Sabato 5 aprile 10am-12pm
Freemans Bay Community Centre
52 Hepburn St
Freemans Bay, Auckland
Dopo le epiche avventure della prima edizione – culminate nel librino Trieste, addio!, nato dalla collaborazione tra insegnanti e studenti – a grande richiesta organizziamo una seconda edizione.
Questa volta le quattro lezioni intensive, condotte da Barbara Martelli e Elia Brassanello e aperte a studenti e appassionati di italiano con un livello intermedio o avanzato, seguiranno il filo della scrittura diaristica.
Attraverso la lettura di testi letterari e coinvolgenti esercizi di storytelling, impareremo insieme a sviluppare ambientazioni vivide, personaggi credibili e sfaccettati, dialoghi avvincenti, ostacoli e sorprese.
Quasi senza accorgercene, mentre ci perderemo nella narrazione, miglioreremo le nostre capacità comunicative in italiano e approfondiremo la comprensione culturale dell'Italia.
Il percorso si concluderà con la stesura di una pagina dal diario dei nostri protagonisti, che confluirà in una piccola antologia collettiva.
Iscrizioni aperte!!!!
After the epic adventures of the first edition — culminating in the mini-book Trieste, addio!, born from the collaboration between teachers and students — we are thrilled to launch a second edition by popular demand.
This time, the four intensive sessions, led by Barbara Martelli and Elia Bressanello and open to students and Italian enthusiasts with an intermediate to advanced level, will follow the thread of diary writing.
Reading literary texts and engaging storytelling exercises will teach us to craft vivid settings, believable and multifaceted characters, compelling dialogue, obstacles and surprises.
Almost without realizing it, as we get lost in the stories, we will strengthen our communication skills in Italian and deepen our cultural understanding of Italy.
The journey will conclude with writing a diary page from the perspective of our protagonist, which will be included in a small collaborative anthology.
Enrollments are open!!!
Saturday 29 March 10am -12pm
Dante Rooms
Freemans Bay Community Centre
52 Hepburn St
Freemans Bay, Auckland
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| Use your Dante membership card to receive discounts in museums, historic sites, hotels, restaurants and more. The full list is here. |
Dear Friends,
It is time to renew your Dante membership. At the last AGM, held on 8th of March 2025, the committee has decided that there will be no changes on membership fees for 2025.
We would like to invite all current members to renew their membership, this can be done online with a bank transfer to:
Società Dante Alighieri BNZ a/c 020192-0309263-00 with the reference "LASTNAME/MSHIP”.
Language students can also pay by eftpos when they attend classes.
If you like you can also add a donation to the Society with your membership. The Dante Alighieri Society of Auckland is a registered charity with ‘donee’ status, and we can provide receipts for your donations on request. Any donation, no matter how small, greatly helps us with the day to day running of our society.
Vi ricordiamo che la Società Dante Alighieri è una Charity e che come tale accettiamo con entusiasmo le vostre donazioni e volontariato.
Le donazioni possono essere dedotte dalle tasse e permettono alla nostra Società di offrire classi, attività ed eventi culturali.
Grazie for all your donations!
The current annual subscription for membership (including GST) is:
Single membership - $30 per person
Couples or family - $40 per couple or family
Seniors and tertiary students - $15 per person
Children up to 18 years of age come under Student or Family membership.
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| A thousand thanks to Valeria Santillo, our fantastic Dante Auckland treasurer for many years! Valeria will step down as treasurer next month but will remain on the Dante committee. |
Cari amici e soci della Dante Auckland,
Welcome to our 2025 Annual General Meeting!
Looking back on the past year, I’m pleased to say that 2024 was a positive and productive one for the Dante Team. We hosted a full calendar of engaging talks, workshops, and activities, while continuing our regular classes. It’s been a year of growth, learning, and cultural exchange, and I’m proud of everything we’ve accomplished together.
First, I want to thank our teachers and committee members for all their hard work in organizing and supporting these events. Your dedication is what makes our society so special.
Also, a special and very personal thank you goes to Valeria Santillo, who has been an integral part of the Dante Society for many years and served as our Treasurer for the past seven years. Valeria has been a pillar of support, managing our finances and assisting with many other administrative tasks. Her dedication and professionalism have been invaluable to the society. Valeria has decided to step down as Treasurer, but she will continue to support us as a Committee member. Her official time as Treasurer will end on April 1st, and we’re deeply grateful for all the hard work she’s done over the years.
As we thank Valeria for her incredible contributions, we’re also excited to welcome Lynne Webb as our new Treasurer. Lynne brings a wealth of experience from her work as a Finance Manager, leading accounts and payroll teams and supporting local organizations. We’re confident that she will bring her skills and expertise to our society, and we look forward to working with her.
I also want to give a special thanks to Barbara Martelli, who led our Creative Writing Workshop “Una Storia in Italia.” Under Barbara’s and Elia’s guidance, a group of our students wrote a beautiful short novel, Trieste, addio! This project was a wonderful exploration of both the Italian language and the power of storytelling. The experience was incredibly rewarding for both tutors and students, as it allowed participants to challenge their language skills while creating a compelling narrative. The novel was presented during the Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo with the theme “L’italiano e il libro: il mondo fra le righe.” This project was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Dante Alighieri Society of Rome.
