IL CENACOLO ITALIAN CULTURAL CLUB Founded in 1928 Regular Thursday Meetings, Noon to 2:00 P.M. San Francisco Italian Athletic Club 1630 Stockton Street (3rd floor), San Francisco, CA 94133 www.ilcenacolosf.org “Il Cenacolo is an organization that preserves, enhances and encourages all aspects of Italian arts, language and culture and recognizes the unique contribution of Italian heritage that is intertwined in the history and life of the San Francisco Bay Area.” NOVemBER 2020 Thursday, November 5, 2020 The Fiat Cinquecento Peter Sherwood (ZOOM Meeting)* Thursday, November 12, 2020 Sicily: So Many Cultures in One! Susanna Lombardi (ZOOM Meeting)* Thursday, November 19, 2020 “The Big Reveal: the NEW ‘ILCENACOLOSF.ORG” Jessica Poulin & Georgia Gibbs (ZOOM Meeting)* Thursday, November 26, 2020 No meeting in deference to Thanksgiving. This month’s programs arranged by Peter Sherwood. (* ZOOM link and instructions by David Cobb will be emailed the week of each meeting.) FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT NOVEMBER 2020 November once seemed so far away and hopeful. “Surely by then Covid-19 would be under control!” we thought. The elections would finally have set the course for the next four years—for better or for worse. Our beloved Thursday Speaker Luncheons would probably have resumed. Family gatherings might be possible for the holidays. But here we are: I feel naked outside the house without my mask, embarrassed if I forget and extend my hand for a shake, won’t order salad for fear someone coughed on it, and euphemistically label this behavior the “new normal.” This said, Bunny and I, and most all our friends, are still alive and uninfected although cases among the incautious—or simply less lucky—are climbing worldwide. So: no complaining here, just continuing to be patient and careful, and remembering how fortunate we are to be living in our beautiful Bay area in the fall of 2020, Zooming away with our friends and relatives. On a warm and pleasant Sunday afternoon last October I was able to spend a fine afternoon with my grandson out on the Bay. And, at an event available for all. The Matthew Turner is a 132-foot Brigantine tall ship built as a replica of an 1880s cargo vessel sailing between San Francisco and Tahiti (see photo next page). Construction was completed several years ago in Sausalito by volunteers using traditional materials and methods. Her day job is taking kids out on the water for “Call-of-the-Sea” maritime, science and environmental educational programs. On the weekends, however, it is possible to sign aboard for a three-hour sail, with lunch, out on the Bay. Masks, closely supervised social distancing, and 10 to 15 knots of breeze combine for a pretty safe environment. This time of the year the Bay is especially beautiful and pleasant. I highly recommend it! ([email protected] ) Continuing with safe diversions, our latest favorite TV series is “Nero Wolfe” on the MHZ streaming network. Wolfe is an Italian-American private detective transplanted back to Rome in the 1950’s along with Archie, his assistant. Good detective stories, not particularly violent or gory, beautiful venues, lots of 50’s European cars, trucks and other period items, together with humorous personal details of the many characters woven in out of the main plot(s). In Italian with the clear sub-titles characteristic of most MHZ European mysteries and dramas. Be sure to start with Episode One which introduces many of the characters present for the rest of the entire season which is available now. October saw the beginning of a new membership policy offering a free year’s Il Cenacolo membership to Thursday speakers as a thank-you for their pro bono presentations. Our first new Member in this category is Jim Lodato, presenter of a nice summary of his decades-long fascination and travel in Tuscany. At the end of the year, it is anticipated that Jim will be offered regular dues-paying membership. This month we are going to be entertained with a series of presentations and events arranged by Pete Sherwood. On November 5, Pete will tell us about the Fiat Cinquecento—a nice — PAGE 2 — FROM THE DESK OF THE PRESIDENT CONTINUED follow-up to Dick Gale’s excellent talk (presented by his son Ricardo) on our love affair with Italian cars. Susanna Lombardi, who recently gave us a lovely presentation on some artistic sites in Italy, will again take us there, this time to Sicily, and discuss the many different influences which make Sicily so unique. Finally, November 19 will be “THE BIG REVEAL” or our new and improved and beautiful and exciting website. Jessica Poulin and Georgia Gibbs, who have been working with us for the past several weeks, will bring us behind the scenes in the making of a website. And of course the last Thursday of this month there is no luncheon due to the holiday. In La Cultura Italiana, Jim Boitano