Melbourne Celebrates the Legend of Pinocchio During the 26th Italian Language Week

(ANSA) - ROMA, 27 OTT - The 26th edition of Italian Language Week Around the World concluded on Sunday, October 25; this year’s theme was “A Brilliant Language: Conceiving, Designing, and Creating with Italian.” Sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation under the high patronage of the President of the Republic, the Melbourne event featured an evening dedicated to Carlo Collodi as one of its highlights. On October 21, marking the 200th anniversary of the author’s birth, the Consulate General of Italy and the Italian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with the Italian Studies departments at the Universities of Melbourne, Monash, and La Trobe, presented the event “Pinocchio: 200 Years of Collodi in Literature, Film, and Creativity” at the University of Melbourne, under the patronage of the Carlo Collodi National Foundation and the National Committee for the Celebrations of the Bicentennial of Carlo Collodi’s Birth. In her opening remarks, Consul General Chiara Mauri noted how Pinocchio has spanned generations, borders, and various artistic disciplines, representing one of the most beautiful creative expressions of our literature. Following a presentation by Roberto Vezzani, secretary-treasurer of the National Committee and librarian of the Foundation, a panel of specialists from the three universities explored Collodi’s work through the various lenses of literature, history, gastronomy, iconography, and cinema, as well as translation and education. Italian students also presented a performance inspired by the puppet’s adventures, while an exhibition of historical editions accompanied the evening. Finally, the event provided an opportunity for the official introduction of the new director of the Italian Institute in Melbourne, Stefano Scaramuzzino. In addition to this initiative, the Consulate General and the Italian Cultural Institute promoted a program of events in Melbourne organized in collaboration with their partners: a singing performance in Italian by the “Piccole Voci Geniali” choir and students from Victorian schools participating in the “Student Talent Show” as part of the Italian Melbourne Festa & Expo; the “Pinocchio in Schools” project organized by the local Com.It.Es at the city’s two bilingual schools; the Poetry Recitation Contest, organized by the Dante Alighieri Society of Melbourne; and the “Globo Talk Show,” segments recorded by students from the bilingual schools “Brunswick South” and “Footscray” at the Italian radio and television station “Il Globo.”
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