Dear Readers,
January jottings with an Italian Connection: Alto Adige’s Artists of Val Gardena, Italy (near the provincial capital of Bolzano) for the first time in America, recently exhibited their beautiful hand-carved nativity scenes at the Museo ItaloAmericano (Fort Mason Center, Bldg. C, San Francisco, CA 94132, (415) 673-2200 – Open 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, Free admission).
Carving wood was originally a pastime for long winter nights that centered mainly on toys and tools for the home, but as the artistic craft activity passed down from one generation to the next, skilled craftsmen produced wood carvings and nativity scenes “Presepio” that are renowned throughout the world and have made Val Gardena known as the “Valley of the Crib Sculptors.”
Unfortunately, cheap copied imitations, not made in Italy, of Madonnas, figures of saints and nativity scenes of inferior quality are being passed of as “Made in Italy,” thereby making the Val Gardena wood carvings, which are small works of art that testify to the creative skills of the valley’s craftsmen, look like quality has gone downhill in Gardena, which of course is not true. The oldest nativity scene of Val Gardena seems to be a baroque carved “Praying of the Three Kings representation” from the Vinazer Atelier.
This piece of art was created during the period of Maria Theresa (18th century), a golden period of art, and is today preserved at the Museum of Ortisei. To combat the copycats, in 1998 the wood carving artists of Val Gardena established the “Gardena Art Woodcarving Manufacturers Association” and designed a Gardena Art Logo quality seal, that is a guarantee of Val Gardena origin, and according to their motto, allows the buyer to “enjoy 400 years of woodcarving tradition.”
They also have a website www.gardena-art.com that provides interesting information about the history of woodcarving in the Val Gardena, the cooperative and scheduled events such as the large exhibition of crèches organized by Gardena Art in Ortisei and in many other localities.
Every year Ortisei puts on a show that has helped to make Val Gardena famous for the art of crèches carved in wood. In the centuries-old art of woodcarving, crèches play a leading role, especially during the Christmas season. A DVD produced by TV-RAI “The Wood Amidst the Rock”, a tribute to the Val Gardena, surrounded by the splendid Dolomites and home of artistic woodcarving, is also available.
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The Trentino-Alto Adige provinces of northern Italy “don’t look Italian” to many travelers. In fact many travelers to northern Italy aren’t aware that Italy stretches east and north of Venice and you can’t blame them, because the provinces of Trentino-Alto Adige (north of the Veneto) and Friuli-Venezia Giulia (northeast of Venice) never belonged to Italy until this century.
Trentino-Alto Adige was part of Austria’s Tyrol region for centuries, and in some area, few are Italian speaking. Despite a history of foreign domination, both regions are renowned for their natural beauty and offer an astounding variety of activities, from sunbathing to rock climbing in the jagged limestone peaks of the Dolomites. In winter, people come from all over the world to conquer Trentino-Alto Adige’s alpine slopes.
Alto Adige (Sudtirol) was Austrian for most of its long life; though it was handed over to Italy as a spoil of World War I, Germanic traditions die hard. Locals habitually address foreigners to the area in German first, and you’re just as likely to see sausage and sauerkraut on restaurant menus as rigatoni and ravioli. During the early fascist era, Mussolini insisted that all German place-names in the region be paired with Italian equivalents.
This is why Bolzano is also known as Bozen, and Brixen as Bressanone, and why you’ll encounter German-Italian compounds like Piazza Walther and Castello Runkelstein. Trentino does not have the same identity issues as its German-speaking neighbor – the language spoken here is emphatically Italian. One thing everyone agrees on is the importance of tourism, which brings a lot of money to the area every year.
Most visitors flock here for the Dolomites. These pale mountains rise from the sloping green foothills like giant stalagmites, offering everything from great views and easy strolls to expert hiking, climbing, skiing and mountain biking. The “Italia irredenta” movement of the early 20th Century was Italy’s attempt to regain control of areas, especially the cities of Trento and Trieste that were inhabited mostly by Italians but ruled by Austria.
These regions, called “Italia irredenta” (unredeemed Italy) were, depending on your interpretation, either seized from Austria or returned to Mamma Italia with the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.
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Boston’s Genovese early arrivals to the North End deserve a belated but heartfelt “bravo” for their foresight, back in 1888 when they gave their local Catholic Church (an Italian Parish) the use of the property in perpetuity but did not deed it to the Archdiocese, thereby saving Sacred Heart from being sold to developers and the money used to satisfy judgments awarded in sex scandals lawsuits.
