Michelangelo, the most famous Italian artist of all time, speaking about his art once said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” This is representative of the artistic nature of Italians. Many Italians have seen various “angels in the marble” and have set them free. Italians throughout history have expressed themselves through formal art and informal art.

In the field of visual art, there are many prominent Italian painters. This was especially true during the Italian Renaissance which covered the period from the 13th century to about 1600. Names like Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and Michelangelo are world famous for their art. Their paintings can only be described as true masterpieces. There is Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel Ceiling, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” and Raphael’s “The School of Athens.” These are all considered artistic images that have global appeal and timeless longevity.

Duke Orsino in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” says, “If music be the food of love, play on.” Italy is known as the “land of love” and many Italian musicians have “played on.”

During the 16th to 18th century composers like Antonio Vivaldi known for his “Four Seasons” and Antonio Tozzi composer of “La Morte di Dimone” flourished musically.

Also included in this time period were Niccolò Paganini who was a violinist and composer. As a violin virtuosio he was innovative in his development of what is today known as modern violin technique. My father tells an interesting Paganni story which may be somewhat dubious in its historical accuracy but illustrates the enormous talent that Paganni possesed. Apparently, Paganni came out to play for a large audience. He proceeded to tune his violin and in the process broke one of the four strings of his violin. The audience roared with laughter. Paganini continued tuning and broke another string, more laughter came from the audience.

He continued tuning until he broke another string and was left with only one string on his violin. The audience reacted with more laughter. Paganini then went on to play a brilliant violin piece on only one string. When he was finished there was wild applause from the audience who yelled out, “Ripete!” which means “Repeat!” Paganini looked at the audience with distain and said, “Paganini non ripete!”

Two Italians that figure prominently in the field of literature are Dante Alighieri and Luigi Pirandello. Dante Alighieri was a poet during the Middle Ages. His main body of work is the “Divina Commedia” which is considered one of the grandest Italian works of literature. In world literature, it is considered to be nothing short of a masterpiece. Luigi Pirandello was born in 1867. He was a novelist, dramatist, and short story writer. Pirandello most famous play is “Six Characters in Search of an Author” or “Sei Personaggi in Cerca d’autore. Pirandello’s innovative drama resulted in him being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934. The “Grand Master” of painting celluloid images is Federico Fellini whose name always comes up in a discussion of world class Italian cinema. A film director who had a very distinctive style, he is considered an influential filmmaker of the 20th century. Some of his most widely known films include “La Strada,” which won an Oscar for for the “Best Foreign Language Film.” “La Dolce Vita” which won Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and “8 ½” which also won an Oscar for for “Best Foreign Language Film.”

In modern day Canada, there are many Italo-Canadian artists that have continued the creative artistic tradition started back in Italy. The Italo-Canadian group of artists create art composed of both formal artistic works and informal artistic works.

Born in 1911 in Montreal, Joseph Giunta an Italo-Canadian artist of Sicilian origin told a Quebec journalist in 1965, “I would like to be an architect, sculptor and painter all at once.” He studied art at the Montreal School of Arts and abroad in places like Boston, France and Italy. In 1958 Giunta moved towards creating abstract art, mixed media collage/assemblage art and began sculpturing montage 3D artwork. Picasso and Salvador Dali were two of his influences. In 1970 Guinta was invited by the government of Quebec to show paintings at the World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan. As he was preparing for a major exhibit at the Maison de la culture Frontenac in Montreal in 2001, he passed away.

Guinta’s legacy was to leave a great interest in and the discovery of his collage/assemblage and construction 3D artwork.

The field of popular music also qualifies as an art form. A prominent Italo-Canadian in this field is Gino Vannelli. Gino Vannelli is a singer, songwriter and composer that was born in Montreal in 1952. He studied music at McGill University. In 1974 his song “People Gotta Move” made it to Number 22 on the Billboard Top 100. In 1978 his number 1 single in Canada, “I Just Wanna Stop” also earned him an American Grammy Award nomination and went to number 4 in the United States. In 1975, Gino won a Juno Award for “Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year” Gino went on to win Junos in 1976 and 1979 for “Best Male Vocalist of the Year.” His other hits include “Black Cars” and “Wild Horses.” In more recent years, Gino revealed his operatic talent in his “Canto.” Gino was also invited by the Vatican to perform for Pope John Paul II. In early 2009, Gino released his latest CD entitled “A Good Thing.” Gino continues to earn rave reviews and continues to tour.

Canadian literature is enriched by the works of Italo-Canadian novelist Nino Ricci. Ricci was born in 1959 in Leamington, Ontario and eventually moved to Toronto. Ricci graduated with a degree in English Literature and a second degree in Canadian Literature and Creative Writing from York University. Ricci traveled in Europe and taught English in Nigeria for two years. His first novel, “Lives of the Saints” won both critical and commercial success. It won the 1990 Governor General’s Award for Fiction and was also made into a miniseries for TV directed by Jerry Ciccoritti. Ricci’s other novels such as “Testament” was a co-winner of the 2002 Trillium Book Award. Ricci most recent novel, “The Origin of the Species” won the 2008 Governor General’s Award for Fiction. Ricci continues to write and live in Toronto.

There are other Italo-Canadian artists who produce artistic works which are not of a “formal art” type of creations. I speak of the many talented tradesmen of Italian origin in Canada. Italo-Canadian carpenters have a reputation of producing fine works which can be considered “wood art.” Italian bakers and chefs are known for their production of delicious “food art.” Italian builders are known for their very solid and aesthetically pleasing “house art.” Even Italian ceramic workers produce wonderful “wall art” and “floor art.” These are highly skilled artists in their own right.

The great artistic tradition that started back in Italy continues today in Canada. Italian artists have contributed greatly to world culture and greatly to Canadian culture. They continue to “free the angels in the marble.”