Attendees present included the directing committee, teachers, students and those supporters who had taken it upon themselves to sponsor, with their donations and presence, the future of the admirable institution.
President of Dante Alighieri Fabio Carosone welcomed Consul General of Italy Arturo Arcano and president of Co.As.It. Lorenzo Fazzini, as well as general manager of Co.As.It. Thomas Camporeale, Senator Francesco Giacobbe and Franca Arena AM.
With much pride the president then announced the presence of a descendent of Dr. Fiaschi, who founded the Dante Alighieri Society in Sydney in 1896.
Carosone also officially thanked Giancarla Montagna-Guareschi for the enormous effort put in to organising the event.
Awards of gratitude were then given to those people who throughout the school year were particularly helpful to the society.
Founded in Italy in 1889 by a group of intellectuals directed by Giosuè Carducci, the society was born with the scope of “teaching and spreading Italian culture and language in the world and reinvigorating the spiritual ties of the compatriots overseas with the mother country, sustaining amongst them and non-Italians a love and admiration for the Italian civilisation”.
In Sydney, Dante Alighieri was founded by Tommaso Enrico Fiaschi who in 1893 became the head surgeon of Sydney Hospital.
Jim Robertson, descendent of Fiaschi and attendee at the occasion, wished to enlighten everyone on the adventurous life of his great-grandfather.
The story began when Tommaso Enrico Fiaschi arrived in North Queensland in 1879 to assist the miners in the gold fields.
“After that,” Robertson recounted, “my great-grandfather moved to Sydney and began working for St Vincent’s Private Hospital where he met a young nun in uniform’s clothes, by the name of Catherine Renolds”.
“Love grew between them and they married, which at the time caused a big scandal, leading them to move to Florence; from their union three children were born: Carlo, Pietro my grandfather, and Clarissa who married Luigi Torreggiani from Le Marche.
“My great-grandfather Tommaso later returned to work as a doctor in Australia, until his death.
“It was Clarissa (Torreggiani) who gifted the statue Il Porcellino (Little Pig) which was placed out the front of the Sydney Hospital.
“Clarissa did it to commemorate her father and his brothers.
“The year was 1968,” Robertson concluded.
Tommaso Enrico Fiaschi, extraordinarily aware of the value of Italian culture and with the intention of saving it from being lost within the population, founded the Dante Alighieri Association in Australia.
“It’s always a pleasure to meet the friends of Dante School,” affirmed the Consul Arcano.
“It’s a fundamental institution which is present around the world, with a strong committee here in NSW.
“For that I thank all the members of the NSW committee for their incredible efforts, the president Fabio Carosone and those friends who with personal sacrifice and out-of-the-ordinary dedication have worked to bring about the important cause in promoting Italian language and culture overseas.”
Concetta Cirigliano Perna, vice-president and educational director of the Dante Alighieri School, explained how the courses and materials for teaching Italian language are prepared: with the objective (long-term and medium-term) to place value on the many cultural activities planned for the scholastic year.
“This year we held a very interesting conference on Matera, the European cultural capital for 2019, which had such resonance that we would surely replicate the event one day,” Perna said.
Senator Francesco Giacobbe explained that the Dante Alighieri Society is an organisation with hundreds of representatives in almost all the countries of the world.
In some it also carries out the role of organising body for the teaching of Italian language in public and private schools with funding from the Italian government.
With this role, Dante Alighieri can promote synergy between the Italian Institute of Culture and Co.As.It., both of which are managing authorities.
The interconnectedness renders easier the teaching of the mother-tongue at all levels: in primary schools, secondary schools and universities, but also overseas with participants and non participants who may be looking for courses not necessarily sponsored by scholastic institutional bodies.
Ex-parliamentarian Franca Arena wished to highlight the success of the occasion due to those people in the community who understand the importance of language, the living core of every culture.
Paolo Totaro highlighted the difficult moments which the Dante Alighieri society is experiencing, just as it has in the past.
“That which I admire in our Association is the tenacity and strength of spirit of the president Fabio and his partner Giancarla who have put so much effort into progressing, as of 2 years, the Association,” Totaro said.
“I admire them and I would like that everyone recognised how much they have done so that today we can look forward for the better to next year.”
Continuing on the financial theme, Terri Piccioli underlined the current difficulties of the society and wished that the Italian community might follow the example set by the French, Spanish and German communities who are able to proudly sustain their cultures.
Maurizio Aloisi, president of Comites NSW, addressed the cultural patrimony held by the Italian population which must be safeguarded and which is certainly an incredible resource.
President Carosone concluded the speeches by highlighting the evening as an enjoyable way of helping the Association to move forward, with those volunteers who remain with the society since many years ago.
The society does not receive help from Italy nor from Australian organisations, only from a few sponsors.
“Dante Alighieri was founded firstly as an association and then as a school from 1896,” president Carosone said.
“This evening we host a descendent of Dr. Fiaschi, founder of the Association in Australia, who has reminded us of the Porcellino statue in Macquarie St and the ceremony which occurred on December 4 at the hospital.
“We are proud of what we do with such dedication and effort in our duty to the Italian community and the Dante Alighieri Society of Sydney.”
Addressing the fundraising efforts which ensure the future of the society, Giancarla Montagna-Guareschi organised a lottery with many amazing prizes which were appreciated by those present and which enriched the company funds.
The biggest contribution to the evening was the generous gift by Antonio Bamonte, who donated a return ticket Sydney-Roma that was put up for auction and sold for the price of $1650.00.
All of this was accompanied by the music and songs of the duo Majazzter with Minnie and Ermanno.