relates the short but illustrious life of Vincenzo Bellini, the quintessential composer of Bel Canto opera who lived in the early 19th century. And monthly chairman Peter Sherwood weighs in with his favorite Involtini di Melanzane, with memories of Sicily. The October 28 Member’s open meeting was interesting and productive. After a brief status report on Il Cenacolo finances (strong) and the development of the new website (on schedule), the discussion turned to the status of the weekly luncheons (not yet), virtual and outdoor member events during COVID (many coming up), and the exciting potentials of the new website. Attendees offered a number of ideas to enhance benefits of the Club for both current and future Cenacolisti. All comments and suggestions deserve and will receive the Board’s attention in the months ahead. And now, a word from Chuck Stagliano: “An exciting addition to our new, soon to be released, website, will be a section dedicated to Il Cenaclo’s long-standing relationship with the Merola Opera program. This section will feature interviews with the artists, their biographies, and video recordings of some of their work. Where possible, we will feature those Merolini whom Il Cenacolo has specifically supported in the past. “The first two artists are already committed and will be interviewed by Jean Kellogg on Zoom in the next few weeks. Their stories will be featured when the new website is released. They are Ashley Dixon, former Merolini and Adler Fellow, and her husband, tenor Carlos Santelli, both now resident artists with the San Jose Opera.” I hope you all have worked out a good Thanksgiving solution for you and the family. Bunny and I are self-isolating for two weeks before being joined down here by relatives from Eugene, Oregon, who have endured the same two weeks. Several hours in the oven at 350 or so should render the turkey non-infectious. Ah…the new normal. A presto, David — PAGE 3 — PROGRAM PROFILES ZOOM Thursday, November 5, 2020 The Fiat Cinquecento Peter Sherwood, Cenacolista The Fiat Cinquecento was a marvel of engineering that burst on the scene in postwar Italy, winning the hearts and pocketbooks of Italians. Its design was revolutionary in many respects and got young and not-so-young Italians to get off their Vespas and into a Fiat! Plus it was really a lot of fun to watch and drive, and Fiat sold almost four million of them during its nearly twenty-year run. Pete will talk a bit about the history of this classic and its place in Italian culture, share some photos and videos (assuming he can make them work for you!) and invites everyone to share their knowledge and experiences with this little gem of a “macchina.” Pete Sherwood has been a Cenacolista since the turn of the milennium. He worked with Man of the Year Dave Lombardi as a mediator at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco for many years. He has traveled in Italy extensively this century and the last and never tires of this fascinating and beautiful land, with all its offerings, edible, sippable, and drivable! — PAGE 4 — PROGRAM PROFILES CONTINUED ZOOM Thursday, November 12, 2020 Sicily: So Many Cultures in One! Susanna Lombardi, Cenacoliste Sicily is a treasure trove of architecture and mosaics from three civilizations that occupied Sicily: Greek, Roman, Norman/Byzantine. Through images we will first examine the Greek Temple of Concordia (below) which is the best preserved Greek temple outside of Greece. Next we will view the Roman floor mosaics of the Villa del Casale, a late third century CE estate, located outside Piazza Armerina. We will close with the Byzantine style mosaics executed by Venetian artists that adorn the Norman Cathedral of Monreale on the outskirts of Palermo. I hope you will join us in the visual exploration. Susanna Lombardi earned a graduate degree in the History of Art, University of Califor- nia, Berkeley. She is an art historian and educator and has been lecturing in colleges and universities throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 25 years. Since its incep- tion in 1996, she has been on the faculty of Bay Area Classic Learning Road Scholar (for- merly Elderhostel). She was also Associate Director of the Graduate Humanities program at Dominican University of San Rafael and has received numerous awards and grants in appreciation of her teaching. She recently published a second book with Inkwater Press, The Enigma of Mary Magdalene: A Pictorial Narrative. She is also a new member of Il Cenacolo. Greek Temple of Concordia (Photo: Berthold Werner) — PAGE 5 — PROGRAM PROFILES CONTINUED Thursday, November 19, 2020 ZOOM The Big Reveal: the New “ILCENACOLOSF.ORG” Jessica Poulin & Georgia Gibbs For the past several weeks Jess and Georgia have been working with the website pivot team (David Cobb, Chuck Stagliano, Peter Sherwood and Susi Segal) to renovate our website.