Are you a descendant, or related to Italian Internees on Somes/Matiu Island in WWII? Please help us with this research.

Memorial to Italian Internees on Somes/Matiu Island in WWII photo by Judith Murphy

Kia ora,

My name is Flavia Flamini and I am an Italian researcher based in Wellington. I have been awarded a History Grant by Manatū Taonga – Ministry for Culture and Heritage to write a book documenting the human and social experiences of Italian civilian internees and their families in New Zealand during and immediately after World War II.

To date, I have been able to identify 40 Italian men interned between 1940 and 1942 under the Aliens Control Emergency Regulations 1939. I am currently conducting my archival research at Archives New Zealand, where a great deal of material has recently become accessible, given that 100 years have passed since most of the internees' dates of birth.

To corroborate my research, I am looking to connect with descendants, relatives, or anyone who might have information, letters, or memories related to ANY of the Italian internees. While I welcome stories from all over New Zealand, I am currently seeking specific leads regarding a few men connected to the Auckland region.

- I am keen to connect with the descendants or relatives of Paul Casa to learn more about his experience, especially given his prominent role as the camp foreman. 

- I am also searching for information regarding Celso De Podesta (likely originally spelled "De Podestà") and Amerigo Tavan; both were living in Auckland and working as terrazzo layers when they were arrested on the exact same day, 29 August 1940.

- Furthermore, I have recently uncovered the internment and release papers for an Italian man named Reno Saverio Massetti, who was interned on 30 September 1942. His name is missing from the official memorial on Matiu/Somes Island.

- Alongside the stories of the internees, I am also interested in exploring the unique history of Italian-Māori families during the war years. Were these families subject to "Enemy Alien" restrictions, or were they exempt? What were the feelings towards Italy while the 28th Māori Battalion was fighting bravely on the Italian front? 

If your family has any oral histories, photographs, diaries or letters from this era, I would be deeply privileged to learn about them. Every small detail might be incredibly helpful.

Please feel free to reach out to me at flaviaflamini1@gmail.com.

Grazie mille to the Società Dante Alighieri Auckland and to all of you for helping to preserve this precious shared heritage!

Flavia

The internment camp on Matiu/Somes Island before it was demolished in 1947

 

 Quizzone di Ferragosto!

From art, history and cities to language, music and food—how well do you know Italy? Join the Dante Quiz and find out!

Join us on Saturday 15 August, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm, at the Società Dante Alighieri Auckland for an afternoon of fun, friendly (but fierce!) competition and Italian culture.

Come with your own team or join one on the day. Entry is $20 per person, including snacks.

To register, email info@dante.org.nz.

Learn Italian this winter!

Beat the winter blues, learn Italian with us!

(It's better than vitamin C!)

Term 3 schedule online now: https://www.dante.org.nz/_files/ugd/c2b48f_cbc1aa624b134d708a32529864636e88.pdf

Choose from 34 classes, from beginners to advanced (including 7 online classes), or come to our open day on 15 July.

For queries email info@dante.org.nz

 

Cantastorie di giugno

Il prossimo appuntamento con il Cantastorie è il 14 giugno.

Questa sessione sarà guidata e organizzata da genitori, ed il pagamento da effettuar online (a/c 02-0192-0309263-00) questo mese è di $10 più $5 per fratellino/sorellina.

 

Il bollettino di maggio è in rete!

Il bollettino di maggio è in rete, cliccare qui.

May Bulletin online now, click here.

 

May Cine Dante: Il papà di Giovanna/Giovanna’s Father 2008 (Pupi Avati)

Cine Dante and The New Zealand Institute of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy present:

Il papà di Giovanna/Giovanna’s Father 2008 (Pupi Avati)

Friday 22 May, 6.30 pm

University of Auckland 10 Symonds Street (Arts and Education Building) 201, Room 265 

Free Admission

Discussion and refreshments to follow

Set In Bologna in the late 1930s the film features Silvio Orlando in the role of Michele, a devoted and overprotective father, who does not recognize his daughter’s (Alba

Rohrwacher) mental health problems. His sole scope in life becomes his constant

attention to her once she is committed to a psychiatric hospital for a crime she commits. Against the backdrop of Fascist Italy, the film is a character and societal study of the

complexity of excessive paternal love, mental illness and psychiatric institutions.

Silvio Orlando won the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival for his performance. Alba Rohrwacher won a David di Donatello Award for her role as Giovanna.

The Other Side of the Sunset — Book Launch

Save the date for this special book launch on Friday 8 May, 5:30pm, at the Dante Auckland!

Freemans Bay Community Centre
Freemans Bay,
Auckland

The Other Side of the Sunset:  The cultural benefits of New Zealand and Italian connections through Italian immigration to Aotearoa from the 1950s to the mid-2020s

By Antonella Sarti Evans.  $50.00   — Book launch special: $40

Published by The Earl of Seacliff, Paekakariki, New Zealand

Media Release

 

The Other Side of the Sunset, by Antonella Sarti Evans traces the multi-faceted influence of Italians and their culture in New Zealand over the last six decades.

 

Through vivid stories and historical insight, this book reveals how Italian culture has woven itself deeply into the fabric of Aotearoa, creating rich and unexpected connections between languages, traditions, professions and ways of life. 

 

From post-war migrants to the highly skilled newcomers of today, Antonella spent many hours over a two year period undertaking new research interviewing a wide range of New Zealanders who all have cultural ties to Italy.  

 

“I spoke with people who often started by saying they didn’t think they had a story to tell, only to still be talking two or three hours later” says Antonella as she reflects on the many migrants, their descendants and whānau she spoke with across kitchen tables, workrooms, garages and gardens all over New Zealand.

 

“As an Italian-Kiwi myself, I’ve always been able to notice Italian cultural influences in New Zealand day to day life, but this was an opportunity to delve a lot deeper and to document that impact; from food, design, cinema, and the arts - to architecture, restauration, sustainability, marine biology, geology and cutting-edge innovation.”

 

As an academic and writer, Antonella conducted comprehensive historical research alongside her many hours of one-on-one interviews. Her research, (partially funded by a Manatū Taonga, NZ Ministry for Culture and Heritage grant), took her deep into New Zealand archives, statisics and news stories of the past. 

 

Antonella says that one of the special areas of focus of her book, is the cultural and historical connections between Italians and tangata whenua in Aotearoa, that have enriched the nation's understanding of cross-cultural relationships.

 

“Italians often feel at instantly at home with Māori people in Aotearoa and vice versa.  I believe that exposure to the languages and cultures of different countries is an important part of a nation’s growth from many perspectives. Cross-cultural understanding is essential to achieve broader insight, more successful communication, and a deeper knowledge of history.  Connections are the soul of NZ identity.”

 

Antonella’s Italian-Māori interviews featured in the book include Rob Mokaraka, (co-author of film Maunga Cassino and play Strange Resting Places with Paolo Rotondo); Tu Sciascia (the youngest son of kaumātua Prof Piri Sciascia), Sir Horomona Horo (a national taonga in playing taonga pūoro), Patricia Grace (acclaimed author of TU, the historical novel based on the 28th Māori Battalion’s campaign in Italy), Kawiti Waetford (first opera singer in te reo), as well as some of the Italian–Māori families of former tunnellers from Turangi.

 

At its heart says Antonella, the book is a vibrant tapestry of resilience, creativity, and cultural exchange an ongoing story that continues to shape New Zealand society. 

 

“I think this will resonate with both the Italian and Kiwi community as the book is all about celebrating the extraordinary contributions Italians have made to Kiwi culture and the pride that many Kwis take in their Italian connections too.” 

ABOUT ANTONELLA SARTI-EVANS

Antonella Sarti Evans is an Italian-born translator, writer, and Italian-language teacher based in Wellington, New Zealand. 

 

She holds a PhD in “Literatures of English speaking countries” with a specialization in New Zealand contemporary literature from Università di Roma, La Sapienza. 

 

She has taught at Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka and at Circolo Italiano di Wellington for a number of years. Currently, she is a lecturer in Italian at the House of Philosophy.

Antonella’s main contribution lies in researching and translating New Zealand literature into Italian. 

 

She translated works by prominent New Zealand authors — e.g. Janet Frame, Patricia Grace, Robin Hyde, Vivienne Plumb, Hone Tuwhare, Apirana Taylor, Anahera Gildea, Kiri Piahana-Wong, Maringikura Mary Campbell — making them accessible to Italian readership, including novels Pōtiki and Tu by Patricia Grace and Janet Frame’s The Lagoon and Other Stories. She edited a selection of contemporary Māori women’s poetry translated into Italian in parallel text — Matariki, sciame di stelle (2020) — and the anthology Let it Rain E Ua Te Ua: Tukuna ki teMārama — Poetry from Aotearoa in Multilingual Translation (te reo Māori, Cook Island Māori, English, Italian, French and Japanese) along with Maringikura Mary Campbell (2023).

 

A special course coming up in June: Vita Romana — Life in Ancient Rome

 

Vita Romana: Life in Ancient Rome 

What did it mean to be Roman two thousand years ago? This course explores beyond emperors, coups, and battles to consider the lived experiences that shaped daily life in the ancient world. Using both written sources and archaeological evidence, we will uncover how Romans grew up, worked, played, aged, and commemorated the milestones of life and death. Designed for newcomers and history enthusiasts alike, this course offers a window into the everyday world of ancient Rome.

Each session will end with 30 minutes for coffee and discussion. This is a relaxed space to ask questions, delve into your favourite topics, or simply enjoy chatting about Rome with others who share a passion for history.

