Articles by: Emily Hayes

Despite a steep decline in foreign language studies in the United States, the number of Italian language students is growing. A report on the “General States of the Italian Language,” presented in October 2018 by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, revealed that the number of university students studying Italian in the United States increased from 64,449 in 2016 to 73,479 in 2018. The number of Italian language students at all levels and grades increased by 14% nationally. As more universities forgo foreign language requirements and government funding cuts international education, what is causing this rise in Italian language programs?

 

A relatively small country, Italy has a population of 60 million inhabitants. Meanwhile, American and British power in the global economy has propelled English as one of the most commonly spoken languages in the world. Students in the United States are therefore less compelled to learn another language, particularly one they feel will not help them directly in their chosen career.

 

However, Italy is the most popular non-English speaking destination abroad for American university students, according to a report from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Italy has always played an alluring, fantastical role in the foreign imagination, dating back centuries to the traditional “Grand Tours” of upper-class European men traveling there as a rite of passage. A vibrant country pulsing with ancient and Renaissance history, priceless artworks, breathtaking landscape, and rich, fertile soil that produces one of the healthiest diets in the world, Italy is the home of an enriching lifestyle.

 

Maria Fusco left her native Rome in September of 2016 to become Director of the Education Office at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC. She wanted to promote her beloved country’s language and culture overseas, in a place that would make a significant difference.

 

“It is time to consider learning a foreign language as one of the most important aspects – and assets – of education. When we learn another language, we embrace the cultural heritage of the country – and are enriched by it. We become more open-minded,” Fusco wrote, addressing the importance of foreign language programs in American schools.

 

With almost thirty years of experience teaching foreign languages and literatures at all levels in Italy, Fusco used education to inspire change in her students, in her community, and within the education system.

 

In Rome, Fusco became the first female principal at I.I.S. de Pinedo-Colonna, a technical institute that prepares future pilots and sailors.

 

It was a “natural turning point” in her career to become a school principal in 2008, and guide other teachers in improving education. Her current role is an extension of that work globally, as she advocates for teachers and students of Italian language and culture in the United States.

 

“I strongly believe in the need to motivate and encourage teachers and students. Thanks to the close collaboration between the Embassy of Italy and Eduitalia, an association that includes 94 Italian schools and universities, several scholarships for study trips to Italy are annually assigned to the most deserving teachers and students of Italian,” Fusco shared. This is a novel idea and an opportunity for American teachers and students to learn how to accommodate different cultures, work with a diverse group of colleagues, and gain a global perspective in an increasingly globalized world.

 

And perhaps no one else is more qualified to direct the implementation of programs like these than Fusco. She has previously served as principal of Aldo Moro, an Italian school in Bucharest, Romania that accepts students of any nationality. The experience, according to Fusco, “widened my cultural horizons and set me on a course to seeking working experiences outside of Italy.”

 

The different socio-cultural reality she lived as an educator and advisor in Bucharest after the anti-Communist revolution provided a new perspective on “the positive and negative aspects of the Italian school system.”

 

Foreign language skills, however, remained a priority.

 

Fusco’s experience extends beyond working with children and young adults. As principal of the Provincial Centers for Adult Education, she developed foreign language teaching activities and methodology for foreign adults working in Italy.

 

“I learned that teaching Italian to non-native speakers is very different because, beyond grammar, the communicative approach is crucial. And it is very challenging,” Fusco added.

 

With the number of American expats residing in Rome, Fusco views her position in the United States as “the symbolic completion of my professional career. Each step has prepared me for this job.”

 

The culmination of her impressive résumé, tied with a deep devotion to her native Italian language, led her to the Italian Embassy, where she coordinates seven education offices in the United States network, including Washington, DC, New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami, San Francisco, and their surrounding areas.

 

Thanks to the approval of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between the Embassy of Italy and the state and county school authorities in the United States, Fusco is involved in organizing training for teachers of the Italian language, and advocates for the need of Italian courses in local schools.

 

“The Memoranda are institutional frameworks in which both the Embassy – or the Italian Consulates – and the Department of Education of the United States take responsibility for the expansion of Italian language and cultural education. Thus, we were able to include Italian courses in the curricula of designated elementary and middle schools, with a view to taking the Italian AP exam,” Fusco explained.

 

“The whole course is a certification of sorts of the Italian language program,” she continued, referring to the opportunity to earn college credit for a course before American students even graduate from high school.

 

Students who pursue Italian language study through the AP exam will “have access to the competitive and affordable Italian university system.” In Italy, the maximum expense for a state or public university does not exceed three thousand euros, for the students who are adventurous enough to move there for a degree. If students take Italian language courses in middle and high schools, they are more apt to take them in college, where most Italian language programs have been cut.

 

Data from College Board, the organization that administers the SAT and AP exams, has shown a growth in Italian language AP test takers by 14% compared to last year, demonstrating the program’s success in embracing the American trend of standardized testing. This percentage of growth is higher than other common foreign language programs offered, including Chinese, Spanish, Japanese, and German. The number of schools offering the test in the United States also increased from 460 to 487.

