West End Museum Hosts 5th Annual Italian Heritage Month Celebration

October 2014 will mark the fifth year that The West End Museum will host events celebrating Italian Heritage Month. Before Boston’s Old West End was razed in the 1950s urban renewal project that displaced thousands of immigrant families, the neighborhood was a true “melting pot” and home to many Italian-American families. The West End Museum’s month-long celebration honors this former little piece of Italy along with old and new residents of Italian descent.

Pre-registration is required for all events below (except the ongoing Tony DeMarco exhibit) at thewestendmuseum.org/whats_on/event-registration.

Members Gallery Exhibit: Tony DeMarco at the Boston Garden

September 16 through October 25 Free and open to the public during regular Museum hours

Reception: Saturday, October 4; 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Free and open to the public; light refreshments will be served

The exhibit will feature photographs of boxing champ Tony DeMarco’s many matches at the old Boston Garden. The former Welterweight Champion of the World, DeMarco grew up in Boston’s North End but cut his boxing teeth beginning at age 11 at the West End Boys Club. During the 1950s, he fought and defeated the top contenders and champions in his division, winning 58 bouts and capturing the undisputed world title. A National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame inductee, DeMarco has a street named after him (Tony DeMarco Way) and a statue at the intersection of Hanover and Cross Streets in the North End.

Italian Music with The Pillars

Saturday, October 4; 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. $10 Donation / $5 Museum Members

Boston’s latest Italy-inspired musical project, The Pillars, is a band headed by Milan-native singer-songwriter Cristina Vaira and guitarist Alejandro Ramirez Cisneros. The Pillars blend their Italian and Mexican heritages with the American culture and the international environment Vaira and Cisneros encountered as students at Berklee College of Music. The band’s mission is to uplift people’s lives, based on the African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Honoree Night

Tuesday, October 7; 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Free and open to the public; light refreshments will be served

This year’s West End Museum Italian Heritage Month Honorees—recognized for their contributions to preserving the culture of the West End and its rich immigrant history—are Joseph Caruso and Theresa Raso.

Joseph Caruso was born in Italy and moved to the West End with his family at age 7. When the City announced plans to level the neighborhood, Caruso and five friends created a committee to save the West End by rallying residents. Herbert Gans, a Columbia University professor and author of The Urban Villagers said, “This was a time when local neighborhood activism was unknown. They [the committee] labored bravely.” In the 1980s, Caruso continued working to preserve West End history by helping Jim Campano to establish The West Ender newsletter. This honor is being bestowed posthumously; Caruso passed on March 5, 2008.

Theresa Raso grew up in South Boston and married former West Ender Vincent Raso in 1961. They lived in Acton, MA for years, raising four boys. Raso taught school in Cambridge and later worked as an accountant. In 1996, she and her husband moved to the West End. Immediately, Raso got involved with St Joseph’s Church and volunteered with Neighborhood Action (now Oasis) to help feed the homeless. A few years later, she put her accounting skills to work as longtime treasurer of both the West End Civic Association and the West End Community Center. Raso is also one of the founders and organizers of the West End Children’s Festival.

Italian Film Series

All screenings are free and open to the public; pre-registration required

Two Women / La Ciociara (1960; Drama; Starring Sophia Loren & Eleanora Brown)

Thursday, October 9; 6:30 p.m. Honoring Hollywood producer and former West Ender Joseph E. Levine

Film producer Joseph E. Levine (The Graduate, A Bridge Too Far, The Lion in Winter) came from the West End. In 1961, he bought the North American distribution rights to Two Women after seeing just three minutes of raw footage. Based on a novella by Alberto Moravia and directed by Vittorio de Sica, Two Women co-stars Sophia Loren and Eleanora Brown in the respective roles of a mother and daughter displaced from their home during World War II. Levine’s promotional campaign focused on one dramatic and iconic still of Loren. Predicting she would win the Best Actress Academy Award, Levine brought Loren to the U.S. for interviews, purchased large newspaper ads for the film, and made sure Two Women appeared where Academy jury members lived. His efforts paid off when Loren became the first artist to win an Oscar for a foreign-language performance. It is said that Levine “nursed” the film to its ultimate popularity and success.

The Other Pompeii: Life and Death in Herculaneum (2013; BBC Documentary)

Thursday, October 16; 6:30 p.m. Also celebrating Archaeology Month

Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill presents a documentary following the scientific investigation that aims to lift the lid on what life was like in the small Roman town of Herculaneum, moments before it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption. Just 10 miles from Pompeii, 12 arched vaults are telling a whole new story about what life was like before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. They contain the skeletons of no less than 340 people, just 10 percent of the local population, killed by the volcano. Amongst them are the first new skeletons to be found in the area for 30 years, which are now the subject of a groundbreaking scientific investigation.

Love and Anarchy / D’amore E D’anarchia (1973; Romance/Drama; Starring Giancarlo Giannini & Mariangela Melato)

Thursday, October 23; 6:30 p.m. Honoring the work of Italian director and writer Lina Wertmuller

Italian filmmaker Lina Wertmuller wrote and directed this film. She was the first woman nominated for an Academy Award for Directing (1976, Seven Beauties) and remains one of only four women ever nominated for the award. Love and Anarchy is set in fascist Italy before World War II. Giancarlo Giannini won Best Actor at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival for his role as Tonino, a shy young farmer who goes to Rome intending to assassinate Mussolini. Tonino’s contact is Salome, an anarchist prostitute with sad eyes. He starts living in the bordello and immediately falls in love with another young woman working there. Vivid color, a melodic Italian musical score and the sounds of the women’s chatter and laughter form a strong sense of atmosphere, in which a passionate story unfolds against a stunning Italian backdrop with exquisite camera work.

The Great Beauty / La Grande Bellezza (2013; Comedy/Drama; starring Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone & Sabrina Ferilli)

Thursday, October 30; 6:30 p.m. Honoring the work of Italian director and writer Paolo Sorrentino

Naples native Paolo Sorrentino co-wrote and directed this film, which won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as the Golden Globe and BAFTA. The main character is an aging socialite, Jep Gambardella (played by Toni Servillo), who wrote one famous novel in his 20s only to retire into a comfortable life writing cultural columns and throwing parties. Jep seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, he finds himself unexpectedly taking stock of his life. Jep turns his cutting wit on himself and his contemporaries, finally looking past the extravagant nightclubs and parties to find Rome in all its glory: a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.