Guide to the Italian Nationality Room Committee Records, 1927-2001, UA.40.14
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Italian Nationality Room Committee Records
Creator
University of Pittsburgh. Nationality Rooms Program. Italian Nationality Room Committee
Collection Number
UA.40.14
Extent
4 Linear Feet(4 boxes)
Date
1927-2001
Abstract
In 1927, the Italian community in Allegheny County was one of the first approached with the idea of designing a room to honor their heritage in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning. After years of fundraising and planning, the room was presented to the university on December 11, 1940, and was formally dedicated on May 14, 1949. This collection contains documents and photographs regarding the creation, funding and dedication of the Italian Nationality Room.
Language
English
.
Author
Zachary Brodt and Samuel Alten.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Acquisition Information
Transferred from the Nationality Rooms Program office in 1968 and 2014.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
History
In 1927, the Italian community in Allegheny County was one of the first approached with the idea of designing a room to honor their heritage in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, which had just begun construction. Dr. Charles J. Barone of the School of Medicine was elected the first chair of the Men's Committee. He was succeeded by William Ortale in 1930 and Salvatore Sunseri in 1938. Mrs. Samuel Molinaro chaired the Women's Committee.
Due to the outbreak of the Second World War, artists were unable to travel from Italy to complete their work in the classroom, and so the committee presented the incomplete room to the university in a small ceremony on December 11, 1940. The university was also in need for instruction space to train military cadets, and so the room opened for use without a dedication ceremony or extensive programming. In 1946, the room committee was reactivated with John S. Aldisert as chair. In 1948, painter Giovanni Romagnoli arrived in Pittsburgh to oversee the completion of the room's decoration, including his painting of Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia. The Italian Room was formally dedicated on May 14, 1949.
The idea to design the room as a fifteenth century Tuscan monastery originated with Margherita Chiari Langer. Ezio Cerpi, who oversaw ancient monuments and medieval art in Tuscany, completed the architectural drawings. Lorenzo Romanelli designed the furnishings in the room. Within the room are tributes to the Italian Renaissance and many of its notable participants, including Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, Dante Alighieri and Galileo Galilei.
Since 1958, the Italian Room Committee has offered a scholarship for students to study abroad in Italy.
Copyright
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
Scope and Content Notes
The Italian National Room Committee Collection contains documents and photographs regarding the creation, funding and dedication of the Italian Nationality Room in the Cathedral of Learning. These records mostly comprise material from 1927 to 1941 when the committee presented the room to the university; however, there is also correspondence and publicity material about the Italian Room Committee once it was reactivated in 1946 through 2001.
A majority of the documents consist of correspondence from various members of the Italian Room Committee, Director of the Nationality Room Program Ruth Crawford Mitchell, and the room's architect and designers. The collection also contains committee meeting minutes; donation records and financial statements; materials related to Italian Room Committee scholarships and study abroad programs; and publicity material such as newspaper clippings, advertisements, fundraising invitations, event programs, and newsletters. Also included are running memos, which provide a brief chronological summary of committee activities as well as room construction and maintenance, and architectural and decorative designs and sketches. Photographs of the room, committee, and dedication ceremony are also present.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Samuel Alten in February 2019.
Preferred Citation
Italian Nationality Room Committee Records, 1927-2001, UA.40.14, University Archives, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System.
Subjects
Corporate Names
University of Pittsburgh
University of Pittsburgh. Nationality Rooms Program
Nationality Rooms (Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, Pa.)
University of Pittsburgh. Nationality Rooms Program. Italian Nationality Room Committee
Personal Names
Romanelli, Lorenzo
Cerpi, Ezio
Romagnolia, Giovanni
Other Subjects
University of Pittsburgh
Universities and colleges -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
Italian Americans -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh -- History
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