From Da Ponte to the Casa Italiana: A Brief History of Italian Studies at Columbia University

Author:   Barbara Faedda
Publisher:   Columbia University Press
ISBN:  

9780231185936


Pages:   104
Publication Date:   21 November 2017
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
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From Da Ponte to the Casa Italiana: A Brief History of Italian Studies at Columbia University


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Overview

The Casa Italiana-a neo-Renaissance palazzo located on Amsterdam Avenue near 117th Street-has been the most important expression of the Italian presence on Columbia University's campus since its construction in 1927. As a site of interdisciplinary scholarship and promotion of Italian culture, the Casa Italiana has made a substantial contribution to the academic study of Italy in America and the understanding of Italian cultural identity abroad. Celebrating the Casa's ninetieth anniversary, From Da Ponte to the Casa Italiana documents and recounts the history of the individuals, both Italian and American, who contributed to the formation of Columbia University's rich tradition of Italian studies. Barbara Faedda's succinct yet detailed historical survey begins at the dawn of Italian studies at Columbia with Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's witty librettist who became the charismatic founder of the New York Metropolitan Opera and Columbia's first professor of Italian. Covering figures such as the former revolutionary Eleuterio Felice Foresti, Faedda elucidates the complex and often controversial dimensions of the Casa's history, highlighting protagonists such as the talented but equivocal Giuseppe Prezzolini and Columbia's president Nicholas M. Butler, as well as Italian-American students and community members. The Casa played a significant role in U.S.-Italian relations from its foundation, and at one point it came under fire, accused of ties to Mussolini and pro-Fascist leanings. Synthesizing archival documents with the work of historians, From Da Ponte to the Casa Italiana tells the compelling stories of the Casa and several of its leading figures, whose influence on the university can still be felt today.

Full Product Details

Author:   Barbara Faedda
Publisher:   Columbia University Press
Imprint:   Columbia University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.666kg
ISBN:  

9780231185936


ISBN 10:   0231185936
Pages:   104
Publication Date:   21 November 2017
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Out of stock   Availability explained
The supplier is temporarily out of stock of this item. It will be ordered for you on backorder and shipped when it becomes available.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

Foreword, by John H. Coatsworth, Provost of Columbia University in the City of New York Foreword, by Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to the United States Foreword, by Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City Introduction 1. The Dawn of Italian Studies at Columbia University: Lorenzo Da Ponte (1825-1838) 2. After Da Ponte: Eleuterio Felix Foresti and His Successors (1838-1911) 3. The Casa Italiana: The Realization of an Ambitious Dream (1920s) 4. Prezzolini, Controversial Casa Director, and World War II (1930s and 1940s) Appendix A: From Lorenzo da Ponte to Charles V. Paterno: Libri Italiani at Columbia University, by Meredith Levin Appendix B: Anatomy of the Casa Italiana's Facade, by Francesco Benelli Appendix C: The Casa Italiana Educational Bureau: A Research Fact-Finding Institution Studying the Italian-American Community, by Javier Grossutti Acknowledgments Notes Color Plates

Reviews

Written with admirable clarity, Barbara Faedda's beautifully told story reveals the hopes, tensions, politics, and personalities behind the creation of Columbia's Casa Italiana, one of New York's most vital--and sometimes controversial--cultural and educational institutions.--David Freedberg, Pierre Matisse Professor of the History of Art and director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University Since its inauguration in 1927, the Casa Italiana at Columbia University has represented the vibrant intellectual, academic, political, and cultural connection between Italy and the United States of America. This important work [is]...a significant initiative that sheds new light on Italy's historical and contemporary role on the international cultural scene.--from the foreword by Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to the United States Barbara Faedda magisterially illuminates Italy's vibrant and complex cultural presence in New York, using primary sources to trace the story of Italian studies at Columbia University from Da Ponte to the inauguration of the Casa Italiana through World War II. She thereby illuminates Columbia's early commitment to transcultural dialogue, a hallmark of both the university and the city to which it belongs.--Teodolinda Barolini, Lorenzo Da Ponte Professor of Italian, Columbia University Through the history of Italian studies at Columbia University, Faedda clearly displays the key role played by the Casa Italiana in consolidating the long-time relationship between Italy and the United States from the beginning of the twentieth century to World War II. Faedda's history is crucial in grasping the cultural and political peculiarities of this relationship.--Paolo Carta, University of Trento


Written with admirable clarity, Barbara Faedda's beautifully told story reveals the hopes, tensions, politics, and personalities behind the creation of Columbia's Casa Italiana, one of New York's most vital-and sometimes controversial-cultural and educational institutions. -- David Freedberg, Pierre Matisse Professor of the History of Art and director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University Since its inauguration in 1927, the Casa Italiana at Columbia University has represented the vibrant intellectual, academic, political, and cultural connection between Italy and the United States of America. This important work [is]...a significant initiative that sheds new light on Italy's historical and contemporary role on the international cultural scene. -- from the foreword by Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to the United States Barbara Faedda magisterially illuminates Italy's vibrant and complex cultural presence in New York, using primary sources to trace the story of Italian studies at Columbia University from Da Ponte to the inauguration of the Casa Italiana through World War II. She thereby illuminates Columbia's early commitment to transcultural dialogue, a hallmark of both the university and the city to which it belongs. -- Teodolinda Barolini, Lorenzo Da Ponte Professor of Italian, Columbia University Through the history of Italian studies at Columbia University, Faedda clearly displays the key role played by the Casa Italiana in consolidating the long-time relationship between Italy and the United States from the beginning of the twentieth century to World War II. Faedda's history is crucial in grasping the cultural and political peculiarities of this relationship. -- Paolo Carta, University of Trento


Author Information

Barbara Faedda is the associate director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies at Columbia University, where she is also adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Italian. Among other works, she is the editor of Present and Future Memory: Holocaust Studies at the Italian Academy (2008-2016) (2016).

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