In September of 2018, a group of young Trentini gathered in New York City to create the Trentino Youth Council. Anthony Zueck represented our club at this event. There were 14 participants in all. The others hailed from Wyoming, Toronto and the host city New York. This was preceded in 2017 by the “Blueprint” youth gathering in Wyoming, with the participation of Greg McGarry and Marina Brun from our club, and then a gathering in Toronto in 2018. Discussion focused on how to get youth more involved in the clubs. The jam-packed weekend included a visit to Ellis Island, Trentino wine tasting, a bocce tournament and participation in the annual picnic of the New York Trentino Club. The Trentino nel Mondo magazine featured the group on the cover of the September 2018 issue.

After Rosie Burdick’s high school graduation in 2018, she dashed off to Trentino to represent our club in the youth exchange program. She stayed with the family of Arianna Patton in Trento. Arianna is currently studying architecture in Innsbruck. Rosie’s mother, Kate Disney, participated in the same program back in 1987. At the time there was no home stay. Kate stayed in a school dormitory near Trento. Later the summer of 2018, it was Rosie’s turn to host Arianna here in California. The family took Arianna on a trip to the Grand Canyon, Zion and Las Vegas, amongst other places. The family also organized a party at their home with members of our club, including Rosie’s grandmother, Olga Degiorgio Disney. Olga’s parents were from Spera in the Valsugana. Olga still has a good mastery of Italian and the Trentino dialect. Rosie is majoring in public health at Chico State.

Luca Angeli creates paintings that represent the ancient world where canines rule and man’s best friend are depicted as great Warrior Dogs. Luca creates a spin on the classic portrait and paints dogs as Roman Centurions, Roman legionary band members, Spartan Warriors, and more.
His discovery process begins with photographing dogs to capture their personality. He conducts extensive historical research to create a custom outfit including armor, helmet and headdress, and then sets his subjects to a lush landscape. His composition strikes a balance between realism and a bold graphic style that keeps you wondering

Luca’s parents, Silvio and Lucia, are from Cloz in the Val di Non. Luca’s inspiration finds its roots in his childhood: the family spent summers in the countryside of the Italian Alps in Trentino Alto Adige. His appreciation for history, art, architecture and nature are all woven together in his work. His move to California brought a new dimension to his work with the beautiful Californian landscapes with varied plants, colorful skylines, and of course the San Francisco Bay Area fog.

Born in St. Louis, MO, and now based in San Mateo, CA, Luca holds a BFA degree with an emphasis in Design from the University of Kansas. He has spent the last 20 years working in the high tech industry, while nurturing his passion for animals and the arts. To see more of Luca’s dog paintings and an image of him donning a dog face mask, visit his Instagram page.

In 2017 Greg McGarry represented our club at a gathering of youth between the ages of 18 and 35 in Trentino. Greg’s ancestors, Tafner and Pedri, immigrated from city of Trento and Cagnò in the Val di Non. For years the Province of Trento has sponsored this gathering of youth from places with large numbers of Trentini immigrants, namely North and South America, Australia, Europe and South Africa. Greg was hosted by a young couple in Rovereto, Riccardo Bisoffi and Debora Finotti. Riccardo works for Pama, a manufacturer of machine tools. Debora handles export sales for Aquafil, a producer of textile yarn based in Trentino with plants worldwide. A year later it was Greg’s turn to host Riccardo and Debora here in California. After touring California the couple flew to Toronto to visit Ivo Finotti, vice-president of the Trentino Club of Toronto. Ivo and Deborah are cousins.

Last year a delightful article appeared in the BBC Magazine recounting the experience of a group of grandmothers from Daone, a hamlet in the Val del Chiese, which in turn is part of the Valle Giudicarie. Several of our club members have origins in Daone with last names such as Bugna, Nicolini, Ghezzi, Corradi and Leonardi. In 2015 Daone merged with Bersone and Praso to form a larger municipality called Valdaone with a population of nearly 2,000.

These grandmothers, average age 80, belonged to the Rododendro (Rhododendron) Club of retirees. Their dream was to go to the seashore for a vacation. Most had never even seen the sea. They married soon after the war. They raised children and toiled in the fields while their husbands worked building the valley’s dams. Vacations were considered frivolous, a waste of hard earned savings. Some had never even ventured to the city of Trento,f only 35 miles away.

The word for women in the local dialect is “funne”. Well, these “funne” created a calendar, and each month one of them was featured in a photomontage based on some dreamlike wish. The idea was to sell the calendars and make enough money to go on vacation to the seaside. The calendars did not sell that well, and their hopes were dashed. Then one of their grandsons suggested crowdfunding on the Internet. The results were phenomenal. Donations flowed in from all over the world. They had more than enough money to go on their dream vacation last year. They chose the Croatian island of Ugljan, with the same patron saint as Daone, La Madonna della Neve (the Madonna of the Snow). They arrived just in time for the August 5th feast day celebration. Of course, none of them knew how to swim, but that made no difference. Their dream had come true.

Katia Bernardi chronicles this captivating story in a book and documentary film both entitled Funne, le ragazze che sognavano il mare.

These women have been featured in the media and were honored guests of the Pope.