 

The Italian government allocates funds annually to "enti gestori", or nonprofit organizations committed to fostering the growth of Italian language courses in both public and private schools in the United States. These funds, along with an annual strategic plan approved by the Ambassador of Italy to the United States, Armando Varricchio, will “help keep the positive growth trend in Italian AP exams.”

 

Italian and Italian-American Associations also play a major role in this work, including the Italian Institutes of Culture found in major American cities. Fusco emphasized the importance of these organizations working together under a common goal: “So, as you can see, behind all these outstanding results and numbers there is incredible teamwork – 'un gioco di squadra vincente.'” 

 

Through a new Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and the District of Columbia, finalized on February 13, 2019, the two entities agreed to collaborate to provide new opportunities for students and teachers to increase understanding of the Italian language and culture. This includes methods American students will find appealing, such as professional development, virtual and in-person exchanges between students in the two countries, and curricular resources.

 

“Another important step for the development of Italian language programs at all levels here in the United States,” emphasized Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to the United States.

 

“More and more American students are now interested in learning our beautiful language and we need more agreements like the one signed with the DC Public Schools Administration to reach out to them and train new teachers.”

 

According to the Strategic Plan approved by the National Observatory of the Italian Language in the United States, the increase in the number of Italian language students is linked to appropriate training for qualified teachers. The Embassy of Italy organizes two training days each year in cooperation with participating universities, and creates targeted handbooks for principals, superintendents, and counselors, also key players in the American school system.

 

“I am convinced that the key to the academic success of students is the teacher. 'I bravi maestri', good teachers, are those who truly motivate students to learn Italian, and teach it as a 'lingua viva', an idiom that is very much alive and used in different fields, including by the business community. This overcomes stereotypes or commonplaces regarding Italy and Italians,” Fusco said of her work at the Embassy.

 

There are many Italian Americans in the United States – they make up about 5% of the total population. Their ancestors immigrated to the country searching for better living conditions. But their grandchildren and great-grandchildren often choose to learn Italian in school to connect with their heritage and culture. Communicating in the native language allows students to embrace their family and homeland in a deeper, more valuable way than translations in English allow.

 

Budget cuts to foreign language education reflect a larger reluctance in Americans to learn a foreign language, since English is steadily rising as the global language. Yet Fusco’s experience in the United States has revealed an undying reverence of Italian art, history, and culture, along with a willingness to protect the language in school systems. This strong admiration and regard derives from immigrants maintaining their Italian family traditions, communities, and food. It is also supported by stories passed down through generations.

 

“I was able to touch, firsthand, the love this great country bears toward all things Italian and our ‘way of life.’ I have been privileged to see how Italian heritage is intrinsically intertwined with US culture. I am deeply moved by the overwhelming generosity. Associations almost seem to be in competition as to who gives the most to best testify, through their help, their strong and enduring bond for their far away, yet so near, Bella Italia.”

 

With this support, and all the “brave maestre” like Maria Fusco, the Embassy of Italy is promoting Italian language programs across the country.

Stark white cloth covered seven chairs set in a semi-circle around the stage. Front and center stood a small stand, which was also covered in white cloth. The audience anxiously chatted in anticipation of a rare, intimate performance at the Embassy of Italy. Normally, a bright screen would be pulled down or a panel for speakers squared along the edges of the stage, for a discussion of something abstract and intangible to the audience. The evening of October 25, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura brought to Washington, DC an all too real and relevant performance.

 

Voices emerged from the back of the small room, as if the women arising and speaking were audience members themselves. But as people turned to glance behind them, it was clear the voices were emanating from another era. Seven women in simple, floor-length dresses of various modest colors wound towards the stage. Their cheeks had a celestial glow as the distinct characters came alive around the room. Eyes glued on one another, they cast an invisible web of connection over the audience. Once they had reached their respective positions, they began to pound a beat in unison with their hands, crying out in song: “the heart that dwells within my breast is free, I belong to only me.”

 

These exact words were originally written over 400 years ago by Modesta Pozzo, under the pseudonym Moderata Fonte. A Venetian woman who was something of an anomaly, Pozzo was a married mother who produced literature in genres that were commonly considered “masculine” – the chivalric romance and the literary dialogue. As is not surprising for a woman writer of that time, her work was not well known during her lifetime, most likely due to the progressive and modern nature of her work. It was only after she died of childbirth in 1592 that her book The Worth of Women: Wherein is Clearly Revealed Their Nobility and Superiority to Men became popular in an ironic way.

 

In 1595, Italian writer Giuseppe Passi published his work The Defects of Women, which became such a sensation in Italy that other writers expanded on it with more nonsensical slanders against women. Pozzo’s The Worth of Women was published as a response and an alternative voice to the sexist dialogues that arose from The Defects of Women. In this book, Pozzo created a conversation among seven Venetian noblewomen. Their dialogue explored every aspect of women’s existence in both theoretical and practical terms, as mothers, wives, daughters, and lovers. As the play version of the book unfolded, it was clear many of Pozzo’s arguments could still inform discussions of gender equality today.

