March 5 Film, Lecture and Dinner – Seattle/Perugia Sister City Association

Just a reminder that Dante Alighieri Society memberships are up for renewal for 2020. The Dante membership year goes from January to December each year. Dues are $40 for a single membership and $50 for a family membership.
Your dues help support the many activities of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington and allow us to keep our event prices as low as possible. All donations are greatly appreciated. You are now able to renew online on our website: https://danteseattle.org/join-the-dante-alighieri-society-of-washington/ . Its simple and easy. Or, if you prefer, we’ll have a membership table set up at the English Meeting on Wednesday, February 12. You can renew there.
The Dante Alighieri Society of Washington promotes the Italian language and culture and welcomes all who share those objectives. Each year we present English and Italian programs open to the public, and host the Christmas party and the Annual Wine Dinner featuring wines from throughout Italy. The Society also sponsors an Italian Language program with beginner to expert classes for everyone who wants to learn, improve or perfect their fluency in Italian. We are an official chapter of the Società Dante Alighieri, an international organization headquartered in Rome, Italy. When traveling in Italy, Washington Chapter members are eligible to receive discounts. Information on the available discounts is available on the Dante Seattle website: https://danteseattle.org/join-the-dante-alighieri-society-of-washington/. Be sure to ask for your Membership Card at one of our meetings.
Dante Alighieri Society of Washington is a 501(c)(3) organization. Membership dues and donations are tax deductible to extent allowed under federal law. Tax ID: 91-0988808.
Ciao a tutti –
MAKE YOUR RESERVATION FOR THE NEXT ENGLISH MEETING of the 2020 DAS PROGRAM YEAR THIS COMING WEDNESDAY, FEB 12
at St. Patrick’s Church – Social Hall, 815 E Edgar Street, Seattle
Our January presenter is Prof. Lloyd Howard, a Dante expert and previous DAS presenter. Professor Howard’s topic this time is The Power of Music on the Shore of Dante’s Purgatory. Professor Howard will begin his talk with a brief description of Dante’s world and how the Commedia was transmitted both in written form and orally by singing Dante’s text. He will then turn to the second canto of the Purgatorio, where Dante introduces the soul of the musician, Casella, who, while living, sang Dante’s love poems. Lastly, Professor Howard will discuss the Paradiso where, by flight through the music enhanced spheres, Dante, a famed writer of worldly love songs, reaches the Celestial Rose.
Lloyd Howard received his PhD from the Johns Hopkins University in 1976, after which he was appointed to a position at the University of Victoria, where he taught until his retirement at the rank of Professor in 2016. His research focused initially on the extant poetry of Guido Cavalcanti, before turning to Dante’s Commedia. Along with numerous articles, he has written two books: Formulas of Repetition in Dante’s Commedia: Signposted Journeys across Textual Space (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2001); Virgil the Blind Guide: Marking the Way through the Divine Comedy (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2010).
DINNER RESERVATIONS
The presentation starts at 7:30 pm.
As usual, we will have a Pre-Dante Pasta Dinner, prepared by our members, starting at 6:45 pm. (Please note the new time.) If you plan to come for the dinner at 6:45 pm as well as for the presentation at 7:30 pm, please make your reservation by 5:00 pm Monday February 10 by:
Let us know how many are in your party. This will help our volunteer cooks know how much pasta to prepare.
The cost of the dinner is $8 per person or $15 per couple. There is no cost to attend only the presentation.
If you are coming to dinner, you are encouraged to bring along an antipasto, dolce or vino to share.
The Hall is open at 5:30 pm for Setup. The Antipasto will be served, starting at 6:00 pm. The new times should give us more time to socialize, have a glass of wine and some antipasti before dinner.
MEETING LOCATION
The meeting as usual will be in the Parish Social Hall at St. Patrick’s Church, 815 E Edgar St., Seattle.
