In the Spring of 2002 Globus et Locus of Milan and The CUA Center for the Study of Culture and Values held a seminar in Washington, D.C., on "The Essence of Italian Culture and the Challenge of a Global Age". This was a major first step of what promises to be a most fruitful cooperation.

This collaboration on the significance of the Italian heritage or "Italicita" for life in changing times is now being extended in two directions: One through a meeting in Milan on the contribution and interrelations of cultural heritages in the new global arena; the other through this meeting in Washington on the new role of Italicity for intercultural relations in a global world. This is part of a broader dialogue with the national ethnic communities who are now challenged to rediscover the values of their heritages and especially the way in which these can be lived in the pluralistic contexts which characterize this new millennium.

The initiation of this effort was dramatic. Originally the program had been envisaged for the Fall of 2001 as a celebration of Italian culture. But that plan was swept aside by the events of Sept. 11. Suddenly it became clear that cultural heritages in the global interchange of the new millennia were not unambiguous and could even be quite dangerous.

Was it time to abandon the distinctive cultures as expressive of the unique creativity of each people in order to envisage the passive peace of an homogeneous and undifferentiated humanity? If such a prospective half life—or "march of the clones"—strikes one with horror and revulsion, then the work of elaborating an alternative future must be correspondingly urgent. If the distinct heritages are to continue to play their essential humanizing role, then it has become crucial to understand their nature and interrelations in a much deeper and more sensitive manner.

Providentially, the two partners in the original plan seemed to constitute a uniquely complementary team to undertake just that work. Globus et Locus was concerned with practical ways in which the essence of Italian life might transcend the confines of the nation state of Italy. This led inevitably to the issue of how one culture could play a creative role in the new global interchange of peoples. The Center for the Study of Culture and Values, for its part, had encouraged and published 100 book-length studies of how people could draw on their cultures for facing present problems. The new events pushed it inevitably into the heart of the new crisis; how are culturally awakened peoples to live peacefully and productively one with another.

In view of the new situation their joint program was rescheduled and recast to read "The Essence of Italian Culture and the Challenge of a Global Age". When the two units met in the Spring of 2002 the complementarity of the two teams was immediately evident. Neither was able or interested in doing the work of the other, but each was vitally interested in the challenge being faced by the other. Session by session over the two days of the meeting the discussions grew in depth and intensity. At the end it was concluded, as must be the case in any really good conversation, that this had been a brilliant introduction which for that very reason compelled continuity.

Three steps on this common journey come immediately to mind. The first two could be taken in North America, namely, first to clarify the notion of Italian cultural heritage as not bound to the borders of a single nation; and second to inquire into experiences of the interrelation of "Italicita" in a pluralistic context; the third which could best be realized in Milan is to investigate how this can be realized transnationally.

The first of these follow-up steps is to go further into the notion of a "Italicita" as a way of life that is not bound to a single nation state but which can be conceived and/or lived separately from a particular territory, so as to be drawn upon in various of its facets by peoples of other cultures and/or places. Concretely, in this instance, this would be what has been termed "italicita" in some contrast to italianicity which would refer rather to the way of life as lived on the Italian peninsula.

In the conference in the Spring of 2002 this notion was introduced and considered in terms particularly of its socio-political aspects. Hence such issues as immigration or the relation between peoples were considered.

Implied in this but as yet unexplored were issues of cultural formation and cultural content. In order to be able to proceed to further issues of "Italicita" and its relation to other cultures it is necessary to apply other, appropriate arts and sciences in order further to clarify both the content of this notion and the mode of thinking required to relate it to other cultural content now broadly available in a global age.

Such a two day conference is recommended to be held in Washington during Oct. of 2003 as an integral part of a 10 week international seminar on "Cultural Identity and Globalization". There will be in attendance 2 scholars from Eastern Europe, 2 from Africa, 4 from Asia and 1 of Islamic origin. They will be joined by local representatives of philosophy, the arts and anthropology in order to shed light on the nature of a cultural, in contrast to a national, identity.

A second step will attempt to examine the character of "italicita" as a cultural identity beyond the confines of a state by entering into discussion with Italian and other cultural groups as they experience their identities and interrelations as in the pluralistic context of North America.

America, it is often said is a land of immigrants. This implies both challenges and opportunities. The challenge has been enormous. A century and a half ago the great waves of immigrants might better be called refugees as people sought refuge from the vast displacements of the industrial and other revolutions, from famine and from war. In this context their main concern was to find safe haven in America, to assimilate to its customs, and to enable one’s offsprings to enter into the life of the host people.

