Articles by: I. I.

  • Facts & Stories

    Ferrero Buys Danish Cookies From Campbell

    Continuing on its journey of expansion in the United States, the Italian company Ferrero, known mostly for its trademark product Nutella and other Italian chocolates and sweets, signed an agreement with the American Campbell Soup Company for the purchase of Kelsen, a Danish cookie company famous for its old fashioned butter biscuits, for $300 million. 

     

    The Italian confectionary company born in 1946 in the town of Alba in Piedmont has come a long way from being the local pastry shop it once was. It is now a multinational company and has lately been focusing on expanding into the US market. 

     

    After recent acquisitions, including that of several businesses from the Kellogg Company for $1,3 billion, it has become the third-largest confectionary company in North America. 

     

    On the other hand, Campbell, the canned soup, ready meals and baked goods giant, an icon of American pop and consumer culture rendered famous across the globe by Andy Warhol’s photo series in the 1960s, is currently divesting from its international products. 

     

    “The sale of Kelsen Group supports our strategy to focus on North America where we have iconic brands and strong market positions while reducing debt,” commented Campbell’s President and CEO Mark Clouse, who added that the company is proceeding with the sale if the remainder of their international operations.

     

    Meanwhile, Campbell announced that the Kelsen sale is set to happen by the first quarter of 2020. The Danish group, whose major brands are Kjeldsens and Royal Dansk, both manufacturers of traditional butter biscuits often served in lovely metal tin boxes, seem like an appropriate addition to Ferrero’s North American holdings, one in line with the company’s ongoing expansion plan.

     

  • Facts & Stories

    NCCA Celebrates 60 Years of Supporting Italian American Civil Servants

    The National Council was founded in 1959 to give "a single unified voice to Italian Americans in Civil Service, protect civil servants from government failure to treat Italian Americans fairly for hiring and promotions."

     

    The National Council of Columbia Associations in Civil Service now represents 120,000 men and women of Italian descent working in the FDNY, the NYPD, NYC Correction, Parks and Recreation, Departments of Sanitation, Transportation, Customs, Human Resources, United States Secret Service, NJ Police, Boston Police, California Police, Connecticut Police and many more across the United States.

     

    The event began with the American and Italian National Anthems. The Star Spangled Banner was sung by a member of the association, Ms. Daniela Taormina, a police woman in her uniform. Followed by the invocation of Msgr. Robert J. Romano, NYPD Chaplain and Pastor of Brooklyn.

    Vice President Peter Segalini, welcomed the participants and the honorees, six outstanding members of the Community who, within their fields, contributed to the advancement of Italian Americans in civil service and to the promotion of their heritage and Italian culture.

     

    “We have 60 more years to go,” said the President of the National Council, Cav. Dott Joseph A. Guagliardo, in his opening speech addressing more than 350 guests, most of them Italian American civil servants, coming from across the country to attend the event.

     

    “Organizations of Italian Americans in civil service are getting smaller and smaller,”  continued President Guagliardo, “So, as The National Council we have to become bigger, in order to support, educate and help them in any way we can.”

    Supporting one another is at the very core of the National Council Columbia Association, which was largely created to combat the negative stereotypes faced by Italian Americans working in civil service at the time, and to forge a strong work network that overtime has become a family.

    This year two hard fought battles were prime examples of the unity and support of the National Council: the protection of the Columbus Statue in Columbus Circle, with subsequent listing of the monument as protected landmark by the National Parks Service, and the successful advocacy spearheaded by one of the honorees Michael Santo Esq - Commissioner for Social Justice, Order Sons and Daughter of Italy who was instrumental in obtaining a Proclamation of apology from the Mayor of the City of New Orleans, Hon. LaToya Cantrell, for the governments part in the 1891 infamous lynching of 11 Italians, thus initiating, as Mr. Santo said, healing for “a longstanding wound”.

     

    Leading by example, the National Council has dedicated 60 years to ideals of equality for all men and women. Through its mentoring and educational programs as well as its charitable endeavors it strives to better the professional lives of its members and perpetuate the traditions of Italian language and culture while inspiring future generations to do the same.

    The Italian Government Representatives, the Hon. Fucsia Nissoli Fitzgerald and the Hon. Francesca La Marca both confirmed the strong bonds of cooperation and friendship between Italy and the members of the National Council, as did the Hon. Giovanni Aceti on behalf of the Ministero dell’Interno, Dipartimento della Pubblica Sicurezza, H.E. Amb. Antonio Bandini and MAECI Inspector General Min.Plen Natalia Quntavalle.  

