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E-book
Author Faedda, Barbara, author.

Title From Da Ponte to the Casa italiana : a brief history of Italian studies at Columbia University / Barbara Faedda
Published New York : Columbia University Press, 2017

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Description 1 online resource
Contents The dawn of Italian studies at Columbia University : Lorenzo da Ponte, Mozart's librettist and adventurous exile in New York (1825-1838) -- After Da Ponte, the arrival of patriot and refugee Eleuterio Felix Foresti (1838-1911) -- The Casa Italiana : the realization of an ambitious dream (1920s) -- Prezzolini, controversial Casa director, and World War II (1930s and 1940s) -- Appendix A: From Lorenzo da Ponte to Charles V. Paterno : Libri Italiani at Columbia University / Meredith Levin -- Appendix B: The anatomy of the Casa Italiana's façade / Francesco Benelli -- Appendix C: The Casa Italiana educational bureau : a research "fact-finding institution" on the Italian-American community / Javier Grossutti
Summary "The Casa Italiana--a neo-Renaissance palazzo located on Amsterdam Avenue near 117th Street--has been the most important expression of the Italian presence on Columbia University's campus since its construction in 1927. As a site of interdisciplinary scholarship and promotion of Italian culture, the Casa Italiana has made a substantial contribution to the academic study of Italy in America and the understanding of Italian cultural identity abroad. Celebrating the Casa's ninetieth anniversary, From Da Ponte to the Casa Italiana documents and recounts the history of the individuals, both Italian and American, who contributed to the formation of Columbia University's rich tradition of Italian studies. Barbara Faedda's succinct yet detailed historical survey begins at the dawn of Italian studies at Columbia with Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart's witty librettist who became the charismatic founder of the New York Metropolitan Opera and Columbia's first professor of Italian. Covering figures such as the former revolutionary Eleuterio Felice Foresti, Faedda elucidates the complex and often controversial dimensions of the Casa's history, highlighting protagonists such as Giuseppe Prezzolini and Nicholas M. Butler as well as Italian American students and community members. The Casa played a significant role in U.S.-Italian relations from its foundation, and at one point it came under fire, accused of ties to Mussolini and pro-Fascist leanings. Synthesizing archival documents with the work of historians, From Da Ponte to the Casa Italiana tells the compelling stories of the Casa and several of its leading figures, whose influence on the university can still be felt today"--Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Da Ponte, Lorenzo, 1749-1838.
Foresti, E. Felix (Eleutario Felix), 1789-1858.
Prezzolini, Giuseppe, 1882-1982
SUBJECT Foresti, E. Felix (Eleutario Felix), 1789-1858 fast
Da Ponte, Lorenzo, 1749-1838 fast
Prezzolini, Giuseppe, 1882-1982 fast
Subject Columbia University. Casa italiana -- History
Columbia University -- Biography
SUBJECT Columbia University fast
Columbia University. Casa italiana fast
Subject Scholars -- New York (State) -- New York -- Biography
College teachers -- New York (State) -- New York -- Biography
HISTORY -- United States -- 20th Century.
HISTORY -- Europe -- Italy.
Education, Higher
College teachers
International relations
Scholars
SUBJECT Italy -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- New York (State) -- New York
Italy -- Relations -- United States
United States -- Relations -- Italy
Subject Italy
New York (State) -- New York
United States
Genre/Form Biographies
History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780231546409
0231546408