Culturally the common image which directed public policy for this work of assimilation was that of a melting pot. This denoted especially the effort to meld in. Unfortunately, it connoted that in a generation or two persons were to lose much that provided their distinctive identity and with it much of the set of supports and standards by which they could sustain diversity and resolve problems.

Hence there was great need to provide new immigrants from the cultures of the Old World also with an intermediary to the social and political structures of the New World. This was to work both ways: to inculturate the arriving peoples into the new country and to enrich this nation with their classical heritages.

This work was taken up through ethnic heritage organizations, religious institutions and universities, often with specific emphasis on one or another ethnic group or religion. The intervening decades have been devoted largely to the processes of support, assimilation and interaction of ethnic experiences which have formed a unique integration of personal, family and community values. America as one people today is the proof of the success of the work of these national and ethnic groups operating as NGOs in the best traditions of civil society, and some indeed acquired notable resources for their services as basic insurers and burial societies.

Today the situation of those of Italian descent has evolved, and the opportunities for their cultural identity or "italicita" are vastly expanded. Various social sciences note that cultural forgetfulness appears more as a stage then as a permanent condition, for the questions "who am I" and "for what do I stand" are not ones that can be put aside, but recur at ever deeper levels. Inevitably, the search for answers to these fundamental questions drives us back to the reconsideration of the multiple origins and hence of the Italian cultural heritage embedded in contemporary America.

Once fully at home they are able to discover more fully what Italicity can mean in the American experience and to formulate answers to at least three other crucial questions: (1) how they can live their heritage more fully, (2) how they can enrich this adopted land with the riches of Italicity, and (3) how this interacts with that of other Americans of other cultural and racial backgrounds. If a people’s culture is the place where their spirit dwells, then this rediscovery and articulation of their cultures must be central to their life. In this the engagement of university level competencies in anthropology and psychology, ethics and politics, especially with relation to Italian culture in North America is essential in order to identify the gift with which they can endow their adapted land and the intercultural competencies by which to live this.

As we enter into this global context we need now to move away from what separates and toward what unites. If this is not to mean the loss of the cultural heritages which constitute the cumulative process of our humanization, then the challenge is to find within these cultures the radical roots of relatedness. Just as we become good neighbors not by forgetting our family and all they have shown us about being a good neighbor, but by drawing upon this, so it is essential that the multiple peoples mine their heritages in order to enrich the global future.

Indeed, this need may be deeper yet, for the immense present challenge is precisely to develop the global society as a place for the progress of all of humanity, and indeed of the whole of nature. The resources for this lie not in a zero-sum economic search for profit or political search for power, but especially in the cultures such as Italicity which the various peoples have developed and their capacity for contributing to a stronger solidarity and community of peoples. This requires the discovery of the essential relatedness of cultural values and the intercultural competencies required to live convergently with others in a global age.

We must be able to say that it is not in spite of being Italian that we are global, but that global solidarity can be built only by the extrapolation of the deeply humanizing content matured over the ages as italicity and other cultural heritages. We must learn to draw from these wellsprings of life rather than from the poison pools of hatred and hurt.

This volume brings Italian and American scholars into a conversation focused on their italicity and inter-cultural relations. This is intended not only to enable Globus et Locus and The Center for the Study of Culture and Values to learn and contribute on these issues, but to evolve their own capabilities for the delicate work with all cultural heritages in this new—and newly dangerous—millennium.

Part I, "Italic Identity in Pluralistic Context," concerns especially the issue of Italic identity as it has evolved in facing succeeding crises.

Chapter I, by Piero Bassetti, "Italic Identities and Pluralistic Contexts: Towards the Development of Intercultural Competencies," reviews the conclusions of the first joint Conference of Globus et Locus and the Center for the Study of Culture and Values, which posed an "Italic identity" comprising Italians in Italy, Italian ethnics outside of Italy, and even all those who, not themselves of Italian blood, identify with "Italian values." Bassetti enumerates these values, so congenial to the processes of an authentic globalization: a mild-mannered identity devoid of hegemonic intentions; non-resentment; highly developed aesthetic sensibility; affection; universalism; and cosmopolitanism. He then puts new questions to the second Conference, stressing the talent Italians have for glocalization; and therefore, how their experience can be instructive for the mixed identities now characterizing most populations of the world.

Chapter II, by Gasper F. Lo Biondo, S.J., "Catholicity, Italicity, and the Communication of Meaning," provides a speculative structure for this work by identifying the new awareness of human intentionality and the way in which this enlarges and transfer the sense of culture from national normativity to universal or Catholic hybridization composed of as many cultures as there are peoples.

