ALGUER INTERNACIONAL

The European Committee for the Minority Languages in Italy met at the end of 1996 in Rome at the presence of 13 ethinic and national minorities existent in Italy, the Committe discussed about state and regional legislations concerning them and prepared their programme of initiatives for 1997. At the end of the meeting the new Confemili Presidencial Council has been nominated: President Prof. Mimmo Morelli (Albanian), vice-president Bojam Brezigar (Slovene), counsellors: Fabio Chiocchitti(Ladin), Carles Sechi (Catalan), Sergio Bonato (Cimbro), Giampiero Boschero (Provençal), tomas Prader (German).

The”Centre deRecuros Pedagogics Maria Montessori “ is the first algherese cultural association that has its Web pages in Catalan language set up on Internet (www. partal.com/alguer) this is the result of the collaboration between the Centre de Recursos and VilaWeb the main resourses server on Internet in Catalan Language. The Arboix Group of the “Centre de Recursos Pedagogics Maria Montessori” together with the responsibles of the “Istituto Professionale per l’Industria e l’Artigianato” in Alghero, have realized the electronic publication on Internet of different texts already published by the Centre de Recursos and Omnium Cultural of Alghero and sold in the algherese bookshops. The texts, on net, are:Tin Tin, Robin Hood, Pinocchio.

In the last issue of International Alguer we gave a brief description of the different literary works that have been produced on Algherese themes, now we give a complete list of the most interesting titles published in 1996:

-Arca,Antoni. Barceloneta. La historia de l’Alguer ensenyada als minyons. La Celere. Alghero 1996

-Arca, Antoni. La torre de l’Espero. La Galera. Barcelona 1996.

-Armangué, Joan. Records d’infancia i altres memories de Francesc Manunta. La Celere-Omnium Cultural.Alghero1996.

-AA.VV. Alghero e il suo volto. Delfino. Sassari 1996

-Palomba, Joan. Tradicions, Usos i Costumes de l’Alguer. Preface by Antoni Nughes. Edizioni del Sole. Alghero 1996.

-Serra, Antonio. Los Germans Blancs. Per una storia della confraternita di Nostra signora della Misericordia in Alghero nei secoli XVI-XVII. Edizioni del Sole. Alghero 1996

On January 18th 1997, the Omnium Cultural of Alghero, together with other cultural associations of the town,carried out the cerimony entitled “Memoria de Francesc Manunta” an homage to the first president of Omnium Cultural in Alghero and one of the most important religious personalities in the town. Joaquim Arenas, Nicola Marotta, Gianfranco Russino, Guido Sari, Alex Susanna and Joan Armanguè took part to this cerimony. Moreover in this occasion Joan Armangué presented to the large audience the book Records d’infancia i altres memories a collection of Manunta’s works edited by J.Armangué on behalf of La Celere and with the support of Omnium Cultural.

Ignazio Delogu professor of Catalan Language and Literature at Sassari University and director of the “Centre de Recursos M.Montessori”, received the prize of the Second Internacional Competition “Giovanni Corona” with the poem “Sera a Auschwitz” (Evening in Auschwits). This poem is a tribute in memory of the atrocities that millions of men , women and children suffered in the concentration camps. The horrors carried out by Nazism and Fascism are one of the darkest periods of the history of this ending century.

On the last 22nd of february the theatrical algherese group of the Primary School of “ Sacro Cuore” put on the Comedy “Nadal a una famiglia Algueresa” at the Civic Theatre of the town. This performance is one of the instruments of teaching algherese dialect realized by different teachers of this school. Children were directed by the teacher Nicoletta Ianetta.

Holy Week in Alghero is one of the most important religious events in the Catalan town of Sardinia, not only for the Catholics but for the whole society as well, because it is an exhibition of the traditional elements of the Catalan religiousness. At the centre of these popular religious cerimonies there is the precious wooden simulacre of Jesus Christ, a piece of remarkable beauty and artistic perfection. The ship carrying it from Alicante to Genoa was wrecked on the algherese coast in 1606, since then it has been venerated by the whole town of Alghero and it is preserved by the “Confraria del Gonfalo”. This year the Confraternities of Torrent (Valencia )have been inviteted to take part to the cerimonies of Holy Week.

The association “Amics de l’Alguer” from Barcelona, taking the oportunity of their visit in Alghero during Holy Week, consigned to the town the bust of the teacher Joan Palomba, one of the most emblematic personalities of the “Renaixença Algueresa” ( Algherese Renaissance). The cerimony of consignement took place at the Civic Theatre at the Mayor presence who, in the name of the town, received the bust and thanked the “Amics de l’Alguer” for the generous present. During the cerimony Joan Palomba’s book :Tradicions, Usos i Costums de l’Alguer, Preface by A.Nughes, was presented. The manifestation ended with the concert of the chorus “Orfeo Martinenc”

On March 30th at the conference room of St. Francesco, the presentation of the “Revista de l’Alguer” took place. This is an academic yearbook of Catalan culture, edited by the “ Centre de Recerca i documentacio Eduard Toda” with the support of different public institutions of Catalonia, Sardinia and Alghero. At the presentation there was a numerous audience and partecipated several personalities of the cultural and politic life of Alghero and Sardinia. Among the others : Rafel Caria, Jesus Huguet, Neria de Giovanni and Esteva Campus took part and spoke during the conference. At the end of the presentation it was possible to enjoy the concert of the Chorus “Akademia Cantus et Fidis” dedicated to the famous artist Madilde Salvador from Valencia , who, invited at the manifestation , received a present by the chorus that it is named after her.

This year the “Josep Sanna Prize” has been awarded to “Alghero, la Catalogna e il Mediterraneo” a work realized by the History Departement of Sassari University which collects in more than 800 pages all the papers of the Internacional Congress that took place in Alghero in 1985 and that gatherd sholars from all over the world. Professors Antonello Mattone and Piero Sanna were the responsibles that edited the compilation of the works presented at the congress.

For the first time in Sardinia and in Alghero from April 20th to 23rd the exhibition “Impronte al Femminile” was organized. This exibition of books written by women was enriched by different round tables at the Civic Theatre with the presentation of some volumes of recent creation.

This year in May there will be held the third edition of the Prize Alghero Donna for literature and journalisme dedicated to women writers, journalists and poetess; the Prize is a combined initiative of the Azienda Autonoma di Soggiorno e Turismo and the cultural review " Salpare”

Text de:

Gustau Navarro i Barba. navarro@trivium.gh.ub.es

Daniela Tilloca i Fadda. zaza@ssnet.it