About us
The Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago, directed by Tina Cervone, is the cultural office of the Consulate General of Italy in Chicago. Founded in 1985, the Institute is one of five cultural agencies of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the United States. It is located in the heart of Chicago along the Magnificent Mile. The Institute serves as a convenient source for information about Italian life and culture that showcases Italy’s classic and contemporary heritage with particular reference to art, music, cinema, design, architecture, science, and technology. The Institute is also home to a school of Italian language and culture, as well as a venue for art exhibitions and film screenings. The Institute works alongside the Consulate General of Italy in Chicago to forge relationships with local universities and research institutions. We promote English translations of Italian authors with local publishers and publicize information about Italian prizes in art and literature. We also work with ENIT (The Italian State Tourist Board) to promote tourism and travel to Italy.
Services
The Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago offers the following services to the public:
• Courses in Italian language and culture at the Institute’s school, Italidea
• Two sessions annually to take the exam that determines knowledge of Italian as a foreign language.
• A library available to the public to view and borrow books, dvd’s, magazines, cd’s, and Italian newspapers.
• Information and documents on Italy in the field of culture.
Collaboration
For concerts, art, theater, cinema, and all other events within the breadth of culture, the Institute avails itself to collaborate with local institutions such as the Artic Instiute, Chicago Lyric Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Cinema/Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Chicago, Facets, Fermilab, Field Museum, Gene Siskel, Goodman Theater, Loyola University Museum of Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Science and Industry, Newberry Library, Shakespeare Theater, and the Smart Museum.
The major festivals in which the Institute is proud to participate are, The Chicago Humanities Festival, the Chicago International Film Festival, the Colorado Festival of World Theater, and the European Union Film Festival.
In addition, the Institute participates, together with the Italian Chamber of Commerce of Chicago (ICE) and Italidea, the internal body for language study at the Institute, in all the major educational conventions on the teaching of a foreign language.
Cultural Committee of the Italian Cultural Institute
Prestigious representatives from the scientific, artistic, and literary communities along with friends of Italy take part in the Institute’s advisory board. They include:
Giorgio Bellettini – Professor and Senior Physicist of the Italian Group CDF, at Fermilab
Francesco Bonami – Curator, Museum of Contemporary Art
Richard Born – Curator, Smart Museum, University of Chicago
Bruce Boucher – Curator, European Decorative Arts and Sculpture, The Art Institute of Chicago
Francesca Casadio – Scientific Expert, The Art Institute of Chicago
Charles Coleman – Director of Programming, Facets Multimedia
Gary Cestaro – Professor of Italian, DePaul University
Brian Dickie – Director, Chicago Opera Theater
Dominic Di Frisco – PR, President of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans
Philip Gossett – Professor of Music University of Chicago
David Holloway- Director, Voice Department, Roosevelt University
Valentine Judge – Director of International Programs, Department of Cultural Affairs City of Chicago
Peter Kuntz – Executive Director, Chicago Humanities Festival
Michael Kutza - Founder and Artistic Director, Chicago International Film Festival
Armando Maggi – Professor of Italian, University of Chicago
Lynn Osmond - President, Chicago Architecture Foundation
Francesca Pons Madden – Curator of Special Projects, The Field Museum
Francesca Puggioni - Lecturer, University of Chicago
Damiano Rondelli – Chief of Hematology, University of Illinois, Chicago
Thomas Simpson – Professor of Italian, Northwestern University
Rod Slemmons - Director, Museum of Contemporary Photography
Marina Vecci – Production Administrator, Lyric Opera of Chicago
Paula Waters - President, Chicago Milan Sister Cities Committee
Carla Zecher – Director, Center for Renaissance Studies, Newberry Library
Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago
