Sipping Italy

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sipping Italy
December 16, 2021 – VIP event of the year all about wines and Italian geography. We had a fabulous journey from Alto Adige to Sicily, tasting six wines and learning about the Belpaese. We embarked on a sensory journey through some of the most diverse and fascinating Italian regions and their wines. We tasted and learning about 5 hand-picked wines by Joshua Walker, owner and sommelier at Wine & Company while Stefano, a born and raised in Italy former National Geographic tour leader, introduced the regions with anecdotes and interesting stories. The tasting included a welcome bubbly drink as well as Italian cheeses and charcuterie.

From the Lowcountry to the Upstate

From the Lowcountry to the Upstate

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From the Lowcountry to the Upstate   From the Lowcountry to the Upstate   From the Lowcountry to the Upstate

The Dante Alighieri Society of Charleston, introduced the Society to a new audience in Greenville, SC. The evening was very special thanks to the amazing hospitality of Lauren and Phil Hughes. Their gorgeous Italian-inspired home was the perfect venue for the mini Opera concert by Charleston Opera Theater. Phil Hughes and Donatella della Porta welcomed the guests and introduced the performers, soprano Saundra DeAthos, tenor Harold Meers and Maestro Wojciech Milewski at the piano. The audience was delighted with the performance, which included very well known and challenging arias, from Madama Butterfly to L’elisir d’amore and Suor Angelica.

The shadows of love in the Renaissance

The shadows of love in the Renaissance

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September 30, 2021 – So proud to have presented at the Davies Auditorium (Ashley Hall) the first survey of Venus in the art, culture, and governance of Florence from 1300 to 1600. Dr. Rebekah Compton talked about her book VENUS AND THE ART OF LOVE that investigates on one of the goddess’s alluring attributes – her golden splendor, rosy-hued complexion, enchanting fashions, green gardens, erotic anatomy, and gifts from the sea. By examining these attributes in the context of the visual arts, Compton uncovers an array of materials and techniques employed by artists, patrons, rulers, and lovers to manifest Venusian virtues. She explores technical art history in the context of love’s protean iconography, showing how different discourses and disciplines can interact in the creation and reception of art. Venus and the Arts of Love offers new insights on sight, seduction, and desire, as well as concepts of gender, sexuality, and viewership from both male and female perspectives in the early modern era. The book has Cambridge University as publisher, a very prestigious one that tells you the high level of Rebekah Compton’s research.

Serenata Italiana with Italian Opera arias

Serenata Italiana with Italian Opera arias

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July 24th, 2021 – Charleston Opera Theater and Dante Alighieri Society present a unique event starring Saundra DeAthos, Soprano, Harold Meers, Tenor, Robin Zemp, Piano for a cocktail hour performance in a private residence in Downtown Charleston featuring a selection of Italian Opera’s most beloved arias and passionate duets in an intimate setting. It’s an incredible opportunity for the deepening of the Tenor and Soprano repertoire about Italian arias. This performance precedes the Gala Celebration in September at the Sottile Theatre in Charleston, a celebration of the Italian opera tradition featuring some of the most exciting, passionate and well-known excerpts from masters such as Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, Mascagni and Leoncavallo. The Gala will present international artists Keri Alkema, Soprano; Jasmine Habersham, Soprano Dominick Chenes, Tenor; Michael Chioldi, Baritone. Wojciech Milewski will conduct the Charleston Opera Theater Orchestra and The College of Charleston Opera collaborates to contribute an opera chorus to this wonderful evening.

Italian in the Lowcountry book launch

Italian in the Lowcountry book launch

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May 24th, 2021

Charleston Library Society, Buxton Books, and the Dante Alighieri Society of Charleston celebrate the release of Italians in the Lowcountry – Sunny Italy’s Charleston Colony.
The sold-out evening includes a discussion by Eugene Massamillo about Italy, Dante Alighieri Society, and the continued cultural presence and importance of Italians in the Lowcountry and in Charleston in particular. Donatella Cappelletti della Porta, president of Dante Alighieri Society Charleston will introduce author Christina Butler presenting a brief illustrated overview of the recently released book. The book utilizes historic documentation, images, and interviews to add the important and diverse stories and experiences of Charleston’s Italians and Italian Americans to the city’s historical narrative. It chronicles the Italian experience from the colonial era to the present, with biographical sketches of noteworthy Italians, discussion of ethnic communities and businesses throughout the city’s history, and the contributions and the current Italian community in the greater Charleston area in the present. A preface from Cristiano Musillo, Consul General of Italy in Miami, and a section on the Spoleto Festival featuring interviews from former Mayor Joseph P. Riley and General Director Nigel Redden, highlight the important cultural contributions that continue today. The evening includes a viewing of Italian rare prints from the CLS special collections, live piano performances, and Italian wine and light snacks.

This limited-capacity event will be followed by a Zoom Speaker Series on Thursday, June 3rd that will go more in-depth into the book and the narratives within.