PROGETTO COMENIUS«UNITY IN THE DIVERSITY»

2012 - 2014

A thousand years historyA journey through the

Mediterranean civilization from its origins to the

present daythrough celebrities:

visible traces of art and culture.

A thousand years of history: a journey through

the Mediterranean civilization from the origins up to modern times taking

a look at famous personalities: visible traces

of art and culture.

• Knowing the great variety of culture expresssions in the world.

• Developing new cultural models.• Learning source that allows to meet

and compare other cultures.• Searching for a new identity and

possibility of a social progress.• Satisfying the need for freedom.

A journey is:

The Odissey is the story of the troubled hero while returning to his home town at the end of the Trojan War. Odysseus (Ulisses) wants to return home but without abandoning the idea of experience and knowledge, he can have during his adventurous trip, and this shows a great similarity to the modern man.

I am Odysseus Laertes, for all the tricksI am known among men, and my fame goes to the heaven.

I live in Ithaca aprica [...] and I will never see nothingsweeter than my land.

Because nothing is sweeter than our own country and our fathers,even if someone lives in a very rich house, but in a foreign land,

far away from his family.[Odyssey, IX, vv. 21-46]

Ulysses in Dante's ComedyIn the Twenty-sixth canto of Dante’s “Inferno” Ulysses is condemned to eternal suffering, in the pit of the fraud chancellors because of his continuous tricks. In fact, the speech with which he persuades his companions to overcome the Pillars of Hercules, is made on the grounds of knowledge that, for Ulysses, is a goal to be pursued at all costs:

Ulisses

'Oh brothers! I said, that for hundred thousanddangers you have come to the West,

to our little senses which don’t want to deny the new experiences,

what is back to the sun, what is the inhabited world.Consider your origin!....

….You were not born to live like brutes,but to follow virtue and knowledge!.'

Dedalus and the attraction of flying

The man’s desire to overcome his limits and not to be stopped by difficulties is already known in the myth of Dedalus and Icarus. Dedalus is in fact the ingenious father who cannot resist the allure of the flight, the temptation to free through the air like a winged creature.

The myth says that Dedalus, tired of the the hateful prison wanted to escape at any cost. “Let Minos obstacle on me the ways of earth and water,but at least the sky will be always open.He will be the master of everything but air!” So Dedalus built for himself and his son two pairs of wings woven of light feathers; attacked with wax to Iracus’s shoulders and arms and also fixed them at his back. Then, turning to the boy, said: ‘’Follow me Icarus! And do not be afraid, have only care to stay with me like birth just out of the nest.”

Scylla and CharybdisIn the ancient times, the two rocks located between peninsular Italy and Sicily overlooking the Strait of Messina, were known as dangerous to navigation since two terrible monsters called by those names lived there. Scilla,who lived on a cliff near Reggio Calabria, was thought to have twelve feet and six long necks topped with as many heads; in each of the six mouths she had three rows of teeth and barked like a dog. Charybdis on the Sicilian coast, was stayed invisible under a tall fig tree. Three times a day, he used to swallow the waters of the strait and the he throw them back to the sea.

Odissea, XIIL'altro scoglio, più basso tu lo vedrai, Odisseo,vicini uno all'altro,dall'uno potresti colpir l'altro di freccia.Su questo c'è un fico grande, ricco di foglie;e sotto Cariddi gloriosamente l'acqua livida assorbe.Tre volte al giorno la vomita e tre la riassorbepaurosamente. Ah, che tu non sia là quando riassorbe.

Odissea, XIIScilla ivi alberga, che moleste gridaDi mandar non ristà. La costei voceAltro non par che un guaiolar perenneDi lattante cagnuol: ma Scilla è atroceMostro, e sino a un dio, che a lei si fesse,Non mirerebbe in lei senza ribrezzo,Dodici ha piedi, anteriori tutti,Sei lunghissimi colli e su ciascunoSpaventosa una testa, e nelle boccheDi spessi denti un triplicato giro,E la morte più amara di ogni dente. Omero

Considered one of the the greatest travellers of all times, Marco Polo influenced many generations of travellers who went on search of new lands and knowledge. He was one of the few travellers who wrote about what he had seen and heard during his long trips, famous the mythical voyage to the Silk Route .

Marco Polo, (1254-1324)

He surpassed all the other travellers in determination, writing and influence. His voyage through Asia lasted a total of 24 years; During his travels he was so able to enter in strict contact with people from different countries and became one of Kublai Khan’s (1214-1294) closest friends. Back to Italy he told his story in the book that became the greatest diary of all times, the book of Wonders, also known as the Million.