Chapter III, by Giovanni Bechelloni, "Hybridization Processes and the Origins of Italian Fortuna and Diaspora," argues that the ‘always already’ hybridized culture of Italy, from the mixed society of the Etruscans through to the l7th century, founds the combination of openness, capitalist economy, and the ‘good life’, which makes a successful ‘modern society’. Drawing from his thirty or so books, Bechelloni advances a theory of history which emphasizes the importance of geography and diaspora; he uncovers real ‘origins’ and decries the ‘grand narratives’ (constructed by ‘victors’) which obscure or distort them. Bechelloni urges on the modern world the skills of peace-making and openness to the ‘other’ which he considers Italicity’s greatest contributions to civilization.

Chapter IV, by Helen Barolini, "Italicity," is a personal and literary description of moving as an American of Italian descent from broad unconsciousness of her own Italic roots to a conscious assimilation of her Italian heritage, while at the same time aiding her husband to make the opposite transition from Italy to America. In this she emphasizes the process of change that is ever in process and closer with the words of Tancredi in the Leopard "If we want everything to stay as it is, it all had to change."

Chapter VI, by Kirk Buckman, "Italian Citizenship, Nationality Law and Italic Identities," explains the formal laws governing Italian citizenship, and Italy’s ‘Right to Return’ provisions. In light of Bassetti’s stress on "Italicity" instead of formal citizenship, Buckman justifies his paper by noting that the great waves of Italian emigration antedated the Italian jus sanguinis laws (1912 and 1992), and indeed the same cultural milieu, the "Italian epicenter," produced both the emigrations and the legislation for the Right to Return. Buckman supplies useful contrasts between the jus soli of France, the U.S.A., and Brazil, and the jus sanguinis of Italy and Germany (the latter two countries adopting Right to Return for largely opposite reasons).

Part II, "The Development of Intercultural Competencies," studies the special intercultural competencies of the Italic identity as these evolves from a long history of world engagement.

Chapter VIII, by Alberto Schepisi, "New Identities in a Time of Globalization: The Case of Italy," invokes a pyramidical model of globalization wherein international organizations are at the top and local communities at the base. Schepisi, Italy’s ambassador to Ireland, maintains that the importance of citizenship in a nation-state is declining: ‘identity’ in the global age must become, instead, a matter of belonging to the universal and the local. Italians, because of their longterm historical identification not with a nation-state but with a ‘universal’ (the Roman Empire, then the Catholic Church) and a ‘local’ (village, town), are particularly good at showing the world how to do this.

Chapter IX, by George F. McLean, "Italic Identities and the Development of Intercultural Competencies," regards a main contribution of Italicity to be its talent at specifically intercultural competence. McLean uses a Gadamerian hermeneutics to show how "applicaton" of tradition involves a dialectic of whole and part, the birthing of "novelty," and a nurturing in "prudence." Interpretation of other traditions requires "sagacity" and a "dialectic of horizons," and Italians, so good at "combinations," can be a ‘sign for the world’ in this respect.

Chapter XI, by Paolo D. Siviero, "From Globalization to Interdependence: The Role of Religion," says that globalization is a misnomer, since the world is made up, more than ever, of "dividuals," i.e., persons constituted by their contextual region(s). Religions are a key factor defining these regions, and fundamentalist religions have converted difference into hostile difference. Authentic religions must cultivate a proactive "dialogue among equals" aiming towards a healthy interdependence. Italy can become a showcase in this regard, since it now hosts new immigrants representing a diversity of religions.

Chapter XII, by Vittorio Emanuele Parsi, "What Remains of the West," presents a carefully documented and analytic study of current relations between the U.S.A. and Europe, especially western Europe. Parsi argues that the Bush administration’s Realpolitik, its distrust of international organizations and even its European partners and NATO, have forced Europeans to shift confidence from the Atlantic Pact to a more exclusive identification with the European Union. The Bush administration avers Europe touts peace-making and compomise because its military is weak; and Europe insists that the U.S.A.’s recourse to unilateralism and violence is a throwback to an imperialist era. Parsi reminds both sides of the Atlantic that they share a common legacy of liberal and democratic values, and should reconcile with each other for the good of the world.

Chapter XIII, by Charles Dechert, "Community and Corporate Culture in a Pluralistic World: A Structural Approach to Globalization," studies the development of a general theory of system especially by military and industrial groups. Drawing on his own experience in these fields he examines how the local and even national units are increasingly impacted by the broader context or system in which they exist. At the same time the Italic experience shows how to adjust from within the multiple facets of life to form an harmonious structure.