    Official accolades and congratulations were received for the 60 years of accomplishments of The National Council, from the US House of Representatives, the Hon. Peter King, the Governor of the State of New York, the Hon. Andrew Cuomo, the Mayor of New York City, the Hon.Bill deBlasio, the Comptroller of New York State, the Hon. Thomas DiNapoli and Nassau County Executive, Lauren Curran,

     

    The Honorees for 2019:were Msgr. Robert J. Romano, NYPD Chaplain and Pastor of Brooklyn’s Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award; Domenick Cama, COO of Investor’s Bank, asMan of the Year Award; and James Moschella Esq. of the National Council Counsel; Commissioner for Social Justice NYS Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, Michael A. Santo, Esq; and VP of the Detective’s Endowment Association, Paul DiGiacomo, who were named 2019 Guardians of Columbus Honorees.

    The President Recognition Awardees for 2019 were awarded to:

    Michael Massucci, Chief of Personnel of the FDNY Intl. Columbia Association; James Minore, Chairman of the Board and 2nd VP local 44 of the NYC dept. of sanitation; Joseph Rao, Queens South Financial Secretary of the Police Officers Benevolent Organization; John Romano, I.A. Businessman at the I.A. Police Society of Connecticut.

    President Guagliardo also presented two posthumous awards to Detective Anthony DiCarlo, Executive Board Member of the NYPD Columbia Association and to Al Imperiale, Association Chairman of the I.A. Police Society of New Jersey to honor their contributions to the community. A moment of silence was observed. The two awards were to be presented to a family member but entire families, adults, young adults and little children all went up to the podium, to accept the prestigious President’s Recognition Award so dear to them.

    Three New National Council Presidents were named: Christopher Pizzo of the NYPD; Anthony LaCorazza of United States Secret Service; and Richard Giudice of the Port Authority PD.

    Organization Recognition Awardees for 2019 were given to:

    C.O. Anthony Marano of the NYC Dept. of Corrections; Louis Forte of the NYC Dept of Education; Filippo Guiffre of the BSI10-13 / Columbia Retirees; Det. Emiliano Fuda of the Port Authority Police.

     

    At the end of the Awards Ceremony, and after hundreds of photographs taken, the warm fraternal feeling of kinship and mutual respect was still tangibly evident among the participants - members as well as the community at large - in perfect representation of the National Council's mission.

     

  • The honorees and special guests
    Facts & Stories

    Special Guests and Surprises at AIAE's 22nd Annual Ceremony

    Founded by a group of Italian American teachers and professors to promote the discussion of educational issues impacting Italian Americans and to enhance the Italian American image and presence in academia, the Association of Italian American Educators (AIAE) celebrated its 22nd Annual Awards and Scholarships Ceremony.

    The celebration was held on May 3rd at the Consulate General of Italy in New York, one of the Association’s main supporters. "Associations such as AIAE are key actors in promoting Italian culture in the US," said Consul General Francesco Genuardi, "We are very happy to have them here tonight, they are the protagonists of the big friendship between Italy and the Tri-state area and we owe them a lot."

    Cav. Josephine Maietta, President of the association, educator and community activist for Italian language and culture, then took over and presented the event with great energy and enthusiasm.

    Amongst the special guests this year, was former First Lady of the State of New York, Matilda Cuomo, herself a great supporter of Italian culture and an important figure for the Italian American Community of New York. She herself founded the Mentoring USA program and currently leads an educational exchange program between Italy and the US. In her speech, she stressed the role of mentorship and support, much needed in both Italy and the US, and insisted on the importance of family, a recurrent theme throughout the evening.

    As it does each year, AIAE honored four outstanding members of the Italian and Italian American community:

    The Founder & President of the Italian Association "Ieri Oggi Domani", President of the Association Cavalieri - NJ, and Representative Famiglie Italiane 9/11, Cav. Giulio Picolli, was given the Humanitarian Award. 

    But Cav. Picolli's important contribution to the Italian American community was recognized beyond the planned ceremony. Many were those who wanted to express their love and admiration for this remarkable man. Former Italian Ambassador to the US, Giulio Terzi, and Amb. Giorgio Radicati, who was the Consul General in New York during 9/11, sent heartfelt congratulatory letters. The Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, Daniel A. Nigro, could not be present but he also wished to honor Picolli by gifting him a cross made out of metal scraps from the Twin Towers.

    Professor Massimo Zordan, Theater Department Director and Master Teacher at Scuola D'Italia Guglielmo Marconi, received the Teacher of the Year Award.

    Then, i-Italy’s founder and editor-in-chief, Letizia Airos received the Cultural Heritage and Communications Award. In he brief acceptance speech, Letizia broke the procedure by inviting our managing editor, Chiara Basso, who had just walked in with her six-week-old son, to stand up. "This is the future!” she exclaimed - alluding to the new generation of Italians-in-America.
    Letizia’s professional biography was introduced by Professor Stan Pugliese, who recalled how important her work is for the Italian/American culture. In her speech she numbered three reasons why she really cares about this recognition: “because it is linked to the world of young people; because it is dedicated to the promotion of Italian culture and, in particular of the Italian language; because it unites, through culture, the Italian Americans and the Italians.”