Itinerario del viaggio di Marco Polo

Marco Polo

Dante Alighieri

Firenze 1265- Ravenna 1321

He is known as the greatest poet, author of many works, but mainly the author of the "Divine Comedy."The "Divine Comedy" is the masterpiece of the Florentine poet and is considered as one of the most important examples of the Italian culture. The Divine Comedy is presented as an imaginary journey through the Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Dante said he was chosen to visit the underworld to be able to tell people what he saw. During this experience, Dante encounters numerous characters, now dead, and communicates with them who are forever damned souls, souls being purified and blessed souls.Montale refers of Dante as a…. «.Universal heritage ... ».

Cristoforo Colombo

Genova 1451- Valladolid 1506«I began to navigate the sea at a very young age, and continued until now. This profession arouses curiosity about the secrets of the world. During my training years, I studied texts of a all kinds : cosmography, histories, chronicles, philosophy and other disciplines. Through these writings, the hand of our Lord opened my mind to the possibility of sailing to the Indies, and gave me the will to undertake this trip. Who could doubt that this flash of knowledge was not the work of the Holy Spirit ? »

(Cristoforo Colombo, Book of prophecies, 67)

He was among the most important Italian sailors who took part in the process of exploration of the great geographical discoveries at the turn of the fifteenth and sixteenth century.Sailor since his youth Colombo, during his travels as a merchant, came up with the idea of an overseas land existence, Asia, according to him.

Leonardo Da Vinci

Vinci 1452– Amboise 1519

Eclectic spirit, Leonardo was a painter, scientist, writer and engineer.He is considered one of the greatest geniuses of mankind.During his lifetime, Leonardo invented many concepts, some of them, like the flying machine, were real prototypes.Leonardo manifested his interest for the flight in around the year 1482. The observation of birds convinces him that the flight has nothing mysterious but it is a mechanical phenomenon, due to the flap of the wings in the air.

Project of a flying machine

The fact that the air is compressible and makes a resistance capable of supporting a body, is one of the fundamental discovers of Leonardo, who realized that also man had the possibility to fly.

Galileo Galilei

Pisa 1564 – Arcetri 1642

«"Philosophy is written in this important book which stands continually open before our eyes (I mean the universe), but can not be understood unless you first learn to understand the language, and to know the characters, and how it is written. It is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometrical figures, without which it is humanly impossible to understand a single word, without them you wander around in a dark labyrinth »

(Galileo Galilei, Il Saggiatore, Cap. VI)

His name is associated with important contributions in dynamic and astronomy - including the improvement of the telescope, which allowed important astronomical observations - and the introduction of the scientific method (often called the Galilean method or experimental scientific method). His role was of primary importance in the astronomical revolution; he supported the heliocentric system and the Copernican theory.

Alessandro Manzoni

The writer who gave great authority to the Italian Romanticism .He was born in Milan in 1785. He became a great world-famous writer, author of the novel "The Betrothed", a work in which he highlights the eternal conflict between vice and innocence. The theme of journey recurs when the future married couple leave their country to escape the oppressor; with the "Farewell to the mountains”, Manzoni writes a page of great poetry. The same theme is presented when he tells about Renzo escaping the gendarmes… "walk, walk,”… to state his fate as a traveler. The internal narrative metaphor of Renzo’s travels reflects Manzoni’s idea of travelling” that also recurs when he talks about his writing: "Now, we cannot avoid stopping, as the traveler, tired and sad with a long walk, who holds and loses a little“time under the shadow of a tree.”

Milano 1785-1873

GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI, THE HERO OF THE TWO WORLDS

Giuseppe Garibaldi, the hero of two worlds. His pride and his courage led him far from his home, in Latin America, to fight on behalf of freedom and independence ideals.The same patriotic ideals moved to the struggle to unite Italy, to put an end to the divisions which weighed on our country. Calabria was also one of the destinations of his expeditions and conquests, to achieve a single purpose of unity.

Nizza 1807 – Caprera 1882

Lucio Dalla

mentre il mio più gran peccatofa sorridere gli deie se muori è un re che muorela tua casa avra' un eredequando io non torno a casaentran dentro fame e seteCapitano che risolvicon l'astuzia ogni avventurati ricordi di un soldatoche ogni volta ha piu' paurama anche la paura in fondomi dà sempre un gusto stranose ci fosse ancora mondosono pronto dove andiamo.

The singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla uses the point of view of the sailor who asks his captain if he ever worries about the fate of all those soldiers who travel with him. The sailor says to his captain he wishes he went back to his beloved Ithaca, where his wife is waiting for him. He also says that he is poor and has to travel to earn money to support his family.In fact, if he died, his family would not survive, and if the captain died, it would be like missing a king: who always let an heir and great wealth.In the song Dalla refers to the mythical Greek traveler, even if he chooses not to mention him ever. There are, in fact, linguistic elements that are clear allusions to the journey of Odysseus.

Bologna 1943-Montreaux 2012

Capitano che hai negli occhiil tuo nobile destinopensi mai al marinaioa cui manca pane e vinocapitano che hai trovatoprincipesse in ogni portopensi mai al rematoreche sua moglie crede mortoItaca, Itaca, Itacala mia casa ce l'ho solo la‘Itaca, Itaca, Itacaed a casa io voglio tornaredal mare, dal mare, dal mareCapitano le tue colpepago anch'io coi giorni miei,

Alcide De Gasperi• Politician

This was the first trip of the Italian Prime Minister in the United States. The meeting with the highest officials of the U.S. Administration was in favor of the economic aid that Italy was in urgent need.The journey of De Gasperi helped the admission of Italy in international institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.Along with the Frenchman Robert Schuman and the German Konrad Adenauer, he is considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union. European policy with a common parliament was his great belief.

Pieve Tesino 1881 – Borgo Valsugana 1954

The journey to USA

Dacia Marainia memory as a journey

Writer, poet, essayist, playwright and screenwriter."Literature is a trip in the memory lanes: it is important to know how to listen to when it comes, unexpected just like Plato’s birds (memories) that reach the tree (the mind)."

The ship from Kobe"... The first taste I've known and of which I keep the memory, is the taste of the trip. A taste of luggage just opened: naphthalene, shoe polish and the perfume that permeated my mother’s clothes on which I sank my face with delight. The trunk ... opened as the theater coffers once did ... "

Fiesole 1936 – vivente

Luciano Pavarotti

Tenor.Thanks to his vocal ability, music and communication has managed to change the face of opera forever.

He brought the work to boundless audiences and was able to open the doors of traditional theatres to a vast new audience.

Modena 1935 – Modena 2007

Rita Levi MontalciniA journey in the world of scientific research lasting 103 years

Torino 1909 – present scientist

She received the Nobel Prize for medicine in 1986 for the discovery and identification of the growth factor of nerve fibers.

"I say to young people: Do not think of yourself, think of others. Think of the future that awaits you, think about what you can do and do not fear of anything. Do not fear the difficulties. "

Now let’s continue our journey among the people...

...Whose name, thanks to their personality, gave popularity to our

Region in the world…

Born in Scilla, Raffaele Piria, on whom our school bears its name, was a scientist of high level, he is considered the founder of modern chemistry. In 1860, after the legendary landing of Garibaldi on Calabrian costs, Cavour gave him the task to supervise the plebiscite that stated the annexation of our region to the Kingdom of Italy. In 1862 he was named Senator of the Kingdom.

RAFFAELE PIRIA

(Scilla 1814 – Torino 1865)

Ibico reggino Greek poet from Reggio who lived in the sixth century. B.C.Almost all his work has been lost.From some fragments found we can assume he was also an expert craftsman of musical instruments.Cicero praised him as a the most passionate love poet among the other poets from Ancient Greece. On the seafront of Reggio Calabria, you can see the Stele dedicated to him: a marble slab showing a muse with a lyre in her hands, on the one side, and some verses by the great poet on the other side.

Pitagora

Greek mathematician, philosopher, astronomer, scientist and politician.Pythagoras from Samos moved to the Magna Grecia where, around in 530 BC., he founded a school in Crotone.

Samo 570 a.C. circa – Metaponto 495 a.C. circa

Pitagoras of Reggio Lived in the 5th century BC in the Chalcis colony

of Rhegion, the sculptor Pythagoras is considered one of the five greatest Greek artists lived after Phidias, and certainly the biggest sculptor of Magna Grecia in Calabria.The origins of the sculptor are still uncertain because there is no hystorical evidence that shows the native town. But it is certain that in the fifth century BC, in Rhegion, a famous sculptor named Pythagoras lived and worked, he was also known as a disciple of the great master Clearchus, one of the greatest exponents of the statuary of Magna Grecia in Calabria.According to recent studies he could be the author of one or both the statues known as the Bronze Statues.

San Paolo di Tarsoitinerant preacher

The arrival of St. Paul in Reggio, witnessed by the Acts of Apostles, took place on the headland Artemisio, the current Calamizzi beach.The apostle would have got to be able to preach the Gospel of Christ to the people, but on one condition: he could only speak to the crowd until a candle, placed on a broken column of the temple, had not consumed. According to the tradition, after the wax had finished, the column caught fire to allow St. Paul to keep talking.The burnt column that allowed St.Paul’s preaching, is still housed in the Cathedral of Reggio Calabria.