To reach St. Patrick’s from the North, follow I-5 S. Take exit 168A for Boylston Ave toward Roanoke St. Merge onto Boylston, turn left at light onto E Roanoke St. Turn left at the first cross street onto Harvard Ave E.
To reach St. Patrick’s from the South, follow I-5 N. Take exit 168A for Lakeview Blvd E. Turn left onto Lakeview Blvd E, and continue onto Boylston Ave E. Turn right at the light onto E Roanoke St. Turn left at the first cross street onto Harvard Ave E.
The parking lot will be on your right off Harvard. And the stairway down to the door to the Social Hall is located at the parking lot level in back of the Church, off the parking lot.
Feel free to come early to help set up and start visiting. And, in any case, please come.
OTHER DANTE NEWS
If you haven’t renewed your 2020 membership yet, you are now able to renew online on our website: https://danteseattle.org/join-the-dante-alighieri-society-of-washington/ .
You can also renew at the meeting. We’ll have a membership table set up in the Social Hall on Wednesday.
A presto –
Dan DeMatteis,
President, Dante Alighieri Society of Washington
Tickets are now on sale and are available for purchase until February 5, 2020. The cost is $50 per person, $20 for youths ages 6 to 15, and children 5 and under are free. Through January 31, 2020, Il Punto members can purchase tickets for $40 each – a 20% reduction. Don’t delay as we anticipate this event will sell out. Buy your tickets now at https://ilpuntoseattle.org/event/festa-di-carnevale-2020/
DANTE ALIGHIERI SOCIETY
– 2020 WINE DINNER –
Ciao a tutti –
The annual wine dinner for paid-up members and guests is Wednesday, January 22 this year at the Pastoral Outreach Center (POC) at St James Cathedral, 6:30-9:00.
Arnie Millan, from Esquin Wines, will again be the presenter. The focus this year will be on wines from the Italian provinces bordering the upper Adriatic, from Friuli to Abruzzo. The wines will be served as part of a five-course Italian dinner prepared by a team of dedicated Dante members.
The cost for members is $30. Members may invite up to 2 guests at a cost of $40 per guest.
As we usually sell out for the wine dinner, reservations will be on a first-come, first-serve basis to paid-up members. You can sign up by clicking the Make Your 2020 Wine Dinner Reservation Here or at the English Language meeting on January 8.
To renew or become a member online, please go the the Dante Alighieri Society website: https://danteseattle.org/join-the-dante-alighieri-society-of-washington/ .
It’s easy and convenient.
Please let us know how many will be in your party.
To reach the Cathedral take the James Street Exit from I-5 and head east (up the hill) on James Street and then take a left on 9th Avenue. The POC is located two blocks north on the right hand side at the corner of Columbia and 9th.
Free parking is available in the O’Dea High School parking lot, a block and a half up Columbia Street heading east (uphill), a right turn from 9th. The entrance to the lot is behind the school on the left .
We hope to see you at the Wine Dinner.
A presto –
Dan DeMatteis,
President, Dante Alighieri Society of Washington
Giuseppe Tassone moved to Seattle from Italy in 1993. He has been the director of the Italian Language Program of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington since 1998 and the PLIDA coordinator since 2011. He is a language educator, coordinator, and advocate of Italian language and culture. He has a background in economics and finance (B.A. in Economics), but chooses to specialize in Italian language and culture (M.A. in Italian Studies). He has 20+ years of experience teaching, developing curricula, coordinating, testing, and assessing in public and non-profit organizations (e.g. Seattle University, University of Washington, Shoreline College). Giuseppe reviewed and/or contributed to several Italian language textbooks, such as Da Capo, Oggi in Italia, Avanti, Piazza and Sentieri. He is the author of Ricordati di me, Buongiorno Notte – Italian Films Series by Edizioni Farinelli and Un buon Affare – Italian for Business by Hackett Publishing Company available in print (2016) and e-book (2019). Giuseppe teaches at Seattle University and heads the Italian Section in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. Personal interests are: reading, traveling, cinema, economics, politics, playing and listening to music, swimming, biking, gardening and cooking.
