Extracurricular

LA TAVOLA ITALIANA     

The Tavola Italiana is a weekly gathering of professors and students of Italian, who are engaged in conversations to practice their speaking skills in a very informal setting.

The Tavola Italiana takes place on Wednesdays, from 5:30 to 7pm in HUB Sideroom 203. Most students first get their dinner at the cafeteria and then eat it at the Tavola Italiana, while others choose to stop by at the Tavola Italiana just to chat. Everybody is free to arrive and leave whenever they want.

What makes the Tavola Italiana particularly valuable is that students of different levels get to interact with each other and the professors contribute to the conversations in a way that makes even the shyest student comfortable. All the professors have noticed that those students who attend the Tavola italiana regularly significantly improve their conversation skills and can communicate more fluently. Isn’t that what learning a foreign language is all about?

 CIRCOLO ITALIANO 

The Circolo italiano is the club that organizes socio-cultural activities revolving around Italian culture. The events organized by the Circolo italiano are open to the whole campus, and are always very well attended, because they are fun and always include authentic Italian food.

Whoever is interested in participating in the events of the Circolo italiano should join the Italian Studies @ Dickinson Facebook page, since all the events are posted there.

For more information on the Italian Club, please feel free to contact one of the following people:

Margot Cardamone (President): cardamom@dickinson.edu 

Katie Ramire (Vice President):  ramirek@dickinson.edu 

Anthony Ienna (Treasurer): iennaa@dickinson.edu 

Tyler Riegel (Secretary): riegelt@dickinson.edu 

Gabriel DiNatale (Assistant Advisor): dinatalg@dickinson.edu  

Prof. Luca Lanzilotta (Advisor): lanzilol@dickinson.edu 

 Some of our recent events include:  

 AUGURI, ITALIA! Celebrating 150 years of Unity. A celebration of Italy's 150th anniversary, with a traditional Italian dinner, music and a special guest speaker from the Italian Consulate of Philadelphia who spoke to the students about Italian unity.

 LUCI DI NATALE – Holiday party. An Italian holiday dinner with authentic music and traditional Italian food (pastas, sausages, panettone, tiramisù... and much more)!

 BOLOGNA RECEPTION. A mixer for the students who are going to Bologna in the fall. Students who returned from Bologna were also on site to offer their experience of the city and their knowledge of places to eat and drink.

 ANTI-FASCIST DAY. On April 25, 1945, Italy was liberated from Fascist rule, leading to the formation of the Italian Republic. 65 years later, il Circolo italiano came together on Morgan field to celebrate with food, music and dance. In addition to pizza from Miseno's, there was a public reading of Fascist propaganda and Resistance literature and singing of popular Partisan songs. Some of the Italians from Bologna also taught how to properly dance the Tarantella!

 THE ROMANCE LANGUAGE HOUSE 

The mission of the Romance Language House is to promote foreign language development within the campus community. Through living in an environment in which all house members speak multiple languages (Italian, French and Spanish), residents are encouraged to speak and interact in their respective foreign languages. Members of the house also reach out to the college community through planning, organization, and promotion of the house events and through attendance of the weekly foreign language tables. The goal of the Romance Language House is to educate others on foreign languages and diverse cultures through living in a shared environment as well as opening up that environment to the college community as a whole.

 THE ITALIAN HOUSE IN THE ROMANCE LANGUAGE HOUSE 

The Italian House (La Casa italiana) is a place where students interested in Italian may practice the language in a relaxed, friendly environment, while interacting with students of other Romance Languages and international students. The Italian student assistant from the University of Bologna lives at the Casa Italiana, helping students practice their Italian and organizing social and cultural events with them.

For students who plan to go to Italy during their junior year, La Casa italiana is a great opportunity: they will be totally immersed in the culture even before going to Italy. Those returning from Italy will live in a truly international environment, where they will keep practicing their Italian while interacting with students from other countries, as they did during their junior year.

If you are interested in living in the Italian House, please contact Prof. Lanzilotta.

 WHY LIVE IN THE ITALIAN HOUSE?  

 HERE ARE SOME COMMENTS FROM STUDENTS… 

“I like to live with my friends who study Italian and the Italian House is a great opportunity to improve my speaking skills”. (Ryan Lane ‘14)

“In the Italian house I can live with other students who are also taking Italian. Next year I would like to study in Bologna and the Romance Language House is a great place to practice my language”.  (Anthony Ienna ’14)

“Living in the Romance Language House I can improve my Italian. Moreover, I speak French and so I get to practice both languages”. (Molly Leach ’14)

“Speaking Italian in the house will help me improve the language more quickly. Also, I am sure that I will meet other students who love the Italian language and culture and with whom I can study and feel more comfortable in Italian”. (Elena Capaldi ’14)

“After living in the Italian House for half a semester, I discovered my passion for the Italian Culture. My grandfather was born in Genova but I did not have the chance to learn deeply about Italy from him. However, I am now finding many different opportunities - such as Italian dinners, events and movies - to learn more and more about the Italian lifestyle and culture. By being able to live with other Italian speakers, I also develop and improve my language skills and become able to express all my ideas through this beautiful language. Living in the Italian House is by far one of the most enjoyable parts of my stay at Dickinson College”. (Julia Sanguinetti ’14)