Tarso 5 – 10 d.C. - Roma 64 - 67 d.C.

Tommaso Campanella He was the greatest philosopher of

the Renaissance.He completed his studies in the Academy of Cosenza, where he learned about Telesio’s Naturalism. In his most famous work, “The City of the Sun”, Campanella gives vent to the new political and social ideas that characterized his life since an early age. The work is a model for the understanding of his spirit that expresses the general desire to redeem Europe in the seventeenth century, before the feudal system decline. Stilo 1568 – Parigi 1639

Mattia Preti

Taverna 1613 – Malta 1699

Named the Calabrian cavalier painter of the Neapolitan school, he belongs to Caravaggio’s school. Among his paintings the "Belshazzar of feast", the “Crucifix", "Lazarus’s Resurrection ." He was the official painter of Malta’s Knights and worked at the decorations of St. John’s Cathedral in La Valletta.Some of his works are found in the art gallery of Taverna.

Giuseppe De Nava "A southern conservative reformist “ as defined by Italo Falcomatà.

De Nava was the "first minister from Reggio to be appointed by the king," He did his best to make Reggio be rebuilt from the ruins after the earthquake of 1908.

His political life was rich of events that marked a period of deep changes in Italy after the “Risorgimento”.Reggio Calabria 1858 – Roma 1924

Francesco Cilea

Famous musician, author of vocal, symphonic and chamber music.

He showed his love for music since he was a little boy. He was particularly impressed by the final “piece” of Bellini’s “Norma” once he listened a concert performed by the musical band in his town.

In 1897, Cilea presented the opera "The Arlesiana“ at the International Lyrical Theatre of Milan.

Palmi 1866 – Varazze 1950

In his memory, the Theatre Francesco Cilea and the Music School of Reggio Calabria were entitled after him.A mausoleum was erected in his home town and a street bears his name .

Corrado Alvaro• Writer of vigorous moral behavior, he was the

is the pessimist writer of his mythic and beloved Calabria.

Although an open minded intellectual towards Europe, thanks to his stay abroad and his work assignments, especially in France, he remained deeply rooted to his home town.

In his works he always shows the need to tell about the humble, poor and painful reality of Calabria with the lyrical and evocative tones of the person who lives far away from his land.San Luca 1895 – Roma 1956

Antonino Panella

Reggio Cal.1895 – Veliki Krib 1917

Italian military hero of World War I, he was awarded with the gold medal for military valor memory on March 23,1919.

He considered the war not only as the possibilityfor Italian people to highlight the love for the country together with a strong adherence to the nationalist enthusiasm of his time, but he also thought, with "Calabrian tenacity“ that the war was "a process by which it was necessary to improve the relations of brotherhood and equality among the regions of Italy. "

A military aviator, Lieutenant of the Royal Air Force and a hero in Ethiopia war, he was awarded the gold medal for military valor.

In memory of Tito Minniti the Airport of Reggio Calabria has been named after his name, as well as a primary school in the town of Pompei, a middle school in Naples, some educational institutions and several streets in Italian cities.

Placanica 1909 – Dagabur 1935

Tito Minniti

Umberto Boccioni

Adventurous and restless soul as a fighter, he wandered the world, trying to find countless ways, attracted both by the violent action and the dream.The aim of his art: to find a way that could represent the speed of modern times on canvas.

Reggio Calabria 1882 – Verona 1916

The raising town - Museum of Modern Art, New York

the perpetual dynamism

Futurist painter and sculptor.

Unique Forms of Continuity in the Space

Gianni Versace

Designer, collector of globes.

As a boy he worked for her mother’s atelier, since she was a dressmaker .

He wished he had been one of “Ulysses gang" and one of Marco Polo’s friends.

His travel experiences are reflected in his work with the creation of "impossible encounters“; he said: "I like that a Fragonard dress can talk to Picasso, that Evita Peron can dance with Yukio Mishima."

Reggio Calabria 1946 – Miami Beach 1997

Renato Dulbecco journey into the world of genes

Biologist, physician and geneticist.

He was the first geneticist to realize that some forms of cancer originated from genetic defects in the DNA.The study of oncogen viruses, which could transform a normal cell into a cancer cell, was the one that made him gain he Nobel Prize in 1975.He took part to the International Human Genome Project from which a complete map of human DNA resulted.

Catanzaro 1914 – La Jolla 2012