    Finally, the Christopher Columbus Leadership Award went to former SNL Star, Comedian, Actor, Musician, Writer & Radio talk show host, Joe Piscopo, who inevitably took ownership of the stage, capturing the public’s attention first by making a passionate speech professing the importance of Italian culture and of being proud of one’s heritage and family. At the insistence of Josephine, he then agreed to channel his inner Frank Sinatra and improvised a short song for the public.

    It was then time to award the Programma Ponte Pisa Scholarships to this year’s recipients: Annalisa Andre, Juliana Bonavita, Anthony D’Angelico, Ryan Emma, Julia Fiederlein, Lauren Giammarella, Garrett Gualtieren, Juliette Kurta, Christina Levi, and Juliana Moneta. These ten young students will get the opportunity to spend two weeks in Pisa this summer to study the Italian language and immerse themselves in the culture.

    The recognition " Friend of AIAE Award" was given to Professor and President of Accademia Napoletana, who came from Naples to New York to promote the richness of the Neapolitan dialect with seminars in New York City, especially at Hofstra University and NYU Casa Italiana.

    Ms.Tamara Nikitina, an Italian teacher from the Syosset School District, received the Fellowship Award for a study program in Pisa at the Istituto Linguistico Mediterraneo.

    And, finally, Dr. Mirko Notarangelo, Art Director and Fellowship Chair, presented his latest visual project entitled 'The New York I Know'.

     

    Credit: Photos by Loren Scott Fiedler.

     

  • Life & People

    Honoring Italian American Women and Calandra Institute @ the 2019 NOIAW Annual Luncheon

    The National Organization of Italian American Women (NOIAW), the only national organization for women of Italian ancestry, holds its Annual Luncheon and Silent Auction at the St. Regis New York on Saturday,April 13, 2019 at 11:30 AM.

    In addition to honorees Sandra L. DePaolo (Global Head of Anti-Money Laundering)  and Judith A. Salerno (President of the New York Academy of Medicine) NOIAW this year will also honor the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute with its Friend of NOIAW Award. 

    The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute (City University of New York), founded in 1979 and reconstituted in 1995, was the first of its kind devoted to documenting and preserving the Italian American experience. The goals of the institute—which was named in memory of a New York state senator who was a tireless champion of social justice—include now heightening awareness, fostering higher education, and conducting research to deepen understanding of Italian Americans’ culture and heritage.

    Among its offerings are a speakers bureau, conferences, seminars, exhibits, and symposia; a research library, archives, and a clearing house for research; lectures by Calandra faculty fellows and other notables. The institute's current director, is Professor Anthony Julian. Tamburri.

    NOIAW was founded in 1980 under the leadership of Dr. Aileen Riotto Sirey by a group of Italian American women who sought to create a national network to support the educational and professional aspirations of its members and to combat ethnic stereotypes by promoting positive role models

    For decades, NOIAW has labored under the mission of promoting the advancement and progress of Italian-American women in the workplace and society. They are dedicated at the same time to preserving Italian heritage, language and culture across generations. The organization inspires strength in solidarity, through local, national and international programs and events in the arenas of mentorship, scholarship and cultural exchange.

    The organization’s pioneering members include integral Italian-American women who have stood as prominent figures in society. Former member of the US House of Representatives from NY Geraldine A. Ferraro and former first lady of NY Matilda Raffa Cuomo (mother of current NY Governor Andrew Cuomo) were among the attendees of NOIAW’s meetings.

    Over the course of the years, NOIAW has flourished into an international organization, connecting women with Italian ancestry all over the US with their counterparts in Italy, Argentina and Australia

     

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    For more information about NOIAW, its members and programs, or to become a member, visit www.noiaw.org, The National Organization of Italian American Women, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent permitted

  • Fatti e Storie

    Benefit Gala 2019 della Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi

    Dal 1977 La Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi di New York, scuola paritaria indipendente riconosciuta dal MAECI e dal Board of Regents dello Stato di New York, coniuga al meglio l’eccellenza della tradizione educativa italiana con la tradizione scolastica americana offrendo un percorso multi-lingue dalla Scuola Materna al Liceo, che si conclude con la Maturità Scientifica e con l’International Baccalaureate Diploma, prestigioso titolo accademico riconosciuto nelle migliori università al mondo.

    Due fra queste, la Bocconi di Milano e la LUISS Guido Carli di Roma, saranno fra i protagonisti della serata di fundraising promossa da La Scuola d’Italia, dove i rispettivi rettori, il Prof. Gianmario Verona e il Prof. Andrea Prencipe riceveranno il titolo di Honoree .

    Come spiega la Dott.ssa Maria Palandra, Preside della Scuola d’Italia “la scelta di onorare i massimi rappresentanti delle due università Italiane più internazionali e più note nel mondo dimostra l’importanza che La Scuola d’Italia pone nell’educazione multi-lingue e multi-culturale che unisce la migliore tradizione accademica italiana, americana ed europea per formare individui empatici ed aperti”.

