Italian Community partners with Missouri History Museum for Italian American STL

After partnering with The Magic House for the year-long Ciao Bambini exhibit, the Italian Community of St Louis is partnering with another major cultural institution in St Louis, the Missouri History Museum for an event called Italian American STL as part of the museum's Summer Family Fun Series. The event takes place Wednesday, June 12, 2024 from 10am-1pm and is geared towards families and children 12 and under. 

The resounding success of Ciao Bambini, which opened September 2023, was of major importance to the growth of the Italian Community of St Louis, an organization which represents not only Italian expats but also Americans of Italian descent and simply anyone who appreciates the Italian language and culture. 

The event at the Missouri History Museum is free and open to the public and is centered around families and children 12 years old and under. Activities include Italian Storytime with Italian teachers Giovanna Leopardi and Cettina Gabriele of the St Louis Italian Language Program, touch table items invented by Italians and Italian-Americans, an arts and crafts table, opportunities for children to make pasta and pizza, as well as a St Louis - Bologna Sister Cities table created by Elizabeth Bernhardt, a professor of Italian at Washington University who has lived in Bologna for 20 years. 

The Hill neighborhood will be represented by the Italia-America Bocce Club, which will be present at the event with volunteer members teaching children how to play this historic game which has its origins in Northern Italy. 

Kids will be able to meet and play soccer with Simone Valentino, star forward for the Truman State Bulldogs. Simone is the son of Alessandro & Tiziana Valentino, longtime residents of St Louis who came from Italy in the early 2000s. The Valentino family has been very active in the Italian community since it was founded in 2017.

The event has Italian moms and dads from the St Louis area volunteering to help organize the event. Thanks to the following volunteers:

Federica Bertolini                              Francesca Fontana                                   Carlo Sanfilippo
Giovanna Leopardi                      Paolo & Concetta Gabriele                   Elizabeth Bernhardt
Maria Clea Annecchiarico                Michael Cross                                        Adriana Hermida 
Dan Drago                                                  Tom Bottini                                            Simone Valentino

For more information on the event or to assist in volunteering, please send an inquiry to Michael Cross: [email protected]