The exhibition, curated by Laura E. Ruberto and Joseph Sciorra, presents creative work made by Italian soldiers who were imprisoned by the Allied forces during World War II, focusing on those held in the United States. These objects, often made from salvaged materials, ranged in size from a small inlaid ring to a large Catholic chapel with a 65-foot bell tower. There is no archive or collective depository about World War II Italian prisoners of war in Allied hands. To document this creative work, the exhibit pulls from research completed by co-curator Laura E. Ruberto (Berkeley City College), including historical photographs, rare remaining artifacts, oral testimonies, written accounts, family memories, and private collections. The exhibition, designed by Polly Franchini, brings together a selection of these objects, images, and stories to present this little-known history. Highlighting the artistry of incarcerated Italian servicemen (some of whom maintained allegiance to Fascism) is not meant to trivialize the atrocities of war or to minimize the resistance of those who fought at great sacrifice. Rather, it offers an opportunity to reflect on the myriad ways that identity and imagination are shaped materially during the adverse conditions of war. In addition to the Calandra Institute, funding for this exhibit comes from the Australian Research Council and the Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies. ON VIEW May 1, 2025–September 2, 2025 Gallery Hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm EXHIBITION OPENING May 1, 2025, 6pm

Calandra's annual conference, this year titled The Bitter Bread of War: Multidisciplicary Perspectives from Italy and the Diaspora, will take place in person at the Institute Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26, 2025.

Yesterday at the Institute filmmaker Summer Minerva presented her latest film (with co-director Adam Golub), Summer Within, a documentary about the history and tradition of femminielli in Southern Italy. After the screening, Minerva discussed the film with Professor Fred Gardaphè, of Queens College and the Calandra Institute. For more on the film, click here.

On March 20, the Calandra Institute hosted professor and author FK Clementi, who read from her captivating and charming memoir, South of My Dreams. Clementi, born and raised in Rome, came to the US as a young student after having nursed romantic fantasies about New York City. It's safe to say that her trajectory to teaching Holocaust studies at the University of South Carolina was an extremely atypical one for an Italian immigrant: The details are by turns funny, alarming, and downright horrifying. It is a cautionary tale like no other from a newly minted American citizen who has looked at the US from many angles and has a rich and appropriately complex impression of the nation.

On the anniversary of the death of Professor Bob Viscusi, poet, teacher, theorist, friend of the Calandra Institute, we hosted a commemoration of him and his work. The event included readings from the Festschrift put together for him in 2021, This Hope Sustains the Scholar, as well as remembrances from colleagues and friends, some from New York City and others from Italy, joining via ZOOM. Click here to watch the entire event.