Cartolina 4 & 9 January 2012

The new Italian Ambassador,  HE Alessandro Levi Sandri, has kindly agreed to a conversation with Cartolina (this interview is in Italian). We play some Rossini.

Cartolina 21 & 26 December

President of the Christchurch Dante Society and Cartolina co-producer Denis Walker talks about practicing the Italian language in Rome. You can bet there’ll be plenty of stories this time too. This is also Cartolina’s Buon Natale & Felice Anno Nuovo.

                   

Cartolina 7 December

Alessandra Zecchini and Arantxa Zecchini Dowling present their co-authored book Party food for Girls, rich of gorgeous photos, step-by-step instructions and yummy recipes. Arantxa reads the recipe for Nectarine Pasties. We play Rita Pavone’s Pappa col Pomodoro, Gianni Morandi’s Belinda, and Auli` Aule` from the Zecchino d’Oro competition.

AGM - 26 November

The Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held on Saturday 26 November at 4 pm at the Mediterranean Food Company 322 Tuam Street.  Come along and join us for a glass of prosecco, some delicious stuzzicini and a slice of panettone.

Cartolina 23 & 28 November

President of the Christchurch Dante Society and Cartolina co-producer Denis Walker shares with us his experience of living six months in Rome. A most notable surprise was how willing Romans are to discuss politics, after just the first 5 minutes of conversation… plenty of little stories dot Denis’ chat

Cartolina 9 & 14 November

Publisher Peter Dowling, and Jill and Stefano Fusi (translator and editor, respectively) talk about the launch of the book To the Gateways of Florence, about the New Zealand forces in Tuscany in 1944, and the (now) well known episode of the liberation of the little town of Tavarnelle in Val di Pesa.


We play a 1948 archive recording of  Blue Smoke.

Book launch 25th October - Jo Seagar

Cartolina 12 October

Tony Lambert introduces the 16^th Italian Film Festival. Bringing the Festival to earthquake-stricken Christchurch has involved overcoming huge logistical hurdles, but the commitment was unwavering….

Book launch 19 October

The book has been co-authored by a  mother and daughter team: Alessandra Zecchini and Arantxa Zecchini-Dowling.

Cartolina 28 September & 3 October

Maria Fresia discusses Apulia: landscape, food, people. They have plenty of tales to tell... not enough time!

Maria, Sandra & Mamma Yvette on a small road in Apulia

Cartolina 14 September

Maria Fresia tells of her ‘study holiday’ with a group of students in Central Italy, from an organic farm to Assisi and Perugia. Who wouldn’t study like that?

Cartolina 31 August

Pizzica Salentina is the traditional dance of Salento, the South-most part of Apulia. Wilma plays some of this music, and describes the places, after her recent holiday in this most beautiful part of Italy.

Cartolina 17 and 22 August

Rory Creagh was in Italy 20 years ago as a Royal Air Force engineer, first at the Decimomannu air base in Sardinia, then for an extended period in Bari in Apulia. His stories mix watching soccer with the locals and trading food vouchers for beer, on the backdrop of the

Festa dell'unità d'Italia - POSTPONED

Due to the heavy snowfall, the festa is postponed until 24 August.  All other details are unchanged. The festa will start at 6.30 pm with dinner served at 7.30.

Festa dell'unità d'Italia

We are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy with a special evening on Wednesday 17 August from 6.30 pm at the Masonic Lodge, Cashmere, 95 Dyers Pass Road.  Dinner and entertainment $25 pp, children under 10 free. Please book and pay by the 12 August (see the latest newsletter for more information)

Cartolina 3 August

Ray Edwards talks about travelling in Italy with a young family. He gives useful hints about Florence and Rome. Also Wilma adds her advice and suggests itineraries in Rome.

Elise in Firenze

Cartolina 20 July

Ray Edwards had the chance of a personal tour of the Lamborghini factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese. He describes this amazing facility with plenty of anecdotes on travelling in Italy with a family of two toddlers. 

Elise, Ayrton and Ray Edwards  next to a Diablo prototype 
in the museum. Note Ayrton ‘s very early interest in cars.

Cartolina in winter 8 June to 6 July

Denis Walker, President of the Christchurch Dante Society and Cartolina’s co-producer, is in Italy on an extended study & holiday time.

He has been recording phone conversations called “Cartoline senza francobolli” (stamp-less postcards), telling of his impressions and experiences as a temporary resident in Rome.

Wednesdays at 7.30 pm: 8 June, 22 June and 6 July.

REFERENDUMS 2011

BY 9 JUNE IN NEW ZEALAND, ON 12-13 JUNE IN ITALY
Italian nationals who reside overseas and certain categories of nationals
temporarily living abroad, more clearly specified hereunder, may vote on the
following abrogating referendums, by no later than 9 June in New Zealand,
Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands, and on 12 and 13 June in Italy

1. popular referendum n. 1 – Means of entrusting and administrating
public services of economic relevance – Abrogation;
2. popular referendum n. 2 – Determination of water supply charges on the
basis of adequate return on invested capital – Partial abrogation of the
norm;
3. popular referendum n. 3 – New power plants for the production of
nuclear energy – Partial abrogation of the norms;
4. popular referendum n. 4 – Abrogation of the norms of law n. 51 of 7
April 2010, in the matter of the legitimate impediment for the President
of the Council of Ministers and of Ministers to appear in criminal
proceedings, as a consequence of Constitutional Court sentence n.23 of
2011.

For further information contact the Embassy of Italy in Wellington:
http://www.ambwellington.esteri.it/ambasciata_wellington.

Cartolina 11 May

Ron Birch tells of his Italian holiday off the beaten track, in Pisciotta, 

a lovely seaside village where sunsets come with lovely food and songs.

Cartolina 13 and 18 April, and 27 April and 2 May

In these two programmes we present the music of Paolo Conte, the wonderful Italian jazz singer and pianist. We play many of his famous songs, and we read the lyrics in Italian and English verse by verse – a good exercise for language students!

Cartolina 2 and 16 February

Real Italians, with Riccardo Diaferia, Francesco Sarti, Giacomo Paganotti and Tiziana Cristini. They are all postgraduate students from the Milan Polytechnic, in Christchurch for several months to carry out their studies in structural engineering (for which the town obligingly provided a first-rate earthquake…).  The boys were also involved in the soccer matches where the ‘Real Italians’ team shone. In these two programs they talk at length about their impressions of the life in New Zealand and compare them with their life in Italy. We play songs of their choices.

Cartolina 19 & 24 January

Gianmaria Testa, an Italian songwriter presented by Edith Bingenheimer. Inspired by Fabrizio de André’s music, Testa developed his peculiar style of finding beautiful poetic words for “protest songs” to describe contemporary issues, and enwrapping them lovingly in wonderful music. The compilation that Edith introduces is called “Da questa parte del mare” (2006), and has received the TARGA TENCO as best Italian album of the year 2007. 


The songs are wholly focused on a single topic; they are like a poetic meditation, unbiased and non-demagogic reflections, on recent years’ mass migrations.