 

“Men boast about things that bring women shame… you have to consider that history is written by men… we are only subject to men the way we are subject to natural disasters, they are something you tolerate…” Each of the seven characters, differing in age and experience, took turns debating adultery, jealousy, sex, gender equality, and the responsibility of husbands, fathers, sons, and lovers with a striking contemporary accuracy. As they hurtled passionate statements and frequently refilled on wine, the scene on stage seemed more like any woman’s happy hour simultaneously happening across the city than an English translation of Renaissance vernacular literature.

 

Co-directors Laura Caparrotti and Jay Stern realized, after sifting through pages of the hefty text translated into English by Virginia Cox, that a re-contextualization and revitalizing of the vocabulary was not necessary. The quotes they drew and the lively council of characters they spun into a vibrant, witty play had women in the audience chuckling and nodding their heads fervently in agreement.

 

The unrestrained, enthralling performances of the actresses were testimonies to their talent as well as their dedication to the topic. It is no surprise, given that The Worth of Women is a production of the Kairos Theater Company (KIT). The mission of this unique group is to create a cultural exchange program between Italy and the United States “to unveil the artistic and creative sides of each country.”

 

The cast did include a mix of Italian, American, and Italian-American women: Carlotta Brentan, Tali Custer, Marta Mondelli, Caterina Nonis, Irene Turri, Annie Watkins, and the co-director, Laura Caparrotti, who introduced all of them at the end.

 

Caparrotti was born in Rome and earned a degree in the Performing Arts from the Sapienza University. She has also studied independently with Dario Fo, Annie Girardot, and Elsa Wolliaston. In Italy she performed with Giancarlo Cobelli, Mario Carotenuto, and The Teatro Stabile di Torino. In addition to her impressive career as an actress and director, she is also a voice over artist, a teacher, and President and Artistic Director of KIT. As the mother of the youngest woman in the play, Caparrotti acts as judge in the debate and gives “wise council” on marriage to the fiery younger characters who have renounced it: “flatter them and spoil them, earn his trust, and at a certain point you can do what you like.”

 

Most importantly, she is a mentor for the young women in The Worth of Women production. Both on and off stage, their bond was apparent. Caparrotti beamed with pride as the women gathered together for a photo in the grand center of the Embassy, posing like Rosie the Riveter. Murmurs of “sono bravissime” echoed in the lobby.

 

“We began working on this project when the Women’s March was happening right outside our window. This was written 400 years ago and it is still so relevant,” Carlotta Brentan remarked after the show. Her spirited, rebellious rendition of a woman standing firm in her social and financial freedom from a male counterpart, alongside the commanding, satisfying declamations of Annie Watkins as Leonora, gave the audience an arsenal of valuable feminist arguments, and the words of Modesta Pozzo shone in a vivid light in their expressive eyes.

 

Marta Mondelli’s sparkling wit and at times deeply vulnerable performance as the married Lucrezia captivated the audience. She poses the question: “If men are so horrible, what is it about them that makes us love them so?” Her delivery arrested the other characters, and caught the audience in the same web of confusion, as Mondelli steered the momentum of emotion building in the Embassy in a new direction.

 

Their performances were so genuine, their characters so distinct and well conceived. Caterina Nonis and Tali Custer, the young, naïve bride and lover who are still optimistic about the idea of marriage, delivered a faultless candor of innocence as the audience witnessed their slow acceptance of the imprisoning reality for married women.

 

Irene Turri, in her elegant, contemplative portrayal of pregnant and disenchanted Cornelia made the evening all the more real and applicable when Caparrotti introduced the actresses, and revealed Turri was actually pregnant.

 

“This thing is fake,” Turri pulled slightly at the fake pregnancy bump strapped around her torso, “but there is a real one under here,” she gushed with happiness.

 

Perhaps just as moving were the two songs that bookended the play, and the theatrical song and dance about loving men halfway through. The lyrics to the songs were taken from poems by Pozzo, which were not included in the first English translation of The Worth of Women done by Virginia Cox, but were included in the newer translation, The Merits of Women. Erato Kremmida composed the music, and Maggie-Kate Coleman compiled the lyrics.

 

The women urge Leonora (Annie Watkins) to give an oration pleading men to answer the simple question of “why?”

 

“What possible cause do you have for not loving us?” she asks, for to love is to see another as equal, and as capable of the same talents and drive for ambition.

 

The women’s voices grew stronger with each address made directly to the audience, as they formed a row across the stage, a choir for equality.

 

One line in particular stands out, Watkins still addressing an audience of men: “We have made you judges in the case when you are one of the parties.”

 

In Washington, DC, always in the background, but more recently in the forefront, are the political and cultural events shaping our country. In the aftermath of the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, in the rise of the #MeToo movement, and as reproductive freedom for women is threatened, the cast of The Worth of Women proves: “The world cannot shine without women; woman is heart, and breath, and light, and men cannot live without women…”

 

The final lines of the play were raised in song, celebrated with stomps, and chanted freely. The all-female cast drew from the same fire that ignited Modesta Pozzo’s written words centuries ago to proclaim loudly in the capital of the United States: “the heart that dwells within my breast is free, I belong only to me.”