Frank Nechvatal
The Italian Club finished the year in April with a Patio Potluck Party. The club provided fried and roasted chicken along with potato salad. Members brought side dishes and dessert to share. The food was great, and the fellowship equally great. President’s gavel was passed to Lisa Romero. Members were reminded that the club has changed its meeting date for the next season to the second Thursday of the month. Our next meeting will be Thursday, Oct. 13, at 6 p.m. in the Lakeview Room. Callers will notify members by telephone of the meeting dates each month of the season. If you receive a recorded telephone message, please call that person to indicate if you will attend or not attend!
We wish our members a fun and healthy summer. Please be safe and stay healthy. We shall look forward to seeing you all in the fall.
This month we will examine a second region of Italy. Our region this month is Sicily. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Presently, Sicily has five million inhabitants. It is separated from the mainland of Italy by the Strait of Messina. The most well-known landmark is Mount Etna, which remains the tallest and most active volcano in Europe. This island has seen colonies develop and fall under the control of the Phoenicians, the Greeks, and the Romans. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century, Sicily was ruled through the Middle Ages by the Vandals, the Ostrogoths, and the Byzantine Empire. The Norman conquest of Southern Italy led to the creation of the County of Sicily in 1071 that was succeeded by the Kingdom of Sicily from 1130 until 1816. The island became a part of Italy in 1860, following the revolt of Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian Unification. Today Sicily has a unique culture. Important are the arts, music, literature, cuisine, and architecture.
Most noteworthy is that today Sicilians are bilingual. They speak both Italian and Sicilian. Sicilian is a distinct Romance language; however, it contains words from Greek, Catalan, French, Arabic, Spanish, and other languages.
Ciao