Patrons of Italian Culture and the San Diego Connection

The Patrons of Italian Culture’s Board of Directors has completed their annual - 4 day Board Retreat full of wonderful memories and terrific experiences. This year’s retreat was held in San Diego’s Little Italy and culminated a year long collaboration with the San Diego Italian Film Festival and its Executive Director, Dr. Victor Laruccia, Ph.D. The timing of the Patrons’ retreat was coordinated to participate in the SDIFF’s (San Diego Italian Film Festival) Gala cinema program held from November 4th to the 7th.

During the retreat the Patrons were also able to participate in many other cultural events and special tours including the delightful Mengei Museum in old Balboa Park, the historic Holy Rosary Church, circa 1925, with its wonderful frescos, as well as the Italian Cultural Center and language school. Previous Patrons Board retreats have been held in San Francisco and Napa, California, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Phoenix, Arizona and in Santa Barbara in 2009.

The Patron’s Board selected the Porto Vista Hotel, in the very heart of Little Italy, as their headquarters, reports Paul Romano, Board President, and “We will be sharing our experiences with all our members and fellow readers in a series of ongoing Italo-Americano articles.” The Patrons were honored guests at the SDIFF’s November 5 Gala reception held at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. Here the Patrons viewed two major Italian films: ‘Dieci Inverni’ (Ten Winters- 2009), and the Gala’s premier film, ‘Lezioni di Cioccolato’ (Chocolate Lessons-2007). Prior to the screening, a lavish reception, attended by more than 200 invited guests, was held featuring Italian delicacies prepared by the finest chefs in San Diego.

An assortment of fine Italian wines complimented the reception. Italy’s Consul General, Nicola Faganello was on hand for this special event, as was Honorary Vice-Consul Roberto Ruocco. In addition to Dr. Laruccia and his lovely wife Janice, PIC members met the SDIFF Board of Directors including: Dr. Pasquale Verdicchio, Ph. D., Director of Italian Studies at UCSD & SDIFF Program Director, Mr. & Mrs. Don Santamaria, Ms. Saundra Saperstein, Ms. Clarissa Clo, Mr. Guiseppe Annino and Mr. Rich La Rocca among other dignitaries.

“The idea for this year’s retreat started back in November of 2009, with the selection of San Diego as our retreat city”, reports Romano. “We had heard that Little Italy had undergone a major revitalization and we were anxious to learn more about the local Italian community there.” It did not take long to reach the leaders in the Little Italy community.

Once establishing a first line of communication with SDIFF Director Laruccia in March of 2010, and sharing with him the Patron’s mission of promoting Italian Culture and our history of collaboration efforts with community leaders, things started to roll along. Soon afterward a major event calendar was developed which kept PIC members immersed in the local activities throughout the retreat. Lively discussions between the two Boards included collaboration between the PIC and the SDIFF on future cultural events in both cities.

The upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival, to be held in January of 2011, is being discussed as the next opportunity to share in the Italian cinema experience. The PSIFF runs from January 6- 17, 2011. The PIC is also discussing, in collaboration with the SDIFF, a major musical program for Spring 2011, which would bring San Diego’s well known and much loved Neopolitan tenor, Rosario Manetti to Los Angeles.

Mr. Manetti is much sought after by the Little Italy community and was the featured entertainer at the November 5 Gala. Also attending this years retreat was L’Italo-Americano’s Publisher and PIC member, Robert Barbera, (whose wife Jo is PIC’s Treasurer) who will continue to promote a San Diego news page, for which the SDIFF and other local groups can submit local articles and announce special events and other cultural programs to fellow Italians. In the next issue of this series, join the Patrons in their visit to the Mengei Museum and Little Italy’s historic Holy Rosary Church.

For Membership application or more information about the Patrons of Italian Culture, and their 50 years of promoting Italian Culture throughout Southern California, contact them at: P .I.C., P .O. Box 3465, Burbank, Ca. 91508-3465. The P.I.C. is a non-profit 501c-3 Corporation.