March • April 2020 IWC President Antonio Re, (608) 577-8787, Membership Secretary Tom Smith (608) 221-4226 Italia Editor Staff • IWC phone: (608) 258-1880 • www.iwcmadison.com President’s Message By Antonio Re onto the year long work that the IWC council has been involved in. On March 19, 2020 spring will arrive On February 11, 2020 (under the The sun, with all those to the northern influence of the Aquarius constel- hemisphere without lation) the council participated in a planets revolving around fanfare or on a red masterplan retreat at the Clubhouse carpet. Spring is always the begin- that allowed the leadership team it and dependent on it, ning of new life. In Italian, the word to focus an entire evening towards can still ripen a bunch for spring is primavera. If the word masterplanning activities inorder is dissected into two parts, primavera to make substantive progress on of grapes as if it had tells us something mythical about this ongoing and very important nothing else in the spring, mainly that is was the first activity. We began our evening in season. Consider that Prima or first, fellowship by sharing a meal and universe to do. and Vera or real, (first-real) truly checking-in with one another as we —Galileo Galilei implicates that in the beginning when do for every council meeting. After the world was formed, spring was dinner we launched in earnest into indeed the first season. In the creation the IWC Pillars and the ideas that story, the book of Genesis tells us those structures signify to each of the meeting we took up a couple God worked incredibly hard for six member of the club. We worked items that needed our attention and days and nights before declaring mis- judiciously for three hours with vote) and we were able to make real sion accomplished. Afterwards God only a 10 minute break. As most progress by focusing our time and delighted in the artistry of creation of you already know, the master efforts on essential ideas that make by walking in a spring-like garden. planning process has been part up the pillars and the IWC as a vital It’s no coincidense therefore, that the of the council’s agenda for each community organization. zodiac begins with the sign of Aries, monthly meeting. The council in March and ends with Aquarius in has put approxmately 20 working As part of the master plan activi- February. If you are wondering if hours into the plan. However, ties the council reviewed the IWC this newsletter is about the zodiac, or during the retreat there was nothing mission statement and discussed its about what is written in the stars, it else on the council agenda but the continued on page 2 is not. This is a lenghty introduction master plan (although at the end March / April 2020 • Italia • 1 Membership News

continued from page 1 importance to the life of the club meeting. I want to take this opportu- and to the foundation of the work tinty to thank all of the IWC council we have been engaged in over the members, IWC secretaries and VP past year. Additionally, we looked Steve Urso for their commitment to at documents created for the retreat improving the club and for creating a (Master Plan Summary) and spent document that sets the direction and IWC Birthdays time in working groups planning, provides a framework for a better designing, executing and setting tomorrow. Also, a special thank March priorities that will eventually become you to Dan Dyer, who graciously Robert Lashua 1 action plans. In order to maximize volunteered to be our offical recorder Tom Pisapia 3 our time and constrict some of the for the master plan retreat. I want Jim DiUlio 13 major working principles of the to take this opportunity to wish all master plan, the pillars were grouped of you a happy Saint Patrick day, Joseph A. Puccio 13 into four major categories: Saint Joseph’s day and Easter. Buona Dominic Pfister 19 Pasqua! Mark Raimond 19 Leadership/Governance and Festa Robert Brill 24 Membership Ernesto Livorni 27 Clubhouse Andrew Salerno 28 Traditions, Events, Cultural/History Italia Russ Cerniglia 29 Italia is published bimonthly by the Italian Workmen’s Club. Subscriptions Antonio Re 29 By the end of the evening the IWC available for $18 per year. No part of this council had made some real progress newsletter may be reproduced without April express written permission. in prioritizing the previous months’ Mark Fumusa 5 work. At the end of the evening each EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Bormett 7 Antonio Re working unit reported their outcomes CONTRIBUTING REPORTER Tom DiPiazza 8 to the rest of the groups. After some Tom Smith Dennis Puccetti 8 discussion we voted on the process. LISTS Anthony DeGregoria 14 It’s now time that the leadership Ross DePaola SUBSCRIPTIONS & ADVERTISING Mario Russo 14 team share their work with the rest Mike Heald John Caliva 15 of the membership. In order to make TYPESETTING & GRAPHIC DESIGN sense of the completed work, it will Donna Collingwood Jon Lashua 16 be my task as president to bring this PHOTOGRAPHY Tony Bonanno, Jr. 17 Ross DePaola information to the general member- PRINTING Thomas Klinzing 21 ship meeting on March 17, 2020. As Insty Print Nino Amato 23 such, I am in the process of creating MAILING First Class Mailers Joseph Cristoforo 24 a presentation that I will share with Ricardo Gandolfo 26 the general membership at the next Daniel J. Langlois 27 Dominic DeSano 28 Sanfillippo • Fitch Lawrence • Cress Joseph Gmeinder 28 Funeral Home & Crematory Anthony Bruno 30 Established 1849 • Associated with Cress Funeral Homes 6021 UNIVERSITY AVE • Serving Madison and Middleton IAWC Birthdays 45 year IWC and Bersagliere Member Sam Sanfillippo and Patricia Sanfillippo (608) 238-8406 (if no answer - 233-9654) Sarah Oakley, March 9 We treat every family as our own . . . Mary Katic April 10

