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• Educational Travel 2025 - TORINO and Piemonte: SOLD OUT

  • Start
    20 Jan 2025
  •  
    6:00 AM
  • End
    18 Oct 2025
  • Location
    Torino, Italy
  • Spaces left
    0

  
  

  I am delighted to invite you to Torino, my hometown, a true hidden gem off the beaten path, in the northwestern region of Piemonte, Italy.

  Torino has been described as Italy’s most elegant city, with its Baroque and Art Deco architecture, featuring a fascinating historic center with grand squares, cobbled streets, and art nouveau cafes. For centuries, Torino was the seat of the royal Savoy family and from 1861 to 1865 it was the first capital of the Kingdom of Italy. 

  A vibrant and elegant city, seat of a prestigious University founded in 1404, Torino has a unique legacy that blends dedication for creativity and innovation, a strong literary and visual art tradition and a passion for good food and wine, as shown by the innumerable bars, restaurants and bookstores present throughout the city. 

  Torino offers a unique blend of history, art, culture and fantastic culinary and wine experiences.  With its proximity to UNESCO World heritage sites of Langhe and Monferrato — that we will visit — along with the lesser known but equally spectacular area of Vercellese, Torino is a fantastic destination for a memorable vacation. 

  I am looking forward to accompanying you on this trip and show you everything I know of this city and region that I love and still call home. 

  Astrid Garino, MD
  President, The Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St.Paul

  .......................................

  DATES: October 4 to October 18, 2025

  Our package includes:  
  

  • Accomodation in a 4-star boutique hotel in historic downtown Torino (14 nights), breakfast included
  • Italian language lessons, 15hr/week at an accredited language school
  • Two extra 1.5hr conversation classes
  • All day excursion in the Langhe, with private bus and guide
  • All day excursion in the Vercellese and Monferrato, with private bus and guide
  • Guided visits to select museums, royal residences and castles
  • Excursion to the ancient Abbey Sacra di San Michele
  • Wine tastings
  • Aperitivi, lunches and dinners as described  in the program (7) 
  • Cooking class with professional chef 

  For a detailed description of the program click  HERE

  RATES

  DOUBLE occupancy	SINGLE occupancy
  $4,750	$5,450

  Registration fee: $500 (non refundable)

  First half of the balance due by March 15, 2025

  Balance due by June 15, 2025

  .....................................................

   A detailed presentation of the program  will be offered in person on

   Sunday , January 26, 2025, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM 

    at the Italian Cultural Center

  To register to the free presentation click HERE

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• Educational Travel - MODENA, April 11-25, 2026

  • Start
    28 Sep 2025
  • End
    25 Apr 2026
  • Location
    Modena, Italy
  • Spaces left
    11

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  The Italian Cultural Center invites you to explore Modena, a historic university town in the Emilia-Romagna region. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its extraordinary architectural masterpieces, Modena is also celebrated for its rich culinary traditions, iconic sports cars, and world-class opera heritage.

  On this exclusive itinerary for a maximum of 14 travelers, you will improve your Italian language skills while discovering the history and culture of Modena and nearby jewel towns: Bologna, Parma, and Mantova. Explore artistic masterpieces and immerse yourself in the authentic atmosphere of Italy's heartland, savoring its culinary excellences, including traditional balsamic vinegar, Parmigiano Reggiano, tortellini, and Lambrusco wine.

  I am excited to be your tour leader again in 2026 and look forward to traveling with you!

  Astrid Garino, MD

  President of ICC 

  For detailed information on the itinerary and package, click HERE.
  Please review and sign our WAIVER if you decide to participate in the trip.

  
  

  Rates:

  • $5,400 per person (single room occupancy)
  • $4,260 per person (double room occupancy)

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• IL CIRCOLO LETTERARIO: Introducing the Work of Jhumpa Lahiri

  • When
    19 Oct 2025
  •  
    11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
  • Location
    ICC Temporary Home - 323 Washington Ave. N., Second Floor, Minneapolis
  • Spaces left
    10

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  Celebrating La Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo
  (The Week of the Italian Language in the World)
  

  This special edition of Il Circolo Letterario is presented as part of the 25th Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo, an annual global initiative organized by Italy’s diplomatic and cultural network. Each year the initiative highlights the Italian language as a vehicle of culture and identity beyond borders. The 2025 theme is Italophony: Language Beyond Borders.

  For this special occasion, Pieranna Garavaso, Professor Emerita at the University of Minnesota Morris, will present the work of Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jhumpa Lahiri. 

  Jhumpa Lahiri — Pulitzer Prize–Winning Author
  Innamorata della lingua italiana -- In love with the Italian language

  Why Italian? This is the question Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jhumpa Lahiri faced again and again after moving to Rome. Known worldwide for her acclaimed works in English, Lahiri chose to immerse herself completely in Italian, embracing the challenge of expressing herself in a new language.

  Her memoir In Other Words (In altre parole) is both a love story and a meditation on identity and belonging. Written originally in Italian and presented in a dual-language format, the book explores the process of learning to write in another tongue, the vulnerability of starting over as a beginner, and the freedom she discovered in embracing Italian as her literary home. Critics have called it “an honest, engaging, and very moving account of a writer searching for herself in words.”

