On May 20, Calandra hosted the last of our spring series events: a screening of Stephen Mancini's documentary Fedeltà: Soldati. Prigionieri. The film was followed by a Q&A facilitated by Dr. Joseph Sciorra.

Religions, Beliefs, and the Supernatural in Italy and across Italian Mobilities April 24–25, 2026 Religious practices, policies, tensions, and conflicts have been a defining feature of the construction of the modern Italian state and its struggle to assert a national identity while in the shadow of the Catholic Church. Various religious communities, such as Jews and Waldensians, and most recently Muslims and Buddhists, have had to contend with the dominance of Catholicism in Italy’s political and cultural spheres. Italy’s colonial and imperial projects in Africa and in the Mediterranean racialized religious differences as aspects of warfare and violent subjugation. Religious beliefs and practices have also shaped the ways in which Italian migrants were seen and understood in new environs, especially in Protestant-dominant countries like the United States. This conference builds on recent scholarship in the field of religious studies and Italian mobility studies to explore new avenues of research. For more information, please click here.

Abstracts Due: July 1, 2025 Italian American “cause célèbre” and “anarchist martyrs” Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed by the State of Massachusetts on August 23, 1927. Almost a full 100 years later, their names remain important touchstones around the world for migration activists and working-class radicals. The memory of Sacco and Vanzetti has been preserved and recreated through cultural and political manifestations over the ensuing years. While rooted in the diasporic Italian-anarchist communities of which they were a part, these manifestations across the globe—in music and art, in plays and novels, in strikes and street protests—long ago transcended those origins and remain significant to this day. The Italian American Review seeks essays for a special issue dedicated to a re-thinking and re-articulation of the meaning of Sacco and Vanzetti both historically and today. In addition to submissions related to a revisiting of the details of their trial (and related murders) and the anarchist background from which they emerged, we especially invite submissions that focus on lesser explored themes in the historiography, including the global reach of their defense campaign, the impact of the failed fight to save their lives, how this struggle was used by various groups who rallied to their cause in the 1920s, and what they mean to those who have continued to commemorate their deaths with various actions and gatherings ever since. For more information, click here.

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. Click here to see the catalog from the exhibition. 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

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.