ACCENTi

My mother lived between two worlds. In Rome, Where the folds of family And the beauty of antiquity Resided, And Canada, the place my father chose to move to, in search of something my mother had no part in. Somewhere between these two worlds Lay a promise.

My mother lived between two worlds. In Rome, Where the folds of family And the beauty of…

St John the Baptist (John in the Wilderness) by Caravaggio (c 1604). Photo: F Crescia The life and art of Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio (1571-1610) is currently experiencing a worldwide revival. Three new books on his life were published in 2025 alone, and several documentaries and docudramas have been produced in English and Italian over the last few years.

The Monastero di Sant'Anna di Camprena near the town of Pienza (Tuscany) stood in for the Villa San Girolamo as the setting of the 1997 film The English Patient. Source: camprena.it When I was in grade eleven at St Michaels College School in Toronto, one of our assignments in English class was “Tuscan Villa,” a long poem by Douglas LePan. I remember this poem because it was very rare to see any high school text that referred to Italy in any way.

AICW Conference participants pause during a walking tour of Viterbo, Italy. Photo: Cristina Pepe. Italian-Canadian Writers Gather in Italy for Biennial Conference More than 80 speakers and participants from across Canada, Italy, the United States and beyond came together at Università della Tuscia in Viterbo, Italy, last May 27 to 29 for the 20th Biennial Conference of the Association of Italian-Canadian Writers (AICW).

Italian-Canadian Writers Gather in Italy for Biennial Conference More than 80 speakers… Nothing says Italian style like a Fiat 500 (pronounced cheen·kweh·CHEN·toh). My love… On hot summer afternoons I love to wander the winding cobblestone streets and narrow… “Sbandieratori” was the second-place winner of the 8th Accenti Photo Contest and…

Iconic photo by Federico Patellani of a young woman celebrating the Republican victory in Italy's 1946 constitutional referendum; the identity of the woman, Anna Iberti age 24, remained unknown for 70 years. On June 2 of this year, Italy celebrated 80 years of republican government. On that date, in 1946, Italians voted in a nation-wide referendum, to retain the existing monarchy or chart a new course by creating a republic. The vote was close but ultimately the republican side prevailed.

On June 2 of this year, Italy celebrated 80 years of republican government. On that date,…

Glasgow Cityscape, oil, 30.5 x 48 cm. ©Antonio Pacitti Estate. Between Two States: An Italo-Scots Story (Troubador, 2025; 359 pp) is Diane Pacitti’s novelistic treatment of her husband, artist Antonio Pacitti’s, family history of immigration, in which family members of different generations literally move between two states. As the title implies, the two states in question are Italy and Great Britain. The true stories are fictionalized, making the multi-generational account come to life.

Photo: © C. P. Zemokhol SPECIAL TO ACCENTI Glimpses of George Elliott Clarke’s Song-Commissioning Project The Eighteenth Edition of “Five Poets Breaking into Song,” (a.k.a. #18 with a Bullet – Piercing a Halloween Balloon), played Toronto’s Canadian Music Centre last October 31st.