(The language of instruction for this course is English.)

 

Instructor:

Saskia Herren is an expert in Latin language and literature who has taught and tutored courses in Roman history and religion, Latin, and Ancient Greek language at the University of Auckland. In 2020, Saskia was the Provost Scholar at Worcester College in Oxford where she researched Latin magical texts. Her research explores representations of gender and power in Greek and Latin literature.

 

Class Schedule: 

Class 1, 6 June, 2-3:30pm: Who and what is Roman? + Roman Childhood

Class 2, 13 June, 2-3:30pm: Roman Work

Class 3, 20 June, 2-3:30pm: Roman Play

Dante Rooms, Freemans Bay Community Centre, Freemans Bay (entrance in Pratt St.).

 

The lessons will last an hour and a half (including 30 minutes of discussion and coffee). The full course will cost 80$, but you can also attend individual lessons for 30$.

The course will start in June and will take place on Saturday.

To enrol email info@dante.org.nz  

Payment can be made online (a/c 02-0192-0309263-00)

Introduction to Dante's Comedy Life,Works, The Divine Comedy, Inferno and readings

A seminar at the School of Philosophy, Auckland

taught in English by Dr Antonella Sarti Evans and lecturer Flavia Flamini

Saturday morning, 9 May, from 9am to 12.3O pm

Saturday afternoons, 9 May, from 2pm to 4.30 pm

Sunday morning, 10 May from 9 am to 12.30 pm.

School of Philosophy

268 West Tamaki Road

Wai O Taiki Bay, Auckland

Fees: 60 NZD for the whole seminar.

Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea will be provided. Costs included in the fees.

For more information, get in touch with Nigel Rankin

apn.rankin@gmail.com

m.021 495 428

 

"L’anno delle mille vite" di Heddi Goodrich

Dopo il successo di Perduti nei Quartieri Spagnoli (2019) (che è stato presentato anche nella nostra sede della Dante a Freemans Bay) e L’americana (2021), la nostra membra e amica Heddi Goodrich torna alla pubblicazione con un nuovo romanzo, L’anno delle mille vite appena uscito con Bompiani. 

Heddi è al momento in Italia per un ciclo di presentazioni, ma sarà ancora una volta nostra ospite qui ad Auckland nel proseguo dell'anno, per un incontro con i nostri membri e studenti. 

Stay tuned!!! 

L’anno delle mille vite, (2026) Bompiani

Il 69 dopo Cristo è chiamato dagli storici “l’anno dei quattro imperatori”. In un brevissimo volgere di tempo, alla morte di Nerone, si avvicendano Galba, Otone, Vitellio e, alla fine, Vespasiano, che reggerà l’impero per dieci anni. Non è un periodo tormentato solo per la storia, perché è come se l’inquietudine si estendesse alla terra stessa che, a Ercolano, nel cuore della Campania felix, si agita, squassata da tremori, tempeste, un’insonne attività che evoca oscuri presagi. In questo luogo mai così vitale proprio mentre si trova sull’orlo della catastrofe, in questa ricca città in cui i commerci si mescolano con il fervore delle scuole filosofiche, una donna romana, Turia, sposata con il mercante Felice, una famiglia da gestire con l’aiuto di servi, precettori e della schiava egizia Anù, che mentre scioglie i nodi della sua chioma le narra le leggende degli dèi che abitano la favolosa valle del Nilo, affida la sua vita interiore a un lungo monologo. Parole che hanno un destinatario, un uomo che non è suo marito: il centurione Marco Gavio Firmo, ufficiale della leggendaria XXI legione Rapax. Ferito e momentaneamente ritirato dal fronte, Firmo viene assunto da Felice per occuparsi della formazione militare del figlio maschio. È un uomo riservato, di poche parole, abituato alla disciplina rigida dell’esercito, ma sotto i suoi silenzi e nei laconici insegnamenti che impartisce al figlio Turia intuisce un animo sensibile, una trattenuta dolcezza. A questo ignaro confidente, lontano eppure incredibilmente vicino, una donna romana trova il coraggio di raccontare la sua ricchissima attività immaginativa che, per quanto reclusa tra le pareti della domus, spazia tra paure, sogni e turbamenti raccontati con una stupefacente sensibilità nella loro aderenza a un’epoca remota eppure attualissima, specchio dell’anima di ogni donna, immutabile, senza tempo. 

HEDDI GOODRICH 

Heddi Goodrich, nata negli Stati Uniti nel 1971 e cresciuta a Washington, ha studiato in Italia all’Istituto universitario Orientale di Napoli. Ha pubblicato, con Giunti, Perduti nei Quartieri Spagnoli (2019) e L’americana (2021). 

Attualmente vive con la sua famiglia ad Auckland, in Nuova Zelanda. Tradotta in molti paesi, scrive in italiano.