On November 18th, the Italian Studies program and its community gathered for the 2025 Elizabeth Mazzocco Memorial Lecture. This lecture is held in honor of Elizabeth Mazzocco, the former director of the Five Colleges Center for the Study of World Languages as well as Professor of Italian at UMass from 1990 until her death in 2014. In the first lecture in this series since the pandemic, her memory was honored with a lecture grounded in the passion she had for teaching Italian studies as well as her research interests in the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
This year’s speaker, Dr. Guyda Armstrong, is the Director of the John Rylands Research Institute and Library and Professor of Italian at the University of Manchester (UK). She is a book historian and early modern literary scholar, who works at the intersection of languages, information design, and the digital. Her talk, entitled “Sociable Materials: the Text, the Book, the World" focused on the symbol of the material book. Professor Armstrong discussed how books and stories, specifically those of Italian origin, are transported through history. Literature is sociable; you can read alone, but in the act of reading, you are a part of a wider group of readers through time and space. In a very timely discussion about the digital age and the dangers of it, she offered some advice: to approach the invasion of technology into the literary world as an addition, not a substitute for the physical object of the book. In our society, books are something that we have gathered around to discuss, recognize, and understand. Professor Armstrong urged her audience to be intentional in the art of gathering around literature, for it is crucially important for our past and intellectual future.
Among the audience members in attendance were members of the Mazzocco family, including Elizabeth Mazzocco’s husband, Professor Angelo Mazzocco. Additionally, we were honored to host the Consul General of Italy in Boston, Arnaldo Minuti, who travelled to Amherst for this event. As a part of his visit, the Consul General was able to provide some opening remarks before Professor Armstrong took to the podium. In these remarks, he discussed his visit, the legacy of Professor Mazzocco, and also announced that the Italian government, through the Consulate in Boston, is awarding a substantial grant to support the Italian language program at UMass.
Before the lecture, Mr. Minuti met with students and faculty of the Italian Studies program in Herter Hall. During this time, students were able to introduce themselves and explain their connections with Italy and the Italian language. He fielded questions about the recent changes to the Italian citizenship guidelines and the speed at which visas were granted, which were answered with delicate humor and a genuine understanding about the frustrations that, at times, these processes can cause to those seeking these services.
In addition to his general conversation with students, we were able to sit down with him to learn more about this role as Consul General. He described the Consulate’s responsibilities in two large areas: as a service provider and as a promoter of Italy in the United States. The services the Consulate provides for Italians living in the U.S. include issuing passports and civil records, as well as processing citizenship claims and visa requests from Americans. The promotion of Italy occurs in many sectors such as language, culture, science, technology, economics, and business relations. As a member of the G7, this is crucial to the advancement of both Italian and American economies and societies. This promotion includes establishing networks for connections between Italy and America in all of these sectors, as well as creating opportunities to promote tourism to Italy. Mr. Minuti is responsible for all these services and events in the geographical area of New England, except for Connecticut.
Starting his career in diplomacy in the 90s, Boston is just one of the many places that he has worked abroad. These places include Ethiopia, Canada, Mexico, and Paris, where he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). Mr. Minuti's career as Consul has spanned over different political and social landscapes. He explained that in today's international state of affairs, the U.S. and Italy both share the responsibility of providing an example of democracy.
Finally (and most importantly), we were able to ask the Consul what his favorite Italian restaurants in Boston were. He noted that Italian food in the U.S. is different because of the use of different ingredients, so there is not anything that matches quite perfectly to the cuisine at home. However, Mr. Minuti named Quattro (North End), Mast for authentic pizza napoletana (on Park St.), and All'Antico Vinaio for panini (on Boylston St.).
The Italian Studies program is so grateful for the 2025 Elizabeth Mazzocco Memorial Lecture for bringing together a wonderful group of scholars, officials, and students to gather around the shared passion and interest in Italian culture and language. As Professor Guyda Armstrong pointed out in her lecture, a commitment to learning is a commitment to your community, which makes events like these possible.