June 2 is an Italian national holiday for the Festa Della Repubblica. It celebrates the official day Italy became a Republic after World War II. This marks the start of Italian Week at our college. This year, the focus was on celebrating Italy’s art of living well, or La Dolce Vita.

To celebrate, each morning during Pastoral Care, students participated Italian-themed challenges, such as singing pronouncing Italian phrases as a class and identifying celebrities who speak the language. Some students attended a lunchtime calcio quiz by our Serie A expert, Prof De Lorenzis, while others had the pleasure of listening to live Italian music with Prof Mosca. Year 7 students enjoyed delicious Italian zeppole (Italian donuts) while Year 8 students and staff feasted on Sicilian bomboloni or arancine from the Santo Palato food truck.

Year 10 students of Italian enjoyed a food trail tour in the eastern suburbs, learning about the migrant influence on food and beverage culture in Adelaide. We visited various Italian business, such as Imma & Mario’s Mercato, Rio Coffee and Gelato Bello. We even had the pleasure of meeting John, the owner of Continental Taralli Biscuits, who migrated to Australia from Italy in 1969. John was taught by his father the traditional way of making biscuits from the age of six, in his hometown of San Martino in southern Italy.

What a fantastic way to close Italian Week 2023 and what a fine example of exciting opportunities that can come with studying Italiano St Michael’s College and beyond. Thank you to all staff and students involved!

Olivia Andreula, Italian Coordinator