◇Presentation by a non-Japanese guest (December 8,2024)

’Talk by a foreign guest’ featuring Mr. Umberto Caiafa, Painter and Language Instructor
(Sunday, December 8, 2024 at 13:30-15:00)

On December 8th, the Fuchu-cho International Association held its second “Talk by a Foreign Guest” of the year at Kusunoki Plaza.This time, we invited Mr. Umberto Caiafa, an Italian living in Hiroshima, who spoke about the history and culture of his hometown, Naples.

Mr. Caiafa’s profile: he showed artistic talent at an early age in his hometown of Naples, and began creating art at the age of 12. He later went on to major in “Decorative Painting” at the Filippo Piazzi Academy of Fine Arts, named after a famous artist from Naples. After graduating, he moved to the United States to base in Los Angeles, where he worked on many murals together with the famous muralist Willie Herron III. In Hiroshima, he is involved in various creative activities, including collaborations with local design and architectural companies. He also serves as an Italian language instructor at the Hiroshima branch of the Associazione Italo-Giapponese.

In his lecture, Mr. Caiafa first explained the origins and history of Naples, which was founded by Greeks in the 8th century BC and was a city where Greek philosophy, art, and architecture flourished. He also said that he believes that his own DNA is also strongly influenced by Greek culture. He then gave an interesting explanation about the title of his lecture, “See Naples and Live.” Speaking of Naples, some may recall the words of the German poet Goethe in his Italian Voyage, “See Naples and Die” or “Never Die Without Seeing Naples,” but Mr. Caiafa takes the opposite approach. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was customary for the children of British aristocrats to go on a graduation study trip to culturally advanced countries such as France and Italy when they turned 21. After enjoying beautiful Naples at the end of the trip, their student life was to come to an end and upon returning home they were to begin life as members of the real world. Apparently, the term “Napolitude” was born to describe the feelings of these young men in Naples, the final destination of their youth graduation trip. However, Mr. Caiafa said that Naples is not the end of the road, and he chose the title of his lecture with the hope that people would visit Naples and enjoy life more.

Naples was one of the small kingdoms until Italy was unified in the 19th century, and a unique language, literature, people’s temperament, food culture, etc. were developed in the city. In particular, it was interesting to learn that the first book written in the Neapolitan language, a collection of folk tales called “Il Pentamerone,” contains stories that are the prototypes of fairy tales we are familiar with today, such as Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Puss in Boots.

Many of the photos of Naples that we see include the famous Mount Vesuvius, and Mr. Caiafa also introduced the well-known eruption of Mount Vesuvius (79 AD), the damage it caused, and the homes and life of the people at that time in Pompeii, which were well preserved because they were buried under volcanic ash.

The fascinating introduction to Naples and its surroundings ended with a discussion of food culture. The Mediterranean diet is centered around olive oil, with little use of butter, and the daily meals are centered around beans, rice, and vegetables rather than pasta, as explained by the speaker. In addition, various foods and stories related to Naples were introduced, such as the traditional Neapolitan home, the dining table of Pompeii during the volcanic eruption, the origin of the name Margherita pizza, and “fried pizza,” which was invented during the food shortage after World War II and is now available even at convenience stores in Japan.

During the Q&A session after the lecture, the packed venue asked various questions, including impressions of Japan, art excavated from Pompeii, and security in Italy. Many of the attendees had traveled to Italy, and those who had traveled to Naples in particular shared their impressions of their stay in Naples, and the conversation with the lecturer took place in a very friendly atmosphere. At the end of the lecture, all the attendees chanted “Bravissimo, Umberto!” in Italian to close the event.

We would like to thank Mr. Caiafa for his entertaining and thought-provoking lecture, and to all the attendees who proactively asked questions and made comments.

This Association has been hosting “Talk by a Foreign Guest” for many years, but because the language used is English, we have only invited guests from English-speaking countries (native speakers of English). This was the first time we invited an Italian guest, and since it was generally well received by the attendees, we would like to consider increasing the number of guests from non-English-speaking countries in the future. /End

Posted in Event Report.

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