It Was A Night of Knights!

We hosted our Festa della Repubblica and Italy’s 150^th Anniversary of the Unification event at the Club Saturday night… and what a night it was!

Following a welcoming reception, we began the night with a performance by I Colori Italiani, our Italian folk dance troupe from the Italian Club.  Our guests then followed a procession of the flags of Italy and the United States into the dining area. 

Leading the flag procession was US Army Major General Keith Thurgood.  The flag of Italy was presented by Colonel Gianluca Piccolomini, Commander RAMI of the Italian Air Force at Sheppard Air Force base who was joined by several members of the Italian Air Force.  The flag of the United States was presented by retired US Air Force Colonel and the current Mayor of Parker, Texas, Joe Cordina.

With the colors in place, the guest joined in rousing versions of the Italian and American national anthems led by soprano Marsha Anderson and tenor Ron Montgomery.

Next up, I had the honor of introducing the many dignitaries and guests attending.  Our special guest for the evening was the Consul General of Italy, Fabrizio Nava who was joined by the Consul Generals from the countries of Finland, Japan, Malta, Mexico, Peru, Romania and the Slovak Republic.  Rounding out the list of dignitaries were Castro County Judge William Sava, General Director and CEO of the Dallas Opera Keith Cerney, COO of American Eagle Airlines Fred Cleveland and Sr. Executive VP of Flight Operations at American Eagle, Captain Jim Winkley.

The President of Com.It.es (the Italians’ living abroad committee) Vincenzo Arcobelli then presented remarks which included a moving video paying tribute to the 150^th Anniversary of the Italian unification.  Mr. Arcobelli was followed by Consul General Nava who shared some very special moments.

Mr. Nava began with the reading the declaration passed through the Texas legislature designating June 2 as Italian Heritage Day in Texas.  He then presented two “Star of Solidarity” Knighthood Awards as declared by the Italian President to the Chair of the Castro County Historical Commission Miss Clara Vick and to the Distinguished Professor of Art History at Southern Methodist University Dr. P. Gregory Warden.

Consul General Nava, Rita and Clara Vick, Vincenzo Arcobelli and myself

With the formalities completed, our guests enjoyed a wonderful four-course meal prepared by our Chef Tomasso.  Following dinner were performances of Italian Art Songs and arias by Marsha Anderson and Ron Montgomery and the fitting conclusion of the evening was the singing of Happy Birthday (in Italian) as Consul General Nava, Mr. Arcobelli and myself cut the beautiful birthday cake.

As an American-Italian, I have to say this was one of my proudest evenings at the Italian Club of Dallas.  The evening had the perfect balance of protocol, history, emotion, hospitality, friendship and entertainment and it was a wonderful representation of our Italian heritage and traditions.  I was honored to have played a small role in the evening.