Il nostro aiuto alla comunità
Our mission is not only to teach our beautiful language, but to be involved in the Italian community in Seattle and promote the language and culture. percorsoItaliano is proud to be part of wonderful organizations operating in the Seattle area:
SPSCA (THE SEATTLE-PERUGIA SISTER CITY ASSOCIATION)
Seattle and Perugia have shared a special relationship for quite some time, and this was cemented with the founding of the Seattle-Perugia Sister City Association back in 1991. The SPSCA puts on a variety of educational events every year including book talks, wine tastings, film dinners, and more. Individual membership is only $25 a year, and there are many benefits such as information about local Italian events, the opportunity to win a scholarship to study in Perugia, and, most important, the chance to help promote cultural exchange between these two communities. You could be the next candidate for the Perugia scholarship, so if you're interested in joining, please sign up on the SPSCA website here.
PIAZZA PERUGIA
Since 2017, Seattle has a new park dedicated to Perugia, as a symbol of Seattle and Perugia sister-city friendship. It is located In Madison Valley at East Harrison St. and Martin Luther King Jr. Way South.
Thank you to everyone who came out and joined us at the dedication event. This is a great way to celebrate the longstanding sister-city friendship of these two cities.
An Umbrian ceramic arts studio, L'Antica Deruta, designed and created decorative tiles that were installed in the piazza by Nadine Edelstein, a tile artist from Vashon Island. The director of L'Antica Deruta, Giorgio Moretti, attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony as well as both Seattle and Perugia's mayors.
CASA ITALIANA
We are pleased to announce to our community of students and friends that the Italo American and Italian Community in Seattle have fulfilled a lifelong dream: to have a Casa Italiana, an Italian Cultural Center for all.
It is the CASA for all Italians and Italian organizations in the Pacific Northwest, a space for social and cultural gatherings, and the future Italian Heritage Museum.
CASA is also hosting the Biblioteca Italiana Seattle (BIS), the Italian library, and the Honorary Consulate Office.
Its mission statement is “to plan, promote and carry on charitable, educational, and cultural activities, which serve the welfare of the community and to preserve the rich tradition of Italian culture by sponsoring lectures, classes, conferences, study groups, culinary events, mentorship programs, and scholarships…”
Land for the Casa Italiana Italian Cultural Center, which is located at 13028 1st Avenue South in Burien, was purchased at the beginning of the Fall of 2020 thanks to Casa, il Punto, and many private donors who continue to support the creation of a physical space dedicated to all things Italian.
We are so excited about this accomplishment and hope that together we will be able to support Casa Italiana Italian Cultural Center with our community involvement and donations. To learn more about Casa and donate, you can visit the website. Any donation will make a difference. Grazie!
We thank all of those who have contributed to this dream and who will contribute in the future. If you are interested in learning more about Casa, please read this interesting article by Rita Cipalla in L’Italoamericano.
Consolato Onorario d’iTALIA A caSA ITALIANA
Elisabetta Valentini - Honorary Consul of Italy in Seattle.
The team of percorsoItaliano is very proud about what our own Elisabetta Valentini is doing for the Italian community in Seattle. Brava Elisabetta!
For more information on the Italian Consolate of Seattle, please visit their page.
Honorary Consul/Console Onorario:
Ms. Elisabetta VALENTINI
E-mail:
seattle.onorario@gmail.com
Website:
https://conssanfrancisco.esteri.it/Consolato_SanFrancisco/en/
Tel:
+1-206-765-8584
Address:
13028 First Ave S., Burien WA 98168
Hours/Orario:
By appointment – su appuntamento
IL PUNTO
Il Punto (“the point”) is intended to be il punto d'incontro (“the meeting point”) for all Italians, Italian-Americans, and people passionate about Italy and it’s culture, language, cinema, and music. Il Punto offers small Italian conversation groups twice a month for different levels. This is a great opportunity for students to practice conversation in a casual setting at next to no cost. They also offer language classes for children. Please visit Il Punto’s website for more information.
Other community involvement
SIFF (SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL)
SIFF is renowned for its annual international film festival, attracting moviemakers and film lovers to the big screen every spring for a great selection of films. We like to spotlight the Italian films at the festival by promoting them with students and friends of percorsoItaliano.
In addition to its international festival held every May/June, SIFF features Italian movies at Cinema Italian Style every November. percorsoItaliano has been a sponsor of this festival for several years now, and we believe they do excellent work promoting the Italian culture through a wide range of films.
Whether you are taking our film class at percorsoItaliano or you are just interested in cinema, watching Italian films is a great way to learn more about the culture and hear the language in a natural setting. SIFF is one of the country's most recognized film festivals and does an incredible job of choosing movies that represent different countries around the world. We encourage you to attend other movies as well, as we are very proud of how SIFF carefully selects films that will enhance your understanding of the world. Please visit SIFF’s website to learn more about its great work.
We are also proud to support SIFF - Cinema Italian Style. The film festival occurs annually and promotes Italian films. For more information, please visit SIFF Cinema Italian Style.
Buona visione!
“Una lingua diversa è una diversa visione della vita.”
-Federico Fellini