2023 Program

2023 Festival Program

We’re so glad to be back in-person after 3 years!
Join us for the 2-day, in-person program as well as some online presentations from Italy.

Exhibitions – May 6 and 7, 2023

TitleDescriptionCurators
LUCIANO IACOBELLI:
ARTE E POESIA
THE EXHIBITION
Luciano Iacobelli's paintings, sculptures and books, illustrating his life and work as a poet, visual artist, publisher, bookbinder and mentor.Curator: Luciana Varone
HOW DOES IT FEEL?
DANTE'S INFERNO IN 7 EMOTIONS
Student's works inspired by seven emotions described by Dante Alighieri in the first Canto of Inferno. The exhibition will also feature an immersive virtual reality presentation.Curated by University of Toronto Department of Italian Studies, Accademia dei Ragazzi, Villa Charities.
GRAZIE DELLA POESIA
A hommage to the Italian Canadian poets we've lost in recent years. Visitors will have a chance to pause, read their poetry, and leave thoughts and dedications.Curator: Lisa Ariemma

Friday May 5, 2023

TimeDescriptionPresenters
11 am - ONLINE

Click HERE to join Zoom presentation.
Direct access, no registration required
NATIONAL WRITING COMPETITION LINGUA MADRE
Announcing the winners of the XVIII edition of the renowned writing competition and a discussion with past winners on the issues and tensions of transition and inclusion and the complexity of women's multiple identities.
Yeniffer Lilibel Aliaga Chávez
Chiamaka Sandra Madu
Daniela Finocchi
Michela Marocco
12:30 pm - ONLINE

Click HERE to join Zoom presentation.
Direct access, no registration required.
PARCHI LETTERARI: LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENT ACROSS CONTINENTS.
For the last few decades the Parchi letterari organization in Italy has been dedicated to the promotion of Italian literature and the natural environment it is tied to. More recently this mission is expanding abroad with initiatives from Italy to Norway, France and soon the US.
Stanislao de Marsanich
Anne Cecile Pedersen
Ilaria Serra
7 pm - Columbus Centre

SPECIAL OPENING EVENT
Information and RSVP HERE
LUCIANO IACOBELLI:
ARTE E POESIA
Fellow writers, artists and friends acknowledge Luciano’s life and work as a poet, visual artist, publisher and mentor in a presentation that includes video, photography, readings, and an art show.
FOLLOWED BY FESTIVAL OPENING RECEPTION
Co-curators: Luciana Varone, Julian Iacobelli
Moderator: Deborah Verginella
Speakers: Corrado Paina, Robert Marra, John Romano, Domenic Capilongo

Columbus Centre – Saturday May 6, 2023

TimeDescriptionPresenters
10 amRECENT TRANSLATIONS IN ITALIAN CANADIAN FICTION
A translation in another language is an important milestone in the life of a book. This panel will feature some recent translations of Italian Canadian originals and look at the translation process.
Nino Famà
Connie Guzzo McParland
Annalisa Panati
Damiano Pietropaolo
11:30 amFROM BIOGRAPHY TO LEGACY: The Many Ways to Tell the Stories of Our Lives.
Biographies are one way to tell the story of a life. This panel will explore a variety of ways in which the impact of a life can be captured and crystallized.
Anna Ciardullo Villapiana
Antonio D'Alfonso
Angela De Salvo and Anna Romano
1:00 PMLUNCH BREAK
1:30 pmSALOTTO DELLA POESIA
New releases in Italian Canadian poetry.
Rocco De Giacomo
Michael Mirolla
Gianna Patriarca
3 pmSALOTTO DEL ROMANZO
New releases in Italian Canadian fiction
Darlene Madott
Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli
Carmelo Militano
4:30 pmTHE LANGUAGE OF POWER
A far-reaching enquiry on the strength of Italian vis-à-vis German, Portuguese and Spanish in the Greater Toronto Area and in the local linguistic space. The panel will reflect on the current state of the Italian language in Ontario and, by extension, abroad.
Simone Casini and
Salvatore Bancheri
Michela Di
Marco
Daniela Sanzone

Columbus Centre – Sunday May 7, 2023

TimeDescriptionPresenters
10:30 amRISKING YOUR LIFE FOR A BETTER LIFE
How migration can turn tragic. Deaths at border crossings, whether in the mountains or at sea, is a well-know phenomenon in Italy, but it is becoming a tragically familiar story in Canada as well. Taking their cue from Lisa Ariemma's essay longlisted for the CBC Nonfiction prize, the panel will look at the issue as it unfolds on both sides of the Atlantic.
Lisa Ariemma
Amedeo Clivio
12 pmGENRES: THE MANY WAYS OF SPINNING A TALE
We're all familiar with the usual classifications of writing as prose, drama and poetry, but there are at least a dozen fiction genres, from crime to sci-fi, from many more in between. Meet some authors who will tell us how their choice of genre helped tell the story.
Guglielmo D'Izzia
Terri Favro
1:30 pmLUNCH BREAK
2 pmSTORYTELLING
La magia delle storie:
Storyteller Mariella Bertelli will tell Italian folk and fairy tales using storytelling methods of the Contastorie, like the Crankie (a story that unrolls) the Bankelsang (visual panels) or large puppets.
For children 4-12, their parents and grandparents.
Mariella Bertelli
3 pmIT'S CIRCLE TIME!
Italian Canadian authors will read their recently-published books and stories for a younger audience.
Bruna Di Giuseppe Bertoni
Annamaria Falbo
Gianna Patriarca
4 pmDANTE'S EMOTIONS
The students whose works were selected will talk about how they related to the emotions expressed by Dante in the Divine Comedy, what inspired them most and will present their works.
Accademia dei Ragazzi

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