    “Questo riconoscimento è motivo di grande soddisfazione per me perché avvalora l’ottimo lavoro che stiamo svolgendo nella nostra Università” ha commentato il Prof. Prencipe, Rettore della Luiss Guido Carli. “La Luiss, che prosegue nella scalata delle classifiche globali anche grazie all’aggiornamento costante della sua offerta formativa. Con 40 visiting professor, oltre 1.000 opportunità all’anno di esperienze di studio all’estero, la collaborazione con più di 270 università in 55 Paesi e 40 Double Degree e Partnership strutturate, Luiss vive tra Roma e il mondo.”

    Il Prof. Verona, Rettore della Bocconi, spiega: “I principali ranking posizionano la Bocconi nella top 20 mondiale con risultati eccellenti in Business & Management dove siamo ottavi. Leader negli studi di economics, management, political science, legal studies e più recentemente data science siamo un campus internazionale con studenti di 115 nazionalità e professori provenienti dalle più prestigiose università del mondo”.

    La serata ospiterà oltre 350 ospiti esponenti della comunità italo-americana, del business, della cultura e delle istituzioni quali l’Ambasciatore Italiano negli Stati Uniti, H.E. Armando Varricchio e il Console Italiano a New York l’On. Francesco Genuardi.

    Fra gli ospiti speciali anche lo stilista italiano Domenico Vacca, rappresentante dell’eleganza e della ricercatezza italiana nel mondo, che ha vestito tante star di Hollywood fra cui Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Glen Close. Lo stilista sarà accolto da un gruppo di ragazzi del Liceo che ha recentemente ospitato nel suo atelier di New York.

    Nella giornata mondiale dedicata alle donne, La Scuola d’Italia celebrerà alcune esponenti della comunità italo-americana, “Women of Distinction”, che con il loro lavoro, la loro passione, creatività e imprenditorialità fungono da ispiratrici per le generazioni di donne future.

    Fra queste Letizia Airos, giornalista, autrice e direttrice di I-Italy, testata multimediale da lei fondata con la missione di dare al pubblico americano una visione a 360 gradi dell’Italia, libera da stereotipi.

    La Scuola ha voluto anche dare un riconoscimento a due associazioni che hanno contribuito a connettere, celebrare e dare voce alla numerosissima comunità femminile italiana e italo-americana di New York: la NOIAW rappresentata da Maria Tamburri, Presidente del Board of Directors e la New York Italian Women rappresentata dalla fondatrice Ivana Lo Stimolo.

     

    Tantissimi i brands del made in Italy sponsors della serata, i due principali: Ferrero Group, con il suo Nutella Café e Zamperla Group, conosciuto per i suoi amusement parks, uno fra tutti quello di Coney Island.
    Una lista completa degli sponsors sarà disponibile sul sito de La Scuola www.lascuoladitalia.org

     

    La serata sarà presentata da Eleonora Pieroni, modella, attrice e presentatrice TV. Insegnante laureata con un Master in Psicologia, la Pieroni è anche Ambasciatrice di  Les Couleurs Organization organizzazione no-profit che supporta programmi educativi per i bambini di Haiti e Messico.

     

     

     

  • Facts & Stories

    March 8, Scuola d'Italia Celebrates Women at Its Annual Gala

    "Excellence in Education" is the theme of the Benefit Gala 2019 organized by La Scuola d'Italia Gugliemo Marconi that will bring together the Italian-American community at Cipriani Wall Street on March 8th, which is also International Women’s Day. For this reason, in that same evening, La Scuola will also award three "Women of Distinction," namely inspiring women who can easily be seen by young girls as role models.

     

    At i-Italy, we are particularly proud to announce that one of them is our editor-in-chief Letizia Airos, journalist, author and founder of this multimedia publication with the mission of giving the American public a 360-degree view of Italy, free from stereotypes.

     

    La Scuola also wanted to give recognition to two associations that have helped to connect, celebrate and give voice to the numerous Italian and Italian-American women's community in New York: the NOIAW, represented by Maria Tamburri, President of the Board of Directors, and New York Italian Women, represented by the founder Ivana Lo Stimolo.

     

    The evening will host over 350 guests of the Italian-American community, business, culture, and institutions such as the Italian Ambassador to the United States, Armando Varricchio, and the General Consul of Italy in New York, Francesco Genuardi.

     

    Among the special guests, Italian designer Domenico Vacca, who has dressed many Hollywood stars including Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and Glenn Close. The designer will be welcomed by a group of high school students whom he recently hosted in his New York atelier.

     

    Since 1977, La Scuola Guglielmo Marconi, an independent private school in New York recognized by the MAECI, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and the Board of Regents of the State of New York, combines the excellence of the Italian educational tradition with the American school tradition, offering a multi-lingual path from kindergarten to the Liceo, which ends with the Maturità Scientifica and the International Baccalaureate Diploma, a prestigious academic qualification recognized in the best universities in the world.

