Our tutor, Virginia Listanti, has invited us to enjoy her recent trip to Sicily. Following the coastline, we will start and end our journey in Palermo – exploring Cefalù, Messina, Catania, Siracusa, Modica, Noto, Agrigento and Trapani.
An invitation to those of you from the Naples area to contribute your story of what happened to you and your family in the 1944 eruption of Pompeii. Ash fell as far as Massalubrense on the Sorrentine Peninsula. Please contact Nina Cuccurullo in the evenings.
On the first Sunday of every month the Mass is celebrated in Italian at the Church of St Francis de Sales, 175 Clyde Street, Island Bay, Wellington. Mass starts at 11.30 am. Everyone is welcome and it would be good to see more members and their families attend as we are very fortunate to have this opportunity in New Zealand. If you can help with a reading or the offertory, please contact Ida Basile. The Mass is celebrated by either His Excellency Archbishop Balvo or Reverend Marinko Antolovic from the Apostolic Nunciature. The next Mass will be on Sunday, 3 January 2010.
Capacity audiences at the Clubrooms on 6th and 7th November enjoyed a quality performance from Hamilton soprano and NZ Aria winner, Julia Booth, in a Puccini based programme. Julia, who was accompanied by Bruce Greenfield, was supported by (among others) Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist, Barbara Graham, singers from the Marshall Stack collective, and the most recent Garibaldi Beneficiary, Naomi Ferguson, who flew in from Christchurch. This was the 34th Benefit Concert in a Series which commenced in 1992.
On Tuesday, 24 November, the children of the Italian Language classes had their end-of-year certificate presentation, concert and party. Donato Scioscioli, First Secretary/ Deputy Head of Mission, representing the Embassy of Italy, presented the children with their certificates. The classes have been running for 14 years, and it is great to see club member's children learning the Italian language. If you would like your child to attend classes in 2010, and your child's name is not already on the waiting list, please contact Sira Ballara.
Left to right standing: Angelina Di Mattina (Barnao), Bartolo Costa, Giuseppe Mollo, Vincenzo Costa, Maria Basile (Costa), Giovanni Barnao, Marianno Basile, Luisa Basile (Ruocco). Sitting left: Giuseppina Basile (Mollo) and Gloria Monopoli. Vincenzo Costa and Maria Basile were married at the old Church of St Francis de Sales Church, The Parade, Island Bay, Wellington, on 6 September 1947.