Italian National Day Festival (23 May-1 June)

10/05/2008 -

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The foundation of the Italian Republic in 1946 will be celebrated this year in Canberra with a number of initiatives under the title “Italian National Day Festival”

On Friday 23 and Saturday 24 the Italian Cultural Center hosts an exhibition of the artistic ceramics from Deruta, a small town in Umbria famous for this production. Thursday 29 the Dante Alighieri organises a conference about the Italian Nobel laureates (Notaras Multicultural Centre, 8pm). Finally, on Saturday 31 at 7.30pm at the Italian Cultural Centre, tenor Marco Cinque performs lyrical songs together with soprano Kate Rafferty and pianist Carl Rafferty.
 
The main event is the Italian Food and Music Festival on 1st June, in front of the Italian Cultural Centre in Forrest.

The programme starts at 11am with the opening of foodstalls set by the Italian associations present in Canberra. It will be a feast of colour and sensations, with food representing almost all Italian regions, from gnocchetti sardi to lasagne, from pizza to polenta with sausages, sweets from Calabria and Sicily and panini with San Daniele Prosciutto. And coffee and gelato. It won’t be the usual barbeque!

There will also be information stands by the Association for the Research between Italy and Australasia (ARIA), Centro Italo-Australiano di Canberra (CIAC), Dante Alighieri Society, National Tourism Office (ENIT) and Publication for Italian and Australian Researchers (PIAR).

At 12.40pm the Sydney-based band “Vento del Sud” will perform a concert with pieces from the Italian folk music, bringing together the popular and the more cultured elements of the traditional repertoire.

During the festival, there will be an exhibition by the Dante Alighieri Choir, by the children of the Lyons Primary Italian bilingual programme and the delivery of the two ARIA Award 2008 on science and technology. The programme will run from 11am until 3pm. In case of bad weather, the event will be staged in the nearby Italo-Australian Club.

The festival is promoted by the Embassy of Italy, together with the Italian Cultural Centre and several Italian associations active in the capital city, namely: ARIA, Associations from Calabria, Campania, Lazio, Sardinia, Sicilia, Treviso, Umbria; Dante Alighieri, Fogolar Furlan, Giuliani Association, Italo-Australian Club.

For more information, contact Ms. Loredana Manfredi (6373-3333 ext. 218, culturale.canberra@esteri.it) Canberra, 8 May 2008

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