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A message from our founder, Leonard S. Paoletta
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Dear Fellow Italian, Italian-American, or
American-Italian:
This letter invites you to join a fledgling organization
known as BACIO. Bacio is the Italian word for “kiss” but
its acronym stands for Bridgeport Area Cultural Italian
Organization. It was founded in 2003 with a mission of
preserving, enhancing and fostering our Italian roots,
culture, heritage and traditions. It was conceived as a
significant effort to preserve our heritage by learning
what our heritage is; what was involved in the day to
day living of our parents and grandparents; what were
the customs of their day for celebrating the great feast
days, what were the foods, what was their world like.
I have struggled to try to put into words a clarion call
to all of Italian ancestry to take measures to preserve
the very best of our heritage and to pass it on as best
we can to the next generation. I could not find the
words to inspire you and to move you to action. So I did
the next best thing: I am including in this letter the
Epilogue of the book “The Proud Italians” written by
Carl A. Pescosolido. After you read it I will add a
little of what BACIO is all about.
“We might well ask what this world would he like if it
were not for the contributions of Italy and her
children. Take away the Italian elements of our society,
and what is left? It would he im possible to speculate.
Not only have the Italians contributed more than their
share to the fabric of our society, they are central to
its very composition. From the dawn of Western
Civilization, Italy has provided leadership,
organization, brilliance and inspiration to every
society she has come in contact with. Without the
influence of Italy, the only certain thing about our
world is that it would be an immeasurably poorer place.
What, for instance, could be expected from a world which
never benefited from the tremendous presence of the
Roman Empire? The Romans not only conquered Europe, they
civilized it. They brought running water, monuments,
schools and libraries into the virtual jungles of
primitive European society. They intro duced the
concepts of city planning, organized governments,
standardized coinage and established laws to backward,
tribal groups. Great Roman thinkers and writers expanded
the limits of the human mind while great Roman generals
and statesmen extended the scope of the Empire itself.
The Romans brought peace, order and learning to the
entire western world and laid the foundations for all of
the many different societies which would later spring up
in ancient Roman lands. The Roman influence lived on
after the end of the Roman Empire in many different
ways. Perhaps the most important exten sion or the
Empire was the Christianizing of Europe. Without the
Romans, who is to say what the state of religion would
he in today’s world? Without the conversion of
Constantine, we might not be living in a Christian world
at all. After three hundred years of fighting against
Christianity, the Romans finally embraced it in such a
way as to ensure its success everywhere. Ten million
people were subjects of Rome when Christianity was
declared the official state religion. Ten million people
were then required by law to declare themselves
Christians. From that moment forward, our world was
formed by Christian thinking.
While the teachings of Christ might well have prevailed
even without the help of the Romans, it was the Roman
Empire which gave Christianity its organization. Without
the Romans, not only would Christianity have had to
fight its way into many different cultures, it would
have had to do so without a universal language that
everybody could understand, and without an underlying
structure. Christianity marched across Europe on the
roads built by Rome, both literally and figuratively.
Not only did the Roman Empire make it easier for
Christianity to dominate Europe, Rome itself became the
center of the Christian world. The city became a holy
city, and pilgrims from near and far came to Italy for
religious enlightenment. Even though Italy itself was
politically fragmented during the Middle Ages, Rome
remained the most important city in Europe. Although the
Roman Empire and Christianity are two great gifts from
Italy, the third gift. the Rinascimento, was perhaps the
greatest of all. The Rinascimento combined the
enlightenment and learning of the Romans, the
spirituality of the Christians and the natural joyous
creativity of Italy to produce one of the most fruit ful,
artistic and exciting periods in human history. The
great painters, sculptors. architects and writers of the
Rinascimento have never been equalled or even
challenged. During the Rinascimento, Italy brought forth
more intellectual, artistic and creative giants than any
country ever has before or since. Not only did Rinasci
mento Italy give us a tremendous number of geniuses, the
Italian humanist movement inspired people from other
countries and showed the whole western world new ways of
seeing.
The advances of the Rinascimento were not limited to the
worlds of art and literature. Italian universities
taught astronomy, mathematics, law and medicine to
students from every Western country. Such great men as
Galileo brought about revolutions in the world of
science, while such brave explorers as Columbus set out
westward to discover new continents. Columbus is such a
towering figure in our history that other countries,
such as Spain, have tried to claim him for their own,
hut the fact remains that Columbus was an Italian born
in Genoa. Although other European countries sponsored
most of the explorations of the New World, Italian
navigators were at the helm of practically every major
American exploration. Even the head of England’s first
great expedition, John Cabot, was really an Italian. We
all should know him by his real name: Giovanni Cabotto.
