La vita è bella: UTM honours Italian film stars
Renowned Italian film stars Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi visited U of T Mississauga last week as part of a celebration of convocation and Italian heritage.
The award-winning actors were special guests at the 2015 UTM Arts convocation ceremony, where they received honorary doctor of law degrees in recognition of their respective contributions to Italian arts and culture.
Former UTM language studies chair, Professor Michael Lettieri introduced Braschi and Benigni at the convocation ceremony, noting their many professional accomplishments as well as their humanitarian work with various charities, including Amnesty International.
Braschi’s excitement was evident. “I’m so excited, so thrilled and so honoured. I am 55 and this is my first university degree,” she said. She spoke about the important role literature has played in her personal and professional life. “From an early age, my best friends were books,” she said. “It was a wonderful, secret bond between me and the books.” Writers, she said, are able to achieve “the intimate erasing of the distance of time and space and even, sometimes, death. That, to me, is a miracle.
“The arts help us understand the world we live in. When I immerse myself in the arts, I reemerge as a person transformed and grateful,” she said. “You are here today because you have loved, and love books. Find a way—your way—to remain loyal to them all of your life, with the same loyalty, the same openness and the same generosity that one devotes to great friendship.” Braschi concluded with a reading, in Italian, from Samuel Beckett’s play, “Happy Days.”
Benigni brought his trademark energy to his address. "I am full of joy! My body is in tumult! This moment is, for me, incredible!” he told the crowd, adding that he felt “all higgledy-piggeldy” with excitement. “Like a little dog with a wagging tail, I want to lick everyone!”
Benigni continued Braschi’s message about the importance of literature. Quoting from poets Robert Frost, Emily Dickenson and Dante Alighieri, the actor urged the graduands to seek love and happiness everywhere. “It’s there! You have it!” he said. “Look all over for it—in your closets and your shelves, in the cubby holes of your soul, in your drawers! Throw everything in the air! Happiness is waiting for you!”
Benigni, who was nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature for his performances of Dante’s poetry, concluded his address by reciting from memory a love sonnet, “Tanto gentile e tanto onesta pare,” from the Italian poet’s Divine Comedy, noting the poet had written the piece when he was about the same age as the graduands. “In the sunset of life, you will be judged on love,” he said.
See Braschi and Benigni's convocation addresses here. Braschi's speech begins at 24:30 and Benigni's speech at 35:36.
The couple also attended a special celebration at Casa Loma where former UTM language studies chair, Professor Michael Lettieri, was awarded the Commendatore dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana. Bestowed by the Italian government, the award, which is similar to the Order of Canada, recognizes Lettieri for his dedication to celebrating and teaching Italian language and culture around the world. As a Commendatore—or Knight Commander—Lettieri said he is honoured to be recognized with the prestigious award, and joked that he won’t let his new title, Commendatore (or, Knight Commander) go to his head. “I still have to take out the garbage when I’m at home.” he joked.