Italian Language Meeting
Speaker: Rebecca Albiani
Topic: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
Presentation: Caravaggio has the longest rap sheet of any major artist, but the volatile young artist changed the course of Western art. He introduced gritty realism into Baroque painting with his edgy subject matter (fortune tellers and cardsharps), while his dramatic chiaroscuro and use of authentic lower-class models in altarpieces such as The Calling of St. Matthew (1600) increased the expressive power of his work, which shocked church officials and fascinated the Roman populace.
About the Speaker: Rebecca Albiani has been an arts lecturer at the Frye Art Museum since 1997. A former Graduate Lecturing Fellow at the National Gallery in Washington D.C., and a Fulbright Scholar in Venice, she holds an MA from Stanford University and a BA from the University of California, Berkeley.
English Language Meeting
Speaker: Donald De Santis
Topic: The Venetian Empire
Presentation:
The Venetian Empire, known as the Stato di Mare, was one of the richest and most powerful entities in Europe from late antiquity up through the early modern era. Born of necessity – Romans fleeing foreign invasions – Venice had a foot in multiple cultures. For hundreds of years the city owed allegiance to the Byzantine empire in the east, but it was also firmly grounded in Western Europe. At one point the city was the largest and richest city in Western Europe. Venice had its own unique culture and traditions, and its own dialect of Italian. In this presentation we will explore the foundation stories, the rise as a great power that controlled much of the Eastern Mediterranean, and its long slow decline. No longer a great power, the city was still rich and had to reinvent itself, in some ways as a playground for the rest of Europe. We will look briefly at the challenges the city faces in the 21st century.
About the Speaker:
Don De Santis has a passion for history. He received his B.A. in History from Loyola Marymount University and has traveled to five continents and roughly thirty countries. He also has degrees from USC and the University of Washington and is working on his M.A. in History from Eastern Washington University. From 2014 to 2020 he was a regular speaker on Rome for the Rick Steves Travel Center in Edmonds. Since 2018 he has been a speaker for several cruise lines on cruises in Europe and North America. His presentations cover the history, art and culture of the places visited.
Make your reservation for dinner by 5 pm Monday November 10.
Festa Italiana Seattle
English Language Meeting
Speaker: Jamie Hunt, Fast Penny Spirits
Topic: The History, Culture, and Craft of Amaro
Make your reservation for dinner by 5 pm Monday October 6.
About the Speaker:
Jamie Hunt is the CEO and Founder of Fast Penny Spirits, a woman-owned, B Corp certified amaro distillery in Seattle. After a successful career creating innovative digital products for global companies, she left the tech world with a mission to build something with deeper impact. Drawing on her Italian heritage and passion for amaro, Jamie set out to craft a sustainable, world-class liqueur while fostering community and empowerment. Through the distillery’s Pretty Penny program, 3% of bottle revenue is donated to organizations supporting women, communities, and the beverage industry. She successfully launched Fast Penny Spirits during the pandemic and has led the award-winning distillery through steady growth ever since.
Gabriella Vagnoli was born in Pisa, Tuscany, home of the famous Leaning Tower. She grew up in a multicultural family thanks to her Brazilian mom and remembers teaching Italian for the first time as a child to her Brazilian cousins. She obtained a Laurea in English and Spanish Language and Literature at the Università degli Studi di Pisa and during her college years spent a year in the University of Reading, UK, studying mainly the works of Shakespeare. After obtaining a Certificate as a Teacher of Italian (DITALS II) at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, she has taught in a full immersion school in Florence, a children's full immersion program in Chicago and a Community College in Illinois.
Tiziana was born and raised in Sardinia, a beautiful Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. She has always been passionate about foreign languages and cultures, and studied French and German at the Scuola Superiore Interpreti e Traduttori in Milan, where she obtained her first Foreign Languages and Interpreter BA degree. She then pursued her MA in English and German Language and Literature at IULM, one of the most prestigious universities in Milan, Italy for Language and Communication studies.
Nicla is a native of Napoli, Italy. She has a Laurea in Materie Letterarie (degree in humanities) and a Laurea in Pedagogia (degree in Education) from the Università degli Studi di Cassino. She earned her M.A in Italian and her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington. She has published articles and book chapters on gender and theater as well as politics and religion in Counter-Reformation Italy and in the last years, has been teaching Italian literature, language, and culture in different institutions. In addition to teaching in our program, Nicla is authorized to cover the role of esaminatrice and intervistatrice in our PLIDA Examination Board.
Born in the fabulous 80’s, Isabella was raised in Rome where she got her Degree in Teaching and Translation in foreign languages at the University ‘La Sapienza’.
Eric was born and raised in Como by an American mother and an Italian father. He holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from Bocconi University in Milan and a Master’s in Corporate and International Finance from Durham University in the UK. His international background led him to pursue a business career in the United States, ultimately settling in Seattle, where his wife grew up.