Museum Hosts 7th Annual Italian Heritage Month Celebration: Features Honoree Night & Film Series

Boston, MA—The West End Museum is hosting events celebrating Italian Heritage Month for the seventh consecutive year. Prior to the demolition of Boston’s West End during urban renewal, many Italian-American families called the neighborhood home. The Museum honors this former little piece of Italy along with old and new residents of Italian heritage.

Honoree Night
Tuesday, October 11; 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public

Each year, the Museum selects West Enders of Italian descent to recognize for their contributions to preserving the culture of the West End and its rich immigrant history. This year’s Italian Heritage Month honorees are Michael W. Cataldo and Dr. Stephen F. Maio, both native-born West Enders who have furthered the legacy of the neighborhood and fostered Italian-American culture. Honoree presentations will be followed by a reception with light refreshments.

Michael W. Cataldo was an active member of the West End House in his youth. In the House’s David A. Ellis Club, he participated in sports, debate, declamation, journalism and other activities—all aimed at promoting the wellrounded scholar/athlete. He credited those experiences with instilling in him a sense of fierce competition, a desire to achieve and a high level of organization that later led him to success in the corporate world of insurance. As president of the West End House Alumni Association in 1962 and president of the House itself in 1979, Cataldo helped to ensure the future of the organization. He was instrumental in establishing the Jacob M. Burnes Endowment Fund in the 1980s to guarantee the long-term financial stability of the group. Cataldo also served as co-chairman of the West End House Camp Committee for many years before he passed away in 1999.

Dr. Stephen F. Maio was very active in the West End House’s George Brenner Association, another scholar/athlete club. Like the Ellis Club, the Brenner Association required its members to partake in academic-oriented activities in order to play sports. This proved a winning combination for Dr. Maio, developing his passion for education. He went on to dedicate 32 years to the Wakefield, MA public school system: 6 years as a junior high teacher, 11 years as the principal and 15 years as superintendent of schools. He has served Cambridge College since 2001 in various roles and is currently adjunct professor in the doctoral program. He is a past president and the current board chairman of the Pirandello Lyceum—an organization of academic and business professionals who strive to preserve Italian-American heritage—and sits on the board of directors for the Dante Alighieri Society of Massachusetts, a nonprofit that promotes Italian language and culture. He also has received a Stella Della Solidarieta’ Italiana Award from the Italian government.

These men represent the best of the old West End and of Italian-American culture. The West End Museum is proud to honor them and their numerous notable accomplishments.

Italian Film Series
All screenings are FREE (suggested donation $5); pre-registration required at: thewestendmuseum.org/whats_on/event-registration.

The 10th Victim (La Decima Vittima)
Wednesday, October 5; 7:00 p.m.
1965; Action/Sci-Fi; NR; Italian (English Subtitles); Director: Elio Petri; Stars Ursula Andress, Marcello Mastroianni; Features Elsa Martinelli

It’s the 21st century, and society’s lust for violence is satisfied by the “Big Hunt,” an international game of human hunts— basically legalized murder. The winner of each round is awarded a prize, and the survivor after 10 rounds wins a million dollars and great fame. When the American huntress Caroline Meredith (Andress) completes her ninth round killing a victim in New York, she comes to Rome to hunt her 10th victim, Marcello Poletti (Mastroianni). But when these two—the sport’s top assassins—are pitted against each other, they find that love is the most dangerous game of all. As the world watches, the hunt is on. Who will become The 10th Victim?

Ugly, Dirty and Bad (Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi)
Wednesday, October 12; 7:00 p.m.
1976; Comedy/Drama; NR; Italian (English Subtitles); Director: Ettore Scola; Stars Nino Manfredi, Maria Luisa Santella, Francesco Annaballi

This “tragicomic” portrait of a very dysfunctional family revolves around patriarch, Giacinto Mazzatella (Manfredi), who lives with a legion of relatives in a tiny shack on the hills of Rome. When he refuses to share with them any part of the million lire he receives in an insurance payout after losing his eye, and then starts spending it on a mistress, his wife, children and other relatives begin plotting his demise. This gleefully offensive film—a savage, desperate (if often very funny) satire of greed—is brilliantly written and directed. In fact, it earned Ettore Scola a Best Director award 40 years ago at the Cannes Film Festival.

Todo Modo
Wednesday, October 19; 7:00 p.m.
1976; Drama; Rated R; Italian (English Subtitles); Director: Elio Petri; Stars Gian Maria Volontè, Marcello Mastroianni, Mariangela Melato

A metaphysical mystery based on the novel by Leonardo Sciascia, Todo Modo offers a not-so-veiled critique of Christian Democratic political power. In the film, Italy’s most successful politicians go on a monastic retreat at the convent of Don Gaetano (Mastroianni) to contemplate their notable careers and secretly devise a new power structure. Chief among them is the president (Volonte), a supposedly pious, modest man consumed by ambition and guilt. After a series of mysterious crimes, the consortium becomes divided and, ultimately, depleted. Shortly after its original release in Italy, Todo Modo was banned— according to some Italian newspapers—for being a threat to the re-election of Aldo Moro, who was later kidnapped and assassinated.

In the Name of the Pope King (In Nome del Papa Re)
Wednesday, October 26; 7:00 p.m.
1977; Drama/History/Romance; Rated R; Italian (English Subtitles); Director: Luigi Magni; Stars Nino Manfredi, Danilo Mattei, Carmen Scarpitta

It is 1867 in Rome, and General Garibaldi’s rebels are brewing a revolution to overthrow the Pope’s secular authority. Don Colombo (Manfredi), a world-weary judge on the papal court, wants to resign, disgusted by the violence to which the papacy resorts to retain that power. But his resignation is delayed by the news that his one sexual liaison 19 years prior produced a son (Mattei), one of the rebels arrested for a bombing and facing execution. Colombo uses his influence to gain the youth’s release and forcibly holds him; the son wants to face the executioner with his comrades. The plot has many more twists and turns, but the developing relationship of father and son takes center stage with an exploration of the effect the two men—from diametrically opposed political positions—have on one another.

About the West End Museum:
The West End Museum is dedicated to the collection, preservation and interpretation of the history and culture of the West End  neighborhood. The Museum’s permanent exhibit, “The Last Tenement,” highlights the immigrant history of the neighborhood through its decimation under Urban Renewal in 1959; two additional galleries feature rotating exhibits. The Museum is located  near North Station at 150 Staniford St. Suite 7. Hours: Tuesday – Friday 12:00pm – 5:00pm; Saturday 11:00am – 4:00pm. Admission is free.