E-mail: tassone@danteseattle.org
Roberta was born in Salerno a city located in the region of Campania in Southern Italy where in the ninth century flourished the renowned Schola Medica Salernitana; the forerunner of the modern university medical schools. She holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and Management for Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment from the Luigi Bocconi University, and a Master’s Degree in Piano from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Milan. Roberta has been working in the field of arts management since 2008. She has served as a project manager, fundraiser and arts administrator in high-profile nonprofit organizations and music festivals in Italy. She has taught music and Italian language in middle schools, and has held lectures in performing arts management as a teaching assistant at the University of Milan and at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala. She has performed many solo and chamber music recitals across Italy. She loves classical music, visual arts, reading, traveling, hiking and of course teaching Italian.
E-mail: roberta@danteseattle.org
Giorgio is a native Italian who grew up in the outskirts of Milan. He holds various university degrees including a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He works on engineering research and development projects in the fields of aircraft performance and commercial aviation. He became passionate about teaching and sharing his knowledge of Italy in response to the welcoming and inspiring interest in the Italian language and culture he witnessed and experienced while living in the United States. Throughout the years, Giorgio has taught Italian courses as well as privately tutored business professionals and students from various age groups.
In his free time, Giorgio enjoys photography, hiking, history and mathematics, museums and fine arts, theatre performances, and traveling.
Email: giorgio@danteseattle.org
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.
Besides teaching Italian, she has obtained a BFA in Illustration at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and is a published children's book illustrator.
Email: gabriella@danteseattle.org
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.
Tiziana moved to the US in 2000 and started working in the software industry, where she applied her linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to localization and testing projects. She also took on various leadership roles and managed teams of linguists and testers across different countries and time zones. Tiziana is passionate about teaching Italian and sharing her insights into the Italian culture and lifestyle. She has taught from beginner to advanced Italian courses for the most prestigious schools in the Pacific Northwest: The Dante Alighieri Society, Seattle Language Academy and Bellevue College. She also privately tutors American business professionals who want to learn or improve their Italian. She is currently working on her Spanish, as she enjoys learning new languages and cultures.
In her free time, Tiziana likes to read, hike. cook, travel, and spend time with her family and friends.
Email: tiziana@danteseattle.org
Laura was born in Palmanova, in Northern Italy, a star shaped fortress built by the Serenissima Republic of Venice to protect the territory from the invasions of the Hapsburg and the Ottoman Empires. She was raised speaking Italian, French and Friulano (her native Northern Italian dialect). Laura received a Laurea in Linguistics from the Università di Udine where she specialized in Spanish and English literature. Since then she has lived and worked in Holland, Switzerland, Spain, England, America, and Italy. In addition to teaching in our program, Laura is authorized to cover the role of intervistatrice in our PLIDA Examination Board.
E-mail: lauracbolan@danteseattle.org
Francesca is an Italian native, born in Cremona, northern Italy. She holds a laurea in Biology from the University of Padua and Masters of Biology from Eastern Michigan University. She left Italy in 1994 and has lived in New Zealand and the United States. She has a passion for teaching her native language, as a way of maintaining and exploring the Italian language and culture with different eyes. She has taught privately and in many institutions to students of different proficiency levels groups. Francesca is interested in literature, art and design, and in her free time, she likes reading, cooking, and making ceramics.
Email: francesca@danteseattle.org
Damiano is a native of a small countryside town in Northern Italy, about 17 miles away from Padua, a city famous among other things for its university, the fifth-oldest surviving in the world. He received his B.A. and M.A. Cum Laude in Japanese language and culture from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, while specializing in linguistics and translation. He lived in Japan for three and a half years, where he continued his studies and his sociolinguistic research on (im)politeness in language. While in Japan, he also started working as an Italian teacher, discovering his passion for conveying the beauty of the Italian language and culture abroad.
Email: damiano@danteseattle.org
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.
E-mail: nicla@danteseattle.org