Civitella Ranieri

Civitella Ranieri
  Fellows' Forum

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Holly Evarts and Jonathan Galassi join Civitella Board of Directors

Civitella is pleased to announce that Holly Evarts and Jonathan Galassi have joined our Board of Directors. Holly is a public relations and communications executive and the daughter of longtime Board Director Helen Evarts, while Jonathan has spent more than 30 years as a publisher, poet, and translator.  Their experiences and expertise make both of them invaluable additions to our Board.

Holly Evarts is the Director of Strategic Communications and Media Relations at the Fu Foundation School for Engineering and Applied Sciences at Columbia University.  She has more than 20 years experience in communications, previously holding positions at major cultural institutions such as the World Monument Fund, the American Museum of Natural History, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, among others.  She has organized and run major press conferences and campaigns in the US and abroad.  Holly's mother is a distant cousin of our founder Ursula Corning, and Holly visited the Castle several times during Ursula's lifetime.  She currently splits her time between New York City and Garrison, NY.

Jonathan Galassi is the President and Publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, one of the eight major publishers in New York. He is also a translator of poetry and a poet himself, and has translated and published the poetic works of the Italian poets Giacomo Leopardi and Eugenio Montale. His honors as a poet include a 1989 Guggenheim Fellowship, and he was previously the poetry editor for The Paris Review for ten years an honorary chairman of the Academy of American Poets. His poems have been published in literary journals and magazines including Threepenny Review, The New Yorker, The Nation, and the Poetry Foundation website. He currently lives in Brooklyn.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Announcing Civitella Interns for the 2015 Season



Civitella is pleased to welcome Laura Heppell, Ilaria Locchi, and Julia Wilcox as our 2015 Interns.  Interns at Civitella are a treasured and integral part of our community and daily life.  They provide assistance with library functions, the meal program, excursions, presentations, and exhibitions at the Castle, working with both Executive Director Dana Prescott and Program Coordinator Diego Mencaroni on a variety of special projects built around individual interests, experience, goals, and skills.

Chosen from a pool of over 120 international candidates, three interns will join us at Civitella for the 2015 season.  

Laura Heppell, Civitella Ranieri Intern 2015

Laura Heppell is an American student from California who has been studying in Perugia for eight months.  Her language skills are excellent and she is happy to extend her Italian stay.  She wrote, " I realized I couldn't bear to part with Italy, and I was very fortunate to find a new home at Civitella!"  Laura looks forward to meeting, connecting with, and working alongside the Fellows and Staff.
 
Ilaria Locchi, Civitella Ranieri Intern 2015
 
Ilaria Locchi, who lives in Umbertide, studied ancient literature at the University of Perugia. 
For the last six years, she has worked with a women’s basketball team based in Umbertide.
Of her upcoming internship at Civitella she wrote, " I have lived my entire life just ten minutes from Civitella so I am very familiar with this area. I know these hills and I know how much peace and beauty one can breathe in from this region. I look forward to meeting and working with all the Fellows and I will love seeing how this landscape might inspire them."
 
Julia Wilcox, Civitella Ranieri Intern 2015
 
Julia Guerrini Maraldi Wilcox graduated from Bennington College in May. Fluent in Italian and French, she is presently living in Provence working at the Galerie Huit.  She writes, "Having a large family in central Italy, I look forward to discovering the inspirational beauty of the Umbrian countryside, continuing to develop my love for Italian culture, and to eat the world's best cuisine of course."

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Civitella's 2015 Annual Party

Over 100 Civitella Fellows, Director's Guests, Board Directors, Friends, and staff attended our Annual Party at the Grolier Club in New York City on Thursday, April 2.  The evening celebrated the 2014 Fellows and Director's Guests. In addition to food, drink, and revelry, the party featured the premiere of the 2014 digital yearbook, remarks and performances from several 2014 Fellows and Director's Guests, and live music from local band Granted.  


Our thanks to Tammy Rubel at the Grolier Club, Adriana Perovich and her staff, and L’albero dei Gelati of Brooklyn for their parts in bringing this event together.

Board Director John Roberts (center) with Richard and Alix Barthelmes, friends of Ursula Corning
Executive Director Dana Prescott with Lise Funderburg and Mary Caponegro (CRFs 2014)
Emily Jacir (CRF 2009) and Rickey Laurentiis (CRF 2014)
Kambui Olijimi (CRF 2015) and Mary Gannon of the Academy of American Poets
Kurt Andersen (Director's Guest 2014) emcees the evening's program
Board Directors Holly and Helen Evarts listen to presentations
NYC band Granted performs 
Jerome Kitzke (CRF 2003) and Joan La Barbara (CRF 2013)
Francesco Simeti (CRF 2012) with Melania Gazotti and Heather Ewing of the Center for Italian Modern Art

For more photos from the evening, visit us on facebook.