Dear Readers,
May has many dates with an Italian connection:
1 - St. Joseph the Worker. Pope Pius XII, concerned about communist glorification of the worker and the socialist state, on May 1, 1955, addressed the Association of Italian Workers and declared that this day would be known as the feast day of St. Joseph the Worker. In the communist bloc, May 1 is celebrated as May Day, which glorifies the relationship between the worker and the socialist state.
It is obvious that the Church was very concerned with this, and wanted to demonstrate to its faithful that it was equally concerned about the plight of the working man ad woman. Joseph, a carpenter, taught trade to his son, Jesus, and provided for his family. The Pope instituted this feast in 1955 and proposed St. Joseph as the model laborer.
2 - Alessandro Scarlatti, the great Sicilian composer of the Baroque Era was born May 2, 1660 in Palermo. He died 1725 in Naples. He married Antonia Anzalone, 1678 (10 children including the musicians Pietro Fillipo and the famous composer Domenico.)
3 - Fr. Angelo Inglesi, founded the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, May 3, 1882.
4 - The Venetian, Resort Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas opening took place in 1999 when the Italian-born actress Sophia Loren christened a gon- dola on a 586,000 gallon lagoon to formally open the $1.5 billion Venetian Resort.
5 - Cinco de Mayo– May 5th is mistakenly referred to as the Mexican Independence Day, but that’s September 16. The day actually commemorates the battle of Puebla, Mexico, where on May 5, 1862 the outnumbered Mexican patriots, defeated the French Army.
6 - National Teachers Dayis a time for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives. National Teachers Day is always Tuesday of the first full week in May.
7 - Amedeo Pietro Giannini (1870-1949) founder of the Bank of Italy, opened in 1904.
8 - Gina La Bianca was the youngest opera singer to perform Barber of Seville. She was only 16 years old when she performed in Rome on May 8, 1950.
9 - King Vittorio Emanuele III, ascended the Royal Italian throne in 1900, abdicated on May 9, 1946 and was exiled in 1948. A quiet, unimaginative family man, Vittorio Emanuele was notoriously indecisive on matters of state and proved only too willing to let Benito Mussolini, his aggressive, strong willed prime minister, run things.
10 - Ella T. Grassowas the first female elected governor of the United States (some women finished their spouses’ terms). She won the governorship of Connecticut in a landslide victo- ry in 1974. She was born May 10, 1919.
11 - Mother’s Daywas May 9th this year. Therefore, for those of us who remember the melody, but for whom the “Mamma” lyrics did not linger on, here they are: Mamma son tanto felice, per- ché ritorno da te; la mia can- zone ti dice, viver lontano per- ché? Mamma, solo per te la mia canzone vola; Mamma, sarai con me, tu non sarai più sola Quanto ti voglio bene, queste parole d’amore, che ti sospira il mio cure, forse non s’usano più…..
12 - Florence Nightingale was born May 12, 1820 in Florence, Italy. She was called the lady with the lamp, because at night this English nurse car- ried a lamp through a hospital filled with wounded soldiers dur- ing the Crimean War (1854). She was the subject of “Santa Filomena”, a poem by Longfellow. The founder of sci- entific nursing died in 1910.
13 - Ignazio Silone, author of Fontamara, Bread and Wine, Don Camillo and other books written shortly after his break with Communism; they are bitter, tragicomic stories of the life of Italian peasants attempting to resist the inroads on their lives by the corrupt officialdom of the Fascist era.
He is known throughout the world for a handful of tragicomic novels about the life of Italian peasants in small villages similar to the one of his birth; but in his native Italy, he is venerated first of all as a political fighter who has defied first the Fascists and later the Communists, who has weathered conspiracy and exile and who has never failed to cry out against oppression.
14 - Frank Sinatraleft us May 14, 1998. National Sicilian American Foundation president Frank Bonfiglio traveled to Sicily in 2003 in order to honor the legendary Sicilian American entertainer with two decorative. “Thank you” bronze star plaques, specially crafted to honor Mr. Sinatra and dedicated to his memory in Martin Sinatra’s hometown of Militello, province of Catania, and at a high school “Liceo Cannizzaro” in the capital city of Palermo.
