As the son of an Italian count, Cavalry Colonel Louis Palma di Cesnola had more military experience than most of the leading officers in the Civil War. Objecting to his general’s orders, di Cesnola led his men into battle, earning himself a Medal of Honor.
When di Cesnola was captured and thrown into the notorious Libby Prison, he was forced to examine his life decisions. Upon release, di Cesnola was torn between his desire to return to war or to his wife and daughter—a battle of his heart and his duty.
Once the war ended, di Cesnola became America’s consul for archaeological excavators, and eventually became the first director of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. With every step of success, di Cesnola was forced to prove himself in a country that emphatically disapproved of immigrants. His plight forged a path of national acceptance of Italian-Americans throughout the entire country.
Entering the world with a burning desire for knowledge, Thomas Aquinas set out on a quest for truth that forced him into captivity. But his thirst for truth never wavered.
Known today among many as the most brilliant light of the Church, Aquinas was a Catholic priest and a Doctor of the Church. His synthesis of Aristotle’s philosophy with Christianity significantly influenced Western thought and solidified his legacy as one of the greatest philosophers of the Western world.
Over his lifetime, Aquinas wrote many Eucharistic hymns, some of which are to this day included in the Church’s liturgy. His theological insight and natural reason make him an ideal model teacher for those pursuing Catholic priesthood.
Today, Saint Thomas is often depicted with a writing quill or an open book, proving that the search for knowledge and truth forever lives within his name.
“In 1911, Meredyth began working as an extra at the Biograph Company, and eventually wound up as a stock player for D.W. Griffith. In addition to acting at Biograph, she also began to write and direct one- and two-reeler films. It had occurred to Meredyth that she could make more money if she both wrote and acted, so she began doing so for several different studios.”
You’d Better Learn to Hold Your Liquor: Bess Meredyth and A Career in Early Hollywood Sydney Haven
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A natural-born Italian, Enrico Fermi is best known for facilitating the creation of the atomic bomb. But that was just a small aspect of Fermi’s talents and accomplishments. Fermi was a teacher to the core—anyone who crossed his path learned something from him.
With his passion for education and his zest for knowledge, the world was Fermi’s classroom. His greatest gifts granted him the highest esteem from his colleagues and deepest love from his family. Fermi’s Gifts spans two countries and transcends generations of lessons that prove invaluable to many. His legacy continues to inspire and motivate—a gift that never stops giving.
Born in Italy at the tumultuous end of France’s influence in Europe, Giuseppe Verdi went on to become the world’s most recognizable name in opera.
Set against the rise of the Italian states in the middle of the nineteenth century, The Faithful depicts an artist bedeviled by his role not just as a composer, but as an unassuming icon of the Italian Unification and the birth of modern Italy.
Through chance encounters in gilded Milanese salons and the hushed politics of the Italian opera, we experience the struggles of a man conflicted by his role as an artist and by his commitment to a country yearning for independence.
Rosanne Welch, PhD, Author of Why The Monkees Matter, presents “How The Monkees Changed Television” at a Cal State Fullerton Lunch Lecture on May 8, 2018.
In this talk, she shows how The Monkees, and specifically their presence on television, set the stage for large changes to come in the late 1960s.
Transcript
This is my final happy episode. It’s called “Some Like It Lukewarm.” If you’re an old movie fan, of course, that’s “Some Like It Hot.” So the writers are making fun of some of their favorite movies. There’s a band contest and everyone shows up and discovers you have to be in a mixed gender band. So they force Davy to dress as a girl and they meet a girl’s group where they force — that’s Deanna Martin — Dean Martin’s daughter — she and Davy were hooked together in the tabloids as being a relationship. but they really weren’t, but it’s kind of fun to put them together. So this group, so she’s doing that. The answer — for the most pretty feminist in that there’s this girl rock band before The Bangles and The Gogos there’s a girl rock band. The flaw in this one — I feel bad — is when you first meet the women, see how they can all play their own instruments. They’re all playing guitars and drums. When the answer of course is we are individually lying about having a mixed gender group so let’s mix our groups together and we will be telling the truth, but when we do it look what the girls become. They’re the gogo dancers behind the boys playing their instruments. They totally lose their own ability to be rock stars.
A hit television show about a fictitious rock band, The Monkees (1966-1968) earned two Emmys–Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Directorial Acheivement in Comedy.
Capitalizing on the show’s success, the actual band formed by the actors, at their peak, sold more albums than The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined, and set the stage for other musical TV characters from The Partridge Family to Hannah Montana. In the late 1980s, the Monkees began a series of reunion tours that continued into their 50th anniversary.
This book tells the story of The Monkees and how the show changed television, introducing a new generation to the fourth-wall-breaking slapstick created by Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers.
Its creators contributed to the innovative film and television of 1970s with projects like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laugh-In and Welcome Back, Kotter. Immense profits from the show, its music and its merchandising funded the producers’ move into films such as Head, Easy Riderand Five Easy Pieces.
As in past years, my Stephens College MFA in TV and Screenwriting students will presenting on important women screenwriters during the festival, too. — Rosanne
As they each played devil’s advocate in a debate over taking such a strong step toward the independence of the colonies, Filippo warned Jefferson, “If we do this, there will be no turning back.”
“I don’t believe I want to turn back anymore,” Jefferson responded.
With that the two men began spending intense hours bent over their quill pens writing their original essays and then editing each other’s work. Filippo wrote in Italian and Jefferson translated his words into English.
Surgeon, merchant, vintner, and writer Filippo Mazzei influenced American business, politics, and philosophy. Befriending Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, Mazzei was a strong liaison for others in Europe. Mazzei was Jefferson’s inspiration for the most famous line in the Declaration of Independence: “All men are created equal.”
Clearly, Mazzei had a gift of language and often used his words to share his ideas about religious freedom. Mazzei encouraged other Italians still living overseas to join him in a country rich with opportunity and promise. Often, when returning from Italy, he booked passages on ships for people who desired to travel to America and employed them on his estate—just to ensure a better, more fruitful life for everyone. During those travels, Mazzei found himself at the center of many fights for freedom.
He was truly a friend to freedom around the world.
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