     

    Two of these universities, Bocconi di Milano and LUISS Guido Carli of Rome, will also be among the protagonists of the Gala. They will be represented by their respective rectors, Prof. Gianmario Verona and Prof. Andrea Prencipe, who will receive special recognition.

     

    As Dr. Maria Palandra, Head of La Scuola explains, “the choice to honor the highest representatives of the two most international and most famous Italian universities in the world demonstrates the importance that La Scuola d’Italia places in a multi-faceted and multi-cultural type of education that unites the best Italian, American and European academic traditions to form empathic and open individuals.”

     

    The evening will be presented by Eleonora Pieroni, international model, actress and TV host born in Italy and living in New York. 

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    La Scuola d’Italia Guglielmo Marconi or La Scuola is an independent Italian/English bilingual school (Pre-K – 12) imbued with the best features of the Italian and American educational systems. Our unique culture stems from our bicultural identity and our multicultural environment where acceptance and diversity, equity and respect, are the principles that naturally shape the life of our bilingual school.

    La Scuola follows a rigorous curriculum designed to provide intellectual stimulation, promote personal growth and encourage innovation – situated within a warm and caring community of faculty, staff, students, parents, and board members.

    Small class sizes and individualized instruction from a team of international, gifted and creative teachers ensures our commitment to academic excellence and furthers our vision of shaping global citizens prepared to actively engage in our interconnected world.

  • Chiara Izzi (Photo: Gianna Piano)
    Art & Culture

    Versatile Talent Chiara Izzi to Enchant "Birdland"

    Italian singer Chiara Izzi confirms to be a talent not to be missed with her second album, "Across The Sea," a cooperative project with pianist Kevin Hays. The multi-lingual, pan-stylistic 10-tune recital, released on February 22, comprises original pieces and lyrics by each protagonist and highly personalized interpretations of songs from composers and songwriters who both artists love and admire.

    Izzi and Hays will celebrate their album, produced by Italian label Jando Music, in collaboration with Via Veneto Jazz, at Birdland Jazz Club on February 28 at 5:30pm (click here for tickets and reservation).

    How the "Across The Sea" collaboration started

    The back story of "Across The Sea" dates to 2006, when Hays played a concert in Izzi’s hometown, Campobasso, the capital of the Molise region of southeastern Italy, with his then-working-trio with bassist Doug Weiss and drummer Bill Stewart. After the concert, Izzi, then a university student majoring in communications and media who was beginning her career as a professional musician, approached Hays with a request to sign her copy of the trio’s CD, For Heaven’s Sake.

    The next step came when Izzi, by now an established bandleader based in Rome, made her international debut at the 2011 Montreux International Jazz Festival Vocal Competition, where Quincy Jones awarded her first prize. With the award came the 2012 recording session that generated Izzi’s well-received debut album, Motifs (Dot-Time), an 11-track program that includes lyrics in English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. Accompanied by her accomplished rhythm section of several years, Izzi navigated the American and Brazilian Songbooks, Tango, high-level Euro-Pop, and Mainstream Jazz Vocalese and Scat, addressing each idiom on its own terms of engagement, deploying her prodigious vocal instrument, refined musicianship and inherent soulfulness to convey emotional transparency and ebullient swing in equal measure.

    Meanwhile, Izzi was focusing on finding a path to New York City. She recalls: “During the celebration after the finals, Quincy Jones told me, ‘You should go to the U.S. You have to improve your craft, because you are very talented.’ Before that, I believed in myself and enjoyed my music. But that encouraged me think bigger.”

    Moving to New York

    Izzi made the move in August 2014. Not long thereafter, she cold-called Hays to play duo with her at a midtown Manhattan club. At first blush, it might have seemed counterintuitive that Hays would accept. Then 46, he’d garnered international renown over a 25-year career, accumulating a leader discography of some 20 albums and a sideman c.v. that includes consequential tenures with Chris Potter, Benny Golson, Eddie Henderson, Bob Belden and Joshua Redman. At the time, he was just forming his trio with Jost and Joseph, who play on his recent trio albums New Day and North.

    “I had a sense, and I wasn’t doing anything at the moment, so I said, ‘Let’s try it,’” Hays recalls. Both artists had fun. They decided to keep playing together. “I thought she had something special,” Hays says. “There was a sense of sincerity and honesty — a lack of artifice. She has an inner strength that I think is rare. I said, ‘We should work on some music.’”

    An enriching collaboration

    Recorded in August 2017, "Across The Sea" documents the intuitive, spontaneous simpatico that Izzi and Hays established since that initial encounter. “We share an open-minded approach, with a similar appreciation and love for artists belonging to different genres,” Izzi says. “Our collaboration is an example of different musical worlds that meet and build something new. When we were both around, we’d get together regularly with new stuff to try. Most of our meetings focused on experimentation with the lyrics, deciding which language suited which song. For example, on ‘Viaggio Elegiaco,’ I contributed to Kevin’s music with Italian songwriting. In fact, for several songs from the album we wound up having versions of the lyrics in two different languages for the same song, and it was hard to decide which one to keep because we liked both."