I would also like to acknowledge Riccardo Lucignani for his insightful workshop on Caravaggio, Caravaggio in Rome: The Painter and the City 1500 – 1600. Riccardo’s expertise gave us a deep dive into the life and works of this iconic artist, and we appreciate him sharing his knowledge with us.
During the year we continued our monthly Colazione appointments organised by Matteo Telara with several interesting talks that were part of these events. Among them were a special talk by Dr. Giulia Dondoli on anti-money laundering, a session on Italo Calvino with Professor Bruno Ferraro, and a fascinating history talk with Giulia Borelli about how Italy became a Republic. These gatherings have been a great way for us to stay connected and engage with Italian culture.
This year, for the first time, the Dante Alighieri Society of Auckland attended the 84th International Congress of the Società Dante Alighieri in Rome. Alessandra Zecchini represented our committee where she participated in three days of meetings, events, and networking opportunities. It was a fantastic chance to connect with other Dante Societies from around the world and strengthen our bonds within the global Dante network.
In November, we had the privilege of hosting the Tenores di Neoneli concert, which brought the music and traditions of Sardinia to New Zealand. It was a beautiful celebration of Italian culture, and we were thrilled to share this experience with our community. I’d like to thank Luca Manghi for organising this beautiful concert and for his contribution during the concert. It was just magical to see him playing together with the Sardinian musicians and their ancient instruments.
The year concluded with our annual Mercatino di Natale (Christmas Market), which was a lovely way to bring our community together and celebrate the festive season and the new year kicked off with the return of the Festival Italiano in Auckland. The festival was a huge success, bigger and better than ever. Our Dante stand was well-represented, thanks to the hard work of Alessandra Zecchini and all the volunteers who helped out. We are also very grateful to our sponsors, La Marzocco, Segafredo, All Good, and Coffex, for their support. The Festival Italiano was made possible by the Newmarket Business Association, Only Event, with the support of the Waitemata Local Board, the Italian Embassy, and thanks to all the sponsors and stallholders.
In addition to these special events, we also continued with some of our regular activities, such as the Cantastorie, our monthly children’s program and our ever-popular Intensive Italian Course in January, both led by our School Director Sandra Fresia.
These activities, along with everything else, are reflected in our financial statement, which shows that the society has been able to realise a small operational profit compared to previous years. Valeria Santillo will share more details on the finances shortly.
Looking ahead to 2025, we know there will be some challenges, but I am confident that the society is in a stronger position to handle them. With that in mind, we are pleased to announce that membership fees will remain the same as last year, with no increases.
In closing, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of our members and students for your continued support. Together, we have accomplished so much, and I am excited for another year full of activities, events, and opportunities for growth and connection.
Grazie a tutti, e ci vediamo presto!
Flavia Berucci
President
Società Dante Alighieri Auckland
Basilicata Coast to Coast (Rocco Papaleo, 2010)
28 March, 6 pm Building 201, Room 265
This month instead of travelling by train we journey by foot, across the lesser known region of Basilicata, which lays between two coastlines one on the Tyrrhenian coast and one on the Ionian. The journey would take less than two hours by car, but Nicola (Papaleo) enters his modest band in a music festival on the other side of Basilicata, and comes up with the idea of walking there in 10 days – partly as a publicity stunt and partly as an opportunity for the members to bond. And so, accompanied by a reluctant local journalist (Giovanna Mezzogiorno) and a horse and cart, we join the motley group as it sets off on a picaresque life-changing crossing marked by encounters and adventures. This music-infused, comedy road movie was the winner of Best First Feature at the 2010 Italian Golden Globes and Best New Director at the 2011 David di Donatello Awards.
We invite everyone who wants to remain to chat about the film over a drink!
We begin our series with a journey on a train: Tickets-we hope to see you on board!
28 February, 6 pm Building 201, Room 265 (If parking at Owen Glenn, enter from Wyynard Street entrance)
After the film, we invite everyone who wants to remain to chat about the film over a drink!
Tickets
Tickets is a collaborative film involving three great filmmakers: Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, and Ken Loach. Each filmmaker contributed a segment to create the full film. The film follows the events that occur on a train ride across Italy, toward Rome. On board is a professor who daydreams a conversation with a love that never was (Olmi’s film), a complaining widow traveling to a memorial service for her late husband and who's accompanied by an assisting community service volunteer (Kiarostami’s film), and three brash Scottish soccer fans en route to a match (Loach’s film). All the segments are connected by the unifying element of the ticket and through a family of Albanian refugees, who switch trains and steal a ticket and a very patient (real!) ticket controller! Interactions among these passengers remark on class and nationalism, courtesy and rudeness, and opportunities for kindness.
Closest parking: Owen G Glen (12 Grafton Road)
Parking: $6 flat rate after 4.30 pm
See attached map.
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