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Washington DC, July 2020
COMMUNITY NEWS
Robert A. Facchina Italian American Museum of Washington DC (IAMDC)
Progress continues, with an eye toward a December 2020 opening Continued from page one
Progress continues on the planning, design and fabrication of the new Italian American Museum of Washington DC (IAMDC) at Casa Italiana, despite timing set-backs caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The museum will occupy four lobby spaces of the newly constructed building and will focus on Italians and Italian Americans who have a direct connection to the Washington, D.C. area. As indicated in the images at right, the museum will reflect on the following themes: how Italians and Italian Americans influenced the design, construction and beautification of the capital; the lives, struggles and achievements of Italian immigrants in the area; the creation and historic evolution of Holy Rosary Church and Casa Italiana; and an exhibition gallery showing the works of local Italian and Italian American artists. The museum will also include the Marconi Project, a series of oral interviews with local community members, including Holy Rosary Church parisioners and members of the larger Italian American community. During these times of a national revisiting of our history as a country with a diverse population, the mission of IAMDC to preserve our rich Italian cultural heritage, seems particularly relevant. The planned opening of the museum is before the end of 2020.
The museum will include a station where visitors can hear or view snippets of interviews with local Italian Americans.
Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center Establishes the ‟Pino Cicala Archives and Virtual Collection” The passing of community "communicator-in-chief" Pino Cicala three years ago, left a void in our Italian American community. To keep his legacy alive, Casa Italiana Sociocultural Center, Inc. (CISC), will name its archives and virtual collection in his memory. The Pino Cicala Archives and Virtual Collection will consist of hundreds of Pino’s files, donated by his son Luigi and his brother Melo Cicala. The files chronicle and record the history of Italian American organizations and their major events in the Washington area for nearly 60 years. Plans are also underway to digitize a large collection of community photographs from the Holy Rosary Church collection for the archive. “Pino devoted most of his life in the service of our Italian American commu-
nity—as a radio host, TV producer and in later years as editor of the Amico web site,” said Francesco Isgro, president of CISC. “We are fortunate that we can safeguard his historical records and share them with our community. We thank Fr. Ezio Marchetto, pastor of Holy Rosary Church and chairman of CISC, for his vision and for providing a place for them in Casa Italiana. The archives are a good complement to the Robert A Facchina Italian American Museum in Washington DC (IAMDC), and the Marconi Project of oral histories.” “My father loved the Italian American community in Washington and all things Italian,” said Luigi Cicala. “I am delighted that his memory will be kept alive at Casa Italiana through this exciting collection.” Melo Cicala stated, “My brother’s life revolved around the Italian American com-
munity in Washington and his love for Italy. I could not think of a better place to honor his memory and contributions than by keeping his archives at Casa Italiana.” Cataloguing and digitizing Pino’s collection will require financial resources; an initial $50,000 is needed to begin the project. At a future date, an official reception will be held in Casa Italiana for supporters, and Pino’s many friends. As we begin to work on Pino’s collection, we invite others with historical files about our area’s Italian community to consider donating them to the Pino Cicala Archives, which will be available to researchers and others interested in the Italian presence in our nation’s capital. If you would like to donate materials, please contact Nancy DeSanti at nancy.desanti@ casaitalianacenter.org
