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The Silvio Laccetti Foundation announced its initiatives for 2020. Pictutred from left are Zeff Ferreira of Stevens Tech; Annavaleria Guazzieri, Education Attaché for the Italian Consulate in New York City and Professor Silvio Laccetti.

New Projects for Laccetti Foundation

The year 2020 will be an exciting one for the many college student members and Garibaldi Award winners of the Silvio Laccetti Foundation. At its recent meeting held at Bazzarelli’s in Lyndhurst, New Jersey, the Foundation committed to two projects of public significance.

The first is the Venice Project, which seeks to increase public awareness of the catastrophic economic, ecological, environmental and preservationist problems confronting the lagoon city. The main thrust of the public campaign will highlight the damage behemoth cruise ships can inflict as they traverse and dock in Venice’s fragile waterways.

The Foundation will have college classroom and club group presentations of a new film, which poignantly and starkly portrays the crises facing Venice.

It is planned that a Garibaldi awardee will arrange the film’s showing on their respective campuses in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Following the screening, a petition calling for the banning of cruise ships in the fragile waters of Venice will be circulated and sent to the Italian Consulates in New York City and Philadelphia. Other universities will also be encouraged to present the film.

The second project is the release of a totally different prototype course, Italia di Lusso, which may be given in either Italian or English with content flexibility for junior high, high school, college and adult education students. By studying Italy’s iconic brands in film, fashion, cuisine and the automotive industries, Italy is portrayed with an expression of humanism, elegance, beauty, passion and soul.

The concept originated with Professor Silvio Laccetti; its content and a suggested syllabus was created by Mauro Raguseo, Italian teacher at Lyndhurst High. In this project, the Foundation will cooperate with the Italian Consulate in New York, the New Jersey Italian Heritage Commission and the Garibaldi-Meucci Museum of Staten Island, New York.