2 • Italia • March / April 2020 of Pompeii” which culminates in and “The Good, the Bad and the in Film the destruction of Pompeii by the Ugly.” By Tom Smith eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The first full-length Italian feature film On the other side of the camera audi- From time to time was “L’Inferno,” a 1911 silent film ences have seen a long list of many conversations over adapted from Dante’s “Divine Com- famous actors and actresses, past and the monthly dinner edy.” One of the first “blockbusters” present. In 1961 won at the Club turn in film history was the 1913 film the Academy Award for best actress to Italian movies, “Quo Vadis” which – with lavish for her role in ’s especially this past sets, 5,000 extras, and a running time “.” She was the first month with the of two hours – set the standard for actress to win an Academy Award for annual broadcast spectacles in film for years to come. a performance in a foreign language. and the nominations for Martin Scors- In 1998, was the first ese’s “The Irishman.” While people It was Dino (Agostino) De Laurentis, Italian actor to win the Oscar for best often joke that the first films to come an Italian film producer born in actor for his role in “Life is Beauti- up may be someone’s favorite “mob , who brought Italian films to ful.” Any list would also include movie” -- from “The Godfather” and the International scene, producing or , , “Goodfellas” to “Donnie Brasco” – as co-producing over 500 films includ- as well as Marcello a true movie fan and someone who ing 38 of which were nominated Mastroianni, (both parents has audited a number of film courses for Academy Awards. His goal was were Sicilian) and at the University of Wisconsin, I can to make the Italian film industry as (who, by the way, is half Italian and tell you that the history of Italians in powerful and successful as Holly- half Irish), and Joe Pesci (who started film making is substantial. wood. Some of those films included acting at age 10 as a regular on a TV “” which received the show called Startime Kids). The film industry in began in the Oscar in 1957 for Best Foreign Film, late 1800’s but took shape in the first “Serpico” and “Dog Day Afternoon” A search of any film related website decade of the 1900’s. It began with (which following up on “The Godfa- or publication will reveal long lists the works of director Vittorio Calcina, ther” helped make Al Pacino a star). of Italians nominated for or receiving who collaborated with the Frenchmen awards in virtually every part of film Auguste and Louis Lumiere who are When most people think of the making. Writing, producing, directing, generally credited with the birth of the director Frank Capra, famous for his acting, cinematography, costumes, cinema. The very first Italian movies Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful music…the list goes on and on. were documentaries, some as few as Life,” they probably don’t know he just seconds long. They recorded the won Oscars for several other movies. After the and the United people and facts of the times, includ- The Italian-born filmmaker won the Kingdom, Italy has won more Acad- ing royals and Popes, using a simple Academy Award for best director emy Awards than any other country. hand crank operated camera. In fact, three times, for “It Happened One In fact, Italy holds the most awards the first film made that can still be Night,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” for Best Foreign Language Film (14) viewed today was a two-minute-long and “You Can’t Take It with You.” as well as 31 nominations. film about Pope Leo XIII going to The Spaghetti Western genre came So, although the Lumiere brothers are pray in the Vatican gardens, with the generally credited with the birth of first filmed blessing by a Pope. out of Italy and was popular both there and in the United States. These the cinema, the Italian director Vit- There were three major players at films differed from traditional west- torio Calcina was responsible for the that time…Cines, which was based erns as they were filmed in Europe beginnings of Italian cinema, which in Rome, Ambrosia Film and Itala with wonderfully vivid cinematogra- has influenced the movie industry Film based in Turin. Soon these three phy despite being on limited budgets. worldwide and throughout history. companies were joined by others The most famous spaghetti westerns Were it not for his work and that of marketing films both within Italy were those made by , many Italians in every aspect of the and abroad. The earliest Italian films including the “dollars trilogy” featur- movie industry, we would surely not were adaptations of stage plays or ing : “A Fistful of be enjoying the films we have today! books, including “The Last Days Dollars;” “For a Few Dollars More;” March / April 2020 • Italia • 3 Meeting Dates IWC Council Meetings – 2nd Tuesday of Each Month 7:00 pm IWC Membership Meetings – 3rd Tuesday of Each Month 6:30 pm Please clip and post this calendar. s p o n s o r

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