15 - Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, with a parting kiss to the nation’s flag resigned May 15, 1999 and left Italy’s 16th century Quirinal Palace, ending a term that saw seven governments in seven years and the remaking of Italy’s post-war political system during his term as President of Italy.
16 - Fr. Anthony Ravalli (1812-1884) was the first physician and druggist in the State of Montana, where he helped to build St. Mary’s Church completely without nails.
17 - John W. Flora, an Italian American, patented the first Atomic Reactor System on May 17, 1960, in Canoga Park, California.
18 - Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, former Treasury Bank Minister and political independent was sworn in May 18, 1999 and replaced Oscar L. Scalfaro as President of the Republic of Italy.
19 - Frank Capra, was born on May 18, 1897 in a small village near Palermo. He died at age 94, at his home near Palm Springs, CA. In between, Capra celebrated his adopted country’s spirit of opportunity and his films were centered on the little guy, everyman, triumphing over the system. He won Academy awards for “Mr. Deeds goes to Amedeo Pietro Giannini “You can’t take it with you” and his most enduring film “It’s a Wonderful Life”.
20 - Cristoforo Colombo (1451-1506) was born in Genoa, Italy and died on May 20, 1506 in Valladolid, a province of the Castile, Spain. His bones have rested in many places, including the Cathedral of La Havana, but were finally taken back to Seville, Spain after the Spanish American War of 1898-99.
21 - Joseph Bonanno, founder of one of our nation’s most chronicled “Families” died in May 2002, in Tucson, Arizona where he had been living for years. He led a stressful life, but was 97 years old when he died.
22 - The Giulio Cesare, an Italian luxury liner built by Cantiere Riuniti dell’Adriatico, Trieste, Italy sailed on her maiden voyage to South America in 1952. By May 1973, she was waiting the demolition crews and was sold to scrappers at La Spezia.
23 - Joseph A. Califano, an Italian American, who served as assistant to the Secretary of the Army and also was the U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (1977-1979) was born in May 1931.
24 - Festival of the Two Worlds, “Spoleto” music festival U.S.A. was organized in May 1977 by Giancarlo Menotti in Charleston, South Carolina.
25 - Padre Pio(1887-1968) a Capuchin friar born May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina (near Bari- Foggia) was elevated to sainthood in 2002, in a ceremony presided over by Pope John Paul II in Rome.
26 - Charles Gabriele, composer and long time subscriber, was born May 1921 in New York City. He has been honored by the Italian government and by the U.S. Congress. He composed the official music for Columbus Quincentenary, the “Christopher Columbus Suite” and “Pinocchio” In America he is best known for patriotic music and for his musical tribute to the victims of the September 11th attack on the United States.
27 - Niccolò Paganini(1782 - 1840) a violinist, whose virtuosity astonished audiences through- out Europe, died May 27, 1840. His amazing talent and dramatic physical appearance made Paganini an international celebrity. Paganni usually dressed in black, and often arrived at a con- cert in the black coach pulled by black horses.
28 - The Dionne quintuplets, five identical baby girls, in pre-fertility drug days, were born on May 28, 1934 near Callander, Ontario. Their birthplace and home is now a museum located in Both Bay and contains hundred of mementoes of the famous five when they were babies.
29 - Giovanni Schiavo, author and historian, dedicated his life to research, in order to document the many contributions made to the U.S. by Italian- Americans. Educated in the United States, he received four scholarships from John Hopkins University and a fellowship in International Law and Relations at Columbia University and was the author of 15 books. He was born in May 1898 in Palermo.
30 - Panelli Bros. Italian Delicatessen, an 82 years old S.F. North Beach fixture closed May 30, 2002 when the twin Panelli brothers, Richard and Robert decided to retire from the 14-hour days of prosciutto and salami and start smelling the roses instead of the baccalà. The twin brothers born in 1945, had been working in the store since they were teenagers.
31 - Memorial Day Observance – originally Decoration Day. It was inaugurated in 1868 by General John Logan for the purpose of decorating the graves of the Civil War veterans, but has since become a day when service men and women and all dead are commemorated.
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