The talk was included in the seminar “Transgressive Italian: An Expanded Language for the Co-existence of Differences,” taught by , Assistant Professor of Italian in the Departamento de Lenguas y Cultura. It also embraced students from Dr. Alessandra Merlo’s class on Italian Cinema and the theory seminar taught by Visiting Professor, Dr. Chloe Rutter-Jensen.

Dr. Fiore remarked: “I have presented this book on multiple occasions in the U.S. and Italy, but sharing my research in Latin America, and with trans-languaging modality that embraced Italian and Spanish as part of the exchange with the audience, has been quite special to me, especially since it may open up new spaces for collaborative academic endeavors.”

Indeed, the visit was also an opportunity to consider future synergies among faculty for curriculum expansion with an eye toward the role of cinema in the Italian curriculum as well as emigration from Italy to Colombia and vice versa, with possible shared initiatives around the Memoria Presente digital archive.

See
See book’s webpage
Short link: tinyurl.com/FioreAndes

The delegation (see photo on top) that Teresa Fiore was part of included: the mayor of Agrigento, Francesco Micciché; the President of the University Consortium of Agrigento, Nenè Mangiacavallo; the project director, Roberto Albergoni; the project manager Margherita Orlando; the director of Farm Cultural Park, Florinda Saieva; the President of the Opera Cardinal Ferrari, Milan, Prof. Pasquale Seddio; City rep Costantino Ciulla; General Director of Coop Culture, Letizia Casuccio. The National President of FAI, Marco Magnifico was not able to be present, while the President of the Sicilian Regional Assembly Gaetano Galvagno attended.

As Roberto Albergoni has remarked: “The proclamation of Agrigento as Italian Capital of Culture 2025 commits us to carry out the participatory project approved by the Ministry focusing on art and culture in dialogue with the local communities as well as the international one, which includes university faculty and students with their scholarly contributions on the topical themes of environment, digital communication and new mobility.”

 

 

“It was a great honor and joy to be part of a delegation that worked as a well-integrated team.” Teresa Fiore added. “This project is giving me the chance to ‘return’ to my hometown in a unique way, leveraging my professional experience in cultural and migration studies, while remaining in tune with the very personal emotions that this special opportunity elicits. I look forward to connecting the academic and artistic world of the Tri-State area with Agrigento and its province, as an extension of the work I have done at �鶹��ý���� for over a decade in line with the internationalization of its educational and cultural offer.”

Read the full presentation by Teresa Fiore and .

Watch the proclamation of Agrigento (at 30’40”):

Short link: https://tinyurl.com/AG2025

From left: Prof. Marina Cacioppo (UNIPA), Prof. Teresa Fiore (MSU) and Prof. Laura Restuccia (UNIPA).

“This has been a very special opportunity,” Prof. Fiore noted. “I am grateful to – a researcher active in Italian American Studies – for inviting me to submit a proposal as part of the 2023 competition and coordinating the implementation, to for her support during the seminar, and, of course, to the students who attended the classes with such a genuine interest in discussing works about past and present migration experiences. I was impressed by their commitment to the intensive nature of the seminar, their ability to analyze diverse films and writings, and their competence level in English.”

Prof. Teresa Fiore teaching the seminar at UNIPA

Prof. Marina Cacioppo remarked that “the seminar held by Prof. Fiore was an exciting dive into our past. At a time when Italy is for many the ‘New World’, discovering our history as immigrants was enlightening for our minds. Through film excerpts, letters, role-plays, historical analysis and online quizzes, Professor Fiore was able to engage us and keep our interest high. I am very pleased with this experience.” Films constituted the pivotal source of the seminar aimed at creating connections across spaces and times: from Spike Lee’s discussion of the complex relationships between Italian Americans and African Americans to address racism in Italy to Giuliano Montaldo’s inquiry into the controversial anarchist movement to examine contemporary forms of dissent and institutional responses. “Being a movie enthusiast,” student Christian Sarno, “the choice of watching a selection of movies and discussing them together was an effective way of familiarizing with this complex overlapping and intertwining of past and present migrations in and out of Italy.”

“We are very grateful to Prof. Teresa Fiore for her interesting and stimulating seminar which, with its interdisciplinary approach, brought together students of Italian Studies and American Literature,” as student Martina Guardino stated, Indeed, the seminar addressed a mixed group of students, including a Ph.D. candidate originally from Ukraine. In recognizing the relevance of the seminar’s content, Elena Moskalenko added: “My work on the Ph.D. dissertation benefited greatly from the materials provided by Prof. Fiore.”

The Humanities Department on the UNIPA campus

This seminar is the latest addition to a series of programs that have connected the University of Palermo and �鶹��ý���� on academic endeavors. In the past few years, faculty and students have been part of class units such as the COIL (Collaborative International Learning) about Aztec chocolate in Mexico, Sicily and the U.S.; presentation of conference papers such as the one Prof. Fiore at an online MEMITÀ ); and publications (an article by Prof. Fiore will soon be published in an issue of the journal edited by faculty members of the University of Palermo). The general feeling about these initiatives is summed up in Martina Guardino’s words: “We hope our collaboration will continue in the future.”

Short link: https://tinyurl.com/FioreUNIPA23

The centerpiece of the programming was Teatro delle Albe’s powerful play, Rumore di Acque (Noise in the Waters), which addresses the perils of asylum seekers and economic migrants attempting to reach Europe from North Africa by way of the Mediterranean Sea. The moving performance was followed by a Q&A session with the playwright and director, Marco Martinelli.

Musician brothers, Enzo and Lorenzo Mancuso, known as Fratelli Mancuso, brought their unique sound to Leshowitz Hall for a concert/workshop entitled, “Sicilian Music Revisited.” The Mancusos sang some of the highlights of their repertoire, which consists of an eclectic mix of sacred music, lullabies, and songs of protest. They also invited select participants to join them on stage to sing the love song, “Nesci, Maria.”

Teatro delle Albe co-founders, Marco Martinelli and Ermanna Montanari, ran the theater workshop that was attended by students of the Department of Theatre and Dance as well as select high school students of Italian who were invited to visit the campus. Conducted entirely in Italian, the workshop included work in movement, breathing and singing.

“Spanning both large and intimate settings, these visiting artists from Italy provided the �鶹��ý���� community with opportunities to learn, to be challenged and perhaps most importantly, to be part of a warm community that cherishes intellectual pursuits in the humanities and beyond,” says Teresa Fiore, associate professor and Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies. “I am profoundly grateful to the Inserra Endowment for what it allows us to bring to our campus.”

Video by Stefani Gore.