Welcome to Il Caffè di Oggi. In this series, we will share enriching and informative bits of Italian culture. Virtual jolts of caffeine to brighten your day. Enjoy!

La Festa della Liberazione (Liberation Day) April 25, 1945

Today, April 25th, Italy celebrates La Festa della Liberazione, or Liberation Day. This day in 1945 marks the first nation-wide radio announcement encouraging a popular uprising against the Nazi occupation and Fascist regime. This announcement lead to the capture and death of Fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, three days later. During the Second World War, the people of Italy were caught between an internal civil war and a war of liberation. This civil war was the confrontation of many citizens against the Fascist rule. The war of liberation was the struggle against the foreign occupation of Italy by the Nazi regime. Both factors sparked the formation of those who came to be known as i partigiani, or the Italian partisans. These partisans were made up of ex-military personnel along with farmers and factory workers. This group of up-risers was responsible for the radio broadcast that took place today some seventy-five years ago. As a result, several Italian cities came to be liberated by the partisans with the help of local men and women weary of their daily persecution and strife.

The date is largely symbolic, as the liberation of Italy began in September 1943 and formally concluded with the end of WWII in 1945.   Currently Italy finds itself under the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Italian cities would normally commemorate La Festa della Liberazione with marches, speeches, and parades. Instead this year Italians will remain in their homes and solemnly remember those who fought unceasingly to end a dictatorship and five years of war.  If this day in history has taught us anything, it is that the Italian people are resilient to hard times and oppression. We can be sure that much like in 1945, Italy is determined to fight and overcome any threat that presents itself.  Click on the button below for information on Italy's April 25th Virtual Event (in Italian). #iorestolibero

April 25 Virtual Event

(https://www.studenti.it/25-aprile-resistenza-partigiana.html)

Many of us have heard the Italian tune, "Bella ciao", but did you know it was written about the partisan resistance? Although the song was not popularized until twenty years after the war ended, it is often played during times of world-wide hardship. It is best known to represent the "universal values of liberty and opposition of dictatorship and war, without references to politics or religion." Click on the button below to listen to this Italian anthem of freedom.

"Bella Ciao" Song

(https://www.studenti.it/bella-ciao-significato-testo-spiegazione.html)

Welcome to Il Caffè di Oggi. In this series, we will share enriching and informative bits of Italian culture. Virtual jolts of caffeine to brighten your day. Enjoy!

Giuseppe Tartini

In today’s edition of Il caffè di oggi, we would like to take a step back in music history and discuss famed violinist Giuseppe Tartini. Born in 1692 in Piran (today part of Slovenia), to a family originally from Florence, Giuseppe Tartini is still considered one of the greatest Baroque violin composers and teachers.

Tartini was known to be a very sensitive yet rebellious man. His temperament led him to participate in several sensational duels as a result of his various love affairs. At the age of eighteen, he secretly married the niece of Cardinal Cornaro, against her family’s wishes. Due to the ire of the Cardinal, Tartini had to abandon his wife and escape to a convent in Assisi. At the convent, Tartini honed his violin skills.

After reuniting with his wife years later, Tartini focused on perfecting his violin technique and dexterity. Tartini’s now near-obsession with the violin reached its apex when he became the first known owner of a violin made by Antonio Stradivari. In addition, in 1726 Tartini opened a violin school which attracted students from all over Europe. Several of his students became well known violinists, such as Gaetano Pugnani and Pietro Nardini.

When he passed away in Padua 250 years ago, Tartini left us with various treatises and more than 420 compositions. Among his compositions, the violin sonata in G minor “Il trillo del diavolo” stands out unmistakably. The creation of this sonata is still surrounded by a certain mystery.

The story goes that while living in the Franciscan convent in Assisi, Tartini dreamed of having made a pact with the devil who promised to fulfill his desires. The devil took his violin and played what Tartini described as the most beautiful and fascinating piece he has ever heard. When he woke up, he tried to transcribe the melody in what became his most famous piece, “Il trillo del diavolo”. Nevertheless, Tartini declared that his version was of much inferior quality than what he had heard in his dream. So much so, that if he had an another source of income, he would have broken his violin and abandoned music forever!

Burney, Charles.Viaggio musicale in Italia,1770. Sandron,1921, pp.54-55

Welcome to Il Caffè di Oggi. In this series, we will share enriching and informative bits of Italian culture. Virtual jolts of caffeine to brighten your day. Enjoy!

Celebrating the Genius
and Legacy of Raffaello  

On April 6th, 1520, Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, the much revered Renaissance painter and architect, died in Rome at the age of thirty-seven. Despite his premature death, Raffaello left a large body of work, including exquisite paintings and drawings.