    This collaboration enriched both artists but Izzi admits: “Kevin has played the role of a mentor for me. He pushed me to go over the limits of my singing, of my songwriting skills. Very often I brought something, and he’d say, ‘Ok, that’s good; let’s try to do it a different way now.’ At first, I’d say, ‘Really?’, but the effort paid off.”

  • Life & People

    Salviamo Patrick

    This is Patrick, my boyfriend, and what you see here is his extraordinary smile. A smile that has become just a distant memory, erased by the monster living inside of him.

    Patrick is a positive person, always in a good mood; he’s the gentleman who opens the car door for you, the athlete who is always full of energy… or was, until January 2018 when he was diagnosed with a malignant tumour: colon mucinous adenocarcinoma with mutated KRAS, and liver metastasis. 

    This nightmare has put aside our dream of having a baby.

    He underwent an emergency operation, in which they removed half of his colon, segments VI and VII of his liver and his gall bladder. Complications resulting from the operation left Patrick in a coma for 5 days. The physicians were careful to not give us false hope, but Patrick’s willpower and desire to live brought him back to us. 

    After more than 40 days in the hospital he recovered strength and then underwent 5 months of chemotherapy with Folfox, which unfortunately wasn't successful. He then switched to Folfiri, but unfortunately this chemotherapy was also unsuccessful. 

    The complications that resulted from the operation require Patrick to take anticoagulant drugs that prevent him from being eligible for other chemotherapy treatments. 

    At the moment in Italy there are no other standard treatments available and no existing experimental protocols that could possibly give him the chance to continue his life. 

    Due to the characteristics of his tumor, radiation therapy and immunotherapy are also not options. 

    This leaves us with one remote hope: a possible chemotherapeutic protocol that will begin soon at the National Tumour Institute of Milan, but to be elible for this treatment, Patick will need to have a positive outcome on the MGMT methylation analysis. We are currently waiting for his results and we will keep you updated. 

    Currently, the only CONCRETE HOPE of SALVATION for Patrick is at Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center Clinic in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where there are other possible immunotheraypy treatments, including: the Inhibitory TRK (it stops the proliferation of tumor cells), the Hu5F9-G4 (it acts against the CD47 protein that inhibits the antitumor activity of the organism) the CDX-1140 (it enhances the action of lymphocytes, which are the cells that kill cancer cells). 

    But these treatments have stratospheric expenses that Patrick and I can't manage on our own.

    Patrick is exhausted from his pain but wants to continue living, wants to see the birth and growth of his children, and he has enough strength to do it, but he can’t do it alone.

    We have very little time and we need all of the help you are able to provide!

    Please help us give him an effective cure, a chance of salvation, a FUTURE! Donate what you can and spread this message to everybody you can.

    The money raised with your donations will be collected by me, Patrick's girlfriend, being the only person assisting him, since he is too tired to do it independently. All the money will be spent for his care.
    I am confident you will help Patrick to get cured. If the goal will not be achieved, I will return each donation, unless the donor indicates to devolve the amount for cancer research.

    Thank you very much
    Luciana and Patrick

    go to >>

    Donations via bank transfer:

    Payee: Luciana Grieco - Patrick's girlfriend
    IBAN code: IT05I0301503200000002905809
    Reasons for payment: your thoughts for Patrick

    Euro bank transfers via SEPA circuit: 
    IBAN:  IT05I0301503200000002905809 
    BIC / Swift code: FEBIITM1, in case 11-digit code is required FEBIITM1XXX

    Euro bank transfers outside SEPA circuit / bank transfers with other currencies:
    IBAN:  IT05I0301503200000002905809 
    BIC / Swift code: UNCRITMM, in case 11-digit code is required  UNCRITMMXXX

    Thank you very much
    Luciana and Patrick

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    Lui è Patrick, il mio compagno, e quello che vedete è il suo straordinario sorriso. Un sorriso che il mostro che vive dentro di lui ha reso ormai solo un ricordo lontano.

    Patrick è un ragazzo solare, sempre di buon umore, è il gentiluomo che ti apre lo sportello della macchina per farti accomodare, è uno sportivo sempre carico di energie o almeno così è stato fino a gennaio del 2018, quando gli è stato diagnosticato un tumore maligno: adenocarcinoma mucinoso al colon con KRAS mutato, con metastasi al fegato. 

    Questo incubo ha messo da parte il nostro sogno di avere un bambino.

    Ha subito, d'urgenza, un profondo intervento chirurgico con resezione di metà colon, dei segmenti VI e VII del fegato e della cistifellea. All'intervento sono seguite delle complicazioni e Patrick è stato in comaper 5 giorni. I medici non si pronunciavano ma la sua forza di volontà e voglia di vivere lo hanno riportato tra noi. 

