The Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St. Paul upcoming events

Torino and Piemonte: Educational Trip – October 10-24, 2026 (10 Jan 2026)

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 12:00:00 GMT

TORINO

October 10 - 24, 2026

Given the popularity of this destination, we are returning to Torino again in 2026! I am delighted to lead you to discover my hometown, a true gem off the beaten path.

Torino is a elegant city, rich in history, once Italy's first capital, known for its world- class museums, art, stunning Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture, expansive piazzas and covered arcades (porticoes), perfect for walking. A paradise for foodies, Torino is also famous for its Aperitivo culture, delicious food (chocolate!) and historic cafés.

Our itinerary will also take you to the countryside of Piedmont, outside Turin: enjoy the excitement of a Truffle hunt in the beautiful Langhe region, famous for its stunning landscapes and some of Italy's best wines (Barolo, Barbaresco, Nebbiolo) and specialty foods (white truffle, hazelnuts).

Your immersion in Piedmontese culture will include a 2-week language course where you will have the opportunity to improve your language skills. Language classes are offered at beginner and more advanced levels.

Torino and Piedmont offer an authentic Italian experience with fewer crowds than other destinations in Italys: truly a fantastic destination that will make a memorable vacation.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/t-magazine/turin-italy-guide-hotels-restaurants.html

https://foodandtravel.com/food/cover-interviews/somaia-hammads-turnin

For details of the itinerary, please click HERE.

I am looking forward to lead you in this next adventure!

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

Questions? Email: astrid@theitalianculturalcenter.org

Educational Travel to Siracusa: April 17 - May 1, 2027 (01 Sep 2026)

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 11:00:00 GMT

SIRACUSA

Language & Culture in Sicily

Live an unforgettable two-week stay in the stunning ancient city of Siracusa, on the southeastern coast of Sicily, a premier UNESCO World Heritage destination, and learn about local history and culture through excursions, food and wine experiences, art, and nature.

Discover a thousand-year-old city, with its magnificent ancient Greek architecture, stunning Baroque palaces, and charming historic center, filled with narrow pedestrian lanes, stunning sea views, and vibrant local markets.

Improve your Italian language skills at a premier Language School, offering courses for absolute beginners to more advanced levels. Using an interactive, communicative approach, native-speaking teachers ensure you develop practical conversation skills, along side a strong foundation in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

Please view the full itinerary and details of the trip.

A presentation of the trip will be offered at our new location, 553 1st Avenue NE, Minneapolis, on Sunday, September 20 at 10 a.m. to noon. To register for the presentation, please sign up here.

Please note that registration to the Waitlist for this trip is free of charge.

I am looking forward to accompanying you on this next adventure!

Cordialmente,

Astrid Garino

For additional information, email: Astrid@theitalianculturalcenter.org

CIRCOLO LETTERARIO – Six Nobel Voices: The Creative Power of Italian Literature (25 Oct 2026)

Sun, 25 Oct 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Six Nobel Voices: The Creative Power of Italian Literature
Italy’s Nobel Laureates in Literature

In celebration of the 26th annual Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo, the Week of the Italian Language in the World, the Italian Cultural Center presents a special edition of Il Circolo Letterario.

The 2026 theme, “Lingua geniale: ideare, progettare, creare con l’italiano”, or “Brilliant Language: Conceiving, Designing, and Creating with Italian,” celebrates Italian as a language of imagination, creativity, and expression. Few examples demonstrate that creative power more vividly than Italy’s six Nobel laureates in Literature. Across poetry, fiction, and theater, these writers used Italian in strikingly different ways to interpret human experience, challenge conventions, illuminate regional life, and create new forms of literary expression.

For this special program, Pieranna Garavaso, Professor Emerita at the University of Minnesota Morris and Literary Advisor to the Italian Cultural Center, will explore Italy’s six Nobel laureates in Literature, with particular attention to Grazia Deledda and Dario Fo.

Grazia Deledda: 100 Years Later

2026 marks the 100th anniversary of Grazia Deledda’s being awarded the 1926 Nobel Prize in Literature.

Born in Sardinia in 1871, Deledda transformed the people, traditions, landscape, faith, and conflicts of her native island into literature that spoke to universal questions of fate, morality, love, and human struggle. She became only the second woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. A century later, her place in Italian literature continues to invite discussion. How should we understand her portrayal of Sardinia? Why did she achieve such international recognition, and why is she less widely read today than some of Italy’s other major writers?

Dario Fo: Theater, Satire, and the Power of Language

At the other end of Italy’s Nobel tradition stands Dario Fo, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1997.

Playwright, actor, director, and satirist, Fo drew upon centuries-old traditions of Italian popular theater and transformed them into something distinctly modern. Through comedy, improvisation, and satire, he used language and performance to question authority, expose hypocrisy, and defend human dignity. Fo’s selection for the Nobel Prize was itself unconventional and controversial, making him a fascinating example of how broadly literature and creative expression can be understood.

Six Nobel Voices

Italy’s six Nobel laureates reveal very different possibilities within the Italian language:

Giosuè Carducci, 1906 – A poet and scholar celebrated for the creative energy, lyrical force, and freshness of his verse.
Grazia Deledda, 1926 – A novelist who transformed the distinctive world of Sardinia into stories exploring universal human struggles.
Luigi Pirandello, 1934 – A playwright and novelist whose experiments with identity, reality, and illusion helped reinvent modern theater.
Salvatore Quasimodo, 1959 – A poet whose concentrated lyrical language gave voice to the tragedy and uncertainty of modern life.
Eugenio Montale, 1975 – A poet whose distinctive style explored human values, isolation, memory, and the search for meaning.
Dario Fo, 1997 – A playwright, performer, and satirist who revived popular theatrical traditions to challenge power and uphold human dignity.

Together, these six writers span generations of Italian literary achievement. Their work demonstrates not one way of writing in Italian, but many: lyrical, regional, experimental, theatrical, political, intimate, and universal. In doing so, they embody the spirit of this year’s Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo: the creative power of Italian to imagine, interpret, provoke, and create.

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.