Six Days and Two Knights Italian Language and Culture Class

As part of its continuing commitment to helping our community to reconnect with its heritage, the Italian Cemetery will be offering a six-week Italian language and culture class this June 8th through July 13th. The class will be a fun and informal introductory course that will provide a basic understanding of Italian language and culture. The course will be held on Tuesday afternoons from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m.

There will be no charge for the course, but registration will be limited, so early reservations are recommended. Please contact the office at 650-755-1511 or e-mail us at Inquiries@ItalianCemetery.com to register or for more information. The course will be team- taught by two of the most respected and qualified Italian instructors in the San Francisco Bay Area, both of whom have received knighthoods from the Italian Republic for their exem- plary service to the Italian com- munity.

Ilia Salomone-Smith grew up in a bilingual, bicultural home and later studied at the University of Florence in Italy. She has taught Italian language at San Francisco State Unive- rsity, City College of San Francisco and presently at the College of Marin. In 1987, Ilia founded and directed Primo Programma for Children, the first nonprofit organization in the Bay Area dedicated to teaching Italian through a unique hands-on approach.

Her commitment to Italian culture and education was recognized in 1994, when the Italian govern- ment honored her by bestowing the title Cavaliere dell'Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic). Lido Cantarutti was born of an Italian family from the Friuli region and grew up in the Bay Area.

He attended the University of California at Berkeley, earning a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Romance Languages and Literature. He has been an Italian language instructor at the College of Marin for over twenty-five years, and is the Founder and Director of the Italian Film Festival in Marin County, which is now in its 34th year. In 1989 Lido was honored with Italian knighthood, and the title of Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic).

More recently, Lido was again honored by the Italian government with a promotion to Cavaliere Ufficiale (Knight Officer), and by his family's native town in Italy with the conferral of hono- rary citizenship. In 2006 he received the Christopher Columbus Award from the San Francisco Columbus Day Celebration organization.