    Dopo oltre 40 giorni in ospedale ha recuperato le forze è si è sottoposto a 5 mesi di chemioterapia con Folfox, che purtroppo non hanno dato l'esito sperato. Ha quindi cambiato terapia passando al Folfiri, ma purtroppo il tumore si è dimostrato resistente anche a questa chemio. 

    Le complicazioni seguite all'intervento impongo a Patrick l'assunzione di farmaci anticoagulanti che gli impediscono l'accesso ad altre cure chemioterapiche. 

    Al momento in Italia non ci sono altri protocolli standard che possano salvagli la vita e neppure protocolli sperimentali. 

    Per le caratteristiche del suo tumore non c'è radioterapia né immunoterapia.

    Rimane una flebile e remota speranza: un possibile protocollo chemioterapico in partenza all'INT di Milano, ma è necessario l'esito positivo all'analisi metilazione MGMT, siamo in attesa proprio in questi giorni e vi terremo aggiornati.

    L'unica CONCRETA SPERANZA di SALVEZZA per Patrick è presso il Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center Clinical di Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Qui ci sono ben tre possibili protocolli di cui due immunoterapici: il TRK Inhibitor (serve a fermare la proliferazione delle cellule tumorali), il Hu5F9-G4(agisce contro la proteina CD47 che inibisce l'attività antitumorale dell'organismo) il CDX-1140 (potenzia l'azione dei linfociti T, che sono le cellule che di fatto uccidono le cellule tumorali). 

    Le cure ovviamente hanno spese stratosferiche che io e Patrick non possiamo affrontare da soli.

    Patrick è stremato dai dolori ma vuole continuare a vivere, vuole vedere nascere e crescere i suoi bambini, ha tutta la forza per farlo ma non può farlo da solo.

    Abbiamo pochissimo tempo e tutto il bisogno del vostro aiuto!

    Aiutateci a dargli una cura efficace, una possibilità di salvezza, un FUTURO! Donate quel che potete e diffondete questo messaggio a più non posso.

    I soldi raccolti con le vostre donazioni saranno prelevati da me che sono la fidanzata di Patrick e l'unica persona che lo assiste, perché lui è troppo stanco e provato per poterlo fare autonomamente, e saranno tutti spesi per le sue cure.

    Sono certa che ci sosterrete fino al punto di permettere a Patrick di curarsi ma se l'obiettivo non sarà raggiunto, restituirò ogni donazione, salvo diversa indicazione del donante di voler devolvere l'importo alla ricerca sul cancro.

    Grazie
    Luciana e Patrick 
     

  • Da sinistra: Maria Tamburri, Francesca Aborn, Maria Teresa Cometto, Laura Mattioli
    Fatti e Storie

    Premio della NOIAW per Mattioli, Rossellini e Cometto

    Ogni anno NOIAW sceglie tre italo-americane che si sono distinte come rappresentanti del nostro patrimonio culturale. Le tre Wise Women celebrate lo scorso 16 gennaio alla sede della Columbus Citizen Foundation a New York sono Laura Mattioli, fondatrice del CIMA Center for Italian Modern Art, Ingrid Rossellini, studiosa e autrice del libro "Conosci te stesso: Identità occidentale dalla Grecia classica al Rinascimento” e Maria Teresa Cometto, giornalista, autrice di vari libri fra cui “Tech and the City” e vice-presidente dello IACE, Italian Committee on Education.

     

    A condurre la serata sono state Maria Tamburri, NOIAW National Chair e Maryrose Barranco Morris,  President NOIAW Greater New York Region.

    Erano presenti il console generale Francesco Genuardi e i rappresentanti di tutte le principali organizzazioni italo-americane di New York, a partire da Joseph Sciame, Chair of the Conference of Major Italian American Organizations

     

       Ingrid Rossellini non ha potuto partecipare alla festa perché al mattino si era sottoposta alla seconda chemioterapia per un tumore al seno recentemente scoperto. Sua figlia Francesca Aborn l’ha rappresentata, spiegando che mamma Ingrid sta affrontando con coraggio e ottimismo la sua malattia e che ne parla a tutte le donne per attirare l'attenzione sull'importanza della prevenzione con la mammografia. Un discorso che ha colpito e commosso il pubblico.

     

       Laura Mattioli ha parlato del suo entusiasmo nel cominciare una nuova vita a New York, dove il suo centro CIMA si e’ già affermato come importante punto di riferimento per l’arte moderna italiana: nel suo loft a Soho e’ ora in corso la mostra "bellissima e illuminante” (parole del critico del Wall Street Journal) “Metaphysical Masterpieces 1916-1920: Morandi, Sironi, and Carrà”.

     

        E Maria Teresa Cometto ha ricordato la sua passione e il suo impegno a far conoscere le eccellenze italiane nel campo della scienza e della tecnologia - scrivendone sul “Corriere della Sera” e organizzando eventi all’Istituto italiano di cultura - e nel promuovere lo studio della lingua e della cultura italiane nelle scuole newyorkesi con lo IACE.

