2013 Program of Events - Italy Culture Month

permanent display at the Organization of AmericanStates (OAS) under the sponsorship of AmbassadorSebastiano Fulci;-celebrated Italian Heritage & Culture Month at theNational Arts Club, as the IHCC – NY, Inc. sponsoredinternational singer Cristina Fontanelli for a first timeevent at that private club in October 2012.-co-sponsored in December 2012 the famed Presepioat the Staten Island campus of St. John’s Universitywith the Casa Belvedere Foundation. The Presepiowas a gift to the NY Fire Department by Italian officialsof the Chamber of Commerce of Naples followingthe events of 9.11; and-hosted special ceremonies held in March 2013 at theJohn D. Calandra Italian American Institute to inauguratethe “Poster Series” created by Artistic DirectorJohn Battista DeSantis in honor of 2013: Year ofItalian culture in the United States. Several weekslater Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero visited the siteto view the same posters in a unique stop in New YorkCity where he marveled “…at the creativity of theyear’s theme and carried out so well…”The IHCC-NY, Inc.’s role in concert with the Officeof the Consulate General, now led by Minister NataliaQuintavalle, as well as with the American Associationof Teachers of Italian (AATI) and the ItalianAmerican Committee on Education (IACE), has beenstrengthened over the years in more collaborativeways so as to achieve common goals in education,heritage, culture, language, diplomatic respect and abetter understanding of the Italianità that is so veryimportant to the legacy bequeathed to Italian Americansby their families. In fact, for many years theConsuls General of Italy have each fully supportedthe efforts of IHCC-NY, as well as the Office of theDirector of Istituto Italiano di Cultura di New York,now under the leadership of Dott. Riccardo Viale.Today, owing to the work of the IHCC-NY, Inc., avariety and multitude of programs and events are10