part of the Mediterranean basin and the European continent. The mosaics that decorate the basilicas and baptisteries testify to the intensity of a unique historical period. The beauty of this art has almost certainly contributed in Dante to admirably describe the beauty of the heavens of his Paradise.

The meeting with the councilor for culture of Ravenna, Fabio Sbaraglia, was the prestigious conclusion of our visit to the city, followed by the reading of the V Canto of the Inferno.

We hope you’re able to attend these meetings. An email with a pre-registration link will be sent to everyone on the Dante emailing list. There is, of course, no charge for our meetings but we urge to become a member or take one of our Italian classes in support of our promotion of Italian language and culture.

The Italian Language Program of the Dante Alighieri Society is approaching the end of the second quarter with classes ending on March 14th. After our spring break, classes resume on March 30th with the third and last quarter for the school year 2022-23.

March is a special month for us since we commemorate Dante Alighieri, the poet, and the man under which our organization is named. March 25th is Dantedì (the day of Dante). It is the day universally dedicated to Dante. When Dantedì was officially established in 2020 we thought that being Dante considered the “father of the Italian language”, it was appropriate to have our students enrolled in the Italian language program involved in celebrating him.

At the same time by having our students as protagonist of the event, meant to us also celebrating their accomplishments in Italian language and their commitment to the study of the language. So, we decided to dedicate one of the March meetings of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington
to students’ presentations on Dante and his work: readings from the Comedy, illustration of historical and mythological characters, thematic presentations etc. all under the coaching of our talented instructors and my coordination. Thanks to the encouragement and the positive feedback from students who participated in the event as presenters or audience we will have the third edition of it on March 8th. My thanks to our winter quarter instructors Laura, Nicla, Francesca, Damiano and Paola for their collaboration.

To conclude, speaking of accomplishment, I want to congratulate our PLIDA B1 candidates since while I am writing this news, I received communications from Rome that all candidates at our last session successfully passed the exam with excellent results in the listening, speaking, reading, and speaking sections and they will receive their certificate. The PLIDA exam is challenging but as demonstrated by these candidates is doable with patience and dedication in preparation. The same is true for those who wish to learn our beautiful language. It takes time and this is one of the reasons to structure our program into quarters and levels.

Don’t miss March 20th registration deadline for spring quarter and June 9th for PLIDA.

Arrivederci al Dantedì.

Next time you’re on the UW campus, standing in front of the massive Suzzallo Library, be sure to check out the 18 terra cotta figures along its façade, each representing an individual who made significant contributions to learning and culture. Did you know there are three Italians represented: Dante, Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo?

But that’s not the only Italian connection. Anthony Henry Suzzallo, who served as the UW’s 16th president, was descended from Italian roots. His father, Peter Suzzallo, went to sea at an early age, got caught up in gold-rush fever, made some money, and sailed home to marry a distant cousin. The couple returned to San Jose, Calif., where Suzzallo was born in 1875, the eighth of nine children.

Not a terrific student, Suzzallo worked in a San Jose clothing store after high school. The owners took a liking to him, though, and convinced him to go to college, even loaning him the money. It turned out that Suzzallo was an excellent student after all, and turned his passion for learning into a career as an educator.

Suzzallo instigated a campus redesign and vowed that the UW library would take its place “with the best in the world.” Read the full story here.

This story is part of a new La Voce series about Italian Americans in Seattle, reproduced with permission from l’Italo-Americano, the country’s oldest Italian American newspaper. Stories are printed in both English and Italian, online and in print version. Subscribe here.

I would like to find out if anyone would like to volunteer to cook for any of our meetings in which we have dinners. If there is anyone interested in volunteering, I would be happy to answer any of their questions, for example, how many to prep for, the timing involved, how the kitchen is equipped, menu options, etc.

If anyone is interested, they can reach me at joan@danteseattle.org