“New York: The City that Doesn’t Sleep”

Published: 2007 - October, New York Itinerary

“New York is a city that doesn’t sleep: a metropolis that is packed with stimulations, especially cultural.” Barbara Faedda, assistant director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University, holds a key role in one of the primary institutions essential for the scientific, cultural and economic life of the community of Italians living in the Big Apple. But as an anthropologist, her view of New York is primarily that of a researcher: “From a multi-cultural point of view,” she says, “New York is an open-air workshop of cohabitation.”

Barbara, how was your first encounter with New York?
“I come from Rome and I’ve been living in New York since April 2006. Before that I had lived for two years in Boston as a visiting scholar. The first impact New York had on me was that of a place that is totally different from the New England town I came from. What struck me immediately was the so-called ‘diversity’ and the evident ‘racial divisions.’”

Divisions that are evident especially in the urban center.
“I experience it daily at work: Working at Columbia, I travel from Inwood, where I live (on the northern tip of Manhattan by the river that runs between it and the Bronx), to the Upper West Side, where the university campus is. Inwood is a neighborhood where many immigrants from the Dominican Republic live: a very interesting place – for example, the language you hear in the street is Spanish, and in a number of stores they don’t even understand English.”

There are those who compare New York to London.
“The two cities are historically too far apart to be compared. I believe a city like London you can replicate, while New York is unique and could never be copied. It is like a big sponge, ready to absorb any and all elements. This is the quality of U.S. culture that I’ve appreciated the most. Because we Italians are not that open, really.”

Do the city’s geographic, or ethnic, divisions have only negative aspects or are there also some positive qualities?
“I see many positive aspects. Ethnic communities become stronger and recreate their national customs and rites, using their languages, celebrating their holidays, practicing their religions. Mass at parish churches in the neighborhood where I live, for example, is celebrated in either English or Spanish. And the latter churches are much more crowded. Then, when the children of first-generation immigrants go to school they become bi-lingual and combine their parents’ culture with that of the general American society – unfortunately also with its negative aspects, like the U.S. standardization, especially regarding consumerism.”

Is the Italian community keeping its distinct identity, too?
“Yes, especially because the Italian community of highly-skilled professionals, academicians and businessmen in a way sells something of our country: its culture, art, style, quality and science. Highly-skilled Italians in New York are considered quite differently from the way Italian immigrants had been viewed until just a few decades ago: they now enter through the main building door, no more sent to the service door.”

Which are the main Italian institutions in New York?
“There are two, located at the two ends of Manhattan, and they are affiliated with two great universities in New York: the Italian Academy at Columbia University and the Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò, affiliated with New York University. Another one is the Primo Levi Center, which focuses on Jewish-Italian culture. The Italian Cultural Institute, run by the Italian Foreign Ministry, is very active in spreading Italian culture, as is also the Italian Consulate. These institutions are in constant communication and form a network while maintaining their own distinct identities.”

What is the distinct identity of the Italian Academy, where you work?
“As a center for advanced studies, its identity was determined at its creation, following an agreement in 1991 between the Italian Government and Columbia University, whose president is also the Academy’s president (while the President of the Italian Republic is the Academy’s Honorary President). In addition, half of the members of our Board of Guarantors are appointed by Columbia University and half by the Italian Foreign Ministry.”

And what are your duties?
“As assistant director I’m responsible for institutional relations and for the Fellowship Program, the main program offered by the Italian Academy. It offers scholarships for single-semester or annual studies to researchers from around the world – some ten or twelve every six months – who have presented projects related to the Italian culture. Other important programs are Art and Neuroscience, in which we have hosted some of the most famous neuroscientists in the world, like Vittorio Gallese of Italy, as well as many events and cultural activities.”