©Blaise Tobia
America-Italy Society of Philadelphia
  • Home
    • About >
      • Biblioteca
      • History
      • Board of Directors
      • Staff and Teachers
      • Members Annual Meeting 2022
    • Giving Tuesday 2022
  • AIS in Venice
    • Past Restorations in Venice
    • Ongoing Restoration in Venice
    • Future Restoration in Venice
    • Good behavior for Venice
    • New from Venice
  • Italian Language Program
    • La Biblioteca
    • Class Description >
      • Calendar of Classes
      • Early Birds Classes
      • Cinema all'italiana
      • Il libro del mese
      • Saturday Classes
      • Private Lessons
      • Free classes
      • Chiacchiere
      • Teacher-Student Survey
      • Non solo pasta. The Unique Italian Culture
      • To Register
      • Test your Italian
      • Italia - Italy
    • SHOP
    • Why Learn Italian
    • TODI 2023 >
      • Reviews from Students
    • CERTIFICATIONS >
      • CILS Language Certification >
        • B1 Cittadinanza CILS Exam
        • A2, B1, B2, C1, C2 CILS Exams
        • AUSTIN, TX CILS Exam
        • CILS EXAM - Registration Form
      • DITALS Certification for Teachers of Italian
    • MAECI Grants for Italian Programs in K-12 Schools >
      • K-12 Schools Grant for Italian Language
      • Workshop for Teachers Marzo 2023 >
        • Workshop for Teachers October 2022
        • Workshop for Teachers March 2022
        • Workshop for Teachers Dec 2021
      • Materiale per insegnanti
      • Our Common Ground
      • Camp in Italy
      • Advanced Placement
      • Scholarships for K-12 Teachers
    • Podcast italiani e altro
    • La pagina di Viola
    • From our students...
  • Events
    • Focus on Venice 2023 >
      • Free Lecture
      • Carpaccio 2023
    • Concerts >
      • Amerita Chamber Players Concerts
      • Players
      • Davyd Booth
    • Italian Contemporary Art Series >
      • The Venice Biennale: Traditions, History, and Dreams
      • Futurismo
      • Morandi
      • Giuseppe Penone
    • Passeggiando tra ville e giardini
    • The Italian Book Club of Philadelphia >
      • Previous Books
      • I romanzi di formazione
    • Joseph Sciorra
    • La Dolce Vita
    • Vittorini Awards
    • Modigliani
    • Feast of the 7 Fishes
    • Our Italy - Watercolor Exhibit
    • 2022 Venice Lecture Series >
      • Jane Da Mosto
      • Jonathan Keates
      • A Venetian Trilogy 2021 + One >
        • ​Neal Robbins
        • Jane Stevens Crawshaw
        • Bernard Aikema
    • Teatro delle Albe
    • Ancient Troy and Rome
    • Godfather Effect on Italian Anti-Mafia Film
    • Pasolini 1922-2022
    • 100 years of Baci Perugina
    • Sbagliato
    • Michele Pergola Exhibition
    • Purchase a ticket
    • Festa della Donna
    • La casa di Sara
    • 2022 Venice Lecture Series
  • Membership
    • Membership Fees
    • DONATE
  • Calendar
  • Translation
  • Enrollment Form
  • Hidden products
  • New Discoveries in Ancient Rome
  • Category

Ephemeral Art and Architecture of Italian Immigrant Catholic Feste


by Joseph Sciorra, Ph.D.
Director, Academic and Cultural Programs
John D. Calandra Italian American Institute
Queens College, CUNY
Thursday, March 30 at 6:00 pm at the AISPhila Office

RSVP
Picture
Altar build by Italian in the street, New York
Picture
The Our Lady of Mount Camel Grotto, in Rosebank, Staten Island

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Italian working-class immigrants in the United States staged religious feste (street feasts) in honor of the Madonna and other Catholic saints to express their beliefs in a socially accepted, aesthetically pleasing, and recognizable manner. Impermanent edifices and other ephemeral constructions were integral parts of thesecultural-religious extravaganzas. Hanging decorative illuminations, elaborate sidewalk altars, free-standing, multistoried chapels, and ambulatory structures were architectural wonders that boldly transformed, sacralized, and claimed American urban landscapes. A vernacular baroque aesthetic permeated the occupation and sacralization of the streets that engendered hallowed and convivial topographies that would have lasting ramifications on how people imagined their lives and neighborhoods. This talk examines how these transient objects of devotion predominantly in East Coast cities enacted and proclaimed a diasporic community of believers that challenged hegemonic notions of artistry, religion, the built environment, and the public sphere. Ephemeral festival architecture captivated the attention of outsiders, including photographers, journalists, and visual artists, who depicted them in words and imagery.  ​
Picture
​Author
​Brooklyn born and raised Joseph Sciorra, Ph.D., is director of Academic and Cultural Programs at Queens College’s John D. Calandra Italian American Institute. As a folklorist, he has conducted ethnographic research on vernacular expressivity and published on religious practices, material culture, and popular music. In addition to authoring Built with Faith: Italian American Imagination and Catholic Material Culture in New York City (2015), he is the co-editor of the two-volume anthology New Italian Migrations to the United States (2017). He recently completed research on the ephemeral art and impermanent architecture of Italian immigrant Catholic feasts.

Picture

America-Italy Society            of Philadelphia
230 S. Broad St., Suite 1105
Philadelphia, PA 19102 



Tel: (215) 735-3250 
E-mail: info@aisphila.org
Home