  About Jhumpa Lahiri
  Jhumpa Lahiri was born in London and raised in the United States. She is the author of Interpreter of Maladies, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000, The Namesake, Unaccustomed Earth, and The Lowland. After moving to Rome in 2012, she has written and translated in Italian, publishing both fiction and nonfiction that explore language, identity, and exile.  In 2022 she returned to her Alma Mater Barnard College in New York as the Millicent C. McIntosh Professor of English in 2022.

  Learn more about Jhumpa Lahiri →
  

  
  

  We will also host a Book Club discussion of In Other Words on Sunday, November 30 at the Italian Cultural Center.
  

  Pieranna Garavaso is native Italian and came to the US to earn a PhD in Philosophy (at the U of Nebraska Lincoln). She taught Philosophy at the University of Minnesota Morris for 34 years. She was awarded the UMN Morris Alumni Association Teaching Award (2003), the Horace T. Morse Alumni Association Undergraduate Teaching Award (2004) and the UMN Morris Faculty Research Award (2017). Her areas of research include History of Analytic Philosophy, Philosophy of Mathematics, and Feminist Philosophies.  She has published articles in Italian and English and authored, co-authored or edited several books; the last collection she has edited is the Bloomsbury Companion to Analytic Feminism (2018).  As Emerita/retired she plans to devote more time to reading and discussing Italian literature.

  
  

  In 2021, ICC was appointed Presidio Letterario of the Società Dante Alighieri (DA), one of the most important Italian institutions for the promotion and appreciation of Italian language and culture since 1889. ICC is now part of a network of cultural centers in Italy and abroad promoting events and initiatives related to Italian literature. Since 2009 DA has officially been part of the jury of Premio Strega, the most prestigious Italian literary award.

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• CINEFORUM - Ladri di biciclette - New location and a screening room!

  • When
    24 Oct 2025
  •  
    6:00 PM
  • Location
    FilmNorth, 2441 University Ave W, Suite 100 Saint Paul, MN 55114
  • Spaces left
    16

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  LADRI DI BICICLETTE

  Year: 1948

  Directed by: Vittorio De Sica

  Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell

  Hailed around the world as one of the greatest movies ever made, the Academy Award–winning Bicycle Thieves, directed by Vittorio De Sica, defined an era in cinema. In poverty-stricken postwar Rome, a man is on his first day of a new job that offers hope of salvation for his desperate family when his bicycle, which he needs for his work, is stolen. With his young son in tow, he sets off to track down the thief. Simple in construction and profoundly rich in human insight, Bicycle Thieves embodies the greatest strengths of the Italian neorealist movement: emotional clarity, social rectitude, and brutal honesty.

  
  

  
  

  Cineforum is back—now in a new location with a screening room!

  Don’t miss the chance to experience this Cinema Masterpiece on the big screen.

  New 4K Digital Restoration – Italian with English subtitles

  
  

  Event Details
  6:00 p.m. – Aperitivo
  6:30 p.m. – Movie Screening
  FilmNorth, 2441 University Ave W, Suite 100, Saint Paul, MN 55114

  For parking information click here.

  
  

  Space is limited—once seats are gone, no more can be added.
  Reserve yours today!

  Curated and presented by Ileana Tamberlani, Programming and Administrative Manager of the Italian Film Festival of Minneapolis / St. Paul.

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• BE ITALIAN! ICC’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY KICKOFF DINNER

  • When
    14 Nov 2025
  •  
    5:00 PM - 8:30 PM
  • Location
    Westminster Hall, Westminster Presbyterian Church- 1200 Marquette Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55403

  Register

  
  

  Join us as we launch the Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St. Paul’s 20th anniversary year in 2026! This special benefit dinner will honor two decades of language, culture, and community while kicking off a year-long celebration and raising vital funds for ICC’s future growth.

  Dinner provided by Bacio’s Mobile Kitchen
  We are delighted to welcome back Bacio’s Mobile Kitchen for ICC’s 20th Anniversary Kickoff Dinner. As the Twin Cities’ largest mobile kitchen, Bacio brings the heart of its celebrated restaurant directly to our event, preparing homemade Italian dishes from scratch with locally sourced ingredients. Their authentic flavors and warm hospitality will set the stage for an evening of food, culture, and community.

  Entertainment provided by The Overdressed Duo
  A Whirlwind History of Italian Opera

  Fasten your seatbelts for a playful journey through the history of Italian opera! ICC welcomes the Overdressed Duo—soprano Carole Schulze and pianist Jordan Buchholtz—for a lively program that spans from the charm of early comic opera to the emotional power of Puccini. With humor, storytelling, and plenty of high notes, they bring centuries of opera to life, woven together with wit and sparkle. This performance has been created especially for the kickoff of ICC’s 20th anniversary celebration.

  The evening will also feature inspiring testimonials from community members touched by ICC’s work. More highlights will be announced as the event approaches. For questions or information about table and event sponsorships, please contact Executive Director Ron Lattin at ron@theitalianculturalcenter.org or 612-272-5312

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