Raffaello's funeral was extremely grand. It was attended by large crowds, and his body was carried by four cardinals dressed in purple robes. At his request, Raffaello was buried in the famous Pantheon in Rome. The inscription on his marble sarcophagus reads:

"Here lies that famous Raffaello by whom Nature feared to be conquered while he lived, and when he was dying, feared herself to die.”

Five hundred years later, Italy was preparing to celebrate the artist with an expansive and beautiful exhibition of his works at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome. Sadly, the exhibition has been placed on hold as the country grapples with the Covid-19 outbreak. The exhibition is now dark, awaiting the day when it can reopen to the public.

Today, we would like to share videos that include virtual walk-throughs of some of this artist's most prominent work, including the Stanze di Raffaello at the Vatican. Please enjoy the awe-inspiring beauty of Raffaello's masterpieces.

(Video in Italian with English subtitles)

(Interactive Museum Site)

We would also like to share with you a recipe for La Crescia Sfogliata. This flaky flatbread is from Raffaello's hometown of Urbino in the Le Marche region.

This recipe dates back to medieval times. It was even known to be served at the Court of Duke Federico da Montefeltro in Urbino, where Raffaello began his famed career.

Martina from Officina della Gastronomia shows us how to make it in the step-by-step video above. Buon appetito!

Welcome to Il Caffè di Oggi. In this series, we will share enriching and informative bits of Italian culture. Virtual jolts of caffeine to brighten your day. Enjoy!

Ferrante's Influence:

The Success of Modern-Day Female Authors in Italy

In today’s edition of Il caffè di oggi, we will examine the recent international success of Italian women fiction novelists. This discussion was most recently addressed in the New York Times article 'The Ferrante Effect’: In Italy, Women Writers Are Ascendant, by Anna Momigliano.

Times are changing for women authors in Italy. In the last two years, nearly half of Italy’s top twenty bestselling fiction novels were written by women. In 2019, the Premio Strega, Italy’s top literary award, was given to a female author.

It is possible that we can attribute the current success of Italian female authors to other international women writers translated into Italian, such as Chicago-native, Jennifer Egan. Their popularity has sparked courageous Italian authors such as Veronica Raimo to address once-taboo issues including sexism and gender roles.

Not only are Italian novelists gaining popularity in their own country, but also internationally. In addition to selling eleven million copies world-wide, Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels have been made into a noteworthy HBO series. Thanks to Ferrante’s popularity, several once-overlooked titles are being translated into English, years after their publication. One of these novels is Beyond Babylon, by Somali-Italian author Igiaba Scego. Scego’s title explores immigration, race, and identity as seen through the eyes of two women.

Although Ferrante's influence has paved the way for many female Italian authors, it is important for us to continue to support their voices. In doing so, please consider using this time at home to curl up on the couch with some of the novels below.

Titles by female Italian authors that have been translated into English: 

- Elena Ferrante, Neapolitan Novels (HBO Series)
- Veronica Raimo, The Girl at the Door
- Helena Janeczek, The Girl with the Laica
- Donatella Di Pietrantonio, A Girl, Returned
- Igiaba Scego, Beyond Babylon

- Nadia Terranova, Goodbye Ghosts

Support local booksellers carrying one or all of the titles above:

- Moon Palace Books

- Next Chapter Booksellers

- Magers & Quinn

- Bookshop.org

Welcome to the first edition of Il Caffè di Oggi. In this series, we will share enriching and informative bits of Italian culture. Virtual jolts of caffeine to brighten your day. Enjoy!

Dantedì,

il giorno dedicato a Dante Alighieri

March 25, 2020 was Dantedì, the official day honoring Dante Alighieri, the father of the Italian language. In 2021, Dantedì will mark 700 years since the death of the sommo poeta, as he is known.  

Dante continues to be an integral part of every young Italian’s education. To this day, the poet’s most famous three-part work, La Divina Commedia, or The Divine Comedy, is taught in every Italian high school seven centuries after its completion. This narrative describes Dante's own cathartic journey through Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. 

La Divina Commedia serves as a window into the Middle Ages, its history, politics, science and theology. As a result of this body of work, Florentine Tuscan became the lingua franca, laying the foundation for the Italian language spoken today.

This epic poem also influenced artists such as Botticelli, Rodin, and Dalí who illustrated Dante’s text through painting and sculpture. More importantly, it serves as an example of how the voice of a single author can impact society as a whole. This text may very well have paved the way for important historical events such as the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment.

This occasion allows us to reflect on the immense influence that Dante had on today’s society. To mark this important day, many world-wide initiatives by schools, students, and cultural institutions are planned.  

While Dante lived and worked largely in Florence, he spent his final years in exile and died in Ravenna where he is entombed.  To learn more about Dante Alighieri and his tomb in Ravenna, watch this short 6 minute video (in Italian):