As I sit here, over a century later, I continue to remain in awe and am astonished that those “paesani” who literally “came off the boat” from Genoa, had the “smarts” to say “In God We Trust” but for all others “put it in writing.”
“Grazie” to Signor V. Tripi of Massachusetts for first introducing me to Boston’s Italian American Post Gazette (5 Prince St. P.O. Box 130135, Boston, MA 02113 – Tel. 617.227.8929 – Established in 1896 by James Donnaruma, formerly La Gazzetta del Massachusetts) where parts of this story by Sal Giarratani first appeared: in 2004 the Archdiocese of Boston suppressed the 116 year history of a Catholic parish that was still very much alive.
Closing churches to save money was the bitter legacy of an Archdiocese that finally came to terms with sex abuse within the Church and the apparent institutional cover-up by the hierarchy. The Sacred Heart parish was suppressed, but the Church building remains open as a worship place, whatever that means. Thanks to both the Post Gazette and the Molinari brothers, the plight and fight to save Sacred Heart was kept front and center.
Sacred Heart has a special place in the hearts of the Giarratani family. Nearly 80 years ago, grandmother helped rebuild the church by adding an upstairs altar for worship. A plaque upstairs lists the names of all North End families who donated to that cause. Sacred Heart Church was founded by Genovese immigrants looking to establish their own church in the North End.
Once established, the growing Sicilian population of North End turned to Sacred Heart too. They joined the Genovese in worship and as the Genovese left the North End, it was the Sicilians who carried on the legacy of the parish. Today the grandchildren of Genovese immigrants and Sicilian immigrants are working together to make sure there will always be a Sacred Heart.
A belated “Bravo!” is due to the incredible foresight of those northern Italians who held on to the Church building. Had they handed that title over to Archbishop Williams back in 1888, the Sacred Heart Church might well be on its way to condo heaven. The charitable trust established by Sacred Heart’s Saint Mark Society in 1888, entered into between the Society and Archbishop Williams, representing the Boston Archdiocese, allowed the archdiocese full use of the property but did not turn ownership over to them.
Charitable trusts are created in perpetuity, meaning they go on forever. The Archdiocese is free to back out of the trust but cannot sell the property, the church will remain. Sacred Heart, therefore, lost the status of parish but remains open and has become part of the parish of Saint Leonard’s of Port Maurice.
After the Scalabrini Fathers left the North Square, Sacred Heart Mass schedule remained unbroken but revised thanks to the efforts of the Franciscans. Often, when their schedule allowed, Father Antonio, Father Claude or Father Lamb came to Sacred Heart on one of the non-scheduled days to perform evening Mass, so deep was their commitment to its people. Baptism, Confirmation and First Communion are no longer performed at Sacred Heart as a result of its loss of parish status.
Weddings and funerals are allowed with permission, and it is up to the laity to perform many of the administrative duties so ably accomplished by the Scalabrini Fathers. Sacred Heart Church has hosted several religious vigils and added a new element to its schedule of events, staging several well attended concerts, taking advantage of its exceptional acoustics.
The Saint Mark Women Auxiliary has also been re-established and has proven to be invaluable in their efforts to support the church. Sacred Heart Italian Church is an indispensable underpinning to the spiritual and cultural life of the Italian community of the North End and Greater Boston and will require continued support through Mass attendance and donations in order to maintain its essential mission. For more information, write: Saint Mark Society, Sacred Heart Church, 12 North Square, Boston, MA 02113.
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“Caruso Americano”, Mario Lanza, was born January 31, 1921 in Philadelphia, PA, the same year that Enrico Caruso, pride of Naples and music lovers worldwide, died in Naples. If you are a Mario Lanza music and movie fan, you will enjoy receiving and reading the Lanza Legend Newsletter. Dues are renewable every January ($25.00 per year, P.O. Box 6742, San Pedro, CA 90732) as January 31, 1921 is Mario Lanza’s birth date.
Although he left us in October 1959 at the young age of 38, his recordings and memories continue to live on. Through the efforts of his son Damon Lanza, president and Bob Dolfi, longtime family friend and co-editor of Lanza Legend Newsletter good things happen via the good fellowship of Mario Lanza fans, including music scholarships for deserving, talented youth.
There is even a small “Mario Lanza Museum” in south Philly, with memorabilia, photos and recordings. Info: 416 Queen Street, Mary Papola, President. This year there is a Mario Lanza commemorative stamp, legal for mailing within the United States, affixed to a Lanza envelope (P.O. Box 6742, San Pedro, CA 90732) for $5.00 each. I like the Mario Lanza in tuxedo stamp best, but you can see others posted at www.mariolanza.com
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