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| Honoree Rocco B. Commisso takes a tour of the exhibit |
A resounding success, the "Orgoglio e Memoria: Emigrazione dal Meridione” exhibit opened at the Italian Cultural Institute of New York in Manhattan Wednesday evening to an enthusiastic standing-room-only audience. After introductions and salient speeches by a plethora of speakers, this year’s esteemed “Wall of Fame” honorees, Rocco B. Commisso and Carlo Scissura, were each awarded a beautiful Neapolitan presepio figure handcrafted at maestro Marco Ferrigno’s world-renowned workshop located on San Gregorio Armeno in Naples.
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Genealogical tree and historical summary
of all the Kings of the Two Sicilies, compiled
by Padre Celestino Gasdia dedicated to Bishop
Raffaele De Franco, Bishop of Catanzaro |
Following the presentations, guests were treated to some wine, pizza con alici, and an in-depth tour of the Institute’s galleries by Gaetano Bonelli. Among the many fascinating treasures on view are a Kingdom of the Two Sicilies passport to America and the complete first edition of Gaetano Filangieri's La Scienza della Legislazione. Organized by the Italian Cultural Institute of New York, the important material on view hails from the Museum of Naples - Bonelli Collection and the Lendinara Citadel of Culture. The curators of the exhibit are Fabio Finotti, Director of the Institute of Culture; Dott. Nicholas Gasparetto, Director of the Library of Lendinara; Luigi Liberti, journalist at Patrimonio Italiano TV; and Gaetano Bonelli, founder and Director of the Museo della Citta' di Napoli and the Caruso Museum.
The exhibit is free and open to the public from 10 AM to 4 PM. The Institute’s days of operation are not listed on the website, so please call before visiting (212-879-4242). It runs to Monday, August 28, 2023. For more information visit: www.iicnewyork.esteri.it.
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| Master of Ceremonies Fabio Finotti welcomes everyone to the event |
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| Carlo Scissura was presented a beautiful presepio figure |
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| Gaetano Bonelli gave an in-depth guided tour of the exhibit |
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| Kingdom of the Two Sicilies passport to America (1854) |
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Complete first edition of Gaetano Filangieri's La Scienza della
Legislazione (Published in Naples between 1780 and 1788) |
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| Miniature busts of San Gennaro |
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| Il gobbo, an old hunchback charm |
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| Framed image of San Gennaro |
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| Antique biscotti tin from Naples |