The great advances of the Rinascimento ensured that
Italy remained the most highly cultured and civilized
place in Europe even though the country itself was
dominated by foreign powers and torn by war. Well into
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Italy was the
land of inspiration for countless people: riot just
artists, writers and architects, but scientists,
politicians and law makers. Many other European
countries owe Italian culture a great debt. France, for
instance, developed her highly cultivated and refined
society under the influence of Italian born leaders such
as Caterina dei Medici. England, as we know it today,
was shaped by Italian ideas and images brought back with
the luggage of the Grand Tourists. Even the English
countryside was remade in the image of Italy.
Where would we be without the Italians? What would the
quality of life be without their countless
contributions? Nowhere, perhaps, would we feel the loss
as deeply as in the world of music. It was an Italian,
Guido d’ Arezzo, who invented the musical scale which
made it possible for music to be recorded precisely, and
from that point on, the art of musical composition
soared to heights never before attained. Italy gave us
as many great composers as she gave us artists, and
Italy’s music brought new inspiration to composers from
all of the countries of Europe. Not only did Italy give
us some of the greatest musicians of all time, she also
gave us almost all of our most important musical
instruments. Imagine a symphony without violins, cellos,
and pianos and you will begin to see how poor the
musical world would be without the Italian contribution.
Now take away the great Italian musical forms, such as
the opera, and the great Italian composers such as Verdi
and the great Italian performers such as Caruso and
Pavarotti. Without the Italian influence, who can say
whether we would even have any classical music at all?
We Americans should be particularly proud of the Italian
roots of our country. America was discovered by
Italians, explored by Italians, and in a large part
built by Italians. … For three thousand years, Italy has
been the cultural leader of the western world, and she
is not about to stop now.
Over the centuries millions of words have been written
about Italy. Every aspect of Italian culture has been
explored and analyzed, every facet of Italian politics
and history has been examined and critiqued, every
beautiful landscape and building has been described and
praised. The one thing lacking in all of the books that
I have ever read or seen is a true perspective on the
greatness of Italy’s contribution to our world from the
beginnings of history up to the present day. Students of
art, music or literature may learn about Italy’s
leadership in their fields without realizing that
Italy’s influence has also extended into practically
every other aspect of their lives. I even know lawyers
who will quote legal terms in Latin without taking
account of the fact that it was the Romans who gave them
their legal principles as well as their legal
vocabulary. This lack of perspective on Italy is what
prompted me to add these few thousand words to the
millions upon millions which already exist praising the
great achievements of the Italian people.
Why is having a better perspective on Italy so
important? It is not simply so that those of us who have
Italian ancestry can be proud of our heritage, nor is it
so that people who do not have Italian roots will treat
those of us who do with respect and reverence. Learning
about our past is the key to understanding our present
and controlling our future. One of Rome’s greatest
writers and orators, Marcus Tullius Cicero, put it best
when he said ‘not to know what happened before we were
born is to remain perpetually a child, for what is the
worth of human life unless it is woven into the life of
our ancestors by the records of history? ”.
BACIO has tried to do its part in carrying on our roots.
We have Italian language classes, a wine making class, a
“Divine Comedy” discussion group, an event a month
involving an Italian movie and a lecture in alternate
months. We put on a spring concert in 2004 and we are
putting on a Christmas concert on December 11, 2005. We
are staging the first CARNEVALE in February 2006. We
just did a Connecticut premiere showing of the Hollywood
movie “Uncle Nino” starring Joe Mantegna, Ann Archer and
Pierrino Mascarino who appeared in the Bridgeport area
promoting the movie and answering questions and signing
photos of himself. We hope to bring this movie back in
the spring of 2006. We also sponsor a truly home-style
dinner in October which we call “Big Night” after the
movie of the same name.
We have plans to bring from Italy cultural events that
portray the kinds of happenings that were part of Italy
since Renaissance days. We plan to get into cooking
classes. We plan to sponsor trips to Italy. We plan to
offer as many things as possible that help fulfill our
mission.
I know this has been a long letter. I hope you are
inspired to join us. The dues are only $60.00 a year for
a family living under one roof. For the first year at
least you will become a member of NIAF (National Italian
American Foundation) – a benefit of your BACIO
membership.
Every organization has two kinds of members: those who
choose to further the aims of the organization by taking
an active role in its doings, and those who appreciate
and support the organization by being a dues paying
member. We need both kinds. My hope is to have every
Italian, Italian-American, and American-Italian join us
so that we can fulfill the mission above stated.
Please do not put this letter and the application aside.
Fill out the card and mail it in today. Too many good
intentions go by the wayside with the lapse of time. If
you need answers, please call me. I so look forward to
enrolling you in BACIO. By the way wouldn’t a membership
in BACIO for your child, parent, grandparent, friend be
a great stocking gift for Christmas?
Very truly yours,
Leonard S. Paoletta |
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