SunBird American/Italian Club news and happenings

Frank Nechvatal

At our November meeting we outlined the plans for our Christmas Party on Monday December 2, starting at 5 p.m. in the Horizon Room. Our menu consisted of lasagna, caesar salad, garlic bread, and a dessert of tiramisu. Members had a choice of beverages – beer, wine, soft drinks, or coffee. The cost was $12.00/person. We had a great time, great conversation, and Christmas cheer, including Dominic the Donkey, “The Italian Christmas Donkey.” As we move toward the New Year we wish everyone a happy, healthy, 2020! Our January meeting will be Tuesday, January 14, 2020. Save the date.

In our ongoing outline on Italian regions, we will turn to the region of Potenza and Basilicata this month. The capital city is also called Potenza. Up until Italian Unification, Potenza had been controlled by the Romans and Saracens in the middle ages, until the Normans freed the area of the Saracens. In the late middle ages, the area of Potenza was dominated by a number of feudal families of Spanish origin. In 1806 Potenza was conquered by the French army. It remained under French domination until the Italian Unification, which led to the creation of the modern country of Italy. This area has suffered numerous earthquakes and remains seismically active to this day. It is a mountainous region and is a part of the Apennine Mountain Range. Regional products are wheat, olive trees/oil, and vineyards/wine. However, due to the mountainous terrain is difficult to transport products out of the region.

Ciao