     

       Oltre un centinaio di persone hanno partecipato alla serata, che e’ stata anche l’occasione di fund raising per finanziare le borse di studio, i programmi culturali e gli eventi di networking organizzati da NOIAW.

     

    Per informazioni sulle attivita' della NOIAW visitate il loro  sito internet 

     

  • Fatti e Storie

    Roger Cohen premiato dal GEI

    Presso il ristorante Il Gattopardo di New York,  nel corso di una colazione,  è stato premiato con il “GEI Friendship Award" (prestigioso premio in riconoscimento dii eccezionali meriti),  il famoso giornalista del New York Times, Roger Cohen.
     
    Il presidente del GEI, Lucio Caputo ha presentato l’illustre ospite al qualificato pubblico e, fra gli applausi, gli ha consegnato, a nome del Gruppo Esponenti Italiani, l'importante premio,
     
    Nato a Londra, Mr. Cohen, ora cittadino Americano, ha ricevuto un  M.A. in storia e in francese dalla Oxford University nel 1977. Personalità di grande livello internazionale Roger Cohen, che parla correntemente inglese, francese, italiano, spagnolo, portoghese e tedesco, è stato inoltre Ferris Professor di giornalismo alla Princeton University. 
     
    Mr. Cohen è entrato a far parte del The Times nel 1990.  In precedenza è stato corrispondente estero per più di un decennio diventando poi Foreign Editor l’11 September del 2011,hanno in cui il The New York Times ha vinto sette  premi Pulitzer per la copertura editoriale data all’11/9. 
     
    In precedenza Mr. Cohen era stato corrispondente estero per The Wall Street Journal e per la  Reuters dal Medio Oriente, dal Sud America e dall’Europa. Dal 1977 al 1979, Mr. Cohen aveva lavorato come giornalista freelance con base a Parigi. 
     
    Mr. Cohen è autore di quattro libri: “Soldiers and Slaves - American POWs Trapped by the Nazis’ Final Gamble”  -  “Hearts Grown Brutal, Sagas of Sarajevo -  An account of the wars of Yugoslavia's destruction” - (In the Eye of the Storm - A biography of General Norman Schwarzkopf) - “His family memoir,  The Girl From Human Street: A Jewish Family Odyssey” 
     
    Mr. Cohen ha ricevuto inoltre moltissimi premi, incluso il Peter Weitz Prize dal German Marshall Fund for dispatches from Europe; una citazione dell’Overseas Press Club per una serie di articoli sull’immigrazione e l’ Arthur F. Burns Prize per i suoi articoli sulle relazioni  tedesco-americane.  
     
    Ha anche ricevuto una Overseas Press Club Citations per la sua eccellente copertura di vari eventi di carattere mondiale e il Lifetime Achievement Award dal New Century Foundation’s International Media Council di Londra e la SOPA Excellence in Opinion Writing Award per i reportage su “Australia’s Offshore Cruelty,” e per “Myanmar is not a Simple Morality Tale.” 
     
    Roger Cohen, che ha avuta una incredibile carriera operando in vari paesi, è stato ed è, ha concluso Caputo, -  quale  Opinion Editor Columnist del  New York Times -  una potente e rispettata voce sulla scena americana ed internazionale e siamo pertanto tutti molto curiosi di ascoltare i suoi commenti sulla attuale situazione americana ed internazionale.
     
    Da parte sua, Roger Cohen,  dopo aver vivamente ringraziato il presidente Caputo ed il GEI per il prestigioso premio assegnatogli, ha brevemente illustrato i mutamenti che si stanno verificando in vaste aree del mondo e le emergenti tendenze verso la radicalizzazione della scena politica con una accentuazione del populismo. Mr. Cohen ha sottolineato anche la crescente popolarità di vari leaders che antepongono la loro popolarità e la loro affermazione agli interessi dei loro paesi ed al generale benessere dei cittadini dei loro paesi. 
     
    In particolare ha tracciato un quadro della confusa situazione americana, a poche ore dal discorso sullo Stato dell’Unione non mancando di fare alcune battute ironiche su alcuni aspetti della attuale situazione americana e sul fatto che la libera stampa, che costituisce uno dei pilastri della democrazia sia spesso definita come uno dei nemici del popolo. Altro motivo di preoccupazione il deteriorarsi dei rapporti con i tradizionali paesi amici degli USA  e le critiche posizioni prese nei confronti della NATO e della EU.
     
    In questo contesto anche l’Italia, un paese che Mr. Cohen ama profondamente e dove ha passato vari anni, presenta delle criticità come dimostra, ad esempio, la duplice e contraddittoria posizione presa da importanti componenti del governo sulla critica situazione venezuelana.
     
    Alla colazione, tenutasi nell’Atrium Room del noto ristorante, hanno partecipato numerosi e qualificati ospiti che includevano VIP, esponenti del mondo imprenditoriale e rappresentanti dei media.
     
     
     

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